Waxer

I'm unable to log in with Chrome or Safari. It instantly says:

Bad Request

Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.
Size of a request header field exceeds server limit.

😞

Excellent review! I am on the N-S in two months. Were you born in Cork? I was born there in 1953 and lived there until 1961... Up Hibs!

I have a guaranteed N and am thinking of buying CO. Is there any benefit to waiting for my exact cabin assignment before I buy CO? Thanks!

I'm on the Koningsdam right now, first cruise since 2012. Despite what you might read in some topics, I find that the quality of this cruise is just as good, or slightly better, than the HAL of 10 years ago.

What is better, for me, is that I am enjoying the Pinnacle class ship more than the smaller classes. I also think the food in the Lido has improved. There are more "cooked or prepared to order" stations, and more variety. I also like not serving yourself any more. I also like the Retreat cabanas.

The cleanliness of the ship, and the friendliness, hospitality, and service of the crew is outstanding, as always.

I've had no complaints. In spite of the fact that this is my 4th (3rd? I lose track LOL) HAL cruise up the inside passage to Alaska, I am as excited to be here as on the first cruise. Happy sailing to you

We are on the K right now, in #18. It's excellent.

#22 has some carts and misc things in it, looks like table-bussing carts. It also has those 6" wide, heavy plastic, vertical strips hanging from the entrance (as opposed to curtains on the other cabanas). They look pretty permanent. I don't think they rent #22 at any time. It's labeled "Spa" on the map.

I think Canada Place pier is starting to get its act together. We embarked Kongingsdam on May 13th. Due to our taxi showing up early at the hotel, and not much traffic, we arrived at luggage drop-off at 9:45AM. We took our time, got upstairs to the HA check-in at 10:05, and walked right through.

The only hiccup was the officious Canadian customs or immigration person who was intercepting PAX as they got in line for HA check-in, who choose to interrogate me about my "eSTA" (not needed for me) and demanded to see a printed copy of my boarding pass when I showed her my pass on my phone. She eventually got distracted and wandered off.

In the US customs/immigration section, there were what looked like 2 dozen passport-scanning kiosks in operation. Because I have a foreign passport, I had to see the US customs/immigration person face-to-face, but that line went quickly. There were about 5 humans behind the desk. There was a separate NEXUS line but it, and its sign, were so small I think it would be impossible to find if you didn't know it was there. The guy who got in the rear of the NEXUS line when I got into the "human" line, and I, got out to the other side at the same moment.

We were then seated in the waiting hall to board the ship. There was a clearly marked set of seats for Suite and Club Orange PAX. The ship wasn't ready to board yet, but there were frequent updates by the staff. We were on-board at 11:15am. There was no time spent "standing still" in line. The lines all moved continuously. It was like a long slow walk until we got to the seating area.

On the K now. Yes, that's an outdoor area for the crew.

Asking for a friend 😄

My Mom has the same issue. If you sail from Vancouver, the ship goes up the Inside Passage, which is narrow, highly scenic, and (for our two cruises) calm as a lake.

Caveat: there are still two places on the inside passage that can catch swells from the ocean. One is fairly short; the other, from the top of the passage to Anchorage/Seward (if you are opting for a longer cruise) is potentially an all-dayer.

I gave my Mom a box of Bonine, an over-the-counter anti-nausea preparation that I used to take on dive boats. It is safe (you can take it and still scuba dive); effective (half a tablet works for me for 12 hours); and pretty much free of side effects (a full tablet makes me a little "dopey" so I avoid it). Highly recommended, but you have to take it in anticipation of feeling unwell; it doesn't work at all once you start feeling queasy.