I'm Happy~

[Lois R]

:) I found out I am confirmed for 8:00 dinnertime!....Now, I will probably still check with the Maitr'd but my TA said it is taken care of! She said it is upperlevel too...that is quite nice as well!

Oh the little things;) ....makes it all go more smoothly! I have time for those hor'dorves ya'll have talked about...and a drink or 2 as well:D !

Now I wonder who my tablemates will be....and I hope they are a nice group:D

[clopaw]

Lois, I'm sure you'll have a good time no matter who your dinner companions are. I'll be interested in your opinion of HAL when you get back. We love Celebrity like you do, and we're booked on our first HAL cruise in December. It's 10 days, Panama Canal round trip. I have to laugh when I see people posting on this board who are concerned about the age of HAL passengers. My husband and I were on a 10 day cruise on Summit last January, and I swear we were the youngest people on the ship :rolleyes:, and we're mid 50's. It's kinda fun being the "young folks" again.

Any how, enjoy the anticipation of a new experience.

Christine

[Lois R]

Hi Christine, so nice to see you again:) and you have a good time as well!

[clopaw]

What itinerary will you be taking, Lois?

[Lois R]

Going on the Eastern....St Thomas, Tortola, Half Moon Cay and Nassau. I have heard Half Moon Cay is wonderful:)

[Tatka]

We also got 8:00 pm seating (upper main), just as I requested in my e-mail to HAL. :) We're also big fans of Celebrity(even tough we had only one cruise on X) but I hope HAL won't disappoint. :D

[clopaw]

I've heard that too. We'll be there the last day of our cruise. Besides, the Panama Canal, we'll be in Costa Rica, Aruba, and Curacao. Those will be all new places for us, so that will be fun. This will be our ninth cruise, all Caribbean so we've done St Thomas and San Juan a bunch of times, and many other ports a couple of times.

[Lois R]

Christine, this cruise was just booked...I had originally booked on X...Horizon to Bermuda....had to cancel due to unforseeable circumstances.
One day I still want to do that itinerary...Bermuda is on my list:)

[clopaw]

I've read your saga, Lois, so I know what you have been going through. Interestingly enough, the Panama Canal wasn't our original choice either. We were supposed to be on the Maasdam to Canada and New England this week on a 7 day. Turns out they had overbooked the ship-they made us an offer we couldn't refuse, so we switched. Now I'm kinda glad. We'd only have two days left at this point, and instead, we have a 10 day in December to look forward to. :D

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

When you get to your cabin, there should be a card there confirming that you have main seating, upper level and give you a table number.

With HAL's new dinner times and cocktail times, I hope you make out better than we did on the Maasdam.

:)

[Nasmas]

Lois, I think you'll love HAL. We do. As for the age, our first cruise, several years ago, was one of the best we've had. It was on the old Ms. Amsterdam, and the average age was about 70, and that was only because we (my husband and me and two of our close friends) lowered the average. We were early 40's at the time, but we had a wonderful time. As you know, a cruise is what you make it. It amazes me to read those reviews and one person rates it 5 star and someone on the same cruise gives it a one. I've had some better than others but never a one. 4+ always. We've been on the Niew Amsterdam, Veendam, Maasdam, Zaandam and Volendam and are booked on the Z in September. Of all of these, the Veendam was the worst by far, but I've read some folks love this boat and sail it again and again. The best were the Amsterdam, Zaandam and the Volendam. We wouldn't have a problem going on any of them again if the price was right. The Veendam just seemed so crowded and I dont' really know why. Several of the others were at capacity and didnt' seem crowded at all. But, on the Veendam, all of the public areas were so crowded you couldn't get a seat in the bars before dinner or after. The casino was elbow to b-hole. I think it and the Maasdam are so supposed to be the same size but the Maasdam seemed a lot roomier.
Enjoy your cruise. I know you will.

[Lois R]

Good morning....:) Krazy...I don't think I read about your story:confused: ...did you not receive the seating you requested? oh wait...you did say...you and Hubby eat early and had no time for the cocktail hour right?

[akeka]

We booked our October 2004 sailing in July 2003 before there were four seatings. I got confirmation via a revised invoice that we had lower first seating which is perfect for us.

I wanted early, but not TOO early.
I know who my dining companions are since they're my parents, siblings and in-laws:). We're a group of 9.

[iluvcruzin]

Christine, this cruise was just booked...I had originally booked on X...Horizon to Bermuda....had to cancel due to unforseeable circumstances.
One day I still want to do that itinerary...Bermuda is on my list:)
What a coincidence! I was looking at the Horizon to Bermuda too! I was looking at September out of Norfolk. I changed my mind after thinking about the fact my daughter has only cruised once before. I didn't know if she'd care for rough seas during that time of year. I decided the Maasdam out of Norfolk would be better so I booked our first HAL cruise for October. I will sail to Bermuda one day - just not in 2004.