Charleston Lady

Good to know! I had reservations for 6 the first night, but looking now it can't be booked. Made these months ago. Wonder when they were going to tell me?

Quickly canceled those and made some for second night!

Congratulations! The complimentary dinners can be in the Pinnacle, Canaletto or Tamarind, however you choose. The Spa benefit is a day in the thermal suite, but does. not extend to special services like mani-pedi unfortunately.

18 minutes ago, cruising sister said:

I found them hard to find. Make sure you are signed in and search in reward center. 

Yes, go to rewards, then choose "see all rewards" and scroll down till you see the HAL cards. It's tricky, but they are there. I just bought the max amount for me and my husband yesterday. Once you choose the card you can choose the number you wish to purchase (max 5/month pp) when it's in your cart. Good luck!

Always a pleasure reading your musings and seeing the photos. We will be joining you with the CSI group on Sunday.

I am totally shocked about Bob as we had emailed not that long ago. We first met playing trivia together on the 2008 WC and have stayed in contact ever since. What a sharp mind and incisive wit he had. My favorite photo of Bob was in his "skirt" touring the temples of Bali, where he had on shorts. Since covered knees were required, the temple attendant supplied him with a long batik wraparound. We will certainly miss him.

The Futuredam deposit is a small refundable deposit, usually $100, that gives you early notice of that voyage and first choice of rooms. Then you can officially book or say no and have the deposit refunded. We have done it before for the world cruise.

If you bought digital cards, an email sending you the bonus card for each gift card should have been received at that time. For each one I bought I got 3 emails. One was the gift card, second was bonus card and third a receipt for payment. I'd call them. 

Fingers crossed for you tomorrow! Looks like you have done a great job of staying sane so far.😊

Bought the first 10k today without issues. Used Chrome, filled in all fields by hand as 'cristalspin' advised and it was great. Happy to see the $200 bonus this time instead of the $25 ones. It's some work to keep up with all the numbers if you need a lot, but the savings are worth it. 

For those of you buying the $2000 cards, how are the bonus cards coming to you? $25?   $200?

Thanks!

Bob, we have eaten in a pop up as well as a stand alone. Both were very good. We saw so difference in the food or experience. 

Let's hope HAL will sell them in bigger denominations than $250 and give the bonus cards in bigger amounts than the $25 they gave last time. I had pages and pages of those #'s and pins. Such a trial for our TA.

Joined AARP to help with this, but that is currently not working out well.

We'll see.....

I tried again today and got the same message. I "chatted" with them and got same answer as above. Replied that this was the primary reason for joining and that I was very unhappy. Kind of a bait and switch.

Yes,  as said above, be sure you check this on your account. I have had to "be proactive" about this on all 3 ships sailed since covid. Staff is not familiar with Mariner benefits. 

We always worked it out, just takes persistence!😊

Yes! They need to fix this. It can't be that hard. I have had to speak to the customer service folks at least once and sometimes several times to get the 5* benefits that they give us. Some are new and aren't even aware of what the perks are. I dislike arguing about money. Had this problem on Nieuw Amsterdam, Zuiderdam and Rotterdam x 2.

Still struggling with this Mary229. We are on Zuiderdam 8/17 for 3 days, then land tour for 10 days. Just got an email from HAL today and thought, "Oh no!", but they were just notifying us about boarding time. I have little confidence that that means anything. I keep waiting for a cancelation which will also cancel our air for the precruise RM trip. Please just tell me!

Have a great time, you two. Looking forward to your photos! Stay safe.😊

Having made some progress with the original poster's question, here is another puzzle to chew on.

We are arriving in Vancouver from the US next month  and will do Arrivcan app prior to arrival

. Got it.

We remain in Canada for the next 11 days doing a train trip. We return to Vancouver and get on a HAL ship. After 3 days we get off in Skagway and stay on land in US for 3 more days before arriving in the Yukon for 3 days. We then return to Alaska for the remaining 6 days, flying home from Anchorage. 

So do we also redo the app before getting on the ship and before we reach the Yukon? So 3 times all together?

Appreciate your thoughts on this!

2 hours ago, Mary229 said:

I agree. My anxiety is related to my other plans.  I would gladly take the current offer being extended.  

Yes, Mary 229! We are set to fly into Vancouver (through HAL air) on 8/6 to do a Rocky Mountaineer trip followed by a Y3C triple Denali on Zuiderdam starting 8/17. So what happens to our air if HAL cancels land/sea trip? They are waiting so late to notify we could already be gone! We have made final payment on RM and it is not refundable. Our wonderful TA contacted HAL before we made that payment explaining the situation and he said there was no evidence that our Y3C would be canceled. Pretty sure that reassurance means exactly nothing! Guess that's why we pay all those $$$ for insurance.😳

You don't really need an excursion at HMC. It's just a lovely beach day with a yummy picnic lunch. We've probably been there 15 times and never taken an excursion. Enjoy!

Was just on the Rotterdam and remember seeing a sign at the specialty dining reservation desk. As I recall, children under a certain age (?) eat for 1/2 price from the speciality menu or for free if they eat from the children's menu. I think the children's menu is the same throughout the ship, no matter the restaurant. We have taken our grandchildren with us many times and they have always been very kind to accommodate their "less gourmet " appetites. 

You'll love the Tamarind!

I agree with Hygge and others. I have booked short Caribbean runs with the big box a couple of times without problems......however on our world cruises(5) and other complicated trips, like taking a family of 8 to Europe, we always use our amazing travel agent. Her agency has lots of clients on the world cruise and many years of experience with world travel. In 2020 when things fell apart, it was great to know that our onboard hosts were there as a resource. The agency staff back in the US worked 24 hours a day to get us all home safely in spite of constantly changing rules and canceled flights.

I find their price to be good, with a discount, very generous OBC and other amenities. We now never leave home without their support!

My son-in- law will be delighted to hear that. They're his favorite.😜

So glad you are safely onboard! Have a wonderful time. Looking forward to hearing all about it. We are boarding NA in a couple of weeks for about a month and are excited. Now if we can just get these Covid tests figured out!

Smooth sailing, Nancy

Thanks for your review. We are on the 9/25 sailing and the subsequent one back to FLL. Was glad to hear you liked the Mediterranean Inn as we also will stay there. I chose it somewhat at random based on reviews so happy that it was a win for you. I too wonder if we are crazy to try this now, but so tired of not sailing and we will take all precautions for a safe journey.  Best to you.

Yes, I feel all the frustration and it is comforting to know I am not alone! We are sailing 9/25 and I have spent  hours the last 2 days trying to find places that will give us a rapid test (few and far between) or a PCR test that will be back in time. Just when I think I have found an answer, it disappears or they don't  do that kind or they have no openings or it's too early to book or they've left town or........... Feels .like one of those dreams where you try and try but just cannot get to the goal. Maybe traveling right now is a stupid idea, but I just have to try because I really love the sea and the beach at HMC and the Dive-in burgers and the Pinnicle fillet with bearnaise and the spa.

So I'll try again tomorrow. Thank you all for listening. I feel a little calmer.