Mary229

I have noticed they have started doing so on many of my shore excursions. I would also like them to state the number of participants per vehicle. When I grow up I want to be the person to write the descriptions 😁

For small communities I have found that the only difference between ship and private tours is the size of the vehicle. The roads have capacity limits and small busses are likely used both by independent tours and ship tours. The private tour may be slightly more customizable but with only 2 hours for either I can’t imagine they are that very different. The half hour difference likely can be accounted for by the ship tour including the tendering and the private not. This is a case where I would not be that choosey. Private tours are particularly beneficial for long tours and in depth tours.

You can report posts if you would like, click the ellipsis and report. i, however, disagree with your assessment but I am not a moderator.

I find I need to go all the way to see the cart just to be sure there is no discount. If you read the fine print on any mailer you may need to enter a promo code, ditto with casino mailings. To be sure your email is hooked up to your Mariner account once you are logged in try looking at your account to see if you see the past history.

I would like to see HAL expand their US home ports. Princess now sails Transatlantic from Texas, needless to say I would love to see HAL in that port too going both east and west

Consider carefully but wait until you sail to book. Most cruise lines have programs with special perks if you book onboard. https://www.ncl.com/cruisenext https://www.princess.com/cruise-tips-vacation-ideas/cruise-destinations/cruise-tips-advice-and-information/ways-to-save-money-on-your-next-cruise.html

There were some ships turned away as they had not adequately performed the hull cleaning. https://www.cruisemapper.com/news/11346-cruise-ship-denied-entry-new-zealand

Are you past final payment? If not all is fair as you can leave the cruise. did you already apply for OBC? If so HAL will likely let it stand

They have changed it for the US also. When I signed up about a year ago it was simply and email and a password. When I recently signed up DH it required email, password and phone but no address

Then again, you and I sail for very different reasons. If I want poolside I go visit my sister, I sail to travel on topic, we certainly enjoyed all of our cruises beginning in the 1980s. I likely have changed more than they have. I used to fly the red eye special on Southwest but now I prefer Business class. We used to cruise for the nightlife and partying, usually not even making it to the beach as we were sleeping daytime😉. Yes, yes, food was cheaper, labor was cheaper, luxury more affordable but I never found it necessary. I can afford wonderful meals and great entertainment but I don’t necessarily look for that on a ship. For anything under $300 a day I think people have unrealistic expectations. A quality hotel alone costs that much easily.

Exactly. When I sub-teach exercise classes I start out by saying this is not about what you see in the mirror this is about weathering any health storm that may come your way. A fit person recovers quicker and has more agility and more endurance. Not endurance to run a marathon but endurance to haul suitcases through airports and agility to climb into a tender boat😉

HAL occasionally has a gift card special with a 10% bonus. Note that the 10% bonus card they issue is good only for one year where AARP have no expiration date

These offers disappear quickly so don’t hesitate

Off topic for sure but airports are first built to aid commerce, ie the business traveler. Tourists are beneficiaries of those activities and are secondary. If tourism becomes the primary economic activity then yes that would be the underlying commercial consideration but that likely only accounts for 10% of the world’s airport

So I guess it is time to register our dissatisfaction on social media. I use Twitter and will comment there. If anyone is on Facebook leave a comment there. It wouldn’t hurt to leave comments addressed to CCL either

Big storms can cause bird drops when migrating birds are blocked from their feeding grounds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_fallout

I think the focus for us is not the airport baggage fees it is the moving the luggage around. I want one hand free always for balance and stability. Hurrying through airports, onto trains, up a flight of steps can be accomplished with my current system. Adding luggage would hinder movement.

I question the usefulness of AirTags also. So I know where it is that doesn’t mean it is going to get to me. To appease my travel companions I have one but it is totally unnecessary

It depends on how much pre or post travel I plan. If it is a simple arrival by single flight onto ship I carry whatever I want. I did ditch the 28 luggage and when I do check it is a 26 inch case. My two carryons are a backpack (personal item) and a handheld. Truly most everything I need will fit into those two carryons but if I want the extras they go into the 26 inch. If I have all three one is on my back (or front if an insecure area) and I pull the 26 inch with the handheld draped across the top. The bonus to checked bags is I can carry the liquids I want instead of relying on ship toiletries - I cruise for 3 weeks at a time minimum and I like my small comforts

Another vote for Norway.

It is just tea served in the MDR with cakes and scones. As much as I don’t like Oceana they could take a note from them and offer tea in a more congenial atmosphere with live soft music. You could just as well go to the lido and fix a cup of tea and grab a cookie for the same ambiance available in the MDR

They have not woken up to the fact that they are a retail operation, they still think of themselves as a service industry. In this age of internet commerce everyone is a retail outlet. Website outages are the death of retail. A customer shouldn’t have to clear caches and try different browsers. When customers change browsers they could just as well change cruise line. For the most part the lines are all interchangeable. My micro business had four internet outlets, I can count on one hand how many times I had any kind of glitch in 15 years of online commerce and I did most of the web design - I used a website builder. This really isn’t rocket science. If I can do it, anyone can - I had absolutely no interest in computer/internet technology but as a business it was a tool I had to master just like I had to master accounting. There is no excuse. It is sloppy and bad form. They need to treat their customers better.

From what rumor is this is exactly the problem. All CCL lines have been outsourced to a single company

I seem to recall @CruiserBruce being the recipient of rather unique towel animals a while back. He must be a VIP 😉

Someone did mention on one of these threads that CCL had hired a single group to manage all websites. I guess they misunderstood and read mangle instead.