SargassoPirate

The virus is here to stay and testing/quarantining people who are not sick no longer makes sense. I just checked the CDC website and the daily death rate from covid is 307. We will never get to the threshold of zero cases or zero deaths with covid any more than we will with the annual flu. ICU beds are going begging in our area.

And to show you how ignorant some people can be, sales of Corona beer dropped off at the start of the pandemic - like it was virus in a can or something.

I've had that issue on three cruises since the restart. I never did get cleared to board on the Medallion on my last cruise. I just took all of my paperwork and my vaccination card with me to the port. No problem at all. Everyone at the ports seem to know the problems with the app and are ready to help. If I had been responsible for rolling out something with all of the problems customers have with the Medallion, I would've found myself sleeping under a bridge somewhere.

I think their website is definitely a bit wonky. Recently I was shopping for cruises and found one that I liked. I started the booking procedure and was shocked that there was no single supplement for a solo cruiser. I stopped and went to my big box store travel agency's website to check their prices and found that I would have to pay the single supplement. So, I went back to the Princess website and booked the cruise with no single supplement. The same cabin was available on the next cruise, without a single supplement so I booked it also. Every few days I check the prices for those two cruises with a mock booking and sometimes it will charge the single supplement and sometimes it doesn't. Big box prices have never wavered. She Who Must Be Obeyed says I should feel guilty about taking advantage of the glitch. I don't.

Some good news on the horizon. From the article: "It's possible, maybe even likely, that the CDC eventually treats cruise lines like every other place in the U.S. that draws a crowd. That would mean sort of accepting that covid infections will happen but that they can be manage." As Covid Rages, Royal Caribbean, Carnival Could Drop Testing Rules - TheStreet

Didn't miss your point. Lack of feral children is one of the reasons we choose HAL, Cunard, and Celebrity. Princess seems to have fewer feral children and RCI. RCI - depending on the time of year and itinerary -can be a floating grade school recess. We don't cruise to be on an alcohol-fueled county fair with carnival rides. But, there's a cruise line and/or ship for every taste. Mobility devices parked in the corridors - paths of exit travel - is a constant issue that cruise line staff seem to be reluctant to enforce.

What about scooters, wheelchairs, and walkers clogging up the corridors on HAL?

Yessir, and watch every woman's head turn and eyes follow the guy to the table. I'll settle for a wee dram of a good scotch from Islay and forgo the kilt.

Did you wear your ballcap backwards or forwards?

What about a kilt?

Personally, I suspect that if the pre-cruise covid testing were dropped, the pent-up demand for cruises would be unleashed. Just my opinion, having done four cruises since the restart. The testing is the biggest hassle of the cruise.

I'm able to see it on my big box store travel agency cruise summary that they send me. However, for every booking I have to call in and request "no upgrades" and then check my booking on Princess every few days to make sure they don't pull a Sneaky Pete on me. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

With 50-some cruises and more decades behind me than in front of me, I try not to sweat the small stuff. I shop for cruises that go where I want to go. My needs are simple - a Luxury Inside Suite, a full promenade, someplace to get something to eat, and a wee dram in the evening. Any day at sea is better than a day at the office. So far, HAL, RCI, Celebrity, Viking (no Inside Luxury Suites) Princess, and Cunard have filled the bill. Any questions? See my signature line below.

With Princess' reputation for playing Cruise Cabin Roulette, it pays to check your booking every day - which is a bit of an annoyance but better than being stuck in a cabin that sucks. I figure there's a reason those cabins above the nightclubs or under the gym or Melanoma Deck are vacant. They quietly move an already booked passenger into one of those less-desirable cabins and the better cabin is up for sale.

Good thought. I just checked my order and there was nothing about sales tax and the total charged my credit card doesn't reflect any taxes. Thanks for the warning, tho.

Right at the top of the travel summary from Princess is says: "Carrier may, without liability for refund or damages, change your booked accommodations at any time without notice" I always have my travel agent mark my bookings "No Upgrade". I was on the Caribbean Princess in January and one morning noticed that my cabin assignment had been changed. They left me in the same category but just moved me from Baja to Aloha. No biggie. At least it wasn't an "upgrade" to a cabin right above a nightclub or just below the Melanoma Deck.

Again, thanks. I'm sailing solo in a Luxury Inside Suite, so none of those benefits will help, other than the early payment which I could probably swing if I start monthly payments now. I won't have a drink package either, so I preordered some scotch to be delivered to my cabin on embarkation day. It'll be a bare bones trip, but a major bucket list item.

Thanks. Haven't sailed with HAL for several years, and yes it's a world cruise. Pricey enough that a discount would help.

Today I received a HAL booking update from my big box travel agency. In reviewing it for surprise changes, I noticed the phrase "3% off base rate if paid in full by May 1, 2023". The cruise sails in January 2024. Has anyone else seen this, taken advantage of it, and how does it work? My final payment online shows the original amount. Thanks

Whenever somebody tries to sell you a self-driving car, just think of the medallion.

I have five medallion cruises under my belt. The app is wonky and if something doesn't work seamlessly after a maximum of two tries I'm done. Early on (pre covid) I quit the app and just showed at the port with my paperwork. My post covid cruises haven't been much better with trying to upload my vaccination card etc, so I still just show up at the port with my paperwork. Once I'm on board, I carry my medallion in my pocket and don't try to use the app. Just because technology is whiz bang doesn't mean it enhances my cruise experience. BTW, I still miss the barrel chairs.

It's the basic law of the marketplace from Economics 101 - Charge what the traffic will bear. At some point you reach your threshold of pain and refuse to buy.

I refuse to pay the drink package prices. I can't drink that much unless a complimentary stay at a Betty Ford Clinic is included. I usually just purchase some scotch and bourbon as a bon voyage package for delivery to my Luxury Inside Suite and have a wee dram as I'm getting ready for the evening. Then maybe another in the Elite Lounge, but that's about it. Currently, a 375 ml bottle of Jim Beam is $17.70 and a 350 ml bottle of Cutty Sark is also $17.70. If you have a cruise booked, I wouldn't wait. Order before the price goes up.

Could be that wholesale testing of vaccinated people who are not sick is proving to be Schrodinger's Cat.

Not sure about your schedule, but we cruised back to the US from Hamburg on the Queen Mary 2 a couple of years ago when our schedule meshed nicely with theirs. The cruise was about the same as airfare and a lot more relaxing. We did have to find our way home from NYC and we took the Acela. When shopping for airfares, I usually use an online consolidator to shop across multiple airlines for the best price and schedule.