JesterWA

I hate to rehash previous questions but haven't had any luck finding an answer here or elsewhere - any experience with whether cabins below get smoke from the starboard smoking area (or smoking pit / smoking garden, if you prefer!)? We can happily avoid the designated smoking areas, but it would be an absolute deal-breaker if noticeable in our cabin 😞

I did this about 2 months back - booked the new deal first, then cancelled the old booking with no problems. My deposit was technically non-refundable but HAL very kindly refunded it on request.

This thread has just come to my attention, and as an upcoming first-timer with HAL I'm a tad worried... we are booked in BB guarantee on Zaandam which I now understand is directly below the aft smoking area. Are we likely to get smoke on our balcony? My companion is a chronic asthmatic so this is quite a potential problem for us 😕

It amazed me how many "service" companies (phone, credit card, electricity etc) struggled to deal with the situation. It can't be that unusual!

Have a wonderful time vswan! The paperwork really is a nightmare. I spent nearly a year going in circles with the phone company, who insisted only the account holder could make changes to the account no matter how many times I explained (and in the bluntest of terms!) that he had passed away! It's frustrating but you will get there. Good luck 🙂

Thanks @SelectSys. I'll do some reading up on Tabor Canyon, and see if I can find some more info 🙂

Thanks for the kind thoughts, and putting my mind at ease about dining. I think I will aim for a combo of solo dinners and shared tables, based on how leisurely I fancy my meal!

Hi all, wondering if anyone knows which trail / area this excursion goes to? I'm travelling with HAL but looks like the same excursion is also offered by Princess. For some context, I'm reasonably fit and comfortable with hiking generally. However, I have a shoulder issue and not so keen on an excursion with lots of scrambling over large boulders or ropes. It looks like some of the popular trails in this area require scrambling / climbing. Thanks for any advice!

I'm new to this forum, but wanted to jump in as it was losing my husband that led to my first cruise! My husband died under very sudden and difficult circumstances, at only 34 years old, and there was a lot of family and legal stuff to deal with. Around six months after his passing I was completely burnt out and felt like I was drowning under grief and all that other "stuff" I felt completely ill-equipped to deal with. I wanted to get away from all that and give myself some space to actually deal with my feelings. My husband and I had always done a lot of independent travel, so I'm quite confident with that style, but I wanted a setting where all I had to focus on was me. I saw an excellent last minute deal to Alaska and jumped on it. One of the best decisions I made during that time. Sometimes it was really hard, I would be on deck looking at the most incredible scenery and feeling happy again, then sometimes it would hit me that he should be here experiencing it too. And how can the world be so beautiful and so damn unfair at the same time. Being on a cruise gave me an easy space to have those feelings – I had a clean, quiet cabin with a lovely view that I could just be alone in and think, cry, sleep, read, whatever I needed. And even better, I didn't have to make these decisions in advance - emotions and energy levels can be so up and down in the early days, and I was glad that I wasn't locked in to a travel style that might not always suit where I was at on any particular day. I had some days where I joined activities and walked the promenade and made small talk at afternoon tea, and some days where I just sat on my balcony and cried. I also found cruising perfect for “little victories” in adjusting to life on my own. Little things like going to the cafe and sitting in to have my coffee, which I would never have done solo previously. On the cruise, all I had to do was push myself to order and sit and enjoy the coffee, and within minutes I could be back in my cabin congratulating myself and recovering from the effort! I did a mix of ship excursions, private excursions, and just walking around port. I enjoyed all of these, and had different but positive social interactions with all. One of my favourites was hiring a private driver who I ended up getting along really well with. After the tour, we picked up her dogs and took them to the pub for a cuddle and a drink. It was a highlight of my trip! I’m reasonably confident in my ability to manage things solo and I have done more independent activities on subsequent cruises, but I did appreciate the ease of an excursion (ship or private) where I was met at the port for that first solo cruise. The recurring thing here – making things easy! Just focusing on my feelings and looking after myself was what I needed, and the cruise was a perfect environment for that. It gets said a lot that your loved one would want you to keep living life to the fullest. I know this is well-intentioned, but I must admit I found it really grating in the first few months. However, there is some truth to it and for myself, there is also a feeling that I am lucky to still be here when he is not, and I shouldn’t waste that. So the tldr here - I think a cruise is the perfect balance between getting out there and looking after yourself after such a devastating loss. There is no single "right time" to do something like this but I would certainly add to others' comments that it is a worthwhile thing to do. And now for my solo cruise question - I will be on my first cruise with HAL next year. I have never shared a table at dinner before, partly because I have a small appetite and some food quirks, but I'm thinking of pushing myself this time! I assume that when sharing a table, orders are taken once everyone is seated and most people order three courses? If I'm trying to time dinner around a performance, how long should I allow for a shared dinner? I'm typically in and out in 45 minutes on my own but certainly don't expect that with a group! Thanks. Edit - I'm on any time dining, so I assume asking for a shared table would just be luck of the draw for how many people and how long it takes to fill the table? Would I be left waiting for ages to order if nobody else wanted to share?!