Cruise Suzy

5 hours ago, ellieanne said:

It's very easy to sit here now, nearly a month later and say what should have been done at the time. It wasn't done. We can't change that. We have to work with the situation as it is right now, not as it was a month ago. And right now there are ships out there with real people on them who need to be able to get home, or medical care, or, sadly, returned to their families. It's time to step up and act like the kind of people we teach our children we should be: the kind of people that help others in need. If the ship was sinking and sent out a distress call, the convention is that any ship in the area should render aid. These ships are sending out a distress call. It's time to render the aid we should.

Well said. My hope for all the ships with passengers and crew still onboard.

1 minute ago, Copper10-8 said:

A mayor and a vice-mayor for a county; is that common?

Yes, in Florida it is.

24 minutes ago, Worldtraveler 27 said:

We met Beverly age 88 in the DFW airport. She's been on several World cruises and was traveling alone. She lives in Sarasota and had no way home from TOA. We helped her get a limo and she is safe and we are now fast friends.

Glad you are home. Kudos for helping Beverly. We all need to help one another get thru this. "Little things mean a lot."

8 hours ago, Storylady said:

Jeff & Joyce who are frequent flyers helped Bob and Judy get home to Florida. They hadn’t flown for 24 years. We found a lot of Amsterdam passengers were helping other passengers who weren’t as internet and flight savvy. Kudos to those on the Amsterdam who helped others out.

Welcome home, take care. Yes, kudos to cruisers helping others - and, as you mentioned, crew helping cruisers.

12 hours ago, WCB said:

We arrived home after 6pm on Tuesday,

Welcome home. Take care.

Glad you are safely home. Thanks for sharing your adventure.

12 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

There is no present order of our governor to close down non-essential businesses (such as hotel), https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/florida-governor-wants-to-avoid-statewide-coronavirus-shutdown/2209714/.  I do not know that our hospitals are already full to capacity.  The mayor of Tampa has issued a "stay at home" order, effective at some yet-to-be-disclosed date, but has not closed down hotels or other non-essential businesses.  Hillsborough County, of which the city of Tampa is a part, has issued no orders.

Cities and counties in FL make their decision as to what is closed. Hotels in southeast Florida (Miami-Dade County and the Keys) have been ordered closed to incoming guests. Field hospitals are ready to be deployed as needed - the one here in Ocala is still waiting for orders. Alachua County (Gainesville, U of Florida) has a stay-at-home order and some cities (eg Orlando) have a 11PM-5AM curfew.

Those flying from the NYC area to anywhere in FL are to self-quarantine - no requirement for those arriving by car, train or ship.

Glad you are reunited. It's been a long journey for all of you this past week.

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

Right now I have both my laptops on flight aware.  Scrapnana's flight home is only 8 minutes after this one.

 

Roy

Thanks for keeping us informed of her flight Roy - and welcome home to you too. Glad you are safe.

Thanks for checking in. Glad you are home.

3 minutes ago, seaoma said:

Do you know if it's cashless or will she need some money?

All Florida toll roads have gone to pay-by-plate to avoid person-to-person contact.

GREAT NEWS!!!

Have never appreciated what John does more than now! Thanks to ALL who have volunteered info and offers to go above and beyond.

Moving

Both the couple and individual suite gift packages have disappeared from my indulgent options.

Can't say what you will find, but on Koningsdam last February I got only cans when dining in the buffet. At most bars I got a fountain soda but not all had my choice (Sprite Zero) "on tap" so I sometimes I got a can. DH drinks regular Coke and always got a fountain soda at bars, he never ordered one at meals.

I received one several days ago. Last cruised HAL February 2019, next booked HAL cruise July 2021.

Welcome. Cruise Critic folks are super helpful. Did you know Cruise Critic has an Alaska forum? You can find LOTS of answers to your questions there. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/33-alaska/

3 hours ago, LuAnn said:

Thank you! If it'a 14 day cruise but I wait to buy the package until the day after we board would I then pay the 13 day rate or is it based on the journey days no matter when you buy it? 

You only pay for the number of days remaining. Or at least that was the case in February 2019.

52 minutes ago, geocruiser said:

I pre-brought a $50 soda card for $25. on Hal's web site.   I will use the card, then switch to cans.

In February on the Koningsdam, I was brought a can plus a glass of ice when I used my soda card for Sprite Zero in Pinnacle Grill & buffet.

1 minute ago, richwmn said:

I just did a dummy gift purchase and as I thought I remembered there is a box that asks if it is a gift. If the box is checked it won't be disclosed until date/location chosen.

Thanks for the update. Procedure/Website probably changed since my experience. Our gifts were for a February 2019 cruise.

1 hour ago, kazu said:

I had a gift bought for me and it showed up on ‘my itinerary’ so I suspect if someone looks a their itinerary for their booking they will see it.  It doesn’t say who it’s from of course.

We had the same experience as kazu. Children bought a floral arrangement and OBC for us. Appeared on itinerary when I next looked at it - no donor listed but had been alerted to possibility so it wasn't a complete surprise. Cards were in the stateroom confirming the gifts and from whom they were.

If the recipient checks their itinerary, the gift will appear on it.  I could see the name of floral arrangement and amount of OBC purchased by children for us before boarding. (They had alerted us, so it wasn't a surprise.) Cards were in the stateroom stating from whom they were from.

On 1/30/2020 at 11:41 AM, SFO PETER said:

You guys are spending too much for HAL Internet if you are in port every day.   

If you mostly use web browsing, email, calls via Google and maps Keepgo will work for you.

Doesn't apply to those of us who do not have smart phones. For many reasons, I use a laptop while away from home to connect to the Internet.

1 minute ago, esimon said:

so If we get 300 OBC before we go - we get credit towards mariner status and.... if we don't use them all, we can get a refund!

In my experience, only the OBC that you actually use is counted toward Mariner status. Doesn't matter how much OBC you started the cruise with.

3 hours ago, ski ww said:

Would you wear it at home going out to a fast food for lunch??

Maybe … but only if using the drive-thru for breakfast and going straight home! Have never done though. And certainly wouldn't even think about wearing a robe outside my stateroom.