TrolleyGirl

Just curious, what is a RTIC tumbler?

 

 

If you are familiar with Yeti brand, it’s similar just a different brand name that is much much less expensive but just a good.

 

They are stainless steel triple walled drinking tumblers with lids and come in 20 and 30 oz sizes. Ice will stay frozen in them for hours and hours even in the Caribbean heat.

 

Mine travels everywhere with me.

Activated charcoal (Norit) is great for funky stomachs, be it from food, booze or motion.

 

 

Ah, that makes sense. I was visualizing charcoal briquettes and thought maybe you were going to have your own BBQ poolside to replace the now extinct Lido BBQ I used to enjoy.

like charcoal, duck tape, pins, sewing kit, bandaids, pepto etc.

 

 

Inquiring mind needs to know-

What is the charcoal for?

Good point, Trolley Girl! I try to be mindful of what I eat on cruises, but it's not where I go first for healthy choices!

Oh heck, eat what you want. You are on vacation. When you return home start training for a marathon!

Regarding the "O" shop...

 

Not everything in the area carries her signature O. I found many items that did not, specifically items that her on her favorite things list. The audio pets speakers, bath & body type products, a beautiful travel cape, a casual lounge outfit, etc. The prices for these items were the same as on land with the benefit of being duty free. So even if you don't care for Oprah or her branding you may find something nice in this area. Wander through the area, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Excellent news! Thank you Alberta Quilter

While we are discussing laundry....

 

Do the smaller ships that have a self serve laundry (Maasdam) offer the unlimited or bag laundry service? I prefer to have the ship do my laundry as opposed to doing my own. (I'm on vacation after all :D)

As mentioned above, HAL makes you sign an affidavit stating that you do or do NOT meet the U.S. government's requirements for not taking a U.S. sponsored tour. HAL offers U.S. sponsored tours. We booked after June, 2017 -- that tells me what I need to know.

That does sound like HAL is trying to keep everyone compliant. I agree, if it were me traveling to Cuba, I would stick with the guidelines handed out. If I didn't comply, it would be me paying the fine or in jail, not HAL.

You may want to (re)read its FAQ page.

 

 

Sorry, I went to their website but I don’t see a FAQ’s page. Maybe it doesn’t show up on the mobile webpage?

Originally posted by ithaca gal I’ve never ordered it to be delivered but it’s worth it!

Really? Is it that far to walk? I have no interest in eating something so bad for you. Not even wanting to walk to get it blows my mind.

I think you missed the point! The point was you can have the Dive In food delivered via room service. Which if I remember was the point behind this thread, "is there a charge for dive in burgers" -- response "just if ordered through room service"

 

I have news for you, very little of the food on a cruise is actually good for you. Too much sodium, too little fiber, all infused with corn syrup and who knows what other chemicals. So unless you are limiting yourself to only tossed salads and no dressings, you too are eating food that isn't good for you.

I love this idea!!

 

And I love this thread topic! Light, fun, educational.

Calling this a measure of how full the ship is (or useful for predicting price going up or down) seems quite dubious. I think some comments on this thread about that website were misleading.

Odd you say that, I have found it to be a good indicator of how full my sailing would be. Our Thanksgiving sailing it reported 97% and the ship was at capacity, The following week on our b2b, it showed 70%. When I asked at the front desk they confirmed that we were sailing at about that figure and upgrades to higher level cabins were available. That wasn't the only instance either. I would say each sailing I have watched it was accurate within 10%.

 

Would you know what "[2]" next to the percentage means

The 2 means two individuals have paid the .99 fee to have the website monitor that sailings prices and send emails to the paid subscriber.

My RTIC tumbler. It keeps beverages much colder than a regular glass.

It is all one word then dot net, not dot com. When I put the actual address in my original post is became all *****. So I had to get creative.

Try looking on cruise + what Nemo is. net That site indicates % full for each sailing. I don't know how accurate it is, but from my experience it is a good indicator.

We I sailed in November, Port Everglades was no longer us the mobile passport app. That may have changed in the more recent past.

One of the (many) advantages of a 'real' book is the ability to just flip back pages to check, say, a previous exchange of dialogue or the name of a minor character........not quite so easy with an e-reader.

That is simply not true. Actually it is much easier to find any mention of a character in a ebook. On the Kindle if you touch the characters name it will bring up a list of all texts involving that specific character.

 

 

I think some people who are opposed to electronic reading devices have not explored using them. I am on my fifth reading device. Each one I get is an improvement upon the prior generation. They are wonderful in low light situations or when my eyes are too tired to read tiny print. I just switch to a larger font.

 

 

The cruise director I spoke to on the Eurodam at a book club gathering mentioned HAL is investigating having electronic devices available to borrow from their library. He indicated the library would be stocked with travel reference hard books and have the edevices available for other types of literature.

I use the same insurance company every cruise and know their terms. WHY do I want to go tto insuremytrip?

I find it never hurts to investigate all my options. You may find that too. With a little research you may find better coverage, spend less money and get the 15 day window in which to buy coverage and still have pre-existing conditions covered. There’s even coverage offered now that will reimburse you for missed ports or itinerary changes.

 

 

Options, options, options. But like you said it’s your cruise.

So I guess to sum up, finding a nice library on a ship would be a bonus, but certainly not any kind of a requirement for me. And I really don't get the whole "must have a 'real' book" thing....

I agree with you 100%

Oh my! I've noticed that a few posters seem to be really bothered by everything sail7seas writes. I saw it as a simple question, not worthy of a tongue lashing.

 

 

I think you may have misinterpreted my post. I am a self-sufficient personality type. I don’t wait on others for answers when I can easily find the answer out on my own. In my post I pointed out there are options to getting Sail’s questions answered. Maybe the post will help her next time with a booking and she won’t have to cancel a newly booked cruise because of a misplaced confirmation. Or not?

I’m surprised with all your experience sailing on HAL you reacted so quickly to cancel your cruise. A quick bit of research could have eased your worries about pre existing conditions and insurance coverage. A review of insuremytrip.com would have shown you that you have 15 days after initial payment to secure insurance coverage which covers pre-existing conditions (Coverage for US residents). Additionally, you could have logged into the Holland America website and logged under the my reservations tab to see if your reservation was there. My reservations usually show up the same day I book.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

I'm sure Krazy Kruisers meant to add "in your checked luggage". You must carry your liquids through security. Water, soda and 2 bottles of wine are permitted per cabin. Not a problem on HAL. Some other cruise lines do not permit ANY drinkable liquids

You can bring more than 2 bottles of wine. You will not have to pay corkage fee on 2.

Even if the card were not put on the tray (it has always been on the tray with our daily morning coffee on HAL), it should be intuitive that the narrowness of the corridor has to make leaving the tray out there an imposition on everyone else.

Not necessarily. Other cruise lines have/ had different policies. When we were on Carnival, placing trays in the hallway was the norm. So a person who did not get the card and sailed on other cruise lines would not know placing their tray outside was a faux pas.

Maybe, maybe not. There are other plausible reasons as mentioned above. Plus, ships arrive in Ft Lauderdale many times each year, get their inspections, board new pax, and sail at standard times.

Not always, we have been on a first sailing departing from FLL after a Dam ship arrived from sailing in Europe and the inspection process was significantly longer than the regular B2B turnaround. Our delay was close to 2 hours.

Didn't you have an interesting experience with a Flaming Coffee lesson?

 

Did I ever!!! I was onboard the Eurodam in the fall of 2016. On a sea day, listed in the When & Where there were alcohol "classes/ tastings" offered.

 

One was a beer tasting, where 6 different beers from around the world would be sampled and discussed. The charge was listed at $14.95. I attended and found it interesting. I happily handed over my ship card to pay the $14.95 as listed in the daily program.

 

Later that day the When & Where listed a Spanish Flaming Coffee sessions, no cost indicated. I thought how fun, I've never heard of a flaming Spanish coffee. My sister and I attended. After the demonstration the bar tender gave the Spanish coffee to the guest next to me (it was the guest's birthday). Then the bartender asked if anyone else would like one? So, of course all 6 so of us said yes. After sometime enjoying our coffees the bar tender went to each guest and asked for their ship card to pay for the coffee. Now, how the bar tender said, "who would like to purchase a coffee" I would have expected to be charged. But when I am asked who would like one and when the program did not list a charge I was "surprised" to have a charge.

 

Later, that afternoon I went to the front desk and explained that I believed the program should note there is a charge of $8.95 or whatever just like the beer program listed, or the bartender said who would like to purchase a coffee. The front desk passed my information onto the assistant beverage manager.

 

Fast forward two days later, the assistant beverage manager comes up to the Tamarind where I was dining to apologize for the confusion and invites me to come to the bar in the Piano area after 10pm where he will personally make me a flaming Spanish coffee. So, I thank him for the gesture and agree to meet him at 10pm. 10pm I arrive, the assistant beverage manager personally makes me my flaming Spanish coffee and then......wait for it......

asks me for my room key to charge me for the coffee!!!!