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Did not want to start a new thread so I am posting here. Mrs Fan and I are HAL newbies and I have some questions about the TS. We are sailing on the Rotterdam out of Amsterdam in August this coming year (7-day Norse Legends). I am very interested in purchasing the Thermal Suite for the week. I sailed on another line, and we were situated below the spa. I would go up in the early morning and hit the steam room, sauna and then the shower which was way bigger than our cabin shower (I'm 6'4") while Mrs Fan enjoyed her morning tea. Safe to assume that without paid TS access, the steam/sauna would be off limits? For the $150/week cost, it seems like money I would spend for the access. Any comments and recommendations would be appreciated.

I'm looking at staying at the Warwick in June for an RCL sailing. RCL sails out of the same port area as HAL so it is not real close, but a short Uber ride away. But the Warwick is near Pike Place Market so we can do some touristy stuff as we are getting in the day before. It's under $250 and is nice and clean. We stayed at the Warwick just before Covid hit during an Amtrack rail trip from Chicago to Seattle and the Warwick stay was built into the cost of the train trip.

Mrs Fan is looking forward to the afternoon tea. We are HAL newbies and when I mentioned that they do a formal Tea, she was so excited.

Wifi calling or WhatsApp (free) is the solution. Probably 90% of all phones are Wifi calling capable. There are a few outliers (Consumer Cellular). We live in a rural area and only use Wifi calling from the house. You need to have an internet wifi package from HAL. If your phone is not wifi capable, use WhatsApp. It is an app that lets your call and text via wifi. So if you have wifi on the ship, you can call. If you get to port and find a bar or restaurant that has wifi, you can call. No need to spend money for special plans. Companies that are selling these plans are just gouging you for not knowing the other options. Google up "how to make a wifi call from your (android or iPhone) phone".

Not really money saving, but a hack nonetheless. It takes me about 10 minutes to be ready for dinner and Mrs Fan takes 30 minutes or more. I head up to the buffet and create a charcuterie plate with cheeses, some thin sliced meats, olives, cherry tomatoes, crackers or bread (with butter), whatever they have. I grab 2 serving wraps (napkin with silverware wrapped inside). We are most always in a balcony cabin, so I bring in the table from the balcony. Put the cloth napkins on the table as a tablecloth and set out the plate of finger snacks. We can nosh and snack while getting ready for dinner. We normally bring 2 bottles of wine on the ship (this will be our first HAL cruise - so not sure about the wine allotment) and I pour a couple glasses of wine. It makes for a great "happy hour" in our cabin. Before we head up to dinner, I clean up and stack the plates, and put the table back.

I have booked 2 Veranda rooms on a HAL sailing out of Amsterdam next August. I did the booking (thru Costco Travel). Mrs Fan and I are in one room, my sister and SIL are in the other. I can's seem to figure out how to link the rooms. I did this with a RCL sailing to Alaska with my grown kids and spouses (4 rooms total). On RCL I was able to add booking numbers and now all 4 rooms are in my reservation. I see this in the upper right corner of the webpage of my specific booking. When I click on the "Do you have another booking" it just loops around to my booking and no way to enter the booking number of the other one (again, I booked both rooms and paid for the bookings). Sorry if this has been asked and answered before, I could not find it via searching on the boards.

Unless you need the actual 110 power, if you are looking to charge several phones, headphones or anything that uses a USB cord. I use this (below). I is a pig tail that will charge multiple devices from a single USB port. Charges my Andriod phone, Mrs Fan's iPhone, my wireless headphones while using a single USB port. They come in other versions. This one has a MIcro USB connection, a USB-C connection and 2 iPhone Firewire connections. AmazonSmile: Multi Charging Cable USAMS 2Pack 4FT 4 in 1 Nylon Braided Multiple USB Fast Charging Cord Adapter Type C Micro USB Port Connectors Compatible Cell Phones Tablets and More : Electronics

Mrs Fan and I both have GE and Pre (Thanks to one of our credit cards). Makes things really easy. We have not flown international since pre-pandemic but when we did, the Global Entry helped get us thru the lines. And yes, you have to have the TSA-PRE on your boarding pass or the TSA folks won't let you in the Pre line. Mrs Fan and I flew a few weeks back and did not realize that the TSA-PRE was not on her pass (computer glitch?).

We are sailing on Oct 23 VOTS just not stopping at Portland. We live near Nashville and are staying at the Westin too (Bonvoy Points). Thank you for the updates. How did you get from Logan to the Westin? Taxi? Uber? Then how did you get from the Westin to the cruise terminal/Black Falcon? It looks like you can walk it, but not sure. Just wondering.

I grabbed a sailing on the Rotterdam out of Amsterdam in August (12th) next year for me and Mrs Fan, my sister and SIL (2 cabins). Finalized this on Sept. 29, 2022 Booked it thru Costco Travel. The sailing shows up on the HAL website but missing a lot of the perks that were supposed to be included. It only shows a credit for Specialty Dining and a $100 excursion credit. It's a long way off, and I assume that they will show up at some point. Supposed to have the following: (Checked is what shows on the HAL website) $100.00 Cruise Line Shipboard Credit Shipboard Credit Per Stateroom (included in cruise line shipboard credit shown above) Reduced Deposit (That went from $350 to only $50 per cabin) Included Crew Appreciation (previously called complimentary shipboard gratuities) Signature Beverage Package One Specialty Dinner - Shows on the HAL website Wi-Fi Surf Package for Two USD 100 Shore Excursion Credit (per person) - Shows on the HAL website

At the bottom of the app (the phone version). There is a little traveler picture with a plus (+) sign. Click on that and then start adding travelers. Then you scan passports (or manually add them), upload Covid Vax card (take a picture). The system auto loads the passport information, but double check the passport number (it misread Mrs Fan's number) and manually add any other information they want.

Mrs Fan and I are on the 10/23 sailing VOTS. Can't wait. We have not cruised in a long time and are RCL newbies.

I think we are going to take the Norse Legends. It seemed like the best for fjords and now several posters have confirmed that. @StLouisCruisers My brother is the owner of Maull's BBQ (a St. Louis original). I figured you might know the brand. I think the Norse Legends is the way to go. Thanks to all for the advice and help

Can't really do B2B due to pets and such. My sister is an attorney and can put clients on hold for a week, but probably not 2 weeks. I think I am leaning for the Alesund/Bergen - Norse legends trip. Plus we will stay a few days in Amsterdam and see the city/countryside. We have several cruises scheduled this coming year. Boston to NE/Canada in October (RCCL) and an Alaskan inside passage next June (also RCCL). We are going to Whistler BC in Feb for our actual Anniversary (we were both long time Floridians, so snow is still a big deal). We were trying to work out an Australia/New Zealand trip and decided it was too complicated and decided to do the Whistler + Trip to Norway instead as a compromise.

Going to book a "bucket list" sailing for Me (65 healthy), Mrs Fan (64 healthy), my sister (71 some health issues) and SIL (70s healthy). We are looking at the Aug 2023 sailings on the Rotterdam out of Amsterdam. All of us are retired so we can choose either the Norse Legends (Aug 12) or the Viking Sagas (Aug 19). We will get 2 balcony/veranda rooms. This will be our only Norway trip for the foreseeable future and want to see Fjords and the sights Just wondering what folks thought about each trip. Thanks in advance.

I recently had booked four (4) rooms for our family group that were on floors 9 thru 11 on Quantum (Alaska inside passage). Then another poster stated that due to the overhang above, the balconies on the upper floors did not get much direct sunlight during the day and it made for a cold place to sit. The cruise is not until June 2023, so there were still open rooms. I went and had the rooms changed to lower decks 6 and 7 (both port and starboard - same class room).

Did you link them from the App or on the RCCL website?

My daughter says that after serving everyone for years on end, she wants to be served when she is on the ship. MDR for most of the meals. Makes sense to me. RCCL newbie, but I assume that a server will take your order and serve you at a table in the MDR during breakfast. Eggs benedict or omelet, some hash browns, and a spicy Bloody Mary. I love cold smoked salmon and on other ships/lines I have been able to get that on the side - I hope that is the case with RCCL. Voyager OTS to NE/Canada - Oct 23, 2022 (Just me and Mrs Fan) Quantum OTS to Alaska - June 12, 2023 (Our 3 grown kids and spouses)

The Key is a "your mileage may vary" kind of thing. To me, not worth $35/pp/day. But in the $25 range to me is worth it and meets our needs. Mrs Fan gets anxious around large crowds such as standing in line for boarding. I would gladly pay a fixed fee, if it was offered, just to board early and not stand in long lines for her sake. I bought it for a trip to NE/Canada in October ($25/pp/day). If it goes lower, I will cancel and rebuy at the lower rate. For a trip we have planned to Alaska in June 2023 it is priced out at $29 (down from $35) - so not at a price point where I will buy yet. Fingers crossed for a "Black Friday" sale. If it hits the $25 dollar range, I will buy it.

We have a cruise in October and one next year in June. Sent in my info about 2 weeks ago and was confirmed for both sailings within 24 hours. I too use the portal. Many still use the e-mail and even snail-mail. The portal was quick and easy and let me do both cruises at the same time.

My MIL had a form of Parkinson's and could get around with a walker or on someone's arm for a short distance. We also brought a wheelchair for use to get to the MDR, boarding and such. TA had no issue getting her (and my FIL) an accessible room. If your TA is not cooperating, then push back hard. Once on-board, no one is going to become the "handicapped" police and move someone. I gave their room steward a $50 before we set sail and asked them to be diligent to their needs as they were several floors from the rest of the family. Everyone was satisfied.

That was what I got from a Google search for "2022" cruise job fairs - did not mean to mislead Here was a job fair in Jamaica (June 23rd - Jamaican Observer). There are people out there wanting to work. They just have to get them screened, vetted and trained. I assume that is a several months long process at least. So, no shirt-term relief for the shortage for the summer crowds sailing. https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latest-news/watch-hundreds-flock-to-cruise-ship-job-recruitment/

I'm of the opinion that anyone over 18 should have a Passport. Daughter and SIL are both in their 30s. Get a Passport and a Global Entry card. A lot of credit cards these days will cover the $100 fee for the card.

Your review is great. Thank you for doing this. We are sailing next June (2023) a week later than your trip dates June 12-19.