May B

Well, I was doing all my puzzles and also researching something. I can always find something to occupy my time when on hold. I very much liked that they offered to call me back instead of my staying on hold; and periodically it told me what number I was in the queue!

No, I didn’t. If I have cause to call again, I can ask, although I’m guessing the person I speak to won’t know. I am not 100% confident in everything he thought he knew, or tried to find out. We’ll soon see! He COULD, however, quote me itineraries and cruise fares that I can’t access at crystalcruises.com.

I was on hold for over an hour, and then the gentleman with whom I spoke spent about 45 minutes answering all my questions. When I first called, I was #23 in the queue. Phone number I used is (800) 446-6620. I believe they answer calls from 9 am to 6 pm, eastern time. The agent seemed entry-level to me, although certainly very nice. But for this reason, I am not 100% confident that what I’ll tell you now is 100% accurate. The only Crystal Society benefit he could confirm was that CS members pay 15% deposit rather than 25%. He did not know anything about paying early to get a discount. From the one example I asked about, single supplement for a veranda sounds quite high. The double veranda stateroom total was $8800, while for a single, that stateroom with veranda is $7400. The single stateroom, forward on deck seven, is $4800. If you book and then change your mind on that specific cruise, even if just applying your $500 advance deposit, there will be an administrative fee of $125 per person, which cannot be refunded but can be transferred to a different booking. I do think/hope he has the most up-to-date info at his fingertips. YMMV

Me neither. But I have my $500 open booking number, so I am not too worried! Hopefully your TA has yours.

Hoping Roy is ok. I haven’t noticed a post from him since Friday.

Sure, Keith, but I’m planning to do the six night. That’s why I was surprised to see somebody say the same start and end cities, but 14 nights. Then the light dawned.

I think that’s a B2B, 8 night plus six night. Or a 14 night, bookable as two separate cruises. https://crystalcruises.com/cruises/none-cse-008-240813 https://crystalcruises.com/cruises/none-cse-006-240821 in fact, they are numbered: OCY081324 and OCY082124. I could be wrong. And on Aug. 27, there’s a cruise that will remind many of us of 2018.

So you had a gymnatorium but Phil wasn’t there to call it by its rightful name for you!

Many of us will be SHOCKED if they don’t bring back the vibe and geniality.

Soda. What about P E for the classes? Did your elem. school have a separate auditorium? On that stage, at eighth grade graduation, I received the award for English, which I cared not a whit about, and was denied the award for math, for which I was heartbroken. To add insult to injury, my English award had the wrong first name on it. It was it was almost 63 years ago, and I haven’t thought about it for decades. But I do remember that they called me Barbara.

Before I went to bed last night, that was a six-night. I’ll have to look again!

You mean saying gym makes you FEEL younger. Only a time machine could actually MAKE you younger. And looking at old photos! 😃

Mr B calls it the gymnatorium. That’s what we had in grade school. We only called it the gym.

I love this! Just as I’d love to be on your trivia team again. 😁

They haven’t finished posting everything! Who would’ve thought it wouldn’t all go up at the same time? Not I.

I agree.

They’re obviously finding this to be more challenging than they expected! I’m confident that things will run more smoothly once we step onboard. In fact, I’ve heard that exact comment, about multiple cruise lines. I love that the basic veranda cabin is barely more than the deck seven. And I agree with Larry, the Aquamarine is a reasonable increase, too. Remember, you all do you, I’ll do me.

Azulann, you rock!

That’s exactly as I feel. I’ve narrowed down my choices and am merely awaiting pricing and ports of call. Which I expect to see before 4 pm today. Mr B isn’t ready to book a Jr CP yet, so you’ll (hopefully) find me on Deck Seven.

Now THAT is a BIG piece of the puzzle. I don’t think I can get there without two stops. Instead I think I’ll fly to Paris for a day or two. This is getting very exciting!

Oh, no! Sorry to hear that OLoPP was on the downslope, last evening. I feel like those Riccola cough drops help me. Perhaps they could augment her Robitussin? I bought the honey lemon flavor. And certainly not happy to hear you’re dealing with a travel challenge. But definitely glad to hear you’re on the upswing.

Even though, YOUR doc didn’t recommend Paxlovid, perhaps HERS will. At my house, we are two old people and one immuno-compromised. We all use the same doc, and he prescribed it for all three of us. And he was taught by Mr B in med. school, AND has proven himself to be staying VERY current with the literature. But again, of course, Vince taught me well: YMMV.

Now won’t it be fascinating, if she was telling the honest truth, about itineraries coming out Monday?!

Glad you weren’t much bothered, Beav, and same to you, KenzSailing. Imagine, it’s almost three years since we heard about Covid.

I guess we’ve all learned something about the Carnival mods. Please pardon our snarkiness, Eli. We’re getting antsy around here! Best wishes to you for a great cruise on Firenze.