the2ofus

Nice!

Meaning what, exactly?

Seems to me a simple letter from HAL to the owner of the cruise credits at their most recent address on file would save HAL time and expense. "Dear sir/madam. Our records show you have cruise credits purchased on .....date, which you have not yet used. Please advise us by ,,,,,date whether you wish to apply them to a specific future cruise or whether you wish them returned to your credit card ending #......." All it would cost would be the time to print, the paper and envelope and the postage. As it is, HAL is probably paying a per case basis to some private company to move them to a state Unclaimed Funds account.

This might seem silly to some folks, but if anyone in your group wears hearing aids, be sure to pack extra batteries in your day pack. You might not expect that long travel times and long daylight once in Alaska would make a difference, but you might wear your hearing aids longer than on your average days back home. I ran out while at Denali and nobody at the HAL resort or the local stores carried the size batteries I needed. Fortunately a fellow traveller came to my rescue.

That laundry bag can be packed tight. The clothes will be returned folded or on hangers. Not sure I'd send dressy clothes though.

My first tip would be to encourage you to pack so that each suitcase going to the same stateroom has at least half of the outfits for each person occupying that stateroom. That way, if either suitcase gets lost, everyone has at least a few outfits to wear. Beyond that, don't get too tied up in planning wardrobe. Tweens can wear either slacks or skirts to the MDR, paired with nice tops almost every evening. On gala nights dressier outfits like nice slacks, shirts, ties and jackets for the boys, dressy slacks or skirts and dressy tops or party-type dresses for the girls. Also remember that you don't need an entirely new outfit for every occasion. The other folks have never seen you before, probably will never see you again and won't notice or care if you wear an article of clothing more than once. As far as shoes are concerned, one pair of dress up shoes, sandals, flip-flops, water shoes, athletic shoes with closed toes for shore activities. Shorts, bathing suits and cover-ups, tees. Remember that there will be t-shirts available to buy at every port. Just relax and enjoy planning for the cruise and especially relax and enjoy once on board.

Just 10 - 17 and 17 - 24. Two seven-day cruises. Thank you. I can see now how confusing my post could be.

Please add The 2 of Us on Nieuw Statendam Nov. 10-24, 2019 b-to-b

I can see the benefit for the priority tendering at Half-Moon Cay where a lot of people want to get off the ship as early as possible. At any port, the option to get a priority tender ticket can be a real time-saver. I consider it a paid-for and therefore an earned benefit since it means I've spent quite a lot of money on cruises in order to reach that level of benefits.

The most southern TA route with destination Fort Lauderdale tends to have smoother seas unless the crossing is in the very early part of November after a very active hurricane season.

You don't mention the time of year you will be doing the TA. We did ours, Athens to Ft. Lauderdale, in November. We loved having the port side (south facing) balcony because we could bask in the sun, even though the weather could be cool.

Cruise4food says "Be certain that you are okay with the extra motion up high and forward." I appreciate your comment. I gave that some thought, but so far in my life I have withstood the motion of the ocean just fine, so I'm going to give it a try. The second NS cruise is far enough into 2020 that I'm sure I'll be able to switch to another cabin if I discover I don't like it. I'll be watching these boards to see what comments other people have re: those cabins.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I checked with my PCC and found that K11057 on NS is available for both of my scheduled Nieuw Statendam cruises. I will let you know how I like it after the first cruise. BTW, the cost was almost the same as the L guarantee.

I am considering a solo cruise on Nieuw Statendam. It will have to be an inside cabin due to budget constraints. Any suggestions as to more spacious inside cabins or cabins to avoid?

Thanks for the good wishes. Really looking forward to this cruise!