SonarSonarSonar

Sonar....

 

Might see you somewhere on your Prinsendam travels. I'm starting off on 35 days in Saga Sapphire, UK to transatlantic Caribbean and back until 10 January. Look around for another dark blue ship... same size as Prinsendam!

 

Stephen

There may be a day or two of overlap. I'll wave just in case. Lol

I asked the ms Amsterdam concierge regarding caviar for 4 at the restaurant. Lo and behold it showed up one afternoon for horderves before dinner at our Pinnacle suite no charge. Very unexpected and it may have been because of the suite. We had also commented on the great cantaloupe and that show up each afternoon of the last 4 days of our 7 day cruise.

Plan it out and let them know what you would like. I suspect most things are available for suites.

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Who are we trying to kid, most of us are older. I'm 58 and probably one of the younger ones, well at least younger looking. lol

All ages, but mostly on the older side. Our Alaska cruise in Sept was older. We head out on a 25 Day Amazon Explorer on Tuesday and suspect we may have a few more younger folks than last time. And no, it wasn't me at the Bar buying drinks for anyone in their early 50's...lol. I learned my lesson a long time ago so I developed a great personality....saves you money. ;)

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Spoiler alert! Do not read this post if you treasure your medallions.

 

 

 

 

 

I went to our medallion ceremony only to have something to write about. Most high level mariners did not show up for their photo op with the captain. I found the hoopla embarrassing. The medallions are the equivalent of a participation ribbon. The fact that medallions are derived from military awards make them doubly embarrassing to me. The medallions are big, clumsy, tawdry and about as subtle as a professional wrestling championship belt. I took mine off before the mariner's lunch. I will see if my son wants to offer them for sale on ebay.

Well, for someone who doesn't care much for them, you sure have put a lot of thought and effort to be unhappy about 'em. lol :D

I agree if you have medallions or multi-star mariners there is no reason showing it off. It's takes time and dedication to earn those rewards and it's a commendation from HAL that you've chose them over others.

I used to tell some of my staff, do not begrudge your managers their perks such as higher pay, more days off and special assignments because you should aspire to be a manager yourself.

It always amazed me that some individual now and then would pipe up and say "Me, Manager?, Never in a million years." And they were always the first ones to complain.

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When we were on the Oosterdam (about 2 years ago) we received our Silver Medallions. A few days later they had an onboard auction (with proceeds going to charity) where passengers could donate items. We tried to donate those Silver Medallions (otherwise they get tossed in a drawer with tons of other pins, medallions, etc...to never see the light of day). But HAL had a rule that you cannot donate medallions to the auction (we suspect they would have quite a few if it was allowed).

 

Hank

P.S. They are still for sale if somebody really wants that piece of tin.

If you really don't care about it and it's just a piece of tin to you, why not just give it away who may have lost theirs and would like a replacement. Just Saying. ;)

Thanks RickT, Collectors Gifts worked perfectly.

As HAL has been great at special unbelievable offers on our two cruises with them I like to show my continued interest in them thus choosing to purchase some indulgences and gifts online.

Hoping to get another great HAL offer when we get back home. :D

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lol, I've always loved the word snarky usually used by a well-bred person, it's how southerners also use, "Bless her heart." :D

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Just tried it but can't find casino chips under packages. I only see shipboard credits, is this the one? I also found a casino/champaign package which is not the one I want.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

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I'm waiting for them to bring back servant rates. :eek:

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Bring it on. Anything to move into the future.

Although we just started cruising we didn't experience any delays with wine using our purchased bottles.

Amazingly, if I remember correctly, we even got some of our wine when dining in the Pinnacle Grill.

We really had a great time.

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^^ Bump ^^

Bumping this up as we're a week away. Would still like to see if anyone will be on board.

Thanks.

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Well I, for one, am really glad that there are folks who are willing to pay double, triple or even quadruple daily rates over what I am paying, to sail on the same ship as me. I figure in the long run, considering the total fare paid by all cruisers on a ship, it makes my cabin a little less expensive. And that is a good thing.

 

So from one “lower class cabin” cruiser, I thank you for your contribution to my cruising experience.

 

Scott & Karen

If you really must know, we were offered a Casino Special at $1600 including taxes per person for a Neptune Suite for a 25 day cruise. So doubt if I made any contribution to your "lower class cabin". As for me I'll be in my Suite. :D

I prefer comfort, large suites, and Yes I buy extras Pinnacle Grill, massages and excursions but that's just me and I also fly First Class all the time.

This class creation is getting ridiculous.

 

We do not care for larger accomodation but do expect the same level of service and cuisine for every passenger onboard.

 

The difference in cruise price should be based on accomodation, NOT for service or how you are treated. That is 19th. Century all over again.

it is obvious enough that some people are not used to traveling First Class. next time you book your lower class cabin tell them you want to pay the suite charge since the size of the accommodation is your only concern and not how much it costs. Give me a break. :p

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[...So to answer your question, how does one become such a food expert, you do so by allowing yourself to become one. Get out of your comfort zone, try new things, and be willing to learn. It's really not that hard.

Couldn't have said it any better.

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Having just experienced this, another word of advice: when dealing with mail order prescriptions and refills, don't cut it too close to your departure date. Should a Rx get lost in the mail, there are some hoops you'll have to go through, and a waiting period before the mail order drug company will consider the original order "lost," as well as some Post Office contacting. You don't want to have to deal with all this in the days just before your cruise.

Great point. I ordered my extra meds and advised them I wanted them early and wanted some extra at the end in case there was a delay getting back. No problem, they just added a few days at either end. In fact, I already got mine and we leave in about 10 days.

I guess I had never really thought about the TP as we use Toto washlets at home.

We've only started cruising but the upsell to the Pinnacle Suite on the Alaska trip for almost nothing and now a Neptune Suite offer too good to pass up for 25 days to the Amazon.....I don't have much room to complain.

So far everything has been great.

Biggest ribeye steak. Can't remember if it was bone-in but it was thick, juicy and full of flavor. And I'm pretty picky on my ribeye.

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I recently switched to a mail-order company called Pillpack.

My deductibles went down and I don't have to fill little boxes with daily pills.

They ship every 2 weeks enough packets in a dispenser with the appropriate pills for my morning and evening meds.

I'm going on a 25 day cruise in about a week and all I had to do was call them and told them how many I needed for vacation so they just sent me enough packets for the whole cruise plus a couple of days after.

We are both retired Federal Employees and have BCBS. Best part is we don't have to deal with those plastic pill dispensers. :)

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1. Forget about playing games on board.

2. I always have my MacBook Air, iPad, and iPhone. They don't take up much room and I do use them especially before and after boarding.

3. I do buy minutes to use on board but am very frugal with them as they are expensive.

4. I am able to write emails offline and quickly cut and paste once logged in.

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Yes, I've also checked out their website and seems to still be going.

I've sent them an email asking about it, date and if reservations are required. If I don't hear back in a couple of days I'll give them a call.

Thanks for all the input it helped push me to go further on this.

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OP...... please let us know if the tour is still available but it is only that HAL no longer offers it.

 

sail 7

The email was from HAL and did not mention that it was completely gone, just that HAL was not offering it.

I suspect it's still going just have to get there on your own. Am checking that part out since we still want to do it.

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I'd like to see Concorde again when our Celebrity cruise in December 2016 has a Barbados overnight. In the late 1980s, I was a travel agent guest of British Airways and was invited by the chief steward to go to the cockpit, strap into the jump seat behind the Captain and wear headphones during our take-off from Dulles Airport and ascent until we reached Mach 2. Then I went back to my seat in the cabin, thrilled to have been chosen. One of my great life experiences. It pays to dress nicely when you fly!

Lucky you....what a thrill.

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That's my next move -- will just do it on our own as we were really looking forward to doing it. I'll report back on that.

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FYI.

Just received an email letting us know that the Barbados Concorde Experience was canceled and is no longer offered for our HAL Prinsendam Cruise beginning November 24 from Lauderdale due to operational reasons.

"November 09, 2015

Dear Guest, Due to operational reasons, the Barbados Concorde Experience & Island Drive excursion in Bridgetown, Barbados will no longer be offered for your upcoming sailing. We have refunded your prepaid booking to the credit card used for the purchase. To view tour descriptions and pricing, please go to ....."