AKJonesy

...and for us the 50% discount for upscale dining surcharge

THANKS EVERYONE - We booked the B2B and TA will contact Mariner society to just remind HAL that we will be 4 star right at the start of the 2nd voyage. We also got the same room number. Next, we've never bought insurance, but I am going to research the boards first to read about that and IF I have questions, I will post on a different thread.

It was the Mariner # that I called and asked the question. They told me to just book the 31 day and then go to the desk, but I pointed out that was NOT what the HAL documentation said. It said you only get the Mariner upgrade if you are on a grand voyage. They have given bad and wrong advice before so that's why I put it out here for opinions because there are many seasoned HAL mariners on these boards. We decided to book the B2B so that it cannot be mistaken in any way that we achieved Mariner status 4 upon completion of the first leg. It's kind of weird that the B2B is cheaper also, so...bonus!

That was the other possibility; to just spend enough onboard to make up for the 3 days. I mean if I had to book another cruise, it was going to be more than $900. So, I've thought about that also. I think I'm leaning toward the B2B.

Oosterdam - Ft. Lauderdale to San Antonio 17 day then B2B San Antonio to Buenos Aires 14 day or as one voyage 31 day; NOT GRAND

The two back to backs works out a bit cheaper in the end and I did notice some of the same rooms are on both voyages. I was leaning that way anyway, but figured making one booking vs 2, less can go wrong. I agree it's risky to follow advice. I've read these boards long enough to know that people received bad information. Interesting how I've noticed it more since covid. THANKS FOR ALL RESPONSES. I'll book the back to back. I'm not a Carnival Corp and PLC stockholder. Honestly, I don't even know what that is. :)

I already called HAL on this, but I'm sorry to say that I just don't think the people on the phones always have the right answers. So, here is my situation... I am 17 cruise days from my next Mariner Status bump. My question does NOT surround achieving Mariner points through on board purchases, but only through actual sailing days. Saying that, HAL is offering a South America trip as ONE 31 day voyage OR as a 17 day voyage and 14 day voyage separately. After 17 days I qualify for next Mariner level. MY UNDERSTANDING from what I've read on the HAL docs is that I cannot achieve the next Mariner status on the 31 day because it IS NOT a Grand Voyage and thus would have to wait for my next voyage after that. The guy on the phone told me to book the 31 day and then tell the front desk that I achieved the next level mariner status after 17 days of sailing and they would honor it. I don't know. I've been told things before that end up being wrong. Should I just book it as to separate back to back trips instead just to be sure?

The only way I would stay in Whittier the day before is if you are going on the 26 glacier cruise which I highly recommend. Whittier takes about 5 minutes to walk around. Then what are you going to do day of cruise unless you want to just have a day on the ship to lounge around. If you do decide to stay in Whittier, wake up late, have a late breakfast and request a late check out. By then, it might be time to start boarding.

We do it ALL THE TIME as we are non revs and have no confirmed flights...just standing by.

You asked this on a different thread. IMO it's too close to the World Stage and you will probably hear the bass noise coming from there when there are shows. I would not book under the casino. I haven't been under the casino but I would not. IMHO.

IMO you have a couple of noise issues there. One, the World Stage is pretty close. We were in a similar stateroom close to the World Stage and it was the bass noise we could hear. The other thing is the Casino. That I'm not sure of but I personally would not book under the casino. IMHO.

https://www.alaskacoach.com/cruise-transfers/ - This is through The Park Connection serving Anchorage, Denali, Talkeetna, Whittier and Seward. On cruise days there was two shuttles per day. Call them to make sure. I don't trust anything after covid. Jobs are hard to fill here.

I'm looking for an opinion on whether to stay at FCO airport of Civit... but let me preface my question by saying we've done ROME and we have done it well, so we won't stay overnight there but MIGHT go into Rome for the remainder of the day or evening to just walk around and take in some dinner, etc. Also, I've seen that the train from FCO to Civit is easy even with luggage. Someone recently did this, in fact, there are a number of you tube vids on this and how easy it is. OK, so saying that here are my questions: Should we just stay at one of the airport hotels on arrival; drop our luggage and take the train into Rome for the rest of the day and evening...OR Should we opt for taking the train to Civit upon arrival and then spend a day or two checking some sites or taking train or taxis somewhere around there? I've heard Tarquinia is a better option to see than Civit. These will be our only two options. Thanks for your opinion.

and Birds. My husband is retired pilot for major carrier, so I know all of the problems that the "comfort pets" caused. I'm so tired of the entitled who want everyone else to accommodate them and they always seem to want YOU to give their pet attention. An owner of a SERVICE DOG does NOT want you to give their pet attention.

OK I'm getting a good laugh out of this thread. When I complain to my son about something that has to do with "the way things used to be" that's when my son texts me some meme referencing "boomer" complaints...and then I laugh at myself. I'm not going to post a boomer meme because I think some would take offense and I'm not starting a fight! :) I like the old libraries, but have traveled on the new Rotterdam twice now and I love the peace of that library. It's true there are few chairs and the library is tucked far away, but it is a nice space. I never really used the bar that was in the Crow's Nest but changing that seems wrong because I've always seen that bar full in the afternoon and before dinner; especially when they were doing trivia. My biggest complaint is lack of enrichment and entertainment on the World Stage. I was on a recent cruise and HAL had two very interesting programs that probably cost them very little. They had a "talk" including a slide presentation on running the day to day operations of the cruise ship and bringing in those heads of the departments to say something about their operations. They also brought in a young guy who talked about his adventure on his "back country" climbing adventure and injury. It was a harrowing experience of how he and his buddy survived that. That probably didn't cost HAL much because it wasn't a big production but more use of the World Stage for something like TED talks would probably be interesting. My husband wants me to go on a World Tour for 70 plus days and IDK...Maybe HAL offers more enrichment on the World Tours than the other cruises, but I'm having a hard time seeing myself on a cruise for that long.

After I was registering yesterday, after I put in my name and zip code, etc., verified my email address, then it said my information didn't meet their eligibility requirements. I'm eligible both in age and for my state which is Alaska. So, I'll probably call them today, but yesterday I was just getting more and more frustrated with it. I've tried both my browsers now so there's a glitch somewhere. Thanks for keep helping me try.

Even the AARP in Cobrowse with the agent could not make it work. When I run into these kind of issues where I cannot access instructions, it's usually a browser issue. That seems to be the issue.

Gift Card 10% Deal I tried the route for AARP Rewards which doesn't seem to work unless you are a AARP Member, so I guess I have to think about that. I don't even know if that is available because no where on the website does it say whether the 10% off HAL gift cards is available. Again, I am not a member. I tried using the HAL gift card site which takes you to buyatabonline and NOTHING there that says there is any discount as well before you agree to terms and give them all of YOUR information. Plus the telephone number they have at the bottom of the page doesn't work. I'd like to do this but unless I KNOW there is a 10% deal, I'm not jumping through hoops for nothing.

You did not mention a time when you are coming here. To do a comparison, you need to look at the cost of rental cars here which are EXTREMELY expensive. I have been doing searches for people on rental cars here using various websites and I'm coming up with about $225 per day PLUS taxes. On top of that you have to stay somewhere because you can't do a RT by car from ANC to DNP and back in a day. The other thing you need to realize is that it starts snowing early in DNP in September. Again, I did not see when you were coming, so I'm just giving you a heads up.

I cough every single morning and wheez. When I've been on ships post covid, people look at me like I'm sick. I am not sick. I have a slight case of asthma. Put a mask on if you feel that helps.

This thread started a long time ago. I am not a member of AARP. In reading through this thread, it's a bit chopped up trying to decipher what/how to go about getting these gift cards. I looked at the links that people provided but the website ONLY shows a few gift cards. That may be because I am NOT an AARP member. I am going to book a long voyage and this discount would be nice to use. You posted that you "Just bought 5 today from AARP", and that was 22 hours ago according to your CC post. I don't really want to join AARP unless I can buy these gift cards because I do get discounts for hotels, restaurants, etc through other means. But again, these gift cards sound like a great deal. Saying that, am I NOT seeing the Holland America gift cards on AARP because I am not a member, but once I become a member I will be able to still purchase the gift cards? Are the gift cards in a particular section of the AARP website? Finally, any hassles with buying them? Thanks for some clarity on this.

Not sure who you are flying on but you could take your transfer, check your luggage and walk over to the Alaska Aviation Air Museum and take a stroll around Lake Hood if you are able bodied. https://alaskaairmuseum.org/

Yes, and for those high prices don't expect the rooms/amenties to match the prices.

Car rentals are uber expensive here. Not sure when your cruise is, but if you haven't booked a car already, you may be out of luck, plus one way rentals are virtually impossible. I just checked with Hertz for a 4 day return to Anchorage in mid June and cars were $210 per day, and about the same for Thrifty. If you are going to do this, you might consider a Turo with a return to Anchorage then get your ship transfer to Seward. But, you will be traveling over the same road then 3 times if going to Homer.