POA1

I think that the answer is, "Yes," but I hope one of you might know the answer for certain. In the past, we used to buy casino chips to fund our massive ($100/week!) stakes. HAL no longer sells casino chips. Can I simply buy OBC and use it to fund our (huge, world-class) gambling operation? This would be paid OBC and not gifted or HAL-provided OBC. If anyone has done this, can you get chips from cashier or do you have to do that extra slot machine step? We prefer to lose our money at the tables, but if we gotta slot, we surely aught. Thanks in advance!

Ouch!

MID-December 2023. It worked fine. Sites that required 2FA (two factor authentication) presented no problem. They usually set a cookie after authentication. As long as you don't clear it, you're fine. I would "sleep" my PC instead of shutting down. Because I like a complicated life, we had 2FA using the Google authenticator, Microsoft's app, text, and email.

Congratulations! Four stars is the big one, in my humble opinion.

The only thing you can't use gift cards for are the items under Travel Planning. That would be flights, hotels, transfers, and crew appreciation.

There's no difference between the AARP version and any other HAL gift card, aside from the price. I called general reservations after trying to split the payment on the (super amazing!) website without luck. IIRC, they could not see my cart. They had to add the internet plan and take the payment.

The website has poor split payment handling. I, too, wound up having more charged to my credit card than I expected. If you call in, they can handle split payments. I did that for my Wi-Fi last cruise.

Normal work won't be a problem. However, if you need 32 person Zoom or Teams meetings to function, it might be a little laggy. As with any wireless connection, your proximity to the access point will matter, as will any physical barriers like walls.

Same thing here. I did not want that to happen though. And boy, is ever a pain to get to the settings to turn it off. I prefer all the fiddly bits. I'm in the minority, though.

I was just making the point that the two different tests showed different speeds. That stayed the same throughout the cruise. The speeds were quite sufficient. Remember: Even though it's Starlink, it's a shared connection. The Miami server is because that's closest to where Carnival Corp has its servers. It's the terrestrial hopping off point. (I assume that you'd see different test locations in markets other than the Caribbean.) When we were in port, I hopped on whomever T-Mobile's partner was. This test was made at sea. I've been using internet at sea for over 20 years. This latest incarnation is far faster and better than anything in the past.

What level will you be when your cruise posts? Since later sailings appear to be processing normally, I imagine that we'll be updated before March. I'd document all the interactions with the Mariner Society. (Date, time, person to whom you spoke.) My final escalation would be a registered letter, return receipt, to the Guest Relations / Office of the President address. The chasm between 4* and 5* is 300 days wide, so I was just being tongue in cheek. I expect to at ~270 days after our sailing posts. The next bump is at 500 days. If we're lucky, we'll clear that hurdle before the end of the decade.

Yes. Airplane mode ON turns OFF both radios. Then, turn Wi-Fi ON. This turns only the Wi-Fi radio on. (Your airplane mode indicator will likely go off. The Wi-Fi indicator will go on, but you won't see the cellular signal strength indicator though.) You'll have to connect to your Wi-Fi plan on the ship now. As long as you have Wi-Fi calling turned on and your carrier and phone support it, you should now be able to call & text. I just did this, as did my wife, on the Nieuw Statendam in December. We've both got Pixels running the latest stock Android. BTW - You can try this out on your home internet if you want to get comfortable with the process.

Assuming you are on a regular T-Mobile plan, you have calling and data in ~216 countries. This is via partnership agreements. You're not going to be connected to T-Mobile, but rather to the partner's network.

The only way to know whether you can share the fare code is to talk to someone. There are plenty of fare codes that both tie to your Mariner ID and are shareable. You can't share the 4* laundry benefit with a non 4* stateroom. (You could have your son drop his laundry off with you and you could send it out with yours.)

We're still waiting on our 12/10 - 12/17/2023 cruise to post. We're in the no-man's land between 4* and 5*, but I'd still like to see our status updated.

If you think you are having a bad day, someone's fishing boat sunk right across from Sky Harbor, the building with the webcam.

For T-Mobile, you'll want data roaming on. Otherwise, your free T-Mobile international data won't work. You want Wi-Fi calling on. Then, turn airplane mode on. That will turn off both the cellular and the Wi-Fi radios. Then, turn Wi-Fi on. At this point, the T-Mobile calls and text over Wi-Fi should work like a charm. You won't pick up the land based cellular services because that radio is off and not listening. Once you are in port, cycle the airplane mode to turn your cellular radio back on. Sadly, you have to run through the first set of steps when leaving port.

This post has more to do with our next "Live From" thread than this one, but we've been watching and waiting to see if a Morimoto Pop Up was going to burst forth into our Spring Rotterdam cruise. There was one night, April 3 - Kralendyk, Bonaire - that had no reservation availability in Tamarind. I had that pegged as the most likely night. We reviewed our itinerary last night, because that's what constitutes Friday night fun nowadays, and there was nothing to reserve. Today, we were looking at our itinerary, trying to figure out where to stick our Pinnacle Grill lunches, and lo and behold, Morimoto popped! So, we're booked at 7:00 PM. The cost is $55.00 + 18% svc, or $64.90/pp. I was able to trick the web version of the Navigator app into giving up the menu. The Android phone & tablet apps are still mum on the subject. (Just another check mark in the Yes column under, "Can I live without the app?") There are two line break typos under the sides, but otherwise the menu looks good. (To us, anyway.) Here you go - in both HQ PNG images (once you click on them) and PDF flavors. See the typos under the Sides section? morimoto-by-sea.pdf

Unless you have a casino or restricted, "just for you" rate, the normal Mariner discount can be extended to your son's booking. You'll have to call your PCC, TA, or the HAL reservations number. It won't show up on the website. As long as your rate is not a casino or other restricted rate, that's the cleanest way to go about it. Look at me, disagreeing with the lovely @Huskerchick 😘 Also, I'd wait until business hours, Monday - Friday, Seattle time. (US Pacific time zone.)

There's an itinerary deviation request form that you need to fill out and have approved. Your PCC or TA should be able to get the form for you.

It's listed in Daily as Dress Code: Festive Orange

Bill, that changed in January 2024. You may still be able to get the $100 cards, but you have to have a paid AARP membership to purchase the $500 ones.

No. There is no separate area. Just a separate check in podium.

Hence, the "None." That seemed like a brucible response. 😉

On any of the ships that aren't in the Pinnacle Class, Club Orange gives you a priority seating "place in line" for open seating. I have succeeded in getting one of my first three choices in late/main fixed dining pretty regularly. We were either a 4 top or a 6. I requested any of three different tables, knowing that there's a chance someone might bump us because they were more senior, higher loyalty level, better hair, etc. If you have a Pinnacle Suite, odds are you'll get your first choice. I always wrote nice emails and made polite requests. It's a little bit of work, and it depends on demand. That should why I always picked several options.