YXU AC*SE

Ask and ye shall receive. https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2023/12/21/carnival-corp-ccl-q4-2023-earnings-call-transcript/ Scott.

ATD (actual time of departure) 17h13 ET (21h13 UTC) In the end, first world problems -- watching SNF in an airport strip dive bar, poaching wifi, and mindful of getting to the airport for a 07h15 departure ... blessed to be able to travel w/ my parents-in-law and have a fun 15 days w/ HAL after a forced interregnum. Scott.

At least your onward connection hasn't been broken. I am on a forced layover. Planes go mechanical, and the aircraft swap also necessitated a crew swap as well. I feel badly for anyone inbound on that flight from Toronto -- it was to originally have arrived for 12h15 -- and no doubt there are [sameday flying judgment withheld] Rotterdam pax on that aircraft who most likely won't be joining their cruise until Oranjestad in four days time.

Roughly here (our noon position ydy). I assumed our falcon friend caught a ride eastbound on something, and decided heading back might be in order. Scott.

Audubon agrees ... (s)he spent a bit of time riding my parents-in-law's rail(s) on deck 11 forward. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/peregrine-falcon Scott.

It will show here: https://civitavecchia.portmobility.it/en/port-civitavecchia-arrivals-and-departures-real-time Listen to mom! 🙂 Scott.

Do you know where you will be boarding ... the terminal (Banchina 12N/S) or the tent (Banchina 25). Shoreside queuing if you're made to wait is much more comfortable from the terminal. If you're 4/5 star mariner, club orange, and/or a suite guest, you can walk on irrespective of your assigned time. As for luncheon, the 13h30 time in my experience has been 'seated by' versus 'tables cleared' -- but I have never really understood the attraction to attending -- embarkation is usually a bit harried and my tolerance for my fellow pax is a bit depleted usually, but whatever floats your canoe. 🙂 Scott,

sorry. bad assumption on my part. I'm still working, so internet is a default for me. As an aside, i'm aboard Rotterdam currently, and on sea days, having upgraded to premium, it is, um, underwhelming. There is enough bandwidth to facilitate Teams / Zoom / Meet with a bit of chop -- mail w/ any sort of attachment and you might as well wait for everyone to go to dinner before you attempt to download. Scott.

As @CruiserBruce says, no notification. I find using Whatsapp on board to be much more practical as a chat facility. Scott.

Scott.

Fortunately the ship was able to position itself crosswind and create a lee for the affected person to be removed by a Polícia Marítima RIB. We're back underway at 17.1 knots and a heading of 217.4 degrees (or roughly WSW). Next stop Little San Salvador Island in a week. Scott.

Alas, we tried. Unfortunately now, and a further complication to matters, we are also in need of an helicopter evacuation of a stricken crew member -- with ~30 knot winds. Not an enviable extraction. Prayers for the safety of all involved. Scott.

Actually it's flow toward a low pressure NNE of São Miguel Island.

The wind forecast suggests not. Scott.

Probably easiest to visualize -- A bit of threading the needle w/ TS Sean to the south - but NOAA NHC is saying that its maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 40 mph (65 kmh) with some higher gusts -- and that additional weakening is anticipated. Thankfully, Sean will likely become a post-tropical remnant low over the weekend -- so a tropical nothingburger. Scott.

Train. Cheap and easy. Connect from Rotterdam Centraal to 23 tram and it's a four stop ride to Wilhelminaplein. Scott.

How are you being routed w/ FlightEase from your origin? I perhaps would worry less about being diverted versus having your flight segment cancelled at origin. If you have the time flexibility, I might proactively enquire about coming in on Friday, and see if FE can accommodate? (800) 628-4771 If you get held up in Montréal, VIA Rail is a simple option. It gets more complicated if you're coming from say Toronto, Newark, Chicago, or Philadelphia because of frequency / distances involved. Scott.

Four of my last five cruises with HAL have been westbound TAs on Pinnacle-class ships -- almost next to no kids -- and the pools were for the most part empty. Have another booked this fall on Rotterdam with @kazu. On an eastbound you might run into a kid or two if the dates of your cruise line up with the Easter break. Hot tubs were generally empty in the morning until 11h00 or so, then fairly occupied in the afternoon, and by 17h00 or so empty once again. Scott.

Look at Ottawa (YOW) or Montréal (YUL) as potential alternate airports. I can see OW ORD - YUL for 138 USD on 29 September w UA. OW business class 375 w/ AC on the 30th. FlightEase may be easy, but doesn't always yield the best pricing results. For specific point to point air advice check the Cruise Air sub forum here . VIA Rail is an easy / enjoyable ride from YOW/YUL to Québec, and it brings you an easy walk to the cruise dock. Scott.

You can sideload older versions of HAL's app directly to your phone that is compatible with the last version of Android OS your device is capable of running. Here is an apk site that I use. https://apkpure.com/holland-america-line-navigator/com.hollandamerica.navigator.moapp/versions Scott.

Appallingly, nor is it compatible w/ semaphore flags and/or tin cans and string. Itinerary design, and duration in ports is an annoyance for me. Broadly speaking, arrive late, depart early (when compared to other lines) is a bit frustrating, especially when one is staking out the brand positioning of being 'about the voyage'. They have created a 'legendary voyages' category that have some longer port stays, but those itins are 25-50 days, which isn't compatible with ppl still working. Scott.

Six of my last seven cruises have been repositioning cruises. primarily westbound TAs. Really not a lot of difference from any other itinerary, other than generally almost no kids, and pax generally skew older. Entertainment seems to be on a seven-day cycle for Music Walk. I have seen most of the Step One / RWS shows in the main theatre, so really not a giant draw. The rest of the acts were, meh, okay. We were on the inaugural TA crossing for Koningsdam in 2016, which was a little bit of fantastic -- the usual dance cast was replaced with Ukrainian ballroom dancers, and the ship was filled with a lot of trade (TAs) as the Pinnacle class concept was brand new to North American markets ... it was head and shoulders above any of my other HAL cruise experiences ... brand new concept for HAL that had a summer season to work out the kinks in Europe. Booked the inaugural sailing for Nieuw Statendam, hoping for the same? Nope. Benefits? 14 or 15 days and staff really get to know you and your preferences. And in the case of a TA, usually seven or eight [blissful] sea days where the ship becomes your destination. Booked on the Rotterdam this October. Looking forward to it. Scott.

My go-to on Pinnacle ships (my last five HAL cruises exclusively, plus one upcoming in October on Rotterdam VII) is deck 11, and as far aft as possible (ie closer to the running track.) Retreat is a day-only space -- I haven't been bothered by noise at all. Scott.

Yup, Valiant Lady MIA > BCN this spring. Free premium internet with Deep Blue Extras. Scott.

Concur fully -- same cruise w/ DBE as well. I was taking meetings via Teams and Zoom on deck 15 aft with no issues whatsoever (other than the jealousy of my colleagues.) Scott.