lcand1923

I think I’ve spoken Voice-to-Voice with my PCC once in 10 years. Since then, I’ve done everything via email because I explained to her that I do not like playing telephone tag.

I’ve done both. It depends upon the skill/expertise/willingness of your contact at the line or with the TA. Currently, I’m doing better with the line. They are willing to work the math for refaring for me. My previous TA retired and her replacement isn’t very willing to do anything. If you don’t care about location of your cabin on the ship, I would consider waiting for WAVE season UNLESS you have a good TA and/or contact at the line. If you do, I’d book now and do a refare if the price is worth it.

As a Dear Neighbor used to say, “At least my life isn’t boresome!”

Roy, How are you feeling? How did your Primary appointment go?

Thank you so very, very much for sharing this information. I’ve been looking at the vases online for several years and know they would be perfect gifts, but couldn’t figure out how to get them home. You’ve solved one of my “next HAL cruise” problems!

Thank you so much for your posts of the Daily! I know my friends are having a good time because the activities are things that they enjoy. LOVED your sunrise pictures!

Roy, Since we are in the month of December, I think you did pretty good getting an appointment with your Primary this week and your Cardiologist next week. Take your time unpacking and settling in at home. Rest up for those appointments.

YYYAAAYYYYY!!! You are safely home! Hope you had a good night’s sleep in your own bed. Call your Primary on Monday to get an appointment and start the round of doctor’s visits to get thoroughly checked.

Thank you so much for posts. I have friends on this particular cruise. This will be their 4th or 5th TA. (They try to do one every year.). They don’t use the Internet when cruising, so your posts will be the only way I have of knowing how things are going.

Glad you have started the journey home, Roy. Catch up on as much sleep as you can and maybe get some ice cream. Safe Travels!

To verify that you made it to the Wait List, go to your cruise. Click on Itinerary in the Upper Left Hand Corner of the page. You will see your cruise with the Shore Excursions you’ve purchased and the ones that waitlisted.

I’m glad to hear that HAL will allow you to give extra OBC to the Crew Fund. I’ve been on several lines that will not allow that and have bought “stuff” that I carry home and then give to Goodwill.

I’ve encountered some disagreeable folks on various cruise lines. Most were in that “near retirement/recently retired/early 70’s” age range. They were the braggarts/complainers/our cruise on the XXXXXX was MUCH better than this one. I made certain to not get on the elevator with them, sit on the other side of the restaurant from them, avoid them. By the third day of the cruise, I noticed that a LOT of other people were doing the same as I.

Safe Travels! Thanks for taking us with you.

My first cruise was on HAL. I was 49 and I cruised with my Dad who was 75. He had some mobility issues and was finding long car trips more difficult. We had a great time. I was very fortunate that Dad was well able to cruise another 8 years before the mobility issues stopped his travel completely. When he passed, I started cruising again as a solo. I’m now in that “old folks” group. The beauty of cruising is that you unpack once. You can visit a new place every day or just chill on the ship. If you feel sociable, you can have amazing conversations with other cruisers. If you don’t feel sociable, you can sit in a quiet spot and watch the ocean. I’ve cruised other lines, but return to HAL. The crew always makes me feel like I’m coming back to the Family Home.

My knees tell me that each and every day!

Thanks, Everyone, for a pleasant way to start my day! Stay Safe!

Has anyone seen this offer on their Hilton Honors American Express?

My first cruise (Veendam 1999), the Dining Room Section Manager, asked why I never ordered the Flaming Dessert. I replied that the only Flaming Dessert that I liked was Bananas Foster. The next port day, boxes of bananas were delivered to the ship. I got a double order of Bananas Foster that night. The next time I had Bananas Foster on a HAL ship, they were not flamed table side. I always enjoyed earning DAM Dollars for participating in activities onboard. I can’t remember how you earned them other than doing the Morning Walk on deck, but do remember exchanging them for a key chain towards the end of the cruise. Most of the time, I passed them on to another passenger who was going after some bigger prize.

Most ship sponsored shore excursions are pretty similar from cruise line to cruise line since tour operators are tour operators and contracts are contracts. I’ve gone to different cruise line websites and found the shore excursion that sounded the most like the one offered by HAL and read its description to see if I could glean additional details — drive-by, stop, steep walk, etc. I picked up this hint when I was on a cruise and kept seeing another couple who were on a different ship similar cruise at various stops. After the third, “Hello, how are you?” we started comparing destinations and future booked ship sponsored shore excursions.

I discovered by accident that HAL had four different email accounts for me. (I discovered this while trying to book Shore Excursions for an upcoming HAL cruise.) Two of them were left-overs from the days when Microsoft conducted classes onboard. The Mariner Society was able to resolve the situation. I would reach out to them.

I had read on another thread that some folks had been successful in getting the AARP credit added to existing bookings. I sent emails to my TA and to HAL. Each were quite specific that it applied to new booking only.

For those of you who live in Maryland, please be careful today. The temperatures are expected to be in the high 90’s/low 100’s. Stay hydrated. For the Dailyites in the rest of the world, thank you for posting and giving me a pleasant way to start my day! Stay Safe, Everyone!

Thank you, Lisa, for doing your “Live” thread. I always enjoying traveling with you and appreciate your vast knowledge. Safe Travels!!

Thank you so much for your post. I sailed on the Insignia many, many years ago and found the ship beautiful. I haven’t returned to O for various reasons that really irritated me (primarily tied to the Front Office and Shore Excursions staff). I am currently booked on an O cruise and your comments have me looking forward to the experience.