FlaMariner

We are carry on folks and I manage to wear a long sleeve dress shirt and kaki pants at "dressy night".....which meets the HAL dress code requirements..... Also, Her Majesty always looks great in her black dress......on "dressy nights". I don't think the amount of luggage hauled on board relates to what folks decide to wear onboard..... We are carry on folks but we do not own "beer ad" t-shirts. Enjoy the journey, no matter what you choose to wear onboard!

Yes We carry our luggage on and off these days.....We each manage with a carry on/roller bag and a backpack each. Why? With HAL laundry, we can easily travel with the carry on/roller bag each We avoid the wait for our luggage once onboard We avoid the teamsters and the tip when arriving at Port Everglades (and other ports) We avoid baggage fees when we fly Delta (and most flights, Delta gladly takes our bag and checks them for free at the gate) We use early dis-embarkation and love it...easy off and to the transport If land touring pre or post cruise, we can easily get around and with HAL's laundry service we either leave the ship with clean clothes or arrive on the ship with dirty clothes. I realize other folks have different experiences......but....Enjoy the journey and carry the luggage onboard!

I've used the term B2B "back to back" to define remaining on the ship for the next voyage.....no matter if it was the original port.

That's the way we roll also.....

Also agree with this.... We've done 3 B2B/Collectors cruises (since the unpleasantness/restart) and the price was always better booking as individual cruises vs the collector cruise......If booked as individual cruises, the shareholder, welcome back and other OBC offers may be more $$$ than if you just booked one cruise. Another choice is the cabin.....Perhaps one of the cruises is more port intensive and you may be fine with an inside cabin but then the second cruise you may want to bump up to a balcony.....or vice versa.... Of course, YMMV......and I'd suggest doing the math on both options.

Onboard the Oosterdam in April for a B2B..... The TA was full (as I was told) as was the 11 night Barcelona to Athens...and prices on the 11 night increased greatly in the last few months before showing "sold out". Also, Mother wanted to book a 7 night Caribbean run with the granddaughters.....the 1/4 NS price went from $565 to $850 to $1200 (inside guarantee) rather quickly......She missed out for now...still tracking.... We are tracking fall 2025 Europe and it seems the prices are higher rather early.... I agree with you, the ships seem to be filling up quicker than recent history....

It was fun watching both episodes filmed on the Eurodam.....The ship made for a great backdrop...And having the captain, Gus and many of the great staff visible was a treat.

I chase the lowest price and when onboard I often come armed with a few cruise prices from the large internet TA we use to see if I can get a better price booking onboard....It has never happened. We do load up on the FCD's...they are a no brainer for us in that they reduce our deposit risk to $100 and they come with free money (OBC)....and in the "hope it never happens" file, the FCD is refunded if not used in 4 years.

Thanks for sharing this..... Just noticed that the large internet TA we use has this new info....this makes my math at getting to the daily fare when comparing cruises so much easier.....It also explains why I thought cruise prices had suddenly jumped in price..... Here is their wording..... NEW! Prices now include port charges and government taxes and fees (previously taxes and fees were charged but were not included in the displayed price).

@roothy123 Thank you for passing that info along.....

Same. Agree. Not worth hauling bottles of wine to the ship with the discount on the Sommelier packages. Enjoy the wine onboard......

kicking this back up...any intel?

I agree. We docked at Villafranche on the Oosterdam in April. Great port....Our independent tour took us to Nice, Monaco and surrounds....great day. Nice was our favorite and we said we'd like to come back to Nice..... Also, Villefranche is a tender port.....So if Nice is not, you are in much better shape. Enjoy France and the Oosterdam........

No explanation has been needed for us...the coupon is for a "free Mariner cocktail" and we hand it to the bartender and he delivers a "free Mariner cocktail"....And it is enjoyed and appreciated. Enjoy the journey.......

must see TV

So zip, nada on intel for a day in Manila? Just popping this back up the queue........

Thanks for the heads up....We will be watching....

That's an awesome offer......You could bump me anytime for that......Nice.

Further confirmation that there will be a cabin....this is part of the disclosure (from HAL website) when you book a guarantee cabin.....Relax and enjoy the journey! "Your stateroom is guaranteed. You will receive your stateroom details prior to departure."

My son (legal age to drink) visited all our family member cabins on embarkation day and stole all the coupons off the desk.....He enjoyed several Mariner cocktails and even "bought" me one.

I use the "big Internet TA".....and I get upsell offers timely now.....but I had to ask the lady that we use at the big internet TA to send them to us or otherwise I would not.

Agree w/this....and will add same for all of Japan....we spent 5 nights post cruise based in Yokohama and took trains daily (including bullet)....2 days Tokyo, 1 day Kanazawa, 1 day Kyoto, 1 day Yokohoma......No tours...very to get around and see stuff.....DIY worked fine for us.

I would be all "in" on this if, as referenced, the site was good........same for other TA sites....The booking experience online is still clunky for cruises...IMO.....And booking a cruise online really should not be that difficult.....self-service should be the best service w/booking a cruise. In the meantime, it's an email to our big internet TA for a quote and then a response back asking her to "book it". I'd also like to receive a very good price for "self service".

"Worth it" would be up to you.....but... You are paying $21 a day to use the thermal spa.....If you think you would get your money's worth, go for it..... ...We get the pass when we are on a cruise with lots of sea days.....and then, we think we get our money's worth because we wear out the pass......We've known some folks who buy the pass and only visit a couple of times....that's a waste for us....If you get it, use it a lot and enjoy!

It's a personal decision....but I use a TA...Why? It's a large purchase and I'd like to have an "agent" represent me and handle any issues.....and the agent has much more clout (company has lots of bookings) with the cruise line that I would booking it directly with the line (just today, she had to go deal with HAL over a refund they were late handling....she succeeded and I am grateful I did not have to deal with that mess). I use a big internet TA and when I compare prices with other TA's and HAL directly I always save some $$$ I do not need/nor want to visit a TA in person (perish the thought).....Email is my preferred way and phone when necessary.....The big internet TA does a great job answering and helping....in a timely manner.