BashfulBeki

For my 2nd/3rd HAL cruise (blame Covid), I was assigned my 3rd PCC. Let’s call him Andy. Andy and my husband and I had pretty bad communications via phone due to differing accents but I really wanted to give him a chance so I tried to email as much as possible.  Due to this wonderful board, I applied and was approved for the AARP and the Educator OBC. Feb 7th, Andy said he would get back to me as soon as the OBC was applied (he’d lost one OBC approval already).  I gave him 2 weeks and then emailed a reminder; a week later another reminder; 4th week, I called the PCC # to speak to a supervisor. I got reservations, who sent me to PCC, who sent me to reservations, who sent me to PCC, who sent me to reservations …. more than an hour later, I finally got to someone who told me my new PCC was ‘Billy’. Andy was no longer with the company. I suggested an email informing me of the change would have been appreciated 3 weeks ago. Her response - you will receive an email. No mention of when.  This same afternoon, I receive a promotion email with Andy as my PCC.  
 

I love being on HAL ships with their wonderful staff and calm atmosphere but they need to step up their customer service reps.  
I know you will tell me to get a good TA but I’ve researched and tried but all my trusted TAs have retired or left due to Covid.

TIA for the sympathetic ears, I feel better getting this off my chest.

I received a $300 visa gift card. I found that it can only be used in the US. Should I use it to buy OBC and HAL will return the unused portion to me? I understood from another cruise line, that it will use the gift OBC before it touches the OBC they included. If this is true with HAL, should I take the gift card with me and use it to buy services on board, after my included OBC is used up?  Other suggestions on how to convert this gift card to use for our cruise?

TIA

Yes. From a couple from NJ and Philadelphia, you should be fine out of Newark.

I am a habitual hydrotherapy frequenter on cruises but not HAL since I am a newbie. I am in my mid 60s with arthritis from neck to ankle. I travel with my early 30’s daughter.   We both dress in bathing suits in cabin and wear a coverup. Pool, shower, loungers until just damp then cover-up (0r provided bathrobe) and back to cabin to change and get ready for dinner.  A couple to things to make you feel more comfortable:

1] people are leaving the Lido deck in towels and cover-ups or nothing except wet suits, so you won’t feel out of place at all. 2) I can walk all day knowing I can use the pool to help with the aches. I don’t use the metal bar loungers much though. I find moving in the pool from jet to jet and floating against the current helps more by keeping the joints loose and limber. 3) You Will want to keep bags, towels and clothes out of puddles but pre-covid the attendant kept everything sparkling clean. Post-covid, I think it will border on sterilized.

My daughter 30 and me 63 with mobility issues at the time did 2 weeks up the Danube with Amawaterways. Everyday and sometimes twice a day, there were easy and active walking tours and active hikes and/or biking. Each day except Salzburg, we went our separate ways. We ate our meals together and regaled each other with what the other one didn’t get to see. One day, she hiked up to the fortress and I bussed there and we surprised each other in passing. We are definitely doing this again in the future. Being together but not on each other’s nerves was perfect. Good luck with your research. 

We were on our first river cruise last November heading up the Danube from Romania to Germany on the Amaverde. I am the opposite of you and can stare at the water all day and night. So when I say you will be fine, it is because not viewing the water is very easy. I had to make a concerted effort to view the water, as in looking down from my balcony. The views of the land are amazing and constantly changing, so you can always look out above the water and be fascinated. When you sit in the lounge or the dining room (windows on 3 sides), face the back of the room. Be sure to have a cabin on the top deck. Docking may be difficult but for us the gangways were wide and usually steep, so I was concentrating more on my footing than enjoying the view. Good luck. 

Thank you all for your reassurance.

I checked a different airport and found a faster trip but am worried about 1 hr 18 min layover in Atlanta. Any insights?

Waiting2Retire,

Does that truly happen? FlightEase states that if I don’t deposit or pay now, the price could go up but I don’t need to pay until June. But if it should go up, I want to lock in now. If more options will open, I may want to wait.  I am @ 150 days out.
I am not a gambler but am frugal. 

I have booked our flights through FlightEase but early enough that I can still change them.  I would like to keep searching for flights but keep my current selection while I look.  How do you do that? One option is to check the ‘change flights’ button, but I am afraid that will release my current booking. Will it? If so, how do you search for other flights?

My PPC has been dodging me lately so no help there.

Thank you for your assistance.

I would suggest that you speak to your doctor about an inhaler and/or a cough suppressant that might clear up that nagging cough over the next few days and allow you to get some rest at night.  My last cold needed some prednisone and an inhaler to clear the inflammation in my throat not being something worse in my lungs. Not only will it help you pass the inspection but boy will you feel better for your vacation!

This will be our first cruise with HAL, sailing on Nieuw Amsterdam in the Mediterranean. My husband is allergic or intolerant of wheat, dairy, tree nuts. I see that accommodations can be made in the MDR with a menu the previous night and that the buffet has a gluten-free section but we have one night included at the Pinnacle Grille and we will want to try the Tamarind.  How does one manage the specialty restaurants? And can anyone will food allergies tell me how successful (or not) they have been?  Even ordering a salad for him can be a struggle - no croutons, no walnuts, no shaved Parmesan!

HAL Nieuw Amsterdam arrives is Sete at 8 am. My tour begins at 9 and is 15 minutes away by taxi. Will I have enough time? The tour company says yes, that many of their guests are from the cruise ship.  It seems doable IF the ship is on time and we can debark quickly.

Opinions, please?

Thank you for all the replies.  I do not need to rent one since my issues are simply getting aboard and off if the gangway is very steep or includes many stairs.  Once I am onboard, there is usually enough arm rails and sitting areas that I may not even use my cane - just my companion’s elbow.

I or my TA have ‘booked’ me a boarding wheelchair in the past, but the port workers don’t know who the heck I am when I arrive so it hasn’t been very helpful and I just hobble over to the folks around the wheelchairs when I park (Manhattan port) and they whisk me away.

As for the handicapped/stroller entrance, I am the driver of this expedition. So I will be parking the car and working my way over to the terminal.  Are you suggesting to not follow the crowds and ask a worker for guidance to the accessible entry?

Thanks again. You are all terrific.

Hi to all who have boarded and disembarked from Cape Liberty in Bayonne,

I hope to leave on Saturday, Dorian permitting.  I walk with a cane and stairs and slopes are problematic.  I have used wheelchairs and porters in the past when the gangways are really long and steep but would prefer not to if possible.  From the videos I have seen, I think there is an elevator and then a pretty level gangway onto Anthem of the Seas.  Can anyone confirm this from their experience?  Or should I wave down a wheelchair when I get there?

I have 'booked' a wheelchair at other ports but have still needed to flag one down once I am in the terminal so I am not sure how helpful 'booking' is.

Thank you for your responses.

The Gem Spa Pass includes access to the male or female locker room which has normal size showers, normal size bathroom stalls, a sauna, a steam room, a single person whirlpool, cushioned lounge chairs, bathrobe and towels. In the central room, you have access to 4-6 person hot tub, a huge pool that has jets around a circular standing/floating area, a multi-person bubbling lounger made from tubes, and the most high pressured shower (tore my glasses off). There are heated ceramic lounge chairs and more padded lounge chairs. Towels, tea, iced water with rings of lemon or orange in them. Finally in early May, there was the loveliest attendant keeping everything neat and clean - she managed to prevent me from stepping in vomit on a rough sea day. Every time I have been on the gem, the pools were drained one day because the seas were too rough and the water was sloshing into the treatment rooms. Very disappointing and no refund! No treatments are included.

I thought I had read somewhere on these boards that, if you have an appointment for a spa treatment, you can enjoy the amenities of the Spa for the rest of that day without paying for a spa pass. So, if my daughter and I booked a pedicure, we could stay and enjoy the tub or the saunas if we wanted. Does anyone know if this is true? If so, I would try to book our pedicures earlier in the day ;).

Thanks