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Great! Are you doing the land part first or the sea? And are you doing Princess?

We remember talking with you! How is the school year going? I'm glad you enjoyed the video. I plan another one next week on our "5 Loves and 5 Hates" of QM2 (although there is rarely ever a true "hate" on any ship). We have a QM2 transatlantic on our bucket list.

School year is going well, look forward to your video next week, you never know we might meet again on a transatlantic!

That would be great!

Great comments. Kefalonia sounds like a place worth checking out. Not only is Athens hot in the summer, but the acropolis is SO crowded. The way the new entry system works, trying to get off the acropolis can be horribly frustrating when new people are coming up, because incoming and departing tourists are funneled into the same area. Athens is hot. The Acropolis can be the hottest. And when you are unable to get off the hill it is the worst of all combinations. Go as early as possible or late.

Thank you for the positive comments. Our transatlantic on the Epic had some rough weather in our path -- the aftermath of a hurricane. The captain did a pretty good job of avoiding it, but we missed the port stops (Azores and Bermuda) in the process, so were at sea for 8 straight days. I hope the trip goes well for you.

Thanks, Craig and Jackie! Glad you enjoyed it. We are on a home exchange right now! According to the website this is our 37th exchange and every one has been a success. Enjoying a lovely waterfront home for a week to celebrate my birthday. We did one in Germany last month and are working on one for a family reunion next summer. So many possibilities!

Yes. The original price ($49 and $79) did not include taxes and fees, which were charged over and above the room rates. So when a new law went into effect on July 1 that said that cruise companies had to quote all prices inclusive of these things, HAL was forced to change the quoted prices. There is a later video describing this. The problem is that taxes and fees are really high for Alaska cruises (about $50 per day). For other destinations they are much lower. Rather that have a different set of rates for different markets, HAL just added $50 a day into the rate for ALL standby cruises. So Alaska standby cruises are almost exactly the same FINAL price as they were before. But for other itineraries, most notably Caribbean and transatlantic, the new standby rates are nowhere as good a deal as they were before. It is still a killer deal for solo travelers, but not so much for everyone else.

I'm glad the trip made an impression! It was great adventure.

The easiest way is directly with Holland America. The info is all at this site: www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/cruise-deals/standby-program But your first question when you get a representative should be "Do you know how to book a standby cruise?" I still hear reports of agents who don't know how to do it, and you will save a lot of time making sure. What they will want to know is the cruise id, which is in the far right column of the page above (e.g. X472). Remember you have to pay up front.

@@drewtube1587 Yeah, my wife told me that she thought my ending was a little over the top. What I was trying to do was show how much a couple could pack into a 30-day trip, even as a 70-year-old pair. To be fair, we are spending 2 months at home, planning trips. And yes, watching some tv. :-)

@@mytravelwindow3061 I think it was great - it provided a good contrast of options

Sorry, Dawn, we can't afford it. There are 24 kennels on the ship, and the cost is $800 for a small dog and $1000 for a large one -- for a 7-day cruise. Despite that, the kennels are usually full and you need to reserve almost a year in advance!

Yes it was! We normally like to travel in the spring and fall, but family invited us to join them in London in summer, so we built a trip around that. It is our 50th anniversary, so we are kind of pulling out all the stops this year.

@@mytravelwindow3061 Wonderful! Happy Anniversary! 💞

Good observations! My wife felt that staff interactions were a little stiffer and "unsure" compared to other recent cruises, and I concur with your final comments about "seasoning." On every recent cruise I make it a practice to ask several of the staff how long they have worked for the cruise line. On recent HAL and Princess ships the average (stewards and dining room waiters) seemed to be about 10 years, and rarely anyone under 3. In fact, the steward on our last HAL ship was on his 25th contract! On this trip two different waiters answered that they were on their first contract: one in the main dining room and one at a specialty restaurant. At least one of those two was counting the days to go home, and I sensed that he's not planning to come back. Having said all that, service was never bad. The "Breakfast in Bed" room service in the morning was outstanding, and we did that most of the days of our trip. There were some very skilled veterans, particularly in some of the management roles. We were on Discovery Princess when she was new in 2022. Many staff said they were assigned as rewards for serving well on other ships. The captain revealed he was one of them. So this re-shuffling idea makes sense. Who better to work out kinks than seasoned veterans? I share the hope that everything will improve as the staff work together for a longer time.

@@mytravelwindow3061 Interesting that our observations and experiences would be so similar. And, I agree, breakfast in bed on Cunard is a luxury--and it's absolutely free! I dearly love having freshly brewed coffee and a breakfast roll or croissant delivered to my cabin and at no additional cost!

Agreed! In addition to all that, they always delivered on time or slightly early. If we said 7 to 7:30, it always came from 6:45 to 7. When we ordered room service breakfast on Princess the delivery times varied wildly. Part of that may be the difference of 900 fewer passengers!

We do, too. We are standby for a 42-day trip in November out of Fort Lauderdale. It leaves 60 days from today. About 10 days ago none of the categories were sold out. Then suddenly, overnight, the whole ship shows as sold out. This just reinforces for us how necessary it is to have a solid plan "b" if you don't get on. Also, the new pricing is not as advantageous as the old pricing, except for Alaska, so shop carefully. It is still really beneficial for a solo.

Thanks for the encouragement! Yes, they have kennels on board for dogs (and cats). The last I saw, the cost is $800 for a smaller dog and $1000 for larger. The dogs can't roam the ship, but you can go see them every day and take them for a walk on a doggie promenade. They have 24 spaces on board, and one note I read says they are usually about 90 per cent full. Check it out! Another quirk of a very different ship.

That is great! Was your cruise listed as sold out? Our 42-day cruise in November had all cabin types open, then suddenly showed up as sold out overnight. I assume it is related to guaranty cabins, but I'm not sure. Did you both wind up with interior cabins?

We both had ocean view cabins. I did not check the ship status prior as we were just letting the adventure evolve; what will be will be.

I agree with your assessment. My wife and I have an ongoing discussion about which is our favorite cruise line. We have been on 7 different lines (Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, MSC, HAL and Cunard). Princess and HAL are easily our favorites, but who is on top probably depends on which one we did last. I love Music Walk and the Crow's Nest and the size on HAL. On Princess it is the Piazza and the entertainment.

Thanks, I'll work on that.

Hey, I get it! Not everyone clicks with my style, but I appreciate you stopping by to share your thoughts!

When HAL adjusted prices to include taxes and port fees, they priced things so that Alaska cruises were about the same as before the change. But Alaska has higher taxes and fees than anywhere else. So all other cruises are now overpriced (in my opinion) relative to the standby risk. For some (if not many) of their newly listed Caribbean cruises, you can book an inside cabin for LESS than the standby fare. So it ONLY makes sense for singles. As far as flying in to San Diego, you are following our strategy with our standby in Fort Lauderdale. Once we fly in, if we don't get on the ship we will rent a car and go to Disney World for a few days as our plan b.

Yeah, I agree it is stressful. We have a standby on a 42-day trip out of Fort Lauderdale in November. I felt sure we would get on, as there were still 90 open cabins with just over 60 days to go. But suddenly the ship shows as sold out less than a week later. I think it has to do with guarantee cabins. Now that they have changed the pricing to include port fees, it makes everything other than Alaska less attractive. We won't book a future standby. Too much stress, to little reward.

Yes, I agree that the biggest risk is cancellation by the other party. Home Exchange counts exchanges by either party as one (i.e. a guest exchange counts as 1, a mutual as 2). By that count, we have done 34 over more than a decade. We canceled once, the other parties twice. Two were medical-related and one was a family issue. It happens enough that it is worth having a contingent plan. We are on a home exchange as I write this, staying in Bamberg, Germany, our fifth Home Exchange country. For us, it is not just about saving money, but about the experience of living life like a local or having an experience that we could never have arranged in a hotel or Airbnb. And we find the exchanges to generally be nicer and have more amenities than the Airbnb. It is not for everyone, but for us the risks are worth it.

Not to meantion that you need to move a bunch of personal items and stove it away… also if you have expensive furniture /tv etc all of this sounds very very risky to the point that it does not make sense.

I like your "kiss a lot of frogs" comment. It is true that you usually need to make several contacts and sometimes need to go back and forth to get the arrangements in place. But we calculate that we have saved about $20,000 in housing costs over the past decade. This has allowed us to budget an extra trip or two that we could not have afforded otherwise. Now that the "clock is ticking" (knowing we soon will not be physically able to travel), we appreciate each trip all the more.

I hope you make the ship! Our 42-day November sailing still shows as not sold out, so I'm hoping we make it. But like you, we have a continent plan for vacation near Fort Lauderdale if it doesn't work. We are in Europe for the month of August, so I missed the fact that HAL posted their fall itinerary cruises. Your posting caused me to check out the new trips. They have some great itineraries. But one of the trips that I checked out actually has a discounted fare lower than the standby. Their program won't work going forward if they keep pricing it that way!

That is the most incredible standby story I have yet heard. I knew people might not sail because of travel, health, or work issues. But rejection by the cruise line was never on my horizon.

Yes, it is a good ship, but worth pointing out uniqueness. We just disembarked Queen Mary 2. Also a great ship that is not for everyone.

I would be interested to know what the cruise consultants tell you. Not only is information hard to find, the administration of the list seems to vary. But it may seem that way because there is no info as to where you stand in the queue.

Welcome to the channel! We just ended a cruise on Queen Mary. Look for a report on that cruise in September!

I'm so glad you enjoyed the cruise! It is a good ship, but it is not the right ship for everyone.

@@robinvanraden1081 Sorry you didn't make the ship. I think you have the right idea with plan b vacation. That is what we plan for our Nov standby. We also booked regular cruise; just finishing 7 days on Cunard Queen Mary 2. Video next month...

Yes, once you are actually assigned a room, you become a "regular" cruiser and all benefits apply. The only things that don't work are discounts at booking. Since it is already discounted, you don't get things like military discounts on top of that.

Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying. It only makes sense if you live near the port and don't fly, or if you are willing to fly and take an alternate vacation.

Yes, we agree it is a wonderful ship!

Richard Thanks for the wonderful comments. Hopefully we we see you on the ship! We booked this cruise on standby in March also. We will fly to Florida. If we don't get on the ship we will rent a car and drive to Disney world instead. We are currently on the Queen Mary 2 in Norway. Let's stay in touch until cruise time!

@@mytravelwindow3061 no🤞 Hope to see you in November on Cruze thanks enjoy Norway .

Haha. A very apt description. It's a little bit like Disney does Denali.

Glad it was helpful!

Yes, we received a refund 3 days after sail date.

Yes. That is also why they don't have to worry about doing things like everyone else. They can do it THEIR way because they don't have to turn to the same financing sources other companies do.

There are no automatic gratuities on land and there is no included food on land.

We had our refund back within 3 days after the ship sailed.

This video was done before July 1, when all the cruise lines had to post full prices, including taxes and fees. So instead of $49 for a room and $50 for fees it is now $99 or both. For Alaska, taxes and fees amount to about $50 per day. So for these cruises, the price changed very little. I did a later video on this change.

@@Artsloops I think the countdown timer goes from midnight at the start of departure day. We received our email about 48 hours before boarding time, i.e. about noon Thur for Sat departure. I would call them rather than fret over when it will come.

Any news? Did you call or get an email?

Checking in….. did you get on the Holland America cruise?

Yes, it is a very good deal for solo travelers. This seem intentional, perhaps because solo travelers have more flexibility and that is the passengers they are trying to target.

Well, I think HAL leaves the 2-day timing deliberately vague. In our case, the two day notice came at about noon, or 48-hours before the start of boarding. I think that is the general intent for timing, but I can't find that in writing anywhere.

I haven't sailed on NCL since the cruise that we documented here, which we did at the end of 2022. So I don't know if things have changed. Our sailing was a back to back to back trip. On each leg we went to the Cruise Critic "meet and greet." A couple of times we asked people there if they wanted to join us for dinner and we agreed on a time to meet. NCL doesn't have a problem with pre-arranged dining like that. It's not quite the same, but is an alternative.

Yes, I should have followed that advice. We've done this twice. First time I missed the only breach, but my son got it on his cell phone. I did have some good fluke shots and open mouth feeding. I don't know if any of my larger zoom lenses get to 2.8. We plan to take a grandson to Alaska next summer, so will try again for better shots! Looking forward to it.

Hope you enjoy it! My wife and I have spent 51 days on Princess and 23 on HAL, and have trips scheduled on both in the next year. We also love sailing in September almost anywhere, so long as a hurricane is not involved. Let us know how you like it.

Hope you enjoy it again! Will it be on a cruise?

@@mytravelwindow3061 I'm sure we will love Ireland again, it is beautifull no matter what the weather is like. Yes it will be on a cruise with HAL for 3 anniversaries, we are married for 45 years, my husband his birthday on the ship and i will turn 65 year young in august. We will sail from Rotterdam around England, Scotland and Ireland. But first to Denmark, Sweden and Norway in august this year, just to celebrate life! ⚓

Congratulations! Enjoy your travels! We just celebrated our 50th anniversary last week. As part of our celebration we are flying to London to meet some of our kids, then cruising Queen Mary II to Norway, then doing a driving tour through Bavaria. As we say in our byline, "if not now, when?"

@@mytravelwindow3061 A belated congratulations on your 50th anniversary! 💃🕺 We wish both of you a fantastic trip to London to your kids and also a great cruise- and drivetrip!

Thank you! We leave two weeks from today and board the cruise ship three weeks from today. It is all coming very quickly now!

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Of about 120 that I have done, this one has the most views. The stairs weren't too steep. As with most ships there are seven or eight steps to a landing, then another 7 or 8 to the next level. My wife has a bad knee, so we generally avoid stairs, but we did them a few times for a floor or two.

I was so focused on answering the question about the stairs that I didn't answer the more basic question. You do not need to take the stairs to get to floor 5. It is just that one bank of elevators doesn't go there. You just need to walk down the hall to a different elevator bank. You will understand when you are on the ship.