firecrewcapt

Sure is a whole bunch of whining and complaining here. You think the music is too loud, better not cruise on the new HAL ships, Nieuw Statendam or Koningsdam because they have 3 music venues, Rolling Stone Rock Room/Billboard On Board/BB Kings Blues Club they all ROCK with great music for all ages and it's loud, ROCK ON. Another venue is shared with BB Kings it's the Lincoln Center stage for the classical music and very subdued but great performers. That's my .02 worth.

EZ Air is great going to Europe and vice versa, the prices do fluctuate quite often, with that said going to South America is another story. Some of the flights I've seen for the two of us costs more than the cruise itself, business class, but I keep checking and will till the cutoff date but not looking good.

1 hour ago, lx200gps said:

Just had a long chat with a Princess rep, and he pretty much confirmed that, this far out from the actual cruise, EZAir prices are a constantly moving target. It's "normal" for prices to fluctuate badly even during the brief few seconds of time between selecting a flight and trying to book it. Since the cruise is  299 days away and flights have just opened up, he suggests I wait and keep trying as the prices should stabilize.

 

As at this afternoon, I have the flights held on EZAir at $1200, EZAir still initially shows better flights for $820 (but won't let me book them), and I can go online and book the same tickets for $650. Lowest class, immediate payment, non-refundable, non-changeable, without hefty penalties.

Just a question here: Did you ask for the EZAir folks or just speak with an everyday rep? I've found asking for EZAir dept./rep works a whole bunch better. Just my .02 worth. FYI, airlines are refreshing routes/prices on weekends.

I drink Irish Mules and can verify it is Goslings Ginger Beer.

As a side note, the Pavehawk has a large number (840) painted in pink on its fuselage because it had been assisting in fighting wildfires in Calif. My hat's off to all these men and women of the rescue services all over the world. "That others may live"

You're exactly right, the big pink or orange numbers are for wildfire missions, I retired from CDF before he could drop on me......LOL. He'll be at the annual joint training later this month with CDF/CalFire in preparing for this years fire season.

My son flies the HH60 Pavehawk Helicopter for the Ca.Air Guard out of Moffitt Field from the SF Bay area and goes out to all sorts of ships to do Medi-Vacs all along the west coast. 

Internet next week, 21 days, $240, fyi.

Local ATM at first stop in which Euros are used, ship exchange rates are Horrible, plain and simple.

I asked my  PCC about Sip N Sail on Thursday, 4-11-19, and he told me Sip N Sail should/will be out in June, FYI.

Get them up on your screen then try "Save As" and go back into where they're saved and see if that works or open docs in a new window then try printing.

I have found if you're wanting to change/update your flights whether it be EZ Air, Princess, or Flight Ease, HAL, not to try it on Saturdays. I was told by the companies that Sat. is usually when they, airlines, are rearranging scheduling flights, times, flight numbers etc. So now I'm looking at Mon-Thurs. 

The TA coming up Apr.21 to May 12th the cost for booking via phone to HAL's customer service is $748 for ALL 21 days, you must book all 21 days doing via phone, with that said if you only want a day or two here or there you make the arrangements onboard, first come first serve. I made the call and this is what I was told on Tues. of this week. That is all.

I use my Capital One Venture card exclusively, has the chip feature or tap and go, no pin needed unless ATM withdrawal which won't happen due to fees. Amex is a backup.

The robes are a JOKE, all the cruises/ships we've been on the robes have never fit, plain and simple. The sleeves only come down to my mid forearm and the shoulders are for someone who wears small or smaller sizes. FYI, I'm only 6' tall and under 200 lbs.

Our son lives in Anchorage and just told us the only road still closed is the one to Denali, it's closed every year for winter. He drives from Eagle River to Anchorage airport daily. Hope this helped.

We get foreign currency at a bank's ATM at the first stop no matter what country, ship rates are usually terrible. I keep any leftover Euros for the next trip. Just saying.

8 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Not following - cruise length is important because? 

More time to relax and usually a better itinerary, that is all.

Let's see, if I have a cold vs losing 10k from my bank account hmmmmm..……….I'll get over my cold on the cruise and use my money to finish the cruise, just another point of view. Side note: we do min. 14 day cruises.

1 hour ago, ctompkins said:

Hi,

I was really getting nervous about the airlines fees from Denver to Barcelona and then from Rome to Denver, Oct. 2019.  I was checking every which way and getting costs of $2800-$3400/R/T for 2 people.  Now, in all fairness this was before all airlines had their dates/fares posted.  I waited to see what Princess EZAir was going to cost before I booked anything. I was pleasantly surprised at what the costs were when they opened up the fares in late Oct or early Nov/18.  For two of us flying Denver-Dulles-Barcelona, then Rome-Munich-Denver it was right at $1775.  Now, never having flown to Europe, I am not sure if this is a great deal or not, but it sure is a heck of a lot cheaper than what I can still find them for now.  We had no miles or perks to cash in.

 

I would at least give the cruise line a chance to quote you.  In talking with an agent, he said that the airlines have been really good at working with the cruise lines to get better flight rates.  Good luck.

One question, Is your price for economy or ?  Our cruise coming up in Apr./May we booked SAN-MIA and return AMS-LAX-SAN first class/business class total was $2514. Just curious.

As stated it's the first day, try a different day, plain and simple.

Just looked at the "Terms and Conditions" 2019 of the PBP and it still shows the $59.99 with 15%, different than the new advertising of PBP which has the new price + gratuity...….looks like someone needs to update terms and conditions or maybe you can call and argue with what's written between the pages, just an observation. I was logged into one of my booked cruises.

PVP's are pretty useless, with that said Princess has tried to set me up with PVP's for years and so I decided to try one and guess what, he helped me once with a booking (2017) and since never has returned calls or emails but sure does email all the specials and promos and to call him to book one, what a joke never answers the phone or returns messages. Just my .02 worth

Princess will put a card in your stateroom with date, time and restaurant  for the specialty dining perk, with that said you can change it once onboard to the date, time, and restaurant of choice. Gratuities should be in your personalizer where you find them and should show $0 balance or grayed out depicting they're paid. This is how it has worked for us in the past.

We stayed at a hotel of our choice in Kensington for 4 days prior to day of transfer, we took the Tube to Heathrow and met the transfer coach there, we prepaid when we originally booked.

6 hours ago, comcox said:

I found the offer for my Amex Optima card ($100 credit for $500 spent) and clicked to add it.  However in the terms and conditions it seemed as if the offer only applied to booking a cruise.  I wondered if I could use my card to pre-pay shore tours for my upcoming HAL cruise that I've already booked?

It's worked for me even after booking a cruise months earlier, I used it to make a $500 payment on an existing cruise. Used for a HAL cruise and second time around on a Princess cruise.