bartexas

We loved it. Several photos from that day have been professionally framed together and placed in a very prominent spot in our home. They stop several times to let you switch out as the musher - not everyone on our sled wanted to, so the BH got extra turns. The guide took photos of the entire sled and dogs for everyone as well. The conversations about life up there with the people in the camp are fascinating. On our trip, there was a puppy in camp we got to hold and take photos with.

Notice honor bar listed as excluded. On our last HAL cruise in a Neptune, they had recently changed it so that the honor bar drinks in the Neptune Lounge were included in the beverage package. You still had to fill out the slips, but you weren't charged for them. Has this changed back so that the drinks in the NL aren't on the beverage package?

For my better half, Glacier is almost non-negotiable, and he is adamant that he never wants to go to Hubbard again. We've been lucky with good weather every time in Glacier, and it's been rainy, foggy, and miserable every time at Hubbard. I realize that's just happenstance, but he's less logical. We like to go in May. I'm trying to convince him to try one of Seabourn's SB out of Juneau so we can try new ports.

I have my travel agent confirm late fixed when she books the cruise.

You are correct. I didn't say discount airlines were they only ones that do. Lufthansa does this in Frankfurt, but United does not, for example. I just stated that it was highly likely on Easyjet. This can be surprising to a lot of Americans who don't travel in Europe frequently, so I wanted to highlight it.

If you're not familiar, the European discount airlines almost always board/deboard away from the terminal. I am not certain about EasyJet at those two airports. You have to ride a bus to/from the plane and walk up/down the stairs. If you have a tight connection, you need to factor this in. It also means your boarding position is fairly meaningless because the person who runs off the bus fastest boards first, although which bus you get on matters. I equate EasyJet with Allegiant, vs. Ryanair, which is more like Spirit.

To DIY it... Cambodia: https://www.evisa.gov.kh/ Vietnam: https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/trang-chu-ttdt Both links are from the US State Department site.

Note for the future: If you travel frequently, you may want to look into an annual plan.

OP, I'm sorry for your experience, and I'm sorry for the people who are being dismissive or critical of you. That said, I did see some helpful pointers I will remember for next time. None of these issues taken in isolation is awful, but the cumulative effect is pretty horrible. We have greatly enjoyed our HAL cruises. That said, I don't like feeling like I have to be policing my account constantly. Nothing takes you out of the magic of vacation like dealing with guest services. I've stayed in enough hotels to earn lifetime status with more than one chain. It's very rare that I have to speak to someone regarding a billing issue. Unfortunately, on HAL that has been my experience. I've been very fortunate that my issues have been resolved quickly. Our last cruise, we had a lot of OBC between our TA, Amex credits, etc. The problem was, they weren't all showing up. I had print outs of all the confirmations. We were in a Neptune, so we were fortunate that the Neptune concierge worked on it first. She was unable to resolve, so we had to go to guest services. My one spa experience felt sleazy, so we'll never book one again. The spa was offering some specials via the messages left outside our door, so we booked side-by-side pedis. I took the offer and made it clear we were booking at that price. At the end, they tried to charge us the "normal" price. I told them this was incorrect, and they insisted they were unable to change the price because there was no manager on duty. They told me I'd have to come back. It took three visits before I was able to get it corrected. I gamble a little. On one cruise, I had something like a $26 cash credit. I didn't know the line to claim it would be so long on the last day, and that it had to be done in the casino, and couldn't transfer to my account. I don't remember all the details, but I do know that I spent 30 minutes in line and finally said it wasn't worth it in terms of what I earn per hour and walked away. I could have done more research. I own this, and researching vacations is my happy place. However, cruising isn't marketed as "spend hours researching how to enjoy your cruise and avoid billing issues" or risk being blamed for the problems. We like fixed dining. I like to walk straight to the table, know our server and the guests at nearby tables, and the servers get to know our preferences - we will be having wine with dinner, limoncello with dessert, and a decaf cappuccino for me after that. When there were wine stewards, I liked having the same one. They knew we liked the tasting events and would give us the scoop on which ones they thought we would like, and which ones to skip. My preferences notwithstanding, HAL shouldn't be calling it "Anytime Dining" if that's a misnomer. I can see why that's misleading to first time guests, especially if you only read the description. If you need a reservation ahead of time, they should call it flexible reservation dining or something. If it means check in and wait 40 minutes, they should indicate this. Minor issues that can be resolved fairly quickly shouldn't ruin a cruise. However, 6 hours spent trying to resolve issues and feeling like you need to be constantly vigilant to avoid other problems is no way to enjoy a vacation. OP, I'm sorry for your experience. Mine have been much better, but I completely understand and sympathize with your frustration.

I actually look forward to vacations because I don't have my dog hogging the bed! His "Dad" started allowing this, and now we're stuck with him.

I love breakfast in the Pinnacle. They seem to always seat us near a window so we can watch the scenery or the arrival in port. We always request late fixed and give our TA our table preferences. Last time we had a table for four as a couple.

Love Port'Alba. We got invited into the kitchen to stretch dough. We have 5 others in Naples we recommend before da Michele. It's good, but not worth the wait when there's so many other amazing places in a 5 minute walk.

We always have a bottle of Veuve chilled for celebrations. I use prosecco for spritzes and like cava for every day. Examples of celebrations - our team won the World Series, unexpected raise, guy we were in a lawsuit with got arrested by the feds... We also exchanged the Wycliff for a bottle of wine.

I have a variety of wristlets (to match my outfits) that hold my phone, key card, and lipstick. It would be easy enough to have a mini pen in there, too (if I cared). Personally, I would feel guilty if a server had to spend time listening to my convoluted explanation of not signing vs. moving on to serve the next customer who is likely thirsty. For those people saying they don't have pockets, wondering what they do with phones/key cards. Personally, the idea of wearing a card on a lanyard is far more grotesque than using a pen and following it with some hand sanitizer. If you are carrying your phone and setting it down on various surfaces, it's made as much contact with others as a shared pen. There are also plenty of phone cases that hold a small pen. Seems like a cry for attention when the problem is so easily resolved. I guess some people need to feel special.

We love HAL's unlimited. We send laundry out daily. We usually have 2-3 outfits each per day (workout/excursion/dinner). All of our clothes have come back in great condition. It's so nice to leave the ship with mostly clean clothes for the next stage of the vacation. It's included with a Neptune Suite, but we budget it into our OBC when we're in a Signature. To us, it's part of the splurge of going on a nice vacation.

We loved this hotel in 2019. Got a great upgrade with two balconies that looked at the pier. If you have Marriott status, their lounge was pretty solid. We were there several days pre cruise and watched the big NCL ships come in early each morning. Our cruise was at the other port, but the hotel offered a shuttle for something like $15/person, which was really convenient. The hotel is right by the elevator that takes you from the pier level to the upper streets where Pike Place Market is.

When I booked with my TA, I can log into the HAL site and the booking is there. I can add dining, excursions etc. The payment info is on the invoices I receive from the TA. I keep them all in a Google folder with the invoice date as part of the file name so I can easily access the most recent. If you can find your confirmation number on something from the TA, you should be able to add it to your HAL account. That said, the TA should have linked you to your Mariner account for pricing purposes. I have a Platinum AMEX, so if I use one of their authorized TAs, I get a couple hundred bucks of OBC. I love our TA, and she's gone to bat for us when there have been issues.

We took our 2nd HAL cruise in May, since then, I’ve been offered “Free” cruises at least 6 times with a long list of available cruises. I’ve reached out to my TA on a couple to find out the price to upgrade to a Neptune. A couple have been good deals, a couple haven’t had that upgrade available. Haven’t been able to make the dates work. My guess is that, because we spend $ on board - wine tastings, some casino play, at least one Specialty beyond what is included with HIA, probably lunch in the Pinnacle a couple of times, maybe an excursion or two, they’d rather give us a “free” cruise than the people we’ve met on board who brag about their free cruise and how they don’t spend any money. However, I have no idea and maybe they’ll just keep on until I pull the trigger once and they’ll dry up.

We loved having the Neptune concierge work on our reservations. It’s super convenient to wander down the hall for a snack and glass of wine to bring back to the room - we were on an Alaska cruise, so spent sea days on the balcony. You get some hot food on the room service breakfast and room service mimosas are included. We also like breakfast in the Pinnacle.

We added it on our 7 night Alaska last May for $238 for both of us. I messaged my TA asking what it would cost to add, and that’s what she came back with. She let us know it was a great price. Ship was far from full, fwiw.

This is for a limited group, but, if you have a Platinum Amex, pay for your cruise with it. Through the Cruise Privileges program, we had a $300 OBC on our 7 day in a Neptune. Benefits are lower depending on cabin.

I do this with books and figure that the things I buy swap out for the weight of the books. Just leave them around the ship. I still like reading a physical book more than on my iPad.

We did a champagne tasting once. Super fun. Had Tattinger, Veuve, Moët and Dom. Tried it with chocolate, eggs, potato chips, and some other things. Can’t recall the price, but after the tasting, they came around to refill you with your choice until they ran out.

We’ve been getting a lot of these offers lately. When I contact my TA, the price to go from “free” to Neptune (can’t do inside, would consider Signature, if Neptune not available) on these offers has been between $659-$1759/person. Haven’t been able to take one yet due to dates. We’ve taken two 7 day Alaska cruises, one in 2019, and one in 2022. Both times, we’ve taken upsell offers, purchased drink packages, specialty dining, an excursion or 2. I play bingo, and we both played a little in the casino. I think our net is maybe -$100. On the second cruise, we took a spa offer for a side by side pedicure. Because of suite credits and onboard spend, we hit 2 star in 2 cruises. We also submit lots of “kudos” and name specific crew members’ names while onboard - at least 2 per day.