Haljo1935

Ok, good morning! I have turned over the comfy couch to another weary traveler who I'm sure will enjoy it. The monitor shows we board in 50 min, fingers crossed 🤞 Since we've been here before, I plan on being at the counter so if it's a no go, I can be among the first to secure a spot on one of the next flights. But I have faith in the Restored Flight Fairy 🧚‍♀️ I know she'll come through. She will undo the bad work her evil twin the Canceled Flight Fairy did. How do I know? Because, yes, Virginia, there is a Santa 🎅 Claus.

Hey @POA1 thanks for the menus. I'll see what I can snag this week from the K'dam (once I finally get there, ugh). We got off NS as you got on - I know the Lemon Drops were not $12 - my cabinmate drank them daily (proof via a lovely snippet w/a singing server in my Live, I digress) and never had a charge.

Yes DFW. Decided to stay since I have to be back so early - fingers crossed, we board 5:25. Drive home & back is roughly 45 min, say hello & goodbye to pups is another 15 min. Then try to decompress fast enough to get any 💤 😴 🛏, I decided it wasn't worth it. Then deal w/security again, double ugh. Found a great couch only a couple gates from a rr, so all the comforts of home, lol.

We were happy with their food and selections.

So, you can understand why we canceled the 2nd week. The Steakhouse was very good and Teppanyaki was fabulous. Teppanyaki is $5 less at lunch than at dinner - same menu, same portions. It's a bargain. Has surf and turf, if you like that.

They keep coming - at this rate, there will be pallets all down Terminal C. This is a different driver.

Getting ready to head back over to the other gate and see how many people are hanging around there. It's a ghost town over here. Except for food deliveries to closed restaurants. That's where my voucher food and all the quarters came from. They just got another delivery, so now you can'tsee their Christmas decorations. There's nobody here but me, wonder if the forklift driver expects me to handle those pallets. If so, I'm gonna need my voucher and money back. And I'm keeping the $3.35 of change they gave me. Geez, he just brought another pallet. Doesn't he know I have an early flight? I can't be working freight, lol. Why is that sentence underlined? Why is this one underlined? I promise, I do know how to use my phone.

No other flight options tonight. There were a couple that had connections, but by the time they made announcements ours would not be leaving, it was too late. They're giving hotel vouchers to people who are not local, which is not me. If I can get my husband to wake up, he can come get me. Or I can Uber home. Seems crazy to turn around and come back in less than 5 hours. Grrr...thank goodness I'll be on a 🛳 soon to put this behind me. Oh, the AA people I talked to said whenever you want flight info to check Google rather than their app or website. They said Google updates before their systems. I did not know that.🤷‍♀️

I think I got the Ipgrade Fairy instead of the Uograde Fairy - flight is canceled, next available is 7ish AM. Reason for cancelation? Pilot is out of hours - nobody to fly the plane. They prefer you keep your spot on the new flight so you can use same boarding pass (really?) and so they don't have to pull luggage. But that flight doesn't show in their system so no way to check on it. 2 other flights in AM arrive in plenty of time and currently have availability, but they don't want to move me. Say if the replacement flight doesn't go then they'll move me if there's still room. That doesn't sound right. I've flown a LOT and never been told anything like that. Is that a new rule? I understand luggage needs to go on same plane as pax, but with hours to move luggage between planes, it doesn't make sense to say wait until there's less than an hour to move it to do something... WTH?! So, there's my sob story. I'm going to eat my meal voucher food (which I had to take a tram to a different terminal to buy) and count my change (she didn't have ones so I got quarters) then go in search of a customer service counter to see about getting on a different flight. Too noisy to try to have a phone conversation, so I prefer to get help at a counter if possible. San Diego & Hawaii - I'm getting there as fast as I can, lol. Please, no lectures about flying in multiple days ahead; I know the rules and usually 1 day works. And I couldn't be gone that long...ugh

Oh good gosh - "Ipgrade Fairy" - really?🫣🙄 I don't know about all that, but the AA Upgrade Fairy did drop off an early Christmas gift - I got upgraded on tonight's ✈️ flight - YAY!! We're right at an hour from takeoff and it's really empty here, but the seat map looked really full, hmm? And no gate agent, either. Of course, she walked up just as I took the picture. Still really empty gate, though, so maybe I'll get some sleep 💤 😴 on a nice quiet flight. Look at this seasonally clad scientist type guy - he does not have lip balm w/spf and mine did not make its way into the suitcase 🤨

I have no idea what happened to post #113. It looks like a drunk or a cat did the post. 🤔 Since I know I haven't had anything stronger than tea today, I'm blaming it on the cat. I did say he knew something was up... So, if you didn't figure it out through the jumble, I was not visited by the Ipgrade Fairy, but I'm going anyway.🥳

Thank you - I'm always up for great Italian food.

Yes, it WILL be fun! I was also on K'dam last Dec for Mexican Riviera, 2 weeks B2B. I remember having a great time. It wasn't Christmas, but the ship looked great all decked out. Can't wait to see how she looks this year. I've not been to any of the ports, so I'm open to suggestions. Safe travels!

Thank you!

Oh so close!! Roll call reports of cancelations making balconies available and people getting last minute upgrades. Not for me 😪 Boarding pass has same cabin and when I called in their system was down - told to call back. Ugh 🤷‍♀️ Good news is Navigator App and website seem to be on the same page; last cruise they weren't. San Diego here I come - well in a couple hours, but I'm coming!!

That is correct. The baffling part is HAL supposedly has priority, but their ships have now been getting bumped when other lines are not. The GB schedule for 2024 has a lot of Princess ships...

Eek - they may want to consider including a pack of motion sickness pills w/the Daily.

I was half expecting to see the space under your bed, lol.

No, ship time changes as you cross time zones. If your time is moving forward or backward, you will be notified the evening before. Always best to note what ship time is at each port before you get off (as well as back on board time) so you will calculate your back on board time correctly. Safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

Thanks so much - glad you're here!

From Nieuw Statendam; picture taken Dec 2, 2023.

Curious to see you rec'd chocolates w/the HAL logo. Our last 2 cruises, both on NS in Nov & Dec this year, we didn't get those. We got generic chocolates in pink wrappers. So, did NS run out and sub something else, or is HAL changing and Rotterdam is working through their remaining inventory?

+1 @kazu

No problem, all good. All questions and discussions are welcome 😊 My last cruise was my first w/T-Mobile; freaked me out when my phone rang even though it was on airplane mode. They said it's part of their service 🤔

Good timing on you posting this - I shared it w/my family as we celebrate a new member and remember the ones who are no longer with us; it is bittersweet when the empty seat is filled.💔❤️ Hugs and prayers 🙏 for you - you will be as strong as you need to be.