vicd1969

Oh well, they had OBC to burn, lol.

My friend reported it was $78.

My friends wanted to buy a regular cabin robe, but they were out of stock on the Nieuw amsterdam. Much to their delight - they were “upgraded” to the suite robes for no added charge.

Update: Around 7 AM this morning sailing into Juneau, with VPN logged in this time - not too bad. Still from Crow's Nest.

I believe it's not Starlink. Will try to get some sort of confirmation from crew.

Sorry if this image was too oversize. Best circumstance - be from the East Coast so you can wake up at 4 AM to go to the Crow's Nest. There are power outlets scattered around the sides of the Crow's Nest. Unfortunately, the bar won't be open yet, so bring your own beverage of choice. Bonus - it's 5:15 AM now and I can view the sail-in to Ketchikan.

A few more things about Vancouver embarkation, some may have been already mentioned: - Use your boarding pass on the Navigator App - makes it a lot easier for check-in. You'll also show it on getting onboard the ship itself. - After check-in, you'll be given an orange strip of paper to show to security. Do Not Lose it - they asked to see it like 5 times during the security process. - After check-in, you can still go outside to view the sea planes, get a coffee etc. We did that because a few of us checked in earlier and the rest of the group had kids who wanted to see the planes. For like 90% of you, the earlier the better however. - There are toilet facilities in the customs and immigration hall, people were pretty good about saving spots for those who had to use the facilities. - You may have a faster process if you aren't a US or Canadian citizen. There is a separate line for them, and though there are fewer immigration officers handling them, the much lower number of non-US/Canadian passengers makes the process faster. When it was my turn to finally get processed, they opened the queue for us to use the non-US citizen section. - No Global Entry separate line. No preference for 4-star/diamond/whatever. Come as early as possible if you're not going with a large group. May just take 30 minutes starting immigration at 1030 AM instead at 1230 PM. - DO NOT COME A LOT LATER THAN NORMAL. They closed off the security area around 2:30 PM. The Hall was still pretty full at that time, but I didn't see any more people join the line when it was my turn to get processed. The last people may have taken about 15 minutes less, but it's not worth cutting it that close. Our ship left around 4:15 PM, more or less as scheduled.

On my northbound Nieuw Amsterdam sailing, there is a vocal group named Major Four on the main stage. Two of the four singers are pretty good, so more like Major Two Mid Two. At least it's something new, and the song selections are more contemporary than just show-tunes.

The ships were the Celebrity Eclipse, RC Brilliance of the Seas and the Nieuw Amsterdam - so about 2K passengers each

Im about 75-% through the customs and border control line here today in Vancouver. It has been about 1 hour and 15 minutes so far, started the queuing around 1 pm. Checkin and security took about a combined 16-17 minutes, was a breeze. Baggage Drop-off also easy if you know to go to P2 North of the garage. There are 3 ships in port today. Strongly recommend bringing very light hand carry, drop off as much as you can. Lesson learned.

This introvert’s favorite thing about HAL: the thermal suite - beats the ones on Celebrity and Princess. The best way to get away from the stress of working, and for some, family and friends 😄

There is a jogging track above the indoor pool on deck 10 (signature and vista class) or deck 11 (pinnacle class). edit: the signature and vista ships dont have a purpose-built track, but I’ve seen people jog up there on deck 10.

It was a real memorable adventure on an expedition-sized ship last January. Anyone who gets the faintest sensitivity to motion sickness are in for a treat crossing the Drake down to Antarctica. But it was so worth it for a trip of a lifetime. Visiting Port Lockroy, having whales swim under your zodiac, sooo many close encounters with Penguins, and among the most spectacular hikes I have done. There was also a special camaraderie among your fellow 140-something passengers and 120-odd crew members. In some ways, while it wasn’t a HAL ship, having Indonesian cabin attendants and Filipino bartenders reminded me of my oceanic HAL home. Plus, you can visit Argentina with its ridiculous exchange rate favoring the dollar right now - complete steak meals w wine for $15 - that’s like 1/3 of the Pinnacle Grille cost lol. It is pricey, but not so out of reach - it should cost under $10K including flights for a premium (but not ultra lux) expedition ship. Basically two 10 day sailings on HAL w Have it All in signature suites.

I am going to give Vancouver a go this Sunday, will let Y’all know how it went boarding the Nieuw Amsterdam. While there are going to be 3 ships that day, the other two at least aren’t mega ships - Celebrity Eclipse and RC Brilliance of the Seas. The video was a big help putting together visually what I have read so far, though the video poster was lucky with a midweek departure.

There's always Cunard if you are fine with dressing up every other night. https://www.cunard.com/en-us/activity-types/daytime/classical-concerts

A few pet peeves onboard HAL for me: It’s 2023. Airlines and hotels offer free wifi at faster speeds than HAL’s premium plan. Hopefully Starlink will fix this by 2024. There should be signs that say you are allowed to skip the lido omelet/custom prep line if you are just grabbing something to go at the end of the counter. Like the Asian station on Pinnacle class is also an omelet station and I just want to get congee. Avoids getting death stares by some. People filling their refillable bottles directly from the tap instead of using a glass to pour in the water.

I have been viewing the Navigator App for the MDR menus of my upcoming Nieuw Amsterdam. This week, the ship is sailing on the same itinerary as my cruise in 2 weeks, so I am assuming the menus will be the same. To my nice surprise, for yesterday and tonight - there is now a "Crew Dish of the Day" choice. Yesterday was Pork Adobo, today is Beef Rendang. I definitely will be ordering those as an extra entree!

I was very lucky to get to see the Northern lights during my very first cruise in mid September 2010, I think after Glacier Bay. It was not the bright lights that the tourism photos suggest, but it was still visible to the naked eye. The Captain warned us early that evening there was a possibility, but it was well past 10 pm when it happened, and no ship-wide announcement was made - probably because half the ship was already asleep lol. I was very much in the early stages of my photography hobby when I took some photos.

I've been looking at this cruise as well, since it is the only one I can see for the major lines that stop at Egypt, Israel, and Turkey. Given that the new Egypt museum is located near the Pyramids instead of downtown Cairo, a private tour should be viable, if you just want to do the Pyramids plus the museum. But I agree that it may be too soon to see the full list of HAL excursions one year away.

Great deal. Go for it. Do they still have the CO bathrobes (though you can't take them home with you) in addition to the tote bag?

Are you sailing on the Noordam or the Nieuw Amsterdam? I'm sailing the same itinerary on the NA mid-August, so definitely will follow your posts. Bon Voyage and may you be blessed with good weather!

Second vote from me about the Dive in fries - at least the ones on NA sailings. The ones I had on my Norway cruise were Dutch-style fries and not addictive at all.

Yes, I did consider using V1 but the price differences for the cruises I used weren't much, and I figured most people would want to be closer to the center of the ship. I think HAL is currently running HIA with gratuities. But I agree with your overall message - if you are looking to get a suite, it pays to shop around comparing the lux cruise lines with HAL.

I tested out comparing just Signature Suites vs a Seabourn veranda suite and even there, Seabourn was cheaper for 2 out of my 4 sample int'l itineraries when including Have it All with the HAL package. I only did itineraries that are feasible for someone still in the workforce. All fares were based on the same "Cruise" website and non-refundable. Since itineraries didn't match exactly, these prices don't include port and gov't fees. For me personally, I'm more of an inside/oceanview kind of guy but it was interesting to do the price comparison exercise. HAL Signature SS SS w/ Have it All Seabourn V4 Mediterranean 11-Day Oct 2023 3388 4854 3729 Asia 14-Day Dec 2023 Xmas 3236 4334 4752 Iceland / Greenland 14-Day July 2024 6864 7604 6754 Aus/NZ 14/15 Day Jan 2024 3003 4144 5294

If you get Club Orange ($25/day on trips 13 days or less, $15/day on trips more than 13 days), chances are decent you will get a dedicated waiter in the MDR and can special order escargot a day in advance. Club Orange will also allow you to upgrade at no additional cost to the highest class of your cabin category (for example, the highest veranda if your booking is veranda). So you can book the cheapest balcony and choose the best balcony of your choice (not suite) for your upgrade.