3rdGenCunarder

I haven't been on HAL since the "before time," but I recall that they asked if your entire group was there and ready to go. You can't send one person down early, grab tickets, and then go back to your cabin to get whatever stuff you're taking ashore. Does someone have a more recent experience with this?

I have never bothered with the thermal suite on the R and S ships because there's no thalassotherapy pool. That pool is so much more relaxing than a hot tub.

It made a return appearance on QM2 in September. On QE in June, I was in PG and got two half bottles of an Italian fizz, don't remember the name. One was embarkation, the second one was WC. I was pleased to discover that I liked it. I was disappointed to discover PA in my cabin (I was in Britannia) on QM2. There was a note saying that half bottles in general had become difficult to get, so I would get a whole bottle of PA instead of the two half bottles of something else.

Rules/processes might be different for the UK, but in the US, if you don't book HIA when you book the cruise, HAL will send offers via email, probably more than once. I book through a TA and the offer for HIA was sent directly to me. The going rate is $50 per person per day.

Any reviews on the cucumber mojito? It sounds close to the honeysuckle daiquiri that I love on Cunard. Rum and lime is always a good start. 🍹

Woo hoo! It arrived! Now you need to find an excuse not to do laundry...

And it just happened to me. I'm on Eurodam, leaving on the 15th. Today I got an email saying that the snorkel by boat at HMC has been cancelled "due to operational reasons." Not a lot of ports on this cruise, so my HIA is now worth somewhat less. I don't think there's anything else I particularly want to do on HMC, so I may skip it entirely. I don't want to substitute the airport transfer. I'd rather lose the credit than deal with the whole bus thing. Edited to add: I spent some time on HAL website. Not surprising, anything I might have booked as a substitute is sold out.

I'm thinking along those lines for my cruise next year. 21 days on Zaandam. Traveling alone, it's hard for me to get through a wine package on a short (7-10 day) cruise. The last time I had a wine package, I ordered the fizz on the last night and shared it with the table, just to use up the package. But on a longer cruise, that might be a better way to go, especially at a 4* discount. Also, the HIA for a cruise that long has 3 specialty meals. I'm not excited about Caneletto (I can get rustic lasagna any night), and the Pinnacle on the R and S ships always struck me as dark and depressing. So you really do have to look at what you can get from the package on your particular ship and itinerary.

I do that math, too. I just booked a cruise for 2024, and my TA booked it on the advantage fare. I guess the website can show only two fares because the choices were "best price" (nonrefundable deposit) and HIA. HAL always says HIA is a "$100 value." Do they ever try to sell it at $100 per day? When I do the math, I don't see how it adds up to $100. $50 is about break even for me.

Your "medium" to me would probably be "hot"!! The tempura and the duck are probably going to be my choices. Thanks, everyone for the suggestions!

Most recent offers I've seen do not.

I'm finally getting around to trying Tamarind (on Eurodam). It's going to be difficult to choose! So many things sound delicious. What are some favorite items from there? And does the Tamarind bar have a different drink menu with something different or special?

I saw the same thing on QM2 this fall. Understaffed and lots of new crew. I was at a very nice table for 6 near the window in the MDR. The waiter station for our table was far away, and we got very slow service. The only way to get to the 8:00 show was to skip dessert. We complained and the pace of service improved. However, the assistant waiter continued to make a lot of mistakes, like offering horseradish sauce for lamb instead of mint sauce. Hardly a "ruined my cruise" situation, but it showed that there were new staff who weren't trained as well as they should have been. Edited to add: Now that I think about it, I was in Princess Grill on QE in June and service was excellent. I suppose it helped that the waiter remembered me from a previous cruise, but the grills in general seemed smooth and happy. Perhaps when ships are understaffed they put more people on the more expensive cabins/dining rooms (Cunard grills, HAL CO, etc) to keep those passengers happy?

The tail of each humpback has a distinct pattern, which makes them easy to identify. A whale watch company in Juneau keeps a book of tail photos so if you get a good look or good photo of a whale, you can go through the book and identify "your" whale.

I think the reviewer was angry and chose to hate everything about the cruise.

The review did not make my brain hurt. But my eyes hurt because they kept rolling. To go back to the title and original post in this thread, the reviewer says "After my experience I went here and read many low reviews..." And you're right, there is no 6039 on the deck plan. Unless they got one of the few OV or insides on 6, the cabin they were "downgraded" to was a Vista. The only downgrade was being a lower deck and not being next to their other cabin. I'll give the reviewer that--somebody screwed up the cabin assignment. As for being "much smaller rooms than what I booked," they got what they booked. The cabin size is on HAL's site, and they're all the same size, the smaller dimension, except for the larger accessible cabins. Yeah, HAL calls it a "suite." I've been in one of those "suites" and it doesn't feel like a "suite." But I knew what I was getting when I booked it, so it is what it is. If the reviewer had posted questions here, someone would have suggested looking at HalFacts. It's a shame people have bad experiences on cruises when the information to help them make better choices is here for the asking.

I have HIA (the $50 version without grats bought after an email offer) for my upcoming Eurodam cruise. If nothing else, the dining credit got me to finally try Tamarind. I do want internet and should be okay with surf. I'm not onine a lot, but I like to keep in touch with home. I was able to book 3 excursions for the $200 credit, leaving behind a whopping $0.15. I'm not a big drinker, so I'll have to keep track in my journal (anyone remember Bridget Jones recording alcohol units consumed??) to see if I come out behind, even, or ahead on the beverage package. I'm ahead of current bookings already. I did a dummy booking and my cruise currently has the HIA price at $60 per day over the no-promo price. I just booked the 21-day Caribbean on Zaandam for next year. I did not take the HIA, and not sure if I will, since the dining options are fewer on the small ships. I did the math, and currently it's $70 per day over the no-promo price. HAL really pushes HIA, so I'm waiting to see if I get a better offer in an email.

To be fair, it is a very nice bag. 😀 I've been in CO on K'dam twice, but only got the nicer bag once. No big deal, I still have my archive of old HAL canvas bags. As for slippers, I'll pack the ones I got on Cunard this year. Perhaps seeing what another line gives (they're embroidered with the Cunard crest) will shame HAL into giving slippers again? On the subject of slippers, does anyone remember the "good night good morning" cloth that your slippers would be set out on?

It's hard to know what another person will like or dislike. I could tell you what I like and dislike about Koningsdam, but other posters here would have opposite opinions. It would be better if you asked about specific aspects of a K'dam cruise. A good start would be to read HAL's descriptions and then do a search of this forum for threads about the ship.

The aft wraps (SB) vary in size, especially on the Vistas. But oh, those balconies! I would happily trade some indoor space to get that wrap balcony. On K'dam, the bathroom for the aft wrap we had was terrible. The shower was smaller than a standard US phone booth! And no shower over the tub. I never had such an inconvenient bathroom in a Vista Neptune. The SA neptune I had on the K'dam was definitely larger and had an excellent bathroom. But, IIRC, neither Neptune on the K'dam had that nice dressing area by the bathroom.

The SC Neptunes are just like the others. On some ships, they're one deck down from the lounge. Mostly that category exists to give HAL the option of selling Neptune guarantees.

I agree. It's annoying that many people come to Cruise Critic to CRITICIZE after the fact. Have you noticed that the member names on reviews are rarely names you've seen posting on the boards? When we post here, the date we joined and how many posts we have show. That information does not show on a review. I suspect a lot of negative reviews are people who are new to CC and came to complain because it was too late to learn.

Thanks. I prefer off peak times, too. If I don't have a morning tour, I like to go early when it's quiet.

Years ago, the luncheon was limited to Mariners with some number of stars, usually 2 or 3, depending on how busy they were or the mood of the Maitre d'. Or if there was a group, like local travel agents, getting a tour and lunch. Yes everyone, even a newbie, is a Mariner. Someone on a first cruise is a Mariner with no stars. I'm sure you're right, the herders are told to say that. The staff at the elevators don't care where you eat. They just want to get you out of the way because more people are boarding. If the Lido is where they're supposed to send you, that's what they do. But it annoys me that HAL "offers" something they seem reluctant to give you.

Guess I'll have to remember to pack slippers. I have a spa question. I have bought the thermal suite pass. Will I have to schedule visits, or can I just show up? On Cunard this summer, I had to make appointments because they were doing crowd control.