3rdGenCunarder

Good luck. HAL does have some agents with a clue. I would ask about each OBC individually, and if you get a blanket response that, based on the posts here, you believe is wrong, ask to speak to a supervisor.

Ah yes, the "penalty phase" of travel--sorting through the accumulated mail, unpacking and washing clothes, reacquainting yourself with the kitchen. Yes, I have heard that river cruising attracts an older crowd. That doesn't bother me. I sail with HAL and Cunard, and although they aren't really God's Waiting Room, their average passenger age is not the young party demographic. I remember sitting on the pier with DH and my parents waiting to board QE2 many years ago. I looked around at the many people who looked older than my parents and hummed "You Make Me Feel So Young" until Mom shushed me. And now some young snip is looking at me and thinking that--although she probably doesn't remember an old Frank Sinatra song!

Thank you for sharing your experiences. Two weeks to go and, thanks to your helpful information, I feel like I'm ready. Well, except for packing...

That's true in customer service all over the place these days, unfortunately.

Are you enjoying Chicago? And did you dock there or Milwaukee?

The CO upgrade at $15 per day, is WAY LESS than the price difference if you book the more expensive cabin to begin with. I'm surprised at the difference between the cost of CO and the price of the upgraded cabin for just 2 weeks (on Zaandam). HAL might not be willing to give that expensive benefit for a long cruise.

That's a good way to handle it. My onboard spending is never near the limit.

Ugh, that means lining up twice. I've always found Bar Harbor immigration smooth, despite agents having to tender to the ship. But Boston has almost always been awful. They send too few agents and the few they send show up late and won't do anything until someone brings them coffee. I haven't seen much attention paid to the customs part of it in years. Was there that much good stuff to buy on the ship?

Thank you for taking us along! It's wonderful to see another cruiser successfully graduate to solo travel. I think overpacking may have been part of the adjustment. When you're on your own, there's a tendency to worry more about "just in case." It's nice that you bought some local art. I do that, too. A lovely reminder of a good trip.

Didn't you do immigration and customs in Bar Harbor?

It's amazing and sad how bad some TA's are. I worked with someone who was a part-time travel agent, probably working for a friend or relative. She was mainly in it for the opportunities for cheap/free TA travel. Having seen her organizational skills, I was NOT tempted to leave the TA I already had. I have been lucky with TAs. In 30+ years, I have had only two. The first one got us some great deals. That was back in the day when they had access to a lot of special fares, especially on sailings out of NYC. The agency would send out postcards for last-minute deals. When I saw one in the mail I would say to DH "Hey, we got a post card from [TA]!" and he would say "Where are we going?" When that TA retired, I changed agencies to use someone I had met through friends. Another gem. She knows my likes and dislikes and is great to work with. I am so happy that she and the agency she works for survived the Covid shutdown. That's what ebay is for! I am a bit concerned about @POA1's obsession with the tote bag. Perhaps you could send him your extras. 😜

I have something similar that folds itself into a strawberry. It lives in my purse. Amazon.com: YUYIKES 10PCS Fruits Reusable Grocery Shopping Tote Bags Folding Pouch Storage Bags Convenient Grocery Bags for Shopping Travel: Home & Kitchen

I think you would have to cancel the existing reservation and start over. If your deposit is nonrefundable, you'd lose that. And you might lose some OBC or other perks you got at the time of booking.

I first saw paying for a supermarket bag in England, probably as much as 10 years ago. I have carried sturdy reusable bags for groceries for years (I often buy them at supermarkets or farmers markets when I travel), but often got a plastic bag at other stores. Now my state has banned single-use plastic bags (except for the produce bags). I had to laugh at your comment about hoarding the plastic bags to use for rubbish. I'm about at the end of my stash, and I'll have to start buying bags. I'll have to remember to add folding shopping bag to my travel packing list.

I don't understand your question. If you're asking about one or two people getting CO, both people in the cabin have to pay the CO price.

That's what I did for next winter's cruise. My TA booked me into the cheapest verandah and then used CO to get me an "A" verandah. The deposit amount was the original deposit price plus the cost of CO. For the cruise where I did the CO upgrade later, HAL told me I had to go through my TA, so that's what I did.

Ooh, all those welcome goodies look/sound delicious! A maiden call is always fun. It sounds like Escanaba is very happy to have guests, and in need of them, too. I doubt we will be feted so generously, as my cruise is the third visit there on Voyager (plus Naviagator will have visits by then). OTOH, maybe they will have found time to organize the tours and buses better. Two buses doesn't sound like enough for 200 passengers. Sorry to hear the large group is throwing their weight around. On a small ship, a group's impact can be felt more and there's little you can do about it.

Noooo! That's my go-to white, too. I'm not on HAL again until next winter, so I hope they do some shopping!!!!! That's good. the special cocktail didn't appeal to me. Oh, but wait. It doesn't matter--I have HIA for my next cruise. Maybe with so many people getting HIA, they figure they can be generous on the free Mariner drink.

Now, THAT is a very good bit of advice! I hope they still sell the "lies they tell on Mackinac Island" t-shirt. The one I bought a long time ago has been demoted to rag status. There were items like "the fudge has no calories," but the best one was the last, "you get used to the smell."

Thanks for the heads-up on the taxi timing. The idea of a drink on the porch is tempting, but I think my plan will be something from the ice cream parlor and then a walk back to town. And maybe more ice cream in town while I do some souvenir shopping. Clever of AQV to show the movie. The book it's based on takes place in another grand old hotel, the Hotel Del Coronado in California, but I can see how much easier it would be to film on an island without cars and their noise. @Host Jazzbeau, if you go, stay overnight. You can enjoy the quiet of the town before all the daytrippers on ferries (and cruise ships) arrive. We rented bikes and rode the loop around the island, and I went horseback riding. That was probably 25 years ago, when I was more spry!

I wonder if people are aware of and using the "let us know" function on Navigator. I think HAL used to have cards to fill out in the days before the app. While people may have a duty to complain, not all recipients feel that way, unfortunately. I think people should make a point of giving positive feedback, too. On my last cruise, I saw a supervisor in the hallway and was pleased to have a chance to tell him what a good job my steward did, despite the fact that the workload appeared to have increased since my previous (pre-Covid) cruise. I always fill out the post-cruise questionnaire, with both the good and the not so good.

Your "live from" could sell a lot of cruises! Every day, I look forward to learning more about this itinerary. We're supposed to do the locks in the afternoon, so I will have to plan my time carefully. The Lakes Science Center looks interesting, and something I definitely want to see. Their website shows them open only Friday and Saturday. So AQV arranged for them to be open for the day? Thanks for posting the menus. The choices look good. And Gateau Opera! I thought I would have to wait until October on Cunard to have that again.

Wow! That's amazing! Those crew members must have been working all night.

The kiosk itself is easy to use, but I find it hard to hang onto the slip of paper while I'm dragging my luggage. Last time, I put it in my pocket and then forgot where it was! I think most countries ask if you're carrying large sums of cash. I always read that question and think, "I wish!"

That looks like a good assortment of daytime activities. I sail with HAL a lot, and if you take their daily program and cut out all the promotional talks that the shops and spa offer, you wouldn't have a list as good as this. If afternoon tea is like that, I'm going to have to do a LOT of walking in port! I see Tazo tea and Bigelow, neither of which I like. Dare I hope that there's some good black tea, Twinings, maybe? Thank you so much for taking the time to do this "live from." After having second thoughts this winter, I'm now looking forward to my cruise.