WriterOnDeck

I'm on the same cruise. This is a different issue, because there were lots of shorex from the next segment that we could book before we boarded. Just not after we boarded. Strange, I know. It seems like the company would want to sell shorex and make money. I would say for early 2023 you may need to give it time. We didn't even have Hawaii shorex listed until a month or so before the cruise. It was slower for Papau New Guinea, Fiji and other countries just opening.

The difference is in the sites you can visit, not the internet speed or quality.

So glad you got to Petra -- it's a must see! Kathi, I don't know if you are trying to upload your full-size photos. My iphone photos are a couple of MBs each, and it would take forever for them to upload. I use an app called Compress to compress my photos before uploading them to my blog or email. I arbitrarily use these photo settings: Quality good (60%) and dimensions 1008x756 (25%). That makes a 2 MB photo a 35.9 KB photo. I think the quality is just fine for my blog. If a photo starts out smaller, I may compress less. You have the option of keeping the original and the compressed photo, so it isn't "permanent." I don't post videos much, but I do have an app called Video Slimmer that does a similar compression. You may already be doing this, but if not I suggest it. It also greaty reduces the size of my blog's photo library, and it only contains compressed photos. Let me know if you have questions. Good luck!

Kathi, I'm so happy for you! I'm 11 hours ahead of you (on the Westerdam) and first thing I did this morning was log on to see your status. Looking forward to following the rest of your trip.

You should add that it competes with the cruise line's marketing of flowers for your cabin. Why buy from HAL if you can bring on with you. Just like the wine policy.... Of course, it is out of "an abundance of caution."

On the 2020 World about 20 passengers took a HAL land tour for 2 nights in Australia, planning to rejoin the ship in Darwin. Well, due to covid we skipped Darwin and got to Perth about a week later to fly home. Those passengers (including a friend of mine), were flown straight to Brisbane and then back home, with only what they took on the short trip. Someone packed their cabins and left the luggage to travel with the ship to Fort Lauderdale (along with almost 3,000 other bags we left on board), but due to continued covid and then the ship (Amsterdam) being sold, my friend did not get her luggage for 7 months (same with all of us, but at least we could take 2 suitcases home on the plane). HAL takes care of you, but I've learned to travel with emergency meds regardless.

I'm on the Westerdam right now and they are only charging the price difference if you have HIA.

Agree with all, and I did refuse the initial substitution. I was just adding specifics to my comments about the loss of the wine stewards in the MDR.

I also wanted a soda with my late lunch out by the Lido Pool. I haven't seen a beverage steward come around the pool in the week I've been here. I stood at the Lido Bar, with my lunch in my hand, waiting on someone to take my order. Took a few minutes. Then 10 minutes (I timed it) for my drink to come. Wished I could have removed the 18% tip. I guess you caught me on a grumpy day, Pete. By and large I'm loving the cruise and the crew is great.

On my current cruise, the 51-day Westerdam, the "wine tasting" didn't feature any of the wines from the packages. I'm not a wine connoisseur, so I really wanted some help in picking a package, and got none at dinner. Last night, I ordered the pinot grigio bottle from my package. The MDR waiter brought me two other bottles, as they didn't have mine. One was from a cheaper package. The other was unknown to me, and the waiter (actually, I think it was the assistant waiter) had no idea about the wine. Meanwhile, everyone at our large table was waiting to order dinner. Very disappointing.

I just boarded the Westerdam for a 51-day connector voyage: 36 days to Sydney and then 15 days to New Zealand. I had waited to book some shore excursions until on board so I could use my rather large onboard credit. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the shorex department here cannot book any tours in the second segment (NZ) until the first one ends. I cannot book on the Navigator app, and can't get into the HAL website to book because I'm already on the cruise. The shorex manager said it was the same for folks on the B2Bs in Alaska. Those who haven't boarded yet can book the NZ segments; for us, the tours don't even show up on the Navigator app. I'm just putting this out there as a tip for others.

I had an OnPoint appointment scheduled for tomorrow (Friday) evening. Got an email today that it was being assigned to a different provider. I had to register all over again.

Are you referring to American mah jongg? The one with the cards and the tiles with numbers on them? Just asking because some of us play Taiwanese or other varieties (no cards, no numbers so you learn the Chinese symbols -- more like at the end of Crazy Rich Asians).

Thanks for giving me the heads up. I called Polk County and it turned out they had emailed me the ballot, but Google sent it to my spam folder. I got it out and mailed my vote today. Easy peasy. Yea!!!

Time, I, too, can't wait for this cruise to start! And it's always good to hear that someone else will be posting along the way! I'll be blogging at www.WriterOnDeck.com. Do you know if anyone else on the cruise is blogging? See you soon!

Get a great travel agent who can do all the work for you! With 555 cruise days booked for mid 2022 through mid 2024, I could not have managed without mine. Especially after my 100 days on the Volendam were canceled at the last minute by the ship's lease to the Dutch government. She is the best at finding last-minute alternatives, cabins that don't always show up on the HAL site, and myriad details.