Toofarfromthesea

The ones who say "I am from XXXXXXXXX and I don't tip, who have been Legion here. If that doesn't include you then don't worry about it.

That has been my practice as well.

I find it kind of funny how people demand that Americans observe their non-tipping culture when we visit their countries but are so resistant to returning the favor and observing the tipping culture in our country. They don't want up to tip when in their country, but when they are in America or on an American culture ship it's "we're from XXXXXXXXX, we don't tip."

Great information. In my particular case all I need is help at the port and embarking because I can't walk far and I can't stand for a long time. I expect to bevable to get around the ship on my own with judicious planning.

Wow, I had no idea. Thanks.

I would take a look at MSC in the Yacht Club. It massively checks the private area box. Private lounge, private restaurant, private pool deck with poolside grill, while providing a nice amount of upscale luxury. It's a ship within a ship, similar to the Haven but more reasonably priced.

I wasn't really trying to help him, I was giving my perspective.

Can I ask a follow-up question? Will they email me an acknowledgement of my request submission or instructions on how to access the assistance?

Yes. Yes it is. If the OP and you want to die on an $11 hill go for it. But I won't. Life is too short for me to spend time, energy, and stress over $11. Note that I never said what HE should do, just what I would do.

I can just see the guy in the green eyeshade in the back office of HAL rubbing his hands together gleefully and cackling, "I got $11 out of yet another one."

I think it would be a great idea if we could get a "pinned" thread on using stockperks so folks could read about other folk's experience with it and ask questions. I have no idea, however, how to request that from the mods.

Thank you, I just submitted that.

Personally NOT doing battle with a faceless corporation over $11 on a transaction of thousands of dollars seems a wiser choice.

My personal policy is not to sweat things like this if the amount is pretty insignificant. I would never sit on hold for 55 minutes over an $11 refund. I'd take the loss and move on. Frankly, I don't think I'd have even bothered to send the initial email, let alone post about it. I'd worry that posting about it would reflect worse on me than on HAL Customer Service. It's not a zero mistake world, and if missing out on an $11 refund is the worse thing that happens to me in 2024 it will be a pretty good year. But that's just me.

Do I need to do any kind of pre-arranging with HAL or the port? When I use wheelchair assist at the airport I always request wheelchair assistance as part of the process of buying the ticket

Yes, this is correct. I know the airport procedures because I've been using wheelchair assistance for a while now.

Does shareholder OBC show up on the HAL Invoice/Guest Copy?

I can walk but only for short distances at a time, and it is difficult for me to stand for very long. I use wheelchair assistance at airports and it works pretty well for me. Is there something comparable at the port of San Diego? If so do you request it from the port or from HAL? How do you access it? Is there a place you go? I guess what i'm looking for is a bit of a primer on how it all works, if it is available. Thanks to anyone who's "been there, done that" and can provide any guidance.

Fighting his way worked best for Wellington. O'er the hills and o'er the Main Through Flanders, Portugal and Spain King George commands and we obey Over the hills and far away 😉

Was there any lag between the time you were notified that the OBC had been credited to your account and when it showed up on your HAL Invoice/Guest Copy? I ask because my notification that it was credited to my account was on 1/1 and I just had my TA send me the HAL Invoice/Guest Copy and it wasn't showing up. Thanks.

Once you get confirmation that your ownership has been verified, don't forget to go back to stockperks to Redeem your perk. That was the step I was missing until @aussiedisneyfan straightened me out.

FWIW, my notice that my ownership was successfully verified (and I never gave them access to my broker account, just uploaded a PDF of my purchase confirmation) was at 10:03 AM on 1/1 and my notice that my account had been credited with my 250 OBC was received at 6:30 PM on 1/1. I had previously been notified that they received my application for verification on 12/29 at 12:09 PM. I never applied the old way, but this turned out to be very simple and efficient, although I was confused a bit along the way. The trickiest part was learning how to take a screenshot of the purchase confirmation and then "printing" it to a PDF file.

Threads drift. The OP's scenario was left far behind in this thread because it made no sense. Nevertheless a lot of good information was shared and discussed. Why is that a problem for you?

I appreciate all the good thoughts. If this is my last cruise it won't in any way diminish my life. We each set our own limits as to what we will or will not do. This cruise will show me if I can still cruise enjoyably under my own personal standards. I judge no one for their personal standards, but neither will I be judged for adhering to my own. So, we'll see.

I'm giving it a shot. The biggest issue will be mobility, since I can't see myself using a mobility scooter. I tried one in the local grocery store and took out an end cap. 🤒🤒 I'd be afraid of hurting someone. I can walk relatively short distances so I'll have to see if it is enough to maneuver myself around the ship. If it's my last cruise I'll make the most of it, and I still have the memories of the cruises I took with my wife pre-pandemic.