Petronillus

We have a hold on an Alaska cruisetour in August on the Noordam. Even at this late date we were able to get two verandah cabins on the 5th deck, side-by-side facing aft. (DW & I would be in one, our son in the other.) 

Two questions: The aft cabins are not terraced; it looks like the decks are stacked one upon another. Are the verandahs roomier than those on the port and starboard sides? Are the outer walls of the verandahs clear or opaque (metal)?

Thanks!

=Bob=

OK but I gotta ask the question.

You're disembarking in Vancouver and heading to the airport to catch a flight home to the US.

What happens if you test positive?

=Bob=

Squeaky wheel got grease.

We connected, our PCC and I. He's working up a set of options, has promised to send them this pm by email and we'll discuss tomorrow morning.

He struck what was for me the perfect balance between abject apology and professional efficiency.

Looking for the happy ending.

=Bob=

I'm glad it worked out well for quack2 but I'm still stymied.

I couldn't find a number into the Mariners Society. I tried the chat message feature on the HAL website. The gentleman there told me I had no option but work with the PCC department. I called the central number (800.355.3017) and another PCC, Joy, picked up. She checked and told me my PCC is still employed with HAL and is not on vacation or otherwise shown as out of the office. Sympathetic though she was to my plight (2 previous voicemail messages starting last Wednesday, followed up with an email message), she urged me to try once again. She forwarded me on to him and promised that she would follow up with an internal message.

I'm waiting. 

=Bob=

He has bent over backwards for me in the past. 

When I dial the PCC number and enter his 5-digit extension, I get his voicemail greeting. No mention of any change of status.

When we (DW & I) lost our previous PCC, this one reached out to us by email to inform us that we had been reassigned to him, and thereafter I dealt with him without a hitch.

I would like to repay his service with loyalty, but assuming nothing happens over the weekend, I will call for a new PCC on Monday.

Thanks to everyone who responded. Your views have been helpful.

Now it's been 3 days. Not a peep. I tried email this morning, explained just what I needed help with. Nothing but crickets.

I feel like I've been ghosted.

Postcards From the Edge: "Instant gratification takes too long!"

I've been trying to get my PCC to call me for the past two days. I need his help i/c/w a booking already made for February 2023 and for information and guidance about what will likely become an Alaska booking in August or September 2022. Judging from his voicemail greeting, it looks like he's still employed with HAL but I'm really astonished that I wouldn't get a callback in two days. Are they just that seriously slammed? Should I try escalating up the chain of command? What's going on?

=Bob=

DW, DS, & I are considering an Alaska cruise-tour on a spur-of-the-moment basis. I have not yet had a discussion with out PCC, but at this stage I'm confused by the welter of options. I know we want a cruise-tour versus a cruise only. I know we can allocate up to 14 days. But I'm at a loss to figure out the relative advantages of a "Double Denali" versus a "Triple Denali" (beyond the obvious difference between 2 overnights and 3). We've already done the Inside Passage (cruise only, usual stops at Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway, and Sitka); of those four, Sitka is the only port of call I'd care to revisit. Would the "Glacier Discovery" be a better option?

The chance to visit Dawson City and the Yukon Territory in addition to Denali is attractive.

At our age (DW's and mine) we're not likely to a do-over.

I'd appreciate, as always, the benefit of the collective wisdom of the CC members.

=Bob=

4 hours ago, albingirl said:

Nothing like a tipping thread to get the people ranting.

It used to be smoking.

1 hour ago, FOPMan said:

My wife likes fancy coffee and smoothies-  3 drinks gone by 9am, 5 more drinks (water, soda) by 4pm; 2 @ Happy Hour; glass of wine and expresso at dinner, and evening drinking (alcohol/soda) at Music Walk. The non-alcoholic drinks sneak up on you 🙂

Thanks! I hadn't thought of that.

=Bob=

P.S. This is the kind of stuff for which the boards of Cruise Critic are eminently enlightening and helpful. I check at rare intervals during the COVID-19 lockdown, and imho there wasn't much useful traffic. It gladdens my heat to see an uptick.

It's an interesting question, theoretically. Practically, though, I gotta wonder how many folks drink their daily limit under the beverage package?

I'd be astonished if requesting help from your steward(s) didn't yield quick results.

=Bob=

18 hours ago, sndral said:

“How do you arrest a ship?”

By initiating an action in rem, which is about all I remember from a semester of admiralty many years ago 🙂

I was maintain my lurker status, but the mention of admiralty makes me jump in. One of the more esoteric points that law students learn in their first year is the difference between "in personam" jurisdiction and "in rem" jurisdiction. Ordinarily, lawsuits are filed against natural persons (i.e., human beings) or legal entities (e.g., corporations), and courts obtain their power and authority ("jurisdiction") over such persons ("in personam" -- e.g. Smith v. Jones or Smith v Jones Inc.) by certain rules that are triggered by "service of process" ("Ma'am, you've been served"). But in a much much smaller class of cases, jurisdiction is claimed over inanimate objects ("in rem") in which the lawsuit is instituted against the thing itself, as we are seeing here.

Did I mention that this is esoteric?

I've read the Ts & Cs, and still have the following question, which I admit is likely a foolish one:

Assuming I would purchase virtual gift cards electronically, may I charge the cost to my travel card? If so, I get my cardmember benefits in addition to my 9.X% discount, and HAL incurs the credit card transaction charges to boot!

To me, it doesn't pass the smell test.

=Bob=

On 4/17/2021 at 2:19 PM, rodndonna said:

 

I do both (gift cards for discounts and CCL shares for OBC)  - except I legitimately own and hold  the 100 shares for the OBC. I certainly wouldn't recommend the buying and immediate selling shares  - if not fraud I would  minimally consider it unethical. To each his own ....

I agree completely and absolutely. As a general matter, there are undesired/undesirable consequences flowing from such so-called "wash" transactions, and I would wonder if the same or similar jeopardy applies here. If it's not illegal, imho, it oughta be.

=Bob= 

22 hours ago, Red Haired Lady said:

I have to ask my TA to email the Passenger HAL Confirmation to me each time or he forgets.

I have to wonder about a service provider who consistently "forgets" to perform a basic service. He must have other, countervailing qualities.

=Bob=

23 minutes ago, Himself said:

You, my friend, are very correct and supportive. You understand the roll of AOS USA. 

One of the posters went to the HAL Web site and observed that HAL is not listing any cruises until December.

I'm having a tough time right now with the "Re-Opening" guidelines. Here we have the risen Lord Jesus breathing on the apostles and thereby filling them with the new life and power of the Spirit, and yet we're supposed to see ourselves as emitting this noxious vapor cloud we have to protect each other from!

Oops!

4 hours ago, T8NCruise said:

I don't understand certain groups or individuals getting an email with such important news, and no release from HAL.  You would think they would handle it better than this.

AOSUSA has to schedule and vet the chaplains. That requires a long lead time. I'd say it's a reputable and reliable source.

On the other hand, we can all hope and pray for a miracle cure and/or vaccine popping up and running all the bureaucratic trap-lines in the next few months. . . .  Anyone want to sell me a lakefront vacation home in Louisiana, sight unseen?

On 6/20/2020 at 8:50 AM, echoshipmate said:

We are 4* on HAL and Elite on Princess and both are our go to lines. It amazes me that people don't seem to appreciate the differences between the two. Both are wonderful, providing great but different experiences, isn't it ok to love 2 different flavors of ice cream without looking down your nose at one? Princess way out does HAL is some ways and HAL way out does Princess in others. Just enjoy and appreciate the differences instead of arguing about which is better, these times call for more open-mindedness not less.

Amen! From your lips to God's ear.

On 4/10/2020 at 3:08 PM, catl331 said:

Her last dry dock was late Oct 2017. 

We were on her in Sept 2019 (Baltic Sea r/t Amsterdam). Of all the HAL ships we've sailed the Rotterdam was the most "tired," like it had been used hard and housekeeping couldn't keep up.

P.S. Is it true that the Rotterdam and the Oosterdam will both be retired at the same time, to be replaced by the new ms Roosterdam?

2 hours ago, ghstudio said:

Be a little careful buying a policy within x days that just covers a small amount.  In order to buy insurance, you need to have something to insure.  If your deposit is fully refundable and you have no non-refundable costs, the insurance company could claim that your original purchase was invalid and void the policy.  It's very important to check with your insurance company/agent to make sure that you aren't caught by this.....or alternatively, if you are using a travel agent that charges a fee if you cancel the trip, then you actually do have something to insure...that cancellation fee.  We do this....we book with one of two or three agencies that charge a cancellation fee...just to be safe.

I'm not an insurance expert by any means, but I did wonder about where the "insurable interest" would be found. Even though I got confirmation (and we all know the old adage about oral agreements not being worth the paper they're not written on) from the Travel Guard rep that it was up and up, it just felt fishy to me. Thanks for chiming in!

1 hour ago, mrmoviezombie said:

For this reason, we decided to layer on AirMed https://airmed.com/ with an annual premium.

 

It's probably mostly redundant with my main employer insurance (they would likely make the call repatriate home on their dime anyway), but the cost was worth the piece of mind.

 

It's effectively only hospital to hospital transport, meaning you have to be admitted to a hospital before it can be triggered, but then you call them. And then assuming the medical teams and hospitals all agree it's safe, off you go, worldwide.

This is just the kind of expertise/experience that makes me marvel at CruiseCritic. Thanks for sharing the insight. It's a great tip.

7 hours ago, cate54 said:

Just booked our cruise for next Feb 2021 to Hawaii. Does anyone have pictures of this room , and balcony?

It should be a very good choice. Because of its location just aft of the midships bulge, you have an exceptionally spacious balcony. And it's on the portside, which I've always favored. That shouldn't make any difference on the east-west axis both coming and going but it appears that the ship circles the islands in a counterclockwise direction, which gives a decided advantage to the port side. The only drawback I can foresee, and it's a tiny one, is that looking down from your verandah, you'll have a lifeboat blocking your view to the left on the deck right below. Enjoy!

59 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

I have insured with one other company since my last with Travel Guard.  Why?  Coverage was comparable.  Price was better.  Ease of making a claim?  Not so good.   

That's the funny thing with insurance, isn't it? You don't know how good a product you've bought until the time comes to make a claim. One of our traveling companions had to be medevacced (sp?) a few years ago, and Travel Guard's performance was well beyond satisfactory. Experiences like that, coupled with the word of mouth, makes for huge customer loyalty. 

Thanks to all who have responded.

Things I know only compliments of y'all:

1. The limited scope of HAL's "protection plans." The "standard" coverage has no medical insurance component. The platinum level does include medical coverage and medical-evacuation coverage but the coverage limits are relatively paltry: $10,000 in the case of medical and $50,000 in the case of evacuation. And nothing indicates that I get to designate the medical facility I am ultimately transported to. Perhaps since this is a Hawaii cruise (with only a single, nugatory stop at Ensenada, Mexico to satisfy the Jones Act), it probably is a safe bet, but don't we (in large part) buy insurance for the sake of peace of mind?

2. That travel policies can be obtained in stair-step fashion. I'll have to give Travel Guard a second call.

3. That in the event of a cancellation, some insurers permit the customer to transfer their coverage to a rebooking or other future cruise. Again, a question for Travel Guard.