POA1

How do they charge the batteries with zero emissions? Even if you charge from solar, there are a lot of emissions to make the panels. I guess this means sail only and there are going to be bunch of sailboats stuck against the fjord walls until the wind changes.

Are you 100% sure of this? I'm on Oceania's email list and we received a hard copy, postal mailer this week stressing reduced deposit, low fares and airfare credit. I can't imagine that someone would spend the money to print a nice brochure on high quality paper stock just to prank me.

The tote bag, of course! 😁 And the chance to show off your orange key card. You'll be so proud buying drinks in front of the non-Co passengers. But then a Neptune Suite guest will show up with their gold card and you will realize just how sad and worthless your life is, your salty, bitter tears dripping onto your orange tote bag - the one that brought you joy only moments before. Now, it's a tragic reminder of your pathetic existence.

I know of one of one for sure. 😉 Unless one of us can't get vacation at the right time.

On our sailing for 2024, the HIA+ - I'm sure there's an actual term for it, but it's premium WiFi, Elite Beverage Package, and gratuities - came to $40/pp/day over cost of the Advantage fare. (Also has the shorex & specialty dining credit.) That increased the value of the HIA by $17/pp/day for Suite tips & $12/pp/day for the Beverage Package. So, we got $29 more value daily for $10 less. And no, the Advantage fare didn't go up. I've been watching it like a hawk. Granted, I had to subtract two fares and divide by the number of days, but we got a genuine deal. I don't know how it impacted other cruises, but it was great for us. Also, we're fresh out of FDCs since the pandemic. If we had pooh-poohed the sale as a "dollar gimmick," we might not have gotten as good a deal.

Thanks. That's what I thought because it's on the Club Orange PDF I diwnloaded from the HAL site. There wasn't no mention of per ship pricing. In fact, when CO first launched, it was $35/day.

It was $25/pp/day for our 7 day cruise in December. It drops to $15/pp/day when you get to 14 days, I think. So, 14 days costs less than 10. $250 pp vs. $210. CO is included with Neptune and Pinnacle Suites.

Nice. I'm considering making a mostly normal comment with just a little bit of randomness thrown in for entertainment value. This Cab is fruit-forward, with a long, lingering finish. I detect a bit of magenta and some earthy notes from the wood aging. While this wine is fine on its own, it really calls out for beef, Popsicles, or lamb. It's ready to drink now. I wouldn't serve this as my first wine of the night, but it would be fine to serve later. Preferably when at least one person is slurring their words. 86 points on a 100 point scale, or orange on the Homeland Security Threat Assessment. I'd probably choose something lighter with pork unless there is a very rich sauce.

I know that there's more of a push to promote the lower cruise fare that comes with a guarantee, and it's kind of more pronounced if you happen to be viewing the "new" HAL sites. BTW - since today, July 13th is celebrate your geekness day, here's how to tell which version of the site you are seeing. You'll need to look at the URL line in your browser. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, you clearly are not celebrating with me today. 😉) In the USA, if the part of the URL after the dot com is: /en_US/ Then you have the old site. I think Canadians get /en_CA/ and I'd guess my UK pals get /en_GB/ and Aussies get /en_AU/ but I don't know for sure and I'd need a VPN in those countries to test it out. (As a geek, I have said VPN. I'm just not really committed to finding out.) Anyway... The new version of the site has URLs with /en/us/ in them. My guess is that the server cookies "stick" you to a version once you hit the old or new flavor. My browsers dump their cookies upon closing because I do a lot of web nonsense and need to always fetch fresh versions of sites and pages. So... If you see /en/ca/ in Canada, you are probably seeing the new version. If you see /en/us/ you definitely are. I noticed this looking at the site when I was trying to find a cruise for 2024. The search changed, and I was like, "What in the actual heck?" That's when I saw the URL change.

The guarantee cabins have been the least expensive for as long as I can remember, and that's at least a couple of decades. We are a "I wanna know exactly where my room is gonna be" kind of people, but there are quite a few posters here who prefer guarantee cabins and the savings.

You probably can't Have It All. You're only able to purchase a la carte components. If this is for the Pacific Coastal Cruise, poke around here or previous roll calls. I kind of recall seeing someone about cell service being available most of the time. If that's the case, then you don't need the wifi component.

I'm pretty sure that all advance purchases have to be completed 3 days before sailing. HAL HQ has to transmit the manifests to the ports and ships. I'd use a week as my cut off just to add a margin of safety. In addition to the Beverage Packages, a lot of items are less expensive in advance.

That's why we're gong a la carte with the EBP in December. Yes, I know it costs more than HIA, but as 4* Mariners, we already get 50% off specialty dining. (We use a router to share a single premium Internet connection.) Since we're only on for a week this time, I didn't want to waste time hoping and trying to get the upgrade. We've always been successful, but it has been a pain in the butt sometimes.

Not everyone has FCDs. They do, however, have a buck. We each had two FCD certs,vur since we haven't sailed since 2018, they expired and we're refunded earlier this year. Because we both still work, we have to account for vacation time. We don't know if we'll be able to get the time we want in 2024 yet. However, were able to choose a cruise we wanted, fully loaded with the goodies we wanted - EBP, premium Interwebs, and gratuities - at a rate we were liked. All for two dollars and almost zero risk, save for the eight bits each. So, while you may not personally see the appeal, I can. Now that I've explained it, hopefully the scajes have fallen from your eyes and you can see it too. 🤔 🤩

I waited almost a half hour to book our CO. Ship's inventory comes in at 7:00 am Pacific and their the only department that can make the CO upgrade moves. Put the phone on speaker and go about your business until they pick up.

Check the bar menus available online. Unless you want really high end single malt Scotch, high end tequilas or cognacs, most of the top shelf alcohol is covered. See if what you like is already covered. You may save time & money with what you already have.

We use clear packing tape on both sides of the luggage tags to reinforce them. We call it "ghetto lamination." If we are flying, we'll take the little tape roll in a suitcase. If we are going to our local neighborhood Port Everglades, we'll complete the tape loop at home. We keep a scissors with TSA approved blade length in our suitcase for removing the tags once we're in our room.

Thanks... Now I'm torn. That's a good problem to have though. We'll just have to book a Pinnacle class ship in 2024.

I was interested in seeing if I was gong to replaced by AI before my next "Live From" later this year. I asked Bard, Google's AI to write humorously about wine snobs. I kinda feel like I'm safe - for now. Actual Bard Response: Sure, here is a humorous take on wine snobs: Wine snobs are a funny bunch. They're always so serious about their wine, and they take themselves way too seriously. They're the type of people who will spend hours talking about the nuances of a particular vintage, and they'll look down their noses at anyone who doesn't share their appreciation for the finer things in life. But wine snobs can also be pretty funny. They're always coming up with these ridiculous ways to describe wine. They'll talk about the "terroir" of the vineyard, or the "mouthfeel" of the wine, or the "legs" that it leaves on the glass. And they'll use all these obscure wine terms that no one else understands. One of my favorite things about wine snobs is their sense of entitlement. They always act like they're the only ones who know anything about wine, and they'll look down their noses at anyone who doesn't share their expertise. But the truth is, most wine snobs don't know as much about wine as they think they do. They just like to sound important. So next time you're around a wine snob, just relax and enjoy the show. They're sure to say something ridiculous, and you'll probably get a good laugh out of it. Here are some humorous examples of things that wine snobs might say: "This wine has a complex nose with hints of cedar, tobacco, and spice." "The mouthfeel is full-bodied and structured, with a long, lingering finish." "The legs on this wine are simply stunning." "This wine is a true expression of the terroir of the region." "I only drink wines that have been aged in French oak barrels." "I'm not a fan of screwcap wines. They just don't taste the same." "I'm not sure what you're drinking, but it's certainly not wine." As you can see, wine snobs can be pretty ridiculous. But they're also kind of funny. So next time you're around one, just relax and enjoy the show. You might just get a good laugh out of it.

And, when you are in port, look for a painted marker on the concrete at the pier. There's a line on cement that the ship uses to make sure that they are aligned with the correct spot on the dock. I learned that on a bridge tour on the Ryndam in 1999. We were in a NS and had taken our parents on their first cruise. DW gave her tour spot to my dad, who as former USMC, really enjoyed the tour.

Oh boy, I hope we have a currant affairs discussion in December!

Ah...The Cruise Memory Maker Machine! I work from home, so my dress shirts don't cycle through the rotation as frequently as they did when I went to the office all the time. I find these little plastic tags after I wash a shirt and then iron it. I just found one that had to be from 2016 based on our cruise photos. (It was stored on a hanger in plastic, and hadn't been worn since we got back.)

That is correct. FCCs are given to you. Usually for incidents or cancellations. FCDs are things you buy.

I'm pretty sure that it's discounted for advance purchase. I'm not sure if you get a better deal if you are in a spa stateroom or suite.

Noooooo! It's the whole reason for our trip. 🤩