TBcruisers

I'm not quite as well-cruised as many here, but I understood the medallion would be awarded on the following cruise. In our case, we board at 99 days for two weeks, and I was told we would not receive our copper medallion until our next cruise. Am I incorrect in my thinking / understanding?

 

Smooth Sailing ! :) :) :)

Gerry

We are currently 32 days short of receiving a medallion. We're taking a 50-day cruise this Fall and, upon inquiry, was advised by HAL in writing that we would receive our medallion during the cruise.

Is there a minimum amount of stock that needs to be purchased to receive the credit?

At least 100 shares.

Thanks so much for sharing the link with us. I've been anticipating the renewal of the benefit to use it on our 50-day cruise late this year -- I'll need all the OBC I can get! :D

Yes, it could be worse. Try Royal Caribbean's site. It is the worst site I have ever been on and trying to do on line check in and reservations for excursions, dining and other entertainment is a nightmare.

Agree wholeheartedly!

You can purchase OBC's for yourself which could be used for your Hotel Service Charge.. Click on indulgences on the HAL Web site to do this.. Just be sure to take your copies of the confirmations with you..

I agree wholeheartedly. I have purchased OBC for our upcoming 50-day cruise since the gratuities on such a cruise are a big ticket item. I will most definitely bring my written confirmation with me.

Hi Jacqui. We're taking our daughter and her family on their first cruise so we knew HAL would not be the best fit for young kids. Therefore, we've booked a 7-day Eastern Caribbean RCI cruise on the Freedom of the Seas embarking on July 26, 2015. Oh, what we do for the grandkids. ;)

It's a tad too early for them to renew.

 

this has been a long time benefit so I suspect it will be renewed.

 

I have never really noticed when the new dates are published - I just check the policy before I send my fax. Since the close off on the current notification is Feb 28th/15 (cruise must be booked by then), I suspect that a new statement will come out shortly after that.

Thanks.

Has anyone seen where Carnival has renewed the Shareholder OBC benefit for sailings beyond July 31, 2015? I'm booked for a long cruise in October and could really use the OBC. I have held the stock for less than a year so I am not aware of when Carnival renews this benefit despite researching this matter. Thanks.

Bob

The first Transatlantic we took, a 27 day cruise, was on the Nieuw Amsterdam in one of the sideways inside cabins, by far the smallest cabin we ever had. Our dining companion (who had one of the largest suites on the ship) came to our cabin to gift us with a bottle of wine. When we opened the door she actually screamed and asked how 2 people could stay in such a small cabin. :) She felt so bad that we were in that cabin but I explained it was our choice to be there since we spent so little time in the cabin and the money saved would be well spent on other things. She really was a lovely lady despite what this may sound like.

Cabin size didn't matter at all! We had a terrific time on a beautiful ship. You will no doubt have a great time. Enjoy!

@take us away -- thanks for your answer -- we slept on it and decided we'd do as you recommended: choosing and booking an inside over the solid-balcony verandah. The difference in price (~$85/day or ~$2300) will make an abundant "allowance" (mentally) to indulge in many things!

 

Silly me I was so excited I included the company we booked with in my query to the forum. I wasn't thinking of it breaking the TA rule, since it wasn't a PERSON, you know? So the original question and take_us_away's answer are deleted.

So -- Hurray! -- DH got the vacation time for the 26-day TA+western Mediterranean up to Venice. Our first transAtlantic and the longest cruise for us by almost double! Almost a month! I guess we'll be really settled in by the time we get to Europe!

 

I have no questions at this time, off to chat-up the Roll Call. Thanks again take_us_away!:D

Our first Transatlantic was on the Nieuw Amsterdam in 2011, a 27-day voyage also ending in Venice. To date it's still the most memorable vacation we've taken (although our Canadian Rockies/Alaska cruisetour is a close second). I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Bob

I'm delighted to have you as the first for 2015 and what an itinerary to kick off the New Year with! Congrats on your upcoming bronze medallion.

Thanks, Jacqui. And, of course, thanks for taking the time to keep this thread and the Bon Voyages current. Happy New Year!

Wow! I hope this is not a sign of the New Year? Still no future cruises posted:confused::eek:

Then please allow me to be the first of 2015. We are sailing on the 2015 50-Day Atlantic Adventurer, Maasdam, October 30-December 19, 2015. Roundtrip from Port Everglades to Europe (and Morocco). We will hit our 100th sailing day with HAL on this cruise.

Bob

Balcony dividers can be opened on side facing balconies, but it must be approved by ship's management,

Yes..on that ship, the dividers do have the ability to open. Not all ships have that, tho...and when they are physically able to open, it's up to the captain whether they will be.

Thanks to you both for your replies. I'll contact my TA for her to request the opening of the dividers.

Bob

We are booked for a Freedom OTS cruise in July on which we're taking our daughter and their family. We have connecting balcony rooms and would like to open the wall between the balconies. Can this be done on RCI ships? I haven't sailed on Royal Caribbean in nearly 20 years due to a bad experience on our Sovereign cruise. I'm looking forward to sailing RCI again but I'm basically an RCI newbie. Thanks.

I never thought about taking a cruise despite great familiarity with the Love Boat series on ABC. However, and in retrospect quite fortuitously, I won a raffle for a 3 day Bahamas cruise on the old Premier Cruise Line. After the first day my wife and I were hooked. Looking back on the two Premier cruises we took I have to say how wonderful they were -- full of fun activities and fairly good food.

Thanks so much for your interesting review. It's of special interest to me since we'll be sailing on the 2015 50-day Atlantic Adventurer, and I appreciate your insight re: the same ports on which we'll be calling.

Bob

... The fog this morning just proves that you should not try to depart too early after a cruise. If anyone was coming in today they would be delayed for sure.

Couldn't agree more. On a cruise a while ago we were to disembark in Tampa but didn't get to port until around 2 p.m. Heavy fog was again the reason we were delayed -- we remained on the western side of the Sunshine Skyway for hours until it was safe to navigate. Fortunately, delay due to fog is a rare occurrence for the Port of Tampa.

Thanks for posting. Looking forward to future installments.

Hi PJ

 

Your request must be WITHIN the 90 days mark so 99 days out it will most likely be ignored ( I actually got an email from Princess telling me I sent it too soon once!)

I'm guessing that it might depend on how busy folks are at Princess HQ. I sent my request in around 115 days before my upcoming October sailing and it was posted within hours.

I didn't intentionally disregard the rules, I was unaware of them having just purchased the stock. Guess I was so excited at the prospect of getting the $250 credit that I neglected to check the rules before sending in the paperwork . :o I know I'll be able to temper my enthusiasm the next time and will wait to send the documentation until the proper time.

For the benefits of us Brits, could you explain what a "wash" is?

In this context, a "wash" is basically a tie -- both are equally good or equally bad when compared to each other.

As to the OP's comparison of Princess v. HAL: excellent! We are Princess Platinums and HAL 3-Star Mariners so we have had opportunity to compare both lines. I like the HAL Lido much more than the Horizon Court for a variety of reasons (including variety - always an Italian, Asian, Mexican, etc. component to the offerings), but the pizza on HAL is just not good, unlike Princess. The educational opportunities are more varied on HAL (I especially enjoy the computer/digital photography classes which are exclusive to HAL) whereas the entertainment offerings are superior on Princess. Basically, we feel any cruise has much to offer and it's what you make of it that counts.

Our first cruise with Princess was in 1994 and was combined with a 9-day Canadian Rockies Tour. We started the land tour in Seattle, took the Victoria Clipper to Victoria, B.C., and stayed in the Empress Hotel. During the tour we also stayed at the Banff Springs Hotel and the Chateau Lake Louise. Incredible tour that I'd recommend to anyone -- the Canadian Rockies are magnificent. Upon arrival in Vancouver we boarded the old Star Princess for a terrific 7-day Inside Passage cruise. This remains one of our most favorite vacations!

BTW, Kazu (Jacqui), thanks for all you do on Cruise Critic. It's much appreciated. :)

Can't blame anyone for wanting to get away from this winter :);)

Fortunately, we live in Florida so we don't face the same winter issues as do our friends and family up north. I need to take a break from work stress and my wife needs relief from her own stressful issues. Just another of the many reasons we love to cruise, as if we needed any reasons! :D Besides, it's been a little over a year since we were last on a cruise ship -- that's just too much time between cruises. :(

The pizza wasn't good anyway but was easy for a quick bite. Now, Princess can make a good pizza.

Agree that Princess pizza is far superior! Ordered a whole one to take to lounge on Coral Princess for us to eat while watching 2012 Super Bowl.

TBcruiserguy and wife on Nieuw Amsterdam, March 2, 7-day Eastern Caribbean. Just to get away!