Mary229

@CruiserBruce go to the Mariner lunch. . I had quit attending but @Haljo1935convinced me they had stepped up their game and indeed they had. Lovely lunch, lots of the bubbly and excellent menu.

Everything except crew tips. I simply buy onboard credit With cards which covers the tips

I agree, never would I confront another passenger. I would report them and if I feel they are abusing the ADA I would report them at every level. I would throw the book at them. HAL needs to understand we are not good with this.

For shorter cruises it is best to shop the competition.

Exactly. Taking B2B is not a suitable replacement to a longer full cruise. HAL even disallows bookings on their legendary voyages for a shorter segment. They are being modeled as two distinct product lines. The only exception would be the land and cruise tours in Alaska where you get an upgraded experience on the land portion

Last I spoke with HAL about this transfer they indicated there would be a pick up at the Movenpick Hotel which I have enjoyed staying at. Please write or call them and check if this is not an available option. If so the taxi ride or Uber will be far cheaper than going to the airport .

It is frustrating. I will try tomorrow

Make sure to leave a comment in the post cruise survey that they need to a a prominent ship time clock in the app but early is better than late. I was hesitant to drive out to the lake this morning but indeed like you I am glad to have seen this natural event. The OBC is always an issue. Enjoy whatever you decide - maybe some chocolate covered strawberries and flowers for the wife?!

I encourage you to send strongly worded criticism to HAL on the app, on the survey and by email or letter. Express your dissatisfaction with their lack of judgment

22 days to Antartica in January, 35 days to Tahiti in Feb-March. There were experts onboard, a full enrichment program with topical and esoteric topics. Regional fare on menus, plenty of special events besides the typical crossing the equator, there was a cultural team onboard to Tahiti and extra lecturers on the return. There was an expedition team for Antartica. Lots of top notch specialized shore excursions, some not so much but careful selection yielded an excellent assortment especially in South America. Special little gifts, chocolates every night. Classical music performances by seasoned, competent musicians. Neither of these were “Grand” which I have stated in the past are not worth the additional costs IMHO. So yes I have sailed longer voyages and have been quite pleased with the innovations and return to service standards. please note all travel has misses and sometimes downright failures but on these there was nothing that I concerned myself with for more than 20 minutes or so. There was nothing that I felt the need to write HAL about. Admittedly I couldn’t care two cents about the type of stage entertainment that has been on cruise ships in the last 25 years, it is not my cup and/ or not up to my standards and that has been true for years. . When I want stage entertainment I go to the theater. That said the crew show on my last cruise was absolutely superb and I was amazed at the level of talent among the crew. PS I did say “unique” in my first response. There is nothing unique or special about a repositioning cruise except of course the relaxing days at sea. They are usually the cheapest cruises available and I myself enjoy them as a replacement for first class airfare to Europe

My university was handing out glasses like candy - I grabbed a bunch

People who take the tourist routes in the Caribbean, the Mexican Riviera and similar are going to definitely get a mass product. Why not? Most people do shop those rates. There is no reason to differentiate. It has been that way for a long time. If you want the unique experience book one of their unique, long itineraries. Else shop around and get precisely the set of features you want

Just putting this out there. The clouds parted for precisely the right 10 minutes in Tyler Texas. Corona was visible with flares.

This fascinating YouTube video breaks down what it costs to operate a cruise ship and why a room is cheaper on a ship than at a hotel. He also shows the stats that a cruise ship has a 7 year payout https://youtu.be/9z0WHpTU_94?si=40bVTby8ZE4lSH-T

I am not sure where you are seeing those prices. Roger has many bar menus and wine lists on his website, a great resource. https://rogerjett-photography.com

The cellar packages are separate from HIA. HIA is by the glass. You can order any glass of wine that is $11 or less. If you pay a higher priced wine you pay the difference plus the 18% gratuity on that difference

One thing you can do with shore excursions is buy them now with credit card then once on ship the shore excursions desk can switch it to OBC and credit your account

No. you can buy your have it all dining and shore excursions prior to sailing .

I do not like her as much as I do like her sister the Zaandam. She is tired in someways but I would not hesitate to book her for a short cruise. I would not book her for a long cruise again.

Though I do like classical music for listening and for background the old LCS concept was really bad being out on the music walk. The classical music I enjoyed on the K was in the in of the BB King lounge , that lounge has a partial wall between the lounge and the walk. People did respect the performance. I used to think it was down right silly to such people walking by.

On my most recent HAL voyage there was classical music everyday with some sea days having up to 3 performances. They moved them into the BB King where there is a half wall to protect from the distractions along the music walk. HAL got rid of LCS not classical music. There was a transition time where they were short n entertainers for their “what is old is new again” concept of hiring performers from an agency instead of accepting a branded group with no control over quality. These performers were the best quality I have heard ever on a cruise ship. I have been on Oceania and I have been on many concert and recital halls. This trio on Hal was very good.

Each traveler can check in independently.

I can't get to the summary page. Tried both safari and Firefox. Anyone else? Any Suggestions? I know the rooms are available as I checked on various agency websites.

Thanks for the thought but I am a bit OCD about a clean machine. Trashed and deleted forever. Maybe a HAL PCC will know

Thanks, Sue. I am looking for Europe.