Roz

Last month I received an email from Tauck about their updated Covid policies. Here's an excerpt: Vaccination Requirement: All Tauck guests age 12 and older must be up to date with their vaccinations for Covid. If over 270 days have passed since your initial vaccination series, you must have a booster shot. No booster shot is required if you can show proof of having recovered from Covid within 180 days of travel. I had my 1st vaccination on March 2, 2021 and the 2nd one on March 23, 2021. I got a booster shot on Oct. 18, 2021. My cruise on Tauck starts on December 20, 2022. Does my booster shot take care of things or do I need a 2nd booster shot since it will be over 270 days since my initial vaccination serious AND my booster? My internist says I don't need a 2nd booster from a medical standpoint, but I may need one to get on the ship. What do the wise cruisers on CC think? How do you interpret Tauck's policy?

Homicidal cyclists....that sums it up nicely. 🤣🤣🤣

I had a VE on the Rotterdam and the room was extremely narrow. There's about 2 ft. between the foot of the beds to the wall. Don't know how you would get a scooter thru there to get to the desk.

@manteonc, are you looking at the March 10, 2023 31-day itinerary that goes from BA to Ft. Lauderdale? I'm booked on that cruise and wanted to start on the east coast so I could spend a little time pre-cruise in BA. Not sure what you mean by bland food burnout. I think HAL offers a good variety of food. I'm more concerned with having to be offloaded at the end with a crane. 😂 We have a roll call going if you decide to book. The 31-day itinerary is really 2 cruises rolled into one. We have some people doing all 31 days, some doing the BA to Santiago, and some going from Santiago to Ft. Lauderdale.

@Laminator, thanks for relating your experience. I was hoping for something like $1,500 - $1,700 for business class but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

What is the biggest mistake(s) first time River Cruisers make? Thinking a river cruise is going to be like an ocean cruise. Do your research. I think September is a great month to cruise in Europe. Students are back in school and ports are less crowded. By not spending a day or two in Amsterdam pre-cruise you're missing a great city.

I've spent hours pouring over travel and airline websites trying to find the best flight for my South America cruise next March. I need a one-way flight from Nashville to Buenos Aires with only one stop. I've never used HAL's Flight Ease but I started there. Economy seats are in the $593 - $727 range, Premium Economy is $922 - $1,050, and Business is $2,425 - $2,345 😲. I've seen posts here on CC where people said they got Business class seats thru Flight Ease for about the same price as Economy. Where are they finding these fares? I'm going with Premium Economy. When I priced the flight on United's website, it was about $40 more, so not a whole lot of savings. Before I book with Flight Ease, I want to know what this means on the HAL website: Prices and availability are not guaranteed until the cruise and air booking are paid in full. Does that mean the fare can go up until Dec. 10 when final payment is due? Or that I may not even have a seat when I make final payment? If either of these is the case, why would someone risk booking with Flight Ease? Color me confused. 🤪 Should I just book directly with United? Any first hand experiences with Flight Ease are appreciated.

I don't understand what Quality Control has to do with booking flights. You should have flights booked and confirmed by now.

Dutch 🌷 night

Thanks, @BEAV. That's one of the pieces of info I need to give her.

@Shmoo here, thanks for the reassurance. I wonder why the Port of San Francisco's website doesn't show the Noordam?

I'm booked on this cruise, and am trying to coordinate a meet up with a friend who lives in San Jose. The Noordam is supposed to be in SF from 11 am to 11 pm on Wed., Oct. 5. When I checked the port's cruise schedule, the only HAL ship in port that day is the Nieuw Amsterdam. Anyone know what's up with this?

This is one of the reasons I choose all inclusive lines. No having to carry a lot of local currency in different denominations, and trying to budget so there will be enough left at the end to tip.

@ninaks, I've taken 3 Uniworld cruises, and the only time I tipped extra was when I had a suite with a butler. It was a free upgrade, BTW. I never observed other passengers tipping extra, but if you feel inclined, do so. You will love Uniworld.

I think getting on and off the ship may be his biggest challenge. The gangways are often steep and have crossbars in them to keep people from slipping.

Despite what I read on these boards about low occupancy, my March 20 Southern Caribbean cruise on the Rotterdam was at 92%. This was straight from the captain.

Tasteless frozen french fries....not the ones I've had. They're addictive.