badtwin

Thanks. Found the form and sent it in. Auto response was the usual "sorry we are having a large volume of inquiries.". I will wait a bit. I don't understand how a company in Seattle can have such a horrid IT department. Their website is always buggy. We used the app on the NS and got a reminder we had a Tuesday lunch reservation sent to us the following Friday. You would think listing new cruise to mariners' account would be automatic and instantaneous.

How long does it normally take to get a cruise added to mariner status? We were on the NS February 18-25 and as of this morning it isn't listed as a past cruise or included in our status points yet.

Will we get this offer if we also booked while onboard.? We saw your advice before we sailed, but booked anyway as we had been researching the cruise we wanted for quite some time before we booked.. But we also bought a couple of future cruise deposits and having found a few potential cruises for 2024, we have been waiting for an offer with more OBC.

I see value in the HIA provided you would otherwise buy and use at least one of the other benefits of the package. But as beer and wine drinkers, who buy a wine package (or two depending on the cruise length), the drinks per day are much closer to $50 for the two of us (the two drinks are one each, not two each).. And if we find a nice venue on shore, we will be having our extra drinks there. So it doesn't pencil out for us, especially on a port intensive sailing. But think it would be a great value for those who want and would buy internet, tours and/or the fancy dinners. Or even someone who wants all the other beverages offered by the package.

We not only think about what we would get for HIA but we also look at what we think we would spend without it. So we figure maybe a couple of drinks a day and bottle of wine with dinner. In eight cruises we have only taken 1 ship tour and absent the package we would not use specialty dining so those benefits are not worth a lot to us. We don't use ship internet - we usually find something on shore along with a local beverage. So HIA doesn't pencil out for our typical spending habits. But it would be well worth it for others I am sure.

What is procedure to bring wine on board? I assume we would want to bring in carry on and not risk a wine-soaked checked bag. So do you just mention as you approach scanner and then get sent to a desk to pay or get lucky and get waived through?

Definitely an issue. If thinking of booking, I would do the form and be qualified first. Forms were easy but you need to be able to send required documentation too. We could not get firefighter OBC applied retroactively, even with TA's help. The teacher application went in within a few days of booking and that worked, but not sure how big a window you have.

I love my land's end and miracle suits but on our recent cruise in the Caribbean, the Land's End suit with its lovely supporting panels would not dry. I hate putting on a cold damp swim suit so next cruise I will forego support and shaping for something that might dry - like a speedo.

Sorry. It was $100 pp or $200. And teachers get same as firefighters and first responders. Had to qualify at or near booking- couldn't get retroactive credit on firefighter for most recent cruise - and I don't know if credit applies to all cruises.

Just wanted to thank Crew News and others who contribute to these boards. We booked our fall cruise while on board during a sea day. Didn't get extra onboard credit for booking onboard but got a decent amount and only paid the $100 deposit. Also bought two FCD for another cruise. We got a fireman's credit for DHt that I learned about on these boards. And after learning about the teacher credit, I applied when we got home and it looks like we got that too Also learned about shareholder credit in time for last cruise and assuming the shareholder credit is renewed, we should get that for next cruise. Reading these boards has been worth several hundred dollars in two cruises. Thank you

Just back one week on Nieuw Statendam in Caribbean. I had two nights with tenderloin, one new York strip and one night prime rib in mdr. DH had lamb chops one night and some other lamb dishes too. The tenderloin in mdr seemed the same quality as served at pinnacle lunch Which is not to say we didn't notice some cutbacks, but I found mdr quite good. I love a good ribeye too but love variety of mdr.

My DH who usually loves breakfast in the dining room actually preferred the lido for piping hot omelets (and all egg dishes made to order). We both found selection and quality for breakfast and lunch quite good and look forward to trying things on our next cruise that we couldn't fit in on 7 day on the NS. We did not eat a dinner at the lido just because we like the sit down in the dining room so can't comment on that.

Can you use the signal from Half Moon Cay while still on the ship or do you have to take phones to island? I think this question has two issues - island signal strength and avoiding the cell service from ship?

We did laundry in port on a river cruise because I simply could not bring myself to pay the prices on the ship. My one lesson was to be sure you know where the laundromat was in relation to the port. We had a very long "walking tour" (with a back pack of laundry) because I failed to understand the scale of the city map. But we treated it as part of our view of local culture and enjoyed a beer afterwards. It was an interesting break from castles and churches. I would do again at the river cruise prices. But HAL prices seem much more reasonable.

Yes. Helps a lot. Thanks

Tried the HAL site but it is not easy to search or understand. Please help someone who is just learning about the on board credit options and driving her TA crazy. 1. What is FCD, how do you get it and what are pros and cons. Is it mostly ability to shop and think in comfort of own home while getting same OBC you would get booking onboard (assuming book in 60 days). 2. Are there advantages to booking on board? We have eye on a cruise in the fall and cruise in two weeks. Should we wait to book and if so why?

Going on a 7 day carribean cruise on Nieuw Statendam in 2 weeks. Will $20/30 bag be offered and if so, what days of cruise? Trying to go with just carryon,. and willing to do some in sink, but wondered what to expect.

My husband and I are both very nearsighted. For our upcoming cruise, I was looking to get him a a "prescription mask" too. (I have a -5) If you just want nearsighted correction, I found a couple for around $50 on that major online retail website but that was still more than we wanted to spend for something we do not need that often. I found swim goggles (not a mask) with correction for under $20 but I know those are dangerous for diving below the surface. I then checked ebay and found a source in China that had some for under $20. The lead time was longer than we are used to but they did arrive well within the promised time The correction seems good. The mask is much light weight than mine and the strap a lot thinner. We need to see how the fit is next time we get in the hot tub. Unlike some other offers, they did say you could order different correction for each eye. I would not suggest them for scuba or for someone who plans to use frequently, but for a little snorkeling they should do the trick.

I have read several threads on shareholder OBC and can't find the answer to this question.. The policy and many posters indicate that one may use a brokerage statement as proof of ownership. My DH wants to know if this would include a brokerage statement for a retirement account. It is his account but we didn't know if the fact it was a retirement account made any difference. Also, we are way past the time limit to get this for our next cruise. Anyone find they give credit if you ask late on recent cruises? I won't blame them if they don't but just wondered if it was worth the try. Thanks

Wow. It has been a long time. As I recall, they had horrible website at the time and we couldn't figure out a way to buy or reserve ahead of time. So we got an early tender and walked up main street and bought at bus station. I think we had a location for bus station from internet. We got there early (as we tend to do) and had no problem getting tickets. It was a bit of a scrum behind us and I don't know if everyone else got seats. Still have fond recollections of this trip.