WillWorkForCruise121

1 hour ago, roxybear135 said:

If you're going to call ship services like it seems you might from your chat, can you ask them about it and report back here as to what they say?  The info that I got from the Office of the President was different from what that chat agent said.

I called Ship Services and they said that the Elite package is unlimited non-alcoholic beverages and 15 alcoholic beverages up to $15.   The signature (included with "have it all") includes up to 15 beverages of any kind up to $11.  So, what the letter earlier in this thread stated seems to be factual.  I am guessing the chat agent was mistaken or had outdated information.   The agent from the Ship Services did not seem unsure, she was confident that those were the facts. 

She also told us it can only be booked on board and it is $11.80/day including gratuity per passenger.   Looks like we will be upgrading on our cruise. 

So this is interesting.   I had a chat just now with HAL through the website and the agent claimed BOTH beverage packages feature unlimited non-alcoholic drinks. 

14 hours ago, neuronbob said:

We started on HAL in our 40's.  Now in early 50's with some gray.  We don't drink and we aren't into the fancy rock climbing and waterslides, etc.  HAL offers a quiet, relaxing, traditional cruise, and you don't have to be "old" to enjoy that.  If we were party people, we'd be on Carnival.

LOL, I can relate.  We did a Carnival cruise once, and it was an experience we probably won't repeat unless it's on one of their newer ships in a Havana Cabana class or something.  It was by far our least favorite cruise experience to date.   It kind of felt like the Wal-Mart of the Seas. 

On 11/2/2021 at 5:37 PM, iceman93 said:

Honestly, I think Disney is the right choice for you!

Appreciate the suggestion. 

We have only done 1 Disney sailing on the Disney Wonder with my brother and his family (he has two young children).   It was probably one of our least-favorite cruise experiences for adults.   I appreciated some aspects of it, but the areas dedicated to adults were way too small and it was impossible to get a seat for most adult activities.   So much of that ship was (understandably) dedicated to the kiddos.   I don't think we'd do another Disney cruise.  It was also overpriced IMO.   It wasn't awful, but we definitely enjoyed Celebrity and RCCL more.   

Thank you to everyone for the replies BTW.   This is all helpful,  I am leaning strongly toward giving them a try and seeing how it goes.  😃

We aren't really into dancing and the partying crowd at all.  So I am not so worried about missing out on that aspect.   If everything shuts down at 10pm though, that might be a bit of a bummer,  sometimes we like sitting in a lounge and listening to a solo act and things like that into the later hours but if there's no dance-club or themed parties, we will be just fine with that.   

Do the bars on board of HAL have interesting drink menus and themes?  Do they have lounge acts and things of that nature?  Any late night comedian acts?   I saw the dueling pianos bar in the ship tour that was on YouTube and things like that are definitely up our alley.  I am just trying to confirm if the whole ship shuts down at 930 or 10pm... We would be fine with something closer to midnight, but we typically enjoy some later evening activities that go on past the evening theater shows. 

Hey everyone,

My wife and I are pretty experienced cruisers having taken about a dozen different cruises on various cruise lines including:  Carnival, Celebrity, Disney, NCL and Royal Caribbean.   We have never taken a HAL cruise because we have heard it's not well-suited to people under 55 but wonder if that is an outdated viewpoint of this cruise line.  

For some context...I am 39 and my wife is 33, we are not into rock climbing walls and waterslides but enjoy the bars and fun activities on RCCL.   Celebrity up to now is probably our favorite cruise line just edging out Royal.  We enjoy the unique bars, specialty restaurants and entertainment on board.  We don't have kids and don't typically enjoy the craziness of the main pool on lines like Royal and Carnival.  We tend to gravitate to the adults only areas for relaxation.  We are both into dining and appreciate good food and trying new things.  We aren't big into the party/dance type of thing but do enjoy listening to musical acts in lounges on ships while sipping cocktails.  I am admittedly a big fan of Karaoke and we typically do it at least 1 or 2 times per cruise. 

I recently looked at some ship tours on YouTube of the Koningsdam and was impressed with what I saw.   The ships amenities look very appealing to us and we are considering a cruise to Alaska next year on this ship.   To those that have been on HAL...Do we sound like people that would enjoy HAL?  Are there any others in a similar situation to us that either enjoyed HAL or didn't?   Just curious what the feedback is from those that have sailed on this cruise line.   Many thanks in advance for responses 😃

Thanks everyone for info!

 

I've been counting carbs for 11years and my main concern with estimating amount of ingredients in particular portion. Did anyone asked for this info on board and received answer?

Of topic question : kgm0612, how did you get second pump? Our pump company refuse to provide backup pump.

I'm guessing it'd be hard to get that information and know it's reliable from your wait staff. Questions I have had about specific menu items they have always tried to help with as best they could. Overall I never really pressed hard for too many specific details about what was in a particular dish though. I'd just make my best guess and know that there may be a correction later.

I honestly found taking several cruises that I just had to be extra diligent with testing and keeping on top of corrections. My average day on cruise ship was never like an average day at home, so there are always some unexpected highs and lows.

I fortunately have a CGM that helps me see which direction I'm heading and make adjustments.

Side note Medtronic does provide travel loaner pumps for a $50 fee (they'll bill you for the whole pump if you don't send it back in a timely manner)... I'm not sure what company you said you had as I didn't read the whole thread.

If you're an experienced carb counter and generally stick to items you can predictably count well.. I think you'd do just fine on the cruise. [emoji2]

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Interesting. Thanks. Cost comparisons are always fun.

 

What's your estimate of the annual cost of a CGM supplies and maintenance, and the cost of a CGM? How long does one last?

 

The trained DAD appears to be $20K. I'd expect it to last about 10 years at an annual cost of +/- $650 for food, health care, and other pet ownership cots

If you already have an insulin pump with the capability like the Medtronic models, the transmitter will set you back around $1500 and needs to be replaced I'd say on average maybe once every two years. Could be shorter, could be much longer.

The sensors you change about 1x a week and they are expensive at about $30 each. I guess a fair ballpark is about 2.5 - 3k a year if you pay completely out of pocket. Most people are not in this situation though. If you have a legitimate medical need for such a device insurance coverage makes this much more affordable.

From what I've heard and understand getting coverage for the service animal is much trickier. I know there are non profit organizations out there that try to help but I would still see the service animal being harder to get approved and paid for than the CGM devices. I could be wrong on that though in certain cases. My knowledge on insurance approval for diabetic alert dogs is limited at best.

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I am type 1 diabetic and wear an insulin pump. If you can before you go I'd recommend a visit to your diabetes educator and nutritionist at whatever clinic you go to. They can teach you how to effectively count carbs and dose without the use of a nutrition facts label.

It might be scary at first but after a while you get comfortable with counting just by eyeballing items and can do it really well.

I think all of the cruiselines i have been on have been extremely accommodating for any dietary questions I had. But I did need to count the carbs for dosing myself.

I hope this is helpful.

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OP, thanks for posting about it. I think that having a device that can provide real data vs a trained service animal is a benefit to the type 1 diabetic and to the medical field.

Agreed. Sorry I have participated in taking this topic further off-track. It's a neat addition to CGM which is very helpful to diabetes management.

Anything that makes it easier is a great thing.

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If you'd like you can replace the "99.9%" I said with "the vast majority" or any other general figure of speech used to describe almost everyone. I wasn't trying to imply that 99.9% was an actual fact based figure. If that's what was conveyed I apologize.

I just think a service dog to serve this function is more of a choice than a necessity. Of course people living with this awful disease should have that choice if they really want it and I can understand the companionship aspect being appealing. I Just think CGM is proven to be more effective, accurate and available...making it the more reasonable and logical choice for people with a real need for low blood sugar alerts. It's also typically more cost effective as diabetic alert dogs can cost upwards of 20k if fully trained.

My opinion regarding service dogs is referring only to diabetic alert dogs in case that wasn't clear previously. I have no extended knowledge or expertise on other applications of service animals.

Here is a write up on one study on this topic if you're interested.

http://integrateddiabetes.com/is-a-cgm-better-at-catching-lows-than-a-diabetes-alert-dog/

I have a pretty firm opinions on this from first-hand knowledge, experience and research on the topic. I'm not trying to win an argument or start one.

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I understand that you (and maybe your baby sister also) don't need a service dog but to say that it's extremely rare that a service dog is the best choice for someone else with diabetes is flat out wrong. You don't need a service dog. Completely and totally understood. But to say that only .1% of the entire population needs a service dog and the rest would be better served by CGM technology is sort of bonkers. It's not just about a dog detecting lows being "cool", the whole thing is based in medicine.

Honestly unless you have type 1 diabetes and a hypo sensing service dog or are an endocrinologist with some expertise on service animals (in which case I humbly apologize and validate your argument). You have no right or point of reference to label my opinion "bonkers".

I'm pretty sure my 10,000+ injections, numerous scars, over a decade of wearing a CGM device, sleepless nights and countless blood tests qualify me to hold my opinion and count it as educated and well informed on the topic.

Take a minute and Google the topic.... credible sources generally feel the same way I do. It's great, just not really all that practical in most cases.

I won't egg this on any further. It's getting silly. I have confidence that none of what I say is bonkers. And I've earned the right to my opinion.

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Not sure of any details but it sounds like it would still require the use of the Dexcom CGM to be attached via set to the patient to actually measure the glucose with the FitBit being to monitor of the results. These tools are great but unfortunately are expensive and not covered by all insurance companies. Once a patient becomes less aware of glucose lows the service dogs are amazing, keeping their owner safer.

Just a side note. The insurance approval for these devices is much much better than it was several years ago. Most companies now see it as a long term health benefit reducing long term costs to them.

I have been using one almost from the time they started making them and in the begining almost no insurance would approve them. Anymore it's rare to see one that doesn't especially if you have hypoglycemia unawareness and type 1 diabetes.

Sorry for soapboxing about this topic. I'm not normally the type. I just happen to have a lot of knowledge and first hand experience with CGM.

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Just because a service dog isn't necessary for you personally doesn't mean that they are also not necessary for others who aren't you.

Maybe you're right. I don't know for certain. There might be extremely rare circumstances that a dog is a better choice. They'd be exceedingly rare though I assure you.

I have lived with this disease for almost my entire life. I also have a baby sister diagnosed at a very young age with the same (6yrs old, she's 29 now). I'm not saying having a dog that can detect lows wouldn't be cool. I just think CGM technology fills that need in a much more reasonable way for 99.9% of people that would have such a need.

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I have had type 1 diabetes for most of my life. Not to knock service animals or a watch but the current CGM technology I use on my insulin pump is extremely effective. I don't know why someone would need to resort to a dog as it is for low blood sugar when the technology for CGM has been around for a while now. I love dogs and I appreciate service animals but I just don't think they are necessary for a diabetic patient.

I think it's awesome that dogs can sense lows, and I'm not trying to upset anyone that chose a dog to do that for them it just honestly feels unnecessary to me from my extensive first hand experience with the disease.

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We do a mix of land and cruises but find cruises to be an incredible value vs land vacations. I also walk away from a cruise feeling refreshed and have had a chance to disconnect from life back on land.

Land vacations have their place for us but cruises are a primary part of our vacation plans for the future indefinitely.

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I've heard good things about Charles Schwab, my only question is it says you have to open up a brokerage account in order to open a checking account. Do you know if you have to use that brokerage account? or can I just let it be and just use the checking portion of it?

So yes, there is that caveat. You must initially open and deposit into a brokerage account. But you can completely transfer all funds from it and not use it once you have opened the free checking account. It's a small hassle, but the fees (or lack thereof) from this account made the hassle worth it in my opinion.

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Charles Schwab Bank is the best for international. No atm fees anywhere in the world and they will refund those charged by the ATM up to $30 per month. I opened an account just for international traveling

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I visited Tulum in March 2017 and noticed that in the shops and bar area where the buses and taxis drop off, there were two currency exchange booths. They advertised exchanging USD, CAD, Euros, British Pounds into Mexican Pesos. So maybe Mexico wanted people to get pesos and only use pesos at the shops. I did not go into any shops, so I do not know if they took USD or whether they only accepted pesos.

 

If anyone has been to Tulum in March or since then, maybe they would know what currencies the shops there accept.

 

Earlier this year, Dzibanche (at Costa Maya) and the tour guide, quoted 1 USD as 15 pesos. Then in March (Cozumel), places were listing 1 USD at 19 pesos. 10-12 seems extremely low.

 

Normally, USD are accepted at all tourist places.

My example was a couple of years ago.... it changes obviously as the market changes. The long and short of it is, many short you a good 25 percent on the exchange rate, including those exchange booths in most cases. Right now one dollar should buy you 17.45 pesos. You will not get that at most places willing to accept us dollars.

Of course 25 bucks out of the $100 you spend at a beach bar and a cab may not be worth the trouble of finding a bank atm.

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Thanks for all of the responses. I think the consensus is a thumbs up to the train. 😀

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Just wondering if I could get a consensus from some that have taken the Amtrak Cascades train to Vancouver from Seattle the night before the cruise. We will be going on the Celebrity Solstice from Vancouver to Hawaii in September

My wife and I both have to work up until we leave and we have flights already booked back from Hawaii to Seattle (where we live). Our plan all along has been to take the train up the night before (leaves 6:50PM arrives 10:50PM). We figured this was reasonably safe considering we are still arriving the night before our cruise leaves.

So recently, my wife was talking to someone she works with that suggested this was a bad idea and that the train get's delayed all of the time and that it's super risky to take the train up the night before. She personally apparently missed a cruise once under the same scenario. I am wondering if this is at all probable or if my wife's co-worker was just really really unlucky. We do have the option of taking one way flight from Seattle to Vancouver the night before but it's much more expensive (about $200 per person vs. $35 per person including bag fees). I'd really rather save the $300+ to spend on the trip. I was also kinda looking forward to the train ride.

Can anyone speak from personal (or second hand) experience about this plan? Should we just suck it up and fly there the night before instead? As always thanks in advance for advice or suggestions.

US dollars are accepted everywhere we have been in port in Mexico. Although we have found that withdrawing pesos at an atm has given us a more favorable exchange rate. On visits to Cozumel and Costa Maya, restraurants and bars were converting prices by 10 or 12 pesos to the dollar. When in reality a dollar was worth over 17 pesos when we went to the atm and withdrew money.

We definitely saved a few bucks by withdrawing local currency, but it is debatable if it is worth the trouble of finding an ATM and withdrawing only enough for the day so that you aren't left with extra pesos. I think most people just use dollars and get a less than favorable exchange rate from some restaurants and bars.

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I have been quoted £33 per per person (8 of us travelling) for the following transportation.

 

Airport to port

Port to Hotel Barcelona (city centre)

Hotel Barcelona to airport.

 

No idea of distances or if this is good value?

 

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated.

When my wife and I went we took the aerobus to and from the Airport and used the metro system in town. We didn't spend much per person and found it very convenient. We did elect to take a taxi back to the hotel after the cruise as the metro was challenging with baggage. It was still pretty inexpensive though.

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We just came back from our first ever cruise...Alaska. We were on the Noordam and it was such a wonderful experience (loved the scenery, ports, and we had great weather), that I am already looking at other cruises. Since I still work full-time, I am looking at cruises of less than 15 days. But I don't know what region to look at. My husband is not a big beach lover or swimmer, so I am not sure a Carribean cruise would be that interesting to him. What have been some of your favorite cruises and why?

My wife and I have done 9 cruises thus far with two more in the next 12 months. Our favorite cruise to date was a 12 night cruise through the Mediterranean with stops in Barcelona, Cannes, La spezia, Rome, Naples, Venice, Ravenna and Dubrovnik. It was totally the trip of a lifetime. We got to see and do so much in the amount of time we were in Europe. This was also ideal if you're not real big on beaches and more into sites and scenery.

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