objko

I have had trouble getting to my bookings by using the Manage Your Bookings link. What works for me, at least for now, is logging into the HAL website, going to the top right corner and clicking on My Account. The screen that comes up has 3 options: My Profile, My Bookings, and My Cruise History. I click on My Bookings then click on the Bookings number of the cruise I want to manage and it takes me to the page with itinerary, shore excursions, and the rest of the options for that cruise. I'm using Safari on a Mac. GOOD LUCK!

PS Our original booking was in December 2022 - WAY before it sold out! We'd been looking forward to it for a very long time.

I know for certain there is a very nice veranda cabin on Deck 7 available, or it was yesterday, when we accepted their offer to rebook on another cruise. We originally booked this Mexican Solar cruise just before it sold out back in December. We saw the a Solar Eclipse while on the Volendam in 2016 in the Makasar Straight and it was magical. You all will have a wonderful experience! And on Saturday during boarding, take deep breaths and keep your eyes on the prize. This too shall pass. Bon voyage!

It looks like the spa offers five different facials. Any recommendations? Thx!

Greatest Of All Time

We just got back from our longest cruise yet, 48 days on the very cool Noordam, so really got into the rhythm of the ship. And realized some cruising “truths . Thought I’d share my Top Ten. Perhaps you have some? - Boat hair, don’t care - Make up, schmake-up - If an outfit is good enough to bring along, it’s good enough to be worn again, and again - The ship’s laundry is a value at any price, and better than home - Cruise ships are not a place for heels, of any kind - No one is more special than anyone else but some think they are (uh, no, you aren’t) - Coughing is not cool - A Table-for-two means a couple wants to eat dinner together, not with all the neighboring tables - Being nice to the staff shows class - HAL staff is the GOAT

A recent article in the local Union-Trib about the San Diego cruise port: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/story/2023-10-03/san-diego-launches-cruise-season-minus-fewer-calls-from-disney

We applied for renewal the first of April 2022, 5 months before expiration. I got mine within a week, his is STILL "pending", for over a year and 7 months so far. When you check the status page you see a note that says "Due to a significant increase in application volume, we are extending the grace period to allow you continued full benefits while U.S. Customs and Border Protection is finalizing your renewal application.” On another page they state “If you submit a renewal application before your membership expires, you will be able to continue to use benefits up to 24 months after your membership expiration date. “ So I guess we have another year grace period.

We love them! Buy a couple each cruise. We are not good selfie takers, do not find the on board photographers intrusive, and rarely have pictures of the two of us from any other means. The photographers make themselves available and it's our choice whether to say yes or no. We too enjoy going to the gallery and finding our pictures amongst all the other happy faces on the wall. For us, it's worth it.

Mr. Weinstein, Social media, especially a company’s website is its forward face. Not only the first impression, but one which provides all a guest or PCC needs to have. It needs to be not a good, but great, experience.. A widely held opinion is that HAL’s website currently falls short of presenting a face you want the world to notice. So, I would like to know the plans for bringing HAL’s website up to the level of professionalism, fun, and value HAL is trying to be noted for. Not only as a marketing tool, which is it's focus now, but one for your loyal guests who need to use it not only to book but to research, plan, and track their trips - all in one place. We need to enjoy the anticipation of being on board, not start out frustrated. There are so many questions that I currently see on Cruise Critic that could have, and should have, been answered on the website, but either are not addressed or the answer is too hard to find. The site also needs to be a well-oiled tool for your Personal Cruise Consultants. Good website design is a solid industry, it should not be hard to have a decent, if not excellent, site. Thank you.

THIS THREAD IS A GOLD MINE, thanks for sharing so many good ideas. I have now modified my own techniques to incorporate some of yours. First, I too send sympathies to LuAnn and Kazu for your losses. I’m happy to see you are still carrying on. I also keep our “bathroom bag” suitcase packed and resupplied after each trip. And a small section in my closet for my cruise dinner clothes since I only seem to wear them while on a ship. I don’t think I can add any new ideas to yours but wanted to tell you about a couple of new things I’m going to try, thanks to you. I have always kept HARD COPY FOLDERS for each trip but was lackadaisical about maintaining the electronic ones. With two of us doing different parts of the planning, actual folders with printed materials was just easier. I would think we all also have that one additional folder for info on potential future trips that have caught our attention. One we just toss stuff into, organize it later. The first things on my list now are to ORGANIZE E-NOTES so I can actually find what I want instead of relying on my email search function. And LEARN APPLE NOTES. The other thing I am going to try is I now have a TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR EACH CRUISE FOLDER so either of us can easily find what we need. Pending further editing, I have 12 sections. I know….I’m an obsessive organizer and list maker, but I find it fun. And yes, I also know each person’s strengths are also their weaknesses. I haven’t used this system yet, so things are apt to change! 1. LABEL: For fast and easy reference each folder will be labeled with name and date of cruise, ship, and booking number. I also have stickies on the bottom of my computer with this info. 2. TRIP CHECKLIST: This is biggie for us. I’ve always used a checklist of things to do and things to take, for any trip we do. I have checklists already made for cruises, camping, skiing, fly or drive trips (tho not so much flying in the past couple of covid years), Once made up, they are easy to modify to accommodate different kinds of weather or activities. For things to take, we figure out what we might need by day, location, or activity and put it on the list to be checked off as it’s staged for packing. Of course the first go around I always stage twice as many clothes as we need, so have learned how to put half of it back before final packing. I also take pictures of it all before it hits the suitcases. Makes packing for the next cruise just that much easier. I would for certain forget some things like batteries, cords, flashlight and nightlight, day packs, pillow cases, ziplocks, important phone numbers and contact info (in case, like one poster did, I drop my phone in the loo!), if they weren’t on the list. Things to do includes stuff like make resies; print confirmations, tickets, and vouchers; arrange transportation; arrange for house minder; refill meds; get foreign money and money for tips; check watch batteries; stop water delivery; etc, etc.. Our checklist is usually 2 pages but works for us. 3. HAL COMMS: confirmations, boarding passes, luggage tags, other emails from HAL or our PCC. I also like to keep a copy of the original HAL website description of the cruise in case things change along the way, like cost and ports. 4. FINANCIALS: amounts paid, amounts left to be paid, and dates. 5. MAPS AND LAYOUTS: Picture from website of route; or like for an upcoming cruise, a map of New Zealand with ports highlighted; deck plan with location of room; MDR layout (to give us an idea of what tables-for-two we’d like). 6. UPDATED ITINERARY: I too print the one from the website and keep notes on it for each day. So handy for planning as well as tacked on the wall in the room. I also add pre/post stuff to it so we have one single itinerary that covers the whole trip. 7. PRE/POST: Anything pertaining the logistics of flights, hotels, transportation like confirmations, tickets and the like. 8. PORT INFO: For each - time difference from home; temperature; currency and conversion; requirements such as visas, vaccines, testing; what to do if not a shore-ex; transportation, like will we need taxi or use bus, will tenders be used; what to eat and where; must dos. 9. SHORE-EX: description, confirmation, voucher, tour instructions. 10. PRE-BOOKED PACKAGES: info on wine packages, spa appointments, speciality restaurants. 11. INSURANCE 12. MISC INFO: everyone has to have a misc. section 😉 Now I’m working on a calendar where I can see all important dates for all our trips in one place without having to go thru each folder to find them. Please feel free to jump in here and offer suggestions or just tell me I’m crazy and all I need to track are my boarding docs and tickets. But what’s the saying? Three parts to every adventure: planning, execution, and memories, each to be savored and enjoyed. Bottom line - THANK YOU, and happy holidays!

We’ve been on several cruises but usually only one, maybe two in a year so keeping track of the paperwork is not usually a problem. We are hoping to be able to more next year And in fact, have 5 booked for 2023 and 2024 and I’m swimming in the logistics of it all. So many of you do multiple cruises in a year - WC, GC, B2B, yada, yada . How do you keep track of everything? There are so many logistics for each cruise and when you have multiple cruises to keep track of - well how do you do it? Do you keep a folder for each cruise and just throw things in it? Do you have a spreadsheet that lists things to do for that cruise? What kinds of info do you track, like payments, shore excursions, get insurance, book dinners? Do you have a tickler system that tells you when to do what? Do you have a certain organizing technique? Do you do the same things for each cruise? Is it all electronic or some paper? Do you use an app? Or am I making this harder than I need to? Maybe a simple List of Things To Do that I can add to and check stuff off? Any tips or advice would be really appreciated!