CNSJ

As a general rule my TA says not to buy Platinum coverage until time of final payment for this very reason.

We went the other way....after many HAL cruises we tried Celebrity and found ourselves back on HAL.

Signatures provide all that Vista class has plus Tamarind. I also prefer the layout of the Lido Market restaurant. These classes (to me) get the nod because of the great promenade deck for walking. That said, the Grand Dutch Cafe and expanded amidships pool area do make the Pinnacles appealing. Whats next? As for future builds, I think we will find that the next HAL build will be another Pinnacle or perhaps a Pinnacle plus based on the new Cunard Queen Anne. She is 10% larger than Rotterdam VI, but would still be smaller than most of the Princess fleet and RC fleet. Personally id prefer they stayed with the current Pinnacles.

As for Captain van Hoogdalem, it makes me wish HAL would publish which Captain will master which ships as a schedule so we can use that as a booking consideration. But then again, that would give some another thing complain about when the Captain plan changes....

Choose your cabin, choose how much you enjoy the trip! I am not enough of a gambler to book gurantees!

I would argue VA category Deck six middle balconies on Pinnacle class (Kon, NS, and Rot) are the best balcony staterooms on the ship. Minimal movement, staterooms above and below, and high enough above lifeboats to minimize sightline issues to water. Deck 5 V has more lifeboat blocking views than 6. The few V category cabins on deck 6 may have a slightly bigger balcony (often a wedge) but may be on facing ends of the bump and increase wind.

Thanks for the fast replies. One thing I just realized is to ensure all the segments are marked "do not upgrade" so that HAL doesn't do us a favor and cause extra cabin moves.

Appreciate the replies. As I have no interest in visiting China, the circle Japan itinerary would let me cruise the region without a stop in China.

Looking at 2024, I see that HAL has a circle Japan 14 day itinerary. It is very port intensive with 9 ports in Japan and 1 in South Korea. I am not familiar with these ports and wonder if the Japanese ports are mostly in industrial harbors or if any are close to sightseeing. It would be nice not to look at shipping containers in every port and have to take shuttles/buses every day. Any other comments on circle Japan are helpful. Thanks!

Thats a great deal of brunt if you ask me.

Good points from the Chief Engineer. Wrinkle spray is good. I find that bringing good quality shirts that the wrinkles fall out of is even better. Then again, we usually spend a few days in the embark port before the cruise and use ship's laundry. There is something to be said for getting clothes back ironed.

I marvel (and have some degree of jealousy) at those that book a series of back to back cruises that result in 60+ days on same ship that is not doing a grand voyage or world cruise. I see benefits of multiple visits to same ports where the one day visit just isn't enough to see things you want to see. I also think that Shareholder and First responder credits apply to each leg, so there's something to be said for that. My questions are: 1. How do you work with your TA or PCC or Website to get same cabin for three of more legs, as some chunks of cabins are held for longer cruises that are in fact two shorter cruises combined. 2. Do you need to get new Keycards each leg. Is that a hassle? 3. Do you price the combined legs to determine pros and cons of each segment as a stand alone trip? If using HIA, it seems a better deal to buy multiple segments as you get more shore credit and more dinners than one big cruise. 4. When more than one ship is in region (like Med) do you ever jump ship for a a seven day segment, to (a) spend more time ashore in the embark/disembark port (b) or switch to another dam ship? Interested to hear various approaches and methodologies.

If I recall, Konningsdam did a round "the bottom" trip a few years back. To those in AUS and NZ, my apologies for my Northern Hemisphere view of things.

I believe that Konningsdam has stayed on the West coast since arriving there. The lifeboat fix on Rotterdam is kind of cool if you are in to mechanical things. Rather than a pivoting davit set, the lifeboats extend and retract mostly horizontally with hydraulics. I think I would prefer a Panama Canal cruise on a Vista or Signature class ship due to the extensive promenade. On a Pinnacle, the lifeboats will be pulled in during transit taking up half of the promenade and blocking most of the view. That makes the viewing areas on higher decks and bow more crowded.

It seems the shipping containers are to protect people walking down pier inside. The containers take the brunt of any rockslides.

Changes happen. Timing may be poor with respect to payments.....but.... We had several changes on Westerdam Transpacific in fall of 2022. I do believe they try their best to make things work. *** In our case, when a schedule change caused by local politics prevented us fro visiting one island in Papua New Guinea, the Captain worked it out to get us a second full day win the Conflict Islands....total paradise....there were few complaints. When weather prevented us from tendering into Moreton Island which was just a beach day.... the Captain kicked up speed and got us an extra full day in Sydney. The extra day was docked right downtown next to the Opera House and at foot of Harbor Bridge. Then we moved in middle of night to White Bay terminal to disembark. Best Captain ever (in every possible measurement on this trip) ....Captain Wouter Van Hoogdalem! *** a few days before end of cruise we had later from Captain crediting all with $500 OBC and a 10% FCC of our cruise fare paid. Great customer service action IMHO.

Agree that HAL remains a primarily single class ship and do hope it stays that way. We are finally 4 star mariners after cruising the past 12 years (covid delayed use few years) but have tried a few other lines. Celebrity has the AQUA CLASS, SUITE CLASS...RETREAT, MSC has its YACHT CLUB, and NCL has the HAVEN. CUNARD.....still beckons the days of British Peerage... Maybe HAL has resisted this because of its large number of 5 Star Guests that dependably book Deck 1 Amidship Oceanview Cabins for 90 plus days a year. Keep the base happy. I'd cruise twice as much for Oceanview/Inside prices, but my DW said no balcony...no trip.

Thank you for the great coverage of your World Cruise. On our bucket list for sure!

Infrequent ports for HAL are ports to book early. Our October 2023 cruise that has two stops in Israel had the overnight shore excursion fill up more than a year out. I got on the wait list, and luckily a few spots opened up. It was a port that I preferred to be on a HAL tour as we were going far from port and an overnight in Jerusalem.

One good thing about the Unlimited Laundry package is that if you have a thord or fourth person in stateroom, you still pay same charge. This was a big cost saver when our daughter recently joined us on a cruise.

kapitch, It seems we had similar comparisons. How could I have forgotten the elevator floor mats! When we crossed the dateline on Westerdam this past fall, I wondered if the day we were skipping was put out for a few songs or we just jumped ahead two days. Has planned to wake up a midnight to watch....But didn't!

Mister 67 I wish you a great cruise on the REFLECTION!

ProCruise you are correct that everyone has their own opinion. I will agree with that on all but one area: Ship's Maintenance. Significant deterioration due to corrosion is not up for debate if you ask me. Before inspecting a Naval ship I learned that Cleanliness and Preservation observations tell us a great deal before you run damage control drills on the crew....Perhaps that's the old Navy Submarine Chief of The Boat showing through..... As for music loudness..... I didn't bring a decibel meter. We were on Rotterdam in December - had ZERO Complaints other than how they handled a cancelled shore excursion due to weather. 🙂

They may be too focused on the EDGE class ships..... At least HAL keeps up the older ships IMHO.

As OP: I want to clarify one comment I made about breakfast upcharges. That bullet was specific to room service. All lunch and dinner room service had a charge. Also, they did not serves deserts (Sahara, Mobi, etc.) they served desserts!