Toofarfromthesea

On 2/28/2024 at 1:53 PM, SbbquilterUT said:

Had the same happen - 6 month Grand Jury duty and had to provide paper documents showing what we had paid and what we would forfeit.  Did get excused and did not serve a single day I. Those six months.  Good Luck

Wow, I would have loved to be on a Grand Jury.  I thoroughly enjoyed my 2 stints of being on an actual jury.

On 2/27/2024 at 1:49 PM, ggprincess2004 said:

Yes, was able to defer without an issue. The clerk actually asked what month would be most convenient for me. We were moving my parents into a continuing care facility the week jury duty was scheduled.  But, that wasn't where you live. Hope you can defer without a hassle.

I have also gotten a jury duty summons arrive in the very late afternoon the day before we left for a long trip/cruise. I had to call between flights the next day to tell them we were on the way out of town, and get that one deferred. That was quite easy too. And it was with 2 weeks notice before the scheduled date. 

We can now go line and enter an excuse - it finally got easier. 

Where do you live where jury summons are sent so soon before reporting?  In the 2 states i'm familiar with, CS & AZ it was at least a month and more like six weeks to reporting day with plenty of time to request deferment.  And a scheduled vacation would be practically guaranteed deferment.

3 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

I doubt they would want to talk to me. I wouldn't.

 

Never been described as rich before mind. Don't tell the wife.

Paging Dr. Einstein.

2 hours ago, MacMadame said:

But would they be interested in chatting with you? 😉

 

Seriously, if I were crew, I would avoid eating in the pax areas because I need my downtime and having to be nicey-nice to rich (compared to me) cruisers in my spare time is not my idea of a good time.

Totally agree.  Crew are not there to become friends with pax who feel guilty because they did better, through effort, talent, opportunity, or circumstance, in the game of life.  And my guess is that some crew regard it as an imposition on them.

In re reusable water bottles.  Be careful because a recent study showed that the average reusable water bottle has 40,000 times the number of bacteria as the average toilet.  You can avoid this by careful cleaning each time you use it.

https://healthnews.com/news/reusable-water-bottles-contain-more-bacteria-than-toilet-seat/

13 hours ago, sailing canary said:

It never ceases to amaze me that some people think that service workers from other parts of the world are going to be grateful or happy with the likes of a fridge magnet or baseball cap from Schitt's Creek or some other real place they've never heard of!

What ARE they thinking???

It is a form of narcissism.

It's not a one size fits all world.

Narcissism at its finest.

14 hours ago, CCNDSUN6 said:

Hi all looking at this post and debating what is better - 40 a bag of laundry or 280 for a 27night unlimited - considering we have heavier clothing ie jeans leggings jumpers and jackets I'm leaning toward unlimited but not sure - if it's worth it also considering have to convert  this amount to Aust dollars - any thoughts 

Getting unlimited completely changed my thinking about how much to take.  I literally sent a bag out every day, so I was able to get by on carry-on luggage for a 17 day cruise and would do the same on any length cruise.

9 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

Actually I showed the email on the phone and the guest services woman forwarded it to their email account and 2 days later (it was the weekend) I got a call that the OBC had been credited to my onboard account.

I did, however, have a printed copy of the email just in case, but never needed it.

23 hours ago, crystalspin said:

I would print the email out... There was another thread where showing on the phone did not get it applied.

Actually I showed the email on the phone and the guest services woman forwarded it to their email account and 2 days later (it was the weekend) I got a call that the OBC had been credited to my onboard account.

22 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

 

That's good to hear....Did you show them the app with the "elegible" and "redeemed" and that was enough proof?  

I showed them the email that said the OBC was credited.  And it was no hassle at all.

Were HAL or the airline on notice that there was a health issue before hand?  Or was there an assumption on the part of the OP that presenting the Drs. note at boarding was sufficient?  As described it sounds like latter, and if so I don't see how OP has a leg to stand on.  The Drs. note can't override the airline's rules, and if the airline wasn't made aware of the issue ahead of time what are they supposed to do?

18 hours ago, canadianbear said:

I hope everyone is complaining in writing to HAL.  

Why?  Because of all the user error?  

18 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

 

I never had to do that.....It's not required to complete the process....It's only an option.  I uploaded a pic of my statement.

 

(my frustration now is I have received notice on stockperks that I'm "eligible" and my perk has been successfully "redeemed" but the TA says the OBC is not in the booking confirmation.)

Mine didn't show up either, but it was easily fixed and credited to my onboard account by Guest Services once I was onboard.

18 hours ago, MalcolmCruiseCritic said:

The StockPerk app is still a disaster! !

When signing up (cell phones only, never via PC) it asks for your date of birth and income as well as the usual request for email address and password.  There is no reason the app needs your date of birth or your income.

Then, it wanted access to my brokerage account to verify that I owned Carnival Corp. stock....  What are the chances of a small startup keeping my details safe and/or not using them for other purposes?  Pretty low in my opinion.  If my details get hacked in the future do you think I'll get compensated for any losses (e.g., my brokerage account drained...).

Although I realize that by not signing up I'm foregoing $100 per Carnival cruise, please consider the risks and do yourself a favor by avoiding the app. 

I used it to get my $250 OBC without giving out any personal information or information about my brokerage account.  When they ask for DOB and income you don't have to tell the truth.  And they accept other ways of verifying your ownership than giving your brokerage access info.  As dozens of people have talked about here.

13 hours ago, Hobar said:

I’ve been reading posts that SD port can be crowded and that agents are unfriendly. Will be embarking there in March 2024 at the same time as a Disney ship.  I’ve notified HAL that I will need a wheelchair for my mom and we have a Neptune Suite.  I am worried about having my mom wait too long in, what I understand, can be brutal sun.  So, do I need to be worried, and is there anything I can do to mitigate waiting time?  

I can only relate that my experience, a couple of weeks ago was smooth as butter.  There was a podium with a red umbella that I went to and told the lady that I had requested wheelchair assistance, that I couldn't walk far and couldn't stand long.  She got me into the terminal lickety split and sat me in a holding area.  Within about 10 minutes a port employee came with a wheel chair and took me through check-in and security and then took me to a HAL holding area.  A whole brigade of HAL employees with wheelchairs was lined up just waiting for boarding to start.  Once they got the word they got us loaded up and took us on board.

A caviet - there was no other ship embarking.  Also, I had Club Orange priority but that never really came into play.

I hope it goes as well for you as it did for me.

You actually can pre-purchase it.

MSC Seascape in the Yacht Club.

FWIW, my 'verification' document not only didn't have my address it didn't have my name.  Weird, huh?  But it went through and it's on my onboard account.

5 hours ago, kazu said:

 

Yes - you need to wait until there is a bar code on your boarding pass.  You can print it or take a screen shot and use that.  either works.  

Or you can use the boarding pass image on the app, which is always the most up to date one.

4 hours ago, Tom O. said:

I contacted my TA, and discovered that at the time of booking, her agency had a special on free gratuities. I did not realize I had this benefit. I mainly wanted to avoid the Have It All package, because it does not do us any good, since we weren't going to go on any excursions and my wife is a teetotaler, and I am a light drinker.

So, having free gratuities is great, since we never cancel our crew appreciation fees.

A true case of Serendipity.

How nice.  The TA gave you a very nice perk without ever tooting their horn.  Sounds like a keeper.

I really enjoyed the fresh berry dessert in the PG.  The berries were fresh and sweet and the cracker rounds were very flavorful.  

I've always found RometoRio to be helpful for this kind of question.

8 hours ago, Bocker3 said:

This appears to no longer be true.  I booked a cruise, last week, with my PCC and added CO.  When she told me the deposit would be $350, I was a bit surprised.  I asked if I needed to pay for the CO along with the deposit, she said No. 

The cruise I am taking next month required the CO be paid with the deposit - booked with the same PCC..  

As I understand it, you don't have to pay for CO when you make your booking but you do have to pay for it before you can avail yourself of the cabin upgrade.