POA1

Colin - Would you be so kind as to email me? My address is in my signature. Thanks,

Despite the lack of an embarkation lunch in the MDR, I'll be happy to be your pal. 😁 We'll be busy trying to upgrade our beverage package and make PG lunch reservations when we board, so we would have wound up skipping the MDR anyway. The NY Deli & Pizza is a good embarkation option. The Panorama Deck (10) above the Lido Deck has lots of seating, its own bar, and is often overlooked by people on the first day.

Imagine my disappointment when I discovered that "Dumbstruck Day" did not give you permission to strike dummies. 😯

It's available in advance. In the booking system, there's a display inventory function. Once the voyage code has been entered, they can see the allocated inventory (people) for Club Orange as well as how many slots have been booked. Either the TA got bad info or they got you to book without knowing or checking. I was able to check if CO was available for both our December cruise and our upcoming cruise before I booked.

Absolutely not! It was the highlight of every single person's trip. Besides you, obviously. 😉 I'm just kidding. Left to our own devices, we skipped the MDR lunch in favor of the wider range of choices elsewhere. I grabbed the water and seats while my wife got her food. (I pick the general area where I'll be sitting, so she knows where to find me.) When she gets back with her lunch, it's my turn to get my food. This strategy requires more than one person, so it's not good for solo travelers. It also assumes that one person is willing to eat alone briefly. My wife's dad, on the other hand, loves the MDR embarkation lunch. He likes to meet new people there. We prefer to dine with people we already know. (It's not that we don't like to meet new people. We just like to do it in the bars and lounges.) Bottom line: You aren't alone. But... This is a thread for complaining, so we should just lay low. This is no place for your lack of outrage.

OK. You get an answer from here. You call HAL until you get the same answer from someone there - or you "train" the person at HAL until they give you the correct / answer from Cruise Critic? Then you go to your TA and you give them the same answer? What if the CC answer you start with is wrong? (It might shock you to know, but it happens.) I come back to my original point. Your TA should give you extra for doing their job. If not, you can find one who will give you something for your work.

The first one is already his. We're going to share the next one. If we start to fight, we'll have to take a 3rd trip.

Now, I'm confused. Between the PCCs and the SSCs (inbound sales people), you're looking at hundreds of people. How are you going to train them unless you are sure you know the answers to your questions? Also, how are you going to know when you get the correct answer? Your TA is probably going to have to contact HAL anyway. What if they get a different answer than the one you think is correct? As I mentioned, our TA gave us Champagne on top of the regular $$ when we did his work for him by booking online. If you are going to invest the time to do all the research, you might want to shop your booking to multiple TAs to see who is willing to best compensate you for all your hard work.

Yes. Your PCC or TA can check in advance. The phone reps can probably check as long as they've been trained. I'd recommend that you call during regular HAL business hours. That's 6 AM to 6 PM, Monday through Friday. Outside of those hours, you will likely get a call center rep. There is a limited allocation and it is potentially impacted by Neptune Suites booked as triples or quads. That's because Neptunes and Pinnacle Suites get Club Orange no matter what. If a family of 4 is in an NS, they're using the usual 2 slots plus 2. (I'd expect this to impact holiday and school break cruises.) Demand will probably be higher on the Pinnacle Class ships because they have the dedicated Club Orange dining room. Club Orange is available on entire fleet though. If you can't get Club Orange, don't let that dissuade you. We sailed on HAL for years and only had CO once. It's nice, but would not be a deal breaker for us. (Disclaimer: We have CO booked for our cruise over Easter on the Rotterdam as well. That's so we get a second one of those sweet, sweet Club Orange tote bags. Then we'll each have one.)

Did they just credit the $X you pad for CO toward the upgrade cost? In other words, if the uprade cost $500, you only paid $500-$X?

Probably not. The upsell is going to be to a specific room. (Unless you are paying full price for the upsell. Remember that a paid upsell, initiated by you, is going to use your original fare basis as the starting point.) If HAL sends you an offer, you'll be picking the room. The only time I've seen anything that impacts CO is an upsell to a Neptune. The NS category includes CO. Someone reported that their CO fee was refunded on a Neptune upgrade. I kinda think it was @DaveOKC But I could be wrong.

I should add that our TA gave us a little extra bonus for doing his work for him. He sent us a bottle of champagne each time. (Actual Champagne, not Cremant or other sparkling wine.) This was on top of the normal benefits of booking with his agency. Granted, he was an old school TA who retired during the shutdown, but if you are doing the work, you should get more than the standard benefits when you transfer.

HAL inbound sales support coordinators (SSCs) have a sales goal and a transfer booking counts against them, just like it does for a PCC. Probably not in the exact same proportion, but it does count against them. We always had our TA do the legwork and get answers for us. Over a few decades, I transferred 2 bookings to our TA, both made by me, online. I assume that the website was not taking a hit on the transfer. (Unless the website did take a hit. Maybe that's why it's glitchy. It's sad that it lost a booking in 2011 & 2014.) 😔

Only Pax 1 & 2 have the Beverage Package requirement. The website will add it for everyone, so you have to call in if you only want it for 1 & 2. There's an exception for minors under 18, but you have add it manually by calling.

We received two upsell offers to move from our assigned category V verandah on the Rotterdam to a Vista Suite. The email indicated that the upgrade did not include the bonus Mariner credit. I knew that from past experience. (Credit is based on the APO, or originally booked category.) We declined both offers. I probably would have bit on a Signature or Neptune, but we're in the "pointy" V opposite the Pinnacle Suite, so we already have a larger balcony and slightly larger than average amount of interior space. So, we stayed out, content in the knowledge that we already had an awesome cabin.

Other than nonrefundable fares, like casino rates, you can wait until final payment to add cruise protection. The cruise protectiin isn't really insurance, although the platinum version has some insurance components. It's cancel for any reason protection. There is no age limit, no pre-existing conditions limit. Our TA said it was our best bet once I hit 50.

That must be some GOOD soup to be eating it in the tropics!

Exactly. If you booked HIA+, it usually zeroes out prior to boarding. If you have OBC and not prepaid crew appreciation, you'll see the daily charge on your folio

I think the turnaround ports are SEA and YVR. That 1 day is part of the "Coastal" itineraries. It's been on the schedule for many years.

They hold roughly half the tables back for onboard reservations. The issue for you is that the 1 day coastal cruise is part of a few other itineraries. $17 of your $25 will be consumed by crew appreciation.

The Have It All with crew appreciation, aka HIA+, is usually only available more than a year in advance. You might see it in some sales, but it's most often the incentive to book early. On the other hand, you'll sometimes see bonus OBC. Occasionally, the bonus OBC exceeds the value of the crew appreciation / gratuities. I saw that during January and February. On some close-in sailings of 12 days or less, your OBC was more than adequate tu to cover tips.

Not likely. The Dutch Café has always been additional cost for coffee and cocktails. It's probably just a clarification.

I may have misunderstood you, @TAW1963 1 thought you were talking about a price reduction + upgrade. They will allow you to do a paid upgrade and keep CO. We received two upgrade offers on our upcoming Rotterdam sailing. We originally booked VH (obstructed verandah) and used CO to upgrade to a category V (one of the pointy ones on the bump out.) We got two offers from the PLUS upgrade department. Both were to vista suites. The second offer was at a lower price. We declined both offers because we really like our cabin location and you don't get double Mariner credit days on an upgrade. If we had taken the upgrade, Club Orange would have followed us.

If you are past final payment, you are in penalty. It's gotta be a heck of a price drop to be worth it. Assuming you have cancellation protection, you'll forfeit that and either 10% or 20% of the cruise fare. (Taxes, fees and port expenses will be refunded.) You will also lose Club Orange and, if there's a wait list, the next person in line will get CO.

If they don't coat the strawberries in chocolate, what keeps the germs out?