Duane S.

Thanks for the responses, hopefully we will be on time!

unable to find an answer via search engine we have fixed early seating on our trip to Alaska next may. If we are late for our seating time can we still use the assigned table? I am trying to determine if there is any time leeway to get to our scheduled mdr dining time and if so how much?? unlikely we would be more than 15 to 20 minutes late but is that too late to use our assigned seating? I tried several times to get info on this but never got a straight answer. thanks in advance for any response

enjoying the live feeds and info, many thanks to those who give us all this great info. wife and I are considering a 14 day Alaska cruise next May, thought I would ask current cruisers if they felt like 14 days would be too many? there are numerous 7 day cruises and some that involve land events but I am not sure I would enjoy the logistics of the land portions, planes trains and hotels, so we are looking at the 14 day which is all ports from Vancouver. So I am interested in your opinions on my dilemma, 7 or 14 days, what do you all think since you are doing it right now! This is our first trip to Alaska so we know nothing, lol. thanks in advance to any who are kind enough to respond,

thank you very helpful

thanks for the info, we are definitely all in on a Michelin star meal will keep Nectari on our list

We will be doing the post Barcelona 2 nite stay in 2025, I am researching what to do for the 2 nites we are there. Interested in your experiences of the post Barcelona stay specifically where you stayed in relation to the sites and what did you do the morning of deemabarkation from the ship. Any input is appreciated thank you

ours was a screw top, but it can vary based on their suppliers per one of the bar tenders.

we were on Rotterdam 11-2023, the drink pkg included a 12 ounce metal bottle, not the 16 oz, they will charge you for those.

thanks ottahand7, that is great news I feel much better about the music venues now!!

Is the cig smoke bad in the casino ? We are cruising on the Eurodam in November 24

this may be slightly off topic but it does relate to airfare We are booked for a future cruise on Hal in September to Boston and return from Montreal, I checked the airfare and they seem to be quite expensive, so much so that it almost equals the cost of the cruise, I despise flying but it is the only way in this case We are actually considering canceling the cruise due to the high cost of flying to the port. Do the costs of flights come down the closer we get to the sail date? We have until June to make a decision but it sure isn't looking good. also, for the New Englanders, Are we better off simply driving to New England as our main goal is to see the coast and fall colors if so what time of the fall is the best weeks to go for foliage views ? If this inquiry does not belong here please simply remove it. thanks

We just completed a cruise and drove from tn to port, parked at park n go near cruise terminal and it is super simple and much less stressful than going into the port,IMO, they dropped our bags right at the terminal and we walked in, had to wait in line briefly when we returned from the cruise but that was expected.

I was able to comparison shop the 2 future cruises we booked for September 24 and July 25, that we booked while on board, and the on board booking were both less expensive when you factor in the on board credit. So for me it not much of a sale and Ill stick with what I got. Also, the BF sale requires full payment within a month, the onboard bookings do not. Caveat Emptor

I have been very clear in my comments, I am only concerned about the INTERIOR spaces, we knew that the aft pool area was smoker friendly and were able to avoid it entirely as a passenger is not required to walk thru that area to get to another venue, Smokers need some area to smoke in and the aft pool is a logical and workable choice, plus it is outside so the wind takes care of the problem. So NO I would not be in favor of banning smoking in the aft pool area.

Not sure what time you were there but literally every time we traveled near or thru the casino there were multiple smokers and the smell carried. It was so bad that on port days, when the casino is closed, they used portable high volume fans and air freshener to try and clear the cigarette smell. I do remember that the smoking was limited to the slot machines/video poker etc. at one point when we walked thru literally every machine next to the craps table had a person smoking a cig., at one point while simply walking thru the main aisle of video poker machines a man purposely blew smoke into our faces. From my experience the smell of smoke carries quite a distance whether there are 2 or 20 smokers, The point is that no passenger on any cruise ship interior space should be subject to second hand smoke, it is unhealthy and violates personal health rights. If enough passengers complain they will change the policy and yes I made a point to comment on the smoking in the post cruise survey, it is sad that a really nice cruise experience was marred by unavoidable second hand smoke.

Just got home from 9 day on Rotterdam and one of the biggest negatives for the cruise was the smoking in the casino, the smell carried to the BB King Blues club and forward to the world theatre, There is NO reason non smokers should be subjected to secondhand smoke on any ship interior deck, anyone who thinks the smell of smoke on deck 2 and 3 is minimal or tolerable either has a poor sense of smell, or is or lives with a smoker. HAL needs to ban smoking from the interior of the ship, we passed up on multiple opportunities to play black jack in the casino just because of the atrocious amount of smoke in the room. Ok said my 2 cents.

hoping to. get a cable car Ala the Bellagio in Vegas, spiced rum, cointreau, sweet and sour, orange twist in a cinnamon sugar rimmed glass. as smooth as kool aid and addictive. love them.

Very good info, that is exactly what I needed to know, at 5.00 the upgrade would be kinda worth it but at 10.00 it is not, IMO so I will stick with what I have thanks again

I have looked for any info regarding upgrading the HIA Signature drink pkg to simply upgrading that drink package to the Elite pkg without affecting the other portions of the HIA pkg, per the website the Signature pkg is 54.95 and the Elite is 59.95 does that mean we could simply pay 5.00 per person per day for the upgrade or does it make the signature pkg/HIA void or changed to my detriment? So bottom line, is it possible to upgrade the Bev package within the HIA package or does that cause problems? Thanks in advance for any input

did I read correctly that you can make reservations in MDR even if you are checked in for open seating? Do you still have to wait in line even if you have a reservation?

very true and I do realize that but that's just as difficult as finding one locally. Being a TA is probably a tough gig and few people want to deal with it.

Add me to the list of frustrated callers, I have a PCC but they NEVER return calls or emails? So basically the pcc is worthless for me. I have had to make several calls to HAL, which related in great frustration trying to get answers, one person could BARELy speak English others were not knowledgeable or could not provide info. I have finally developed a routine of calling, if the person who answers does not speak English in a tangible manner, I simply hang up and try again until I find someone who can actually communicate. I know this sounds rude but which is worse very poor customer service or me not wasting their time and mine going around in circles? Call centers are cheap labor and unfortunately there are so many people traveling and cruising nowadays that the companies have absolutely NO reason to improve or even care, they are making money and that quite frankly is all that matters to them. If I ever find a good TA I will use them exclusively, but alas that has not happened yet, it does not help that I am in a small town so my choices are very limited. Is Viking any better?

thanks for the replies regarding the water and coke cans, good info.

I have seen this discussion before and am still confused, there are 3 sizes of bottled water, 12, 16 and 1 ltr. The general consensus is that the 12 oz cans are included in the Bev pkg, and the 1 ltr bottles are NOT. the gray area becomes the 16 oz bottles, so I called HAL and asked the question if the 16 oz bottles are included and they said YES, but I have seen several references from actual cruisers that the 16 oz bottle is an extra charge. I tend to believe the cruisers but I guess I will find out when we sail in Nov. If anyone is on the Rotterdam now maybe they could simply ask guest services and clarify , I drink a lot of water and 12 oz doesn't go far, I will also be carrying refillable water bottles so if they charge for the 16 oz can I will still be fine. Also, something I have not seen, Does the ship have canned coke products, not just fountain but actual canned coke, this is a very big deal to my spouse as she is a diet cokaholic. I have learned quite a lot from all those who contribute on this forum, thank you all

That's our issue as well we just want to know what time it is without hunting for phone, plus it is a bit of a nite lite as well. bummer about the happy hour but I thought that it would be that way, no loss, I can't drink 15 alcoholic drinks in one day anyway lol