AKJonesy

The RV company that @Northern Aurora mentioned is Cruise America. I'm not sure why you would want to do the drive unless you have some reason to see the Alcan, etc. Plus, I think one way rentals are pretty expensive. It's going to be expensive anyway, but I think more so one way. My advice having driven the ALCAN 4 x is that places are few and far between and a trip around Alaska might be more enjoyable IMHO then fly back out of Fairbanks or Anchorage. But, if that is what you are set on then I'd start checking first on one way prices for the RV. Those AK repositions would probably be the best bet but you have to keep your eye on them because they go quick.

Upvote #18.

I'm shocked. People are getting different stories from HAL? LOL. At the conclusion of my upcoming Nov 2023 trip, we will attain 4 star. The next day, we sail on B2B and the first day of the voyage will be day 201. I WILL go to the front desk on the first voyage and tell them exactly what I was told and to expedite the status for the next voyage. It's a 17 day voyage, and it should not take that long, but that's my plan. If I remember, I'll report back and tag you.

I think you are in great shape in 1907. You don't have any noise around you and actually you are pretty far forward from the propellers, vibration, etc.

I've noticed clean up in the Lido is fairly early in the evening. I don't think they move and stack chairs everyday. I seem to recall they do that about once per week, but when I noticed it, they do start early when people start going to dinner. That didn't mean the pool was closed; they were just prepping to clean the floor.

I'd move if I were you. It's the bass vibration that will make it even unenjoyable to watch tv. It goes on pretty late, but can't say for sure the time.

Someone mentioned on another thread a great price for Transatlantic Repositioning from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale. I'm showing about $1300 all in for OV which works out to be in the $90 per day all in. The downside and likely great price is the voyage departs Nov 26; 3 days after Thanksgiving! I was really tempted until I saw the date. No way am I going to try and travel on or around Thanksgiving.

I hurt my back on a voyage and we popped over to CVS at the port in Key West. I had to put it on the scanner and never even thought that it would not be allowed. That was many years ago. I still bring it with me on every voyage. I want all of my comforts, supplements, potential medicines, etc when I travel...just in case.

I had my hip replaced almost two years ago and it's hard to sleep on that side without something to soften the mattress. I think a good idea as some have said is to ask the cabin stewards for an extra duvet that can be put under the bottom sheet. I do bring one of those foam egg carton type mattress toppers and put it in checked luggage; in this case, inside of a plastic contractor bag and then inside of a duffle bag. I also bring a heating pad, but you could bring a hot water bottle even though they are heavier. It could be worth it...idk, for you to pay the extra luggage fee and just buy and bring a mattress topper with you. In the end, that might be worth it and not have to worry about it showing up through customs and all. I guess some people don't understand that when you have osteoarthritis in your hips how uncomfortable it can be. The mattress might be comfortable, but the bones hips still don't like it. Bring your creature comforts; it makes all the difference.

I just booked a B2B from FLL to Buenos Aires. The first voyage leaves from FLL and goes to Santiago (South America). Then the next voyage leaves from Santiago and goes around SA to Buenos Aires where it ends for us. It's a total of 31 days, but for some reason booking the B2B was cheaper. I'm using a popular discount cruise broker. I can either book directly online or I call; which is what I always do and let the TA do the booking on HAL for me. We can't link you to these sites, so you will have to find them. But, the two that I use allow me to look at the ships, cheapest categories; that is, cheapest inside, cheapest oceanview, cheapest balcony, etc. I can also look at the stateroom availability and choose the stateroom so that I don't end up in a horrible place next to the music walk at night or under the world stage, etc.

A couple of questions regarding upgrades: 1. You mentioned emails that you get from HAL. I don't book through HAL but through my Mariner status I do get promotions in the mail. For these upgrade offers, do you get some kind of special email? If so, how do I sign up? I was going to try and do a paid upgrade once, but it happened right when covid started so I never got to execute on that and I don't remember how I was going about it. 2. Let's say I have an OV and I want to upgrade to a Balcony, or I have a balcony and I want to upgrade to a suite, are you saying your target price for the paid upgrade is about a 67% of the established fare. I'd like to do this at least once as a surprise to my husband but I'm not sure how and when to go for it. Thanks.

I've never paid for an upgrade and I'd like to ask you how that works. If you booked the Oceanview originally, then you paid for the upgrade to balcony, did you pay the established price, or did you receive some kind of discount for upgrading after your original booking?

I admit I have not read all of the posts. So, sorry if my suggestion has already been mentioned. Have you joined your Roll Call for your voyage? I have a 31 day voyage in November and there are already 3 private excursions planned with fellow passenger in groups of 8. Someone normally takes the lead on organizing then provides all of the information on the roll call. It's nice when someone else has a lot of experience doing this and/or has taken the time to do the research. I know when I have taken the lead on excursions I look for strong reviews from other cruise passengers. In my near 200 cruise days, I think I've only joined a cruise ship excursion 2-3 times.

Excellent advice here from these posters.

We book through cruise discount agent. We can't make suggestions to you but you will find them on google, etc. I've been using same on line cruise discount broker/agent for at least 10 years. I pick the room I want w/o an upcharge which seems to be what some of the cruise lines are doing now. Only once in near 200 cruise days has the cruise line beat the price. I book my own airfare so I can't speak to that. IMHO and personally, I don't see need for someone else to book my airfare. I know some people talk about if airline is delayed and if booking through cruise line, they are going to wait for you or make arrangements. This can serve as a great piece of mind. For me; I admit it's a bit different. My husband and I usually fly down to the states for at least several days in advance of any cruise as a pre-cruise add on for us and not just fly to get to the cruise itself. Do some comparison shopping. I just saved $1800 on our upcoming cruise fare by booking through the cruise discount broker vs the cruise line.

I've only booked on HAL one time in my near 200 cruise days. Even after all of the promotions, the well known discount cruise broker beats the HAL price all but once in my experience. Plus, I get to see which rooms are available in a glance and choose my room. I download all of the HAL stateroom pdfs so I know where those rooms are relative to the noise areas. I'm not knocking booking with HAL, but I personally have not found the value in booking with them. I'd rather spend that significant savings on specialty dining and shore excursions. IMHO.

We were on the old Rotterdam right after it came out of drydock. We had workers on board the entire time. The rear pool was closed for the first 3 days and the promenade deck was closed almost every night at 5pm. That was on top of other minor inconveniences. Never again will I sail pre or post dry dock.

I book these staterooms all of the time, and I see maintenance working on the boats most cruises. What is HAL to do when maintenance is needed; seriously? You WANT maintenance on a cruise ship don't you? I'm sorry to hear your kids were traumatized by this, but it seems a failure on the part of the parents to deal with it in a positive way and make it a teachable moment.

Naw, I wouldn't take it that way. Even seasoned cruisers get wrapped up in the cruise price then the enthusiasm fades when finding out how much fees and add ons are. I can tell you that post covid people don't realize how expensive their cruise add ons are here in Alaska. My post (and I'm not saying your response was directed at me) was hopefully to help people realize that there is going to be sticker shock in the pre and post cruise phase. People can and do make a lot of assumptions thinking that just because you can do something "there" means it's the same everywhere. I can't tell you how many people I've helped out of a jam because they made some pretty bad assumptions. I have some funny stories about those assumptions, but it's kind of understandable because people may think you can get a rental car anywhere, you can get around using Uber, etc. I think there would be nothing worse than booking on extra days in Anchorage as a base then realizing you can't get out of Anchorage because there is no easy transportation or cars are as much as a hotel room. I did smile when you said, "no good deed goes unpunished" and sometimes we can feel that our best intentioned posts can be interpreted differently. IMHO I don't think anyone could consider it that way. I think I'm a fairly seasoned cruiser and am achieving 4 star coming up, but in a recent thread you offered some great insight that I was not aware of. So, from me to you, thanks for your helpful posts and your experience is why many of us return to this board over and over for advice.

Whoa. Cheap. I found on another website for even cheaper than this. I'm not mentioning bc I don't remember the rules, but it's a very popular discount cruise website. Anyway... I'VE NEVER BEEN ON A TRANSATLANTIC and what has held me back from these cruises is the number of sea days. Does anyone know if there is more offered on the daily schedule for these transatlantic cruise. I haven't been on NS either and I'd love to sail her.

IMHO it's the getting there that adds up fast. I figured lowest category in my post above is $140ish per day but that is before any airfare, hotel day before trip and getting to Vancouver; which is a hassle IMHO. Also, the prices here in AK are INSANE if you bother to add on any extra days. IF you can get a rental car, they are going to be expensive as heck. Hotel rooms for anything decent are going to be in the $250 or more range, and now gas prices here are well over $4 per gallon. (I thought gas prices were dropping - LOL.) Restaurants are very expensive now also and labor shortages are a big issue. It's not a great time for Alaska.

The "govt" fees are $550 for one week AK sailing; not including the cruise fare. This ends up being about $142 or thereabouts for lowest category for 2 people per day before tips and anything else. That is $142 for two people; not each per day.

There used to be a taco bar set up next to the Dive In, but I haven't seen that in my last 3 post covid sailings. Truthfully, I am glad because I'm pretty sure I got food poisoning from it years ago. I think the sour cream or something that was supposed to be cold was probably sitting out in the hot pool area too long. I know I don't miss it. As stated, you can get tacos and fixings in the Lido. IDK that I have seen waffle cones on NA, but I don't think much of their ice cream since I'm a premium or gelato lover.

@m921759 We are doing the total of 31 days but as a B2B Nov/Dec on Oosterdam to SA so we are probably on the same voyage. I see that we can make reservations for Canaletto and Pinnacle but I don't see Rudi's Pop Up Sel De Mer as an option and am kind of bummed that 31 days we only have these 2 specialty restaurants. I am hoping that because the voyage is also a 31 day that they will be mixing up the menu a bit. Wishful thinking.

@montythecat We will be on Oosterdam for 31 d on the SA cruise. I was kind of bummed to see only 2 specialty restaurants, but was wondering if they had the "pop up" Rudi's Sel de Mer on your voyage.