DaveOKC

Some people attend DAILY mass onboard, not just Sundays. Same goes for Holy Days. We really appreciate having MASS. And, think of the crew who are heavily Catholic.

One less reason for us to sail with HAL in the future. We certainly appreciate having Mass on almost all cruise!

Easy to forget though

Not having enough lifejackets would concern me.

Lately we have been getting casino reduced fare offers from the casino, but when we go to book online they do not show up. Earlier this year they did. Has something changed?

One time we stayed in the street tower and I measured the distance to walk. From our room to the front desk was almost exactly the same as from our room to the ship! Easy walk and even a traffic signal to assist you.

There is a reason why the early (and late) flights out of FLL are less expensive. Demand pricing for the easier to make flights.

You have PLENTY of time, unless the ship is late. When we get off in the first couple of groups we are normally at the GATE by 9 am. We do use a taxi. which is quicker. Once the cruise buses start arriving at the airport, things will slow down. As mentioned, some airlines restrict how early you can drop luggage off, normally 2-3 hours. If you have VIP status with your airline sometimes they will waive this.

About a year ago I had to cancel an excursion about 2 hours prior (it was first thing in the morning). I knew that I would lose the money, but I cancelled anyway so that the tour would not be looking for me. To my great surprise, they were able to find someone to take my place and I got a full refund the same day!

During the post Covid period we all were spoiled IMO with good cabin upgrades and assignments. Now that the ships are filling up, we all need to be more careful with our bookings. As already mentioned - be sure to mark your reservation Do Not Upgrade, unless you are certain that you would be happy with ANY cabin rated higher by HAL.

Once we reached 4 star we started booking Signature Suite, as the cabins are not that much smaller than the Neptunes, plus 4 and 5 stars get you some of the same benefits as Neptunes (free laundry, VIP boarding, some events). Also, be watch closely for upsell offers.

I take photos of my final bill from the TV, just in case. Helps me keep track.

Only time I would use them is if I had OBC to use up (or lose). And assuming I had plenty of time.

We generally just take a taxi - usually lined up and ready to go quickly. If you wait to be the last off the ship however there may be a short (5-10 minute) wait in our experience. If we have excess OBC to use, AND we have lots of time to kill, we purchase HAL transfers at the shore excursion desk. It costs a bit more, but if we want to use OBC up, it works IMO.

I personally think that HAL made those Spa Neptunes a higher rating so that they could put the guarantee bookings in them and say that the person was upgraded. We were in one of these on deck 10 really did not care for it (it was not terrible, but IMO the Neptunes midships on deck 7 are better.