Shmoo here

Booking window for activities for first time cruisers is 75 days out, as long as you've paid in full.

The website is back up and running, as well as the Call Center.

You are correct that another room (with adults only) will not be included in your purchase of the unlimited package. That said DCL has (or at least use to have) a buy one package, get second room package for 50% off. In your case, with 3 rooms, that would mean, if you want everyone to be in a photo package, you would need to purchase 2 full price packages and one 1/2 price. That said, I've read where some people were able to purchase additional rooms (not limited to one) at the 50% off as long as they purchased one full price package. To clarify - if you only purchase one package (for your room), as long as one of the people from your room is in each photo taken, it will be included. If you want photos that will ONLY be people from the other rooms (no one from your room included) they will not be in your folder.

I prefer more sea days, my husband prefers more port days, so we find a cruise that's pretty evenly divided between the two. Me- sea days - I'm lazy, I don't mind just sitting, reading a book, or people watching on deck. Husband - port days - he's into history and science stuff, so visiting historical places is high on his list.

https://www.amazon.com/FRIO-Cooling-Wallet-DUO-refrigeration-IMITATION/dp/B004X4J5ZK/ref=asc_df_B004X4J5ZK?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80814159960359&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584413736044458&psc=1

Have you tried calling the Call Center? According to Vantage website the call center is up and running again: As of 5.30pm on May 1st, the Vantage Travel call center has been restored. We have extended our call center hours to 9am – 7pm in anticipation of high call volume. We deeply appreciate your continued patience as we work to restore our systems. Please be advised you may temporarily experience longer than normal wait times for service. When contacting us, please have your reservation number ready. To reach the Contact center, dial 1-800-322-6677.

I've never had an issue with online check-in. I use my laptop to do it (Windows 10/Chrome). But I've see people who've posted that they had to use the app.

Be aware some TAs don't offer the same level of perks on a transferred reservation vs booking through them directly.

Most times the excursion guide has some sort of flag/umbrella/sign that's held up above head height. Just head for that.

I would be surprised if there were any onboard for dispensing.

I know Sudafed is prohibited in Japan

Have a great trip. We've done the Panama Canal twice (DCL and HAL).

Your TA is incorrect. I believe he/she may be misunderstanding the PVSA. According to the PVSA a foreign-flagged ship may not transport passengers between two DIFFERENT US ports without a stop in a DISTANT foreign port. The PVSA looks at where a passenger embarked and disembarked from the SAME ship. If the two ports are different then the DISTANT foreign port must be on the itinerary. If the two cruises you wish to take are one way cruises between two different US ports, then there must be a distant foreign port stop on each one of them (most Panama Canal cruises have this already). BUT, since your proposed B2B would have you embarking in Ft Lauderdale and disembarking in Ft Lauderdale, the PVSA wouldn't apply. I'd suggest you ask your TA to contact HAL and confirm his/her statement that you can't book this B2B.

Hawaii/Tahiti 28 nights Panama Canal 21 nights Alaska Cruise/Tour 19 nights

Yes they do. On our Hawaii/Tahiti cruise several years ago we had a big ceremony up on deck. King Neptune and court arrived There were random crew and guests to stand in for all of us onboard for the tests they had to accomplish We got certificates indicating that we had crossed both the date line and the equator during the Vernal Equinox (making us members of the Order of Purple Porpoises)

You are aware the Vantage website is back up? With information for anyone with current reservations.

Here's a post I made on the Vantage thread on the Other Cruise Lines forum (post #265) speculating what that stop was:

The website states that some tulips cruises as well as 2 Egypt cruises have been cancelled and they are continuing to monitor the Egypt situation. We are aware of the conflicting news reports about Vantage Travel’s operations and trip cancellations following our initial announcement and know you have questions and concerns. To confirm, trips are underway, and no trips have been disrupted or cancelled specifically due to this incident. To confirm, we have cancelled four trips to the Netherlands due to the vessel’s readiness and two trips to Egypt. All impacted guests have been notified. With the recent U.S. State Department Sudan Travel Advisory, given the proximity, we are closely monitoring our trips to Egypt until further notice for the safety of our guests.

In looking at the past track of the Ocean Explorer on Cruisemapper.com it appears that she was diverted after leaving Provincetown, eastbound to her next port, back to Gloucester. There could be any number of reasons for that - medical emergency, ship repairs, who knows?

It's hard to say for sure. Many of the speakers onboard the ships are, basically, just passengers like you. So it's likely that any given ship that may have had spectacular speakers on a particular cruise may not be as spectacular on a similar cruise if no one contacts the cruise line to offer their services. We've had good speakers on Disney and HAL (mostly on the Panama Canal cruises). We've also had some pretty boring speakers.

There's a big discussion over on the Other Cruise Lines forum regarding Vantage (starts around page 8).

You might want to rethink posting this on an open forum. There's personal info there that can be useful to less scrupulous people.

I'm not sure I'd call them fraudulent, but it's been well known for some time that dealing with Vantage pre-trip/office personnel has been difficult and, oftentimes, challenging. Meanwhile, once on a Vantage trip, the employees are stellar. We had a tulips cruise booked for March 2020 - yeah like that happened... I was on the phone when I heard the news when everything basically shut down then. Before Vantage had even had their first meeting about what to do. Long story, short version - our 2020 trip was moved to a land trip (Nov 2020), when then got moved to tulips cruse in 2021, that was postponed to 2022. We finally did get the trip we had paid for.

Concierge has always been a non-refundable deposit. In many cases, they will allow you to move it to a new cruise, but, even if you move it to a "regular" booking (not Concierge) the deposit remains non-refundable.

Unless there's been a change, the only non-refundable deposit on DCL is if you book Concierge. All other deposits are refundable, until final payment date. Where are you seeing that deposits are non-refundable a year in advance? Typically you can move any payments to a future cruise, but you're going to pay the going rate for that new cruise, not be set at whatever the old reservation cost. Name changes making a reservation a cancellation is sort of new, only been in effect for a few years.