CRUZBUDS

We just got off the Koningsdam, if there was a Mariner lunch, we missed it. There was a 3-4-5 Star reception on embarkation day. After four hours in line to board, we didn't see the invitation until the next day. Our tiles were left in our cabin

We enjoyed the Sea View Bar on deck 9 aft in the past. After the drydock in April, HAL switched it to be in the smoking section. ☹️ We were disappointed.

I had trouble purchasing five AARP Holland gift cards with my Costco/Citi Visa card. I got an email from Costco saying there was suspected fraud and asked if I knew about the attempted transaction. I answered yes and automated reply was to re-submit the charge. It still didn't work. I called the AARP number that came with the notice of failure. A nice person asked me to try a setting change in my browser, It still didn't work. While she was preparing to move my case up to the next level, I tried a different card. I used my Amazon Visa, it went through like a charm and I had the card numbers with-in and hour. YMMV

We rented an older Honda Odyssey from Ann at Drive About. It was fine. One tip, we had a heck of a time finding where she had left it for us. The ship was scheduled to dock at the Ore Dock. There was a change that neither Ann nor us were aware of. The directions she sent made no sense and we were getting very frustrated, and we she must have thought we were idiots, because we couldn't find it. Once Ann realized we must be at the Broadway Pier she was able to guide us to the car.. They are docks are close together, but we had an unplanned, pretty fair walk to find the car. Ann was unhappy that the local port people didn't let her know of the change and we would have appreciated it if Carnival had told us. It was a rough start of what was otherwise a phenomenal day. We will use Ann again, but we will make sure she and we know what dock we're at. 😀

We've been a couple of times - the best ever was quite some time ago. We lucked into being on the very first boat of the morning. It was very moving to experience the memorial with almost no people there.

Some lines and some ships have screens in the lounge that displays the questions. It is really helpful when the host speaks English with an accent. We were frustrated on the Koningsdam. It was difficult to understand the questions and wherever you looked you could see an unused monitor screen. It seems like an easy thing to do to make the play easier for everyone, including the host. In our experience, Carnival will have many more trivia games daily than HAL will.

It is nuts that a prescription is need for parts - I am on Medicare now, and get my replacement parts shipped to me regularly. Here is the prescription requirement to buy a reservoir from CPAP.com. I imagine all suppliers, in the U.S, have to follow the same rule. A humidifier prescription must contain the following information:Your Doctor's contact information Your Doctor's signature Your full name One of the following words or phrases: CPAP Humidifier, Humidifier, HH, CPAP Supplies, CPAP Mask, CPAP, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, APAP, AutoPAP, AutoSet, Auto CPAP, Auto Adjusting CPAP, Self Adjusting CPAP, BiPAP, BiLevel, VPAP, BiPAP Auto, BiPAP ST, Synchrony ST, VPAP ST

I always carry two machines, I can't sleep without it. We're lucky and rarely have fly to a port, so it isn't a big deal. Sidenote, if you need CPAP parts while traveling, you must have your prescription. I left the water reservoir for my Air10 on a road-trip. It is not useable without it. It was extremely stressful to locate the part in Fresno CA at 4:00 PM. I found it at a supplier, they were very nice, but they couldn't sell it to my without my prescription. I was finally able to get hold of my doctor and she faxed it to them. I was out the door by about 5:10 with my new reservoir -- it cost about $11 😀 Lesson learned!

Hello Brian - We enjoyed your video very much and we'll be watching more of your content. We totally agree with you about ordering dessert at the same time as the rest of your dinner -- it takes away more of the elegance that cruise lines used to strive for. We were on the Koningsdam for 18 days earlier int he year and are going back for a 10 day in November. It is a beautiful ship and the food was very good. (except the chocolate muffins in the GDC 🙂)

Gratuity is included in all drinks priced $11 and under. If you buy a drink over the $11 limit, you pay the difference plus 18% of just the difference. If you order a $12 drink you pay $1.18. At least that's they way it was on our last HAL in February,

We used AARP gift cards to purchase the Cheers package. It left about $20 on one card. I purchased a $25 OBC with the remainder adding the other $5. I did not want to carry a balance on a gift card that I may lose or forget about. I know this is no help to the OP, but others might find it is a good tip.

We were on the Koningsdam in February, as our other Hawaii cruises I believe the casino was closed the entire time we were in Hawaii. We're on the Carnival Miracle in Alaska now - the casino is open soon after we left each port.

Apparently our 14 day cruise on the Miracle next Sunday didn't make the news, but this sounds like the letter we got https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-line-removes-benefits-for-two-sailings/98873

Here is the email we got for our upcoming Journey cruise on the Miracle. As you can see, there are Diamond & Platinum perks that are not offered. Dear Valued Platinum and Diamond Guests, Welcome back! We want to make you aware of the priority benefits for sailings departing from the U.S. and Europe. Platinum and Diamond guests will be given 48 hours advance access to select their preferred Arrival Appointment. Please visit My Cruise Manager on Carnival.com starting at 16 days prior to sailing to complete your Online Check-In and select the Arrival Appointment that works best with your plans. We will not be able to accommodate guests who show up outside their Arrival Appointment. Upon arrival to the terminal, look for the Priority line to check-in (as is customary, this is not available for Carnival Journeys cruises). Once on board, you will be able to drop off your bags in your stateroom, but we ask that you not linger in the hallways or your stateroom. Our team will still be working hard to get the ship ready for your sailing, so once you drop off your bags, please return to the public areas of the ship. Priority luggage delivery is available for checked-bags. Priority debark and water shuttle debark is available at the home port and ports of call (except on Carnival Journeys cruises). A US$25 in Casino FunPlay®, in addition to any other FunPlay® you might be entitled to as part of your booking, will be provided. Additionally, please remember that certain VIFP amenities will be linked to your Sail & Sign folio for electronic redemption, like how we handle complimentary laundry. Simply claim your benefit, using your Sail & Sign card, and a one-time credit for that item will be posted on your folio and visible on your statement. Complimentary Beverages Brunch Beverage – redeemable in the dining room. 1.5L Bottled Water – redeemable from any bar, restaurant or your stateroom. Chocolate Delight (5+ Day Cruises) A tasty treat will be ready for you to enjoy; just call room service to schedule delivery. Carnival Logo Gift & Ship Pin Please visit our Photo Gallery to claim your Carnival logo gift and your Carnival ship pin. We encourage you to claim your gifts no later than two days prior to the end of your cruise. Your continued support means a lot to us and our great staff and crew can’t wait to welcome you back on board! Sincerely,

The Miracle has been the ship that has been affected. We leave a week from Sunday for a 14 day on the Miracle, we haven't been informed officially by Carnival about the parking situation. We expect to need to park at the Convention Center. One of the questions on the check-in procedure asked if we were planning on parking at the terminal. Of all of the cruises we've taken, we don't recall ever having that question.

We just booked parking at the Courtyard by Marriott in Long Beach through Parkway Parking. It is $15 per day and we'll Uber or Lyft to and from the pier. We are going on a 14 day cruise on the Miracle and expect to be notified soon about the convention center. We'd rather Uber than shuttle

I had to Google the picture of the capitol building -- I figured you may have been exaggerating a bit - you are right - that is the least impressive of any of the state capitol buildings we've seen. Maybe Alaska spends their money on more important things 😉

I take exception to the statement that "extra pay has always been there." You have to be a senior citizen like us, who started cruising in the 80's. There were no extra charge food options, you could bring as much liquor aboard as you'd like. You could also buy a bottle at the shop for about the same price as a CA grocery store. The food and service was of a quality, that no extra charge venues were needed. The other side of the coin was that cruises were dramatically more expensive. Our first Carnival cruise was in 1987, we paid $784 each for an outside cabin on the Tropical. That is equal to over $2100 dollars today for a seven day cruise. A balcony wasn't an option back then, I think the Tropical had four very small balcony cabins. The times have certainly changed, much for the better an some, not so much 😉 PS - drinks were cheap in the bars

Just a note to the OP -- Holland America is not much more formal than Carnival. Their info was likely dated. We recently got off an 18 day HAL Hawaii cruise. I wore a jacket over a golf shirt for the first formal night. I didn't bother with the jacket after that. We saw a couple of tuxedos, nothing at all like "the old days". Times they are a changing

We bought a coke from a vendor in the terminal and that got us free wifi - it was a couple of years ago (pre-covid)

That is a deal breaker for some!

Italy 52 - yes all of the Carnival shore excursions for this April are on the Carnival site. I'm not sure if you can see them if you aren't booked on that cruise. They just released a boat tour from the Tracey Arm day -- I think they added it, because I thought I had seen it as "Sold out" six months ago

There are a couple of other threads about it. It appears to only affect the Carnival Miracle. It is the smallest of the three ship Carnival has based on Long Beach. We haven't been notified yet, but based on other's experiences we expect to be for our 14 day Alaska cruise. We couldn't find a good option for a hotel "park & sail" package, so we will likely do the convention center. It does sound that they've ironed out most of the kinks from when they started doing it.

I never thought I would say this. We started cruising in the 80's and we were always decades behind the music on board. We just returned from a Holland America 18 day Hawaii cruise. The Koningsdam class of ship features the Music Walk. The band in the BB King Blues Club was terrific, but "our music" was performed by a great band in the Rolling Stone Rock Room. The band was fantastic, they truly rocked. When was the last time you heard a 15 minute version of "I Shot The Sheriff" with a solo on the guitar, keyboard, drums and bass? They were a real band, rather than an group put together by the cruise line. It was amazing. They played Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd, The Who, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Kiss, Queen, Elton John, Deep Purple, Cream and many others --- we were blown away, They also did a country set and an early rock set. .

We are doing April on the Carnival Miracle, we know the weather is more of a risk than the middle of summer, but one of the things we're excited about is being the only ship in each of our five Alaskan ports. The last time we were in Juneau it was a zoo.