Dobby36

I totally second the strategy of going after intro bonuses for points. A few reasons: -you are flying in late 2024, so you have the better part of a year to rack up points -your daughter seems to be a resource, tap into that (also google Prince of Travel or Thee Points Guy or Ask Sebby if you want to read/watch youtube on the topic) -i believe one post mentioned you/spouse own a business - if the possibility of opening a business card exists, then bonuses become even more lucrative. You can largely keep your preferred cash back card, and just open a few choice cards that provide intro bonuses in transferable points, and use them only until you get the points bonus threshold met - need not switch over permanently. I'd pick a couple Asian carriers known for their business class seats and work backwards from there - (think Singapore, Cathay Pacific and JAL) depending on your destinations. Alaska Airlines has a strong network of relationships beyond just OneWorld in Asia, and offers both a personal and business co-branded card through Bank of America.

When we went last summer, it was the Anchorage Alaska Railway Depot - i was worried it might be hard to find, but it was north of the airport by a couple miles, an easy uber in the AM after staying at a airport hotel (we did, like you will be) and everyone we talked to seemed to instantly know what we were referring to. It seemed that day we were the only game in town - there was a huge bin with porters taking luggage, clearly marked HAL with the ships name, and only one train leaving to Whittier. Your day may be more crowded, but the place is certainly no Union Station - the entire train depot is the size of a large barn and they have the cruise train routine down to a well oiled machine, it seemed. Couldn't have been more intuitive.

You aren't supposed to bring back plastic bottles of water, but I've often mistakenly left one in my backpack that i picked up during a hot port stop, and not had security mention it on the way back onboard. I find they are much less concerned with the prohibitions on plastic, alcohol, etc on the port calls than on the actual embarkation screening. I would always appreciate when they sold the metal bottles of water on the way out the gangway during port stops, but the last couple cruises they have been cans which cannot seal back up, making them not ideal to throw into a bag or bring aboard a vehicle. I do bring a reusable water bottle, but often find i've left it chilling in the mini-fridge where it will do me no good on a warm afternoon in port! 😛

My experience is the same as NCTribe's - on both Eurodam and Rotterdam I've had my card in the slot machines and been approached (quickly and again once i'm empty!) by the gallery bar staff who simply took down my room number on a post-it, and then quickly remembered it/me/my order. I was always quite pleased with the service.

We have a cruise in March (HAL in South America) and got a notice re: COVID today too. But ours said masks "may" be required, so it is not dependent on just the line and month, but locale also. See below snip from email: "Masks may be required to be worn at times during your voyage to protect the health and safety of all on board." (emphasis mine)

You can see each others sending on the cabin TV, in my experience but i don't know if you can be granted permissions in the app - i think it is limited to one sign in by mariner #/email, at a time.

Yes, I was taught the double “trick” too, and on the Rotterdam last year the staff quickly recognized me and (maybe I drank too quickly! 😜 ) would just confirm I wanted double wine. It always worked with HIA, unlike double bourbons which depending on who rang them in would sometimes trigger a more expensive price which knocked them out if the HIA price guidelines and showed up on my bill. But even those could be removed by a call to guest services. ALL that said, it’s not a bad idea to walk into the MDR with whatever you’d like to drink, as there is almost always another bar on the way there any way you walk, and the servers don’t take drink orders directly-they refer you to a MDR beverage staffer.

Sounds like a plan! You can always mention to the wait staff when starting dinner that you have a time-specific commitment for X time and they can usually speed up service a bit if need be ;)

full Club Orange benefits try that link above or just google HAL Club ORange. The shorter lines are at guest services there is a special lane for CO, and at embarkation. The expanded room service at breakfast has additional hot items that are not offered in other guest rooms, and some without charges that usually would have charges (steak, and mimosas, i believe?) but i cannot find that spelled out well anywhere.

there are entertainment hosts that run games beyond trivia. Think charades, musical chairs, majority rules, or other board/activity games that can be played in groups. There is also a "20-questions" kind of game that the crew plays where the audience watches and they have to guess what famous figure they are, things like that - depending on the entertainment staff (and some are DUDS) these can be very well fun and fun - hope you enjoy!

If I am correct, we are on the same cruise - the 14 day portion of the longer south America one ending up in FL. There is a good roll call going over in that section that you might miss because the name is titled under the full 31 day journey: I'm so excited too! We are only in a veranda but looking forward to all the sea days nonetheless 😉

I find plenty to stay busy between grabbing a drink in one of the many bars, partaking in the trivia or hosted games (of which there are usually 1-2 at least/night) and testing the fates at the casino. I also find there are others willing to join in and work on a puzzle or board game, people are always around after dinner. Just precious few after 11 or so in the music venues.

I called the main HAL line a week ago to add it to our South American cruise (see you there!) and said we didn't want any change to the cabin choice, as we love the mini-hallway on deck 10 in the VB category, which we always book. They took the payment easy-peasy, sent me an updated booking confirmation in minutes. If we live CO enough we will try to booking into a lower category trick - but honestly the price per day when you are on a 14+ day trip seems worth it IMO for the shorter lines and expanded room service alone - with the cabin change it'd be even sweeter.

Yes, HAL does this - i believe the site is here: https://oceanplayersclub.com/hollandamericamatch/ or just google "Holland America Casino Status Match". Looks like it is outsourced to a third party. I tried to submit my status from a land-based casino chain to see what would happen and they told me "thanks but you already cruise with us, so no addt'l offers" (in many more polite words) SO- it may be perf for the OP or others with casino history on non-HAL lines hoping to give HAL a try! Cheers.

When you get on, go to the main dining room and ask for reservations for each day (or the ones you want) at the specific time you prefer. They can still make you reservations at the "anytime" dining room floor, and you will likely get the same table and staff, at least we have the last two times. When /if you prefer to go elsewhere you can always just call down and cancel or adjust your party size if you make friends, etc.

There is tons of shopping and dining in nearby Seaport Village which is a joy to walk to/through, and there is a nice walking/scooter trail that runs along the harbor, as well as plenty of harbor cruises and museums and other activities depending on your budget. The New Childrens museum is also a short walk away and lovely. A quick uber could get you to the amazing SD Zoo and Balboa Park which has days worth of things to see and do!

a number of the private airport parking lots have a shuttle that will go to the cruise port too. most are located east of the airport and north of the downtown proper.

We were on one booking number together every cruise- I will have to call HAL. thanks all!

we've shared the same cabin over 5 cruises on HAL together...odd!

thanks for those responding! I was wondering the same thing 🙂 no wonder i'm a 3-star and my companion who has been on all the same itineraries is only two!

when aboard the wonder in October we found everything "sold out" ahead of time. But by stopping at guest services right upon boarding we were able to get all we wanted booked(tequila tasting, makeover for the little one, and whisky tasting, etc) as it seems there are some phantom spaces available that would not appear on the app somehow.

I've walked downhill from my place (1 mile) to SAN once - and that was before the current construction on T1) and I will never do it again. It is not set up well for walking, despite the close distance. Take an Uber or Taxi, both will loop into the pick-up area at the pier and grab you with ease. Worth it.

some of the airport parking lots will take you to the pier too. sdap.net or just google san diego airport parking and make sure their site has a shuttle to the port too.

I was recently looking into doing the same thing - found two work-arounds: 1- go to e-gift cards and buy however many gift cards you can spend your points with and bring them to guest services-should be able to turn into OBC 2- under "onboard gifts" use the $50 casino chips option to have those waiting for you on board. play them as cash, or redeem at cage for cash to then use as you wish

HAL sadly was affected in 2021, I was on the Eurodam is September, one of the first HAL sailings after the Venice ban was fully in effect. We were first told Marghera would be where we were bussed after processing at Venice terminal. It ended up not being ready in time and off to Trieste we went. Took the better part of a day with the processes being new to all involved and the COVID precautions etc - quite a nightmare really. BUT on the upside the few days we tacked on independently in Venice before and after found very light crowds everywhere and perfect weather!