Torquer

We always use the same credit card when paying for a cruise. In case there are any serious disputes requiring a charge back, there are no issues with how the cruise was paid for and whom to file the dispute with (we've never had to do it on a cruise yet and hopefully will never have to). For a recent cruise in the PS, the final payment with business-class air exceeded our credit limit on our card of choice. So we paid half one day on the credit card, the next day it was posted on our credit card account so we paid it off completely with a transfer from our local bank account, the next day our balance on the credit card was back to $0, and finally we paid the remainder of the cruise the next day with the same card.

Question on MDR service @VMax1700Thanks for your continuing coverage of your cruise. The info on the train in Katakolon was very useful for our planning. Now a couple of questions on the MDR. Are both levels of the dining room open on your cruise? We have heard on some ships that the upper level is closed due to few passengers. How is the service in the MDR and also the line to get in? We have read it has been slow on some ships and want to hear about Oosterdam.

In the couple years before covid, PS and NS had an expanded room service menu over normal rooms, including several hot entrees. This included mimosas (which I had a couple times) and maybe bloody marys (which I did not). Now that I think of it, it actually might have been included with club orange too, which automatically includes PS and NS. I do remember in the club orange dining room getting offered mimosas, so it could have been for everyone in club orange that also got the expanded room service menu.

@VMax1700Thanks for your cruise report it is a great help to us for our cruise later this summer on Oosterdam. It looks like you got a paper version of the Where & When (or whatever it is called) and of the MDR menus. Did you have to ask for them or were they immediately provided? Earlier in covid there was a big uproar over the lack of paper, with some people forced to use their phones. We definitely prefer paper and are happy if they automatically come without being asked.

@terrydtx Try the technique I show in the referenced post (comment #56) for getting into FlightEase to manage your flights: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2856034-more-flight-ease-drama/?do=findComment&comment=63359158

Secret to Getting into FlightEase Website to Manage Bookings Like many people, I have had numerous problems over the past months getting into FlightEase to manage my flights for an upcoming cruise. I used to get the error message: We are unable to process your request. Please try again later or call us at the number listed on the page for assistance. Well I finally figured out a way around it that now works 100% of the time for me. If you are having trouble, please try this to see if it works for you. Since this technique fixes it, it is obviously a bug in HAL's HTML/JavaScript coding. Here are the steps. I use Firefox under Windows. If you try it with a different browser or OS, then I have no idea if it will work and you will have to figure out the equivalent commands. Login to the HAL website and go to "Already Booked" and then "Manage My Bookings" Click "Travel Planning" and then "Pre & Post Cruise Travel" Click "Flights" and then "Begin" You are now on the "FlightEase" web page. Do not hit "Book and Manage Flights" yet. In the Firefox browser menu bar, click "Tools" and then "Settings". If you don't always have this menu bar showing at the top of the browser, you can click on the "hamburger" icon (the three horizontal lines icon...google "hamburger icon" if you don't know what I am talking about), and then click "Settings" from there. From the Settings Menu, click "Privacy & Security" Scroll down to the History section. Click on "Clear History..." Make sure "Cache" is checked. I have everything else unchecked and I think it will work if other items are checked, but that will affect your browsing experience, so I would recommend just checking "Cache" and have all the other boxes unchecked. Then click "OK" and close the "Settings" tab on the browser. Go back to the "FlightEase" web page tab and now hit "Book and Manage Flights" and you can view and change your flights. Please follow these steps precisely as written, and let us know if it works or does not work. As I said, it has worked 100% of the time for me for the past 3 weeks after I figured out this technique. If this is working for others, I can post a series of screenshot photos that show the exact steps of what to click. If you are getting a different error message from FlightEase, then this technique will likely not work, but this error message is very common as I have seen numerous posts on it. And as I said, I can not guarantee it will work for other browsers/OS, but it works perfectly with Firefox on Windows.

@VMax1700Just curious what time is your flight out of VCE? Given the long bus ride, if I was arranging my own transportation, I would want to leave Trieste at least 5 hours before the flight. So I am wondering what HAL thinks is enough time.

We are looking forward to reading your reports as we have an identical cruise (the same port stops) later in the summer on Oosterdam. We are particularly interested if there are any covid restrictions in Turkey. Also are you using HAL's transfers back to Venice and if so, have you heard what time they will leave.

I have personally only used the public vaporetto boats, until our upcoming trip this summer when we will use the water taxis. They claim to take credit cards. BTW, I have read that tips are neither required nor expected for the drivers (as tipping in general is very minimal in Italy, and much of Europe for that matter). Here is their website for the consortium of water taxis in Venice: https://www.motoscafivenezia.com/en/

We are in the same boat. We plan to take a private water taxi from VCE to our hotel, and then another water taxi from our hotel to Tronchetto for the HAL bus transfer. We will let our hotel call the water taxi company on the morning we leave Venice. Unless you are in exceptionally good shape, you cannot walk from St Marks to the entrance to the people mover; it is way too far with bridges and suitcases. You might be able to use the public vaporetto boats, but you would have to figure out the connections. For the four of us, a private water taxi is not unreasonably expensive, but it does get a bit pricey for just two people. However, your options are pretty limited.

I think the OP is being way to optimistic and risky on what can be done in one day on your own. On our first visit to Rome, we took the ship's shore excursion. This was only our second cruise ever so we did the ship's tour since we were worried if a private tour company would get us back to the ship on time, given how far Civitavecchia is from Rome. It was a hectic day but a good introduction to Rome. Years later, we were on a cruise that ended in Civitavecchia and we then spent 3 days after the cruise exploring Rome. The only site that we actually duplicated between the two trips was the Coliseum, and that was because it was included in a package deal with the Forum, that we purchased through our hotel's concierge. If I had to do it again, I would have done a guided tour by a private company, instead of from the ship for our visit. But other than that I would strongly encourage a guided tour for your one day in Rome. You will see much more, be less tired, and definitely less stressed about getting back to the ship on time.

Several posts above mentioned "ATM/debit card". Be careful; they are not the same. We have never had a problem in Europe getting cash from an ATM machine using a debit card with either the Visa or Mastercard logos on the card. On the other hand we have almost always had a problem trying to use a straight ATM card in Europe that just uses the NYCE, STAR, etc. network from the US. It just doesn't work over there, for the most part. We have had success using a straight ATM card in Europe on the Allpoint network, but those machines are few and far between (but there is no fee for them if you can find one).

Have tickets really been issued? This cruise will be the first time we are using FlightEase, and so far things have gone fine for us. We just made final payment for the cruise and airfare. The next day I went to FlightEase and clicked the "Issue tickets" button. Today, I went to the FlightEase site, and clicked the "View e-ticket". Our ticket numbers do show up there. I then went to the Lufthansa website to double check and could not get in right now; it looked like a problem on their end. I then went to the Air France website to double check our return flights, and our flights show up, along with the eTicket numbers and seat assignments. So other than the glitch with Lufthansa, which I think is just their temporary problem, does this mean that HAL actually paid the airlines and the tickets have been issued? In other words, you would not actually have an eTicket number until this has occurred, is that correct? Sorry, I don't know exactly how this works and with all the horror stories I have read about FlightEase lately, I want to be completely sure everything is in order with our tickets.

Question on transfers from Trieste back to Venice Wow! Hope things improve for our cruise on Oosterdam later this summer. Can you tell us about the transfers from Trieste back to Venice when disembarking. What time did the buses leave Trieste? HAL has refused to tell us what time they will leave, and specifically if they will be early enough to catch flights out of VCE around noon.

I always felt these 4 category upgrade sales were just a marketing gimmick. The website never provides any real details; if I book category X, then what category do I get upgraded to. You have to contact O and they will make up whatever rules they want to maximize their profit. Why can't they provide details? We are fortunate that we are always able to cruise in OS/VS/OC suites. Has anyone ever been upgraded to one of these from PH as part of one of these sales? If so, I would jump on it, but I have never even bothered to investigate, because I figured there is no way O would allow it. I just sniffed a couple of the cruises listed for the current sale and it says it applies to categories C-PH2. I assume the upgrade from PH2 would be to just PH1, even though the higher suites are still available.

Question 2: It is relatively easy to find an online travel agent that will give you a discount or rebate of 4% to 10%. Depending on the TA, they will take it off the price you pay them. Others will give you a rebate check once you have completed the cruise. You will almost certainly have to call or email the TA directly; they do not list the exact discount on their websites and we found the more costly the cruise, the bigger the discount. We always stay in a Neptune or Pinnacle Suite, so this is really a significant amount of money. If we stayed in less expensive cabins, I would probably book directly with HAL; that way you can have your assigned Personal Cruise Consultant that may get questions answered quicker than a TA. Question 3: For cruises less than 14 days, we have found the deposit to typically be in the $500 range, per person. But it varies based on the cruise and HAL often has specials that reduce it further. For example, on a 12-day cruise later this summer in the Pinnacle Suite, our total deposit for 4 people is only $600.

I think someone is having a problem with basic counting skills. In your example, 1 day before is Tuesday, 2 days before is Monday, 3 days before is Sunday. You are saying if the requirement would have been 1 day before, then it would have to be done on Wednesday (your embarkation day); that just doesn't make sense. Furthermore, why are you bringing 72 hours into play? HAL never mentions hours in: Europe cruise protocols PDF Now, I don't know precise wording from Spain, but the post above on Canada's 2-day requirement has a completely clear example: post #13

@LaminatorThat is truly an amazing offer...I never heard of Neptune Suites being comped by the casino....and 2 of them at that. I have to ask the question, and you are certainly free to simply not answer if it is too personal: how much money do you gamble on a typical cruise to get that kind of comp? A ballpark figure of how many digits in the number is fine with me. Congratulations on your good fortune...you hit the jackpot the instant you embark on the cruise with an offer like that!

First, you said that "If you purchase restricted fares and HAL cancels your cruise....you are out of luck..." Obviously, that is not correct; if you pay for something and they do not deliver then they must provide a cash refund (not FCC). It is only if you cancel, that you are out of luck. But even that is not completely correct, at least recently with covid; we canceled two non-refundable cruises and used the deposit for a future cruise. Furthermore, I have never read in the HAL policies or heard on CC that purchasing refundable cruise fares has anything to do with FlightEase. I believe HAL gives equal help with flights that are changed or cancelled by the airlines. Now our cruise this summer is the first one we are using FlightEase, so I am not an expert; can other people confirm or deny this.

Since you are in a Neptune suite, in most cases you will be able to board as soon as boarding opens on embarkation. For the other people in your group, Whittier is a special port since it is so far from airports and other transportation. The vast majority of people come on HAL-supplied transportation. I suspect they will stagger the arrivals so that people will be able to board soon after they arrive at the terminal. Now the train does hold quite a few people compared to those arriving via buses, so there may be some boarding delay.

On our next cruise on embarkation day the ship leaves port at 7PM. We plan to get on the ship at noon, or as early as possible, drop our carry-on bags in our cabin and have lunch. Is it then possible to leave the ship and do some nearby sightseeing, probably on foot, and then return to the ship before she sails. I have never heard of people doing this, but we also never had a cruise that actually left this late in the evening. I could imagine HAL might not permit it since it would be confusing with people in the terminal doing initial check-in versus people returning to the ship that already had their key cards.