3rdGenCunarder

Before word got around that ships have internet, friends loved to do TAs because their boss and clients assumed they would be out of touch for a week. Bliss!

In the US we're asked to put in the card details. You win the bid, they change your cabin and charge your card. No going back.

Just to be clear, my bid is assumed to include the "solo penalty" and is the amount I will be charged? They won't double it?

So you've got a person who replied to you. That's a start. Keep asking them WHEN will she fix the issue. Ask who can go over her head and fix the issue if she can't/won't. Maybe forward the message from corporate to the agent with a message like "They say you will correct this, so please take care of it promptly."

How ever did we survive before the internet?????? It would be good for people to try a "device detox," perhaps in small steps, not all the time. I realize that many people have serious reasons to stay in touch, but it doesn't need to be 24/7. It's a vacation, be mindful of other options. I've often seen people on a Caribbean cruise, sitting near a window by the pool or in a bar and not looking out at the beautiful ocean and the brilliant blue sky, just staring at the little screen.

@kwhear435, have you had any success chasing after this? (bumping this thread because there are a lot of people here rooting for you!)

Wow, that's great. Did you have to pay the 75% extra for being a solo?

Not asking for a specific amount, but how far on the meter did you and your friend bid?

My HAL cruise departs and returns to Miami, Terminal E. I know it's unusual for HAL, but they've got a couple of cruises in a row going out of Miami. I haven't sailed out of Miami in over 20 years, so I have a few questions for anyone who has been through terminal E recently. For embarkation, how strict are the terminals about arrival time on the boarding pass? I'm used to FLL, where nobody checks times. For debarkation, how is Immigration? Do they have the kiosks, or should I expect to wait in a long line? With 5 other ships in port, how is taxi availability? TIA!

Any time I've bought pictures on a memory stick, the photographer tested it in his/her computer so that I would know that it worked and so I could be sure I got the photos I chose. It gets a little warm, but I can always manage to carry my keycard when I don't have pockets. 😉

I did not have my bid accepted. Queen Victoria, October-November Northern lights. I was in a Britannia cabin. I was offered the chance to bid on Club and Princess Grill, but not Queens Grill. I only bid on PG, about halfway between the minimum bid and the cost to just pay to upgrade myself. Ironically, I'm glad I didn't get the upgrade. I was at a table for 10 with a fantastic group of people. If you were on that cruise in early seating for dinner, yeah, we were the noisy table at the back, laughing our heads off.

Wow! That's a nice bonus. Enjoy the free laundry, one of the best mariner perks.

I'm not sure how you're seeing your refund amount if you didn't cancel yet. Is the amount you paid for the excursion more than your HIA allowance? When HAL has cancelled an excursion I bought with my HIA allowance, they credited the value back to my HIA allowance. I think that should happen if you cancel the excursion, especially so far in advance of the cruise.

It should be. Any cruise I've booked through my TA shows the cruise line on the credit card bill, not the agency. However, I have heard of some agencies billing to them and then paying the cruise line, in which case there would be room to fiddle. However, I think this is more likely a mistake and the TA and supervisor are trying to stonewall.

I don't think Seattle is open yet. It's 7 AM their time.

Nooo, please no. I do not want to wear a medallion. I refuse to wear my keycard on a lanyard. I did that at work, and I'm retired. No more lanyards!!! I'm a boomer and tech-savvy, so I would use an app, depending on what it offers. I have used HAL's Navigator app, and now that it's been around for maybe 2 years, it has functions I find useful. The daily program (not that HAL has much going on during the day) is listed and, IIRC, you can set alerts for things you want to attend. Best use is menus, especially on their larger ships. I can see what's for lunch in the Lido and know in advance which stations I want to go to instead of wandering around like a lost soul to see what's on offer (are you reading this, QM2????). I can check the deserts and know if I should go there first before they run out of opera cake. The Navigator lets you book tours (and I think, also cancel). You can check your account balance without having to stand in line at the front desk. (Does anyone remember when QM2 was new and you could do this through your TV and the keyboard in the desk?) All of the uses I've described take a minute or two, and then I put the phone away. I don't think an app would make people be on their phones all the time. That's more a matter of how addicted you are--and starlink will enable that addiction, app or no.

Be careful what you wish for. It took about a year to get the bugs out of HAL's Navigator app.

If you booked through a travel agent, the website won't show OBC. I don't know if navigator is supposed to. I find a lot about HAL's IT aggravating.

I do, too. So many posters obsess about finding a hotel with a free or low-cost shuttle. Not worth it. Many of the FLL hotels are close enough to the port that an Uber isn't very expensive. And it beats a shuttle that has passengers going to various ships--you can end up with a tour of the port instead of a quick transfer.

For that I would do a prearranged limo service. I've used Go Airport Shuttle. You probably won't be able to book online, because the website looks like everything is for airports. But they do other services, and might have what you need. Talk to them about timing and waiting charges. Maybe plan to be off toward the end of disembarkation to give yourself a little time cushion.

Boston is the worst for customs and immigration. Twice on QM 2, we weren't disembarking, it was just the first port in the US and it was awful. HOURS to be processed because they sent too few people. I have never experienced anything that bad in any other US port.

I suspect that the farther you go from the ship, the more likely you are to find local businesses. That's why I like to wander away from the pier.

Another vote for a taxi. It's a short ride, very easy. I have found that pre-arranged Ubers are much more expensive than simply ordering one when you're ready, so the taxi would probably be cheaper. If you're concerned about getting off the ship quickly, consider "self-help" or whatever HAL calls it when you carry everything off yourself. That's the first group called to disembark.

I was in a Neptune Suite on K'dam when CO was brand new. It appeared well after I made my booking and as a solo, I did not want to sit in that glass box all by myself for an hour or more. I was newly widowed, so maybe I was oversensitive. But I arranged to go back to my original arrangement of a large table at early dining and was very happy there. I did eat breakfast in CO. That was great. I'm glad to hear the CO line at the front desk was helpful. When it was new, it was of little use. The staff kept forgetting to look over there and see if anyone was waiting. The time I went to the CO line, I stood there on the little orange rug, waiting and waiting without service. I would have done better in the regular line. Perhaps if they'd had a little orange bell I could have rung. HAL doesn't push the "you are special" thing as much as they did at first. I found it awkward. When my cabin steward gave me the coveted orange bag, he said that HAL wanted to make the CO/Suite passengers feel special. When I checked in at the pier, it was ridiculous. "Oh! You're in Club Orange! Right this way!" She walked me to a special desk all by itself, where I could be taken care of away from the hoi polloi (and stand on a bright orange rug!). Privacy to check in? Who cares??? And because I was behind the wall where the regular check-in stations were, I was in full view of everyone in the waiting area. So what was the point of the private desk??? Honestly, I haven't seen that kind of obsequious service in the Grills on Cunard. I did buy CO for my upcoming cruise. It was a lot of money to spend to get another tote bag, but I'll also get a very good upgrade out of the deal.

I thought my first Alaska cruise would be the only one, but I'm going for the fifth time this summer. A lot of people shop for jewelry when they cruise. I don't, but the stores seem to be doing fine without me. I remember being in line at the "shore expert" desk to ask a question when the woman in front of me asked if she would have time to go to Diamonds International after her tour. I said, "Don't worry, there will be one in every port." She replied, "But I don't want to miss any of them!" Cruises have been going to Alaska for 50+ years, so the independents were serving passengers long before the big Caribbean stores showed up. Ketchikan, in particular, has lots of small jewelry stores. Somehow, they've survived the big competitors. They lure people in with free gifts. I did go into one of them about 5 years ago. I talked to a guy for a few minutes--I looked at emeralds and alexandrite with no intention of buying, but I got my "sapphire" forget-me-not charm.