POA1

I called the Mariner Society and had my birthday changed. I am now 9 HAL days older. That's like setting my clock ahead 216 times. Even though we gain an hour this weekend, I'm still going to be super tired.

Does Have It All cover the Coca Cola Freestyle machine? Not that I am into soda... I just wanted to know if Have It All is all-all or mostly-all.

You cannot find the price sheet on the HAL site any longer. Bear in mind that it's possibly a website glitch, although the HAL site is usually flawless. From what I can discern the prices have gone up.

For science? 😉

Double check. I'm pretty sure that military OBC can be used multiple times per year. It has a different rule set that AARP, teachers and others.

It's a shame that they don't have one of those staggered Olympic podiums on board. You could run around the ship, trying to find other passengers who had the medal colors different from yours and all have your picture taken on the platforms. Of course, that would leave a lot of people out. The restraining orders wouldn't help, either.

I'm hoping the title will keep this from getting whisked to the ports page because it only concerns Holland America terminals at Port Everglades.... Do they still have the Global Entry line at PE?

Remember the old, mile-based medallions? Or the # of voyage pins? It's like the pre-decimilization British Pound. I will continue to refer to mine as "bronze-like." The Mariner Society calls it bronze as well. https://www.hollandamerica.com/blog/recent-articles/whats-new/why-to-join-holland-america-mariner-society-loyalty-program/ I know that copper is worth more than bronze 🥉, but I associate it with gold 🥇and silver 🥈medals. It just screams, "I'm number three!"

Grab the PDF of the deck plan before you call about the upgrade. That way, you can see where to your room will be. Familiarize yourself with the little symbols so that you know what is obstructed, has no overhang, etc. In general, V is the highest category, followed by VA, VB, VC... All the way down to VH. The side of the ship, port or starboard, probably doesn't matter much. If you want an aft verandah, they will be in VB on the Eurodam.

Have It All is definitely the way to go if you are thinking of the Signature Beverage Package. It costs less than the beverage package alone.

You mean, "setting them free" or "taking to the country to live with a nice family on a farm."

I'm not seeing it for our December 10th Nieuw Statendam, but our March Rotterdam cruise has a "hole" in the Tamarind schedule mid-voyage.

Don't forget that you can get a free celebration cake delivered on the day of your choosing. I think the standard ones are birthday, anniversary, engagement or other. I guess you use other for retirement, graduation, early release...

That's excellent! I'm glad that you have the tote bag and the inner wellspring of joy that it brings.

If you have fixed seating, you'll just go to your assigned table. Remind your waiter to give you the Club Orange menu. It has an extra entrée each night. The Club Orange podium is for open seating.

You should be able to have it delivered any day. Ask your PCC or TA to take care of it. Or, call in to HAL.

However, I'm on the Rotterdam for my Mariner birthday next year. My real birthday is a few days after we get back. If I fix the date, will I miss out on all the presents?

I, for one, am very excited to welcome you to Four Star Marinerhood, @JanDom Welcome to the world of free laundry and pressing, discounted specialty dining, and wine packages! You also get access to the exclusive entertainment event called "Complimentary Wine Tasting," where you can be amazed at the pretentiousness of some your fellow travelers. Full list of perks are both listed at the URL below and posted on the wall of the secret 4* Mariner tree house. https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/plan-a-cruise/get-ready-for-your-cruise/mariner-society

I did try to use Bard, Google's AI to write some port intros for our upcoming trip. I seeded it with "humorous introduction to San Juan two paragraphs" and the results were subpar, even across multiple runs and phrasings of the seed text. I figure my "job" here is safe for the time being. Of course, if AI does start to mimic my writing, we've got much bigger problems.

Cruise prices can go down. They sometimes go up though. Airfare almost always goes up closer in. There can be issues with excursion availability. The perks of booking early, like Have It All Plus usually are not available. However, if you don't care about the excursions and you can drive to the port, it could make sense.

In all fairness, I just noticed it myself. I'm kind of on the fence about correcting it. I suppose I will. Update: Just looked at how to correct it. I have to call the Mariner Society. They're in charge of when I was born.

They removed casino chips from the pre sailing shopping items on the 10th. It still there for a few days but not working. You could add chips to your cart but they disappeared before check out. It was really annoying. Now they're simply no longer available. It's a real shame because the HAL website is normally flawless. A true joy to use. 🤪

Charger plates are used at at a fair number of restaurants. I didn't even give them a second thought. Heck, we have a set here at home. They come out any time we're using our actual china - so maybe a few times a year.

From the WayBack Machine - There was a couple who donned flippers, masks & snorkels - and formal wear on what were formerly called formal nights We sailed with them in the early 2000s. Surely someone remembers them besides me.

A PDF is an Adobe file format. You should have a PDF attachment to your booking confirmation. The Club Orange info is on page 2 or higher. Here is what it looks like.