Daniel A

True, but why make it easier for the bad actors?

We were able to use the elite/platinum boarding line and lounge area with gold family members in Port Everglades. IIRC technically, the gold grandmother is considered to be in the same travel party as the platinum children if their booking documents show her assigned to the same cabin as the platinum children. It has been my experience that they usually aren't strict about enforcing the rules as long as there are platinum passengers bringing the blue/gold/ruby passengers along with them. I have had the same experience with the disembarkation lounge as well. I'm not sure children (of any status) would be permitted to enter and remain in the afternoon PES cocktail lounge. Maybe someone who has traveled with children could address this.

My experience has been that HAL's IT department is not as good as other cruise lines web pages. It takes forever for their servers to respond just to perform basic functions. Sometimes it just times out and you have to resubmit your request. Over the years, I would get so frustrated that I'd end up looking at Princess (who also doesn't have great IT, but it's a world better than HAL.) Carnival Corporation needs to up their game with IT.

You're welcome!

Doesn't the HAL website show an 800 number you can call to book excursions? I thought I remembered seeing it.

I am currently on Koningsdam. When our morning room service comes, there is no slip to write a tip on. On Princess, they have a slip where you can put your tip on your portfolio, so if you intend to tip each time you get morning coffee and juices delivered, bring a lot of cash with you.

Our experience in Fort Lauderdale is that there are porters wating in the luggage claim area. Once you locate all of your luggage, look for a porter and he or she will come over to where your luggage is and load it onto the luggage cart. They do take you through CBP and our experience was that the porters get prioritized through the CBP lanes. You should tip them what you think the service was worth to you. Everybody has different ideas of what constitutes the right amount.

Hawaii, Tahiti and the Marquesas on Koningsdam. I'm just curious as to why HAL is sending out multiple e-mails recommending spending the time and effort to download and complete an app that they're not even going to look at. It doesn't make any sense at all. 🤷‍♂️

My sailing requires both vaccinations and negative Covid test. We'll see, it won't be the end of the world if there is no VeriFly lane, but I thought that somebody wrote that even though there was no lane, when they showed their approved VeriFly pass, the were directed to skip a couple of other lines at boarding which sped up their embarkation.

Thank you for your replies. Did your sailings have enhanced or standard health protocols? I can understand no VeriFly lane if what VeriFly documents is no longer required for a particular sailing (standard protocol), but my next cruise requires proof of full vaccination, booster dose(s) and negative test within 3 days of embarkation (enhanced protocol.)

@lais - Do you know if HAL has a VeriFLY lane for sailings from San Diego with the enhanced safety protocols? HAL is sending e-mails to our sailing this month suggesting completion of the VeriFLY app. Thanks in advance.

My mistake. What my post should have said was: I don't think judging any cruise line by first impressions gained during the restart is going to give an accurate picture. All of the cruise lines are still getting back on their feet and there will be some missteps along the way to a return to normal. JMHO. The word "not" shouldn't have been in that sentence. 🤷‍♂️

I don't think judging any cruise line by first impressions gained during the restart is not going to give an accurate picture. All of the cruise lines are still getting back on their feet and there will be some missteps along the way to a return to normal. JMHO.

It was, and the cruise also stopped in Columbia as well as Panama. Passports are needed for those countries.

Your friend should make sure she brings the current passport with her. She should not attempt to renew it at this time as the current passport is voided during the renewal process until the new one is actually issued. The birth certificate and driver license should be fine for the sea travel, but if something comes up that would require her to fly home that passport is needed to fly back to the U.S. By the way, what is your friend's nationality? We are all presuming she is a U.S. citizen. If not, there may be some issues...

While CCL's lines were still honoring the Future Cruise Credits issued during the shutdown, the lines really couldn't raise their prices as it would have been grossly unfair to the people who opted for the FCCs instead of cash refunds. Now it's time to pay the piper as those Covid era FCCs are either used up or have expired. The money used to keep the ships afloat has to be repaid and it has to come from somewhere. The cruise lines need to adapt to the current circumstances and the passengers are going to have to adapt as well or decide to end the relationship. The positive thing for the industry is that every cruise line needs to trim budgets somewhere so, HAL isn't the only one doing it.

I got extremely frustrated when I tried to use VeriFly; I would only get so far in the process and then come to a screeching halt. I gave up on it. This week somebody else on my roll call who was experiencing the same difficulty, posted that they were now able to enter the information. Our sailing is now less than a month away and has the Enhanced Protocols (Proof of vaccination and negative test within 3 days of boarding,) Only because I was bored and somewhat masochistic 😈, I tried again over a couple of beers 🍻, and voila! VeriFly accepted my documentation very easily. I will try to put the test results in 3 days before my sailing, but I'm still bringing hard copy originals to the terminal. I am wondering if HAL is only using a VeriFly lane for sailings that have the Enhanced Protocols since the Standard Protocols no longer require proof of vaccination or testing. If they don't have a VeriFly lane at my embarkation, it's no worry, I'll still get onboard the ship - no harm, no foul.... If they do have the lane, I'll post it here. 🛳️

Generally speaking, does travel insurance cover credit card interest charges if you need to use a credit card to pay a hospital bill and submit a claim to the travel insurer later? I imagine it could take months to get a settlement out of an insurer, in the meantime the credit card charges are accruing interest.

Where would I find a gift package shipper?

I think I just got my answer. I'm booked on a Kona coffee plantation excursion, so maybe they'll have a gift shop where I could send some Kona Coffee. Thanks for all the advice, especially regarding the USDA rules - I had no idea that the USDA bans shipments of produce across state lines. 🙄

Not a worry, I would just want to ship them from Hawaii to New York at the start of a South Pacific cruise. Thank you.

I am planning to have some time in Hawaii next month. I would like to send some fruit baskets home to the mainland if possible. Does anybody know if there are vendors in Hawaii that will send fruit packages to the States?

I will have the unlimited laundry package on my 35-day sailing. Will that include having items pressed after taking them from our luggage? If not, any suggestions? We are thinking of packing our bags using the vacuum packing bags, so an initial pressing will likely be needed, but I won't need it for the whole voyage.

Thanks, I just checked, and my current passport number is on file with GE. I must have renewed our passports first and later on renewed GE. Thanks for showing how to find the data.

How can I tell if my GE has my new passport numbers? I don't remember which one I renewed first.