Splinter

2 hours ago, dobiemom said:

Not a discount, you get OBC depending on the length of the cruise. Yes you can get your OBC if you buy stock now, but wait until after July 31 to submit. 

That link is no good. Why wait until July 31?

What is OBC?

Have you talked to her physician about this? Generally is is discouraged to put a person with advanced dementia into an unfamiliar and new environment, even if accompanied by long-time family members or companions. This may exacerbate her symptoms and be very frightening to her.

I haven't sailed on HAL since before COVID. They used to offer a discount on cruises if you owned stock in their parent company (Carnival). Do they still offer this? I sold my stock during COVID. I already have a HAL cruise booked for December. If I buy the stock now can I get a discount on my final payment, or is it only good for the deposit?

Do you know which pier your ship is leaving from? There are up to 3 different piers for cruise ships. If embarking from the north side of the Broadway pier, you take an elevator (with an escort if desired) to the level with the embarkation door. If on the south side of the Broadway pier you will have to go up a switchback ramp. If embarking from the B street pier terminal, you also take an elevator (with an optional escort) up to the level with the embarkation door.

Yes, I was contacted by the law firm representing creditors like me and filed a claim, but suspect from what I have read that I will be among those at the bottom of the list to get anything out of the settlement. Apparently Vantage was leasing all their river boats and small ocean ships so did not own them outright, so unlikely will be able to sell them when dissolving the company. Big fight going on in the court about this issue...I get daily e-mails updating me on the court decisions about such motions made by both sides. They are also trying to claim their past customer list and contact information as an "asset" they could sell which is being opposed by the firm representing the creditors.

Does anyone know how to get into the class action suit against Vantage? I went on a supposed Nassau to the Amazon cruise with them last fall, and they stopped the cruise in Belem, Brazil (instead of Manaus as advertized); never gave us prior notice, never told us why. Never could reach anyone by phone or e-mail. Finally got a notice that they were giving me a $1000 credit, which should have been a cash refund. I protested but was told a credit was all they would offer. I told them I never plan to travel with them again, and will tell everyone I know to avoid them too.
https://www.newsnationnow.com/travel/travelers-stranded-vacation-company-shuts-down/?fbclid=IwAR3Qd93H08kwvLQBmLv4bwqTcQh0iD_Tu1JwzvQTrU6XneT_WCTptAIptZ8

I am so angry with Vantage! Was supposed to take the Vantage Ocean Explorer "Passage to the Amazon" cruise from Nassau to Manaus, Brazil on November 7 this year. Just 2 days ago I went to the website and saw the alert that the itinerary was changed. Never got an e-mail or call from them. I signed up for this expensive cruise specifically to see the Amazon, and now they are ending the cruise in Belem (mouth of the Amazon), and also skipping Devil's Island. Those were the two places that attracted me to the cruise a year ago. I managed to get on the on-line chat (you can never get anyone by phone at Vantage) and found that the post-cruise extension in Manaus I had paid for also was cancelled. No notice by e-mail or phone of this either, although the extension still shows up on my itinerary. Cannot access my fully paid invoice at all. If they try to give me a credit I will fight them...I want a refund for at least the extension in cash as I never plan to travel with Vantage again. 

I flew into Oslo on a Thursday, did a little sightseeing that afternoon, then took the first train to Bergen (7:15AM as I remember), was in Bergen by 1PM, checked into my hotel and because it was a beautiful sunny day, I took the funicular Fløibanen to see the view after having a late lunch at the fish market. Poured rain all Saturday so I went to all the museums in the Bryggen area in the morning, and then took a cab to the port and boarded the ship about 5PM.

When I returned from the cruise, I stayed at an AirBnB just steps from the port, and took a cab (again in pouring rain) to the first train in the morning to Myrdal. Caught the Flam train in Myrdal (very short connection), visited Flam and took the next train back to Myrdal, waited 1 hour there for the train to Oslo, and was back in Oslo (for 3 more days) by 7PM.  So did not do the full "Norway in a Nutshell" but it was perfect for what I wanted to do.

HAL has not yet cancelled our early August cruise out of Vancouver (inside passage) yet on the Koningsdam, but we pulled this plug on that cruise before our final payment date (this next week) anyway. Neither of us wants to be on a cruise ship, nor fly on a commercial airline, that soon...we both suspect that it will be cancelled in the future. We won't get all of our deposit back, but that is not worth risking our lives.

There is no parking right at the terminal any longer. The big lot across the street had been developed into a hotel. You would need to check out one of the remote airport parking lots which will provide you a shuttle to the port. They run $9-15/day.

And now San Diego is allowing no gatherings of people who are not in a family household. Beaches and parks are closed. Theaters, and bars are all closed. All sit-down restaurants are closed (but may provide take-out or delivery service). All businesses not listed in the CA Governor's list of "essential businesses" are closed, and people are being told to stay at home, although walking around your neighborhood, while maintaining the minimum 6' social distancing) is still allowed. The Governor has said he expects this to be the case for CA for a minimum of 12 weeks (10 more weeks now), so that would put it up through nearly the end of May.  Our new COVID-19 cases are doubling every 2 days in San Diego, so this crisis is very real. No one should be considering traveling to San Diego, nor from San Diego elsewhere except in a dire emergency.

Normally she is docked in San Diego at the 32nd Street Naval Station. We will miss her while she is deployed to our neighbors to our north...

They are not going to put COVID-19 patients aboard her though. She will be used for other hospitalized patients in order to free-up beds in the shoreside hospitals in the greater LA area.

Wow! Great skill in difficult conditions!

I took Norwegian Air RT LAX to Oslo in 2015 and it was a great experience. There international flights between the USA and Norway are usually on 787s, and this is quite different than their inter-European flights which are more often on 737s.

I booked my train from Oslo to Bergen myself on-line. After my cruise, I also had prebooked my trip to Flam on-line, but in order to make it work, I had to take the first train in the morning from Bergen to Myrdal (1st ticket), then make a very short connection to the Flam train RT (2nd ticket), then a third segment from Myrdal to Oslo. It did make a long day (approximately 7AM-7PM) but it was fantastic.

I would do the hotel check option noted above, unless you plan to rent a car to get around in San Diego, then just put your luggage in the trunk.

There is also this luggage storage option in San Diego, but it is not cheap:

https://bagbnb.com

OK, just so you know. August Mexican Riviera cruises are cheap because of the issues I noted above. HAL does these cruises out of San Diego, but I don't think they start until October (using their ships that were in Alaska for the summer), but they are not a cheaper cruise line like Carnival. If you want a party ship, then Carnival is right up your alley.

Depending on where you are in SoCal, you might find a friend to drive you to the pier, and pick you up upon return. My parents lived in nearby Redondo Beach and did this all the time when cruising out of San Pedro...never cruised out of Long Beach, but it should be pretty much the same.

Otherwise, Uber/Lyft would be your best option.

Well, if it is an option, I would wait to go after November. Much better weather, and less chance of having your cruise ruined by a Pacific hurricane. August would be a good time to go to Alaska out of Seattle or Vancouver.

On 1/12/2020 at 7:07 PM, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

There's a lot right across from the pier and between the pier and train station.  However, I agree come in the day before stay at a hotel with cruise parking.  They almost give you the room for free.  

When were you last in San Diego? That lot has been replaced by a big hotel complex, and is no longer available for cruise parking. That's been the case for the last 3-4 years.

I would also recommend driving in the day before your cruise, and staying at one of the hotels that offers cruise-and-snooze parking. There are a number in the Embarcadero area. The cost of the hotel stay may off-set the cost of any of the off-site airport parking lots, which at the cheapest run $10/day (Aladdin mentioned above is one of the more expensive). 

 I would go with the later flight. Although you can normally be off the ship by 8:30 or 9:00 (especially if you manage your own luggage), I have seen frequent immigration hold ups in San Diego, especially with foreign nationals don't head the directions to check in on board. Until they do, they will hold up disembarkation for all. TSA at the San Diego airport can also be a long wait as they don't really have enough stations on duty at peak travel times.

Where are you cruising to in August out of LA? Beastly hot on the Mexican Riviera at that time, and it is also the peak of the Pacific hurricane season.

I believe Prime Time still is allowed to pick up and drop off at the terminal.

I would have your husband drop you off at the pier and find a porter to assist you, then take the car to park. You can either board right away, or wait for him in the terminal, but this way you have the time to get the assistance you need set up.

Only lithium or liquid acid batteries (rarely used anymore) must be removed. Gel batteries do not.