Petronillus

For me the major takeaway is that the PVSA and the Jones Act are attempts at protectionism (largely futile because they don't have significant benefits to stateside commerce) and horrid examples of featherbedding. Who really benefits from all these contortions?

Oakridger Nancy covered the waterfront. All I would add is that the dollar-figure limit is applied to the "menu price" of the drink you order. I suppose that's to clarify that you don't get the benefit of any reduced pricing, not even during happy hour; it all counts the same with the drinks package.

I wish I could take credit for this idea, but one gentleman posted that he liked to bring a stack of $2 bills (with Jefferson's portrait) to distribute to bartenders and servers, particularly at the beginning of the cruise. He figured that it made his generosity more memorable. I find that I tend to save my $1 bills in anticipation of an upcoming cruise. Then I hand one or two of them to the bartender and/or server when I'm trying to establish (and later occasionally to sustain) my status as a regular. With the HIA drinks package it feels more natural and less extravagant/flamboyant. Since I never get close to exceeding the daily 15-drink allotment, what I appreciate most about the drinks package is that it takes the on-the-spot economics out of the decision of what to drink and when.

If I've already heard about medallions, I wasn't paying attention. This thread prompted me to take a look at my cruise history, and I've just discovered that with our last cruise we have completed exactly 100 cruise days. Does that mean that we'll get bronze (entry-level) medallions at some point in our upcoming cruise in February? Will I also be schooled in the secret handshake?

The only benefits I see from a signature suite are (1) doubling the number of cruise-day credits awarded toward Mariner status and (2) the tiny lights that momentarily guide your feet to the bathroom and back when you get up in the night.

When I was in school in Montreal we used to joke that the four seasons of Quebec are June, July, August, and winter.

Oddly enough, the same was true in Chicago. The fall colors didn't turn until much much later than usual. IIRC, the trees were just turning at Halloween.

Maybe it was a stroke of good luck, but the PCC I work with now is everything the one I complained about wasn't. It's as if the supervisor I talked with took note of my gripes and custom-tailored a replacement for me. Makes for tons of good will.

FWIW, I thought the "click bait" comment was a cheap shot. OP's post has stimulated an interesting and worthwhile thread. OP should keep on keeping on. One man's opinion.

If you don't work well with the PCC you got assigned to, you can insist on a change. I have worked with a number of PCCs over the years and none of them required an appointment for a consultation. I usually start with an email to my current PCC, who got saddled with me after I complained about her immediate predecessor; she typically asks me to suggest a time when I'll be available to talk with her, and she calls me and has never missed such a prearranged rendezvous. And, yes, as Crystal said, she tells me that the call is being recorded. There is no reason for you to feel reluctant to initiate a change. It's simply a matter of the two of you having incompatible communication styles. It's in HAL's interest to match you with someone you can build a long-term relationship with.

Komodo. . . . Is that where there be dragons?

Everybody's opinion, and approach, and perspective is different. For me there is no comparison between a road trip and land tour, on the one hand, and a cruise on the other. The comparison, for me, is between a cruise and a stay at an all-inclusive resort like Dreams or Secrets. The convenience of the cruise ship's stable environment (unpack and repack only once) and its itinerary to me counts for a lot. Similarly, the great value of the beverage package lies in how carefree it makes the choice of what to drink when. I'm not the type to run the figures in order to satisfy myself that I'm getting my money's worth. Maybe it makes me a sucker, a lamb getting sheared, but hey, I'm on vacation!

I haven't taken part in a lot of high teas, but I suppose you check in by cabin number before being seated by the MDR staff.

To me it seems reasonable to put a cap on utilization of some services or amenities. The beverage packages are an obvious example. By that measure, can room service be "abused"? Are there anecdotes out there about pax taking the convenience of room service to excessive extremes? As for DW and me, we have never splurged on a Neptune suite and don't find our verandah cabins to be attractive dining venues. Besides, we sort of pride ourselves on being low-maintenance clients. The very idea of a butler, for instance, we find abhorrent.

This summer we were on a Norway (Land of the Midnight Sun) cruise, where Lerwick in the Shetland Islands got substituted for one of the Norwegian ports. We did need to queue up to pass customs inspection and receive the magic sticker. The customs agents were Scots and couldn't have been more affable and gracious, and the whole process went smoothly and pleasantly. There was nothing memorable about the ensuing tender ride, whether bad or good.

I 'm told that bar soap versus body wash is one of the factors that distinguish Baby Boomers from Millennials. I suspect, in addition, that keeping the dispensers in the cabins topped off is less costly than replenishing soap bars and small tubes of shampoo, conditioner, and lotion.

Here's what I think is an interesting, collateral effect of raising the drinks prices. For purposes of accruing credits toward our Mariner Star Status, we are credited with one "bonus credit" for every $300 spent on board (up to a max of $300 for each cruise day sailed). I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the ticketed price of the drinks we obtained under our beverage package counted toward that $300 bogey. Therefore, the more they raise the prices of our drinks under the packages, the faster we accrue the bonus credits, and the sooner we land on the Free Laundry square.

You've nailed it. Like you, the real point of the beverage package is the carefree spirit it gives me of ordering what I want when I want without giving a thought to the cost. Especially true of the elite package, but on our last cruise, when we had the $11/drink signature package, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I wasn't charged extra for a rusty nail nor for a double!

Cloth, but surprisingly malleable (or maybe it's that my laundry items are surprisingly compressible).

Crystal, you are a treasure! Thank you for the 2-page cribsheet. If I'm understanding correctly, none of the three packages (Quench, Signature, or Elite) includes use of the Freestyle dispensers. When it lists "Coca Cola Soft Drinks" under "Water & Soda" in the Quench Package, it's referring to the mixer gun at the bars and to soda by the can.

We have always relied on the by-the-bag flat fee option. I'm always impressed at the amount of laundry I manage to cram into that bag. And somehow there's always room for "one more thing." The service is astonishingly quick and top-quality (depending on your expectations, of course!). You can even specify whether you want the laundry folded or put on hangers. Unfortunately, in my experience, you can't say to use hangers with the dress shirts and trousers, for instance, and fold the rest; so, you get your underwear back on individual hangers. On our last cruise I noticed that the washing comes back including a small card identifying by name the crew member who handled your laundry. Nice personal touch. Like "Your tax dollars at work," it helps put a name (if not a face) on where our crew-appreciation gratuities are going.

It's always surprised me that whatever status one builds up on HAL doesn't count for anything (ok, let's say virtually nothing) on HAL's "sister" lines. I understand that each line's program is different, but wouldn't you think that the marketing folks and the bean counters would get together and figure out a way each line's loyalty program could complement the others'?

I echo your comment. I liken HAL to a Buick. It's not a Beemer or a Merc or a Lexus or even a Cadillac, but Buick suits DW & me just fine.

I'm still grieving the loss of Lincoln Center Stage. HAL invested a ton of money into fine-tuning the acoustics of that space to suit the area as a classical chamber music venue. Maybe the LCS following was too small, but we were a fiercely loyal band.

Deck 4. First time at the stern, in one of the aft-facing cabins.