REOVA

I was wondering how they closed down the kitchen for this. Thought it may have been done during the day before dinner but guess not. Seems odd they would shut down or even take reservations if they planned on using the kitchen. Oh wait, this is HAL. 😉

Those that get Bravo channel can watch final taped on Eurodam now.

If the ship is cleared from its prior cruise, usually 11-noon but with 3 pm sailing you should be onboard by 1:30.

To clarify - If you get an upsell/upgrade email or call, you can choose the cabin or deny the upsell so its good to have a deck plan ready to know where the cabin is located. If you (or your TA) checks the "upgrade" box when initial booking, then you may automatically be "upgraded" to a cabin without choice. We leave it unchecked but it's different than upsell. Whichever term you use.

MSC is a whole different animal. 🤣 Things change (more than HAL) and their customer service is known to be terrible so you are lucky to find a TA that's willing to work on them. (Big Box won't) Takes too much time to deal with them but we definitely love the YC over HAL "suites".

Hard to do when they only show non refundable deposit or HIA prices. 🤔

We found long wait times with them and and not be able to call direct was an issue. I had to go to warehouse (even though they are separate) and complain and they had to look up the regional manager to contact someone to call me. Then the agent was not happy he had to call me. Last time the agent messed up my booking (even the person that corrected it said they must be new). My current TA is on vacation at times but either she or her team responds to text or messages. The ability to reach someone directly is great and the discount plus using box CC still gets the 2%

We are like you. Loved the old mariner sailing ships with the wood and wide/lounging promenade. We only sail Pinnacle class when we have to (using up credits) and we find it hectic. HAL's crew even says they prefer the smaller ships as they get a slower pace and chance to interact with passengers. We didn't eat in MDR much due to noise level but if you ask for a smaller table 4-6, it should be better. We prep the wait staff to let them know of wine and time if needing to go to a show, communication (nicely done) helps and they like that. They should put Dutch Cafe on all ships (in the old library cafes). The promenade is a big disappointment for us and some angles are single file and can't see oncoming traffic (not everyone walks counter clockwise). There is more music and bars but it gets crowded and redundant on longer voyages. We love the old theater and the new ones are different to navigate but HAL hasn't made use of the Great technology they promoted when the first ship arrived. The pool and movie, gelato (fee), NY Deli, are nice additions. Overall there are more people and feels more crowded than the older ships but if you can find when everyone rushes to Lido or MDR you can avoid some of it. The itinerary sounds great and you will still enjoy the cruise, if you accept the difference and find the good, you will survive. 😉

Keep in mind if you book private tours, HAL revises ports (not only due to weather) and our cruise this fall has already had 2 rounds of port changes in Japan since we booked. We plan on self touring where public transportation is available as we like our own time to visit and Japan has good transit. But we also enjoy and are familiar with train/bus travel in various Countries (and NY). Learning Japanese now.😁

Once onboard guest services will wash their hands. Needs to be resolved with Corp office beforehand. If it wasn't on a Pinnacle Ship, I wouldn't be upset but since on NS ask for more OBC to cover more nights in Pinnacle Grill dinners.

Except you have to spend the 10% at the big box store via a shop card. We had a lot of balance on the card since we book longer cruises and ended up giving cards to family that might use them. We liked the old way of receiving checks which they don't do anymore. We found a TA who gives same discount upfront on price plus OBC so we switched.

Then they will be able to help you onboard.

It's worth it to choose your own if under Lido or above/near active areas (casino, world stage, bars). The Lido pool area (depending on ship) has chairs and tables (and cabanas) which crew drag and clean the deck at night and drag in morning for set up. The Lido buffet also has chairs dragged and vacuuming and cleaning mostly at night but the early morning could also by less. Pick your own under less traveled areas, like Canaletto.

There is a work around and they can help you on the ship. Are you planning on getting wifi?

Some people have used their PCC for many years and built a relationship, others have had PCC retire/quit and got someone that wasn't trained properly. I have previously used a PCC, Big Box, National Auto agency and now a small family TA that does alot of cruise bookings and passes on discounts (as lower price) at booking that beats all of my prior relationships. When I need something, I can call, email, or text and if my contact is not there, her team is available to help to get something done. They are located 1000 miles from me but so are PCCs (if they are even in US). So price and service tops distance for my choice.

It was announced last year that BB King band would not be on HAL (except Pinnacle ships). As of January the other ships were converting BB King to Rock Room but combining some of the songs.

Dolly 😇🙏

You should be able to cancel on website. Make sure you are not past any non refundable payments. Also match up any offers on the current booking with what TA is providing.

Actually we only had 4 digits (before they went to 7) on grandma's phone 😉

Try going to spa desk once onboard and see if they will recharge it under OBC and refund the credit card charge to your account. You may have to pay more (30%) or maybe not but it may allow use of the OBC, depending on which you are trying to do (use up OBC or save 30%).

It would be difficult to get a 100% accurate list. You may have a general idea from your booking but there may be a change at the Port due to other ships docking or something else that would make you change to tender. Now finding which pier/dock is even more challenging these days.

Suggest booking a time you want and then once onboard try to change if needed. With full cruises and HIA booked, getting a time onboard can be difficult unless you eat before 6 pm or after 8 pm. Also depending on ship, they may be short staffed and not fill times due to service. We were once told we couldn't book 6:30 but could 6. While we were eating restaurant was mostly empty but they didn't have staff for kitchen and service. Another time it was full and service was over 2.5 hours to get through. It's a toss up but if you can get a time you want now, do it.

I would say prior to 2019, the grand voyages (which usually total 75+ days but do sell segments, which you are seeing) had unique entertainment/speakers, food, onboard activities and best crew. The food starting falling off as did some of the entertainment and events (which you could hear from annual cruises in their complaints of the Ole days). We also found a few crew members that were new to cruising which we thought was odd and 1 particular person was home sick the first month. Generally HAL has tried to make the experience "grand" by adding extra features and ports not seen on regular itineraries. Depending on who you ask will result in yea or nay if they succeed. Many cruisers do the World every year and some don't even get off at some of the ports. It's more of a winter home (or reunion). We look for specific ports to travel to and if a Grand has them (Grand Asia, where art thou?) we'd do it (or a segment) but otherwise it's hard to value. Beginning and ending in US port is a plus (if you live in US) so no international flights (except in 2020 🤪) and there may be added incentives if paying by a certain date or cabin bookings.

If you do, please opine your experience. Especially as it compares to current NCL.