nickysmom

Thank you--that's very helpful.  Carol

Can you walk from the Port in Ponta Del Gada, or is it steep or too far to do on your own?

Great idea--it would also hold a duck

On 2/4/2024 at 5:32 AM, ontheweb said:

We always bring I think it is called a bathroom caddy. You hang it up and put in toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss, etc.  (It was a very practical gift from one of our nephews a long time ago.)

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

Although you're certainly correct, you're responding to a question asked almost two years ago and I'm pretty sure the cruise in question was taken a long time ago.

Didn't catch that....but still important--maybe it will be of service for some of our newbies--or those like me, who just review older ideas before a cruise.

On 4/16/2022 at 10:42 AM, Nashto said:

My parents plan to fly into Boston for their cruise on the day of. They're plans lands at 1:30. They sail away is 5:30. Do you think I should encourage them to change their flight?

Absolutely!!  As a 30 year Operations Manager with a major airline, I can't beg you enough to

GO A DAY EARLY!!!   

 It's not just if weather in Boston is OK. Weather or a problem in another city can delay or cancel their flight.    ATC is stressed, aircraft and crew schedules complicated, relying on nationwide schedule connections.  Equipment malfunctions, passenger misbehavior delays, cancellations and  the complexity of normal operations can severely impact  the crowded system.  Go early, have a quiet dinner at the hotel.  Save yourself and those trying to help you the stress of missing our cruise..  

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

It’s like being charged for a free PG meal (5* gets u 2 free per cruise) or a 4* not getting their discount.  A long standing problem which is only fixed when one points out the error. 

 

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

It’s like being charged for a free PG meal (5* gets u 2 free per cruise) or a 4* not getting their discount.  A long standing problem which is only fixed when one points out the error. 

 

Hi Hank....I'm not understanding the free meal overcharges.  Would that be like being charged for a Pinnacle restaurant reservation that you used your onboard credit for? Or is it some other charge?

Your drinks information is very helpful--thank you.  Carol

19 hours ago, Hlitner said:

The situation with overcharges on HAL, goes back a very long time (perhaps more than a decade).  The issue, for us, is not as much about an accounting error but the fact (and it is a fact) that multiple errors (often for similar reasons) can occur again and again and again.  Calling it to the attention of Guest Services simply gets a message sent to the appropriate department (i.e. beverage, PG, etc) and eventually it does get fixed.  But each and every overcharge becomes a separate issue.  In our case, there the first few times the Guest Services folks would follow up with a courtesy phone call saying the overcharge and been corrected.  But after it happened (many times) Guest Services stopped calling or even acknowledging our messages, but simply corrected the overcharge.  After several weeks I mentioned to Guest Services that perhaps we could "help" by meeting with the Hotel/General Manager...but as you can imagine despite 3 requests for a meeting none were even acknowledged.  

 

Why?  They obviously have a serious accounting issue onboard HAL ships, are well aware there is a problem. and simply refuse to discuss it with customers (even those of us who are 5*).  They fix the errors that are caught by the passengers, and likely keep all the overage from the many errors not noticed by passengers.  Others (not me) have actually speculated that the errors seem to be deliberate and could generate a lot of extra revenue when one considers the number of passengers and ships.  We are not that cynical...but one must admit that problems that exist over many years, and are not corrected, could be construed as deliberate malfeasance.  I would imagine if the accounting errors were in favor of the passenger the company would move heaven, earth, and the sea to fix the internal problem.  Our most common overcharge was for drinks that were slightly in excess of the drink package.  So, for example, a Cosmopolitan costs $1 over the Signature Beverage Package limit and should be charged $1.18.  But, in many cases the entire drink charge (not just the overage) would be charged to the account.  Day after day...even after it was pointed out to the bar tenders, bar manager, Guest Services, etc.  The other issue has to do with free meals in the alternative restaurant (such as for 4-5* or HIA) that somehow get charged at the full price (when it should be zero).

 

 

Hank

got it--thank you--found one.  We'll use the Marriott  Harbor Beach and Uber to the port.  Thanks for the help.

Thanks, horseymike--will check out 17th area.  (Love this name)

Thank you

We're taking Holland America's transatlantic cruise to Barcelona April 5.  We'd like a Marriott hotel close to the piers....we always come a day early so want a restaurant there or nearby.  Don't know what to look for on the Marriott site.

To help with evaluations, we're taking the OOsterdam April 5 Transatlantic trip, and researched suites on other lines.    Transatlantic trips require more in-room time, and we enjoy that part as well as onboard activities.

The Neptune suite is warm, spacious, very comfortable, and of course there are the extra benefits.  The Celebrity, Oceana and Viking suites looked "plastic", cold and a little sparse....This was just from website photos, of course, and others may love more modern decor,  but for the price and quality, we decided to return to HA's Neptune suite.  

No decision is right or wrong--whatever your choice, once made, let go, relax and enjoy it.