maryandmarge

6 hours ago, atexsix said:

Okay, I have to put this out there to my fellow HAL family, do I cancel or change the booking for the cruises in which I'll be in a Neptune or Pinnacle as a solo?  Granted they were booked before all the policy changes, and the bookings were made directly through HAL and they clearly allowed me to do so, but I still fear getting bumped. 

 

Some background: I got great rates on all of these through early booking discounts, all the sailings are 2025 Alaska 7 days, but during the low season (May or Sep); I'm perfectly fine switching to a 14 day, but I didn't really want to be gone that long, so I broke up my plans into one week trips instead.  

 

I just don't want to be looking forward to something, only to get a big surprise at embarkation. I know there's been few reports of bumping, but not everybody belongs to cruise critic or chooses to post it, so we really don't know how frequently it's occurring.  

 

If I cancel, then I have to face the possibility of sailing with other cruise lines that are friendlier to solo travelers (NCL's Haven/Oceania/Cunard Grills) when I'm inching ever so closely to 4 star.  😥

Bruno - so glad to see you posting again on cruise critic.   I hope you have been able to get back into a normal routine and your life continues to get better for you.   I agree with the others that have responded to you that I don’t think you have to worry about being bumped.     Our friends that did a 14 day in Alaska with us this year in May had booked a large inside room that they had been in on past cruise - 2 days before the cruise Holland bumped them up to an obstructed oceanview room without contacting them. They were not happy.    Holland considered it an upgrade - they did not.    The oceanview was smaller than the large inside.  They are the only ones I’ve known that got bumped.   They never did find out why.  
Happy to see you are returning to cruising and hope we end up on the same ship someday.   Take care - 
Maryell 

10 hours ago, BaileyMJ said:

While the Embarkation process on day one went smoothly on day 1 my disembarkation was similar to @Crew News experience above with some added delays.

 

My travel home had a 5:52pm departure from YVR therefore I booked the Vancouver Sightseeing tour with Airpot transfer.  It was detailed as a 3 hr tour available for those passengers with flights departing after 2pm.  I received the disembarkation information with luggage tags Pink 3 and listed on the paper a 8:00 am departure.  I left my cabin at 7:45am and thought I could wait in Pinnacle Bar on deck 2 which had the gangway - well deck 2 was packed so I went up to deck 3 Ocean Bar to wait.  As stated by Roger he was Blue 1 called at 8:45am well Pink 3 was called just a couple of minutes before and I proceeded down to deck 2 by stairs and it was so crowded and then following the gangway signs I got to the Rolling stone lounge and pointed to that narrow lane at which time they announced Blue 1 but then the couple in front of me was Green tag which hadn’t been called so more delay for them to move forward so I could depart - it was a mess!  When I got to the luggage claim I noted I was not the last of Pink 3 bags.  The following steps were just as Roger detailed except prior to the numbered lane which you line up in prior to moving to your bus they had a holding line for Pink 3 - I was pretty much at the end - the shore excursion rep Jessica was double checking everyone’s tickets or boarding cards.  Jessica I knew from prior HAL excursions and she is a superstar - her hair is not red but maybe auburn so she nay be the rep Roger mentioned.  Waiting on this line was frustrating- our Tour Guide Jeff was also there and was trying to help some passengers who with canes or walkers by getting some folding chairs for them - no official reason for this delay but first they said waiting for 3 missing passengers and also the delay was that the Pink tag baggage was delayed backup from ship to baggage claim area.  The standing on this holding line for me was maybe 15min but I was in the back.  Next Jessica was then directing us to the final line and we were assigned line 4 and another wait - where all the other lines where moving swiftly but #4 did not - it was in credibly frustrating- especially when you would see other lines move onto their buses - you also noted that the other lines where given a green laminated card for the start of a bus and a red card to the end - we noted no cards on our #4 line.  When we finally departed it was about 10:30am and Jeff our guide had to ask everyone what time was everyones flight time - we had a family with a 2:30pm departure but it was a domestic departure so Jeff assured everyone that we will all arrive at YVR with plenty of time but our 3 tour was shortened.  It was a excellent tour we had 2 short stops at Stanley Park and Queen Elizabeth Park and we got to YVR at 12:15pm.

 

Also when I was waiting on deck 3 I walked around and they had a security entrance/exit set up - there were a few people with some luggage tags thought they were red and I asked - is this the security entrance for embarkation - I got a abrupt No from one of the waiting passengers so I moved on but I took a picture.

 

 

With all the congestion on deck 2 especially with many wheelchairs I don’t understand why they couldn’t have say wheel chair passengers depart from the deck 3 security since it basically is flat out to Canada Place and they could take a elevator down to the baggage claim.

We were Yellow 1 tags and waited in the World Theater.    We were escorted off of Deck 3 directly to the buses.    We had booked the transfers from the pier to Seattle Airport.    We had no issues on the way up to Vancouver and walked right thru to the ship on May 5th.   We boarded the ship around 2 pm.    The trip back to Seattle wasn’t as smooth.    We left later than we were supposed to.    Our bus driver needed to be better trained on his job.     He did nothing to help people on or off the bus.   Most times he was sitting in his seat playing on his phone.   He never took the time to explain before custom what to expect when we stopped.  He never explained that the restrooms were closed at customs.  It took us an hour to get cleared thru customs.    Finally once we are back on the road he announces that we could stop at rest area either in 10 minutes or 35 minutes.   Everyone said stop at the  first one.   Good thing we did as we hit traffic backups further up the road.     We were back on the road for awhile and he pulls off another exit and into a gas station with a restaurant Donna’s.  He mumbles something as he gets off and comes back 15 minutes later with a drink and sandwich or something to eat.    Really ….

If he needed food on this trip he should have packed his lunch.    He had no concern about people making their flights.  When we got to Seattle one of the passengers had to help unload the bus trying to help others make their flights.    Our PCC told us not to book a flight before 3 pm - the paperwork in our room said don’t book a flight before 4 pm.   I’m going to tell my PCC to tell people not to book flight out of Seattle before 5 pm.   We were lucky - we were booked on the 10:15 pm redeye direct to Cleveland.   I’m not sure the people in front of us on bus were able to make their 3:35 flight as security lines were very long.   
I would take this shuttle again if it comes to that where it was cheaper for us to travel to Seattle rather than Vancouver.    Just watch what time you book your flights.    Hope this helps others make choices.  

Roger - great job on this thread.     You are a wealth of knowledge for cruise critic people that have questions.    We enjoyed meeting you at the meet and greet and hopefully our paths will cross again on a future cruise.  Safe travels to all that were on this great cruise.     
Maryell.  

1 hour ago, Cruise Suzy said:

@maryandmarge sorry we didn't have a zoom of you docking.

 

At least we can see @Crew News aft facing balcony.

It’s a good thing you didn’t have zoom.   I was still in our room in my pj’s.   😂😂

I finally get to watch the webcam as I’m on a ship pulling in.    Woohoo.   
It would have been nice to have some sun but looks like we are having more rain today.      Even with cold and rain this has been a great trip so far on Nieuw Amsterdam.   
Maryell 

43 minutes ago, atexsix said:

By all means, I will be there in spirit.  I just hopes nobody plays a trick on you this time.  

 

And I wish they'd go back to offering the 14 day sailings to Alaska from Seattle. I'm booked on the 28 day next June but I don't know if I want to be gone that long.  I might switch to a Cunard 10 day which are being moved to Seattle next year.

OMG.   I almost forgot about my friends from WI pretending they were on the ship to surprise me - when they were actually sitting at home laughing because I went looking for them on the ship.  I’ve forgiven them but at the time I was really upset about it.    I can laugh about it now.    
Wow - 28 days is a long cruise for Alaska.    Hope you are able to do it.    We had so much fun on the 25 day cruise last August from Boston to Iceland that we signed up for the same one in July 2025.  
Hope you will keep in touch on the daily so we know how you are doing.   Maryell

8 hours ago, atexsix said:

Good Morning,

 

Wow, it's been about 3 weeks since Dad died and it feels like 3 months, it's just been nonstop tasks.  The wake/funeral took a week to get setup and organized and that took place a week ago today, and then I had to get started on estate matters. The wake/funeral went well, it wasn't easy doing open casket everything, but Dad's church insisted on it as part of their orthodox tradition and there was no option to deviate.  Washington State doesn't really give you very long to start probate, so I had to find an attorney right on the heels of the funeral.  And this week I had to get started on banking matters now that I have the death certificates.  Dying is a giant pain in the butt if you ask me!  I've barely had time to mourn the actual loss.  

 

At first the idea of being on a cruise without Dad was unthinkable. But now, after the above stress, the idea of doing something is gaining in appeal, and it doesn't even need to be on a ship, even a week in Hawaii sounds delightful, anything to forget about the real world for awhile. Of course not everything has been a walk in the park, I'm still dealing with intense grief like I've never known it before, but counseling and a support group are assisting on that. 

 

So that's a very quick update I know, but I hope everybody are continuing to have fantastic vacations, and I hope to join you back in the daily on a more regular basis in the very near future.  

 

~Bruno

Bruno - good to hear from you.    Just remember it’s one day at a time.   You have many friends on here keeping you in their thoughts and prayers.   My sister and I fly into Seattle on Friday before taking the Holland transfer on Sunday to Vancouver to do a 14 day Alaska cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam (the same ship we met you on in 2021).    I’ll make sure we do a toast to you on sail away on the back of the ship where we first met.  Hope our cruising paths cross again in the future.     Stay healthy and I hope things continue to get easier for you.  Take care.    Maryell

I had the same problem with I phone since yesterday.    It just started working again.    This is a good thing since we leave for a cruise next weekend.  

3 minutes ago, dfish said:

We loved it.  We both said we'd do it again.  How about you?

3 minutes ago, dfish said:

We loved it.  We both said we'd do it again.  How about you?

Hi Debbie  - Hope you and Sue are both doing well.   Funny you said you would do Iceland again - Marge and I have said the same thing since we were on that cruise with you.     Funny thing is - Holland had their 1 day deposit sale of $1 this week and we went ahead and booked the 25 day cruise to Iceland on the Volendam 7/12/25.    Now we have something great to look forward to.    Say Hi to Sue.  Take care!
Maryell 

19 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

For my personal experience, the price was the same on 2/2 when I originally looked at this cruise. The only difference now is I paid $2 instead of $3500 to hold it.

 

I have no intention of cancelling the cruise. I also plan to rebook/refare if the price drops.

I did the same thing today.   We’ve been watching the 25 day Iceland cruise out of Boston 7/12/25 but did not want to put down the $3500 deposit for a cruise more than a year away.    Today I was able to book at the same price that has been offered for the last couple months and only put down the $2.    I booked this because we plan on taking this cruise and saving that big deposit was worth it for us.    

Bruno - so sorry to hear about your father’s passing.    You were both blessed to share a great life together and that you were with him all the way to the end.     You were an awesome caregiver and put your life on hold to be able to make his better.     You were a wonderful son.    When the time is right you’ll be able to take a most needed break and I’m sure he will be smiling down on you from above.    I hope someday our paths will cross again and we be on a same cruise again and you can tell us stories of happier times.     Take care of yourself and know a lot of people are thinking and praying for you.     
Maryell. 

8 hours ago, dfish said:

Hi all,

 

I debated, but decided I would share the beauty of my eye with you.

 

 

Yes, I am using warm compresses, but I have warmed it up in the microwave.  I then wrap the warm cloth in a clean towel and layer it so it isn't too hot.  But, it stays hot longer and I unwrap as I go.  The warm compresses are helping.  This looks better than it did.

Ouch Debbie.   
So sorry to see the troubles your eye is causing you.   Hope your treatments start clearing this up.   I follow along on the daily so I saw that you and Sue had a fun vacation to Hawaii.    Wish we could have joined you.    Take care of yourself and tell Sue I said Hi.     We all had some fun times on that Iceland trip.   I’d love to go back there again.   We are doing a 14 day cruise May 5th to Alaska with Marinda and Larry that you met on the Iceland cruise - we will have a drink in your honor!     Take care 

Maryell 

6 minutes ago, Euby said:

I'm trying to apply a couple of gift cards towards my remaining balance.  I'm able to add them all 3 of them, but the site still wants me to enter a credit card (which I don't want to do).  Has anyone else run into this problem? 

 

My PCC works 9a-5p PT Monday-Friday.  I work 11p-8am CT Monday night to Saturday morning.  So it's tricky trying to connect on the phone.  I'd rather not send the gift card details via email.  I was really hoping that I could just do it all online.
 

I too had trouble entering my gift cards towards my final payment.    It took all the info but then wouldn’t finish the transaction.    I saw the place to enter the credit card info under the gift cards so I tried to place a charge of $100 to my Discover card along with the gift card payment.   When I hit enter it said transaction complete.   I thought all was good until I made the final payment and asked my PCC to send me a new invoice showing paid in full.   I checked and the day I made payment with both gift card and credit card it showed the total being charged to my Discover card.     When I checked my gift card balances still showed the $500 on each of them.    After talking to my PCC again he gave me the reservation accounting department. Their phone number is 888-663-5384.     I called and she informed me that if you enter gift cards and then try to also pay some with credit card - the credit card automatically takes the full charge and the gift cards are not charged at all.  I questioned why they even give that option to combine different options of payment if it didn’t work like it should and she didn’t know.  She also could not tell me why it wouldn’t accept just the gift card payment.      She was great to work with and took the gift card numbers and she put the credit back on my Discover card.    Hope this helps.   

Watching the Konsingdam leaving San Diego pier right now on the San Diego Web Cam.   What a gorgeous ship.    Safe travel to Debbie and Sue and all the others from the daily.   

I hope you all have a great time - lots of blue skies and calm seas.    
 

Debbie and Sue - wish we were joining you on this fantastic cruise.   Seems like you have a great group to hang out with.   I’ll  have to follow your adventures on the daily.  Have lots of fun and please give Sue my congratulations on her new grand baby.      
Maryell

6 hours ago, atexsix said:

Good morning, happy new year, I wanted to stop by and give an update on my Dad.  He's recently been admitted into one of our local home hospice programs and that's meant an endless number of meetings with doctors, nurses, and social workers.  But they didn't hesitate when I brought it up, they've been waiting, many felt he should have gone into it a year ago.  

 

It's been an emotional rollercoaster for me, sometimes it's hard to believe there's a world out there humming along as normal, people living their lives, and probably dealing with their own problems. Haven't had much of an appetite, sleep comes and goes, and have just felt blah overall. 

 

Dad has his good days and bad days.  He recently lost an army buddy so that was tuff.  He's not near death, but his disease is terminal and there's no treatment--he's not considered a good candidate for dialysis.  The worst part for him are the symptoms associated with late stage renal disease and we're sedating him at night now to give him at least some relief. 

 

I'm looking forward to the additional help hospice will be able to provide, all of my interests are on the back burner, there's not even been time to cook.  Every last snippet of time is taken up by housework, I can never seem to stay on top of the laundry--sheets and towels galore from the sick room and everywhere I look there are medical supplies stacked up.  

 

So I hope everybody is healthy and enjoying their cruises, I haven't had a chance to read through the care list, I'll go and do that now, I wanted to get this posted as early as possible.

 

Take care,

 

Bruno

Bruno - thanks for taking the time to update all your cruise critic friends on the status of your dad.     I know this is a hard time for you as you had hoped one day to be able to cruise with him again.     Please take care of yourself and know that you are always in my thoughts and prayers.     Maryell 

9 hours ago, GTJ said:

Is there a particular concern with the coach stopping at intermediate points? Or is the real concern the amount of time elapsed while on the coach? The first trip operated by Quick Coach Lines, departing the port at 9:10 a.m., stops to pick-up additional passengers at the Holiday Inn in Vancouver, then drops off passengers at the airport in Bellingham and at the convention center in downtown Seattle, before arriving at the airport in Seattle. That's not a terribly slow schedule. If there are a large number of passengers boarding at the port in Vancouver, then Quick Coach Lines will add extra sections, one of which would likely go direct to the airport in Seattle without any intermediate stops at all.

I guess for us it is more than one thing that made us decide to book with Holland.    The knowledge that if anything happens on the way to Vancouver the ship will wait or Holland will make arrangements for us to catch up with the ship.    Plus we like the convenience of not having the extra stops and time spent on the bus.    We have booked shuttles in the past with Holland without issues for the difference in the price wasn't an issue with us.   

47 minutes ago, 9tee2Sea said:

cheapest way would be to take the Amtrak Bus into seattle ( King Street), then take the Lite Rail from King Street ( Or Chinatown) right into Seatac.  Takes a long time ( bus trip is about 4 hours), train ride to SeaTac is about 20 min.  Walk from airport into terminal, about 10 min.

That sounds great for younger people in great health - but not an option for us as we are 2 senior citizens with back and knee issues.   For us it’s worth the extra cost to hand our bags over to the cruise line shuttle and not have to struggle with it.  Maybe this option will work for the original person that posted.    Thanks so much. 

We are on a 14 day Holland America round trip Alaska out of Vancouver May 5, 2024 and found much better flights out of Seattle.  Holland offers a shuttle before and after the cruise to Seattle Airport.   The cost is $84 each way.  It is more money than the Quick Shuttle but it doesn’t have the extra stops that the Quick Shuttle shows on its schedule.   Maybe Princess offers a similar shuttle next year.   

3 hours ago, atexsix said:

Hello everybody, I know it's been a long time, I just logged in and noticed a number of people were asking about me a couple of weeks ago, I very much appreciate it, I couldn't reply to that thread though because they lock them now apparently.  I do pop in every so often to peek at the care list and drool over the pictures, which are a blessing and a curse, Dear Dad and I want to cruise so badly we can taste it.  

 

A lot has been happening and there's been good news and bad news.  To begin, Dad is doing okay, the kidney disease is still considered stable, but memory issues are becoming more of a problem and he was recently diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, which is considered a precursor to Dementia or Alzheimer's, but not always.  Case in point, after the fire in Maui I showed him the pictures we took in Lahaina and he had no memory we were even in Hawaii, let alone a cruise to that specific port.  And over Thanksgiving we had family staying with us, I had to repeatedly remind Dad they were here, even as they slept in the next room.  

 

Neuropathy and Gout cause daily problems, and the current concerns are protein in the urine which indicates damage, and A1C, with kidney disease it's always something, but he hasn't given up hope which is remarkable, between the good attitude and quality at home care, his doctors feel he's living much longer than if he had been "placed" (euphemism for care home, nursing home, whatever you want to call it).   

 

We moved from our townhouse in July and now reside in a high-rise flat with fantastic city/mountain views for Dad.  The tower is beautiful and the conveniences within the building and everything nearby are numerous.  But despite having help from a number of family members, the stress of the move took a toll, and I had a 2nd stroke shortly after in late August.  It was small thank God, but I was immediately put on two months of rest, and no driving, so the convenience of being in an urban area paid off.  At least it resulted in no new deficits, and the main focus is to keep stress levels down and lose weight, which is next to impossible this time of the year.   

 

We are looking at cruises to Alaska next Fall and I'm going to discuss it with Lisa when she returns from her Caribbean cruise.  The Eurodam in a Neptune, they are the only staterooms with wide doorways which is all DD needs, we don't require accessibility elsewhere, and they are always booked up well in advance.  We looked at a number of other cruise lines, with Oceania a top choice, but only the owner's suite has a wide enough doorway and those are never available either.  But that's beside the point, we really miss the familiarity of HAL and because of specific health related needs, the Neptune lounge as close to our stateroom as possible will be a Godsend.  

 

So those are the highlights, caregiving takes up 95% of my free time, which keeps me away from the daily I'm afraid, but an upcoming cruise could change that as someone alluded to in the daily back in November.  Thanks again for the well wishes, I'm so happy I had a chance to stop in before the holidays.  Feel free to ask any questions and wish me to elaborate on something.

 

~Bruno and Dad (David)

Bruno - So glad to see your updated posting.   Since meeting you on the 2021 Alaska cruise I always watch for you to post to see how you and Dad are doing.  Was sorry to hear about your stroke but good to hear that you made it thru without new deficits.     I’m sure the new location has made life easier for you to manage with your Dad.    Dad is blessed to share his living space with you as you are such a caring person.  I hope someday that we will be able to cruise together again.   I wish you two a wonderful holiday - and please when you have time - keep us updated.    Take care 

Maryell 

14 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

@maryandmarge.

Good morning and welcome from the UK.

It is wet and 7°C at 09.24am.

Graham and Pauline xx

Thank you so much 

3 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Welcome to the Fleet Report and Daily.

 

Roy

Thanks Roy.   I have followed along on the daily for quite awhile - seldom do I post.   But I was lucky enough to finally meet Debbie and Sue and hang out with them on our 25 day Iceland cruise on the Zaandam this August.  Also met Sandy and her Husband.    It was fun to put faces to these people I’ve been following.   Cruise critic is a great place to get useful information for upcoming cruises.  
The Daily has some delightful and caring people posting and I enjoy following along.  
Maryell 

12 minutes ago, dfish said:

Good evening, everyone!

 

@JazzyV I'm glad the PC is up and running.  I sure hope you get some sleep tonight.  I thought about you last night.  I woke up at 4 with pain in my right hip.  I got up, walked around, put some Aspercreme on it, and went back to bed.  My nose immediately clogged up.  So, I got up and took care of that.  And then laid there trying to get back to sleep.  Around 6 am I did doze off.  Haven't felt too bad today.

 

Sue and I did more leaves this morning.  I think I am done with them.  We did the front yard and I'll check the back yard tomorrow and see if that needs attention.  

 

I got an upsell offer from HAL for our Hawaii cruise.  It was a decent price to go from our very tiny inside cabin to a family ocean view.  We each get our own bathroom now!  I think we'll really appreciate the extra space.

 

@Nickelpenny Thanks for posting the menu.  We had that last summer on Zaandam and it is much improved over what we used to have.  

 

 

Debbie - congrats on the upsell on your Hawaii cruise.   Hope you and Sue have a great time.   
Maryell

2 hours ago, AV8rix said:

My beloved PCC of 13 years(!!) still works from his home in Seattle.  Don't know what I'd do without him.  He always knows the way I like things and my preferences so our calls are short.  I need to tell him very little but which cruise I wish to book, and then my credit card number.

 

Umm, when I said "our calls are short", I meant the business part.  He always has time to chat.  And if I need further assistance later on, he always returns my call or email the same day!

I have the same experience with my PCC who is in Seattle and hope I never lose him.   He always has time to answer my questions and I never feel rushed when on the phone with him.   I can either call or email him and have always gotten a response quickly.     I wish every one had the same experience with the PCC as we do. 

3 hours ago, Julma said:

You'll be fine, don't stress.  Getting to the airport from the Seaport is easy.  That time on a typical Saturday AM would be 15 minutes tops.  

 

Thanks so much - makes me feel a lot more confident in our choice of flights to return home.