TorontoTL

Thank you everyone for your responses, they are very helpful.  This Japan cruise on HAL is looking better each day, better than what similar cruise Princess currently has.  This will likely be our first HAL cruise.

14 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

No, the website is deceptive. Only the J and K category on the Main Deck have that layout. Most are laid out like an oceanview with a fake "window" (a curtain) at the head of the bed(s). Some insides are very small indeed, like this (I category I think) one on sister ship Westerdam:

https://halfacts.com/7104-westerdam/

 

It did seem to be too good to be true, that is super helpful thank you very much 🙏🙏🙏🙏.

Hi I’m new to HAL cruises having done many cruises mostly with Princess enjoying the perks.  However, next spring there is a Noordam cruise in Japan that looks great that we are considering, it would be a nice way to try HAL for the first time.  We don’t usually book cruises so far in advance so have a few questions before we book.  

One question is that if we put a deposit down on a cabin and the price drops between now and final payment, does HAL honor the lower price?  I ask because on Princess, if I call the travel agent they will honor the new lower price so long as I call to ask about it.  We’ve never been denied the lower cost.  Does HAL also do this?

The Noordam is an older ship, is it true that she is going into a fairly extensive dry dock this year?

I noticed that the cabin diagrams for insides show a very square cabin that has a small L shaped sofa, is that really the layout of a majority of the inside cabins?  There is also the option for a larger inside cabin, does it also have that same layout with the L shaped sofa and square overall shape?

I’m sure I’ll have other questions for your fine HAL folks when I finally book.  Thank you in advance.

Benny

1 hour ago, CanadianBurger said:

I’m putting the “new take” of the French onion soup in its own post because it’s so bad. Epic fail. The bowl comes with a piece of bread with a bit of cheese. Then the soup gets glopped on top. What a hot mess. All the soups on the Sun are now served at the table in a small pitcher poured into the bowl.

 

 

 

 

 

I agree with you, that doesn’t work.  The whole idea of French Onion Soup is to have the cheese melted on top.  I’m sure they will get a ton of complaints about this and go back to a more traditional preparation.

Thank you for all your posts especially the photos, I haven’t posted a thank you yet because I didn’t want to clutter your awesome thread.

Benny

He has his IG account linked in the video.  His IG has a few more videos from the ship.

Currently on the Enchanted and switching devices on a one device plan is easy. I expected to have to turn off or log off a device when you wanted to use another, this isn’t necessary. Just open the Medallion app on the device you want to use, scroll down to Medallion Net, the app prompts you to swap devices. Click swap and then voila the device you’re using is on the shop WiFi using your plan. 

We are on a 26 d sailing on the Enchanted Princess right now.  I have to say that the food on this cruise has so far been even better than any of our past Princess cruises.  The offerings in the IC are more varied and better quality.  Yesterday during lunch at the World Fresh Marketplace they had lobster and crab claws and shrimp piled high.  It was a frenzy of people lining up to get the lobster and crab, but it was the first time I’d seen that since the the Caribbean Princess first year of cruising.

We are onboard the Enchanted Princess right now, both of us are Elite CC.  I purchased my internet package prior to the cruise using the medallion app.  It was 50% off and since we’re Canadian they offered it at a better exchange rate than the current real exchange.  My partner didn’t purchase ahead of time, he paid in USD via the app and did get 50% off as well, but not paid in CAD.  Both have been taken out of our onboard credits.  Hope that helps.

4 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

Latest Adam Savage video on the Sun Princess.  This video is about the Sun's engine room.

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing that.  Great to see more of the ship.  Did we know that the specialty restaurant at the aft of the ship up high was going to be named Altitude? 

Any thoughts on how well the internet will work while at sea on a TA cruise?  I’m not sure if it is worthwhile getting it or not.

Thank you all for your answers.  I didn’t think of trying it by turning off cellular on my phone.  You’re right, wifi hotspot didn’t work unless cellular was on.

I’m sorry if this has been asked before, but my search could not find confirmation of whether this would work or not.  If I purchase the wifi package for one device (an iphone) can it be used as a wifi hotspot and share the wifi with my partner’s device?  I’m hoping someone who has cruised recently can confirm this for me either way.  Thank you in advance.

Benny

How are the wifi speeds since the Enchanted was updated to Starlink?

This is a screenshot from the promotional video of the Star Princess.  You can see into the sphere and there is a glass floored walkway visible.  This seems like it will be so much better for views out to sea than any other class of ship that Princess has.

33 minutes ago, jps243 said:

I know the ship will have 100 connecting rooms, but has anyone seen a deck plan that identifies which cabins will connect? I’m looking to book two cabins for a Mediterranean cruise next summer but I can’t find any deck plans with legends that show connecting cabins. As a Plan B, I will just book two adjoining cabins and hope we can get the balcony divider opened.

If you’re on the deck plan for the ship and on the deck you want to look up, on the left side of the screen under the staterooms tab, there is a checkbox for connecting rooms.  Click that box and the deck plan will update to show which rooms are connecting one.

2 hours ago, Geoffa30 said:

At around 12 minutes 35 seconds in this video https://youtu.be/w1lqSq7tn-g (which covers the recent ship tour in Fincantieri), there is mention of whether the Signature & Reserve restaurants will have a different menu. Seemingly the Princess Execs wouldn’t commit to whether they would be different. Hopefully not a bad omen.

Thanks for sharing that video with us.

You’ll have an incredible time, when we were in Japan in the fall of 2019 on the Diamond, it was our best cruise ever.

15 hours ago, dides said:

These were posted on social media by the Princess UK team, not sure if these were generally available:  The Sanctuary and the Solarium on Sun Princess

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful spaces, I’m sure that we’d all love to see more photos of this new ship if you see more to share.

5 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Cruise deck plans dot com have posted the Sun on their website. Seems they have gotten a preliminary plan with labels on most spaces. Not all space names/details are final of course but it gives a good idea of what we can expect. Overall I am pleased. Curiously there appear to be zero dining venues available on the upper decks, except for the “altitude” restaurant which I assume will be for the suites, or a very pricey specialty dining venue. 

Thanks for sharing that information.  For those concerned the deck plans show laundry rooms.  Strange that the deck plans show a change back to Sterling Steakhouse from the more recently used Crown Grill.

I’m happy to see Princess try to innovate and modernize.  I’ll hold my opinion until we see the deck plans.

2 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

At last week’s sales webinar they stated there will be details provided during their 6/16 webinar about the new class of ships.

 

Thanks so much, that is great to know.  I hope someone will post about what they hear that at webinar or that Princess shares more information formally on the internet.

Keel laying is going to be next month, June.  Hopefully information about this new class of ship will come soon after.

Other than that recent news of the steel cutting for the first Sphere class ship, I haven’t been able to find any other new information on this class.  I hope they will start releasing information soon.

Our second cruise ever and first on Princess was on the lovely Golden Princess.  We sailed for 7 days in the Eastern Caribbean Nov 2003.  This ship and its crew made us fall in love with Princess and we have since sailed on her numerous times.  She will be missed.

Thanks for taking us on your fabulous cruise.