cruisinsusin

too late to edit the above but adding that there seem to be 2 issues: 1st: is the gift card paid portion of the cruise fare insured using Chase since the specs say "all or part" paid with the Reserve card. 2nd: Are the gift cards refunded byHAL if cruise is canceled before final payment

The way I read the Amex travel insurance specs is that the entire trip must be paid with the Amex card so gift cards would make me uneasy, whereas the Chase Sapphire reserve travel insurance specs say "all or part" must be paid with the Chase card. Might be a good question for Steve in the TripInsurance store

We were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed our Cartagena visit last year.

We were on our veranda when maintenance came- it probably took 10-15 min with 3 staff placing shims and caulking

we were in 11209- we were very glad it was resolved with that repair and only had one sleep deprived night.

We had banging and popping in a mid ship sky suite on Ascent last week but maintenance was able to place multiple shims around the veranda door frame and then recaulk the seams and it was totally gone.

We snorkeled there as well- pretty good snorkeling- but took the seaplane. It was a cool experience and no motion sickness!

We were in 11209 and did have a lot of cracking and popping the first night but, after reporting it, maintenance came and placed a number of shims in the veranda door frame area and it completely resolved( even in the higher seas).

Enjoy David and Marcia! Transiting the canal is an amazing experience

We were on the Ascent in the retreat and disembarked this past Sunday. We each had premium internet access on one device. Easy to log off and then log onto a different device if desired.

My favorite too but not available on Ascent this cruise- we asked!

Hope @Salt Lifer doesn’t mind if I jump in - we have stayed at the Hyatt Centric before several cruises out of Ft Lauderdale and have really liked it. Not very far from the port or airport

The US State dept has great resources for the US traveler https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html.html?_gl=1*1ha5nld*_gcl_au*NTY4MTkxODM3LjE3MTE3NDc3NTc. drop down to the "learn about your destination " box and enter the countries to be visited. It will let you know about required visas, embassies, health issues and much more.

It had been years since we cruised with Holland. We did a 7 day cruise on the N.A. in January and saw very few children. We actually liked it so much we have several other HAL cruises booked. We will definitely avoid booking the 7 days itineraries during March/April.

HI @saltymac We used Grayson from Toursby locals https://www.toursbylocals.com/singapore-walking-tour-local-tasting-food-kampong-glam-little-india-tour-with-locals-grayson for a food tour that took us to 3 of the ethnic quarters of the city with lots of info re: the city and life( in addition to food!) We really enjoyed our time with him and he was very helpful in the pre-planning as we had someone with dietary restrictions. It is very easy and inexpensive to go to the Botanical gardens and the Gardens by the Bay using Grab ( the Singapore Uber equivalent). We really enjoyed SIngapore!

Yes we noticed that- we are booked on the British Isles cruise and , at least when we booked, Do we cabins were all guarantees and the only way to choose was to start in Rotterdam

@Georgia_PeachesWe have historically preferentially done Celebrity cruises ( veranda, aqua, some sky suites) but have been looking at other options recently. We did a Nieuw Amsterdam 7 day Caribbean cruise in Jan of this year in a Neptune suite and were pleasantly surprised and very impressed. The lounge was just up the hall and we found the concierge to be very helpful with a few issues. It was not as large as the Michael’s club or retreat but had nice snacks and continental breakfast items. There is an honor bar ( if you have a beverage package, these drinks are subtracted from your daily total). The cabin itself was much larger than any sky suite we have had on Celebrity as was the balcony ( other than maybe a corner sky suite). The laundry and dry cleaning were amazing- items come back on hangars and with thank you notes from the laundry staff and typically in 24- less than 48 hours. there is not a separate dining room but the Neptune suites can use the same line as the club orange so we didn’t experience any wait for anytime dining. We were so pleased that we have several other much longer HAL cruises booked.

I would second the recommendation to go later or spend a night in Singapore. Disembarkation took almost an hour going thru immigration at the cruise terminal in November and Changi airport, which is beautiful, is also huge so transit through the airport can take time as well. Singapore is a lovely place and we enjoyed taking a few days there.

We did Rome to Ravenna on Constellation last summer. If you are from the US, there a typically direct flights from the east coast to Rome. Spending a few days at least in Rome is a must. The cruise port is about 90 min from Rome so need to factor that into your travel plan. The mosaics in Ravenna are absolutely stunning ( we spent a whole day touring there, having been to Venice previously), but if you have never been to Venice, it would be my recommendation to head there after disembarking in Ravenna- will need arrange some kind of transport from port to Venice ( celebrity, private or train) as it is a distance. Many hotels available in Venice and then would fly back from Venice.

Currently in Aqua on Solstice and footstools are present

We visited on a Celebrity ship in October 2023 and definitely needed the e-visa ( US passport)

We have stayed at the Riverside and most recently the Hyatt Centric- really enjoyed the Hyatt

Based on our experience on a transpacific as well as a land based trip to French Polynesia, most larger merchants and restaurants accept credit cards but some travel suppliers, taxis and smaller merchants want local currency. There were not local currencies on the ship and we did not want to be looking for an ATM right after disembarking so prepurchased some local currency from our bank before travel.

We visited French Polynesia on a Celebrity transpacific and enjoyed Mo’orea so much that we flew back a few years later and stayed 10 days. It was amazing and if you can make an over the water bungalow work, do it!