Haljo1935

We are flying non stop into Rome then flying back out of Rome. Is leaving Rome a pain in general or only for cruising? Trying to get an idea of how early we need to leave the hotel that morning.

Oh crud - I failed to mention laundry. The fabulous laundry service us definitely a favorite about HAl. I think I've learned there's a lot to love about HAL and that I don't have just 1 favorite thing 🫣🤭

Yep - already done!!

Favorite thing about HAL is the amazing Crew. Never once (that I can recall) did a crew member not greet me & wish me a good when in sight. I've never had a grumpy Cabin Steward even though I know they have bad days, too. And Grand Dutch Cafe - LOVE the GDC!! Oh and candied 🥓 🥓 Absolutely love Clothesline Candied Bacon.

70 headed to 97, so another hot day ahead. We had rain for about 15 min last night - yay!💦 Grandparents deserve a day of celebration. I was blessed to know and spend time w/mine. Got a love of water & swimming from paternal GF, I thought the pink toast GM used to make me was the coolest food ever until my dad told me it was just butter mixed w/ red food coloring 🤔 Swapping ideas is efficient, fun way to learn - who knew it had its own day? Sewing machine was a great invention. As a child, I didn't appreciate the time my mother spent making clothes for us, but seeing her machine today I realize the investment she made doing that. I spent countless amounts of time standing on the kitchen table, spinning in circles while she marked hems...🪡🧵 Passing on the food & drink. Never been to Amsterdam but very much enjoying all the pictures. Laundry 🫧and packing 🧳are IT today as my plane flies off in 5 days & ship sails in 6 days. Prayers and positive thoughts for all.

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/sydney-ns-port-3667 This is filtered for Sydney; you can filter to any country & port you want to see. Safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

Yes but that is gone in no time and the bottle is too big for taking ashore, IMO. But thanks for reminding me to be sure to pick up my bottle.

See, even Carnival is telling me to pack already!! After reading many posts about bad coffee and lack of creamers, I decided to take some with me. French Vanilla arrived yesterday and Fed Ex just sent a delivery notice that the Sweet Italian Cream will be here before noon. I'm taking the little single serve liquid "pods" not the powdered packets. So, @Cherries Jubilee that may change my packing status. 😉 Temp here is 70 heading to 97. Hard to plan for Canada 🇨🇦 as the temps should be dropping but they seem to be holding in the 70s so I think that is what has me stuck on packing. Ok, speaking of coffee, time for a cup then diving into the suitcase. Apparently the cat has other plans. Boy is he going to be disappointed - I AM getting up!! Ciao for now.

I'll let you know next week - leaving Fri to spend some time on Venezia. It will be fruity w/o coconut. Vanilla Cappuccino w/Amaretto is 😋

I'm a Tweener packer striving for Minimalist. Several cruises to AK w/too many suitcases 🧳🧳cured me of overpacking, but fear of not having "it" keeps me from editing more, so I don't think I will ever be a carry-on only person.

Hey - that's my order plus fresh OJ!!

Hey @Tammylyne where is the Gondola Longe? I will be on the Venezia Sat & will gladly send pictures if I know where to go.

I like these numbers better 😁😎 But I really have to pack...

I was going to ask about this earlier, but got distracted by, well by nothing actually, just distracted. We used to call those "blonde moments." Anyway, being on a B2B, I thought my bookings would be linked and I would only have to check in for the first leg, but the check in part for the 2nd leg was there taunting me to "start" so I did. I thought maybe it would just have me confirm everything, but nope - I had to enter it all again. Then I thought it would skip over selecting a check in time, but nope - I had to select a check in time, too. So, how is that going to work on Turnaround Day? Am I really going to have to wait to go back into my cabin until my check in time? Surely not. I've cruised on Carnival many times and I've done numerous B2B, just not on Carnival. Definitely different than what I'm used to. Happy Dance for this: cruise countdown!! Of course, I did those snaps earlier today, so the clock looks even better!!

Ooh that's a whole lotta pressure, 😆 🤣 I'll do my best. Glad you're coming along.

Some HAL ships still have the comment boxes at Guest Services. You can definitely enter comments on the Navigator App (in lieu of or in addition to the physical comment box) that are read and shared daily. As @Mary229 and @WannaSea said that's the most powerful form of recognition and feedback you can give for anyone who provides you excellent service. They definitely know every day the comments that are sent via the Navigator App.

Never too early for a roll call!!

Welcome to HAL @tw67 and @TeaBag!! DH and I are doing first R/T Rome end of next month then end Nov I'm doing first TA Rome->FLL w/friend. So looks like we're all in here together looking to learn a lot. 😊 You really should start a roll call - we have found several independent tours on ours. I'm not on FB, but understand that has also been a great resource for people. Having a couple years to nail it down, you've got plenty of time for fellow cruisers to find you and make plans. I haven't used HALs pre or post cruise hotels - they've just seemed really high to me. We're also arriving 3 days prior to sailing & booked a hotel near Termini so we could be near transit. We used American Airlines to book the hotel. We had options to pre-pay or book and pay at check-in; there were many options in many areas. HAL excursions will be for during the cruise only, so you will be on your own for anything before or after. Exception being some offerings for short excursions bundled w/airport transfer. Happy Anniversary!! Safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

Yep, from the book "My Life as a HAL Cruiser"

Hoping for you a speedy recovery.

I will do my part in leaving her in good condition for them 🤭 Turks is one of my happy places - saw this Native enjoying the beautiful beach in Feb on a birthday cruise. Their itinerary sounds wonderful.

I don't know which I'm more excited for - being on a cruise, seeing the Venezia in person, the beautiful ports, or maybe just the cooler weather!! Have you been on the Venezia?

@smitty34877 sending hugs and prayers for you and family during this difficult time.

Here we go! Going where, you ask? Hopefully Halifax, Sydney, St John Bay and Portland (ME). I say hopefully because Mother Nature may have other plans. I don’t think the weather will impact our itinerary, but there is some concerned talk about it, so we'll see. It's been a few years since I've cruised out of NY; last time it was Brooklyn, this time Manhattan. I'm curious to see the difference and really looking forward to experiencing the sail away from my balcony - seeing Lady Liberty 🗽 is a special treat. This is our first time on the Venezia - very curious about her. Feel free to ask questions, I will do my best to answer and provide pix if you have something you want to see. We're on B2B for 13 days total, so lots of time to see what we can see. The prep and the plan? Not touched the suitcase - today & tomorrow are it, so you now know what my weekend looks like. Going into NY the night before thanks to AA changing our flight. No tinkering around NYC prior to embarking other than dinner Fri night & breakfast Sat morning, just chilling at hotel then to the port. Same on return - straight from ship to to airport. There are a few more trips coming before year end and I have to work sometime, so really couldn't spare the time to play tourist. But there's always next time.😊 We have a fabulous aft wrap balcony which will be fabulous for sail away views - I think I'm most excited about that than anything else. I have some good naps planned for that balcony & will be working during the cruise so there will also be computer time out there. Speaking of naps - been up for a while and feeling droopy, so I will have a short nap then clear out the fridge and begin other fun pre-cruise tasks. Ciao for now (in honor of Venezia's fun Italian theme)!!

Confiscated by HAL. Feel confident TSA and airline don't care, nor HAL either, but I've read posts of people saying liquid creamer was taken at port. Seems odd since it's not liquor, but I got the pods as a proactive measure (vs bottle) hoping to increase likelihood it gets to my cabin.