*Miss G*

Yay! Did you go through the CO/Paid Upgrade number or was it through your travel agency?

Nothing special with shoes. I wrap each one in a plastic bag and then Tetris them into the nooks and crannies. 👍

These are my absolute favourite purchase: Lewis N Clark compression packing cubes. I got them at Dollarama and liked them so much that I paid full price on Amazon for more after my husband scoffed some. (Pic shows US price.) I have other brands but these remain my favourite. The reason I like them is they are soft and light, have no residual manufacturing odour, and are well made. They breathe and wash well. I sort clothes in groups by putting t-shirts/tops in one, pants in another, etc. Once filled, close the main zipper then close the compression zipper. Then I Tetris them in my suitcase. I use a carry-on but sometimes I’ll check it, depending on circumstances. When I unpack on the ship I expand them and transfer the entire cube from my suitcase to the shelves or drawers. Et voilà, c’est tout.

Ah, I think I see the problem. They can’t refare the booking because it wasn’t through Holland America. You’re asking for a drop in price from an amount you agreed to pay to another vendor. HAL can’t arbitrarily change that contract because they aren’t the ones who have the booking. You would need to cancel with the TA then rebook through HAL to get the price differential. Or convince your TA to amend the booking, which it sounds like they’re not willing to do. Good luck.

The response from your TA is baffling to me. Can you cancel and rebook through HAL? It seems you are being lead down the garden path.

Yes, posted a few days ago.^^ A question for you: You say that the OP has to go through their TA. Did you call HAL and that’s what they told you?

My question seems to have put you on the defensive. I was genuinely curious. That’s all.

You also hide the beverages in a drawer and haven’t had charges appear on your account? I know I’ve had the bar steward empty it (by request via the room steward) but there are times when I’ve left it and they have come in to do inventory and replenish and the charge appears on my bill.

Doesn’t that cause an issue when In-Room Bar Service comes to take stock/replenish or do you let the room stewards know in advance?

Thanks for taking us along! I really enjoyed following along. Have a safe trip home. 🛫

It’s also required for the Greek Odyssey segment of their sailings. I am interested to see the logistics of how HAL handles this.

Absolutely! Had a great time. ☀️ 🏖

I think it’s brilliant. (Nice save, btw. lol)

The Voyage of the Vikings goes every July. It gets rave reviews and is on my bucket list. Hopefully, one day. After retirement. 🫠

My parents, daughter, and son-in-law are on the Boston-QC run disembarking Oct 8th. They would be most unsettled to learn they had to be off the ship at midnight in the middle of the St. Lawrence. 😂

The Pinnacle Grill breakfast is only for Neptune and Pinnacle Suite passengers. Club Orange passengers have the enhanced menu in the Main Dining Room on non-Pinnacle class ships.

I, too, was trying to figure out why this was “new” news since they’ve always done longer North America/return voyages…. until I realized it’s a marketing campaign. Seems to be working since there’s now a thread on it. 👍

Thank you, @cruisemom42. By the time this trip is over I will have hit 10 airports with four different airlines. It did not start out this way. lol

Thank you. My sister will be flying to the UK (where she lives) and I will be flying to Paris. Neither of us are flying with Ryanair, however, so we should be good. Thanks again.

Thank you for your description of the process, VMax. We have transfers but are not catching a flight that day. We are going to be staying a few days. Could you please expand on “2 hours too early”? We have flown into VCE, but never out. Their website says to arrive 3 hours prior. Did you arrive 5 hours before your flight? Any tips?

Did you use a debit card instead of a credit card?

And even that’s not sure fire. 😉

This link may help out: Toronto Pearson - While You are Here

No, I googled the requirements for a number of lines, trying to get clarity. ALL of them state it is a requirement as a “special voyage”. So somewhere in Greece’s policies is a statement which specifies different processes for cruise ships, much like Canada does. At least with Canada, however, the information is available on the government website.

I second the suggestion for a Pinnacle-class ship. (Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam, Rotterdam) Your husband will love Music Walk. THIS LINK gives a pretty good synopsis of it. Also much more for the kids to do, including popcorn, pizza, and wings as they watch the movies under the stars.