Mary229

I have had the cakes. They are a good cake but I was not a big fan of the frosting. Instead of a rich buttercream it is more of a whipped cream based frosting.

That would be a game changer.

I have a cruise leaving Seattle in June 2024 and it lists the Sheraton at USD538 per couple per night. I would look elsewhere. Of course June is more expensive than October

If you want an independent hotel visit look at these links for recommendations https://www.allcruisehotels.com/blog/port-of-seattle-hotels-with-cruise-shuttle/ https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2824556-hotel-recommendations-for-sailing-out-of-seattle/

I sail from Europe September 27, 2024 and have their hotel booked. Did you look on the precruise travel arrangements page on your manage my cruise page? The website has been very glitchy lately so patience can be needed. The other option is to call the shore excursions phone number, they are the people who know all of the hotel details. Or you can have your travel agent take care of it. I have never used them in Seattle as many nearby airport hotels have shuttle services.

You can get egg white omelets in the lido and MDR. I have no idea about the oil

When is that?

I have gotten them up to 10 months prior. Be sure to check what they include when you inquire. HAL little advertises all of the small, valuable perks that come with their hotel reservations and those perks are not the same city to city i buy them when they include a transfer to hotel, early checkin, breakfast and transfer to ship with tour

Chase Sapphire offers very good insurance with their card. At my age it equals about 10% value on cruises less than $20000 plus you get around 2% back in points.

That is how Viking operates. I like the protections of my credit card and dislike sharing my banking information with strangers. That said, Viking seems to have a good reputation

I think there were some gaming the system at that point. They were betting on a cancellation which would have yielded up to a 150% FCC. I considered doing the same but my predatory urges were suppressed by my conscience 😉

I email mine to my TA. Please be sure to keep a digital or physical record of your gift cards as even the best laid plans may go astray and any refunds will go back to those cards.

You can pay for excursions, packages and other incidentals with gift cards on the website. The website is notoriously glitchy but with patience and luck it can be done. If you booked with a TA then yes all fare payments go through them. Your TA can use your gift cards to pay. I have done both things this past week

Of course, the promoters are the ones who write those press releases. It is not like they send out a cub reporter to “investigate”. Even if the press shows up they are wined and dined. The PR is well managed. The only legal question is did they commit fraud or stupidity.

I am sure the allure was “you are so special” more than cheapness. It gets them every time. Bernie Madoff used it, Enron used it, it is tried and true

Yes. Fill your cart and checkout. During checkout, just above the credit card info there is a small clickable link for gift cards. Click that and fill it out. One thing you can’t do is mix credit cards and gift cards, it must be one or the other for each checkout

They are all Black Friday deals and expire tomorrow. They may extend a day or two but that no one knows

If you want to leave town to go to the nature and volcanic sites up mountain I would suggest a ship tour. This is one of those cases where you have distances to cover in a limited time with limited options.

That will work. He will have to change back to his sign in if he wants to check his account or buy shore excursions and such. Those things can be managed other ways such as by phone, visiting the customer service desk, etc…. Changing back once or twice isn’t a big deal.

Europe is very easy to do on your own if you do the research. I use ship excursions for far flung places I want to get to in a limited time, specially priced museum passes, other specialty visits and if I have a free excursion perk. There are plenty of private guides, taxis, Ubers and car services.

I guess they can go live in their storage sheds full of beanie babies

Cruising and flying are two separate issues. For those who simply go to the Caribbean or Canada all is fine until by misfortune you are not able to sail home. If that happens the ship will send your passport to the port agent who will get that passport to you so you can fly home after your emergency passes for those of us who travel further afield a passport and sometimes a visa is a requirement

I am aware. HAL really causes their own problems. They are resolved that there passengers are a bunch of old, technology illiterate persons so that is who they cater to. And guess who sails them? Not all of us but they do attract an inordinate number of refuseniks

Quite simple. Here is what is available, here is the minimum, please enter a bid. I don’t need proxy bidding or notifications. Some do like proxy and notifications but I am very calculating on what I will pay and not easily nudged. It would be transparent that all guests would know when and where the bidding starts. People have expressed a lot of angst with calling upsell as well as casino rates. These features would even the playing field.

The benefits of booking onboard are not that great, they lowered the OBC last year. I would think prepaid gratuities are more valuable. Once onboard in January buy a stack of $100 deposits to use in these situations. They are refundable.