Tradestock

My husband and I lived in a dead zone for decades. Even with the advancement of the cell phone and coverage, cell service was not available to us. We cannot comprehend how a luxury device that was marketed for safety is now indispensable to the masses. Equally, we are dismayed that an Amish buggy moves faster and safer than a texting automobile driver. 😲 To answer the OP's question.. No, we do not need a cell phone on the ship. (or anywhere else for that matter.)

Thank you for taking the time to write a review. Did the cruise director on NCL make a morning wake up announcement, either in the hallway or stateroom intercom, "Come on down and purchase bingo or scratch off tickets?"(paraphrase)

Thank you for the informative replies. I appreciate the heads up for Brazil visa requirements, too.

My husband and I have noticed that on many of the longer length, southerly cruises, Holland America port calls at Devil's Island. Previously, there was a yellow fever vaccination requirement listed for this port, but it appears to be missing from the HAL website now. I looked at the US Dept. of State travel information and it appears the yellow fever vaccination is still a requirement for this country. We are not eligible for waivers to this vaccination requirement, yet. For us, this greatly adds to the cost of the cruise and is not covered by insurance. This has removed any interest in the Amazon Explorer, roundtrip Antarctica cruises from Ft. Lauderdale and similar itineraries. Is this stop related to a ship need or requirement? Please explain from past travels and/or experience what, if anything, would make the additional expense for this port more palatable.

mariner_society@hollandamerica.com I found the e-mail on the HAL website, Mariner Society page, and listed under the Mariner Society FAQs question, "What do I do if I believe my records are incorrect?" The answer also provides additional information to correct the records. https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/plan-a-cruise/get-ready-for-your-cruise/mariner-society

I wrote the Mariner Society and received the same response as @CLOUDYTOWN. I waited three weeks to send the e-mail request for credit and included a copy of our boarding pass and onboard spending account attached as .pdf files. The same day I received the technical issue response, the day credits posted to our accounts. The HAL Navigator App included our onboard spending account and was found under Account, then Statement. At the time of my request, the cruise history on Holland's website did not show the onboard spending statement. I suspect the inclusion of the .pdf attachments helped resolve the issue because the credit days are based on sail days, room category and onboard spending.

We appreciate the priest on board and the opportunity to attend Mass at sea. Each of the cruises we have sailed with Holland America has had a priest. We very much appreciated the airing of the Urbi et Orbi blessing that was aired on television for our Christmas cruise in Dec 2023, too. Yes, a priest on board does influence our decision making regarding the line we sail.

Great tip! It overcomes the "no fitting room" problem. The small measuring tape takes up no room and weighs next to nothing in the backpack. It will be added to the emergency sewing repair items I usually carry on the hikes.

This sounds like great fun. We enjoy shopping at the local markets.😀

I had a similar situation happen, too. I parked at the FLL airport and took the HAL shuttle to the Port Everglades cruise port. After the cruise, we flew from San Diego back to FLL to retrieve the vehicle. The check in feature never seemed to retain the "not flying option". I left the flight information blank and printed the necessary documents. I took a copy of my receipt for the shuttle, just in case there was an issue. It went smoothly.

Thank you for the number to Luggage Forward. The pick up for the bag appears to be 8-10 business days. I would need to call them to discuss alternative arrangements or enlist the aid of a neighbor. Also, thank you for the storage fees at the airport. The bag fee for the flight, coupled with the extended storage fees, is the least cost effective option. The option of purchasing clothing in Italy is moving up the list because it negates all of the storage/transport fees.

No worries. I am good at sidetracking, too. Thank you both for the great suggestions. I am leaning toward Luggage Forward because it will eliminate the baggage fees on the airline and the storage fees in Italy, during the first portion of the trip. I was not aware of this service. There are many moving parts left to consider before plans are finalized, so thank you for the input.

My husband and I are considering an extended hiking trip through Italy. We will carry all of our clothes for the hike in backpacks. We are considering a TA crossing for the return trip to the US. I would like to have more than hiking boots and leggings for daywear/dinners on the return cruise portion. I am seeking any input on luggage storage at/or around the Rome airport. I thought the Amazon locker suggestion was a good idea from a different thread and am open to any suggestions to access additional clothing for the cruise portion.

We recently returned from our cruise and can report excellent results with the laundry. We did use a separate bag for everyday items and suits/dressy items. Everything came back ship shape.

My phone stays in the room, too. I can verify that I have used the stateroom card for excursions on our last four cruises on four different ships. I requested paper tickets on our cruise in Dec 2022. I was informed by the excursion desk the tickets are no longer printed, electronic only. I'm not sure if the "no paper" policy is ship to ship or fleetwide, since I only asked one time for paper tickets. The keycard has worked well and no issues have been encountered from Dec 2022 to our last cruise in Dec 2023.