reefisher

20 hours ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

The unfortunate thing here is that while the TA may have known about the BFS there is no guarantee that there would have been a saving with the Pre paid Crew incentive. There were several itineraries that went up in price with the Black Friday Sale. until that Sale actually hit no one would knew for sure if the price was going to be better. Also if the booking was done with the Flash promotional the hold time for this pricing is normally 24 hours which could be why the TA was pushing.

This could have very well turned the other way and you waited only to have to pay more to get the Pre paid Crew Incentive. I have seen a couple of cases of that this weekend. I know this stinks but unfortunately that is what can happen.

 

So for those of us that made the final payment on Sunday 11/19 are we out of luck getting the prepaid gratuities added?  It amounts to about $1800 on our Tahiti cruise. 

6 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

crickets chirping.....

 

(I think those forms are for the lawyers and no-one has ever checked the wrong answer)

No doubt about the legal department thing and that assessment started with the Noro outbreaks.  But still, if I am feeling sick but still have a negative covid test, what would an honest person do?

If denied boarding due to flunking the Health Assessment, do they give you a refund, FCC or are you out of luck?  Not due to a positive Covid test, just having symptoms of something that could be covid. 

1 hour ago, san diego sue said:

Have you been tested again since the initial testing? I had posted previously that I also tested positive but mine was two days before sailing so we were comfortably at home.. I just had a PCR test done and I am now negative.

 

 

Apologies for potentially hijacking this thread, but what steps were required by HAL after you tested positive two days before embarkation date?  That is, what was required to be able to receive FCC?

We will be visiting Honolulu for 2 days and would love to go to a club that features local jazz, rock, anything other than Hawaiian traditional music featuring ukuleles and guitars.  Artists like Cory Fujimoto, Kalei Gaimo, Kimo Tussy, rip Willie K, and many more that do play traditional but not limited to that. Anybody know of such a venue?

I am avoiding all travel that involves closed spaces and recirculating air.  We divide our travels between cruises and our RV.  Looks like we will be doing a lot of camping this year.  Carnival Corp stock is down $3.50 as I write.  Now that they have identified that the intestinal track also has COVID19 receptor sites I definitely don't want to be on a cruise ship with the vac toilet waste system.  

I have never had a Dive in burger, and I am 4 star, is there something special about them? Sailing on the Maasdam this next Sunday.

301 is right next to the door to the open deck. It can be very annoying when the wind is howling and folks can not close it softly.

Trader Joe's is close by. In the Liberty Station complex, the old NTC.

Thanks, that is the info I need.

reef

Has anybody used Uber to get to the port? Usually I just rent a car the day ahead and then drop it off when going to the cruise terminal. But some rental companies do not offer shuttle service to the terminal (San Diego). Apparently the Uber fare to the dock is roughly 1/3 that of a regular taxi.

reef

We had to take a taxi from the port to the airport (medical situation) and no the taxi driver would not take anything but cash. Fare was $60. Halifax is a very dowie kind of Scots influenced town. Seems anybody behind a desk or in a position wants to make sure you have as miserable a time as they are having.

My wife and I did a cruise from Vancouver to San Diego on the Celebrity Millenium with a two day stop in San Francisco as our first US entry. We cleared immigration in SF. It was incredibly disorganized. The bottom line as far as your question, the disembarkation in San Diego went smoothly. I have disembarked many many times in San Diego when it was the first US port on the return and every time is was bad and late. It seems like they want to piss you off. However in this case with the emigration in SF, they pissed us of but not San Diego. I guess they share the wealth.

Neptunes played in the Ocean Bar in Feb on the Statendam, and they were Dam Good.

For informational purposes only.

 

Actual name for Chilean Sea Bass is Patagonian Toothfish. In Chile and Argentina one of the least expensive menu offerings. Here one of the most expensive.

It probably was not the "Chilean Sea Bass" since that is now on the no no sustainability list. Interesting though how they ever came up with the name sea bass for the Toothfish, it so looks like a cod.

But then again like I said HALs new adoption of sustainability species may be more about the money.

Wondering what fish the "white sea bass" is actually . Especially since HAL has gone the cheap route for fish, calling it the sustainable choice. On our last cruise everything was farm raised. Basa, Swai, Tilapia, Atlantic salmon, catfish (maybe one of the first two, nobody knew if it was of US origin), Baramundi

We've sailed Alaska several times in all kinds of weather. Here is what I bring. A very light weight, packable waterproof parka, light weight rain pants, sweater that will double for dinner, zip up fleece, watch cap and gloves for the glacier and waterproof hiking boots.

Nobby, you're the best. Great photo. The Alaska cruise on the Amsterdam was one of the best ever, in part because of your great personality and photographic acumen.

Jim/San Diego

we were on the dec 15 2013 to jan 30 2015 a total of 45 days and I stick by my first coments about ship being in very poor condition just one further coment we have cruised for over thirty years on all cruise lines and cruised over 500 hundred days on hollandamerican alone and this was the worst ship

Hardly matters how many days you have cruised. We were on the cruise immediatley after you. We thought the ship was in great shape, no problems. What conditions did you encounter that were so bad as to describe this as the WORST ship out of thirty years of cruising.

Got my popcorn ready.

Change the cruise..We did the same cruise last year Dec 2013.The cruise was great but the ship is in very bad condition

Hmmmm, We were on the Statendam the next month after your cruise. Jan 2014 Panama Canal. I thought the ship was in great shape compared to a number of years ago. The bathrooms were such an improvement over the original, the service was fantastic even if it seemed the crew was a bit overworked. Food was very good if you asked the waiter his advice. We have been on the Statendam for a total of six weeks and it was better this last time than any previous.

We hope to take the South Pacific RT San Diego too. No worries about the ship.

We have been to Alaska on a number of cruises. Be prepared for wind and rain, it may not happen but be prepared. I take a light weight unlined rain parka that folds into a pack, knit watch cap (essential for the wind and glaciers viewing), a zip up fleece jacket that serves as my main jacket for the whole cruise, a sweater good enough double at dinner, gloves, and if I plan on hiking a pair of light weight waterproof boots and rain pants. The parka and rain pants are light and take up little space and I have been so happy to have them on quite a few days. Essentially protect from wind and rain and then layers underneath to fit the variable temperature.

We are taking both. Boston to Quebec City on the Veendam, then a week dinking around and then catching the Maasdam in Montreal back to Boston.

It's a rare cruise that I don't see somebody licking their fingers while in the buffet line. Granted that when the 48 hours safety point is reached without a noro case being reported and one is allowed to self serve in the buffet, licking fingers is not that big of a deal. I'm always a bit reticent to say anything to the finger licker, because in the past even when trying to be as tactful as possible, I've gotten some pretty nasty responses. One lady told me it was okay for her to lick her fingers, she said "It's okay, I know what I'm doing, I'm a nurse" then proceeded to tell me to mind my own business. (My wife later told me I should explained that I was US Public Health Doc, which was true, but a few years ago) On our last cruise in Feb. I was within elbows reach on a lady who was sampling bits of food with her fingers and then licking them. I guess she just wanted to know how they tasted before making her choice. I half bit my tongue and mumbled about. She asked "what, I didn't catch that". So I repeated it without restrained tongue, and she said "Oh I know, it is such a bad habit of mine" That was one classy lady to be able to say that.

We just returned from a 15 Panama transit cruise on the Statendam 1/30/14-2/14/14. We have sailed on her before the last overhaul for three weeks. The issues that were plaguing her before the refit such as poor AC, odours, engine trouble, elevators not working, Crows Nest in bad shape, broken tiles around the Lido deck, >>>>> were all gone except the odours. The bathrooms are much improved with everything new in them. All the elevators worked, no engine problems, AC worked perfectly. But the odours in the hall ways on the Lower P deck were there, NOT however in the room.

In his deluded thinking he probably hoped to be judged as someone defending his family's honor...than as the sexual predator he really is...

I think you are correct. In some cultures (there is no need to name them) it is considered if not legally okay, at least culturally okay to kill someone who disrespects you, including your own children, let alone someone who cusses you out on the street. I would speculate that his "I became angry because of a slight" defense is what he thinks would play to his culture.