BaltimoreCruise

All,

I have two questions for those of you with CCL stock.  My husband has maybe 60 shares of CCL in an IRA account.  If he purchases an additional 40 shares outside of the IRA account, will CCL accept the combined shares from two separate accounts (owned by the same person) as OBC eligible?  I make the HAL cruise reservations and my husband is always listed as the second passenger in the cabin.  Would we still qualify for the OBC since I am the first person listed on the reservation and he owns the stock?   

Thank you.

BaltimoreCruise

My favorite is the Tanqueray 0010.  

BaltimoreCruise

Thanks Randyk47 and bEwAbG.  Part of my issue with the CBP is that the information for BWI is inconsistent.  Unless the voicemail message has changed in the past week, it did not have the same information as the CBP site.  And, the information from the CBP agent that I spoke with was different.  As Randyk47 indicated in the response, I will be checking twice each day and hope that something opens up at the three airports I will be flying.  I also plan to try the 'walk in' route if I am unable to schedule an appointment.  

Thank you again for your insight.

BaltimoreCruise

I hope this is not considered a "hijack" of a thread, but I wanted to share my recent GE story and hope to get some insight or advice.  Upon recent receipt of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, I immediately applied for GE.  My application was approved in a couple of weeks.  Then I started looking for appointments at my home airport BWI.  Nothing is available online.  I called the office and listened to a recording (did this twice).  The recording indicated that appointments were walk in and available M-F beginning in the afternoon (2PM I think) until later in the evening (9PM, I think) and on alternating Saturdays.  The recording did not provide a reference point for me to figure out which Saturdays were available . I left two messages inquiring about the Saturday dates.  No return call.  I also spoke with a colleague and she indicated she did a walk in after work (during the week) and it worked out.  On my third attempt to reach the CBP office at BWI, I used a different prompt and was connected to a CBP agent.  I was told by CBP that there are no appointments available, just walk in, and no evening hours or Saturday hours (contrary to their recorded message).  I hope to make it to BWI and try the walk in option this fall.  I am flying to MCO in November and FLL in February.  Online I could not secure an appointment at either airport.  I will keep trying to make an online appointment at all three locations, and plan to take my approval and documentation to MCO in November to see if the CBP office will accept a walk in.  

Has anyone on this thread had a similar experience and been successful as a walk in?

Thank you.

BaltimoreCruise 

Alberta Quilter,

I am currently booked in a Spa OV on Deck 10.  I was looking forward to trying this cabin category (view perspective) and didn't want to give it up.  The big box TA said that I could upgrade my cabin category to the next level and get the promotion for $300 more.  I am not interested in an obstructed view balcony or paying $300 more.  Before our two trips on the Veendam in 2018 and 2019 we always sailed in a balcony cabin.  We liked the OV cabin (we had the same cabin each sailing) on the Veendam so we thought we would try an OV on a larger ship.  As I said earlier, I will be sure to look at the Black Friday sale this year. I hope your DS is successful with adding the promotion.

BC 

No luck for me yesterday or this morning.  Yesterday I was told that the fare had to be non-refundable in order to add the promo.  This morning I was told that if the cabin category was available the promotion could be added, but the cabin category I have booked is no longer available.  Notwithstanding, I could cancel and rebook the same cabin (but would risk losing the cabin and the OBC that I currently have although it is not that much).  I guess I'll let this one go and look at the Black Friday promotion.  

DaveOKC and Alberta Quilter,

Thank you for your responses.  I am on the February 16 sail (just one week) with a refundable fare.  While I have no promotions I do have a small amount of OBC from HAL (in addition to the OBC from the FCC that I used for this sail) and OBC from the big box TA.  In an Spa OV cabin (so the grats promotion should/could apply).  I'll give it another try today.

Baltimore Cruise

My husband and I are booked on a February 2020 Caribbean cruise on the NS.  This cruise is currently booked with a fully refundable fare.  I called the big box TA yesterday and inquired about this promotion.  The representative called HAL and was told that the promotion applied to non-refundable fares.  I had the representative ask a second time and the answer was the same.  I did a dummy booking on the HAL site this morning and in order to benefit from this promotion I had to choose the Save on Sunshine promotion which requires a non-refundable (reduced) deposit.  I used a FCC to book this cruise/deposit.  Not certain if it is worth checking again.  That said, the representative told me that there should be a promotion on Black Friday.  I then mentioned that my payment was due to the big box travel agency before Black Friday.  The representative said the big box TA collects payment 2 weeks prior to payment to HAL and that I would still be within the window to make a change to the reservation.  

Any thoughts?

Thank you.

BC

We have been on the Veendam twice, the second time was prior to the dry dock.  Both times we had an ocean view cabin on Deck 4.  I can't speak to the porthole cabins, but the view from the window in our cabin was great.  We had the same cabin on both sailings.  Prior to these two cruises, we had only sailed in balcony cabins.  We did not miss the balconies.  

BaltimoreCruise  

Thank you for the original post.  I was able to take advantage of a reduced fare and additional HAL OBC for a Caribbean cruise in February, 2020. 

BaltimoreCruise

All,

I found it!  Sorry but after initially searching I was frustrated and went to the experts!  

BaltimoreCruise

This is probably a rehash for most of the HAL CC members... I'm currently on the HAL website and I can't locate the Signature Beverage Package information or where on the site I can purchase the package.  I really just want the per day cost with the tax and grats included and thought I could pull up my reservation and look at adding the package to get the price.   Any assistance is appreciated.

Thank you.

BaltimoreCruise

Last week I was searching through deck plans for many HAL ships and thought I saw a few ocean view cabins with floor to ceiling windows.  Possibly on the Nieuw Statendam or Nieuw Amerstdam.  Can anyone here confirm and provide details?

Thank you,

BaltimoreCruise

I usually pack a fan for cabin use.  I fly SWA and between the two of us we have sufficient baggage allotment.  On one cruise the fan stopped working near the end of the cruise.  I called the front desk and had one delivered to our cabin.  The fan was a larger table top box fan model that took up quite a bit of space on the desk in the Veendam, but it was worth it.                                                                                                                       

I was on the Veendam twice in the past 12 months and both times had OV cabin 723 on A Deck.  Great location and as a light sleeper I did not notice any noise.  Also, no problems with the plumbing or a/c.  

BaltimoreCruise

All,

I saw this post early this morning and checked the HAL website to see if my currently booked September 2020 cruise was included.  The website shows a tag with Explore 4 above the specific cruise.  I checked on the website of my TA (Big Box) and it was not listed.  I called the TA and the associate called HAL to confirm.  When the associate came back on the line she stated that it's not Explore 4, but NX3 (early booking promo) which has the same benefits as Explore 4 (SBP and Pinnacle dinner).  And that to add the promotion NX3 to my reservation would not increase the price or decrease the current TA and HAL OBC that I have on the existing reservation.  The associate said that I would see a reference to NX3 in the new confirmation that she was to send me.  I received the confirmation and it doesn't reference NX3.  It still includes a benefit from February that provided a coupon book.  I'll spend my lunch today calling the TA again to confirm.  

BaltimoreCruise

Thank you to everyone that took the time to share your experiences.  I'm planning to book the 14 day, hopefully this morning!

BaltimoreCruise

RuthC and 3rd GenCunarder,

Thank you for your insight.  Very much appreciated!

BaltimoreCruise

CC Members,

I am looking for comment from experienced Alaska cruisers.  For many years I have been looking at the HAL 14 day cruise.  I have read reviews and comments on this site and I don't recall reading one negative thing about the 14 day cruise.  And I love the small ships!  I had the cruise booked for last year, and then cancelled it to go to Cuba.  I'm looking to book in the next couple of days for September 2020.  My issue/question is will I be disappointed if I don't do a land tour and visit Denali and the Yukon?  Your thoughts and experience are appreciated.

Thank you,

BaltimoreCruise 

Thank you for the information.  I do plan to call today or tomorrow and ask about pricing (refundable) and cabin selection.  We sailed twice on the Veendam in the past 12 months and that experience has assisted me with determining which Maasdam cabin we want to book.  I am still befuddled by the HAL website when I could not check cabins on the decks I'm interested in.  

The 14 day Alaska has been on the list for a few years.  I had it booked for September, 2018, but cancelled it to take the trip to Havana.

BaltimoreCruise

I am recently off the Veendam.  My husband and I sailed on her in April, 2018 and January, 2019.  It is my understanding from multiple crew members that the elevators will be replaced.  Currently, it appears that not all of the elevators work.  Often there are only two of each set that work.  

BaltimoreCruise

Dear CC Members,

I have been interested in booking the 14 day Alaskan cruise (September 2020).  I departed the Veendam on Friday, January 25, 2019.  On Thursday I checked with the onboard cruise consultant to inquire about this cruise because I could not find the September sailings online or in my recently received cruise planner.  The cruise consultant checked her computer and confirmed that the sailing was not yet available.  Over the weekend, I received an email from HAL and the cruise that I am interested in booking is available.  Yesterday I started checking the prices and cabin options.  The cruise will be on the Maasdam.  On the HAL website, Deck 4 cabins (ocean view) are not available.  Same for Deck 5.  On the big box store website, there is a Deck 4 cabin available, but when I complete the information, the website indicates that the fare is non-refundable (Not interested in a non-refundable fare).  Have you experienced anything similar?  I thought I would have my choice of cabin/deck and not have to lock into a non-refundable fare.  I have not called the big box travel company yet.  I am hoping to have some insight before I do.  Thank you for your experience and insight.

BaltimoreCruise

ddlslm,

We are booked in cabin 723 A Deck (4).  It's an OV cabin.  In April it was our first non-balcony cabin and we found that we didn't miss the balcony.  The cabin is close to the elevators but we detected no noise.  

BaltimoreCruise

I received an email from AMEX that I used an offer.  I'll keep my fingers crossed that I will meet the requirements and receive the credit.  No worries on my end if I don't spend $500 and don't receive the credit, as long as HAL returns the remaining OBC to me.  

BaltimoreCruise

Thank you for the information.  I'm going to attempt to purchase on the HAL website now.

BaltimoreCruise