ChinaShrek

28 minutes ago, n6uqqq said:

It shows you the total right from the page where you choose room type. Now your room cost may go up if you choose a higher category but the port fees and taxes are included.

Yes, you are correct. But this is where I look first and where I want to see prices include taxes:

29 minutes ago, cruisingrob21 said:

Got back from the Noordam a few weeks back doing a 5 day sampler that stopped in ketchikan and Prince Rupert.  Ketchikan has 2 breweries in town (maybe more??), a cidery and distillery.  PR has only one brewery that I could find but it's a long the water and pretty good selection of beer.

Did you like Prince Rupert? What did you do there?

There is a wide variety in port fees. The length of the cruise often has nothing to do with the port taxes. For one 7 night cruise,  I have paid around $100 in taxes, while an 8 night had over $500 (a Panama Canal cruise) in charges. It would be nice to know this before I am on the final page ready to book.

Lots of people hate silence. It can increase anxiety.

1 minute ago, mgtravelsalot said:

Im in LOLjust point the way

If you're on the cruise, I'll look for you

On 4/19/2024 at 4:42 PM, cruisingrob21 said:

I've walked between several in town breweries - all have their own style and tasting rooms (need to check hours as some are only open certain days or times).  I don't think there is need to do a tour if you've got a grasp on searching for breweries on a smart phone.

I am traveling solo. I think it would be more fun to go with a group of people so we could get drunk together!

10 minutes ago, Wannacruisek123 said:

We had to go in the morning to get a machine. At night, it was packed. They have a smoking and nonsmoking side. There were very few machines with less than $1 minimum bet. We did find a few and they paid out enough to play for a while. We are not big gamblers. They had lots of card tables and roulette.

Thank you! I have a "free" casino cruise planned on the Mardi Gras for February. The food was good in 2023 but it appears that the quality has declined.

4 hours ago, Wannacruisek123 said:

Different things matter to different people. Some of these weren’t a big deal, just observations to share, and alone no biggie but as a whole, it left me considering a different cruise line next time.

How was the casino? 

United has a 2:01pm flight out of DTW that connects in ORD. It will get you into ANC at 7:57pm United has the flight for sale at $601. Is flight ease cheaper? 

Yes, give the exact flight times. You also need to make sure that the flight is not a code share. United often sells seats on Air Canada.

I still see them there.

I too am waiting for the 2026 Norway cruises to appear. Do you think the fjords include the Norway Arctic cruises? Do Honningsvag, Tromso, Leknes, and Trandheim have fjords? If so, next year will be the last year to see them on HAL for a while.

39 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Hasn't the Volendam been upgraded to the larger wall mounted TV's?  We will be in a Vista Suite in August and some recent pictures showed a wall mounted TV. We had a small TV like that on the Noordam in 2019 and it was next to worthless and took up valuable counter space in our Signature Suite. The Noordam drydocking after our 2019 cruise added the wall mounted large TV's to all cabins.

Yeah, that was kind of what I was getting at. I like the flat screen TVs with all of the movie options on the Pinnacle ships.

42 minutes ago, richwmn said:

 

I left Volendam last weekend. I had an ocean view cabin on deck three, but I believe all inside and ocean view cabins are the same.  Behind the TV is a rather large area containing 4 European style outlets. Only 1 of the outlets is in use for the TV. I am using 2 of the others for my laptop and a European type USB charger.

Are the TVs really that small on the Volendam? They do not look like the ones on the Rotterdam. 

The rain ponchos are the best! You can be spotted miles away.

1 minute ago, Hogladyrider said:

Excellent points and let me share my current situation with HAL and gift cards.

 

We had 4 cruises booked and we decided to cancel one.  It was a 14 day Mexican holiday cruise that I had paid $3500 on CC and $3500 on HAL gift cards on.  I only owed $1600 before final payment.

We contacted our TA to  request the cancel and transfer of funds to the other 3 cruises we have booked for 2025.

HAL would only transfer the funds to ONE cruise and refund the balance.  Problem for me arises as the cruise they transferred the funds to  only had a balance due of $2900.  That leaves me a $4k credit.

HAL had no problems making the transfer but here it is a week later and I still have not received any of my credits due.

It just does not make sense to me even from an accounting standpoint because all I am going to do is call my TA and have the HAL gift card credits applied to the other 3 cruises booked with HAL.  In the mean time it is MY responsibility to track all this.....stressful to  say the least.

I will be second thinking gift cards in the future for sure.

And now you have to keep checking for gift cards. They might be emailed to you. Some people have also reported physical gift cards being sent to them. 

On 4/28/2024 at 10:04 PM, jimbo5544 said:

 

 

I get your point.  That said, cruising is not the evil axis, they had made errors (not even close to other industries, when it comes to ecology.  If Norway, Bar Harbor and Alaska want to drastically limit cruising and label it green, as I said before, that is their decision.  Those towns and cities will suffer and suffer big.  Telling the cruise industry they “have to change” and not even tell them what they need to change or whether it is realistic is nothing more than a red herring.  I know it and you know it.  I will restate my original post, and I mean it.  That is a shame.  We, the cruising community are worse off from their decisions.  

Bar Harbor did a major impact study of cruise passengers and found out that very few cruisers spend any actual money in the town. Most passengers book a tour and buy a t-shirt. Drive to Bar Harbor, stay a week in a cottage, and eat out every night. Now you are helping the local economy. It is about keeping life in Bar Harbor they way it was 50 years ago. Nothing wrong with that.

On 4/28/2024 at 6:42 AM, jimbo5544 said:

Obviously they can do whatever they want.  If they do not want tourists or tourist dollars, then so be it.  It seems their higher standard (if that is the notifier they are trying to send) is to not have ships cruise. Alaska does similar.  Norway is not going to change the cruise industry, that is just silly. If anybody really thinks that maybe 10 cruises makes a difference in anything in our world then that is really head scratching material.   Restate my original post.  That is a shame. 

Lots of ports are saying no to cruise ships. Norway is a wealthy country and does not cruise money. In fact, the economic benefit of cruise ships on the local is often exaggerated. Bar Harbor is also limiting cruise ships to 1000 passengers per day in total. It is not about changing the cruising industry. It is about how cruising destroys certain communities in the summer. The locals not want this. Venice has also limited cruise ships. If you really want to travel to Norway, people can fly there. Same with Bar Harbor.

1 hour ago, pghflyer said:

Perhaps this was a joke (hard to tell online sometimes) but I actually kind of agree with this. I get 4-5% back on Travel category purchases on my credit card....and with 5% interest rates right now for my free cash.....tying that free cash up in Gift Cards that takes a little effort to redeem (I use a travel agent) and keep track of (in case of cancellations)....does start making me scratch my head on the effort for an extra 3% discount.  Plus there is the whole thing of how much I trust my travel credit card to honor my travel insurance when I make partial payment with a gift card (I have not seen anyone that has actually needed to use their credit card travel insurance in this circumstance yet with multiple payment methods).

I actually wasn't joking. I think if it goes to only a 5% discount then I will not bother to buy them. I keep track of the gift cards and how I use them in case I need a refund on anything. That takes effort. Emailing my TA with gift card numbers takes effort. What if I cancel a Carnival Cruise but have no plans for another Carnival cruise for years to come? Now I have thousands of dollars tied up in gift cards. 

10 hours ago, a.madruga said:

BTW just noticed down to 8% discount

It's almost not worth buying now.

4 hours ago, Archipelago said:

Can Club Orange be booked online after booking the voyage ? 

Not online. You have to call or have your TA call. 

53 minutes ago, C 2 C said:

So you're the reason everyone else has to wait half an hour.🙃

I actually thought you were supposed to just show up and not make reservations with Anytime Dining. Why would I want to make reservations ahead of time? I have no idea when I am hungry.

I am not seeing any standby cruises in Europe. I would consider one of those because I could book flights with miles and easily cancel for a refund if I needed to.

Sigh. I miss the UK being part of the EU. Oh well.

Club Orange gives your priority tendering in tender ports. I don't know if that means you go ahead of HAL tour people, after them, or with them but i think you should be fine.