Toofarfromthesea

9 hours ago, Kristelle said:

 

 

Which "people"??

 

 

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.

8 hours ago, mawvkysc said:

I have had success finding a TA using  a website that lets you put in the cruise you want. Different TAs compete for your cruise business by sending you offers. I’m sure I can’t name the website.here Now that I have a TA that I like I will just go straight to him next time. 
 

 

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."

1 hour ago, zgscl said:

Usually I get an email back 1-2 business days later. Please note they will assist only for the initial embarkation and final disembarkation. Wheelchairs are not provided for use onboard or at various ports of call (though there is usually someone at the gangway who will help push you the length of the gangway if you are in a wheelchair). You are totally on your own as soon as you get to the end of the gangway or back on the ship. If you need to rent a wheelchair for use onboard, the two main companies are Special Needs at Sea (HAL preferred vendor) and Scootaround. I strongly recommend Special Needs at Sea - if you have an issue with the chair, HAL can work with them to offer a replacement. If you use another vendor all they can do is rent you one if available. 

 

In my experience, for embarkation they will unceremoniously dump you in the lobby, though sometimes they will take you to your cabin or a lounge but it varies from ship to ship. For disembarkation there is usually a lounge near the gangway they will have you go to and then pushers will come with wheelchairs periodically to take you off the ship and back to the port. 

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.

54 minutes ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

Whenever you turn on airplane mode (on android phones), it automatically turns of wi-fi calling, so you have to remember to turn it back on.

Wow, I had no idea.  Thanks.

3 hours ago, mrstraveler1987 said:

Please help me decide on a cruise to choose.

Who- husband and wife- mid 30s- 

What- 10 year anniversary cruise

Where- Mediterranean 

When- late August/ September 

 

We have two small children - but they are NOT coming with. 

 

Budget- around $10,000 not including air fair, excursions, hotel before or after ect. Not a strict budget but around that. 

 

What we like- upscale , luxury, not big party scene, don’t mind being youngest, good food, quality drinks , we love private areas ( like the retreat on holland America). 

 

Our options 

1) Oceania - 7 days - concierge level vacancy - INCLUDES air fair - $9,096

2) azmara journey- 7 days- club level balcony - no air fair - $6,506

3) azmara- 9 nights- club level balcony- no air - $9,374

4) halland america - 7 days- Neptune suite - no air - $5,558 or veranda suite - $3,342

5) seabourn- 7 days - veranda suite - no air- $7,642

6) Cunard - 7 days- queen suit with butler - no air- $7251

 

Please help me!

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.  

7 hours ago, Real NHDOC said:

I think what bothers people about responses like yours is they aren’t really helpful and don’t provide the OP with anything useful. He’s indicated that he is bothered by being overcharged. Telling him it doesn’t bother you enough to have your money taken to try and get a refund isn’t helping him. It reminds me of all of the useless comments after the Covid shutdown when guests didn’t want to just accept FCC and wanted refunds and people told them they should be happy with FCC because they were. 

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

On 1/4/2024 at 9:47 PM, Hobar said:

Complete and submit a Special Requirement Info form  https://book.hollandamerica.com/specialServices/login.action

See also https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/about/our-company/accessibility

I requested a wheelchair at port side for my mother, but she will have her rollator if there is no wheelchair when our car drops us off. Always have a Plan B.

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?

4 hours ago, cbr663 said:

 

That you will willingly condone poor service is, as you state, your choice.  Surely you understand though that not everyone will condone such poor service.  I have wondered over the years why is it that HAL simply won't fix this accounting problem, as it has been a long time problem with HAL.  Perhaps it's because there are more people who do nothing about it and accept poor service than people like the OP who stand up and say that I won't accept poor service.

 

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.

7 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

The amount may be small but companies need to be held to account. HAL seems to have a recurring issue with “overcharges” which sometimes leads me to wonder if it is a sort of unofficial policy. After all, if every passenger onboard gets an average $11 overcharge….

 

Most charges are viewable before disembarking but some seem to show up later. I’ve been charged for minibar items after checkout — which, incidentally, were not accurate. 

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.

2 hours ago, Hobar said:

Complete and submit a Special Requirement Info form  https://book.hollandamerica.com/specialServices/login.action

See also https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/about/our-company/accessibility

I requested a wheelchair at port side for my mother, but she will have her rollator if there is no wheelchair when our car drops us off. Always have a Plan B.

Thank you, I just submitted that.

1 hour ago, Gunther1 said:

 

This isn’t intended just for you: EVERYBODY should do this when doing battle with a faceless corporation.  Trust me….it helps.

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.

2 hours ago, DAllenTCY said:

When you enter the terminal, look to your left or ask for direction to the ADA seating area.  A staff member will take your name and add you to a waiting list (if necessary).

 

Please be aware that on a typical 7 night voyage, somewhere between 40 and 50 guests require assistance. On the longer or Grand Voyages there are likely to be nearly 100 wheelchair requests.

 

That being said, a shore side helper can only take you through the check-in procedure.  You will be assigned a Group Number and then wait in a separate seating area closer to the gangway elevators.

 

A crew member from the ship will arrive to take you onward once your group number has been called or in the case of Open Boarding as prioritized in that zone.

 

David

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

3 hours ago, Tom O. said:

I think the OP was asking about service at the port, not the airport. We don't even know if he is flying in.

 

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.

4 hours ago, Sukeme said:

I am cruising to Portugal in October, then exploring Portugal and Spain for 18 days on land before taking transatlantic back to US.  What is the best way to cross from Portugal to Spain that doesn’t include flying??
 

 

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

😉

8 hours ago, aussiedisneyfan said:

Mine was super quick too.

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.

1 hour ago, Suzanne123 said:

Third time’s the charm!  The first two times I “x” I got a message that all my information would not be saved. The third time I tried, I did get an option to upload files. Thanks so much.

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.

17 hours ago, RRFan said:

It’s not very clear to me. I thought we had to give them access to get into our acct, which I definitely did not like. But it seems you can upload an image or pdf of our stmt showing the CCL stock (like we’ve been doing via email) as an alternative method. Then they go “verify” that somehow and then we have to go back into the app and redeem the perk. At that point they say it is “in progress” until HAL notifies them that the OBC has been awarded. Now I am awaiting word that it has been awarded. My cruise isn’t until April so I’ve got time. But in the past, I would email the request and have confirmation within the day or the next from HAL. So far this method seem waaaay more cumbersome and redundant to me. 🤷‍♀️

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.

14 hours ago, mom says said:

That isn't remotely like the scenario the OP pitched in his first post. The OP doesn't even know how to generate an income from vlogging.

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.

6 minutes ago, Toad said:

Great attitude!  My dad passed recently just shy of100, and he cruised well into his 90’s and continued to shop cruises until he passed.  He always told me that, “you will never regret the trips you did, some will be better than others, but you will always have those memories when you are old.” So I say , go for it.

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.