cbr663

I agree and I have to wonder how no one else on the bridge questioned it.

This incident was mentioned on another social site several days ago. The Captain did indeed screw it up and the ship was off course. The ship went around in circles for a while and when the Captain finally addressed the ship they admitted to the mistake and was told by Corporate that to readjust and sail the inside passage would make them late for Victoria. That any ship Captain would make such a mistake is, for me anyway, beyond comprehension. I think whenever compensation is offered by the cruise lines it should be offered as either an immediate, refundable OBC or a FCC. Sometimes the incidents can be so off putting that a passenger will never sail again and to offer a FCC to those passengers is to effectively deny any real compensation.

After reading this entire thread I simply want to comment how much I admire everyone's patience and tenacity when trying to pay for their HAL cruise using a gift card. It sure doesn't read like a walk in the park. 😀

When the program first came out we thought about trying it. After reading others' experiences and knowing that for us, a bad cabin location on a ship is a bad cruise, we won't be trying it. The savings are not enough for us either. 😀

I must admit I have never heard country music being played on a HAL ship. It would be a wonderful addition though. I would really enjoy a country themed night.

Many years ago we won a "free" bingo cruise. It was from the buy raffle tickets to get a free cruise. What a cruise line considers free is not what I consider free. It wasn't at no cost as there was indeed a cost for us for this free cruise. Port fees, taxes and a non-commissionable charge all meant we won a discount on a cruise. Add in the charge to upgrade from the inside cabin and while we had a lovely cruise, it was hardly free. You gotta pay attention to ship talk and accept that sometimes, things have a different meaning on a ship than on land. Ironically, I just realized we have stopped playing bingo and purchasing those raffle tickets ever since. 😀

HAL has introduced an Alaska Glacial Guarantee for the '24 and '25 season. In essence, if HAL does not visit a glacier during the sailing you will receive a Future Cruise Credit equal to 15% of your cruise fare. As always, there are terms and conditions. This one sticks out as paramount: "This Guarantee shall not apply when there is more than one port of call or cruisetour featuring a Glacier on a Cruise per its published itinerary, when only one applicable port of call or cruisetour has been cancelled." And of course there are conditions on when the FCC must be used. https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/ca/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises/glacier-guarantee

Sometimes lunch time is better, some times it isn't. We had 2 reservations for the PG lunch on our Koningsdam cruise this past November and the first experience was so poor we cancelled the second reservation. YMMV.

Unfortunately, one thing I have learned sailing HAL is that the cruise line struggles with consistency. I think HAL needs to drop the "Fine" dining as it hasn't provided a fine dining experience in a very long time.

Yes, this group all have priority to check in and wait to board. That was our experience sailing in a NS on the Koningsdam last year. Once boarding commences, it will literally be by row after row of people who are waiting, with those with priority starting first. The priority is to board a few minutes prior to everyone else, or however long it takes for people in the queue to be scanned while boarding. They try their best to conduct the boarding so everyone is actually moving through the terminal and on the gangplank and when they reach the actual ship it is scan on and step aboard and move forward for everyone else.

We did. I believe it was complimentary jewellery cleaning. We never travel with jewellery so completely irrelevant for us. It was just a sales attempt to get you to the jewellery store. 😉

My experience in the past is that neither the port nor HAL were strict enforcing check in times, but this is the first time I have seen check-in done by decks at Canada Place so no one will know until the season starts. If you have never sailed out of Canada Place know that it receives many, and I do mean many, complaints regarding the check-in process. Many people find it very confusing and a long and tedious process. You have to start underground and endure long lines and several staircases and different level changes. Also know that the boarding time of 11:30 is only an estimate. This means that if you arrive before boarding time there is every likelihood that you will be arriving to wait in a very large group to board. There is a segment of cruise passengers that love to hurry up and wait.

Delete. Similar post.

There are different categories of Neptune Suites though and I would hate for someone to think that they could book the lowest category NS and then request the complimentary upgrade when that CO benefit doesn't apply.

You don't get access to all CO benefits. Neptune and Pinnacle cabins do not get the complimentary free upgrade or the special onboard event. https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/ca/onboard-experiences/dining/club-orange