REOVA

17 hours ago, POA1 said:

Can you download the movies before you leave home? That's what we do and then it's never an issue.

You can download movies to your laptop and caste to the TV depending on your system. Same if you subscribe to a cable service or streaming you can watch and caste to the TV. There is no cable connection available to the TV as the inputs are disabled. You may have buffering in some areas on the itinerary and depending on the ship internet. 

Did you get the dry stale pizza from Lido Buffet or the fresh made NY Deli? You can probably ask them to change it up, if it can be to make it better (?)

3 hours ago, WriterOnDeck said:

I would love your suggestions! I've been to Norfolk before to board a ship to Bermuda, but we didn't do a lot of sightseeing. At this point my plan is to visit the maritime museum, which I understand is near the port. Thanks!

Yes Nauticus Museum is next door open 10am-5pm. I will email you at *****93@****.com (from the 2020 GWC book) and fill you in. Tuesday will be sunny, 75' and slight wind, unlike rainy today for Carnival cruisers leaving out. 

Jo, when you arrive Tuesday, let me know if you have plans. We live 2 blocks from cruise terminal and can offer suggestions for walking around town. HAL probably has a Williamsburg excursion which is about an hour bus ride (without traffic) and may be expensive but the tunnel traffic is horrendous so wouldn't recommend doing private tour up there.  Plenty to see in town. 

32 minutes ago, Hobar said:

What is difference, in any, between bennies in Navigator Suite and CO?

Neptune Suites includes all CO benefits (except obviously upgrade cabin) but has its own concierge room (lounge) where they help you with guest issues or excursions. The lounge also has wine/liquor (for fee or limit to HIA package) and complimentary finger foods/snacks. You pay more for Neptune Suites (which are the larger cabins) so many find choosing a lower priced category and "upgrading" to a "better" cabin within that category and getting priority services at the MDR, guest services and excursion desk cheaper and enough for them. 

I believe the other inputs are off. The old TVs had different inputs that you could bring your own system in and plug and play. But I think someone previously tried this on the new system and could not access anything. 

Just their name but they also have to be set up in Navigator. And the messaging might not be instant as the system sometimes has delays. Also remember to turn notifications on so you will receive notifications when chats come through. 

Adjoining rooms will be noisier than next door. The wall has a little more sound barrier than the door. (If that matters). 

Depending on the cruise they may have one or two nights of local cuisine. They have done these special meal nights or specials selections but as Ruth says, they don't change the regular offerings on the menu. But since they are expanding their "experiences" (test run in Alaska), depending on when and where your cruise is, you may be surprised. 🤞🤞

We've always hear fog horns in that part of the world so we pack our small boating air horns with us and sound off on our balcony alternating with the ship. Since there isn't any entertainment at night, we like to make sure passengers have something to do after midnight. (You're welcome.)

Thanks for bringing us along and have some authentic Moosehead. 

Fair winds and enjoy the rain. 

We still get small envelopes from guest services at the end of the cruise and hand extra tips to crew that we feel go above and beyond. 

5 minutes ago, AryMay said:

We just booked a B2B cruise using a casino rate...our first time for getting an offer. Not sure why we even got the offer since we are never in the casino.

 

I was a little annoyed that even though I have documentation showing we should get both the AARP and Educator credits that our PCC said he couldn't see that they were available. He spoke to a supervisor and called me back and said there was a "glitch" in the system. He asked me to send in proof that we qualify and he will "work on it". 

 

Does using a casino rate disqualify us from other offers? 

I thought other credits (AARP, Stock, Military, Educator, etc) could not be combined for the Casino offers. 🤔 

Thanks for the great review. We enjoy small ships, longer itineraries and (real) enrichment programs. Sounds like the food and entertainment is comparable to HAL and HAL staff may have the upper hand over O. 

A few differences we have are we thoroughly enjoy the wide, around the ship, prominade decks on the older HAL ships (not Pinnacle Class) and we use them regularly for exercise, scenic viewing and visiting/meeting others on the loungers. We also enjoy a good balcony cabin and probably spend more time than others in the cabin/balcony (unless there is a gym class,  talk, trivia, show that we are interested in). We are not big drinkers so bars are not where you find us. We enjoy the old HAL shows after dinner and not the canned production repeats they started in 2019, but we aren't affected by the loss of LCS. We enjoyed VoV (small ship/small port) but last year HALs enrichment program talks left something to be desired. We don't have a problem paying higher prices for a better cruise line experience (Suites, MSC Yacht Club, Celebrity Retreat, etc) but the cost must be worth what we are looking to get in return. HAL still has a good return for many things we look for, albeit we hope it's enrichment and entertainment programs improve. 

Your review allows us to know what might appeal to us on O (if anything) even if we have different "likes" about cruising. We appreciate taking the time to share. 

Yes they offered this flight from Punta Arenas to Antarctica in 2020 as well. Unfortunately it was cancelled and an alternative excursion was offered. Check HAL website for excursions in Puerta Arenas if this is still available. But be prepared if it does not go. 

2 hours ago, JonSchick said:

The ship does seem to go to sleep early compared to any other cruise I've been on (food and entertainment).  I did go to the Lido around 10pm tonight though to get a hot drink and there was some food up there - I suspect largely for the staff and performers but anybody has access to it.  Pizzas, pasta, some sandwiches, fruit, cheese and a small selection of hot dishes. 

Yes Lido has this every night for everyone. What used to be "midnight buffet" is now pizza and things from about 10-11 pm. Everything else shuts down before midnight. 

Assuming you are asking about HAL protection. Third party can be purchased later but if you want CFAR or preexisting coverage, it has to be at specific times (within deposit/booking or before final payment).Steve at Tripinsurancestore is a good resource. 

Really depends on what you expect.

It will probably be a cursory experience of 1 Island which may be great if that is what you want and as posted above, we'll worth it for a particular travelers'  experience. But if you are looking for in depth experience, one of the other Cruise Line's or expedition ships might be worth it. Same with going to Antarctica. It's a great experience on HAL but you won't get close to the experience you will find on other ships built for cruising that area. We like to think of HAL as the sampler platter of cruising. And if we like a particular area/port and can afford it (both financially and physically) we use another line to get more in depth. 

I thought they had an excursion like that planned in 2020 - flight from SA but it was cancelled due to weather. The ship itself cannot go to landings. Viking and other Polar class built ships are able to get further and have zodiacs for landing. 

21 hours ago, syesmar said:

While I have never booked transfers at the time of booking, when I used travel agents, they always would ask me if I wanted to include transfers. But I have never been told that if I were to cancel, what the penalties would be. Good to know! 

Penalties after final payment. But check if cruise fare prices have changed even before final payment to make sure they don't reprice the fare when dropping an item. (If the fare is higher). 

2 hours ago, whogo said:

I did not realize until after final payment that I had stupidly booked transfers in Fort Lauderdale. Holland America would refund nothing for a cancellation. Let's say it was an outrageous $78 each for what was a $20 taxi fare for two. I told HAL that I might just take the taxi anyway.  Shortly before the cruise, HAL wanted to know if I would use the transfers. I told them I would tell them for $78 each. They did not go for it. We did take the taxi.

Same. Didn't realize when booking TA automatically included the transfers from airport to terminal ( and return). Since we fly in the day before ( or sooner) we don't need the airport transfer to ship. When I called HAL they said "just go back to airport when you check out and the transfer will take you to the cruise ship". The airport was miles from cruise ship ( and hotel) our hotel was blocks. We ate that fee. 

10 hours ago, kazu said:

 

 

edited to say - to put your mind at ease - had this been a regular shore excursion you wanted to cancel, there would have been no penalty.

Dont forget, it depends on the cruise contract. Even some excursions have penalties above and beyond the usual 48 hour cancelation. Some may be 90 days prior to departure so it's good to read the terms. 

1 hour ago, PSR said:

 

Hi Ruth; we haven’t used a HAL airport transfer in a long time…would like to know if your luggage is automatically put on the bus or do you have to take it to the bus yourself?

Our last trip this year we had to carry our own to the bus. Which os fine as we know it gets on the bus. We usually don't take HAL transportation as we find it cheaper to Uber but it also depends on what port as some are best for taxis, some Uber and some HAL. 

11 minutes ago, gluttonfp said:

Thanks for the tips about the ankle strap, but I don't think I would enjoy that.  I usually like to cycle through 3 strokes, which I am guessing wouldn't work well tethered to a railing.  I'll either aim for the off times to try to get some swimming in, or just accept not swimming for the 7 day cruise.  I usually swim three times a week, so at least I wouldn't be missing a daily activity.

I do breast, back and free with the tethering. You have to center where the bungee goes and takes getting used to but works well if you don't mind going nowhere after 30 minutes 🤣 

You are already in final payment for that cruise. And usually if booking through a TA it's sometimes a week earlier than HAL requires. Our Oct 28 payment was due last week. 

For things you actually booked log into the website and go to that booking. Up at the top left there is a print itinerary that will have all exc and dinners that you booked. You will also see midway on the screen HIA excursion credits and dinners $$ given unless you booked them which will say redeemed.