iceman93

Okay, maybe you have to go to guest services or the Neptune Lounge and ask? On my last two cruises I did not get or see any paper copies.

They don't do paper copies anymore, it's all in the app. Your entire cruise will show up by embarkation day, and will update automatically as things change.

I'm surprised they wouldn't keep a bar open near the casino as long as there are people gambling. Seems like they're losing both beverage revenue and the chance to keep people playing longer!

The inspiration for the new and improved HAL "Signature of Excellence" casino can be seen in this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byfewcZsug4.

On my NS cruise last summer I never saw a blackjack table with minimum lower than $25.

Look, some people really enjoyed Deal or No Deal on TV. My best guess is it was because of the gorgeous models holding the suitcases because I personally found the host (Howie Mandel) to be incredibly annoying. But anyone who thought the offers from "the banker" were just random must be a particularly rare form of fool. Those offers were all based on pure math; the statistical chance that the next suitcase (or set of suitcases) would earn a particular outcome vs. the sure thing a contestant could get by taking the offer. So if HAL is running it the way it sounds like they do from the posts here, the game itself is totally legit and the choice of suitcases absolutely random, but of course the house will always win over time. So like most games of chance (like Bingo), the participants need to consider it a form of entertainment and not a way to get rich quick. Sure, one or two people every time will win more than they paid to participate, but overall the house is going to take in way more than they're going to pay out. Does that make it a rip-off? Not at all. No more than bingo, or slot machines, or the table games in the casino. Yes, the occasional player will win big and that's what makes people want to play. But most people will lose, and as long as they're getting sufficient entertainment value out of their investment then it's all good.

I'm glad to see the daily specials remain, that new ravioli sounds delicious, and I'm honestly not upset about the price increase as we found Canaletto on our last two cruises MUCH, MUCH improved from the past.

Someone else hit the nail on the head--HAL, like many other businesses, is struggling with basic staffing these days. This situation has revealed failings in both the itinerary planning department and customer service. If itinerary planning was fully on top of things, when a port change is finalized they would immediately notify all guests sailing on the affected ship no matter their particular voyage number. But customer service is the even more frustrating part because they deal directly with the paying guests. When the educated consumer knows more than the front-line rep does, it naturally leads to frustration. Of course things like this have always happened (for example) with car salesmen who often know shockingly little about the product they are selling, let alone the competition. But HAL used to, in the good old days, have on-top-of-it phone reps who displayed both common sense and a knowledge of the HAL product. *sigh*

The Rudi's Sel de Mer restaurant on the NS did have a higher surcharge, and it was worth every penny. The food and service quality matched the price point. Interestingly, the same thing has happened on Disney. Their original upcharge restaurant, Palo, has gone downhill and no longer seems to get the rave reviews it did in years gone by. But their uber-upcharge restaurant, Remy's (the highest surcharge at sea, or at least it used to be) is considered a sublime experience. Yet I remember back in the days before any upcharge restaurants when the complimentary main dining rooms offered consistently good food and much better service than they do now. I guess cruise lines are conditioning us to need to pay more above and beyond our cruise fare in order to get "good" dining experiences.

Sounds good to me! I know the "coloring for adults" is looked down upon with disdain by many here, but it is an activity my artistic 19 year-old really looks forward to. Plus, it's usually full so she's learned to line up well in advance. Apparently there is a market out there for this kind of thing!

I have mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, I agree with the OP that we're already paying for food on our cruise, so paying more for a specialty restaurant REALLY should elevate the experience. Nickel-and-diming on top of that doesn't sit well. On the other hand, I don't mind when up-up-charges (like adding a lobster tail or having the delmonico) are offered and clearly delineated. That can be a way for people to elevate their experience even further, and the rest of us who don't want those items don't have to subsidize those who do. As an example, my wife and I started with the caviar one night on our last cruise--should that rather extravagant extra simply be included in the price? But to bring it full circle, I really don't like charging people extra for ordering a salad and an appetizer. In my mind, the extra charge for ordering multiple items is there simply to discourage the practice (that I'm sure we've all seen) of people ordering all kinds of things and just taking a bite or two because they wanted to try a lot of things, or because "I paid a lot to come here so I'm going to get my money's worth". I would think that a patron who just does like the OP, orders and consumes a reasonable amount of food, should have that extra charge waived. Finally, if they're going to make that a hard-and-fast rule that applies to everyone, then I absolutely agree with a previous poster who says the waitstaff should politely but clearly point out when the order is placed that it's going to result in an extra charge.

Exactly. I drove past a gas station yesterday and didn't fill up, but now today the price is ten cents a gallon more--outrageous! (Not...) I'm having trouble understanding the point of this thread.

A "world cruise" that doesn't visit any ports in North America or Asia?

Can you bring a laptop with a large screen and an HDMI input?

It's been on each of our last two cruises; on the first it was a real dud and on the more recent one it was well-done and a lot of fun. I'd recommend packing some orange attire and giving it a shot--worst case you haven't given much up but best case it's a great night of fun.

Thanks for confirming what I thought, Ruth. We've always done late fixed dining (early is way too early for us in any event, but especially when doing all-day excursions in port). We're actually okay with seeing the show (if it's worth seeing) before dinner, but on the past couple of cruises the two show times were usually BOTH incompatible with the late dining time.

Thank you for asking your question in such an open-minded way. The Westerdam and the Nieuw Statendam are the two ships my family has sailed most recently, both within the past year. I'll sum up by saying I think you should give the NS cruise a try, and then draw your own conclusions about HAL after that. Tendering on our Westerdam cruise was, like yours, a frustrating pain in the neck. I don't know whose fault it was, but the process seemed disjointed and highly inefficient and was only exacerbated by being in a hot climate and HAL mandating mask wearing while on the tenders. We didn't necessarily mind the lack of activities as we find plenty to do on our own, but understand what you mean about the odd choices of venues for certain things. And we didn't find the Lido buffet any harder to navigate than on any other ship, except for certain stations being randomly closed forcing us to go to the other side for particular items. The NS, I think, has more of that "wow factor" you're looking for. It's more modernly-designed, with a nifty music theme throughout. Everything is more spaced out, so there's not so much "venue clash". There are more specialty dining venues which not only offers more variety on a longer cruise like the one you're considering, but also spreads out the crowds. And tendering was night-and-day different from the Westerdam--quick, efficient, and quite tolerable in comparison. Ironically, the "cruise and activities director" on the NS was a dud while the one on the Westerdam (I assume the same Aussie chap you had) was fun and engaging. But there are just certain limitations with an older, smaller ship that you already pointed out. I realize the cost of a 27-day cruise on the NS must be an awful lot just to gamble that it's going to be a good experience. But for what it's worth, I think it's a relatively safe gamble. The things you liked about the Westerdam will still exist on the NS, and many of the things you didn't like will be improved.

What does he see as HAL's brand essence and target market? How does he plan to differentiate HAL from other lines under the CCL umbrella as well as competing lines?

Need more info to provide useful answers. How long are each of the cruises? What ships are they on? What type of cabin do you plan to book? Are you looking for the cheapest cruise, best value, or cost-is-no-object? What parts of the world have you seen and/or enjoyed in the past? What parts of the world have you never seen but have always wanted to? Are you more of a warm weather or cold weather person? Is cruising to you more about the ship and onboard experience or about seeing the ports (another way to ask that would be whether you enjoy or avoid lots of sea days)?

Is Disney one of the lines you sailed? It became humorous (in a sad way) for me to see so much one-upsmanship on our Disney cruises. People wear their keycards with pride to show off their platinum status, not to mention having it on a platinum lanyard layered with pins from their previous cruises, with their platinum tote bag on their shoulder. And we STILL heard the humble bragging, "Oh, I see you're a platinum cruiser--that's great but, well, we've sailed on the inaugural voyages of the last two ships and the DVC sailing and the first Star Wars at Sea, and now we're on our 37th Disney cruise!" We've only sailed Disney three times (and overall loved the experience), but this behavior from our fellow guests we could have done without.

This is just more confirmation that HAL's leadership have not laid out a clear, cohesive vision or brand essence. The marketing company can only use what they're given, and if that is vague then the advertising will be too. I'll keep saying it until they hire me to run that part of the company, they should go all-in with the dual taglines "A tradition of excellence," and "Savor the journey." Those two statements sum up, to me, what HAL should be all about. - Tradition. 150 years of it, in fact. And it's something that no other cruise line can claim. - Excellence. Always trying to do and be the best. Exceed your customer's expectations. Do what's right, even if it costs the company money in the short term. Don't cut corners, and avoid the "easy way" to save pennies now. - Savor. HAL should appeal to customers who want more than a bus ride from point A to B, or who just want a floating theme park. The on-board experience should be full of flavor, not gimmicks. Food, entertainment, and enrichment programs should be a cut above. - Journey. While HAL offers some of the cookie-cutter itineraries of other lines, their focus should be on making all their voyages ones to remember. Every step from embarkation, to sea days, to ports, to disembarkation should be part of memorable, life-changing experiences. Institute that, train and reinforce those values in hiring and promotions, craft a marketing campaign around them, and just watch HAL outperform the competition. I believe it with 100% of my being.

I agree it reads like a HAL press release and is clearly an effort by HAL's marketing team. I applaud the effort--anything HAL does to market themselves as a more upscale line hopefully will result in them continuing to *act* like an upscale line. I do find the timing of this article interesting, though, as others here have reported getting an email survey from HAL asking how much they are swayed by the celebrity chefs on the Culinary Council. Finally, based on my two HAL cruises in the past six months, I do have to say that the quality and variety of food onboard is pretty dang impressive. They're serving a couple thousand people at every meal but generally manage to elevate their offerings beyond typical institutional fare. The good food is certainly one reason my family continues to sail HAL.

Thanks for posting that article. I share the author's outlook on and attitude regarding masks! Anecdotally, on my recent Westerdam cruise that departed from Sydney (and required masking indoors), I'd say there was about 75% compliance on board but those I saw openly ignoring the rule were almost all Aussies (despite the fact that mask protocol was supposedly in place due to Australian government regulations). Walking around Sydney for a few days before the cruise, I didn't see a single person with a mask on, anywhere. So it's interesting when governments "don't get the memo" that people are largely ignoring their rules.

1) Don't worry about it, but bring printouts just in case. 2) Don't worry about, but do mention it to those folks after you board. 3) Don't worry about it; if you get an upgrade that's great but hopefully you booked a room you'll be happy with anyway. 4) The keycards have holes but obviously work with cardholders as well. I just keep mine in a pocket, but if you prefer a lanyard then either approach will work. 5) If there's any way for you to swing the cost of the vow renewal, I recommend you do it. My wife and I did this on our tenth, and I know at the time it was a financial stretch. But now I don't remember anything about the cost but we both clearly remember how special the event was. 6) Enjoy your cruise! I think you're going to have the trip of a lifetime!

I'll address this one, since we sailed from Europe with our 18 year-old last year. Her room key card was marked "M" for minor (just like it would be for a U.S. sailing). She only ordered a few drinks, and it was about 50/50 whether she had an issue or not. After the first denial we asked the Neptune Lounge concierge about it, and they said to have her carry a government photo ID to show her proof of age if a particular server/bartender wanted to see it. That seemed like a clunky solution, but it did work.