Godsonsafari

Big thanks to both of you: I think based on your commentary I'll plan to book off the ship's offer in the next month. Glad I brought this up now when the certificate doesn't go active until tomorrow and not 2 days before it expired!

I took Celebrity on the Summit last May and have been on 3 Holland America cruises since 2022 in both Vista and Pinnacle class vessels. I would say to you that most ships will feel somewhat crowded at peak times, but the Pinnacle class ship I was just on (Nieuw Statendam) probably felt the least crowded of the bunch. Finding places to sit well in advance (20+ minutes) for live music venues was generally a good rule in the evening, but the pool deck would usually be empty. We didn't dare brave the breakfast buffet, but between the dining room, Grand Dutch Cafe, Dive-In, and New York Pizza/Bagels, we didn't feel as though we missed out on anything and were able to be served fairly efficiently and quickly while getting high quality food. Zuiderdam was on par with the Summit, and the trip on Westerdam was still when the boats were not yet at 100% occupancy.

Just to add my unrequested 0.02 USD: I assume that the issue with kettles comes down primarily to the lack of uniformity in what guests would take on board (similar to other devices they've banned) and thus concerns about condition and safety related to their operation from a liability standpoint. They may also be something which is not permitted based on some component of American maritime law as relates to bringing articles on board which have heating elements. There is a real cost for cruise lines in retention of guests who have items confiscated such as this, especially when those same articles are available in cabin outside the United States on the exact same ships. There is nothing specific about an electric tea kettle or hair dryer that would inherently draw electricity differently from anything else and cause explosions. I've been on cruises all over the world and pretty much exclusively on what people would perceive as "American" lines. I have absolutely had tea kettles in room at least on Mariner of the Seas when in Southeast Asia, and I recall them possibly being installed on the Celebrity Constellation when I was in the Middle East. Both lines would ban those same devices from being brought aboard when those ships are cruising from the United States. This suggests to me an external element that prevents them from being installed in the US. As for lithium-ion batteries being the genesis of this: you all do realize that the phones on which the apps installed for you to be able to have a decent cruise in 2024 are powered with lithium-ion batteries, right? Obviously they are not banned. That would also ban e-readers and laptops.

Bumping this old thread to ask a question: I historically got offers on the last day of $750 off my next cruise + free play ($50? Can't recall right now). This past cruise we played a bit more and our offer was inside + $300 free play for any 6-14 night cruise in the next 12 months. That said, the rule of thumb was always to wait for the casino offers in email rather than take the offer provided at end of cruise since they tended to be better. That's been my experience now, with the last offer we received being a $200 free play + oceanview cabin, an obvious improvement over $750 off. Having said that, is this it still good SOP for Casinos at Sea with HAL to sit back and wait for email offers rather than take what's provided by the host? I'd probably book on Zuiderdam for November on the 11 night over Thanksgiving, and $300 free play isn't insubstantial. Usually holiday weekend cruises other than Alaska, New England, or transatlantics don't make my offer sheet. That offer sheet I got was a huge improvement over past cruises and a similar difference in email offers would (I imagine) lead to more oceanview and balcony offers. Speaking of Zuiderdam, if anyone has been on it very recently and is a video poker player, there's a question I'd love to ask about their progressive TDB machines in DMs before I book it again.

Makes sense. I've got some work things going on that basically mean no time off from my birthday in February until April, and that kinda hurts realistically whether I'll be able to do much cruising before April of 2023. Downside to that is there's only about 4 on offer from them after that! Thanks for the input. That's what I was expecting but obviously want it confirmed first rather than just assume the worst.

Alright, bumping this to get some advice: Got my first free casino offer back in June and booked w/HAL for the beginning of this month. Went on, budgeted a reasonable amount for play ($2500) and had coin in around $4000 in total, playing a mix of slots and video poker only. Wound up winning for the trip because we caught great luck on video poker early. Got the offer on the door to book again within 30 days w/750 in casino free play on the door last day of the cruise and figured "OK, we did enough to be noticed." This afternoon I get my first new targeted promotion: mix of cruises from October to August but not that long a list, discounts anywhere from 60-70% off current pricing + $150 in free play. Not bad, but also not a free cruise. So the part where I ask about advice: -Realistically if I don't book the emailed offer, what is the likelihood I'm dropped from future offers? I think about how when I don't take free rooms and play again after getting promotions from land casinos, I usually don't get free room offers for long. -Has anyone with this sort of experience seen free cruises populate again on future offers after not getting free cabin offers?