Renmar

Any "Mandatory" tip should be mentioned on the menu or otherwise included in the price of the item(s). If it is not then we would have little recourse after you receive your bill. As for the CC fee I think I read somewhere that the CC company would not allow that or the merchant looses the privilege to accept those cards but might be just a rumour. Theo

Maybe I should not give the cruise lines any ideas but I can see the refill stations having a gizmo attached for your medallion to tap on (cost $2.00) before water is dispensed. I know, I am sinical. Theo

I remember the good old days posting our cabin pictures. "Donated" the site to a well known site which post pictures 😉. Thanks for remembering. Theo

Same here. Theo

Now there is maybe a nice market to get into, after boxed wine we can now have boxed water. Although the boxed wine is not allowed. Theo

$0,21 Canadian per bottle at our local super market. Princess is probably paying less for these than we pay. When bought on board the ship it would cost us $3,20 Canadian (incl. the 18% gratuity) or an 1500 % upcharge 🙄. It is probably the biggest money maker by percentage. It is also a big motivator for guests to buy the package. No wonder we choose the package. Theo

Also interested to find out. Sailing round-trip LA aboard the Grand Princess leaving Oct. 30 for the 33 day cruise with 9 ports; Kauai—Honolulu—Pago Pago—Apia—Suva—Dravuni Island—Tahiti—Moorea--& Raiatea. As we have been to Hawaii several times we know what to expect there but the rest are all new for us and are wondering what to do/see in those ports. Most of the excursions that we can find have beach visits and/or snorkelling. Well, we are not into that kind of thing (age 85 & 81 but still young at ❤️). I assume there must be some other interesting things to do in those ports but scouring the internet and, although very expensive, the shore excursions offered by the cruise line they mostly involve beach & snorkelling. Any suggestions, other than the above mentioned, are much appreciated. Cheers, Theo

@Rubyfisch Tanks for the info, much appreciated. We are with the 4 of us, my DW- our son- our DIL and myself so I think it would be fair if one of the young ones get the car. And yes, we will make sure that the ship is spic & span 😉. Theo

@Rubyfisch As a Bostonian (hope that is the right term) maybe you can help us out a bit. We arrive Saturday May 25 aboard HAL's Volendam and have a flight booked that is scheduled to departs Logan at 6:35 PM. We probably get kicked off the ship around 9:00 AM. HAL offers a shore excursion with a drop-off at the airport (cost for 2; $ 320.00 US) but here is the problem. The bus leaves the port at 8:30 AM for a 2.5 hour tour of Boston so by my estimation we will be dropped off at 11:00 AM at the airport. We are not looking forward to spending 7+ hours at the airport. Other option is renting a car for the day and do some sightseeing ourselves. So here is my question; where/who is the closest car rental place near the cruiseport with the option of dropping off at the airport. By the way, we have no idea which part of the cruiseport the Volendam will dock. Thanks in advance for any help. Theo

Darn, I thought I had something going here 🤔🍷🍹 Theo

The Princess (DW) choose Princess in 2005, tried HAL (I'm born in Holland so had to give it a try). About 20 cruises later it is still Princess. Theo

Maybe you need a new computer!!😁 Theo

Good for you. My experience is "slightly" different. Just today received an email that my claim from August will be delayed by 30 (business?) days due to the high volume of claims. Oh well, what is another few months. Theo

If you don't/didn't test for Covid then that begs the question; How do/did you know you have/had Covid and spreading it around. Following is part of my blog I am keeping for every cruise, this one was Alaska north/south bound.. August 12, 2022; This morning I woke up (which is a good thing) with a nasty cold (which is not a good thing). I felt it already coming-on yesterday and tested right away for the obvious culprit but lucky enough that one was negative. I was not looking forward to being quarantined if it tested positive. Drinking water🤔, which I normally don't do 😁, and taking 2 Tylenol every 2 hours might kill it. 6 hours later; Well drinking water + taking Tylenol did NOT do the trick because I am tested positive for Covid19 (or any of the variants) and are now in isolation on the Dolphin deck which is set aside for this purpose. Now I think about it I could have kept my mouth shut and carry on as if nothing happened but I can not do that, too many other people could become infected so I just go with the flow and sit out my time. I wish more or all people would do the same and get this nasty thing out of the way. Too bad some people have an "I don't care, I'm different" attitude. Theo

Please explain "your" normal because your action, if you ever get in this situation, comes over as abnormal. Abnormal; deviating from what is normal or usual, typically in a way that is undesirable or worrying. Theo