tupper10

1 hour ago, 0106 said:

@AryMayI appreciate the link to your blog.  I just finished reading the entire SA & Antarctic entries and learned so much.  I’ve been in rough water, never been seasick but I will definitely be packing some meds.  I was planning on taking long underwear and my 2 part North Face coat but I think I might buy a longer jacket.  I hate cold weather, I would have thought you would be more used to it being from MN but you really look bundled up.  You are an excellent writer and photographer, thanks again.

 

 

I don't think you need a  longer warm jacket you just need more layers for the wind.  I bought a pair of  heavy fleece pull on pants that went over my long underwear. This was much warmer than jeans.   I then had a pair of cheap rain pants as well that went over the fleece.  The rain pants blocked the wind.     For the top layer it was long underwear, a turtle neck shirt (like one you would wear for skiing), a fleece and then my jacket which had another layer of fleece and the outside shell which was waterproof.  I also had a neck warmer and good hat that covered my ears and good sun glasses,  since the sun reflects off the snow/ice.  Again it isn't that it is so cold it is that it is so windy.  If you ski another thing you can do is just bring your ski pants since they are warm and water proof and just wear your long underwear as the bottom layer.   

Eva @superoma so sorry for your loss. May his memory be a blessing to you and your family.

3 minutes ago, Suzcruz57 said:

These crazy long flights with soooo early or late departures make me rethink this Alaska cruise 🤔

 

 

Alaska is well worth the long flights. Get a day pass for your late departure and hang out at a nice hotel.  

22 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

Our friends are trying to talk us into trying Holland after over 70 cruises on Celebrity.  Would likely be in a balcony, and possibly a suite.  Can anyone help me figure out what the major differences would be?  I have a lot of perks with my Celebrity status, so cost of add-ons like drinks, wi-fi, and laundry (it's a long cruise) are a concern.  On Celebrity suites include those perks, but it doesn't seem a part of the pricing here?  What other big differences might I notice?  Thanks much in advance for any information!

You will have a real veranda on any of their ships,  and a promenade deck as well, so you can walk all the way around and not be barred from accessing the entire ship even if you don't have a suite. If you only sail with the retreat on Celebrity I am not sure you would like HAL suites since you do not have your own part of the ship, just a dining room, where you get one extra main course choice, and a lounge with a concierge.    I found the crew friendlier on Holland America, the non stop music just as annoying on both lines, and the food to be frank about the same.  

On 5/17/2023 at 5:01 PM, julia said:

Well, I would have killed for some "QUIET" on our recent 35 night Koningsdam!  The non-stop, loud, techno-crap music played 24/7 EVERYWHERE, and most sadly, in the Crow's Nest.  There was no peace and quiet, aside from our balcony. It was grating and annoying, and many were complaining (including myself). I was fed the excuse that "this is what Seattle wants" (basically ignoring the older demographics of a lengthy cruise).  So... good luck with that Seattle, our next cruise is on Oceania.

This is our complaint on almost all cruise ships. I don't understand why the powers that be think this awful non stop music is what we want to hear.  I have tried to escape it to no avail. Unfortunately we can't sail on Oceania or Azamara as they both use latex gloves for all their food preparation and I am allergic to latex.  

We had the same dilemma and at first we booked to Seattle with the shuttle bus to and from Vancouver. We were doing two overnights in Seattle since our flight got in so late.    I then realized that we would be spending around 4 hours on a completely filled bus and would have to get off at the border with our luggage which would need to be inspected and decided that it would just be easier to bite the bullet and fly directly to Vancouver.  The flight time with the layover is essentially the additional 4 hours but we don't have to drag our luggage to a hotel in Seattle, then get back to the airport in Seattle and drag it off and on at customs.  When I initially went to book our flights the round trip Seattle was much less expensive than Vancouver.  When I asked flightease to look at the round trip Vancouver the cost turned out to be the same so we changed it. Hopefully Westjet won't be on strike in September when we have to fly.  The cost of the shuttle as I recall was around 158.00 per person round trip.

I haven't posted in awhile since it has been a rough recovery from my back surgery but finally feeling a bit better so you can take me off of the care list. 

Rich I loved following you on the world cruise, welcome back. Sandy thanks for doing this while Rich was away. Sorry Rem lost his game but you have a wonderful happy event coming up - high school graduations are so meaningful. 

Sending healing thoughts to everyone who needs them and for ill pets as well.  I hope Vanessa is finally feeling a bit better and can get out and about.  

Contact corporate.  Go to elliot.org to get the email address of the person at Holland America who you think will best respond to your request.

6 minutes ago, 0106 said:

@cat shepard I need to look into the groups that provides low cost travel to retired teachers.  Could you share the tour group you used?

 

@tupper10 Residents of MD can’t use GeoBlue.   I have spent a lot of time reviewing the posts on the CC “Insure  my trip” thread.  My husband has Medicare but his supplemental policy covers care outside of the US.  I am paying attention to the reimbursement to fly home.  My husband is 71 so I will look at the MedJet policies.

 

I appreciate everyone on the Daily for their personal insights.

I would call Steve at Insure my Trip or one of his other agents and let them suggest a good policy that works for you and your husband.  You don't even have to purchase when you call them and can do that after you consider all your options.  

15 minutes ago, 0106 said:

 Thank you for your reply.  I hope you are able to enjoy Hilo; the Air B & B looks nice.  Also, I hope you are able to comfortably fly home with only 1 connection!

 

If anyone else could offer advice on medical travel insurance companies I should explore or avoid, I would greatly appreciate it.  It is a daunting first experience.

 I researched medical policies since our Medicare doesn't cover medical expenses  outside of the US, and found GeoBlue offers a good yearly policy for medical and repatriation.  When we went very far away, in a remote area with questionable medical care we bought Medjet but you need to be under 75 to purchase it for a reasonable fee. AARP discounts the Medjet policy for its members.      MedJet will fly you home to your hospital of choice, on a chartered medical jet.  You can buy a one or two year policy.   We had to cancel a cruise this year for medical reasons.  I had Trawick travel insurance and I received a full refund in less than 2 weeks from submission of my forms.  Some of the yearly policies don't offer enough coverage so I would suggest you ask one of the qualified agents recommended on the CC insurance site to see which policy(ies) work best for you.  

4 hours ago, summer slope said:

I have a question for the dailyites who live in Florida.  Who do you use for your auto insurance.  Ours with State Farm jumped 40% this year, with no accidents.

We have used progressive and now use Travelers since they have policies you pay per year vs getting a raise in rates every 6 months.  Insurance cost in Fl for auto and homeowners has gone crazy.  

1 hour ago, Lady Hudson said:

Well — coming back from my trip has been a bit of a bummer.  On Monday everything was fine.  DD did a great job looking after her father and the house.  But yesterday I woke up to a massive migraine ( my diagnosis reading about symptoms online).  I couldn’t look at food and spent 95% of the day/night in bed.  (No Covid-I took a test.) My sister came over twice to feed DH. I never had a migraine before and never want to experience that again.  I am feeling better today with just a bit of a headache.  Will take it easy today.

 

I am slowly catching up with the daily.  Thanks to all who post.  Katherine 

Katherine as one who has had migraines since childhood - a serious headache like you had should not be self diagnosed as a migraine.  Please call your doctor about this as bad headaches can be a sign of something else going on.  

Sorry to hear that so many people are not doing well but at least some of the dailies are on great cruises or are on their way to great vacations.

I hope that things work out for Tana, glad the nurse came and is giving her more treatments.  Hopefully Terry you can catch up on some sleep today.

I am doing okay - still having post op pain but doctor says it is normal.  I am so glad I had this well before my son's wedding, hopefully I will be fine in a month.  

20 minutes ago, Shalandara said:

Thanks for the comment tupper10.  We are trying one on a fall transatlantic -- so we'll see how it goes.

 

Fall transatlantic it may be way too cold and windy for the cabana - just my 2 cents. I would only get one for warm weather cruising, but that is me.  

We did one on the Statendam and other than awful piped music which I asked them to turn down it was fine. It did get very hot due to the sun but we were on a non holiday cruise post covid so the ship was pretty empty and I could 'switch sides' of the cabana since most were empty from the AM to the PM.  We didn't have an issue with kids or loud neighbors - again though the ship was probably 1/2 full.  Based on what I am reading I don't think we will get one again - and that is why I keep booking cruises on the smaller ships which have chaises on the promenade deck - which have shade and don't cost extra.  

We switched from Celebrity to HAL for 2 reasons: 1. the lack of outside promenade decks and the fact that Celebrity now restricts access to portions of the ship 2. the cost of cruises with non refundable deposit on Celebrity is well more than HAL advantage fare.   

@Mr. Boston so sorry for your loss. 

Not much going on here. I can't really do much at all, but each day I am feeling better. I am now able to walk for a much longer time, though sitting is still an issue.  

Thank you for all the dailies who keep this going. I enjoy seeing the pictures of all the different ports, some of which I doubt I will ever visit in person.  

Glad everyone made it to Fl. Now we just have to hope @TiogaCruiser's husband's luggage makes it as well.  Your travel insurance will cover the cost of clothing if you have trip interruption insurance so make sure you keep receipts for anything you buy.  

Good luck to all and hoping everyone has a fabulous cruise. Wave to us tomorrow!!!

2 minutes ago, spleenstomper said:

That actually is a really good point. I was harping on as long as I’m not a threat to anyone but maybe this situation isn’t great for me either. We are going to sit on it and see how I feel next week. I suppose we could always make it a land vacation to the same places. 

We do have a balcony…

I would ask your doctor about flying and traveling.  Depending on the type of pneumonia you may be contagious, also,  if your lungs are not fully recovered flying is not recommended.  To be frank the last thing you want to do is be sick on your cruise. Perhaps you can call HAL and see if you can move your cruise to a later date vs canceling.  It never hurts to ask.  

@cruising sister so sorry to hear about your friend's son.  Our children's best friends are family to us, please accept my sympathies on your loss.

I hope that all the travelers make it to FLL to take their cruises on time and with their luggage.  The weather should be decent from now on. 

Jazzy you can take me off of the care list since my recovery will be a long haul but I am doing much better and had my first full night of sleep last night, what a bonus.

It seems like the weather is playing havoc all over the world- I saw that there is huge typhoon headed to Australia.  Weather in Europe as we have seen has been wild, and here in Fl, FLL got 26 inches of rain in the last storm. In Palm Beach County we got rain but nothing close to what occurred due south of us. 

Vanessa I hope your doctor visit goes well today. @marshhawk I hope your test comes back fine so you can head to Alaska and have a great time.

Debbie

1 hour ago, TiogaCruiser said:

For those of you in the Florida area, or who are familiar with the area.

 

Help please!

 

 I’m starting to look for a car rental, one way. From Ft Meyer airport.

 

 I’m thinking not to FLL, as that might be really impacted.

Is there another local town that is large enough to have car rentals, and where we could drop the car and Uber?

 

Maybe between Miami and FLL?

The flooding in all of  east Broward county is awful. There are many closures still and given that it is raining again I am not sure how good it will be driving there. I would take the turnpike after you get off of alligator alley  which stays west of 95 and then stay due west of FLL.  Just know the turnpike has tolls but they will bill the rental car company.   You can try the area around Plantation which is not flooded.  There are a number of hotels there and it is a nice area.  We use Costco for all of our car rentals.  I am getting an uber estimate of around 112.00 so if you can't find a rental car I would pre book uber or lyft.   Good luck and what a bummer about the AA flight.  

The weather is supposed to be nice the rest of the week.  Let us know how you make out.  

@TiogaCruiser American Airlines has a flight leaving tomorrow non stop with seats and United has one on Saturday morning - to Miami. That is all I could fine. Good luck. What a mess.  

11 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

We’re currently in the air on our way to IAH. Got cancellation notice for ISH to FLL as we took off and scrambled to rebook for Friday ( through ORD to MIA). Then apparently I accidentally canceled the flights….  They still show in myFlights, but got email cancellation. Not able to book anything in app before June 9.????? Don’t see a way to get ahold of customer service.

 

Not sure how to proceed. Have not been cancelled before. Any ideas???

If you booked through flight ease I think there is an emergency number to call - I copied and pasted this from the internet.

"With this in mind, the following emergency phone numbers are available for your use: 1-800-628-4771. Holland America Line representatives are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year to assist you in any way they can, including assistance with travel delays and contacting loved ones."

The other thing to do is text the airline or use social media - twitter or facebook to contact them to re book your flights due to cancellation error.  I have found that posting on social media gets a very quick response from companies.  

4 minutes ago, Sharon in AZ said:

So my rebooked flight was canceled because the airport will be closed until 5:00am, and even then only one runway is scheduled to be usable. I didn’t have many options to choose from and decided not to take anymore chances on FLL so now I’m on a red eye to Miami.  I’m not the only person scrambling for flights. 

 

I’ve been in contact with another HAL rep and they have forwarded my flight details to the Miami reps. I don’t like taking an overnight flight but I want to arrive early enough to rest up before embarkation on Saturday. I can always take a nap. 
 

I’m hoping @TiogaCruiser and her DH can get rerouted. They probably haven’t landed in Houston yet. 
 

 

Glad you could re book. FLL is a mess not only the airport but the entire surrounding area is underwater. They got 26 inches or rain.  Schools were closed today as well since people in Broward can't get anywhere due to flooded streets.

Hopefully no more rain in Miami area we are getting more rain in Palm Beach but we didn't have the amount of rain they had just south of us.

 @luvteaching so sorry to hear about your husband. Hopefully he will do okay in the rehab place and then be able to come home ASAP.  

6 minutes ago, Sharon in AZ said:

Good morning and Happy Thursday!  I was supposed to be boarding my flight to Fort Lauderdale right now, changing planes in Dallas, but I got a text last night at 9:15 that it had been canceled. So, after two hours of stress, I was rebooked on new flights arriving in Fort Lauderdale at midnight.  I was awakened by a call an hour ago from the HAL driver telling me he knew about my flight being canceled and asking me to text him my new flight. Hopefully someone will be there to take me to the hotel. Nothing I can control. Craig thought I was crazy flying two days early but last night said it was the best thing I could have done. 
 

I will keep you all posted. Have a great day everyone!

FLL is a mess, yesterday there was massive rain there as well as tornado warnings though I am not sure if one actually happened.  The airport roads are all flooded and they won't open until it is cleared.  We are supposed to get more rain this afternoon as well so not sure what will happen with the airport.  Sharon you made the correct decision to fly in early since it sounds like for people who have cruises leaving today they will miss the ship.

Sharon and @TiogaCruisera FYI if you can fly into Palm Beach our airport is open.  It is only 45 minutes from Fort Lauderdale.  There are also plenty of hotels near the Palm Beach airport and you can just Uber to the ship.  

Stay safe everyone.  I am feeling much better, but I better get up and get moving, the home health nurse comes soon.

Thanks to everyone for your positive thoughts.  Jazzy so sorry to hear about your knee, I find it incredible that doctors now make you wait to be seen when complications happen.  I hope your knee resolves.

Happy Birthdays to all celebrating.  I loved the pictures of grand kids and grand nieces/nephews.  They are all adorable.

I am doing much better than I was when I last posted.  I think this will be a long haul but I am up and walking - not outside today,  like the others here in Florida the winds are dangerous and I didn't want to walk outside in my precarious state.  I have home health and home PT for now and next week I see the surgeon at the end of the week and presumably will be cleared to drive and do PT at a center.  

I can't post that often as it is hard to type ( I can't sit down for long) but reading the daily keeps me sane and I travel to the various ports of the day thanks to all who post here.  Debbie - I loved the chicken with feta recipes but cooking for me won't be for a long time. I saved them to my recipe box. 

Thanks all for your prayers and for keeping me on the care list.