sambamama

And when people say folded, they mean folded neatly into tissue paper which is then closed with a gold seal. Free laundry is by far the best benefit of being a 4 star!! I almost always get my laundry the same day. I do a mix of folded and hangers! And I usually get at least one note per cruise. Its one thing of HAL's that has not gotten worse since I've been sailing (since the 1980s.)

It is never fun when you have to worry about connections. And you have to weigh in your comfort level. Me, I would take the longer connection time. You need to decide will there be space on the later flight if you miss your connection. And how good is Delta at moving you to a later flight. You could end up spending the night in Atlanta. Airlines routinely oversell flights now so there are no guarantees you could make it onto the later flight.

I can't see any possible advantage to this unless you booked with a horrible TA.

Yes, sometimes there are bargains. But they are few and far between, and usually last minute.

I have a brand new Samsung S24 plus, so that's not the issue.I have uninstalled the app 4 times. I've changed my password. I was totally unable to do anything on the app. We all know that HAL's IT is awful. Look at their website. It is now so awkwardly designed it is basically unuseable. You can't even search for cabins except one section of the ship at a time.How stupid is that??

You had a choice and you made it. Now you cross your fingers and hope nothing goes wrong. Personally, for all overseas cruises, I fly in at least two days early. I've started doing that for domestic ones as well. Nonstop flights are almost nonexistent now, and I won't take any chances. You may end up flying on a domestic Greek flight or taking a ferry as well.

I wouldn't even consider this. I don't know any cruises that disembark that early. I've been cruising since 1983. Plan on the later flight.

The way HAL does billing now is appalling. They used to send a bill under your door. That is gone. You are supposed to use the app. But it doesn't work on Android phones! And the line at the front desk can be 45 minutes or more. I wish they would put back the machine that would print a bill accounting any time you wanted it.I had bill errors and I wasn't sure they were fixed. I was charged for mini bar and Pinnacle dinners erroneously.

The problem with those solo ocean view cabins is that they are charged at the 200% rate. If they charged them at 150%, I would have no issue with that. But they dont. They charge a full 200% for a smaller room, and more of course because it is an ocean view. Its significantly cheaper to book an inside guarantee. I have never booked an inside guarantee and not been upgraded to an ocean view for free. Never! Of course I book a year or more in advance. I won't book an ocean view ever again unless I am sharing a cabin or it is a sale where ocean views are the same price. But based on HAL's prices, I won't be cruising anyway.

And the full cabin was at least 50% bigger. The thought of being in a shower the size of a tube was not appealing.

A larger one. I'm never bothered by noise. I wear earplugs. And 100 feet is TINY! When I booked my studio, the price drops were such that a full cabin was half the price of a studio. Half! The cruise was sailing out of NYC in December, which meant bad weather for 1 1/2 days each way (it was an 11day cruise), and I ended up cancelling and booking a 10 day cruise out of FL that was cheaper.

If you book and they have Lincoln Center and when you board, they don't , that lessens your cruise. If you book HAL because they always had classical music and now they dont, that lessens your cruise. If you book because HAL has always had great food and now they dont, that lessens your cruise. Ive been sailing with HAL since 1983 and have over 200 sea days. In that time, classical music is now gone, so is BB Kings, and the food has gone way downhill. Single supplements are now 80-100%, where I used to be able to get a 25-50% supplement. I'm not going to have a great cruise without what I was expecting. And HAL has changed their policies showing they dont want me to sail with them, so I won't pay for an overpriced cruise. I will go on a land vacation and not pay double.

Pretty much all HAL cruises,charge between 80 to 100 % supplement for their cabins. And yes, that includes the solo cabins on the Pinnacle ships way up at the front that are 130 feet. I think all are ocean view. Princess and Carnival have,solo deals,at considerably less than that, but there are not lots,of them. HAL has basically none. HAL has become very solo unfriendly in its,pricing.

I was on a 14 night Asia cruise postponed for 3 years from Singapore to Hong Kong, and I sure did not see improvements. All I saw were drastic cutbacks. The MDR was closed for lunch every day we were in port. There was no Mariners lunch. They cut the loungers by the indoor pool by half, and we had inclement weather so we needed them. The bread selection at the buffet for lunch is abysmal, and even in the MDR and the Pinnacle is pretty poor. Fruit soups are pretty much gone. The Yum Yum man is gone. Nightly chocolates are gone. There was,one solo meetup. I haven't seen one single improvement! Maybe its only for Grand Voyages. It was very disappointing to travel so far and see such cutbacks, especially that wouldn't have been there back in 2020.

I know when I sailed on HAL and Princess there was little or no solo activities. Cunard, Regent, and Oceania are having reduced solo supplements, although they are more expensive cruise lines.

You want to compare the price. When I booked one, it became cheaper to book a regular room than a studio. So it was cheaper to have a bigger cabin than a cramped studio.

I don't believe that the high cost of those lines is solely because of the free alcohol. If you look at Celestytal, a new small line in Greece, they include free wine and beer at lunch and dinner for everyone. They charge a 50 % solo supplement, and they have very fair prices. I have a 7 night cruise booked with them, and I don't even drink beer or wine. But they only cruise Greece, or Greece and Turkey.

I've done the other way twice. It's much better the other way as you get all the busyiness of many ports out of the way, and then have all the sea days in a row and gain hours on the way back. Either way, TAs are awesome, and usually a cruise bargain.

I get them just about every cruise. I almost always book a guarantee inside as a solo. My strategy is (I always book thru my TA) is to let her know what I want specifically and how much I am willing to pay (as since I am a lawyer, she may not be able to reach me). It's worked out well. This last cruise, HAL was sending offers directly to me some of the time (that never happened before.)

All of these things sound wonderful. But not everyone can spend $5000 or more for their cruise, or requires or wants a private car to the departure port. I'd love that, but that same money gets me 4 or more hotel nights or a number or cruise tours. This is why there are different cruise lines because different people can afford different prices. It's the same reason there are inside cabins and suites

Regent sounds lovely, but it's out of my price range. I looked at Azamara, and their solo specials go out just for a year. So they only have them through 2024, and they are limited. The ones I checked for 2024 (which I can't do as I am currently booked up on vacations through mid 2025) had no solo availability. But at least I know to look at Cunard, Azamara, and Princess. I will keep looking at HAL as I'm 4 star, but I think it's hopeless now. Thanks for the advice!

Put your card holder in a fanny pack or a hanging thing from now on. I am notoriously absent minded and leave things everywhere! I won't embarrass myself by telling stories of things I've left behind! I'm taking that same cruise next year the end of May except I'm doing a 20 land tour shortly afterward. Hope you have a great time!!

I am willing to do repositioning, and travel during the shoulder season. The part you missed is that I can't do last minute travel. I have to plan 6 months or more in advance, so that lets out all those last minute deals! Thanks, I have looked at Azamara before, and I will look again. I've been looking at Cunard and Princess (I own 150 shares of Carnival stock, so I get $250 shipboard credit on a 2 week cruise), and I had forgotten about them.

However, the odds of going on a cruise as a standby are pretty slim. And you get notified fairly late. So unless you live locally and don't work, it doesn't make sense as air fare prices are most likely high or could be unavailable.

I had no issues using Uber in Miami. There are always going to be stories about crime everywhere. I've been traveling as a solo woman all over the world. I use taxis, buses, the subway, trains, walking, etc. I've never had an issue other than being called by vendors to enter their shops.