POA1

I know that s*show is a popular way to describe boarding in some ports. May I be so bold as to suggest, that when you encounter a "worst of the worst" scenario, that you describe it as "a world-class, full-blown, no holds barred, circle-jerking, cluster farg?" It (1) gets the point across, and (2) gets a laugh.

Excellent point. There's both an age limit and a cost, so that will weed out nearly every minor child. And, if by some miracle, you see a youngster in the thermal spa every day, hit them up for stock tips or see if they'll give you a little something from the trust fund. 🤑

To distill it down, if you use an FCD (Future Cruise Deposit) for a booking on board, you get double (2x) OBC. We typically carry two FCDs for use in case of a cruise-a-emergency. We actually had two (each) expire because we bought them on a 2018 Christmas cruise. Our Amex was credited $400 in January 2023. So, yeah, we tied up $400 for a few years. But, had it not been for the pandemic, we'd have had a 25% to 50% return on the cost.

The military benefit "attaches" to the veteran's Mariner #. It only shows out to 2025 because that's as far as the schedule goes. I'm pretty sure all the others are subject to annual renewal & usage restrictions.

This one goes out to the people whom I hope to be one day. I know you can visit penguin rookeries, but are there excursions that actually take you to Antarctica? I'm guessing it's by helicopter, but any way would be nice.

I detect savvy parent vibes. 😀

Yes. A dedicated router/hotspot is better, but a phone or laptop will do just fine. You can probably use a tablet as a hotspot, but I've never tried it.

Three gate changes burn enough energy & calories to cover an extra appetizer or dessert.

Welcome to Holland America! Adding to the chorus that says you should keep the original csbin. We've had rooms in similar locations and have never noticed the elevator noise.

This thread certainly rates a "Like & Follow" 👍 Looking forward to your reports and I know my lovely bride will be following along. She loves this itinerary. I will now tag her in the "husband might forget and he best not wake her two hours before the alarm goes off" fashion. @Huskerchick

I don't actually have anything of value to add, but I wanted to say Hello! and let you know that it's good to see you again. 😁

The temporary cache, yes. The internal storage, no. Getting rid of both and then uninstall / reinstall will cause the app to rebuild its database. BTW - this happens with a fair number of apps, so it's good advice to remember. You may only use the advice twice a year, but it's good to know how to brute force fix something.

Clear the cache and stored data. Uninstall and reinstall the app. You'll have to log back in and the app will rebuild the database.

Our December booking was not Have-It-Allable for a few months. Then suddenly, "Poof!"* I could add it. I don't know if they changed the fare code combinability or if they realized that we had some money that they wanted. We decided to go with the EBP and we had already booked our specialty dining. But, the site & the world's best app are still pushing HIA. *-Yep. A little noise and a burst of smoke.

Make sure that the non-drinker is in as the 3rd passenger.

The thing I like least is how people fall for these, 'Let's complain about...' threads. 😉 Yes, I know I'm posting to it, but I waited pretty long. In the interest of contributing to the whine & dine segment, here's what has positively ruined cruising for me:. When they rolled out the Dive In concept to replace the Terrace Grill, they got rid of the Dutch health food, Frikandellen. Now the ships have pickleball and the chance to experience "Frikandel & Pickleball" has been ripped away from us.

And, they have the benefit of being SB rooms which cost less than the SA Neptunes that are midship. If you want ginormous balcony space, these are your goal. Granted, you have to pack a light lunch for the trip to the Neptune Lounge, but spacewise, they can't be beat.

Deprecated?? This thread is heading down the geek hole. I, for one, love it. Ask me about my fleet of old Thinkpads kept alive by Linux.

Our bank's app stopped working for DW about 2 years ago. That was fine because we have computers. Some other, non-essential apps stopped receiving updates. The breaking point was when the app that tracked your cardio on our building's machines was no longer supported. One cannot be expected to walk a couple miles without badges. 🚶‍♀️😉

That would make sense. Apple is the only company that makes the iPhone. There are many companies making Android phones. But... to the point of this thread - anybody rocking an iPhone 6 out there? DW had a 6 Plus and all kinds of apps stopped working. It's not Apple's fault or any other phone manufacturer's fault. App developers can only support a limited number of OS versions. The sad reality is that your phone has about a 4 year lifespan. Five or six if you are lucky.

This isn't really one of the perks, per se, but the Neptune concierges arranged for some garment repairs for us. Gratis. This happened on two different occasions when the airlines decided that our suitcases were ripe for stress testing. They also arranged for corsages & boutonnieres for whatever the heck they were calling formal nights at the time. (We did pay for the flowers. These were in addition to the regular Neptune ones. You can this at the front desk if you aren't in a NS.)

Do they still move drawers between rooms or is that that a relic of the past?

Yes, but you have to bring enough to share with the class. 😁

IIRC, the HAL hotels are both at the airport. (My information, like me, might be a little old.)

Yes, indeed. The Silver & Gold are the formal** night menus for almost all of the year. There is a Red & Green set for Christmas cruises. ** - Yeah, I know it's Dressy now and it used to be Gala. I'm a kindly old codger and I'm sticking with the naming conventions of yore.