Hlitner

We hear you loud and clear. Just two weeks ago we wanted to book a decent Miami Beach hotel (with a beach and looked at lots of options (we know the area quite well). Ever decent hotel had resort fees so we than looked at what we would get for those resort fees. The Confidene (a Hyatt property) jumped out at us because the $40 resort fee included loungers/umbrellas on the beach (among a few other things). We decided to use points (which was a pretty good deal) but the points did not cover the resort fees although AMEX gave us the usual $100 hotel credit which ultimately covered the resort fees. But it was still a pain in the behind and and went a bit against my own grain. But take a look a Vegas where these days, just about everyone charges outrageous resort fees. In fact, the first time we ever saw a resort fee was in Vegas during a stay at the Rio (about 30 years ago). In those days they did not disclose the resort fee until one checked-in and I simply refused to pay the fee because it was not disclosed on the reservation. The manager agreed to remove the fee! But that was in the early days of resort fees and now, nobody is going to remove those fees. Between excess taxes (often levyed on hotels) and resort fees, folks will often find it costs them at least $100 per day over the advertised hotel rate. :(. I once teased a hotel manager that I was going to charge them a fee to clean our own room since they only would do it twice a week. Hank Hank

slightly off topic, but after about 50 years of extensive cruising we have met (and chatted with) many crew members ranging from Captains (two are now personal friends) to cabin stewards/waiters/bar tenders/cleaners. They all had one thing in common. They were working on ships because they wanted to be working on ships. There are many "hoops to jump through" to get a job at sea and these folks went through the hassles to get those jobs. Workers on ships are NOT slaves but are simply folks doing a job because that is their choice. Some are there for economic reasons (why most of us work) and others actually love working/traveling on ships. Hank

The last post has me thinking of what has happened to room service breakfast on ships. Keep in mind that my first cruise was nearly 50 years ago when times/standards were different. Room service breakfast menus (on nearly all lines) included just about anything you could get in the Lido including eggs just about style, I still remember getting a full breakfast (n my cabin) on HAL where they would put a large heated metal device under the plate so that the eggs arrived hot! These days, most cruise lines no longer deliver hot breakfast and often limit the items to continental stuff ltke cold pastry. Just last week we ordered room service breakfast in MSC's Yacht Club. The only hot egg offering was a "breakfast egg sandwich" similar to eggs benedict without the hollandaise sauce. Mine was cold, the English muffin untoasted/unheated, and the bacon (on the side) was completely cold. And this in a section of the ship where service is top notch! I should add that the YC has excellent breakfast in both their dedicated indoor restaurant (where everything is hot and properly prepared) or at the pool deck's outdoor semi-buffet area. The comment above about Marriott is sad but very typical. Hotel chains make little secret that service is not going to be what used to be....but something very truncated. And yet these same chains continue to boost prices into the stratosphere and then often top it off with some kind of ridiculous "Resort Fee" which can often top $40 per day. And heaven forbid you want to park your car at a hotel. $50+ per day has become too normal. Hank

I do get it and l we have met a few of those types in the YC. Ironically, when we have cruised on Seabourn everyone we have met has been down to earth wonderful. So what is the difference? No doubt some in the YC and Havens are the type that relish in letting the world know they have the "biggest and most expensive house in the neighborhood." But when you cruise on one of the Luxury lines, the attitude seems to be that everyone is in the same boat :). By the way, the most snobbism we have encountered on any cruise has been on a few of our long HAL cruises when a few passengers make sure everyone knows they are in a "Neptune" Suite and/or have done a "full world" cruise. When it comes to travel/cruising we can hold our own with anyone, but there is no need to stress that kind of stuff when having friendly conversations. Getting back to the YC, we have met plenty of fantastic folks in that venue. We enjoy the "International" aspect and have made several European friends (who give us ideas for when we are doing our independent driving trips in Europe). If you were to make an assumption that 10% in the YC are better left to their own snobbism, that would still leave the other 90% who are fair game for conversation and friendship. Some folks (including us) are willing to pay more money for better service, food, and the other amenities that come with luxury. There are other folks who are uncomfortable with that kind of thing and would rather be in a queue waiting to get a drink. Simply different strokes for different folks kind of thing. Hank

LOL (about leaving YC). We just came off the Seashore and only left the YC on a few evenings to go to some of the entertainment venues. On one port day, when we were among the few who stayed aboard so we took advantage of a near empty ship to have lunch in the regular Lido where we could get pizza :). But, no question, that the world inside the YC enclave is a completely different experience from the mass market experience outside the YC. Those who do not understand the concept of "ship within a ship" should give the Yacht Club or NCL's Haven Suites a try. Hank

The benches (which are in Lazaro Cardenas Park) were only one small part of the effort. There is also an entire wall (I think it is along Pino Suarez) which has lots of tiled mosaics. It is an ongoing effort to make our part of town more attractive and fits with the "arty" atmosphere you will find thoughout PV whether it be the excellent statutes along the Malecon or the various Art Walks we have (on some evenings) which are not enjoyed by cruisers unless they are in port until very late (i.e. 11pm++. DW and I like to tell folks that when we chose it to be our winter home (nearly 17 years ago) we could have opted to live our winters almost anywhere in the world! Having traveled around much of the world we decided that PV was a good fit and we have never regretted our decision or had any desire to live elsewhere. That being said, the state of things in Mexico and PV is certainly of some concern and the situation could change very quickly if our regional cartel (Nuevo Generacion) decided to cause difficulties in our city. But until now, the cartel has not been a problem for normal tourists/expats in PV. DW and I take fantastic cruises/trips all over the world, but the day we return to PV is perhaps the most special day of the year. Hank

All the airlines that are listed under the "Flex Fare" option are candidates for grabbing lower prices. How does this work? When you book any airline with the flex air option you will not generally pay for the ticket until around the final payment date. The flights are usually "confirmed" and the prices generally honored (this is not guaranteed). But until you make that final payment, and the flight is actually ticketed (this is often as close as 60 days prior to the cruise) you have the option of cancelling or changing your flights with no penalty or cost. So if you notice that the price of your flight (or perhaps another flight option) decreases you can simply change the flight booking. Once ticketed, changes will either be impossible or expensive. Another huge advantage to Flightease is that if HAL cancels the cruise, they also cancel the air and refund the air (at least this has been the practice in the past). If you book your own air and the cruise is cancelled or changed, any air changes or penalties are your problem. Since we have had all the problems with COVID related cancellations, one could argue that the advantage of Flightease (and similar programs with other cruise lines) has vastly increased. We had 4 HAL cruises cancelled in the past 3 years (all due to COVID) and in each case did not lose a penny from the cruise payments or our Flightease bookings. Hank

Brucemuzz has been too quiet.:) I find myself getting somewhat excited (and optimistic) that things will be relatively back to normal (in Japan) by early next year. But, there is always this lingering (and perhaps irrational) doubt that Japan may impose some restrictions on cruise ships? Am wondering if Brucemuzz can further enlighten us with his thoughts and whether he has heard anything regarding cruise operations in Japan and some of the other Asian countries (i.e. Taiwan, Korea, etc). Hank

Patience grasshopper :). I think we need to consider that Japan's entire tourist system has been down for more than 2 years. Tour companies have gone out of business, lost their employees, etc. Now that the country has effectively reopened (on Oct 11) I would expect to slowly see tour companies resuming their work. You might want to watch "Tours by Locals" as that is more individual vs company based. Tour consolidators such as Viator are also starting to resume more activities. We plan on being in Japan during March for about 2 weeks prior to taking a cruise. DW and I tend to favor independent travel so we are not looking at tours even though we do plan on spending 6 nights in Kyoto. Keep in mind that Kyoto is a relatively large city that would be overwhelming to anyone planning to only spend a few hours in that amazing town. You will truly need to prioritize what is important (to you) and try to set something up that covers those priorities. I suspect that by next October Kyoto will again be packed with tourists and there will be crowds at the most popular shrines/sites. While it is good to see the world starting to return to normal the downside is that crowds mean delays and the need to further focus one's efforts. Hank

The sad answer is no, the HAL online air booking engine will not work until you actually have a booking number (and are within 330 days of the return flight). It is possible to use the Princess Cruise lines site and access their air (operated by the same folks who handle HAL) but there is no guarantee that the Princess prices will be the same as HAL (they are usually close). To use the Princess site you would need to find a cruise with dates that work with your HAL dates and once you select that cruise you can look their air options without actually completing the booking process. I will be honest and say we do not generally waste our time with HAL domestic economy since we can usually do as well (or better) on our own. Where HAL (and Princess) can offer amazing deals is on International Air.....especially Business/First Class. That being said, because of the post COVID mess with Business/First Class fares (they have skyrocketed) finding a great deal is much more difficult. Hank

I will not lecture or suggest that folks should use a PCC (we do not) or a cruise agent. But I will post some very specific facts that might give some fruit for thought. We have two HAL bookings (both made through a reputable high volume cruise agency we have used for years with many different cruise lines) The prices and amenity packages offered by HAL are exactly the same whether we had booked through a PCC or the cruise agency. But what is different is that our 14 day booking comes with $775 of On Board Credit and our 28 day booking comes with a $1675 OBC. Those OBCs are provided by our cruise agency (not HAL) and are fully refundable (if we did not use it all we would get it back from HAL). So the bottom line is that with those two cruises we are saving $2450 because we are using a cruise agency. I would also add that it is possible to book with a PCC, transfer the booking to a cruise agency, and "perhaps" get the extra OBC provided by some agencies. As a rule we do not play this transfer game because it adds steps and we see no advantage over simply booking through the agency (which we can do with a few clicks of the mouse, a phone call, or an e-mail). Just another thought. Although we always use one of our preferred cruise agencies (because it saves us money and we get amazing customer service) we handle our own Flightease Air direct with HAL. HAL's system allows us to book our own air through the HAL web site (and our HAL account) where we can look at all the various flight options and make our choice. If we have issues with the air we can call HAL and they will work with us (only on the air since anything related the cruise should be handled by our cruise agent). Once we make our air selections (online) with HAL, HAL forwards the confirmations to our cruise agency so they are aware of what we are doing and the changes in final payments (due to the air). Hank

Absolutely safe and the main means of transportation from most locals and many of us expats who live in PV. Like any tourist city (all over the world) PV does have some pickpockets so one should always take normal precautions to protect valuables. As to COVID, we agree with some of what Ashland posted. For the past two winters (we live in PV during the winter) we avoided the buses because of the heightened COVID risk (buses can be crowded). But for the upcoming winter season we will likely return to bus use when we need to get out to the Supermarket, COSTCO, etc. I should add that those using the buses, for the past 2 years) were required to be masked. I am not sure of the current masking situation on buses but imagine if folks are still wearing masks on buses you will find many of them below their nose :). I also like to post that in PV, not only do we have plenty of taxis (clean and safe) but also have a pretty active Uber presence. If you have the Uber app, you can use it in PV and make payment either by the usual account credit card or specify that you want to pay cash. Just like in the USA, the Uber App works well and you can track progress on the moving map. Hank

Like you, we did quite well at that beach. We arrived via the public bus (which drops you relatively close to the infamous DK Oyster Bar) and strolled along the pedestrian walkway making inquiries about renting loungers. We rejected some places because their beach loungers "sucked," some others because we did not like their beach umbrellas, and finally got to one that had decent loungers, decent umbrellas, and a reasonable menu (offerings and prices). Our last visit was on a very busy day so we had no leverage to negotiate a lower price on lounger rentals (sometimes you can work a deal if you promise to eat/drink). During the busy season some of the beach places reserve most of their loungers for nearby hotels so folks might need to do as we do and make multiple inquiries. It is a decent beach, there are plenty of OK cafes/restaurants, etc. That DK Oyster bar gives a wonderful beach a bad name and it is a shame that the local authorities have long "looked the other way" and allowed them to rip off numerous customers. One would have to assume that the "fix is in" and DK is somehow above the law. Tis a shame. Hank

Your post makes it easy for me to understand why we adopted PV as our winter home over 16 years ago. Your first picture is an example of the interaction between expat and local community and the spirit of volunteerism that permeates the PV culture. The tile work on that bench was primarily done by volunteers who actually donated not only their time, but their money to tile quite a few places around the park in the Romantic Zone. The Americans/Canadians (and some Europeans) that call PV "home" for part or all of the year are involved in many local projects including the support of orphanages, strong support of the local art community. etc. Unlike some communities around the world, most in PV embrace and welcome cruisers. Many of us discovered PV while on a cruise and now watch the ships come and go from our balconies :). Hank

Getting a little off topic on a subject near and dear to our hearts. Pros and cons of aligning one's self with a single (or perhaps 2) cruise lines. To be honest, we do find that variety does keep things fresh and somewhat exciting as opposed to the same ole same ole. But consider that since we cruise on many cruise lines, our options are vastly expanded over one who focuses on a single cruise line, especially a line with only 6 ships (more on the way). Our cruise "parchment" includes far more than 100 ships that are cruising all over the world at any given time. So, for example, if we want to take an exploration cruise to Antarctica this December (we do) there are a few luxury lines/ships from which to choose. But your chosen line does not even offer any such cruises in December or any other month. If we want to take a month cruise in Japan next Spring, there are a few options (none of which include your line). When we cruised to Rio for Carnival, and spent 3 nights docked so we could use the ship as our hotel, we would not have been able to do anything like that on your line. Most of our cruises are itinerary driven (with 1 or 2 exceptions every year). While "O" does have some excellent itineraries, they do not always coincide with the times we want to be on those particular parts of the world. When we again find an "O" itinerary that aligns with our stars we will try to book with a small prayer that "O" actually sails the advertised itinerary :). We are giving a careful look at a late 2023 "O" cruise but are hesitating because it gets us home a bit too close the Xmas and involves one of their "R" ships which are not our favorite design. Hank