gamblingrandma

We stayed in a Havana Inside cabin #5230 on the Panorama and yes we heard the band at night.  It wasn't too bad and mostly the thumping of the bass.   I loved the location of the cabin.  Easy access to the bar and Havana pool.  

I can't log in either.  

Made my day!  

We also stayed in 5230 and loved the location however, we could hear the music from the Havana Bar every night but it didn't bother us too much. 

On 1/10/2023 at 12:39 AM, scottca075 said:

Look at Lansky Transportation.

 

https://www.golansky.com/services.html

Thank you. 

23 hours ago, riffatsea said:

My first question would be why Seal Beach?

What does this have to do with cruising?

Google has many listings for car service with meet n greet

The only difference might be price

A group of us are staying one night in Seal Beach.  Cruising out of Long Beach the next day.  She is the only one who had to fly into LAX.  I'm just looking for recommendations for a car service.  

3 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

Your two main requests are sort of at odds with each other-- you can have convenient or economical but usually not both together.

 

From a mobility standpoint it sounds like a meet and greet pickup with a traditional car service is going to be the best option here-- but it will also be the most expensive one at the high end of your estimate.

 

You could maybe shave some off of that using UberBlack curbside pickup which is coming in around $125. UberX is only going to be only $45 but she's going to need to be able to make her way to LAXit. 

Thank you for the feedback!  I really would like to know what car services people have used and have been happy with.  I'm leaning towards using UberBlack for her but would prefer a private car with a meet & greet. 

Need transportation recommendations from LAX to the Pacific Inn, Seal Beach, for an elderly lady traveling by herself.  She arrives LAX Terminal 3 on a Friday at 1045am.  I have researched private cars, taxis and Uber and I have received quotes from $104 to $178.  She cannot walk very far so she needs either curbside pickup or a meet & greet service.   I would like to know your experiences or recommendations with any reliable, easy to use, economical car service.  Her last choice would be to catch a shuttle or walk to LAX-it. Needs to be curbside or a meet & greet service.  Thanks! 

1 minute ago, jam19872016 said:

That's the day I get off.

I'll be following along then.  It will be our first time on the Spirit.  

On 9/11/2022 at 4:40 PM, jam19872016 said:

Thanks. Weather is perfect already after two weeks in Europe where air conditioning wad considered a luxury. Wonderful crisp to the air without being cold at all.

 

What date I might still be onboard lol.

October 16.  You gonna still be on?

Following. I'm boarding the Spirit in mid October.  Can't wait to read all about it. 

4 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

Have they changed their cakes since the restart? It seems I remember there being cakes that looked good on the outside but were just plain on the inside. I’d eat a bite or two and leave it.  I’ve had a couple of really good cakes these past few cruises.

 

Yes. I was told by Pastry Chef Kuldeep in October, on the Horizon,  that they have new recipes.  I commented to our waiter at dinner that the cakes at lunch were really good. He went and got the Pastry Chef and brought him to our table.  The cakes were so good I was having cake for lunch everyday.  My favorites are the Salted Caramel Apple Cake and the Chocolate Honeycomb.  Enjoy! 

We just got off the Panorama yesterday.  We had perfect weather for each port.  In the daytime, it was sunny and ranged from the mid 70's to low 80's with no humidity.  It was not scorching hot but definitely warm enough to swim and made for a very nice beach or shopping day.  Nights were very windy and cool so it's sweater or light jacket weather.  The 3 Sea-days were cooler but warm enough to lay out in the afternoon, but the sea nights were very chilly.  Bring more warm weather clothes than cold weather. I hope this helps. 

10 hours ago, welldone60 said:

Has anyone had experience using this test for Carnival. Having a hard time finding a local rapid test or 24 hour test for travel. Tried all the local pharmacy's and EM centers, all say 2-5 days.

 

Thanks for any info.

I just now completed my BinaxNOW Home test for our cruise on Saturday 10/2.  I was REALLY nervous about doing it on my phone with the NAVICA App.  The only problem I had was with the audio.  But, they kept passing me to other TeleHealth personnel until I finally got one with good audio.  I received my results 5 minutes after the completion of the test by email and also a digital copy on the NAVICA app.  I will use it again! I love that you can do it 24/7.  The whole process took less than 30 minutes.  

I stayed at the Double Tree last January.  The hotel is nice (although our room was a little run down.)  Service was great.  The pool is in shade most of the day because of the neighboring tall condos.  The beach access is across a very busy street, about a 5 minute walk.  If you are wanting lots of sun by the pool....avoid this place.  There is a little Tiki Bar by the pool which was fun when it was open.  Very few restaurants are within walking distance.  We took Uber everywhere. 

I love the sun and was so disappointed that the pool area was mostly in the shade.  Hope this helps!.

I cruise because:

I can unpack and from that moment on it is all about me and relaxing. No laundry, no cooking, no cleaning, no chauffeuring someone somewhere. No decisions to make except what do I want to eat or drink.  I am waited on hand & foot. I can do as much or as little as I want.  My entertainment, my food is a few steps away.  The waves and sound of the ocean puts me to sleep every night.  

That is so good.....enjoy and have a GREAT vacation!

no luck for me either!

Thank you everyone! We went to Alaska 5 years ago on the Oosterdam and loved it so much that we decided to return. Can't wait to see the changes on the Oosterdam. I promise to do a trip report when I return.

We had a Signature Suite booked June 17, 2012 - 7 night Alaskan Cruise on the Oosterdam. On June 4th we received an offer via email for $149 per person (there were 3 of us) we could upgrade to a Neptune Suite. We accepted. Hal ended up charging us $99 per person. Never knew why but I sure didn't complain! We are currently booked this summer on the Oosterdam to Alaska in a SS again. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we get another offer like the first one.

This will be our first trip to Alaska and we are super excited! Trying to decide between excursions in Juneau in early June.... narrowed it down to the following:

 

- Whale Watching with Harv and Marv

- Taku lodge and glacier flight seeing

- ERA Helicopter and dog sledding

 

Has anyone done all of these to compare? Curious if the views from the flights are the same for the Taku Lodge and the Dog Sledding?

We did the ERA Helicopter and dog sledding 5 years ago in late June. It was and still is my favorite excursion of all!!! Highlight of our trip--worth every penny. One word of advice...book it for the afternoon, if possible, to give the morning fog a chance to clear up. The view from the helicopter was spectacular! I have not done the Taku Lodge excursion so I cannot tell you if the view is the same. Being on top of the glacier at the dog camp was like being on another world. We had excellent weather...sunny and upper 60's. Our mushers didn't even have coats on! Enjoy!

On our Alaska Westerdam cruise last July, rep. from Inspirations told me they could book up to half the ship, we had about 700. Wonder what deadline{before cruise} for group to book cabins? After deadline, other cabins might be available.

The final payment for the Inspiration Cruise is April 7th. I am really anxious to see how many cabins open up. Our final payment date is May 1.

When I told my sister (who is going with me) about the Christian group coming on board she said ... and I quote "we are going to hell". LOL. I am sure we will be a bad influence :evilsmile: or at least a topic of conversation for some of those folks.

We are looking forward to this cruise so much...our 2nd trip to Alaska on HAL. I think that the Inspiration group will just make things a little more interesting. A Christian radio station is hosting this one....I'm going to have to tune in and listen so that I can be a little more informed. Cheers everyone!

Have you thought of changing your cruise date?

If it was only up to me I would change it. I prefer going in late June vs July. But others going with us cannot change. The group will not bother us. We drink. We gamble. I figure the casinos and bars will be less crowded. :D

Inspiration cruise is also on July 16th on the Oosterdam.

She's on the July 15th sailing on the Eurodam. It's about $1200.00 more for a balcony that week than the previous or following week. I'm staying far away from that sailing. We're on the 14-day Amsterdam to Alaska and so looking forward to it!

 

Karen

We booked the July 15th sailing on the Oosterdam (roundtrip Seattle), just before Oprah was announced. As soon as HAL announced Oprah would be on the July 16th cruise the airfare in/out of Seattle went up drastically. We had not booked our air yet so we ended up paying about $200 more than normal. Thanks Oprah! :(