3rdGenCunarder

That's what I did for next winter's cruise. My TA booked me into the cheapest verandah and then used CO to get me an "A" verandah. The deposit amount was the original deposit price plus the cost of CO. For the cruise where I did the CO upgrade later, HAL told me I had to go through my TA, so that's what I did.

Ooh, all those welcome goodies look/sound delicious! A maiden call is always fun. It sounds like Escanaba is very happy to have guests, and in need of them, too. I doubt we will be feted so generously, as my cruise is the third visit there on Voyager (plus Naviagator will have visits by then). OTOH, maybe they will have found time to organize the tours and buses better. Two buses doesn't sound like enough for 200 passengers. Sorry to hear the large group is throwing their weight around. On a small ship, a group's impact can be felt more and there's little you can do about it.

Noooo! That's my go-to white, too. I'm not on HAL again until next winter, so I hope they do some shopping!!!!! That's good. the special cocktail didn't appeal to me. Oh, but wait. It doesn't matter--I have HIA for my next cruise. Maybe with so many people getting HIA, they figure they can be generous on the free Mariner drink.

Now, THAT is a very good bit of advice! I hope they still sell the "lies they tell on Mackinac Island" t-shirt. The one I bought a long time ago has been demoted to rag status. There were items like "the fudge has no calories," but the best one was the last, "you get used to the smell."

Thanks for the heads-up on the taxi timing. The idea of a drink on the porch is tempting, but I think my plan will be something from the ice cream parlor and then a walk back to town. And maybe more ice cream in town while I do some souvenir shopping. Clever of AQV to show the movie. The book it's based on takes place in another grand old hotel, the Hotel Del Coronado in California, but I can see how much easier it would be to film on an island without cars and their noise. @Host Jazzbeau, if you go, stay overnight. You can enjoy the quiet of the town before all the daytrippers on ferries (and cruise ships) arrive. We rented bikes and rode the loop around the island, and I went horseback riding. That was probably 25 years ago, when I was more spry!

I wonder if people are aware of and using the "let us know" function on Navigator. I think HAL used to have cards to fill out in the days before the app. While people may have a duty to complain, not all recipients feel that way, unfortunately. I think people should make a point of giving positive feedback, too. On my last cruise, I saw a supervisor in the hallway and was pleased to have a chance to tell him what a good job my steward did, despite the fact that the workload appeared to have increased since my previous (pre-Covid) cruise. I always fill out the post-cruise questionnaire, with both the good and the not so good.

Your "live from" could sell a lot of cruises! Every day, I look forward to learning more about this itinerary. We're supposed to do the locks in the afternoon, so I will have to plan my time carefully. The Lakes Science Center looks interesting, and something I definitely want to see. Their website shows them open only Friday and Saturday. So AQV arranged for them to be open for the day? Thanks for posting the menus. The choices look good. And Gateau Opera! I thought I would have to wait until October on Cunard to have that again.

Wow! That's amazing! Those crew members must have been working all night.

The kiosk itself is easy to use, but I find it hard to hang onto the slip of paper while I'm dragging my luggage. Last time, I put it in my pocket and then forgot where it was! I think most countries ask if you're carrying large sums of cash. I always read that question and think, "I wish!"

That looks like a good assortment of daytime activities. I sail with HAL a lot, and if you take their daily program and cut out all the promotional talks that the shops and spa offer, you wouldn't have a list as good as this. If afternoon tea is like that, I'm going to have to do a LOT of walking in port! I see Tazo tea and Bigelow, neither of which I like. Dare I hope that there's some good black tea, Twinings, maybe? Thank you so much for taking the time to do this "live from." After having second thoughts this winter, I'm now looking forward to my cruise.

One of the fun things about a roll call is finally meeting people you've known for a while only on your computer.

One of the problems with the review boards is that I don't know anything about the reviewer other than age and how many cruises they've taken. I rarely see a review by someone whose screen name I recognize from posting here. When I post here, people can see when I joined and how many posts I've done. And they can see my most recent posts. But none of that is available on the review boards. When people post negative reviews, I often wonder how much they knew before their cruise. Might they have had a better time if they had come to the cruise line boards or port of call boards and asked some questions? As you say, @LAFFNVEGAS has been on this board for a long time. That makes me more inclined to pay attention.

Whats in port is a good way to find out how many (and which) other ships are in port with your ship.

It depends on where your cruise leaves from. In most cases, the time isn't enforced. You check in and then get assigned a boarding number, which is based on when you got through check in, not the time assigned on your boarding pass. Then you wait for your number to be called to board. What's your embarkation port?

I know they stonewall people who booked with a TA, but the PCC is a HAL employee. That's ridiculous.

That's the best review of a cruise I've read. Your pictures have been beautiful. I'm so glad the weather cooperated!

Good for you! My TA tried, but her contact just kept saying no. Since the new booking had pretty good OBC, we let it go. But really, you shouldn't have to go to the top to get decent treatment when the cancellation was THEIR decision, not yours. I suppose charters are a sign that the cruise industry is rebounding. HAL has a history of cancelling cruises for charters, especially 7-day cruises. That's why I avoid the sevens and the 14s that are B2B sevens.

I had the same lack of contact when they cancelled my cruise for winter 2024. I found out because others on the roll call were notified. I never did get the email, nor did my TA. The cruise stayed in "my bookings" for a week or two after the cruise disappeared from the website. I would definitely ask to have the original price honored. That was the deal offered on the cancellation notice people on my cruise received (if the deposit was rolled over to the replacement cruise). Because the cancellation was more than a month ago, they may weasel out of any deal others were offered. That's what happened to me. By the time they posted the replacement cruise, it was after the date when the redeposit would get me any consideration.

Congratulations on getting back into cruising! I love the Vista class ships and Zuidy is my favorite. Canada is a wonderful itinerary. I just looked back at the programs from my 2016 cruise on Zuidy. So much has changed! Entertainment seems to be in flux as HAL drops some contracts and makes new ones, so what's happening now could be different by the time you cruise. Currently, there are no production shows in the World Stage. Some cruises have guest performers there, some don't. A few nights will have dance programs. No more piano bar or Northern Lights disco. BBKing may be leaving some ships. Jazz combo in Ocean bar went away, but now is on some ships, maybe coming to more. Classical may or may not be there. Adagio was replaced by Lincoln Center, but they're gone (except maybe they could be on once in a while), and some ships are getting classical music but I don't know the name of the group. So stay tuned for more updates on entertainment. Libraries went away, and now are coming back. The spa is still delightful. The promenade deck still has deck chairs. Gala nights (which is what they were calling "formal" in 2016) are now "dressy" nights. Not many people dress up much. Certainly not like the days of formal nights. They don't put those silly covers on the chairs any more, but there is a "special menu," which has fewer choices than other nights. Gala was like that, too. Never made sense to me, but what do I know? The cabin stewards have more cabins to take care of than ever, but they still manage to smile and say good morning and take excellent care of their passengers. I think the food is good. Maybe not great, but I can always find something I like. More stations at the Lido are served than they used to be. It slows things down a little, but it's much better healthwise. The bread pudding is still there! Surf and turf is now steak and shrimp. The lack of lobster is a contentious issue (do a search for "lobster" and you'll see what I mean), as is the charge for extra items. I don't remember when the smoking rules changed, but there is no smoking on verandahs. The only smoking area on Zuidy is at the Sea View Bar by the aft pool. There is now an app, the Navigator App, that you can use to check the daily schedule, menus, tours. You will see some threads about it--it can get wonky at times. Internet is hit-and-miss, but HAL is supposed to be getting Starlink, which should be better. There may be other changes, but that's what comes to mind at the moment.

Luggage Direct is the service that takes your bag from the ship to your airline and you collect the bag at your home airport. Luggage Forward is the shipping service (UPS/FEDEX) that takes your bag from home to ship or ship to home. I have used Cunard's service several times and HAL's once, all international, and the tracking was the same as for any package--go to the website, enter your number, and see where your bag is. This was before there were airtags, but I found the tracking sufficient. The first time I used a shipping service, it was Cunard's. I tracked the bag and saw that it sat in UK Customs for a few days. I was concerned, so I called DHL (the carrier Cunard White Star Service used at the time). They were very good about explaining the delay--basically, Customs looked at the date the bag had to be at the ship and if there was extra time, they didn't rush to get around to it. The day after I called, tracking showed the bag in Southampton, waiting for the ship with time to spare.

I think the Assigner of Boarding Times is related to the Upgrade Fairy. Nobody knows how they do what they do.

Yes, that's part of my research, too. The travel agency I use works with a company that provides tours, similar to Viator or Tripadvisor, and that's another research tool for me. I have found the vendors by searching for the title of a tour and comparing descriptions. Each time, I found the tour was less expensive booking directly with the vendor. Not as large a gap as your example, but definitely less.

Right. The names are confusing. Luggage Direct takes bags from outside your cabin to your airline and you collect them at the arrival airport. Luggage Forward is a shipping company that will ship bags from your home to the ship or from the ship (actually, the terminal) to your home.

Never say never. It has happened if operational concerns mean the ship HAS TO get out of port on time. That said, now that I'm traveling solo, I am more inclined to do a ship tour if the distance from the ship is long or timing is tight, or I don't know the local language. If it's a city I've been to before or it's a private excursion with a roll call group, then I'm willing to go out on my own or take a tour with an outside vendor.

I prefer to deal directly with vendors, too. I do find some of the middle-man sites useful for reading reviews. But one site in particular has skewed its sorting to show tours that they sell before tours they don't, very annoying.