jakers

There has been some discussion on the other boards about Quantum of the Seas and the overbooking of the cruise in Australia. Yesterday our friends were in LAX preparing to fly to Miami and they ran into a couple that related their recent experience with HAL and the Oosterdam. The couple was offered a 50% credit if they would move their reservation from December 2nd to the 16th. It was followed with a 100% credit offer shortly before the cruise. They declined. I am on the December 16th cruise on the Oosterdam. Normally I don't pass on gossip that comes to me second hand, but it has been confirmed by a couple that recently joined our Cruise Critic group. While it is good that ships are getting back to full capacity, I haven't heard about this happening before. One time on a Royal Caribbean ship I had booked two outside cabins and received an upgrade to a Gran Suite as long as the four of us would stay in the suite. Since it was my daughter and a friend it was worth it. No explanation was given as to why, I just figured they need the extra rooms. I'm concerned about the fact that the tone of the article insinuated that people on the Quantum were bumped because they were only "Guaranteed". Classism seems to be creepy into cruise ships.

As I recall there wasn't a big price difference between FlightEase and booking direct. I just wanted to lock in the price. I flew to Buenos Aries last year around Christmas and in the last 60 days we added a fourth person to our cruise. Her flight cost as much as the other three of us combined. The only experience I have with booking flights with airlines outside the US have resulted in me losing my money when the flight was cancelled. I had to pay for this years cruise in full when I booked it because it was a special rate. There was no reason to not pay for the flight at the same time.

Let me add one point that hasn't been covered yet. We are flying to Buenos Aries in December for a South America cruise on the Oosterdam. We purchased tickets through Flight Ease on Aeromexico when they first became available in May. We paid in full for the tickets and they are noncancellable. The only advantage is that we were able to lock in the price. When I called FlightEase to ask why tickets had not been issued they gave me the usual drivel about tickets being issued 30 days prior to the flight. Which basically means that they wanted to hold onto my money for 6 months. I had to point out that I had already paid, and the tickets couldn't be cancelled without me losing all the money. They went ahead and issued the tickets which allowed me to pick my seats. That being said, my seats have moved a couple of times because Aeromexico has changed the type of plane. Go figure.

On some cruises when we did not have the drink package, my daughter would make some hot buttered rum batter and we would take it on the ship in a canning jar. A bottle of spiced rum would be ordered for the room and we would enjoy the drink on our balcony.

While cruise lines cancel visits to problematic areas, it is usually the result of passengers canceling their cruise first. It is far easier to rearrange your schedule now then to offer cut rate pricing to fill a ship that goes somewhere that is uninviting.

We refer to these cabins as the square rooms. We were in cabin 1854 recently. These cabins feel larger because they are. 1854 is 204 square feet. We have also travelled in these cabins on the Maasdam. The only down side that we could see is the fact that you exit the bathroom directly into the cabin. There is no hallway and hence no privacy curtain while you are dressing. Most of the noise came from the hallway as they have more exposure on that side.

I have booked a casino rate cruise and then been able to purchase the HIA package at the $50 per person per day if it is offered at a later date. It is not always offered and does disappear as you get closer to departure

We are doing a five day cruise on Volendam from Vancouver to San Diego. Anybody know the answer as to why the HIA is not offered on the shorter cruises?

I agree that the casino offerings are confusing. I don't play the tables (yet) and only play the slots when my wife is napping (about an hour a day). I only play for recreation and as such I don't bet big. I have received casino offers from HAL, Carnival, and Princess. Prior to receiving the offer from Princess I had only cruised with them once for 3 days. At times I lose, sometimes I win, but I always come out ahead due to the discounted rates. A word to the wise, publishing the discounted rates is probably the best way to get kicked off the list.

We have learned over the years that leaving hanging clothes on hangers makes it far easier to unpack and also solves several problems. You don't have to ask your room steward for more hangers and they don't take up as much room as the wooden hangers supplied by HAL. We put any excess wooden hangers in our luggage under the bed until the end of the cruise. This also eliminates the noise from clacking wooden hangers when the ship is rolling.

Do not put the HAL luggage tags on until you are headed to the ship. They will just be confusing to other luggage handlers not affiliated with HAL. Also remember to remove them prior to checking any luggage at the airport. The ships have US and European electrical outlets. Some of the newer ones have USB outlets also.

You have to go to the airport to catch the bus to Whittier. There is a bus in downtown Anchorage that goes from the Welcome Center to the airport. It is first come, first serve and you have to stand in line. It was easier to just grab an Uber or taxi to the airport.

I don't think of my self as a "control freak" but up until the pandemic I usually booked cruises on my own. When bookings started getting cancelled due to Covid, I was overwhelmed trying to keep track of future cruise credits and promotional offers. At this point I figured that I could use a PCC in my corner to keep track of everything. He was very good at checking through all my bookings and providing me with an up to date accounting. Unfortunately he has also left HAL. My new PCC is very good and usually gets back to me within 24 hours to answer any questions. It is easier to communicate with him through email. I do miss the ability to call on weekends and talk directly to agents on the phone. Until things get pack to normal I don't see any real benefit to doing everything myself.

Whether you purchase the bottle onboard or bring it on yourself and pay the corkage fee you can do whatever you want with it. There are various wine glasses (plastic) in your stateroom or any of the bars will provide you with an empty glass on request.

It is not just cruise lines. All you have to do is look around. While Covid is the main impetus, many companies large and small have used the pandemic to cut back on customer service. Probably the best thing to come out of it is the fact that many customer service positions have migrated to a home office. In HAL's case they started eliminating some nighttime entertainment on the Maasdam as they tried Exploration cruises. There is still plenty of entertainment on the larger ships, but outside of the big three every body needs to show a profit to stay in business.