HAL4NOW

It looks like Zuiderdam has had the same changes: Zuiderdam Observation Deck | HAL Cruiser Information (halfacts.com)

Most of what we need comes to us by email, so I just name the cruise (examples: 2022 Hawaii, 2023 New England, 2024 Panama Canal) and create subfolders under my Holland America email folder.

No. It sounds like his eligibility has been verified, but it is not automatically assigned to a cruise. You may need to phone HAL and ask to have that OBC applied.

We had a white elephant gift exchange at our Firefighter Banquet this year and one of the gifts was what I would classify as a stupid toy:

Jacqui, May the Lord bless you during this season of light. May your foot continue to heal and strengthen as the trip progresses. May your memories of Jose be strengthened as you visit his homeland. Enjoy the ship, the sea, the new friends, and the new memories you will build. Thanks for sharing your experience with all of us.

We booked a cruise for April/May of 2024 and then went to add the Firefighter's OBC. Went through the steps to get accepted for OBC with the Sheer ID verification. That was successful, but... after being sent back to "book a cruise" page, like you, we phoned HAL. They were able to add the OBC by checking my Mariner number and seeing that I had been approved. Less than a month had transpired between the booking and the verification. I liked the old system better.

Sunrise today from Skykomish, just a few minutes ago.

@bennybear, @marshhawk, @0106, @durangoscots Even small domesticated dogs can create problems for deer and elk in deep snow and a good crust. The dogs can run over the snow while the deer and elk sink into the snow. No matter how sweet and nice and cuddly any of us think our pets are, they can be a danger to wildlife when left unchecked. It isn't really problem breeds; it is problem owners.

Our DD and her boyfriend were at the Istanbul airport for a stoppover on their way to a walking/driving tour through much of Croatia and Serbia. We knew they were arriving in Istanbul on June 16, 2016. We woke up to this news report that day: A gun and bomb attack on Istanbul's Ataturk airport has killed 41 people, at least 13 of them foreigners, and injured more than 230, officials say. Of course, as parents, we had no peace until we heard from them a day later. Turkey is 11 hours ahead of our local time and they had been to the airport and were gone prior to the attack. They recognized some of the employees at the airport, pictured in the news reports, as people they had seen that morning.

Part of the official letter we received from the Guest Services Manager on the Koningsdam when we were in isolation for Covid stated: "If you disembark due to illness before the sailing ends, we will also provide a credit to your onboard account for the refundable portion of taxes, fees, and port expenses for any ports visited after you debark."

Now that both England and Netherlands have been kocked out of the World Cup, I guess I have to decide between rooting for Croatia or Morocco. I think I will be rooting for Morocco; I always have kind of liked an underdog and they're ranked the lowest of all the remaining teams. Morocco also was able to overcome French and Spanish rule and reunite as a nation in the year of my birth. Maybe this Moroccan team, ranked 22nd in the world, will be able to overcome France again (ranked 4th) this coming week.

We have been to Cozumel twice on BHB's. The first time was on the Nuiew Amsterdam in 2018. We took a HAL tour to Tulum and a beach and a buffet. The second visit was on the Veendam in January of 2020 (just before Covid). We toured San Gervaiso Mayan ruins on that visit. We were scheduled to visit Half Moon Cay, but Cozumel got substituted because of weather. For some reason, I cannot locate any pictures of either of those visits. I did do a review of the 2020 cruise, but without pictures. My DB and DSIL were able to join us for that cruise on the Veendam. He was often mistaken for Santa Claus when people saw him.

We did a walk-about and also visited a cave when we were in Curacao in 2019. Dushi can mean a few things in Papiamento: sweet or yummy food, a term of endearment for a loved one, or just saying someone is "hot". Even the license plates had the colorful symbolic city line.

@kochleffelwere you able to take care of your Medicare choice today?

My DW and I both missed the window for Plan F. DW's sister has Plan F and is pleased because of the care she receives when cancer reared its head again and when she needed surgery on both feet. DW and I have been on Plan G for a few years but are switching to an advantage plan this next year. Hopefully we won't regret the move. It does include dental and vision and a few other things, Rx, etc., for a zero premium. My employer has been covering the cost of Plan G and our Part D coverage, but we didn't want to burden the church with that cost needlessly. We are both in good health and praying that we will be for a long time. Hoping for you to make the best decision for you @kochleffel.

I am waiting on AON to work with a claim we submitted October 25, 2022. After waiting in the "assigned" status for 39 days, we received an email from AON asking for us to submit the claim to our primary and/or supplemental medical insurers. Then to submit the response letter from our insurers to them for review. They have found a way to stretch the 30 days to much longer. Letting us know about this "additional documentation" at the very beginning would have been nice; it isn't like they didn't know they would want something this generic during the initial submission. I went on the Washington State Insurance Commissioner's site and found the following paragraph in the section where I could begin a complaint: "We are currently experiencing a backlog in complaint cases. We plan on reviewing your case within 45 business days of submitting your complaint. This may take longer depending on circumstances. Thank you for your patience." Not sure how @klfrodo got such a quick response. It seems to me that the entire insurance industry, including the state regulatory systems, are all working short and delaying the consumer's resolution timeline. Makes me think twice before adding travel insurance to any cruise. I know that the expense of not having insurance can be great but is there any guarantee that even after purchasing the insurance that any resolution will take place within our lifetime.

Thanks, Rich, for today's quote and for a reminder of Robert Fulghum's book. It is a worthy read. One of my favorite quotes from the book is: "Don't believe everything you think."

If both legs of the flight are Alaska Airlines, then they should both be in the same terminal at least, but it doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room. I prefer quick connections to long layovers, but I also just prefer to not fly commercial air and that means I don't fly often.

@grapau27 congratulations on England's victory over Senegal. @JazzyV Power was still off when we had church this morning, and our oil furnace broke down, so it was not able to heat the building even with a generator. The inside temperature for the service did make it up to 38 degrees F. with the small portable heater we were using. Power at the house came on a little before 1PM. We hope it lasts at least 24 hours this time. The old-timers in town are saying this winter feels like it used to back in the '50's when power kept going off for extended periods. I got to know one of the old linemen that used to take his horses up on the power lines with equipment to make repairs. Now Puget Sound Energy flies helicopters up and down the lines to find the damage and then they send crews out. Times have changed, but it still requires some hard work and physical labor to keep the electricity flowing.

Odd; we can print luggage tags now for a cruise that doesn't sail until April of 2024.

We lived in Limerick, ME, for a few years and the town shut down by 6 PM. We got to know Freeport a little. A few times we wanted to do something late at night and L.L. Bean became a favorite destination because it was opened 24/7. We got to talking with one of the workers there that shared a story about a shoplifter. (Forgive me if you have heard this story before, but it is worth retelling). A guy walked out of the L.L. Bean store with a canoe over his shoulders. When the employees all started talking with each other about it, assuming someone else had sold the canoe, they realized he had boldly just stolen it right in front of them. The next night, this guy came back into the store and tried to walk out with a couple of paddles.

We have been on a couple cruises that had HMC as a scheduled stop. It was cancelled both times because of waves and not being able to tender. Hope you are able to make it!

National Cookie Day I was glad I was able to bake some chocolate chip cookies yesterday between power outages. I prefer to not use the oven while on generator power. Our little town of Skykomish had a tree lighting event (all with generator-power supplied by the fire department) that included singing Christmas songs, enjoying cookies and hot cider, kids and dogs and adults with Santa for pictures and goodie bags, and the town Christmas tree being lit up (which looked pretty cool on a moonlit night with all of the snow on and around the tree). The event was well attended and we all enjoyed coming out and sharing time with each other.

We had power restored yesterday at about 5:30 PM. Only got a few inches of snow overnight. Power is off again as of 1:30 PM today. We haven't had 24 consecutive hours of power yet this week.

If England and Netherlands both continue to advance, they would meet in the semifinals.