POA1

No. Local authorities did not "drop" the port call. They merely said that cruise ships couldn't disembark passengers there. That is completely different.

Yes, there is good signage. If you make a mistake, you'll be fine. Everyone gets "turned around" on occasion. If you need help, just ask a crew member or another passenger. Most everyone is nice and helpful. If you run into a grumpy person, just move on and ask someone else.

Odds are that there was a grace period for changes. The changes you made for your mother were within the grace period. You might be outside now.

You'll be fine. Just keep doing your research. There's a lot to know, but don't let it overwhelm you. Ask questions galore here.

1994. Old Noordam out of New Orleans with a jazz cruise theme. It had the Benny Goodman & Duke Ellington bands. (Not with Benny & Sir Duke obviously.) You really can't cruise down the Mississippi today, but it's spectacular. DW picked this trip because I was adamantly opposed to cruising. She sweetened the pot with the Preservation Jazz Hall, breakfast at Brennan's & brunch at Commander's Palace. Reluctantly, boarded the ship. (It made the Prinsendam look huge.) There were three couples under 30 on this sailing, and we were seated together in the MDR. (No open seating back in ancient days.) The husband in one of the couples with whom we were seated was the AAA travel reviewer for New York and New England. He helped us to understand the basics of doing your own excursions and said that he was glad to be picked to review HAL. Apparently it was a plum assignment. So... To keep a long story long - Fast forward almost 30 years and here we are. We appreciate the ambience, the elegance, and the company of seasoned travelers. We started out as the youngest people on the ship and have now aged our way into the demographic. Takeaway: While I was absolutely certain that I would hate the whole cruising thing, I was dead wrong. Score 1 for DW.

You, sir, are wise. We always bought FCDs because they always applied to every cruise fare we ever booked. If you are booking within a year, the OBC is a minimum 25% return on investment. And, as you mentioned, the FCD is the Type O universal donor of discounts & credits.

In addition to the reduced cost of taking fewer bags, you have the reduced carbon footprint of taking less luggage. Don't even get me started on the amount of trauma prevented for the little polyesters, nylonites, and cottonese who are deathly afraid of being held captive in the cold, dark, mostly airless cargo holds of airplanes.

You can request tumble dry low heat, no heat or return wet. (Be really, really specific with your notes.) If you are mixing loads, like cold wash & regular wash, get a second bag - one for each load. If you are going to be a pain, you may want to show your appreciation to the laundry room folks.

In case I didn't muddy the waters before... Are there $CAD FCDs or just $USD FCDs? Also, if you try to read that last sentence out loud, do you find that you are spitting & drooling? 😉

National Junk Food Day?? And to think I was just getting ready to head out to the grocery store to buy salad stuff for next week's lunches... Honey, we gotta rethink the shopping list. It's National Junk Food Day! 😊

Thanks all! Now I have a follow up question, which I should have asked earlier because now it's buried here in the thread. (Oh well, my bad.) If you have met with the Future Cruise Consultant, were they helpful? I think the last time DW and met with one, it was over 10 years ago when they had Neptune lounge hours. Other than getting a full blown Cruise Atlas, nothing stands out in our memories. (May we please have a moment of silence for the dearly missed Cruise Atlas? 😢)

Seeing as how our last FCDs were from 2018 and got so old that they were refunded, our experience with the Future Cruise Consultants is awfully out of date. I recall having to fill out a form to purchase FCDs because the Future Cruise Consultant's hours were limited. (Or we simply blew it off until it was too late...) What's the current situation like?

That is the most awesomely diplomatic way I've seen dressy night described in ages. Thumbs up! . 👍

The highest Vista Suite category is AS which is the aft Vista Suite. There ate only a handful of them and they usually sell out early. If an upgrade is not available within your meta category, you get something instead and that something is almost always some onboard credit. I don't think I saw your ship mentioned. Knowing that will help get you better advice. I would not wait long before calling to check on Club Orange. It's pretty limited in capacity. For our mid December sailing, CO sold out in May. If you booked through a TA, call them in the morning. Likewise if you booked through Holland America. If you have a PCC, call him or her. If you booked directly through the HAL website, call the number on your confirmation. Best of luck to you, and enjoy Alaska. There are a lot of cool things to do, even on the ship. We saw orcas a couple of afternoons from the windows of the Ocean Bar. If you are going to Glacier Bay, just being up on the now area and watching the glacier is very cool. You have a decent chance of seeing the glaciers calving on your sailing.

Royal only lets you bring on one 750 ml bottle of wine. I'll just read it on their website.

Yes. They have for years.

Fun fact: My post, two positions or so ago on this thread was held for moderation and manual approval. Seems super controversial! 🤔

Also, if you opt out of the upgrade because you really want to keep your current stateroom, they won't give you any OBC or other fabulous prize for being unupgradeable. I opted out of an upgrade because I (stupidly) bought a high category, midship room and did not want to move. In the grand scheme of things, we're only missing out on a nominal amout of OBC, which we probably would leave in the casino or on our waistlines. (Paid Dive In room service after a night in the bars, anyone? A very dangerous feature of the Navigator app. 😮 🍟🍔)

Uh oh. I thought National Hot Dog Day was yesterday and celebrated weinerfest on the 19th. Does that mean that I will have seven years bad luck?

If you used a TA or HAL PCC, call them. They can add it if it is available. If you booked on the HAL website directly, look up Club Orange on the site and grab the PDF of the Club Orange benefits. It has the number to call on it. Next, grab the PDF of your ship's deck plan. You'll want the deck plan because *if* Club Orange is available, you will need to select your upgrade room from the available rooms in your meta category. The further out you are from your sailing date, the better your odds are. CO is capacity controlled. The Pinnacle & Neptune Suites pax always get it. After that, there are a limited number of slots for purchase. Best of luck!

I may have ordered a double Maker's Mark or two over the years. You can generally use 2 drinks to order it double. Take the time to figure out which bartenders have the best pours as well.

Looking forward to your report. The added kids angle will be useful for a lot of people who wonder if HAL Alaska is a good fit for families.

144 days 'til we sail and dang, I'm hungry!😁

Beat me to it. I'd have made it first, but noooo I had to try to make big text on my phone.

Goodness! Don't forget the tote bag. And the Orange card. There's the true value! 🤑