wdw1972

I've done 30 HAL cruises since 1997 and have never seen one of those. Sue/WDW1972

A swimsuit is my daytime attire - for my upcoming 11 night cruise I'll take one 1-piece and 2 tops and 3 bottoms that mix & match. The cover up goes with all of them. I spend my days in the Retreat (HAL ships), and only need regular daytime clothes if going ashore or doing a sit-down lunch outside of the Retreat. Certainly makes packing easier! 😉 Sue/WDW1972

Depends on the length of the cruise and whether you're booking a regular (2-person) cabana or one of the two family (4-person, but honestly 4 people would be uncomfortable in one on any of the pinnacle class ships because they're so small) cabanas. As an example, for a 7-night sailing it's $399 for a regular cabana. Not 100% sure on the family price, but those may be $549. They go up from there, depending on the length of the cruise, and booking in advance you have to book for the entire cruise. If any are not sold out prior to sailing, they'd be available by the day once onboard. Prices are higher on sea days, lower on port days, but it'll definitely add up to $399 if you were to book all 7 seperately. Sue/WDW1972

Yes, that is correct. Sue/WDW1972

Absolutely - just like the Neptune Lounge is for guests staying in neptune suites only. Sue/WDW1972

I don't snorkel but I've been to most of those places in January and March, and there's not a lot of difference in terms of weather. January may be a bit cheaper than March. I doubt you'd have any trouble snorkeling either month. Sue/WDW1972

To me the holiday menu is less appealing than the regular menu, so I certainly wouldn't pay an extra premium to choose mostly items I won't want. I'm assuming it's a supply & demand thing - more people than "normal" will want specialty dining on Christmas Eve, so that's a reason to jack up the prices. Yet another reason I'll never book a holiday cruise - although honestly, the # of kids onboard are the only reason I need to stay home! Sue/WDW1972

To me, if you're buying them to prepay your onboard expenses it can make sense. However, you can also just buy onboard credit in advance and cut out the gift card "middle man". Likewise if you're buying them over time so when final payment is due you've got the funds ready. However, you can simply be disciplined and set the money aside (ideally letting it continue to earn a little interest), not spend it on other things & have it handy to make the final payment. As you can see, the "advantage" of using a gift card in both these cases is minimal at best. To me the only advantage of significance is the 10% savings if you're buying them through AARP Rewards. That comes with an element of risk in the event you cancel your cruise after final payment, as people are saying travel insurance likely won't reimburse you. However, if the cruise happens as planned you've saved a sizable chunk of cash buying the gift cards. It really comes down to an individual decision - not a "one size fits all". Sue/WDW1972

Those tables are not part of CO and are not for dining. They're open to anybody (CO or not) to sit and have a drink, or sit & read a book, or play cards, or just look at the ocean. Sue/WDW1972

If you have the Navigator app installed, you can see the dinner menu for tonight on your ship. Menus will vary slightly depending on the region the ship is sailing in, but you'll get a general idea. Also, the suggested dress is for the EVENING - not just for the MDR. Assuming you're going to a show, lounges, etc it's appropriate to be dressed appropriately vs wearing shorts/tees/flip flops. Nowadays even "dressy" isn't all that fancy, so it's easy to look nice and be comfortable each evening. Sue/WDW1972

Last March I made the mistake of doing a 7-night sailing on Nieuw Statendam (approx March 7-14). The number of kids onboard was ridiculous! Thank heaven we had our cabana in the Retreat and basically ate specialty dining almost every night, or it would have been a nightmare. Walking through the Lido pool area we'd see & hear the pool FULL of screaming (having fun - but noisy & not what's desired by people used to a more adult environment) kids! The aft pool which is normally for adults only was also open to kids (with adult supervision). We agreed early on - NEVER do a 7 night sailing during March. We're doing a 9-night this March and are holding our breath it will be better - after that it's back to 10/11 night itineraries and shifting more to February from March. You'll probably be ok on the longer (second) itinerary - that will be more like a typical HAL cruise and what you're used to. Sue/WDW1972

For me the best thing about port days is being able to enjoy the ship while many of the other passengers are gone 😉 However, with a cabana in he Retreat that no longer matters - we have our nice quiet space and great service regardless of how many are onboard. It's still my preference to be moving/cruising rather than sitting at a pier though. I understand others cruise for the ports. In those cases, an itinerary with as few days at sea as possible is the better choice. For me (at least in the Caribbean) I wouldn't mind just sailing around without stopping for 9-11 days. Sue/WDW1972

The 9-day itinerary has always had 4 port days - so assuming you're booked on it, that's what you signed up for. Now they've dropped Bonaire but have 2 days in Curacao or Aruba instead. That's still 4 port days, even though it's only 3 different ports. Most of their other itineraries are more port intensive, with 2-3 sea days instead of 4 sea days. Sounds like those would be a better choice for you. If it's not too late, cancel the cruise you booked and find one that's a better fit. If it IS too late, there's not much to say - you're getting what you booked (4 sea days & 4 port days). Also, with ports booked far in advance, it's not like a ship can just add something else - especially when (like in the case of the ABC islands) there's not really anything else in the close vicinity. Sue/WDW1972

I don't see HAL encouraging this at all - it's simply the way of the world now, with ports not wanting cruise ships or as many cruise ships. The same thing happened to my March 2024 Rotterdam. In our case we cruise for the ship and don't really care about the ports. With a Retreat cabana booked, having all the sea days is just fine with me. The fewer # of port days is precisely the reason this itinerary appealed to us. Sue/WDW1972

That was true for the old Canaletto menu - when it the specials for all 7 days were listed on the menu and they never varied. Clearly the ship would have all of the ingredients onboard so making the Tuesday special as a special order on a different night was easy to accomodate. With the new menu I'm not sure we know how the specials work. Will it be a rotating weekly schedule? Will it vary seasonally? Will it be based on what Seattle has purchased for them that particular cruise? Will it just be a different fish each day? Bottom line, I don't think anyone knows yet. Some ships haven't transitioned to the new menu yet, so your odds would be better there. Perhaps Roger (CrewsNews) will find out on his next sailing 😉 Sue/WDW1972

Only on ships that don't have a dedicated Club Orange restaurant. The 3 pinnacle class ships have a Club Orange restaurant and that's where CO and neptune/pinnacle suite guests can eat breakfast. Sue/WDW1972

Thanks - I'll look into them. Sue/WDW1972

That's it!!! I checked my 2025 Alaska booking, where we'll be in a Neptune suite. BIG YELLOW box with PRIORITY written in there. It's just disappointing I still have 630 days to wait, lol! Sue/WDW1972

This is the best advice. Find a price you're comfortable with and forget all the other unnecessary drama. Sue/WDW1972

I did it as a ship's excursion years ago - remember that long flight of stairs! Fortunately it wasn't a big deal for me but I remember being surprised some of the older folks were able to do it. Caves were very interesting, and I enjoyed the excursion. Having seen them once, I have no need to see them again. Sue/WDW1972

I'm on that cruise too. I was hoping for a sunset cruise Monday night but HAL's not offering one and searching for a private company didn't work either (on a Monday). We may end up just going for a drink or dinner for sunset. I've been to Curacao in the evening many times and it's very pleasant to walk around and enjoy the lights on the floating bridge, etc. This trip we'll have 2 nights, so I was hoping for something more structured on the first night. Sue/WDW1972

Is this something new? I've been 4 star for several cruises now and just looked at the luggage tags I'd printed for 2 upcoming cruises and there's no yellow box and nothing to indicate priority. I carry my own stuff onto the ship so it's not really important for me (on these sailings) but I'm curious. Sue/WDW1972

On facebook someone currently on a HAL ship but also booked on the 3/17/24 Rotterdam PC sailing checked with the future cruise consultant and learned the itinerary has completely changed (sounded like the 11-night southern/eastern caribbean but with an extra day). Supposedly the FCC could see a note about when passengers would begin being notified. I don't remember exactly when that was, but I think it was "in a few days". Sue/WDW1972

With the solo stateroom there's not an option to put 2 people in it, so the price is the price for 1 person. It's not a per-person based on 2 that then changes to a solo person like the non-solo staterooms. When they first came out for Koningsdam 2016, they were the same price as the "per person" price in a regular oceanview - that lasted literally a day or 2 before being increased and it's been higher ever since. It works out to be less than the price of 1 person staying in a regular stateroom, but it's not a huge savings (on 10-11 day sailings). I like the location - it's quiet, movement of the ship isn't an issue/not really noticed, and since I ALWAYS have a cabana in the Retreat it's very convenient (quick elevator ride) to where I spend most of my daytime time. Evenings I'm found in Music Walk (very convenient to that) and specialty dining - not a MDR fan. Of course, everyone need to do their research and then pick what makes the most sense for them. There's really no right or wrong unless you throw a dart at the deck plan and pick your stateroom that way 😉 Sue/WDW1972

Rotterdam 1018. It would be the same on the other 2 pinnacles. sue/WDW1972