FlaMariner
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Posts posted by FlaMariner
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On 9/4/2024 at 6:02 PM, Sherry H said:
If I order on the first day before leaving Fort Lauderdale will I be charged local sales tax? Hoping someone can answer that question.
So on the Oosterdam TA in April (2024) I ordered the 8 bottle Sommelier wine Package at dinner and we were still in Port Everglades (sail away was not until late, after dinner).
I just checked my statement and there was no sales tax charged for the Sommelier wine package.
Perhaps they waited until in international waters before processing the transaction....LOL.
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2 minutes ago, AV8rix said:
Look at this quick before it is deleted. Name of site is cruise+fruit before being dried into a laxative 😉
now feeling stupid..LOL...still no idea...LOL
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3 minutes ago, AV8rix said:
The cruise site sporting the name of a fruit is what I look at for tracking fares.
now going to try to figure out this site......going thru fruits and clueless so far.....LOL
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15 hours ago, ghstudio said:
Not old enough for "early bird" dining....and not young enough for 8pm dining and dancing into the night 🙂 Solution: Club Orange
Good solution for you!
We will do almost anything (except spend money on CO...LOL) to adjust our situation to avoid lines/crowds/peak times...whether mealtime, Walmart visits or "peak travel" times.......
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1 hour ago, MaisonRose said:
Can you take your Lido food out on the pool deck?
That's the only place Her Majesty and I enjoy our lido meals.....the mid ship pool deck....There is also a "private" refill station out there.....I say "private" because it is usually not very busy for breakfast......Lunchtime "rush hour" is busy out there but other times it is much calmer for us vs the "inside" seating.
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37 minutes ago, Woofbite said:
How do you do that?
To track changes in cruise fares, I've used the app SHIPMATE....they send an email when the price goes up/down for the cruise I have added.
Also, I track prices manually by looking them up every week or so on the big, online travel agency we use.
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42 minutes ago, ghstudio said:
Our last cruise on the Oosterdam had the same long lines for seating...requiring a wait of over 30 minutes some nights for a table for 2.
Was onboard Oosterdam in April 2024 and March 2023.....fixed seating, table for two....walked right to the table and no issues every evening...no speed bump at all.....We have learned to bypass the lines on day 1 also because we go find our table after lunch at embarkation.
If I showed up for "open seating" at 7pm, I'd expect a wait...especially for a table for 2.
Plan accordingly.
Enjoy the Oosterdam and dinner in the MDR!
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Here you go....but understand some wines may/may not be available, prices go up, wine choices change....but this looks like what we enjoyed in April 2024.
Enjoy the Sommelier Package wine onboard...we do!
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Yes, I did read it.....great review....but as you referenced, we are flying in Premium Economy so no bed for us and I'm curious to hear from someone who has gone before us.....in a seat!
We are pumped.....should be a blast....but more info always helpful!
We do get "book the cook" in Premium Economy.....just no bed for us!
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16 hours ago, Bfson said:
(We are on a three week cruise.)
So, we were on the Oosterdam in April (2024) for the TA cruise....14 nights.
At embarkation, we visited the spa ladies and took the tour. We asked if we could buy a spa pass for only the first 7 (sea days) of the cruise. The spa lady referred us to the spa manager and she sold us a 7 day pass that ($149/each/I think) we wore out for the first 7 days of the cruise......
....I consider that "not standard" and was an exception.....and was perfect for us and most appreciated....I think the reason she did that was perhaps the hydro spa was not going to sell out and 7 days of $$$ was better than zero.
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Her Majesty and I (60 year olds) are booked in the Premium Economy JFK - Singapore 19 hour non-stop flight in October....We are also interested in anyone who has done the exact same flight/class.
We are excited. Our previous longest flight was 13 or 15 hours (Japan to somewhere East Coast Canada) last year. We were in steerage class and did fine. In fact, shocked at how well we did.
We've flown to/from Europe many times...always in steerage/back of the bus...and survived.
This one is, obviously, a world record for us.....as well as aviation history.
Who has done this? Do tell.
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Just now, Petronillus said:
But, on the other hand, I think the musicians vetted for the Lincoln Center Stage ensembles were head and shoulders above the predecessor groups called the Adagio Strings.
The classical group on our last two HAL sailings Oosterdam 2024 and Westerdam 2023 seemed to attract a crowd and they were not branded Adagio or Lincoln Center.
Others will need to chime in regarding their experience.
There are lots of folks that play the cello well....or perhaps, well enough for me...and do not have the "Lincoln Center" brand attached.....The "Lincoln Center" brand was an excellent hype, IMO, at a certain time but not necessary $$$$ today.....Again, IMO.
Enjoy the music onboard....no matter "name branded" or not.....
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6 minutes ago, Texascruiser47 said:
as long as they don't start building new ships with go-kart tracks and water slides.
perish the thought...LOL.
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40 minutes ago, Mary229 said:
The idea was to outsource the talent, entertainment and enrichment much as shore excursions are outsourced. I think it was a terrible waste of money.
Yes, and let's not forget the $$$ paid to Oprah during that time. LOL. What a waste of $$$.
I think the new HAL management has realized that classical music does not require a tribute paid to Lincoln Center (great classical musicians are easily booked).
A cooking demo does not require a tribute paid to America's Test Kitchen (HAL has the best chefs working onboard).
And on and on....The new management seems to understand this.
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9 hours ago, poffles said:
This has me wondering what others have experienced with pricing of newly released HAL cruises,
My anecdotal experience....
Prices seem to be "very high" when itineraries first come out and then a few months later, they are reasonable and that is usually when we book.....like a around to a little less than 1.5 years out....and then I do watch them and rarely do the prices drop lower.
YMMV. It varies. My advice is not FDIC insured and investment returns are not guaranteed....LOL
Enjoy finding the Panama Canal cruise...going thru the locks is fascinating.
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7 minutes ago, rjp50 said:
While I haven't looked into Bermuda yet, I figured that this might be one that is easy to do on your own.
That's our plan....DIY in Bermuda....taking the public bus.
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22 hours ago, rjp50 said:
I just checked the web site and was shocked to see virtually every excursion completely booked up.
Are you on the 4/5/25 crossing?
Go log in again....I can see 15 Bermuda tours and none sold out and most are less than a hundred bucks.....Perhaps they added more capacity.
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22 hours ago, rjp50 said:
We are cruising cross-Atlantic on the Nieuw Statendam next April.
Her Majesty and I are on that cruise also....
We never book HAL tours (unless it's the only game in town and something we want to see/do) and was surprised that there are only a couple of seats left for an independent tour (not a HAL excursion) from Dover port to Canterbury.
It seems us TA cruisers are big into planning.....early planning....and it's quite an active roll call.
I did see something about a private tour trying to get arranged for Bermuda but did not pay much attention to it.
You may want to jump on the roll call if you have not already.
You will be able to easily spend your $400 excursion credit on that cruise.....I am certain.
See you onboard.....
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Enjoyed the review....Thanks for taking the time to write that.....We love the Oosterdam.....Great size ship.
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19 hours ago, sciencewonk said:
What is your experience?
We tend to book 1.5 years in advance and no issues w/booking....but I do keep checking and rarely do the cruises have a price drop as it gets closer to sailing....That's been our experience for the past 2-3 years.
I did a query for Jan - March 2025 Asia cruises with HAL and of the 14 listed cruises, 8 are already listed as SOLD OUT (57%) so lots of demand for Asia w/HAL. Of course, cabins will open up but overall, it's good business in Asia for HAL.
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2 hours ago, mwj said:
In the meantime, we have booked or sailed on other lines; Silversea, Windstar, Atlas and AMA Waterways.
These lines charge much more than Holland America Line so I would agree with you....I would cruise on those over HAL if I had the travel budget for those lines....but we do not....Our retirement travel budget fits nicely with HAL.....HAL allows us to see the world and we love the ships, food, crew, destinations, entertainment, Dutch traditions, calmness, classiness and overall experience.
If we did not like HAL, we would not book passage with them and I would not be posting on the HAL board about how much we enjoy cruising w/Holland America Line.
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What advantage is there to this "stand by" program vs booking under current regular fares?
If the "stand by" fare is $99 inside/night, when I look at, for example, the prices of HAL Caribbean cruises, the regular prices for many cruises today are less than $99 inside/night (also for the balcony rate of $129/night).......What am I not understanding?
Here are prices that are less than $99 inside/night for this season.....(These are all the new "all in" prices that include tax/port").
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On 8/26/2024 at 11:13 AM, iowacruiser said:
We wanted to know the best way to get into town without taking a formal excursion.
We were there in April on the Oosterdam (awesome cruise, awesome port).
We were a group of 8.
We took a taxi. It was a van that took us up to Taormina. The taxi driver also agreed to pick us up where he dropped us off at a pre-decided pick up time. And he did and he was on time. He was fine with us not paying for the entire trip until we were back at the ship.
I don't recall the price but I do not recall it being high or a big deal.
There were plenty of taxis both at the ship and at the edge of Taormina.
We had a fun time walking thru the town......Her Majesty enjoyed the shopping....I managed to enjoy a cappacchino and cannoli....fun times. Enjoy.
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40 minutes ago, ChaCr said:
What has worked for you? What do you suggest?
This...for medical.....we use whatever the credit card covers for the other non-essential stuff (lost baggage, interruption etc.).....but for medical....Geo Trekker Essential..annual policy.
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Enrichment speakers on TA?
in Holland America Line
Posted · Edited by FlaMariner
We've been on HAL TA's in 2019, 2021, and 2024....Also, a TP in 2023.
HAL always had a guest speaker/lecturer and also the regular EXC talks.
On all of our cruises....those above plus other cruises, classical music was available.