laurap414

We are first time Princess cruisers but have cruised a lot on HAL. On HAL, you can't pre-purchase thermal suite passes. We are booked on Sky Princess Feb 17th and I'd like to use our OBC for the Thermal suite but don't want to risk it selling out. Are there usually spots available on embarkation day? If not I'll pay with CC ahead.

Bonus question: does anyone have an opinion on how does Princess thermal suite compare to Holland?

Thanks!!

On 3/5/2022 at 8:53 PM, neverlaysup said:

 if you are in a balcony or Concierge, you should just walk up to guest services and upgrade to AQ, it will be cheaper than a spa pass. 

Do you mean they would change your room?  Or they can add this amenity to your balcony or Concierge stateroom?

I used to own a franchise travel agency and I'm still unofficially a TA. Here are a few general tips.

Don't be afraid to ask a few different agents for quotes. Especially if you already know the sailing and cabin. It takes them almost no time to whip up a quote. Agents are used to this. You can get a feel for their responsiveness and knowledge and see if you hit it off.

There are very experienced and very inexperienced agents at all agencies including franchises. You could casually ask when they started as a TA and how many cruises they typically book in a year.

The bigger franchise agencies can negotiate extra perks like OBC and reduced fares because they pre book large groups ahead of time on certain sailings.

Avoid big box store agencies or really any agency where the agent doesn't give you their personal cell number. Ask who's their backup. If it's an agency with multiple agents, get the owner's number as well in case of emergency. You don't want to be stranded somewhere calling an 800 number or being sent to voice mail. 

Good luck! 

Hi we have cruised a lot on Holland America and Norwegian but never on Celebrity. My wife and I will be sailing on Edge soon and I wasn't sure what to select for table size. We sometimes get a bit bored with each other's company and enjoy meeting new people by being seated at random with other couples. We have made great friends this way. You just show up in the MDR and tell the Maitre D you don't care who you are seated with. But the Edge doesn't have a MDR so does it ever work this way? I don’t think I selected a dining time but I think I selected a table for two. Was that correct or does it matter? Thanks!!

I know but there was a lot of debate and hopeful speculation about various feats of engineering and possible entry into the park early in the season :-)

Also neither the NPS web site nor the bus operator web site has this information definitively posted yet so I thought I'd pass it along. 😊

I emailed the bus company and they confirmed that the road will not be open past mile 43 for the entire 2022 season due to them having to repair the road.

Due to global warming there have been repeated landslides on the road into Denali National Park. Apparently a section of the road was built on a glacier which is slowly melting. Anyway I have confirmed with the bus company that the road will not be open to bus tours past mile 43 for the entire 2022 season due to them having to repair the road. 😭 I don't know exactly what is past mile 43 but it appears from the NPS web site that the spectacular views and wildlife viewing is found deeper into the park... maybe someone can confirm. The HAL Tundra Wilderness Tour is supposed to go to mile 62.  

I’m a travel agent and I got the best tip from my Norwegian rep last week. Due to COVID the crew can’t leave the ship at all. He recently sailed on the Encore and he said that before they sailed he went to an Asian grocery store and got a bunch of Filipino coffee, chocolates and snacks. He gave them to the staff as gifts, and in his words “you would have thought we gave them a gold bar”. I thought that was so sweet and considerate. I plan on doing this in addition to tipping when we sail on the Dawn in Feb. 😊

OMG You are a genius, I am going to delete this thread, I feel really dumb now LOLOL

Please let me know if I am the only one bugged by this.  Every marketing email I get from HAL has a "Super Bingo" icon instead of the blue HAL ship icon.  Has anyone else seen this?  I have no idea why they can't fix it.

In case anyone was interested, the reason for the late arrival and departure was that a tree log was jammed in the starboard azipod. They had to send a diver down to remove it!

We have sailed on HAL in the past in a Signature Suite but are now considering sailing on the Equinox in an Aqua Class cabin which is much smaller. It looks from pics like there is not a lot of room in the closet for luggage - can the bags fit under the bed? Thanks in advance!

According to USA Today:

Like other major cruise lines, Norwegian has been pushing up service charge levels at a rapid rate in recent years. With the coming increase, the line's standard cabin service charge will have jumped by nearly 21% from $12 since February 2015. That's more than three times the rate of inflation in the USA over the same period. The U.S. Department of Labor has recorded a 6.1% rise in inflation, as measured by its Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), since February 2015.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2018/03/22/norwegian-cruise-line-joins-royal-caribbean-celebrity-hiking-service-charges/448373002/

On the first night our cruise, my wife and I headed down to dinner and were somewhat disappointed in the limited dining options. We decided to eat at Canaletto and we enjoyed it. It was only on the second night of the cruise that we "discovered" the Main Dining Room! We still laugh about this.

Correct, you can not use OBC for items you pre-book but you do get Mariner day credits for items you pre-book ($300 spending = 1 Mariner day).

What?! I was told the opposite by Customer Service. I always seem to get the Customer Service rep who doesn't know anything. I would have totally pre-booked spa appts and Thermal Suite had I known this.

We did the train excursion and enjoyed it immensely. You get to see a lot in one day. Only drawback is that snacks on the train are limited. Tip: sneak a lunch with you from the Lido. You're not "supposed to" bring food off the ship but nobody cares.

Sorry apparently the pic didn't paste in.

How about now?

I called HAL customer service and they sent this helpful picture! Here is what she said:

"Below is a example picture of the sun shelter. It’s foldable and light and easy to use. The chairs in the photo do not come with the shelter. I included a photo of the clamshell as well, just so you can compare. The lounge chairs do come with the clamshell shelter."

I called HAL customer service and they sent this helpful picture! Here is what she said:

"Below is a example picture of the sun shelter. It’s foldable and light and easy to use. The chairs in the photo do not come with the shelter. I included a photo of the clamshell as well, just so you can compare. The lounge chairs do come with the clamshell shelter."

I was actually talking about Mariner Society number. Maybe I have had bad luck.

Has anyone else had a bad experience with the Customer Service reps who answer the phone in the Mariner department? I find they are always extremely short with me, unhelpful, and act like they are being inconvenienced by my call. Not the level of Customer Service I would expect from a top-tier cruise line trying to keep their very best customers happy. Would appreciate anyone else's thoughts!

Hi All,

Anyone joining us on our Nov 20th cruise? My wife and I will be there for our 3rd HAL cruise.

Thanks!

Laura

My wife and I have cruised twice on the Westerdam, which is the sister ship of the Z-dam. There was a lively LGBT group which started out small and ended up being about a dozen of us gathering for drinks each night. There should be a LGBT meetup time & place posted in the printed day's schedule.

On the Westerdam, we paid for the spa package (access to the "Thermal Suite") both times and loved it. The large hydro pool is nice and bubbly (not scalding hot but very warm) and the thermal loungers are fantastic. The public hot tubs are always chock full of children and I personally would not go in them.

As far as the Z-dam, we are booked for an 10-day Panama Canal cruise leaving Nov 20th. I read some terrible reviews from people about construction on the ship, but those were all from Spring of this year. Hoping for our cruise the ship is in good shape with no fumes, noises, or dust!

Have a great time! :-)