JimnKaren

Correct, we will be in San Diego until 11:00 p.m. Dinner with a bottle of wine. Will that be taxed at the local rate?

Jim

Several years ago, Ft. Lauderdale instituted a sales tax on beverages purchased while the ship is in port. Does that hold for San Diego?

Now that we are retired, we take long cruises (too bad that the cat hates that). As a result, the free laundry thing is good - fewer clothes to take and less work once we get home.

Itinerary is the thing for us. If brand X does not go when and where we want, we'll pass. I'll keep looking for whatever gets us going. Next up - 51-day Tales of the South Pacific on HAL. Itinerary - and then the cost - and then the free laundry.

Jim

Gotta make the call!

Jim

We live in Florida and regularly take cruises one-way. For instance: Florida to Buenos Aires and cruise back; or fly to Vancouver and cruise through the canal back to Florida. HAL air has worked for us.

Jim

When we were on the ship two years ago, that lobby bar was never used. Was that still the case?

Jim

Consider flying into Tampa, renting a car one-way to get you home. There will be some wind and rain, but I don't believe that Tampa International will close for long. The storm will be well east of the Tampa Bay area. Alternately, see what you can get into Tallahassee and then drive home. Sarasota/Bradenton's airport should be far enough from the storm, yet you can still make the drive home.

Jim

Water taxi. You see lots without walking all over the place. Be aware that the cruise pier is the last stop, it will take a while to make the trip.

We flew in early, rented a car at the airport and returned the car there, then got on the water taxi. We chatted a bit with the guys on the pier and they got us on first since we were going to be there the entire trip.

Jim

Happy hour!

Jim

We live in Florida, many of our cruises have only one air segment. For instance: we flew from home Atlanta to Buenos Aires direct. There were several options, including stopping in Panama City or Miami or Rio. Didn't want all that stuff. Told them what we wanted and it came in a lot less expensive than if I had booked it myself. The money I saved was used for liquid refreshments on the ship.

Jim

Twice we have been on 42-day itineraries. Lots of time crossing the Atlantic (both ways). I read; we were on ships with good libraries, although I did take my e-reader with me. Karen knits, she would spend several hours on each sea day knitting with other needleworkers and has become on-line friends with several of them.

On longer cruises, one has an opportunity to really get to know the other passengers (if you wish). We have cruise with several people on different ships and it is fun to cruise with them again (without planning it out).

We have no problem with being 'cool' on a long cruise. We don't need lots and lots and lots of fun things to do all the time, we are way past that with our lives. If you want, spend some money and get on Cruise Critic every day and let everyone know how the cruise is going for you.

Jim

Ruth is correct (once again). Look at the itinerary for when you want to go. Then consider pricing. That aft pool thing was goofy at the time, but it works now. There is water, about 3" deep with loungers there.

We have been on Veendam a couple of times and enjoy the smaller ship feel that one gets on that class of ships. You don't wear yourself out getting from one end of the ship to the other. Nice library with a great coffee bar experience.

Jim

I really enjoyed the Osso Bucco several years ago. Sadly, it was removed. I ask anyway. Maybe it is put on the menu for longer voyages, just to change things a bit.

And for the old-timers here...many years ago there was cotton candy given out, pink and blue. I recall that was when there was no charge for that venue.

Jim

However...you might consider making copies of your passport. You carry someone else's and that person carries yours. It is not a big deal, it is one of those just in case situations.

I have a copy of Karen's and she has a copy of mine.

Jim

You are encouraged to order small plates. No limit. You can try several things. Anything you don't like, they will take away. If you are a wine drinker, their wine menu is OK.

Jim

I used to question the decision of folks who ate at a table for two, figuring they ate together all the rest of the time. Why not branch out?

However, as my hearing has declined (even with hearing instruments), we find it better to not have to try to get me to understand conversations with folks whose voices I cannot understand. Sometimes, we will share a table, but not often. AND, once we find a table with efficient servers, we will request to be seated in that wait station area.

Jim

We live in Florida, it is easy to fly one-way to some city in the world and then cruise back to Florida. Generally those cruise prices are a bit less than the round-trip cruises and air fares can add significantly to the cost.

We just completed Buenos Aires, through the canal to Ft. Lauderdale

Before that, it was Venice to Ft. Lauderdale.

We have done several West Coast to Ft. Lauderdale.

It was good for us moving from Illinois to Florida, just for that reason.

Jim

Carnival sails from Mobile, Alabama; and Jacksonville, Florida is not too bad. They also sail from Galveston, Texas and Port Canaveral (fly into Orlando for a short transfer to the port).

Jim

We were on Zaandam March/April of this year. The piano bar is unchanged, it is part of what they call "The Mix". In the Ocean bar, there was a gent playing the piano for early diners and on to about 8:00 or so. Then a 3-person group of instrumentalists plus a vocalist came on to coincide with the end of the first evening performance in the show lounge (not what they called it, but you know what I mean). All were good at what they did. We were on from Buenos Aires to Ft. Lauderdale. There was a bit of a change of musicians in Santiago, but all were good.

Amsterdam's layout is similar.

We did not feel crowded on either ship.

Jim

Consider cruises from close to your home. There are several ports along the Gulf of Mexico that offer nice itineraries and you won't be spending too much money on air fare, etc. Look at the options, then check out the Ports of Call forums for lots of good information.

Jim

Contact a local travel agent. That person will have lots of appropriate answers for you. Relate your priorities and your budget and allow that person to offer suggestions.

Jim

It is nice to have the windows, just for the natural light. However, it is not necessary. We have been through the canal eight times and have become accustomed to being in the Pinnacle for lunch that day. Typically, it is not crowded and the staff has the time (and if you encourage them a bit) to chat with you quite a bit. It is a nice alternative to the goofiness upstairs.

Jim

Once, several years ago, I was quite discouraged with some of the non-events on a HAL cruise. I wrote a long letter to the president's office in Seattle (more to vent than anything else). Surprisingly, I got a very nice 2-page response with a freebie included for a future cruise.

When we were on Zaandam from Buenos Aires to FLL in March/April, there was nothing in the When & Where about knitters getting together. I bellyached three times (on behalf of Karen) and eventually they indicated that "Seattle" needed to pre-approve that kind of non-host activity prior to the cruise. I appealed and they eventually agreed to post one-time, a notice about needleworkers getting together in the Explorer's Lounge. It worked, several showed up and they planned their own things after that.

Since then, we have discovered the name of the person in Seattle for our upcoming Tales of the South Pacific cruise and have email her directly, asking that something be posted for sea days (20+ out of 51 days!). We'll see what happens.

If you have a significant concern with something that is or is not happening on a ship, send the letter. If you are polite and make a salient point, you will be assigned a case number and get a response. Let them know in Seattle what you think. This forum is good, but writing a letter is more effective.

Jim

The only way I know to beat the system is to purchase wine ashore that is sold on the ship. If they see an unusual label, they know it is not one of theirs and they charge the corkage fee. If it is a familiar label, their assumption is that it was wine delivered to your cabin and no corkage.

When you bring wine on the ship (in excess of your allotment), you can pay the corkage fee on the pier and a blue (if I remember correctly) sticker is affixed to the bottle to let the wine folks on the ship know that you paid the corkage on the pier.

Jim

We will be on Zaandam next year for Voyage of the Vikings. I have also been reading Dave's reports. He has posted the daily When and Where.

Karen is a knitter and I noticed that there is nothing in the When and Where about needleworkers getting together on sea days. Are you? Seattle has been lax on that, they would rather have ping pong players meet!

Jim