mcrcruiser

We never do ships tours regardless & especially now with this virus still lingering . Ships yours have been on commercial buses got the most part . My private tours never are over 14 people & most in the 10 -12 people range .We like the personnel touch not the commercial . We also custom the tour to the likes of the people on the tour .surprisingly we always wind up with less cost & see a lot more . The caveat is if we are not sure of getting back to the ship on time is when we will take a ships tour for certain like the "Road to Hana " on Maui . I personally warn those on the roll call to not do a private tour of the Road to Hana because of the winding slow going road & the length Even ports I have never been to we have done private tours that we can manage comfortably .One such custom tour was at Livorno Italy where I arranged a mini bus for 14 people including a outdoor luncheon at a vineyard that was in the family for 700 years ,OId was a smashing success with a 4 course luncheon on the property under a white canopy , Even a young American girls got along famously with a Italian boy & neither could understand each others language .We wound up buying their fabulous wine with no chemicals .We arranged all this from State side USA

With out a doubt the people who gamble on average are the biggest of all spenders & not just on a cruise .For over 30 years I dealt with Casinos & hotels in Las Vegas selling them products . Their economists knew exactly how much the avg guest spent & where they spent it .By far the percentages was on gambling & entertainment . Remember years back food cost was actually cheap in todays Las Vegas terms .There was a time there was a hotel .named the Hacienda & it's day was one of the nicest properties .Well during my stays from Mondays through Thursdays driving in from the Los Angeles area ,at that time ,I could get a room ,with custom omletes , & all the other breakfast trimmings for a total cost of just $10 per day . Ince in awhile the management would even throw in a show for that price . Of course that was many years a go . Today people mostly go to Las Vegas to see pricy shows & dine in vert pricy restaurants ,where gambling has actually decreased Comparing the cruise business of today is similar to those olden Las Vegas days of inexpensive cruise cabins vs land & inexpensive dining ,so people will gamble more on a cruise ship Adding to my comments ,we also get casino deals with Celebrity cruises .The last deal we for was their Net 60 deal that gave us Free gratuities ,the free drink package & free wifi for 2 in all of the three free perks .My game is on the craps table ;which is the best odds game .Occasionally I will play Texas Holdem . So we get lots of great deals but never totally free .If we get a free balcony state room we do not get the free perks ie . Perhaps HAL's gambling arm does similar deals . U kbow of those long cruises at $200 say for 24 or 25 days even B2B but ,they are inside cabins & if it were me I have to upgrade to a balcony & pay vthe differences .So in reality there still is no free lunch

It seems to me that us getting $500 in recent OBC being a stock holder short term was worth the risk for short term .I would not hold this stock unless it was for a great grand child's college education as a gift from birth .Then per haps it would be a good investment . Not paying dividends is a major detractor with any stock. unless you can confirm that there will be a great increase in value of those shares . Increasing the float by 2 billion shares is a lot of watering sown the existing prior shares held by share holders ,Additionally , if & when a new dividend may be declared by the board of directors it cetainly will be a lot smaller than the prior dividend because of all these added shares

We can tell you that we booked as soon as our 18 night Hawaii cruise came out because one we need a handicap state room & 2nd I used club Orange to go up a much more pricy category for handicap . Also ,Hawaii cruises are Extremely popular cruises which tend to sell out quicker than others .Even though SD is our home port ,we could not chance not getting the cabin we wanted . So it really depends on the person's situation .One solution may not fit every one

You should get a on board credit .We now come to like using Club Orange to up grade .It is most valuable on the Pinnacle class ships like Koningsdam ie not so sure it is as good on the other vessels in HAL's fleet .but ,you can ask that question to the future cruise sales desk person when you are on board

please do not feel that way , That OP is irritating to many people . The OP wants to be a cruise critic monitor in it's dreams We certainly enjoyed seeing those cruises . We booked the Hawaii Jan 30 .2024 cruise on Oct 21 st & I truly appreciated the heads up because handicap cabins sell out very fast on certain itineraries & Hawaii is one of those itineraries .It also fives us booking early to use the Club Orange upgrade cabin at a much lower cost . Our TA got us a great price deal & HAL gave us $500 OBC & we got the other $250 OBC as a share holder I read your posts frequently over the past & would dearly miss you here ,so please reconsider who the OP is & tries ti bully people until we put that person in it;s place .

Whats next that the cruise line restricts ? This flower issue seems to me to be over kill l by HAL in this situation .

Great see you on the cruise roll call soon Thank you Florida_gal50 for the info I just printed it all out ,so we can take this info with us to the ship .Those are really neat perks for Club Orange . We are very happy to have chosen this .😀l

If HAL decides to cut services or food quality to the point we can see the lowering of our enjoyment we will go elsewhere to cruise or even to change to a all inclusive land vacation . Yes there are lots of choices out there for any thing .We own high end time share properties & this gives us maximum flexibility for any where in this world

what I am talking about is wages vs service , why would you or anyone else pay more to get less service , Because it is a cruise line really has nothing to do with service . What does impact man hours is corporate dictates from the top ., If corporate decides they will give less services that impacts my enjoyment on my cruise , yes then the salaries should also be commensurate with the cuts in services bot increased We always add more for better service & with 87 past cruises we clearly know the differences ,& now 7 new cruises booked on 3 different cruise lines to get what we wanted & when we wanted to sail

Seems to me that the Have it All is a real money maker for HAL , On our newly booked Hawaii cruise Jan 20 ,2024 for 18 nights HAL is selling the Have it All for $50 per day per person in the cabin or $1800 total for the cruise ;which they claimed was a discount from the original $99 per day per person When the cruise line will discount virtually in half you know that this is a big money maker for them .We are not big drinkers if alcohol .We will bring a couple of bottles of wine for the special restaurant bookings but that is it for us .

FWIW you seem to like to be a cruise moderator although you are not but you sure look like one LOL Additionally I do not recall me asking about those club orange perks perhaps you confused me with another . Wouldn't it be so simple to just humor me & answer the question rather than you trying to embarrass me in a public forum ;which makes you look very small indeed

I don't recall that

We asked to have club Orange added to ur 18 night Hawaii new booking so we could go from a VH category Handicap on dec 4 of Koningsdam to a V Deck 5 or VA Deck 8 handicap state room . We also know that we can dine in the Club Orange restaurant Are there any other perks that we should know about ;as I could not find this on HAL:'s web site ? TIA

If you want a toy stick with Carnival Fun Ships but ,if you want a all around excellent cruise sail with Holland America line .Just don't expect the dazzling activities & up all night type activities

We have sailed Celebrity quite often in the past when we were flying to Europe from San Diego & into the Caribbean through the Florida ports .now we decided because of the hassles of flying ^ accelerated costs we only want to cruise from our two southern California ports . Whether Celebrity ever decides to sail E/T itineraries to Hawaii remains to be seen . Because I won't wait & hope for X to accommodate my desire for a R/T Hawaii cruise ,we just ,yesterday ,booked a 18 night Hawaii R/T San Diego Hawaii cruise on Holland's Kpningsdam built in 2018 & she will be dry docked before the Jan 30 ,2024 cruise ,This vessel us a tad smaller than the Soltice class but a tad larger than the Millenium class .she has great entertainment ,great speciality restaurants & a ambiance much like Celebrity but lower prices . since we need a handicap cabin now we book as soon as the ship lists the cruise we want .with Holland we can upgrade with Cliub Orange for a better cabin & dining in the club Orange restaurant vs the MDR . The extra cost is well worth the upgrade alone . On this Jan 30 ,2024 Hawaii cruise HAL is giving a $600 OBC & since we has 100 shares of Carnival stock we get another $260 on board credit .We cover all the tips for the 18 day cruise plus left over to cover special restaurants The tip is book into a balcony at the lowest price point & for just $ 270 each we get a much more expensive cabin plus the special restaurant Yes I like Holland America a lot because it serves us well out of our home port & truly has the flavor of a Celebrity cruise as well . now I am working on getting those really long cruise deal s for a pittance through the casino deals ,like a 34 & a 35 day cruise for $200 each inside cabin but I always upgrade & pay the differences for Balcony cabins handicap .We are also members of Celebrity /EDL Blue Chip casino club ,so we get many great deals there as well . We truly find that Holland America has been our go to cruise line ever since X does not sail the West coast ports on a continual basis Whether sailing on a Celebrity ship or a Holland America ship you can't go wrong .😀

I recently booked several speciality restaurants on line into my booking & I did not pay in advance for those bookings nor would I .I want my Mariner discounts . HAK's prices are high enough ,we Mariners deserve our discount breaks LOL😁

Good advice as long as they are not deeply into the higher level of cancellation & that they can get a cabin of their preferences .Generally speaking appealing to HAL through their TA may be a better option for some OBCs & a upgrade being the sailing is lagging in pax booked There are many cruises I have booked after final payment & saved from our home port .However ,I have been retired 23 years so we can do this B/4 being retired I had to suck it up when the prices broke down but ,i was still very content with our ship cabin & location .The higher the better .doesn't a;; ways work that way now because we seek a handicap cabin on cruises We have had memorable cruise like others on these threads .what comes to mind are TAs from rear balcony cabins over looking the wake , Australia & the the south pacific islands Alaska 5 times pus weeks in the interior self planned ,twice full transits through the Panama Canal watching the new longer wider locks being built .Many TAs ie

Mary you are taking to the quire . Did that done that & made profits in selling the shares . Can not see going long in this stock market so we are shorting .not every day is a winner but ,this economy is telling investors watch out below & it is world wide for at least the next 2 years . Look the bull has run a long time so it is now the time for the bear

We have 3 more HAL cruises booked . 2 more with Celebrity booked & 2 with Royal Caribbean booked between now & early 2024 .Our cruising is now from either San Diego or San Pedro ,world Cruise Center ,LA county location .We avoid flying in todays crazy airport congestion & higher airline prices than ever before

We are Elite Plus with Celebrity & Dimond with Royal Caribbean . We did most of our 87 cruises with Celebrity when we were flying from San diego to Florida & Europe .I liked Celebrity a lot in the earlier years & always was able to get my Ahi tuna in the lite lunch cafe (forgot the nam) .Then X decided to delete the Aji tuna . That turned me off U saw the big brother RCL 's influence . We then decided to try HAL & we are 3 star going quickly to 4 star Mariners . I can honestly tell any one HAL imo is just as good as Celebrity & lower cost to boot with better & longer itineraries . We been to Sydney Australia on Noordam in 2015 ,a great cruise from SD .That is a long cruise but really nice for all the port stops You will not be sorry with HAL😀 PS we are headed toward the 100 cruise mark quickly now

Yes it very well depends on the cruise & cabin toy need from the get go . I can tell you that we just booked the first day out was October 21 ,2022 that HAL released the Jan 30 ,2024 Hawaii cruise on Koningsdam from San Diego Round Trip . I jumped on this because I wanted the cheapest Handicap balcony to nook .got it at a decent price & then told my TA to upgrade to a V or VA handicap balcony on decks 5 or 8 & now we can fine in club Orange restaurant with less people than the MDR I can honestly tell you that this Hawaii route for handicap & preferred cabins sells very quickly .So it really depends on where the ship is headed . some routes are far more popular & thus sell better than others . We have 87 cruises behind us bit not all HAL .More with Celebrity & Elite Plus there / We are also 3 star Mariners rushing to get to 4 star level .We should be there soon as we are booked on earlier cruises with HAL The bottom line is to follow closely the activity with that pre selected route before booking . Now imo HAL may give you a upgrade & even some OBC but ,at this time after final payment consider it a gift of good will . We all must read the contracts we sign Wishing you the very best of luck . Let us know what comes from HAL in this situation .

Just submitted request for a $250 On board credit for a 18 night cruise ,Prior to that got 3 shorter cruises doe another total $ 250 in OBCs .so getting a total of $500 in OBCs .Mind you can not pocket this cash but got to use it on the cruises or loose it . We can use it for tips .One $250 OBC plus HAL is giving us another $500 OBC for our Hawaii cruise will nicely take care of the $576 in tips & we will have $174 left over for dinners in the speciality restaurants like Tamarins ,Pinnacle ie , on our 18 night Hawaii cruise Imo it all depends on the benefit you can get & holding the stock for the shortest time period now ;because of both this stocks volatility & the market in general