SeaCapt

More data points- My wife's info posted and status updated just 2 days after returning from our 24-day cruise ending July 26. She had received the card and pin recognizing her new status during the last sea day. I passed 300 nights aboard last March 2022, and received my Silver medallion on my next cruise in June, 2022. There were only 5 people present at the ceremony in the Ocean Bar, but the Captain and Hotel Director were there to present it and take photo's. I was the only one to receive anything.

I updated Navigator again today, after deleting the old version and clearing cache, etc., and it correctly shows my cruise departing in 2 days, but when I select "Boarding Pass" it continues to show the boarding pass from a cruise last year, which was not even my last cruise. Go figure... I've got the bar codes printed out, as always.

And FYI, I emailed the form to HAL on a Thursday, and got an auto-reply that they had received it. The following Monday I received an email from HAL that the Agency transfer was complete. Quick, easy and professional.

It's no big deal. We booked a cruise for next year with the $1 deposit deal, and just transferred it to our regular TA. The form you need is attached, and it has the address to email (or you can fax) right on the form. Reservation Transfer Request Form.pdf

We're aboard 24 days in July, no changes.

Yes, NS is scheduled to be at quay C333, Oceankaj. Here is a link to basic info: https://www.whatsinport.com/Copenhagen.htm And here is a link to the actual Port Authority Schedule (you'll need to enter the date): https://www.cmport.com/terminals/ships-in-port/

Saturday night is a common time for upgrades, maintenance, updates, etc. on computer systems. It is typically when systems are the least used, thus less people impacted.

You might want to double check that- when I looked today, the HIA no longer includes crew appreciation, making it a lot less worthwhile.

Yes, they still exist, as we use them once a year to take some of our adult kids with us. If you are using HAL's website, make sure you are logged in, select the cruise you want, and enter 4 people. When you see the pricing on the right side for whatever cabin type you select, you will see the 3rd and 4th person with a zero charge/50% off, depending on your status. (Though you still pay taxes and fees for them).

That would be a new change, then. We took 4 cruises last year. N Statendam in Carib, Koningsdam in Alaska and Zaandam in Canada, were all 8pm Main Seating. Rotterdam in Carib was 7:45pm main seating. We've got 24 days on N Statendam in northern Europe upcoming in July, 8pm Main seating.

Dining times can vary a smidge between ships and itineraries, but typically 5:45pm for Early Seating dinner, and 8pm for late (called "Main Seating").

For an upcoming July cruise we reserved Specialty Dining 6 months in advance. Just log in to your account every few weeks until it shows up...

Also, by selecting either early or late, table for 2, you get the same table and servers every night, who quickly get to know you and your preferences. We choose late seating, and have had no issues arriving 15 minutes early or late, so there is still about a half hour of flex for our dining time.

Not working quite yet! The ship and article you highlighted is planning to launch in early 2024. I think we have yet to see this concept actually in operation. But hopefully very soon...

Yes, the price can be as low as $79/day. The rest are deposits and commitments. Other thoughts- what about dry-dock times and maintenance? How well will the ship be kept up? Would you stay on the ship while it is in drydock? How about when they rehab your cabin, or paint the halls, or replace the carpets? How attentive will they be to a plugged toilet or leaky faucet or burned out light bulb? Knowing you are living there will feel different than even a 3 or 4 month cruise. That's why I prefer to wait and see how it goes.

What we wont know until it has sailed for while, is what level of service there will be, what the quality of food will be, things like that. I'm interested, but not willing to be the first to jump aboard. If you like it, though, with their loyalty program and a 37 month+ lease, you would get a 40% discount on monthly rate, bringing the cost down as low as $79 per day.

And note that it does include beer and wine. Perhaps not every brand, but at least some...

My understanding is that the Lincoln Center Stage performers are moving to the Main Stage, not going away. This will allow more folks to enjoy them, and will eliminate conflicts with noisy auctions or loud conversations walking by.

For our 24-day in July, they are offering the Premium internet for $240, or $10/day, if pre-purchased, which is half off the regular price.

Yeah, I think they were confirming that they are indeed played out. They listed 5 or 6, and asked if I had heard of any of them, asked if I was influenced by having them, or choosing HAL because their food was designed by them, etc. I imagine they paid plenty to use the names, and are now hopefully deciding to spend that money elsewhere.

The one I received yesterday was all about food, dining areas, specialty dining, celebrity chefs, etc.

Reservations and specialty nights are already showing for our July cruise, with all dates and times available, and I've booked everything we want at the the times we prefer.

So the money you save on port fees can be spent in the casino!

Well, kinda sorta. You can use your OBC to pay the daily crew appreciation, which uses more than half of it. If you're on a 12-day or longer cruise, that would use it up.

We favor the late (main seating) dining in MDR, table for 2, always request it when booking, and have always been happy. We can arrive 15 minutes early or 15 minutes late, and it hasn't been an issue. No lines or waiting, we just go to our table. We really like having the same wait staff each night, as they quickly learn our preferences (i.e. gluten-free bread for her, coffee with dessert, not after it, etc.), and often seek us out when we breakfast in the MDR just to say hello or to take care of us. It is this usually great service that keeps most of our cruising on HAL. And yes, we have tried 6 or 7 other lines, for a variety of reasons, but keep coming back to HAL. I agree with others that the main stage is wasted, and we would enjoy more production shows, but we also love music walk and can be found listening and dancing there most nights. Which is why we mostly book Pinnacle class ships now.