Tampa Girl

The last Grand Asia was in 2018. I don't think a 2019 or 2020was schedule. It seems that the Grand Africa took its place. I'm still hoping, however.

Where are you seeing a "mini Grand Asia"? I see a 53-day Japan, but that is not Grand Asia, mini or otherwise. I have been looking for one, however. Did I miss it?

The down side: With one exception, the 53-day "Majestic Japan", one has to fly long hours to embark or disembark. The beauty of the Grands is that they are round trip from the U.S. I wish they would do another Grand Asia. As east coast residents, the idea flying to or from Singapore or Hong Kong is discouraging us from visiting Asia again unless the cruise is R/T from the U.S. The Japan flight is not quite as tedious.

Excellent advice. Thank you.

Thank you for the information.

Are the excursion and other things, like restaurant reservations, automatically loaded on the cruise card?

What is what I wanted to hear. Thank you so much.

I think that I made it quite clear that the Carnival OBC and the Veterans discount was purely because it was a casino cruise. Although the cruise was not exactly free because we paid for the upgraded cabin, the cruise was considered free because it provided for a free inside cabin. My question re your original text was because there were a few too many "it's" in it; and it was somewhat confusing at first glance. Having gone back over and re-read it, I now see what you were saying.

Thank you for the mentioning the website. I will try that.

What is "it that is not being offered period"? If the March 25, 2023, cruise were not a casino cruise, both the Carnival benefits and the Veterans benefit would have been available.

So that means that the login's will have to be on separate phones? If so, I will have to uninstall the one on mine since I installed it in DH's name. I tried to uninstall it on my phone, but when I reinstalled it it was still in his name. Do we really have to use this app?

Not successful for an October, 2023, cruise; nor for a March, 2023, casino cruise. The latter is apparently not eligible for either a Carnival OBC or the Veterans' OBC.

I have two questions. First, my next booking, a 10-day, March, 2023, Sunfarer Eurodam cruise, does not appear in the "Pending" window. What do I need to do to get this cruise included? For what it is worth, this is a casino booking. I have checked in online by computer. Secondly, I downloaded the app in October, and registered it under DH's name. Do I have to download it again under my name, or does the app recognize all parties on the booking?

Would you mind posting the shore ex number, pls? Also, since you had the HIA, did you have to pay the full amount and then have it credited back on your account after boarding?

HAL told me that it was a casino offer and that the $200/pp is provided with the hope that it will be spent in the casino. The offer only applied to about 12 cruises, but several were in the Caribbean and a few were to and from New Zealand. Our TA says that no one knows why certain HAL cruisers are picked. It seems that any speculation is a waste of time.

I found that to be the case with the 35-day VOV cruise. Fortunately, I noticed it well before the cancellation date since I thought that I might be cancelling it. Lesson learned: Read the details carefully!

Apparently, not. We just received our first casino offer. We have never walked into the casino other than to pass through to another area. So, go figure. We did take the offer, however, upgrading to a balcony.

That sounds very reasonable to me. What would be the cost of a HAL 30-day cruise in an inside? We were going to pay $1,000 a day for a 35-day VOV cruise in a Signature Suite, with nowhere near the amenities described above.

That was not what I remember from her posts. She stated in one post that she was not blaming HAL for leaving the canal, but she considered the compensation to be insufficient.

For us, the value would be in the lengthy stays in many of the ports, which provides the opportunity to more fully explore the area.

"Purely financial?" A mere $300K is IMHO a good reason to not wait. That is the chance we take when we go on any excursion, HAL or otherwise. And delaying traffic in the Canal so that a few excursion participants can get back to the ship, however long it takes, is reason to not wait. Sorry about your experience and thank you for advising that we cannot always count on a ship to wait on the return of its excursions. But of all "ports" or whatever the insurance company deems that it was, a major canal is the one place that we should be aware that your experience can re-occur for others.

O.K., so the time hasn't been exactly ripe for a Grand Asia, and the '24 WC is devoting a large chunk to that part of the world, but I would love to see an Asia Grand Voyage somewhere in the foreseeable future. Has anyone heard any hint as to this possibility? And this time HAL could include New Zealand, having covered Australia fairly well in the 2018 Grand Asia. Unfortunately, it does not appear likely that a Grand Asia would include Petropavlovsk in the Russian peninsula, given the present political scene. Nonetheless, that port was one of the highlights of that cruise, in no small part due to their delightful dog racing team. Beautiful scenery!

I thought that HAL did not allow hair dryers to be brought aboard, or curling irons, either. No?

What is the Dyson Air Wrap, please? The name conjures up several scenarios, none of which will be mentioned.

And I will add: The Japanese are polite, friendly and helpful. It is a delightful country.