SAN415

I have a navy blue Baggallini back pack that is nice looking and on the smaller size like a purse size. I got it a TJ Maxx. I can fit lots in it yet it still looks nice.

I have had great luck with the plus size clothes on Shein. The clothes are cheap and they also have free shipping both ways. I find many of the exact dresses on Amazon but for way less money on Shein. You do get what you pay for.... the clothes are made cheap but also cost cheap. I live in a rural area and am not comfortable driving an hour into Birmingham ( Alabama) so other than Walmart,  Online is my only option.

I second Crystalspin, I have the LLbean H2off raincoat with the primaloft liner. I bring that, always a pair of gloves, No hat or scarf because I don't like to wear those. Other than that I just pack the same as I always do. Mostly light short sleeve or sleeveless dresses, a few light cardigans, 4 to 5 shirts, 1 sweat shirt, 1 long sleeve t-shirt, and one pair dressy yoga pants. 2 pairs sandals and 1 pair tennis shoes, couple  pairs of socks, undergarments, very few toiletries, and very few over the counter meds. Oh yeah also under garments!

I live in the south so 40s and 50s is winter temps for me but find that I am quite comfortable using those layers. I always try to pack light.

We have 2 transatlantic cruises ( Holland over and QM2 back) plus a week in Belgium, in April of 2025. I will do some sink laundry and when on QM2 real laundry.

Sometimes I switch out one of the sandals for closed toe flats, but not very often.

We go on longer cruises and also often do a cruise, then a land portion, then a second cruise. In April 2025 we will do a transatlantic then a week in Belgium, then QM2 back to the states. QM2 is more formal so we will pack our formal wear and all formal wear accessories in a wardrobe bag and not bother to touch it till the last portion of our vacation.  The wardrobe bag is easily attached to my Husband's rolling suitcase. We use about a 25" x 18" bag each, plus the wardrobe bag. We do each have a med/small backpack too. 

One thing I do bring on any vacation I think might be cool ( Alabama here, so 50's are cool!) are a pair of gloves, I don't wear a hat or scarf so I don't bring those. I also bring a Rain Coat with a zip out liner. Then I add 1  sweat shirt and one pair dressy yoga pants. 3 thin cardigans, 2 t-shirts and 2 short sleeve blouses, one long sleeve t-shirt. 4 to 6 casual dresses and 2 to 3 skirts/skorts, depends on how much room I have. 3 pairs shoes, slip on sandals or water strap on sandals, tennis shoes (  2 pairs socks), and 1 pair dressy sandals. 1 slip and 6 pairs undies. That is all the clothes I need, I do use the sink to wash things out and also will do laundry on the ship. 

For all the extras, I pay attention to what I use everyday and only bring those items, no extra just in case stuff. Brush, face powder, baby lotion ( for face and body), one small perfume, hair conditioner (  we will use hotel / ship shampoo), hair spray, hair ties, hair clip. 4 to 5 pieces jewelry.

We also bring a few bandaids, NyQuil, aspirin, Pepto bismol, cough drops. Small binoculars, Kindle, phone, and 1 charger, passport wallet.

We drive to Fort Lauderdale, but when we do have to fly I can fit everything into a carry on size bag too. 

I hope my extensive list helps. I find packing fun and would bring much more EXCEPT I hate to have to unpack and wash and put everything away,  so I always try to pack light.

I guess you probably figured this out, but in case you need the information, you sign on to your card site. Then click where your points are listed, it says : " view my cruise points" Then click  on "Redeem my cruise points"

You can check out what you can use your points for  without going any further, but don't wait till the last minute. I think  you need to give them a week or so to get them in your OBC account. If it seems to be taking too long and you want to use the OBC to pay for something online like excursions or dinners, you can call them and they will get them deposited right away for you.

You will have the choice of shared OBC or just OBC for one person. We do the shared OBC so that we each can use them with either key card. 

This type of OBC will be refunded if you don't use it all while onboard. It will go to the credit card you are using for your ship account.

I hope I didn't make any errors,  I'm going from memory.

I'm sorry @CocktailPrincess I also should have mentioned how thankful I am that nothing further happened to you from that jerk! Thank goodness your okay!

On 12/17/2023 at 3:36 AM, CDNPolar said:

 

I understand and appreciate your situation and your desire for retribution, but next time, please, just walk away and protect yourself.  

 

 

I agree, at the point you engage with some one whom is bothering you by their actions, you are escalating the situation further and also making it personal. Just quietly go get an employee who can help, or find a phone to call for help.

The thing to remember ( and why I cringe when I see parents let their kids run around ) is the law of averages, due to the amount of people onboard, is there ARE bad people on your ship, there are pedophiles, there are rapists ( either have done their time or not caught yet), there are people who steal and scam as a way of life, they are there.

I might worry too much but when our daughters and also our granddaughter were taken on cruises with us, my husband followed them from a distance when they were going anywhere alone. And they were reminded of "stranger danger" and to stay together, when going about their day together, if we weren't there with them.

I don't have the figures any longer but maybe someone in law enforcement might know with an average of 3 to 6 thousand people, how many you would absolutely not want to have access to you and yours.

We normally have OBC from our card at the end of our cruises too. The amount is auto refunded back to our card as cash or money, not credits. Otherwise yes you can get the money at the casino, which we do when we have B2B cruises and want  the money for the second cruise.

Oh I forgot one more stupid thing - several kids were playing in an old church. Had to pry a board off the back window, and the roof caved in while we were in there. Felt like God wanted to have a word with us. The church was torn down shortly after the grown ups got us out. We were old enough to know we were trespassing. 

We have booked HAL Nieuw Statendam  Ft. Lauderdale to Rotterdam, April 4 - April 20,2025. We will spend a week in Brugges Belgium. Then take the QM2 back to the states April 27 - May 5.

We will travel by rental car to and from the airports in the states. We will travel by train from Rotterdam to Brugges and then also by train from there to Southampton.

I'm not sure if reserving all our lunches and dinners is best done at Mason Jar. We plan to go to Chops or the Izumi restaurant to make our reservations, then stop by the Mason Jar.   I'm not familiar with the Mason Jar and if they are able to do so. I am thinking it might go better making our reservations at one of the specialty restaurants that are not serving lunch but will have a host/hostess on hand to make guests reservations.  

It is covered by the UDP. We always plan to book our meals and then go to where we want to have our lunch on the first day and ask them when we can get in. This next cruise we plan to have lunch at the Mason Jar, and what ever time they can sit us will be fine, it can be hard to get seated right away but they will reserve you a spot as soon as they can. 

Just clear your cache, on your computer or chrome book.

I can't get past the sign in loop either. I am signed in and I tried several times and shut things down and rebooted back up, still no luck. I will try a different day.

Does anyone know what happens if you do test positive just prior to boarding? Do they refund your money or give a FCC? Or are you just out the funds and denied boarding?

If you do test positive just prior to the cruise, and are denied boarding, do you get your money back? I just booked a 35 day cruise for 2024, but I went with the insurance they offer so I can cancel last minute. This is the first time we have went with the insurance, but I was worried about being denied boarding due to covid. 

Oh, I should also add, our bar tender would have wanted a new drink ordered, or a mostly newish full one at your spot prior to using the restroom. Otherwise the spot gets cleaned and cleared for others. And if it was a super busy night the bartenders would make sure they couldn't hear you ask to save the seat if there wasn't a new drink ordered. If you did want to order a new drink  they would hear that just fine.

But most bar tenders have a method to try and make stools available to people who are actively giving the bar money. I understand a cruise ships private island bar is very different. But even if the bar tender seems to be unaware of what is happening, in most cases they know what is going on at every stool at the bar. 

When I was young...a very long time ago, I worked in a bar. Bar employees normally gauge "seat" ownership by if you have a drink in front of you. If you are just sitting with no drink you are asked to move. Just a thought.

Hi, 

While I don't have Rosacea, I used to do a lot of photography and have taken a couple classes. If it helps you, one of the things I was taught was that if a person has skin discoloration or face redness for any reason, that black and white photos are much more flattering. 

I have to add that I decided to change my profile picture from one that was many years old. I took a picture with my phone, spur of the moment. No make up and hair isn't styled. And with age my face has a ruddy complexion. I used my phone photo editor to change my quick shot to grey tones and while no.....I sure do not love the picture, I am ok with it. It is the one you see for my profile. The actual photo looks horrid, my face is blotchy and red down the "t zone".  I know it's still not a great picture but at least it is more representative of my age (61) then a picture from 15 years ago.😁

I know you didn't ask about photos, but in case the info helps you or someone, I thought i would share. Hope that is okay.

4 hours ago, kazu said:

If you just have a few, they do make great coasters.

 

I have too many and need to make a tray or table with them.  Sadly, they don’t fit the trays I have so I’m going to have to take some careful measurements and get creative. 😉 

You could purchase some small tiles, maybe 1" by 1" and add a border design. You could also purchase a couple blue plates and break them up and use them as filler too. The building supply stores will sell the supplies you need. If you use broken plates, I have found that after securing the tiles with mastic, but prior to grout, add a layer of thin wood to raise the broken pottery to the correct height. Balsa wood can be cut with a razor knife. I have also used craft popsicle sticks raise pottery. I glued them with wood glue and just added pottery with the tile mastic on top of them. It is on a porch that is covered but not enclosed, and as far as I know is still fine after 3 years. You don't necessarily have or need to raise the mosaic level with the tiles, if you didn't want to, just an idea.

55 minutes ago, RuthC said:

I don't recall ever reading of passengers being denied boarding due to a cold or fever. I do remember reading about people denied boarding due to possible norovirus, however. Those people were given refunds of their fare. 
That was not the original policy, but when HAL found that people weren't forthcoming about symptoms, the policy changed. 

Thanks Ruth, makes makes sense!

Tad2005, 

Do you think that if people are denied boarding, due to a cold or fever, that they get the money back for the cruise? I have wondered that many times. Or are they just out of the money they spent and have to figure out a way home? 

I hope they get a refund....but think that they probably do not?

Sunday is the 22nd?

13 hours ago, SusieS said:

SAN415, how many days before your cruise were you offered this?

Also, 12 out of 14 of our cruises on Princess have been inside quads!! We sleep super well due to no light, & we’re only in there to sleep, shower & dress. Works great for our family!

Hi Susie, 

The offer to rebook on a different cruise was on Friday the 26th. I called with in a few minutes and left a message that we couldn't cancel this cruise, but i was open to helping by giving up our cabin for a different one, depending on what they offered.

The call came from "corporate" and so I didn't here anything over the week end. On Monday the 29th I got the offer for a full refund and an interior cabin on the same cruise. That would be 4 days till we sail. We sail on May 3rd, Transatlantic on the Emerald Princess.

14 minutes ago, geoherb said:

We were in an inside for our 15-day crossing on the Royal last September. Just two of us instead of three. But it was fine. If necessary, your husband could go to the gym to shower while you ladies get ready for dinner.

Thank You, that is such a good idea!