magandab

I’m looking for the best way for four of us to go to the butterfly farm and back to the ship.  Suggestions?

Now that we get boarding times from HAL, can suite passengers ignore the assigned time and show up early.  We have an early boarding time but our family members also sailing in suites, have later boarding times.  Can  they show up to check in when we do, or should they wait?  Not trying to get ahead of anyone else, just wondering what the protocol is.

My husband and I are taking our first Disney cruise in January 2023, taking our niece and nephew and their families.  This is a 4 night out of Miami.looking for a pre-cruise hotel for one night, preferably with an airport and cruise terminal shuttle.  Please help!

Does anyone have a copy of the daily activities that is left on the bed each evening.  No particular ship or cruise.  I’m taking my sister-in-law on an Alaska glacier cruise this summer and would like to share it with her.  Her first ever cruise.

We are waiting at ONT for our quick flight to Seattle.  Hope to see you on board!

Amy H

I was active on this board several years back.  I was gifted with some lovely items and shared some of mine.  Right now I have a few gorgeous formal gowns, some with the tags still attached.  Before I donate them elsewhere, is anyone still looking?  I think they are mostly size 10.

 The Rotterdam in  Honningsvag, Molde, and Gerainger Norway.
 

This is my mani/pedi for our trip to Hawaii.  Kiara Sky dip powder on my fingers, and Kiara Sky polish on my toes.

I just got these today and so far, they feel great and look good.  I have major foot issues so finding a comfortable shoe is difficult.

https://www.amazon.com/Viakix-Napali-Sandal-Brown-US/dp/B07K8YR8Y9/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Viakix&qid=1582425737&sr=8-1

I’ve recently started using Kiara Sky dip powder.  Four manis in and I’m getting the hang of it.  My nails grow so fast that getting acrylics was busting my budget.  We are going to Hawaii in two weeks (non cruise) and plan on mermaid green on my toes but I’m not sure for my fingers.  This is what I’m wearing now.

How funny Marie!  I just came back to CC after about three years.  
 

My husband Tim passed away three years ago and since then it’s been quite the ride.  I am in a new house, I remarried last July to a wonderful man, Dan.  My mom passed away a couple of months ago, at the ripe old age of 91.

Dan and I have booked a cruise (his first) to Alaska in September, and we are taking his youngest daughter and her husband with us.

I have some dresses I need to pull out and offer up here!

Hello ladies! I’ve been gone for quite a while due to a couple of major life upheavals. Almost two years ago my husband passed away after a sudden, brief battle with lung cancer. Some days it still doesn’t seem possible or real. I own have my mother living with me. She will be 90 in a few weeks.

However I have recently been seeing a wonderful man and while a cruise is in our future, he’s invited me to two fancy/formal occasions in November and December, so I thought I’d better get back into the swing of this fashion thing. I haven’t worn anything but jeans or shorts for way too long!

Hello ladies! It's been a long time since I was on the Boards, for a variety of reasons.

VeraBradley.com has a sale, today only, 40% off all sale prices. The sale price will show up in your cart. I just got 7 matching pieces, plus a free bag also available, including tax, for $200. No minimum but I decided to get a matching set.

Hi Lois! I've been away from the Boards for more than a year, after having to cancel my last cruise due to my mom's bad fall. DH and I, along with another couple are going to go to Alaska next August, so, of course, I'm back browsing around.

I am so sorry to hear of you diagnosis but it appears that everything is under control. I wish you the very best.

I imagine you are on your cruise with your sister right now and I hope you are having a BLAST!

I found Michael Langley to be the best CD I've ever sailed with. He's personable, intelligent, and does not try to tell jokes constantly. Very very nice individual. And, I'm friends with him on Facebook too.

I am pleased to see this blog is evolving into a more serious discussion of HAL and the cruses industry "Best Practices".

If this were a Harvard Case Study on Cruise Industry Best Practices and "Worst Practices", how do you all think it would play out.

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the Best Mark, how would HAL and the Industry Score in your mind, Marketing, Pricing, Discounting, and Booking Practices and your Industry sense of fairness, honesty, truthfulness. and YOUR definition of Ethical Practices. There seems to be a wide diversity on the definition of Ethical.

I don't buy that if the entire Industry is doing it, it is now the benchmark for ethics !!!!

When did this become a blog and who is the author of the blog?

It has become a way of life today, if someone voices an objection to something or policy or system and you disagree with that person to label them as a Whiner, Facist, Crybaby, Racist etc., instead putting forth an intelligent argument

Yes, I question the cruise line's policy because I HONESTLY think that many of their policies are unfair and unethical and will continue defend my right to do so. I do so with regard to areas of life not just cruise lines.

I think it is called the "American Way"

 

You absolutely have the right to your opinion and to state your opinion. You asked a question: "What is fair?" You got an answer and you didn't like it. Live with it.

Golly I'm sure glad I got bored and came back on here to read a bit. In this ever-changing world, it's nice to see that some things (and people) never change.

'For indeed a man ought not to cover his head, being the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man'

 

St Paul to the Corinthians

 

 

Not a believer myself - but thought this might help with some background :)

St. Paul's letters to the Corinthians are in the New Testament and would have no bearing on a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke.

I know I'm going to regret weighing in......

Die Librije[/i] is, without question, the best meal I have had at sea, both times I have had it--once on the Eurodam and once on the Rotterdam. The latter was particularly memorable as the Cellar Master was in the PG for the first part of the evening, ankd was the best Cellar Master it has ever been my pleasure to have on board.

 

[i.

Our experience on the Rotterdam was the same. Do you remember who the cellar master was?

We did a 14 day Fjord cruise on the Rotterdam last year and I would sail her again in a minute. I think it became my favorite HAL ship. Wonderful service. We found the food in the MDR so good that we cancelled most of our Pinnacle reservations. The announcements are in two languages, but, especially if Michael Langley is still the CD (and I think he will still be on in the spring) they will be brief with no painful attempts at humor.

Edited to say it was the year before last. Still feels like 2015!

As some of you might remember, my mom and I were booked on a 7 day, Vancouver RT Alaska cruise last August. She had a bad fall in late July and we had to cancel. She is doing very well, but her mobility is far more limited than it was and she's using a rollator to get around now.

We are starting to think of trying that cruise this summer and see that both the Volendam, which is what we had booked, and the Niew Amsterdam both sail this itinerary. Given my mom's limited mobility, we would likely take this cruise and stay on the ship in port. Or she will and I might wander into whatever town for an hour or so.

I suspect that the larger ship will offer more to do, but the smaller ship will be easier to get from place to place.

For those of you who have limited mobility, which would you choose? FYI, she'll be 88 by the time we would go.

I've only flown Economy Plus once, but it was on Qantas so unfair to compare it to any domestic airline. Our 14 hour flight from LAX to Sydney went faster than I could have imagined. Four absolute necessities:

An over-the-head, no metal parts, bra. I usually wear Genie.

A really good neck pillow. Anything inflatable irritates my neck so I got this one. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RH7450?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00

Comfortable compression knee socks. I have found that for compression without pain, long enough to stay up on my long legs, and once they are on I forget about them, I use these women's ski compression socks. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005J5AXL2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

A pair of clog type shoes you can walk in. They are handy for slippers once you arrive at your destination and can be taken on and off on the airplane with no trouble.

Forgot to add, that my definition of "formal" really doesn't matter; it's how the cruise line I choose to sail defines it. Since it doesn't appear that my mom will be cruising anymore, and DH doesn't do dress-up, clean and neat will be my rule of thumb.

Congratulations on your upsell to a Neptune Suite.

I see that you are on the Rotterdam.

On the R class ships, breakfast is on the upper level of the dining room for the PS and Neptune Suites.

You will love the free laundry as well.

We were on the Rotterdam last year in a Neptune Suite. Breakfast was in the Pinnacle Grill.