Stateroom_Sailor

But you must wear the proper attire on Gala Night!

Time for HAL to introduce auditions, live competitions, and a final grand performance. Only the most skilled passengers make it to the theater stage. The final selection get a captain's toast, and a free souvenir from the gift shop.

I would like to see a Mega Fun Ship for those of us still young at heart. Zip Lines and waterslides through the MDR, an Oprah themed VR maze, and breakdance competitions in the Crow's Nest.

Nice trade, at this point it doesn't really matter if your last 100 shares goes to $0. You're likely to have the purchase price comped by OBC additionally. I'm kicking myself for buying 100 shares at $7 and selling for $9, thinking we were going to stop sailing with HAL. We definitely had problems on our last cruise, but most of it wasn't the cruise line's fault, and we were pleasantly surprised by minimal cuts. We're not sailing again for another 18 months, maybe the stock price will come back down a bit...

I slightly disagree that the debt is not their fault. The cruise industry was shaken by the 2008 recession, and even by the 2013 Carnival Triumph "poop cruise". The mass market continued over-building, as if hiccups were all in the past. I would argue that the mass market was over-leveraged even before the pandemic, which was why there was a fight for cheaper cabins, paired with downgrades to offset fares. Moving forward past 2023, new competition can enter the water without the same debt burden, or need for continious cuts. I saw worse cuts on CCL from 2011 - 2017, HAL seems to be at least strategic in masking it. Still, we're talking about Carnival stock, and reviews across the company are not improving. Interest on debt will likely renew higher. Can they raise enough cash to pay it down beforehand? Will 2023 or 2024 plunge into recession?

I would take Carnival's maintenance into consideration. Onboard Carnival Pride in 2017, our veranda door handle fell off. It had been drilled back in so many times, there was no solid surface vertically or horizontally in the door. The maintenance guy had to start the first vertical attachment. Stabilizer issues, a gangway down, mold in the vent, yellow water, and we missed an engine room fire by only a few days.

There are numerous articles on the Carnival Sunshine. Nieuw Amsterdam faced the same wind speeds outside Kodiak Island. https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-carnival-sunshine-cruise-storm-flooding-passengers-terrified-20230530-tcv5crf6brhzdm64vnomvi4ebu-story.html

I'm certainly glad NA is built stronger, or better maintained, than the Carnival Sunshine. This would have been terrible in the middle of the Pacific 2.5 weeks ago. 20230510_181509.mp4

I may stick my toe back in the water on a Pacific Coastal or something. We weren't big fans of LLP, someone new at the helm may be a breath of fresh air.

Here's a balanced review just recently made.

We docked next to you in Victoria. I thought about asking a few X passengers how the food was, but never got an opportunity. The food was bad on our 12 night Eclipse sailing 4 years ago, not because of bad recipes, but 12 nights with no vegetables. No veggies = No business.

Cruise summary and score, I'll give it a 7/10. Positives: The crew provided the excellent service we've come to expect from HAL, and handled the norovirus outbreak with efficiency. I noticed no language barrier as mentioned by passengers from other ships. We especially enjoyed the bar staff at the BB King Club at night, as well as the passenger regulars. The band was full of energy, talent, and worked as a harmonious unit. We came in with low expectations for the food and were pleasantly surprised. I noticed no cutbacks to the MDR breakfast, the Dive-In, or the Lido Buffet, all three of which I find superior to other mass market lines such as Celebrity. We really enjoyed Tamarind, both the regular menu and the Chef's dinner. The MDR dinner's seemed to cut off a few options, with more pasta choices, but the quality is still there. The only food I didn't like was the pizza in back of Lido. The itinerary. Valdez was an absolute highlight, breathtaking even from the ship and in town. It is my favorite port to date! Sitka, Prince Rupert, and Victoria all had their own charm and I would love to visit again. A few nights pre-cruise in downtown Victoria would be tempting. Neutral: This is completely subjective for everyone, but we believe the perfect cruise length for us is about 11 nights. Seven nights is too short, fourteen nights and the shine starts to fade, but something in the middle is an ideal length. We still enjoyed the ports and many aspects of the cruise towards the end, so the last few days were still a net positive, but I'm not about to book a 21 night cruise anytime soon. There's certainly more mobility impaired people on a 14 night HAL cruise over a 7 night. For the most part this didn't affect us on the ship, but it could become tedious after awhile, mainly embarking and disembarking the ship. I also see it from other side, and no one should ever stop enjoying life, we'll all be there someday! Negative: HAL dropped Skagway 1 day after final payment. Those who booked with the 150th Anniversary sale were originally denied compensation for their free White Pass Rail excursion. Later they were compensated with OBC. The loss of Skagway was a big blow to anyone doing a one and done Alaska cruise, especially for those traveling in from abroad. We missed Kodiak island due to weather, and experienced noticeable listing to port (maybe 15-20 degrees?) for hours. Depending on the location of your cabin, everything may have rolled off your desk and counter, even producing broken glass. OV cabins port side were allegedly dunking underwater. Norovirus outbreak affecting at least 11% of passengers, over 4% of crew. This is all on the passengers for not washing their hands after using the bathroom, not keeping their hands clean before eating, and going out sick. I personally heard 2 people admit that they were sick with it and were walking around on the ship. There was also a cold spreading. Conclusion: Overall we still enjoyed this cruise, and most of the negatives weren't HAL's fault, so we booked our next 14 night cruise at the future cruise desk.

Same boat except MDR, my wife doen't like seafood.

Norovirus reached almost 11% of the passengers according to the CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/outbreak/2023/Nieuw-Amsterdam_5-16.html

Chef Andy Matsuda's dinner and alcohol pairing was a real treat. I've never paid $89 pp for a meal before, but love Japanese food too much to not indulge. I didn't want to be rude and photograph each course, but many of us couldn't resist when dessert arrived.

Photos

Yes I recommend the rainforest hike. Excursions in Prince Rupert are limited, nothing stood out as GREAT as an alternative. Butze was at least a 10 min shuttle ride from the ship, so you'll want transportation. 2 mile hike, only one uphill leg at the end unless you have time to reach the coast, which was optional.

Another sunny day in Prince Rubert, having just missed the rain. My wife did a city tour, and learned about the city's fishing, pulp and cargo transport industry. I did the rainforest hike, which went down to the coast. The hike was extremely informative in a broad sense of what's taking place in the forest, rather than a glossary of terms you'll never remember. We were able to return the Good Feet arch supports to the spa. After 5 days they hurt my wife's feet and for me felt slightly awkward. Whether that would improve over time isn't important, as 4/5 pediatrist reviews warned not to use them at risk of injury, and the more neutral review claimed it depends on the person's feet, more effective and cheaper options available. We appreciate the Spa's return police, and some of the other health advice given. I had aloo masala (Indian) breakfast this morning in the MDR, a little spicy, but delicious. It is a filling breakfast that doesn't leave you bloated and lethargic. Too bad I discovered this towards the end of our cruise, but next time I'll be ready. We're now signed up for Andy Matsuda's chef's dinner tomorrow night!

The detective was very down to eath, even had questions about Alaska, as he's sailing Princess in July. I don't blame the hotel for the break-in, but I think it is ridiculous that they weren't the first to call me, especially with two vehicles hit. Probably just luck that the thief still had our stuff in his car, with my phone #, when he was caught doing something else in a neighboring city. I've only had cell service in Anchorage, Sitka, and Ketchikan, so we're very lucky that this all timed out. This could have easily been much worse, such as our truck stolen, or not knowing who did it, or what they wanted with my registration. I don't mean to hijack the threat with this, but it had a big impact on what I did in Ketchikan. I was looking forward to zip lining over the waterfalls in Skagway, then Ketchikan was the replacement. The rest of the cruise is going very well.

I appreciate it. Turns out both driver's side windows were busted out, front and back. We had a suitcase with a change of clothes for a couple nights in Las Vegas, post-cruise. He grabbed this and everything in our glove compartment. He also smashed the windows out of another vehicle at the same hotel, opposite side of the building. The hotel is claiming that it is our responsibility to inform them if something happens to our vehicle while we're away 🙃. Despite having done just that, I got sass when I called to ask if the vehicle was even there. "How would you know if something was stolen? When did the detective call, weeks ago?"

Positive: We really enjoyed this first visit to Sitka. Nice weather, the city's downtown has quite a cold water beach charm. The residents seemed very friendly and personable. Low crime, lot so of culture, history, and nature. Ketchikan is a bit more crowded and got a bit humid in the afternoon. We did separate city tours after I cancelled my zip line excursion last minute (1 hour beforehand). Big thanks to HAL for allowing such a short notice refund while in a bind. We're impressed with HAL's norovirus precaution, including regular deep cleaning, and closing off all self-serve options in the buffet. Negative: I received a call this morning from a detective in Henderson, NV, that our personal belongings inside our truck had been found on a thief. We called our airport hotel in Vegas, and a window had been smashed out. No time for zip lining today!

We purchased a magnet and some postcards, saving the planet one souvenir at a time. I forgot to mention that the MDR ran out of Guinness Beer last night. A German couple behind us were not impressed with the Bud Light offered as an alternative. They took one sip, sat them aside and asked for water.

Positive: Glacier Bay was sunning and serene, so glad we booked a veranda for this cruise! A picture is worth a thousand words, so probably better to just upload them tomorrow. The park rangers added to the experience, personable and informative. Negative: I just saw a gentleman being reckless with a snotty tissue, and another passenger tried to instruct him on being more sanitary with it. After the sick passenger was called to the shore excursions desk, the advice giver then put his hand on the surface where the tissue had been! 😲 When the sick passenger returned, his wife said, "He's got that virus going around and a cold. If he's feeling better tomorrow, we'll go into Sitka." We've decided to limit our time outside of our cabin. Overall: Despite a few hiccups, we're impressed enough with HAL's food and service to upgrade our 2024 cruise to a 14 night Atlantic Costal, Montreal to FL.

The captain really put his life on the line to give us this shot.

It was a HAL tour, somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 - $200.