storkington

11 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

It's now been an hour.  I think I will hang up.  Not sure when the best time to call is.  Anyone know HAL's hours?

When I called the Upsell Desk the other day they opened at 8am PST.

11 hours ago, albingirl said:

Upsells are not to be found when the ship is sold out. So, it's always good to book a cabin you can live with. Most of the time we have. It's hard to figure out all the white spaces in deck plans, though. Can be crew working areas, that can be noisy.

 

 

 

 

 

Our original cabin was one I was more than happy with, so if there had been no Upsell option or ones we weren't keen on, it would have been more than ok. 

52 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

Congratulations!  Did you receive an email or decided to call on your own?

Thank you! I just called on the off chance, no email. 

1 minute ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

When is your cruise?

26 March to 2 April 2023

I called the Upsell Desk this morning when they opened and was on hold for 45 minutes. We were originally booked in a Verandah (VC) on Deck 6 Forward and I was offered a good price for a Signature Suite (SS) on the same deck Midship. Unfortunately all Neptune Suites are sold out, so I took the offer for the Signature Suite. This will be our first time in this suite, having previously been lucky enough to travel in Neptune Suites.

33 minutes ago, tuolumne couple said:

So it's been a couple of weeks from the last post on this thread, so here's the update. We did get an upsell offer, after calling and waiting on hold music not very long, and accepted the upsell. We are on a back to back and the offer conveyed (after asking) to both sailings. Good things do happen!    

Thanks for the update. As our cruise is now just 29 days away I might give the Upsell Desk a call on Monday. Fingers crossed. 

We are on the NA the week after and I can see 43 Options, including excursions for HMC. Seems strange that they are not showing up for the week prior to us.

On 2/21/2023 at 1:47 PM, HappyInVan said:

 

Fortunately, you were on a casino offer. I wouldn't pay $$$$$ for a Neptune Guarantee because it's likely to be a former-Signature Suite (SB) in the corners of the ship, as far down as Deck 4. And, the price would be thousands of dollars more than a SS suite. 🙄

We must have been really lucky. Both times we have booked a Neptune Guarantee we ended up on Deck 7 mid ship.

Hope the dates for the NA are deferred,  as we are booked on her from 26 March to 2 April!

Portland excursions have now finally shown up!

We were on the Nieuw Amsterdam last month and got our first tiles (this was only our 2nd cruise with HAL). This was on a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise.

Thank you for all the information, I have been following this thread with some interest. I booked a 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise leaving in 43 days on NA just this past week. I am only a 2* Mariner, having been on 2 cruises with HAL so far. Both times we got a really good deal on a Neptune suite, this time I am taking our adult daughter and we are booked in a Verandah (VD) (again, another great deal). Having done some mock bookings I see that our cruise is far from sold out (lots of cabins available in almost every category, including the suites), so hoping to get a good upsell offer. However, it needs to be good as currently our cruise is cheaper than our flights (we are coming from Alberta, Canada). I guess there is hope yet reading all your experiences!

2 minutes ago, Reydnn38 said:

I can't eat any dairy and what the others have said has been true for me - they bring you a menu the day before and you pick out what you want so they can make it dairy free (in my case).  They have a "special diet" station that I think these requests go through down in the galley.  However, it's not always perfect.  I've been served a "dairy free" dessert topped off with real whipped cream - my head waiter caught it as it was being served.  And the buffet is another issue.  Lots of room for cross contamination there - their head chef told me to always ask for a serving of something from the back as on the line food drips from spoons, etc. into other dishes.  And I always ask the line chefs what I can eat that doesn't have dairy in it.  If I ask three different people about 25% of the time I get different answers so proceed at your own risk at the buffet.  I also bring my own dressings and breads onboard because that seems to be two areas where it's hard to get items dairy free.  Sometimes I also bring my own desserts onboard as I get tired of eating fruit for dessert all the time.  So there are limitations but the travel makes up for that.  Just please, please bring an EpiPen with you.  I don't know how many times I've chatted with passengers with allergies and either they didn't bring one on the trip with them or it's back in their room somewhere.  Good luck!

Thank you!

She never travels anywhere without her epipen. I like the idea of bringing some of your own stuff onboard. Will have to look into that, as we are flying in from Canada, and I am sure there is a limit to what food stuffs we can bring over - but worth bearing in mind!

4 minutes ago, tupper10 said:

I have multiple food allergies to some very common things used to prepare food -  examples are  fresh/cooked carrots and peppers (not the spice)  which is often in many foods.  I filled out the allergy form prior to the cruise, and also brought a detailed typed letter listing all my food allergies and gave it to the head maitre'd when I boarded the ship. I had multiple copies so he could distribute it to the staff.  The maitre'd brought me up to the Lido to meet with the head staff there and if I ate there I was to call for this staff member  or his assistant so my food could be specially prepared.  I eat pretty simply on cruises and eat none of the desserts, except ice cream,  due to cross contamination.  The staff knows the ingredients of everything that is prepared on board, and if it is prepared from 'outside the ship' they will tell you that they don't know what is in it and you should pick something else. I was fine and had a great cruise.  I was told not to eat in the speciality restaurants as they don't have separate kitchens and for dinner it was the MDR. I did Lido for lunch and sometimes breakfast.  So with these restrictions your daughter will be fine.  

Thank you! Our daughter has similar food allergies (carrots, all nuts/treenuts, cucumber, parsley, any stone fruit/veg, etc), so it's good to hear that you were able to enjoy your cruise and get some decent food. Our daughter has little laminated cards with her "death foods" (as she calls it) and takes them everywhere to hand out where and when needed.

We are thinking of booking with HAL, possibly Nieuw Amsterdam (if that makes a difference), but our adult daughter has severe food allergies. I noted on HAL's website their statement that as long as they are advised of everything this should not be a problem.

I would like to hear from anyone with recent experiences please. Did you have to constantly ask the kitchen/chefs etc? How easy was it to get food prepared that was in accordance with your allergy list, any issues with cross contamination (as that is an issue for our daughter)?

Thank you for any experiences you can share with us.

2 hours ago, shof515 said:

Other cruise lines is canceling Portland. be aware for a possible port cancellation

Thank you, do you know if they are replacing it with another port?

Hi there,

We have just booked Canada/New England on the LOTS, sailing 7 Sep 2023. I have started looking at available excursions, but Portland is not listed on the excursions tab. Anybody have any idea why this might be? 

Thanks!

8 minutes ago, jbrinkm said:

 

Most operate online and via email now, but you want to make sure you get one that is a real person who can advocate for you, not just a site with a sale. Are you on the "other" blog/forum/message boards? The Royal Caribbean blog one? You can get recommendations over there!

Thanks, haven't looked, but will now!

9 minutes ago, Donsyb said:

We’ve always booked online and never had a problem

Good to know, thank you!

12 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

For anything simple, you can do it online.

Thank you. I believe it would be a straight forward booking; 2 adults; possible included flights, but might not depending on price.

7 minutes ago, jbrinkm said:

I would recommend using a RCI-knowledgeable TA. Many benefits without giving up much control at all. I think there may be additional benefits for International travelers to use a USA based one, as well, but I've only seen some comments about it - no firsthand experience.

I did think about using a TA, but I wouldn't even know where to find one with RCI knowledge if I am honest. We live in a small town in Canada, and I have not really seen any TAs, never mind any that specialize in cruises.

We are thinking of booking our next cruise directly with RCI, our first time sailing with them. Is it better to book via their website or should we call them?

We are in Canada, if that makes a difference.

Thank you!

Hi All,

We are looking at a Canada/New England cruise for this September and have narrowed it down to either Liberty of the Seas (9 days) with Royal Caribbean or Emerald Princess with Princess (7 days). Having read different reviews etc, we are not sure which is the better ship.

We have never cruised on either line, having only done 2 cruises on HAL so far. We are 2 adults in their early 50s and this time it just came down to the itinerary and the sail dates (due to DHs work schedule). On Liberty we would be booking a spacious ocean view balcony whereas on Emerald we would book a standard balcony. 

I have read different reviews that say that the buffet on Emerald was nothing to write home about, haven't really seen much on this topic for the Liberty. We prefer the buffet, and while we know it is mass catering and you cannot expect 5 stars, a rubbish buffet would somewhat ruin it for my DH.

Entertainment, daily programming etc is not that important to us, but quality of food and service is.

Any help in guiding our decision would be greatly appreciated!

1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said:

Assuming you mean Port Everglades, I would be there 10:45 to 11ish.

Yes, sorry, Port Everglades. 

And thank you!

We are due to board the NA tomorrow and are in Boarding Group A with an 11am check in time. 

How early should we arrive for this?