Tante1231

We are going on an extended cruise - the drink packages are way too expensive - we like a glass of wine at dinner, and on sea days may spend some time up at the Crow's Nest Bar. However I noticed that HAL has drinking cards that we can buy up to a maximum of $250. Do they work like a debit card? Can I use them for alcohol, wine, specialty coffees and soda (i.e, 7up, Sprint)? Can we purchase additional cards on board? If I buy before we board, will they be left in our cabin upon our arrival? I did a search first before posting and it came up with nothing hence I'm asking here. Many thanks for any information you can provide.

Regarding Mah Jongg during our upcoming cruise (our first in 7 years), my card is packed! Looking foward to meeting up with y'all on Sunday. Save travels all. Eileen & Rich Durham NC

I have not sailed on HAL for several years. I received an email today for our cruise next week requesting that I upload my information (vaccines) yet I still need to bring my originals for boarding. For those of you who have used Verifly, what is the advantage? Is this mandatory? Thanks in advance.

I would have no problem with someone watching...I'm still relatively new compared to some of the women I play with - some of them have been playing for over 40 years. There are times when one of us has to rotate out (when there is a 5th player)...I enjoy watching the hands of the more experienced players...that's how I keep on learning.

We play National Mah Jongg - with the card and the tiles with numbers. I've never played Taiwanese.

Thanks Joy...I have my card packed and ready to go. Happy Sailing!

Thanks for the heads up. We sit in Premium Economy so we're close to the front but geesh...45 minutes seemed a bit much especially in the Winter. That other cruise I was discussing - we'll be going in and out domestic so I might book on my own. For that one we're going in two days early so we'll have some flexiblity. Thank you again.

A few years ago I started playing Mah Jongg. We have several sea days on our next cruise and I would like to connect with other players. Never played on a cruise before. Are there open Mah Jongg games ever listed? How would I go about meeting other players? As always, thanks in advance.

Hi it's me the OP. That was the charge that Flight Ease was going to charge me (and it ws $984 per person - the total would have been over $1,800). AA charged me nothing to change my flights. We are prepaying another cruise next year 6 months before we embark. However I am not buying my plane tickets until we get closer to sail date. My TA said I can use Flight Ease at any time but this experience left me with a bad feeling about using FE again. I was not requesting the change on a whim...the airline changed my 2 hour layover to 45 minutes. My sprinting days are over plus if we had any glitches getting out of our home airport, we were finished. Another thing about Flight Ease...when my TA and I had a conference call with their rep and realized we were getting no where, we requested to speak with a supervisor. We we told that person was not available but would call us back at 11 am their time. That was Tuesday...we are still waiting for the call back.

UPDATE: First off thank you all for your responses - we are flying into BA several days early however if we missed our flight, the next American flight would not be until the following morning. Now the real skinny - not happy with Flight Ease at all...I've now learned that making your final payment EARLY is the automatic death sentence to making a change in your flight plans. I was on the phone with them and my TA and they were sticking to charging me another $1,800+ to change my flight to give me more time in MIA. A supervisor was supposed to call back my TA to discuss further - it's been 24 hours and no call back. However - here is the silver lining. I called AA myself - as the wait time was excessive, I left my cell number and about 3 hours or so later a rep called me. SHE WAS FABULOUS. Saw the issue immediately, understood my concern and worked her magic. It took a while but now I have a flight leaving RDU to CLT and then on to MIA where I will get onto my flight to BA. Of course there is a chance it might change again...but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Again - thank you all!

We booked our flights through HAL for our Buenos Aires embarkation. We were given great flights with a 2 plus hour layover in Miami...we had paid early and are now considered "ticketed." In early September I received an email from American (after we had fully paid and were "ticketed") providing me with the flight itinerary and our seats. Again, the 2 hour layover was showing. Yesterday I went to check on the seats and to my surprise I found that our flight out of our hometown had been changed and we now have only 45 minutes to catch the connection to Buenos Aires. I call my TA and she called HAL. As of "last week" HAL changed their policy regarding passenger requests to change a flight and now want $984 PER PERSON to make a change. I am appalled to say the least. What happens if we miss the flight with such a short layover? I have not been to Miami International in many years and have no idea how far we will have to walk to get to the connection. The best HAL can offer right now is telling me that since our flight is in January, there will likely be other changes that might provide a longer layover in Miami. Any recommendations on how to proceed at this point would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Yes there is a refrigerator in the Vista suites.

We are on the Grand Australia leaving San Diego January 3, 2024 on the Volendam. I was wondering where she is coming from prior to our departure. It would appear her last cruise is November 2023. Is there any way of finding out if she is going into dry dock right before our cruise? Thanks in advance.

We have several cruises coming up - one on Nieuw Amsterdam, Oosterdam and Volendam. Are the in room safes large enough for us to lock up our laptop? My Ipad should fit in the safe but we may need to bring the lap top as well. Thanks in advance.

Thank you all for your responses - hoping that they might slip in some bourbon choices...we shall see. Thanks again!