brovol

Is the AARP gift card deal still available? I actually just purchased an AARP membership so that I could buy the cards, and I cant figure out how do find them on the AARP site. I hit the link from the original poster of this thread, but its just a generic page to AARP benefits. does anyone have a link to the actual HAL gift cards?

I was debating between another Princess cruise (generally our favorite line) or HAL Nieuw Statendam, and had some of the same concerns. We absolutely love both the Princess Plus value, and the medallion technology on Princess. Great deal, with game-changing convenience throughout the cruise process. The included internet with the Plus plan is incredibly good (able to do everything same as at home, including live streaming football games). Having said that, we picked the HAL NS for our cruise next March. We have sailed HAL several times, and although we prefer Princess, we have enjoyed our HAL cruises too, and the pinnacle class ships really seem to offer a lot. Great ship size and design, along with tremendous food and service. I think the two lines are more alike than different. We have cruised over 30 voyages, on most of the mainstream lines, and both HAL and Princess are among the very best. Do like me; pick one of them and dont look back. You will be happy with either. I do wish though that HAL would follow the princess lead in terms of the Plus perks, and technology.

Does anyone have the direct link to the AARP cards? The original post has a link to the AARP rewards page, but I cant find the HAL gift cards through that link.

I am about to book a cruise for next April, and I am contemplating purchasing some of the gift cards to both pay for the cruise, ultimately, and also use for the deposit. My TA said she wasn't sure, but thought that if I used gift cards for the deposit and then decided to cancel the cruise, I wouldn't get the deposit back. Anyone know if this is right?

looking to book next April, and both are out of Ft Lauderdale. We have sailed both HAL and Princess many times, and really have enjoyed each; including our Sky Princess cruise this past November. Love the Princess Plus and medallion technology on Princess, and the internet was incredibly good, allowing me to stream live football games perfectly. The Regal is a sister ship, and therefore would be a similar experience. The Statendam looks like a perfect ship for my wife and me. The music venues and entertainment options on that ship are right in our wheelhouse, and everything else I have been reading excites me about the Statendam. Would likely book either a balcony or low suite on either of the ships. I'm worried that the internet on the Statendam will suck, which would be a drag, both with respect to what I do online personally, as well as professionally, as I stay connected with my staff while on vacation. Princess is more of a know quantity to us as we sailed so recently on the Sky, and we have always really enjoyed our Princess cruises, but the Statendam looks perfect, with the exception of the internet. Another smaller factor is the ship gym. I like to start the morning with a workout, and would like to be able to grab an elliptical without much wait. Any thoughts or insight would be appreciated; particularly from those who have sailed the Statendam, and are familiar with the quality of the streaming internet, as well as the gym.