bcd2010

I took a private tour via Mr. Emerald - extremely satisfied and impressed with all we saw (and learned). Lots of info in this blog entry: http://www.bcdenterprises.net/PCcruise/PDFs/926Cartegena.pdf (link to Mr Emerald is in this blog post).

You might check with your own ISP - I started having slow/late/no delivery of emails last May and it's still going on. My ISP had made some changes to their servers about that time to control the excessive amount of spam being sent from/through and received on their servers and it screwed everything up. I've spent all this time trying to get it straightened out and am still having problems - they say it's something in the email headers that are causing the problems while admitting they caused the problem and evidently aren't going to do anything about it. I live in an area where there's no competition, so...

We will be driving there from N.C. only about a 8 hour drive.

... driving to Ft. Lauderdale is NOT an 8 hour drive from anywhere in NC.

I live south of Charlotte, almost 700 miles from FL. Drive to/from FL is 12-14 hours - we don't speed and take stops every couple hours. Driving straight through at 70mph with no stops, no traffic, perfect conditions would take at least 10 hours.

Hmmm... maybe those of us who go through the time, effort and expense of following HAL's "suggestions" for formal night attire should sue HAL for not enforcing their dress code.

My 2-cents worth, as someone who creates web sites for family/friends/non-profits/others-who-don't-pay-big-bucks ;):

With the ever-increasing use of different devices (smart phones, tablets, etc.) to access the internet, companies are redesigning their sites to accommodate different display formats. This is very hard to do well - they focus on getting the display right for these devices and severely compromise the desktop/laptop view. It's happening on Etsy (I have 2 shops there) and the results are awful.

And yes, making it more difficult for booked guests to determine price drops is likely to be an additional "enhancement".

platinum and diamond guests.

ty.

Who gets the VIP gift? Repeat pax? Would a newbie get one?

We are taking our adult children on a cruise at Christmas. 2 couples. We are planning on having their on board account be covered by our credit card, as we want to pay their Service charge.

 

Can anyone please tell me if we are paying the account, does the on board spending count towards our Mariner points...ie 1 extra day for every $300 spent, or will it go to wards their Mariner points?

If the 4 of you are sharing a cabin, those listed as passengers 1 & 2 get the bonus days, passengers 3 & 4 do not.

I haven't been to GT but wanted to give you some info. I've snorkeled in many places, both ship's tours & private. There is no requirement to snorkel - you can just sit and watch others, relax, whatever. Every watercraft I've snorkeled from has life vests so you could just get into the water & float if you wanted. As for getting from the catamaran to the beach without swimming, I assume you mean could you walk on the sand, ie, is the water shallow enough - I don't know this but I wouldn't think so - still, with a life vest and "dog paddling" I suppose it could be done.

I can't help thinking of this scenario: What if my ex, who has a history of domestic violence, found out, somehow (perhaps from mutual acquaintances, probably accidentally), that I would be on a cruise and pulled this stunt? I would cancel, of course, if I knew in advance (and what if I didn't find out before-hand?) - but the issue is whether the cruise line should be so free-and-easy with that info. I'd sure prefer privacy.

I agree.

 

But that does sort of defeat the purpose of paying for advertising. Wonder how the advertisers feel about that ;) (not that I care).

I don't know anyone who looks at the ads on web pages, so I also wonder what the purpose is. However, there must be enough people who do look to make it worth it. It doesn't have to be a large percent - maybe as low as 5% or less.

YI'd be happy to pay the fuel supplement surcharge to get longer port stays.

IIRC, Capt. Albert mentioned on his blog sometime back that they were always looking for ways to conserve fuel and one of the reasons was so they would not have to charge the fuel supplement charge - probably true of all/most cruise lines. Whichever line raises prices and/or implements the FSC will most likely see a drop in bookings, at least until other lines follow. One of the ways to conserve fuel (and therefore be able to avoid assessing the FSC) is to go slower. That means it takes longer to travel to the next port and so the time in port is shortened.

As soon as Shore Excursions become available, be sure to book. They do sell out very quickly now that the price has been lowered to an acceptable level.

 

Check for availability daily.

What do they cost now? (I haven't heard this before.)

Me, myself, and I are not interchangeable.

Myself is a reflexive or stressed pronoun, which means that, generally speaking, it should be used in conjunction with the subject pronoun I, not instead of the object pronoun me.

Me is an object pronoun, which means that it refers to the person that the action of a verb is being done to, or to whom a preposition refers. Especially a problem when including another person.

I is the first person singular subject pronoun, which means that it refers to the person performing the action of a verb. Especially a problem when including another person.

(P.S. This thread is fun - thank you for starting it Joanie!)

If you check this page of my Panama Canal Cruise on the Statendam, there are some pictures of our I-cat cabin: http://www.bcdenterprises.net/PCcruise/PDFs/901SailAway.pdf (pictures not to be included on halfacts).

Oops - just noticed you asked about Signature class ships - I was thinking S-class.

If you check this page of my Panama Canal Cruise on the Statendam, there are some pictures of our I-cat cabin: http://www.bcdenterprises.net/PCcruise/PDFs/901SailAway.pdf (pictures not to be included on halfacts).

Would it matter? It appears that you have already made up your mind to do as you please no matter what we say.

Exactly. It often looks to me that when someone asks a question like this they are not so much looking for information as making an announcement.

There are no words that adequately express how thankful I am to you for keeping your blog. I will miss my daily reading of it... until next time!

I'm not sure about tank tops, but I would expect them to turn away someone in a bathing suit.

My DS was asked discreetly and politely to change out of/cover up a tank top on 2 different cruises - this was at lunch in the MDR. Once on a Panama Canal crossing when he forgot to change after being outside to view the canal, the DRM took him aside upon entering to tell him he couldn't wear a tank top in the MDR. The other time he removed his jacket while eating, forgetting that he had a tank top on underneath and he was asked to put it back on.

In his latest blog entry, Captain Albert talks about training crew members, esp. cabin and dining stewards: http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2014/05/07/06-may-2014-the-never-ending-need-for-training-part-ii/comment-page-1/#comment-113743

Aren't soft drinks brought on the ship supposed to be for in cabin consumption? I could be wrong of course.

That's what I thought' date=' about both wine and soda. It may have been the intent, but we all know how much HAL enforces things like this.

...why is it wrong to bring a can of soda with you to the MDR...

Not wrong so much as a conflict with their claim to provide a luxury or premium experience - aluminum cans don't coordinate well (IMO) with china, crystal and silver. WCB recently wrote on their live from thread (post-world cruise, now on a "regular" Panama Canal cruise): "We found a change in the breakfast amenities......no more little jam jars. We have the round packets of jams and jellys now."

Just like Denny's!

We found a change in the breakfast amenities......no more little jam jars. We have the round packets of jams and jellys now.

Ooooooh... just like Denny's!

How much longer can HAL claim to provide a luxury or premium experience?

Judy, thanks for reposting my favorite web site!! Seriously!!

 

NOTE TO ALL:

 

The Katmai National Park and Preserve at Brooks Camp Alaska is not working at this time:(

 

The repeater for all of the Brooks River Web Cams is atop Dumpling Mountain. Unfortunately, the repeater was severely damaged during a severe storm in January 2014.

 

Due to the remote location no one has been able to even get to Brooks Camp until this past week. BUT, they still have no access to the Repeater because of a few problems, the first being to access it, the rangers have to trek up several miles carrying whatever equipment needed to first (if possible) fix it, and secondly, the Bears are still just coming out of their dens and are extremely hungry. Do not want Rangers Mike, Roy or Jeanne becoming a meal for one or more bears.

 

Ranger Mike did tell us last week on the Alaskan Beluga Whale Cam located in King Salmon, Alaska (25 miles from Brooks Camp (and the Park's Headquarters)) http://explore.org/live-cams/player/alaskan-beluga-whale-cam that they hope to be live again by June 1st, 2014. Sure hope so as we are all worried about our favorite bears:)

 

In the mean time all that you will see from Brooks Camp and the Bear Cams there are reruns from last July through Mid October 2013, when the cams went down.

 

Joanie

Thank you Joanie for this latest information. I do remember when you first posted this link and how much you love watching those bears. It made me book mark it and I've enjoyed quite a bit of time watching them, too!

To me its not the style of music - everyone has their own tastes. Its the volume. The younger generation is used to blaring loud music. My definition of loud is when you have to raise your voice to speak to someone across the table.

Because this is how they converse across the table:

Given that the WC is > 100 days long, even newbies who take the entire journey would be earning copper medallions - don't know if they're given out at the end of the cruise but that would be a nice thing if so.