CruiserBruce

Curious...similar situation could have happened if the ship was due to start tendering at 7am. Except it would have been even earlier. Not sure the ship owes anything other than an explanation.

2 of our 3 cruises for 2022 were selected this way (so in 2021) and our 2 cruises in the next 9 months were selected this way (so in 2022). Offered as "you pick your cabin" or "we pick your cabin". I agree HAL seems to be doing it more often than pre-Covid. I also know that typically guarantee bookings are cheaper than selecting your cabin category. Change happens.

Yes, it is quite likely they will have soy, almond and/or oat milk on Oosterdam (with only one "m").

Yes, it seems to be the SOP now. You could reverse the concept...its almost always been cheaper to book a guarantee, which is what you are doing, if you allow HAL to pick your cabin.

Cruise Critic doesn't have a PM feature.

Lots of people do B2B cruises. I am willing to bet there are threads on every cruise line forum about doing B2Bs. Depending on the cruise line, it can be very easy to book B2Bs. Holland America, for example, sells some B2Bs as " Collectors Cruises " and makes it very easy to book. Other cruise lines are regimented about the two Cruises be booked individually. B2Bs are not really a special item. Any two or more cruises could be set up as B2Bs, or B2B2B2B....

There is a lot of discussions on the West Coast Departures board, here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/315-west-coast-departures/

Nope, in most states, a parking ticket is an "infraction".

Great...now if they can get Europe 2025 out...

Do you know for sure that the ship excursion is going direct to Oia? No other stops along the way?

What time is your flight? If its before 9:30 or so, I would be staying at the airport.

The cab ride has been reported to be around $60 or so. A little secret...you can book the transfers...just tell them your flight is at 12:35. That 10 minutes won't matter.

I would be asking on the Alaska board.

In the OP's first post they also made reference to "Real IDs".

The email usually comes out unrelated to the actual release of excursions. It's just a routine sales email.

"Enhanced" IDs and "real" IDs are two entirely different things.

Welcome to Cruise Critic! Lets start by getting you over to the portion of Cruise Critic devoted to Celebrity, located here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/16-celebrity-cruises/ Ships are big pieces of machinery. They make noises...its a fact of life. Creaking is very common. "Engine or chain" noise? Those are two entirely different sounds.

That is not the reason for Monterey cancelation. The Marine Sanctuary was created in 1992 by. the first Bush Administration. Cruise ships have sailed through the Sanctuary since formation, and still sail through it. The cancelation is because the city of Monterey no longer wishes to have cruise ships in town, as they are already over run by land based tourists.

Yes. As discussed here frequently, do the upgrade first thing when you board, before you get any drinks.

Last August it was the biggest cluster...and I understand when our ship returned the next cruise after we got off, it was just as bad. We sail out of there this September, but our cruise ends in Montreal.

I agree prices can be crazy. But taxi coverage and logistics are so bad at Boston.

10 months isn't an issue...its probably even maybe a little early. Routes they do frequently can come out very early, ports that are less frequently visited can come out only a couple months prior to sailing.

GTY assignments can be any time from 30 days out to at the dock. Average lately seems to be around 8 days.

We walked it in March 2022, and will walk it again in March 2024. Flat, pretty easy 6 blocks, tops.

Meaning the flight home, I guess?