Haljo1935

I have my cruises marked per booking - the GTY was noted as "upgrade," true aft cabins that I select I have marked as "do not upgrade" to protect the wake view. I learned my lesson the hard way: thought "upgrade" meant better so sure, I wanted better at no extra cost. We were moved from a deck 4 aft w/extra deep balcony to starboard mid on deck 8 under Lido because it was considered a more desirable location thus an upgrade. We were not able to get our original cabin back. The agent told us the way to prevent that in the future was to nite the booking as "do not upgrade" then call in to inquire about upgrading if we wanted to. So, that's how we do it now. I review the upgrade notation on each booking.

Having your own Arizona Memorial tickets along with the HAL excursion, IMO, is a smart move and what I would have done had I known that was an option (or even possibly needed). The only hiccup to that, is if your tour goes in reverse order, as ours did (Missouri 1st then to the Arizona Memorial) you will miss your ticket time. $2pp is an affordable backup insurance plan. I hope you have a wonderful cruise and enjoy your visit to Pearl Harbor.

We did a GTY (something we NEVER do) and night before departure noticed cabin # had changed. We were upgraded from obstructed balcony to a Signature Suite at no charge. It was a lovely surprise.

If I'm remembering correctly, I read your post about this at the time it happened - you did post about it, right? I thought "wow, how great they're trying to let Shore Exc know there are available slots and the guide won't be looking for people who aren't coming; I wish others would be so considerate." It never occurred to me to go to the meeting place for a sold out tour on the chance someone didn't show. Great idea that I will do going forward - thanks!!

Respectfully, I think you may have me confused w/someone else. I believe it was someone else who made the "always happens on HAL tours" comment. My experience of their tours being on time was a major factor in my decision to spend the money and book the tour being discussed through them.

I agree the Navigator doesn't communicate directly w/Shore Exc so last minute changes are difficult to convey. I believe there is always someone from their team at the "loading area" with a radio. Surely GS could reach out to them that way. That didn't occur to me until recently when I saw an opening on an excursion for which I was waitlisted and wanted to ask a question before booking it. GS suggested I find the ShorexExc person pierside that morning. So, if the Navigator App isn't going to be updated, maybe the process for last minute passenger cancelations could be Pax contents GS and GS radios Shore Exc. I appreciate you being considerate of fellow passengers even when you weren't feeling well.

It is - I don't want to see anyone who paid good money left behind for something beyond their control, but at some point the greater number of people deserve to get what they paid for. Long, slow lines to scan off the ship can put someone in jeopardy of missing the bus, but even being stuck in that mess is usually resolved within the early meeting time window.

With your long history of timely tour departures, I'm sure you can appreciate my frustration and confusion when our bus waited so long to leave. It wasn't 20 min after the meeting time - it was 20 min after the departure time. Certainly not what one expects on any tour, especially such an important one.

Wow - with all the storms, I don't know if today is the day for cutting energy costs, but it is a good idea. Houseplants don't do well in this house - the cat likes to rip the leaves off and 1 of the dogs likes to eat them. The meal sounds great, not been to the port. Today is lots of work and more PT for my shoulder. The LIVE review I did took on a life of its own re animals on cruise ships and now a new thread has been started re leaving late comers behind on excursions. Creating awareness and having conversations are where change begins - I just never thought I'd be the one to start those conversations. Pleasant 52° headed to sunny 66° and a bone chilling new week. Prayers and positive thoughts for all.

No that's not new - look under packages in your booking - and enjoy!!

Bon Voyage @sailingdutchy Bon Voyage @RetiredNow

@sseibert3 I didn't notice a frosted window.

FLL there will be a couple people w/HAL clipboards downstairs near baggage claim. You just check in with them.

Yes, RSRR was great! I also noticed an absence of complainers, save the ill-fated bus load of Pearl Harbor excursioners. And myself if you consider the dog conversation complaining (I don't - I put it under reporting an unfortunate series of events). Not once was I in line at GS while someone had one of "those" moments nor did I witness any uncomfortable dining room exchanges. It was nice.😊 A meltdown free cruise is a good cruise. If it came across differently, I apologize - I had a wonderful cruise, made terrific memories, met some wonderful people, and am happy I went.

I prefer a balanced mix of sea and port days. I find I need a rest after several hectic, busy port days then once refueled by a couple lazy sea days & on the verge of going stir-crazy, am ready to get off the ship again and explore another port. Being landlocked water lover, not living on a lake and not having a pool, I enjoy reading while watching the waves go by. I do my "puzzling" at home, too.😉

I passed 100 actual sea days during the 1st leg of a Feb 2023 B2B on NA and figured I wouldn't see the medallion until the 2nd leg; went home empty handed. Emailed the Mariner desk when I got home - response from Michael was I would get it during the April-May cruise on Eurodam; went home empty handed. Asked GS about it while onboard during Oct-Nov cruise on NS - response was they would check on it; went home empty handed. Thought maybe they didn't have any since we were going into drydock & that GS forgot to follow-up. 😳 Asked GS about it while onboard during Nov-Dec cruise on NS - was asked to wait a moment while he stepped behind the wall. Went home w/a blue box containing a medallion & a card along with memories of an awkward nod, apology, "here you go" and no congratulations.🙄 And like you, I did the math myself to to determine when I achieved the 100 day milestone. And not so secretly wish days would accumulate across the Carnival family so I could pull in my Carnival & Princess days.

Correct - it wasn't me, but you know I will help when I can 😊 Thanks @zelker for getting the info, thanks @Crew News and @richwmn for doing the heavy lifting and thanks @crystalspin for herding the cats. It does take a village to keep these ships afloat!!

I didn't take a picture of it, but I did have a flyer in my cabin for my cruise that just ended 3 days ago. Also had one in cabin for Oct & Nov. It has a very short window of something like 2 days after which you can no longer add it. Found the one from Oct. Note the price is now $65 since the HIA price increase; adding onboard is $10/day more than pre-paying.

Yes, but I still find more good than bad so I continue to cruise w/them. Their consistently inconsistency is why we need to ask each other these questions. 😉

This was my experience - 2 drop off points. Maybe the driver is what makes the difference. I was HAL, not NCL.

@hobgoblin yes there is a sauna for use at no charge, the steamrooms (multiple rooms of different types) are available for use w/the purchase of a Thermalpass. The pictures I posted earlier in this thread are from the women's sauna, but I assume the men's is similar.

I have had no issues getting the OBC added to bookings that have a TA or PCC - I submit the request myself w/no involvement from TA or PCC. The only OBC I have needed to involve my TA is the military OBC.

Yay, congrats - happy dance!! Unfortunately, it does sometimes take multiple calls, but we work w/what we have 😉

@mskitty1 condolences on losing your husband.🙏 I am fresh off my first solo cruise (disembarked 3 days ago) although a different situation than yours. Cruising w/DH, we usually ate in the Lido as he does not like the waiting that can happen between courses in MDR. This cruise w/o him, I had fixed late dining and asked the first night if I could change tables if it wasn't a fit - of course, was told yes, but it wasn't necessary - we gelled and conversation was easy. I agreed to a sharing table at breakfast and mostly it was good. Lunch was either Lido, GDC, pizza or Dive In - always solo; it was my time to reflect and just chill. I booked 1 excursion through the ship and ended up being "adopted" by a 3-person family who invited to join them at dinner one night. We also shared a shuttle 2 days going into port. The other ports I went out on my own as I felt comfortable even though I'd never been to them before. There are ports I've been to w/DH that I would not go to alone, so going on excursions alone or w/an organized group would be on a case-by-case basis for me. I felt perfectly comfortable going to shows, etc on the ship by myself and spa time (Thermalpass addict right here 😀) is always solo for me. As others mentioned, the roll call for your specific cruise is a great place for making connections. There will be events for solos on the ship, both through the ship (listed on the daily program) and likely from the roll call; I did not go to any, so cannot comment on what they're like, but would think they'd be different cruise to cruise based on passenger mix. Nice to hear you are looking to continue to cruise - water and travel can be relaxing, healing and therapeutic. I hope you make many new wonderful memories. And be sure to show yourself some grace when things get a bit bumpy. ❤️

Neptune only; maybe Pinnacle, but I have not stayed in a Pinnacle to confirm from experience.