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Now I haven't written a physical check, especially to the grocery store in probably 10 or 15 years. Here where we live, (hate to brush with a broad brush here) but it seems that the older women stand in line watching the groceries go by, then the total is rung up. Then they start fishing thru their purse for the checkbook and a pen. Then start writing the check, hand over the check, then go to the purse/wallet to fish out their driver's license. UGH! I hold them in the same "high regard" as those at the terminal with no paperwork. It is so easy to do things ahead of time.

If we get on the ship early and it is still before noon, we get Mimosas so we have the OJ and Champagne as kind of a toast.

And on debarkation, your luggage is set apart in a separate "The Key" area. No wading through a sea of bags. When we did The Key in Boston last October on the Voyager, the embarkation process was a dumpster fire even for The Key buyers. It looked like the entire passenger list just showed up at 10:30. We went to The Key area and a crabby woman at the entrance of The Key roped area sent us to the back of the main line which was about 150 yards long with passengers standing 2-3 abreast. I was hopping mad. I saw another worker who appeared to be a supervisor coming down the line, talked to her and she walked us back to The Key area, then literally pushed us into the roped area while arguing with the crabby woman who initially stopped us as she still was not going to let us board via The Key area. After that initial issue, we were onboard in less than 15 minutes. Anyway, debarkation was a breeze. Ate breakfast, then an employee walked us to the head of the debarkation line, passports were checked. Got to the bottom of the stairway at the terminal and there was a roped of area of only The Key holders luggage. Super easy.

From what I have seen the dress code is almost not enforced at all. Shorts and flip-flops are probably banned, but last cruise on formal night, the table over from us had a woman in a frumpy sweat suit and the guy (I kid you not) was wearing bib overalls with a flannel shirt. Suit and tie were almost non-existent and sport coats (what I wore) were sparse. Most people were smartly dressed, just not like it was even 10 years ago. You can dress to the nines if you like, but most will be dressed in styles like you mentioned (summer dress, collared shirt and slacks)

IMHO, the Key needs to get to a price point where you feel comfortable. For us that is around $25/pp. Honestly, it offers very little bang for the buck. RCL could really make it a great service (See HAL's Club Orange). If I was "King" of RCL, I would at least offer a free "Drink of the Day" every day. Reinstate the free room service and maybe a few other perks (maybe a $20-$25 credit in the casino) with a "use it or lose it" rule.

We are sailing on the Rotterdam in Aug out of Amsterdam. I too would like to book the Thermal package. I was hoping for some sort of "10% off" sale or similar pre-booking, but I guess they just don't discount it.

Sailing a TA on the QM2 is a "bucket list" trip for us and I am curious about Cunard and how their pricing works and best times to sail. Do the transatlantic crossings sell out frequently? Is there a "shoulder" season for TA crossings that would have less passengers and better discounts? Does Cunard have a "Going, going, gone" type webpage to find last minute deals? Once a sailing and room has been chosen, are there any options for upgrades? Is it less expensive to go in a specific direction? UK to US or vice-versa? Sorry if these questions seem rudimentary, but I just don't know a lot about Cunard.

Grandkids, pets, friends. We have 2 vacation homes in the western NC Smoky Mountains. We VRBO/Airbnb them. We use them when we want by blocking out days for ourselves and when we are not there, they generate revenue. I take the money that they generate, and we trip all we want, when we want. For me, this is a way better option than spending $4M (plus expenses) on a ship suite. With a $4M outlay, you have to think you want to use it enough to get your money's worth and would feel the need to be onboard all the time.

Great overview. Can't wait to sail on her. Like @YourWorldWithBill we are sailing out of Amsterdam but later in August. This will be our first ever HAL trip.

I expect to be around kids in the MDR as I'm getting what I "paid" for. Same reasoning if I am eating at Longhorn Steakhouse vs Ruth's Chris. IMHO the specialty restaurants are extremely pricey. There are soft costs in having the MDR built into the overall cost of the cruise. If a specialty restaurant charges me $50/pp, and for grins, let's say the MDR soft cost is 60% of that ($30/pp). Then I am paying out $80/pp to eat in a specialty restaurant with both add on costs and soft costs. Again, in my opinion, I'm not sure any of the specialty restaurants are worth it and if there are noisy kids sitting nearby, then it definitely is not worth it.

What's the old adage? Crying kids like good intentions, should be carried out immediately. I didn't read the entire thread but maybe limit the hours for kids in the specialty dining areas. Early times for adults with kids, later dining times adults only

Is there a laundry area for guests to use on the ship? I've read some conflicting accounts. We are sailing in August on a 7-day Norway Fjords trip, but it will be after spending a week in traveling around northern Europe. I'd like to wash a few things and would rather not use the sink.

We "dock" at 7:00 am. The tour is scheduled for 10:00 am. Plenty of time. I didn't know that Geiranger was a tender port. For the $120/pp savings, I will gladly wait an hour or so on the ship while the HAL folks head to shore.

I bet they outsource/offshore their IT. There are too many issues with the website. The vendor pays a fine of some sort for a "terms of service" error and they move on. Either that or the CIO should be "keel-hauled" on the next Alaskan cruise ship departure. The PP was meant for their Celebrity line (raises pinky finger) and not for us goobers who are on RCL. Grabbed this screenshot from RCL Blog website.

We are doing a RIB boat ride in Geiranger. Booked thru a local operator. Listed at $175/pp on the HAL website. It was about $53/pp thru the local operator (Kroner to dollar converter). Big difference. Looks like the same or very similar tour that HAL is offering in their planning guide. We are going on the Eidfjord Cruise & Voringsfossen Waterfall excursion offered by HAL at $129/pp but we have the $100/pp excursion credit to use so net cost $29/pp. We will do HOHO buses at other stops or just walk around on our own. You can Google or TripAdvisor any of the ports and find local operators. I would book sooner rather than later. We sail in August on the Rotterdam.

Dollars to doughnuts they outsource/offshore their IT work. It's not just HAL. We are sailing on RCL in June and the website is out of commission annoyingly often. Sailings don't show up, you can't buy stuff, it is crazy bad. You'd think that will so many years in the business, that they could have a fairly bug free system designed by now.

The price increases are across the board for all the lines (or so it seems). We are sailing to Alaska on RCL Quantum OTS in June. The prices are up and down on the Royal website but are not down to what they were some months ago. My issue is when the price goes up and there is no added benefit. The Wifi costs should be fixed if they have not installed the new Starlink systems otherwise you are being gouged for bad/slow internet service. We are HAL newbies and I keep looking at the website for discounts on the add-on stuff. The Thermal Suite has been fixed at $149 and has not moved for 5-6 months. No black-Friday deal, no Presidents Day sale, nothing. The price of the Veranda Cabins are up about $1,000 since we booked. We are sailing to Norway and I booked independently for some excursions. The RIB boat tour was $175/pp on HAL and only $53/pp thru the local operator (and looks like the same trip). I am grateful that we got in on the "Best Sale Ever" deal when we booked and got pre-paid gratuities, wifi, drinks package, $100 OBC, $100/pp excursion credit, specialty dining and more.

No internet would be a huge mess for me. I have some VRBO/Airbnb rentals that I need to monitor daily. I think that StarLink is going to be fitted on most of the CCL ships soon. See the article below. What Is Starlink and Which Cruise Ships Use Starlink Internet | Cruise Critic

Timing plays a large part when sailing with Carnival. Around Spring Break and summer peak, is a mess. We sailed the Breeze during Christmas some years ago with Mrs Fan's family. It was a great ship and we enjoyed it. We sailed a short 5 day on the Liberty during the first week of December. It too was a great trip. So again, timing is everything for Carnival.

Use WiFi calling if your phone has it. Most of the newer phones do. You can also, use WhatsApp to phone and even video call folks - it is a Wifi calling app that is not phone dependent. You will need to have purchased Wifi for the sailing. We live out in the country where cell service is nonexistent. We use WiFi calling full time when at home. It works seamlessly and easy.

Sure would be nice to have these extras listed on the website sometime prior to boarding. If nothing else just for peace of mind. Hate to think that I might have to deal with missing perks once onboard. From other responses, that probably won't happen... but still.

I've been worried about the same thing. Specialty dining and Excursion credit were on the webpage for HAL. None of the other "stuff" shows up. I have not gotten a booking confirmation except from my TA (Large Warehouse Travel). The added bonus stuff, pre-paid gratuities, WiFi, Drinks package, etc. show up on my booking online with (Warehouse Travel), just not on HAL website.

Before I retired, the office I worked at installed these around the building. Super convenient and easy. I had a large Tervis Mug that I kept filled most of the day.

WhatsApp is a phone app and is not dependent on any specific ship or line. If you have Wifi, then WhatsApp will work. Wifi calling will work too but again you need a Wifi plan on the ship. We have T-Mobile and use Wifi calling at home as we have no cell service in the area (we live in the country). Most newer phones will have that as an option. Like @travelers07 our son was in graduate school in Switzerland and we used WhatsApp to talk to him all the time.

I bring 2 steel thermal bottles on the trip. Mrs Fan is a tea drinker and I fill one with just hot water and bring it back to the room. I fill the other with coffee for myself. I tend to be an early riser on cruises for whatever reason, so I head down to a coffee station and get the water/coffee and then head back to the room. I've not been on a HAL ship. I assume that there will be some sort of self-serve coffee stations (on the Rotterdam in August).