PCruzer

Remember that there is not a drug store on every cornor so bring otc drugs that might be needed during cruise also enough toothpaste deoderant etc needed as if you do find it can be costly. I plan on being sulf sufficant so i do not have to spend valuable port time searching for what i might need. See you on board.

Yes, I plan to stock up on all the essentials and those items we might need. Have plenty of time to plan. Look forward to meeting you.

If you take prescription meds you will have to work with your doctor and the prescription plan you have in order to get a four month supply.

I did not think of medications. Very good tip! Thanks!

Here is a link to a website with some tips

 

http://www.theinsidecabin.com/2018-world-cruise-faq/

 

 

www.theinsidecabin.com

Great info! Thanks!

Yes, we are registered for Informed Delivery.

With mail; check your post office. They will only hold mail here in Fla. for 30 days. We have friends take in the mail and just throw it in a box till we get home.

I believe that we can forward our mail to my sister’s house. What about paying our property taxes? I wonder if we can pay them prior to receiving the tax bill?

What about doing your tax return? Do you file for an extension?

My husband and I have booked our first world cruise for Jan 2019. We are trying to think of everything that we have to take care of on the homefront in order to be away from our house for 113 days. Things like our mail, paying our yearly taxes, etc. Can any of you veteran world cruisers tell us what you do with all the things that need to be done at home while you are on this long cruise? Thanks!

Could you please add us to the list?

 

Westerdam

January 20, 2018

15-day Panama Canal Transit

 

Thanks!

Copper, would you be able to list the current CD's for each of the HAL ships? Thanks!

Hope our return flight from Tampa goes as smoothly. We have an 11:40 am on a Friday.

Good to know. Thanks!

Please add us to the list:

 

Oosterdam

February 3, 2017

14-day Caribbean

I've used melatonin with great success. I take a 3 mg tablet before bedtime. I do a little reading and my eyes are closing.

Get your table, hold it, and don't feel you are putting any one out. You have as much right to eat your food together---while it's hot!---as anyone.

 

I like the way you think! :)

We are booked in a Neptune Suite on the Oosterdam. Is there someone I can call prior to embarkation to make sure there is a lightweight cotton blanket in our cabin? The duvets, while very pretty, are way too warm for us. We never are able to get the alternate cotton blanket the first night. The stewards are so busy delivering luggage, etc. Any ideas?

Thank you to all for your opinions on Crystal vs. HAL. We are veteran HAL cruisers, so going to a new line is a difficult decision, but we are unhappy with the direction that HAL is going toward (larger ships, more passengers). We have not considered Oceania but will check them out, too.

Rafinmd cruises Crystal a lot. He can help but is cruising right now and I don't know if he will see this. If he doesn't post, I suggest you bump this later as I am sure he will give you some insight happily if he sees this thread.

 

He also does live threads on Crystal and has a blog which may be worth taking a look at ;)

Thanks so much!

Are there any HAL veterans who have also cruised on Crystal? I know that Crystal is a more upscale line. What did Crystal do better than HAL? Did you feel as comfortable on Crystal as on HAL? Is there anything that HAL did better than Crystal?

I wish instead of getting rid of the books, they'd create an electronic library that would let people download books to their Kindles.

Love this idea!

bUU & iancal,

 

Looks like we will have to agree to disagree! Wishing you a very happy holiday season! Happy travels!

That's one of those things that one cannot complain about without risking casting aspersion on one's self. How respectful is it to characterize other folks in a disparaging manner due to their legitimate choice of attire?

I believe that cruise lines, HAL included, need to decide what they want to be. As someone else mentioned previously, HAL can't be everything to everyone. They need to make up their mind. Either they have gala/formal nights...whatever you want to call them...or they don't. If they insist on defining gala nights as an option, you end up with a mixed bag of all kinds of attire. I'm sorry, but this just does not work on a cruise ship. It can be a very magical evening when all passengers make an effort to dress nicely on the same night. It also inspires a certain behavior. A very special feeling. My husband and I have been seated on a gala/formal night with other passengers in various modes of dress. The most outrageous was a couple in shorts/tank tops. (I thought shorts were not permitted in the DR at night???) It was very uncomfortable for us. Not sure how the shorts people felt. As you can tell, I like the gala/formal nights, but if HAL was to discontinue them and make all nights Smart Casual, I would be fine with it. Just so long as some semblance of a dress code was enforced. No shorts, sneakers, tank tops, Teva's, etc.

 

I would like to thank everyone who responded to this post. I didn't realize when I asked about Gala nights that the discussion would erupt like it did. I guess I should have known better. As for our 14-day winter cruise, my husband will leave the tux behind and go with blazers and dress slacks.

 

Wishing all the Cruise Critic family a very joyous holiday season!:)

I am a pastor. Last fall our wedding coordinator had to tell a photographer that she didn't get the memo that she was photographing a wedding. She was wearing shorts (think daisy dukes) and a printed t-shirt. When told she could take all of the photographs she wanted from the balcony but could not be in the aisle in her attire she was quite unhappy. The groom was in a tux . . .

:eek:

I am not at all sorry to see the dressed chairs go. They were hard to move when you sat down or got up from the table, and the glitter from formal wear stuck to them like anything!

I agree with the dressed chairs...mostly due to the way they looked. The last I recall, they were made of a stretchy material. But prior to that, they were a regular woven fabric (cotton?) and were always wrinkled beyond belief. They never looked very nice.

Chiming in - just off 14 day S. Caribbean on the Oosterdam - D.H. really questioned bringing his tux, and insisted on also bringing dress slacks, shirt, tie, and blazer. He ended wearing the latter for our 3 gala nights, and has stated he won't be needing his tux anymore :(. I love how he looks in a tux, but understand his reluctance to 'stand out from the crowd'. Darn!

Thank you so much for posting, as this is the same cruise we will be on this winter. Can you tell me if most men wore a jacket/tie on Gala nights? If not, how were they dressed? My husband also doesn't like to "stand out" from everyone else. He usually brings a tux, but we haven't cruised the Caribbean in 2 years, and a lot has seemed to change since then. He was going to bring a couple sports jackets and ties, but from what I am reading on these boards, even that attire is in the minority. If that is the case, did you find any difference in Smart Casual vs. Gala attire?

Not much any longer. The menu and the dining steward uniforms are about the only evidence this night is any different. Passengers obviously voted with their own choice of attire and passengers are what makes the cruise line run..

So on a Gala night, the dining room stewards are dressed better than the dining passengers! LOL! I saw someone mention dressing "casual" on the Gala nights. What does "casual" now denote? Just how casual is "casual?"