New to HAL ,Advise required please

[sue999]

We have booked our first cruise with HAL

 

We are not new to cruising have 15 under our belts with RCI, we felt it was time to try another cruise line .

 

We are booked to cruise to the Caribbean in April , and are impressed with the itinerary and all we have read on CC about HAL and their ships .

I know most cruise lines are similar so not too worried .

 

We are booked into Vista suite 220 , any thoughts on this room ?

 

Also I'm puzzled why we were unable to pay our gratuities up front.

Am I right in assuming that the gratuities will be added daily to our onboard account? Will this be in dollars ? And can anyone advise me of the amount .

I've read that gratuities are optional , but would not dream of opting out as the crew on any ship work hard .

I booked through a TA and been advised to ask on board about gratuities which feels a bit odd to me .

[POA1]

Your hotel service charge, since you're in a suite, is $13.50/pp per day. If you want to prepay, just buy the equivalent amount of onboard credit for yourself using the online system.

[DaveOKC]

We have booked our first cruise with HAL

 

We are not new to cruising have 15 under our belts with RCI, we felt it was time to try another cruise line .

 

We are booked to cruise to the Caribbean in April , and are impressed with the itinerary and all we have read on CC about HAL and their ships .

I know most cruise lines are similar so not too worried .

 

We are booked into Vista suite 220 , any thoughts on this room ?

 

Which ship??

 

If it is the Maasdam, I would be a it concerned since there seems to be an outside stairway overlapping part of the cabin (see the deck plan). Further, it is under the Sea View pool area which can get a bit noisy when they are setting up the deck chairs, etc.

 

On the Maasdam, I actually prefer the BB or even the BC cabins to the BAs, as you do not have the pool area above you. plus they have easy access to the Sea View pool.

Edited January 9, 2016 by DaveOKC

[blizzardboy]

We have booked our first cruise with HAL

 

We are not new to cruising have 15 under our belts with RCI, we felt it was time to try another cruise line .

 

We are booked to cruise to the Caribbean in April , and are impressed with the itinerary and all we have read on CC about HAL and their ships .

I know most cruise lines are similar so not too worried .

 

We are booked into Vista suite 220 , any thoughts on this room ?

 

Also I'm puzzled why we were unable to pay our gratuities up front.

Am I right in assuming that the gratuities will be added daily to our onboard account? Will this be in dollars ? And can anyone advise me of the amount .

I've read that gratuities are optional , but would not dream of opting out as the crew on any ship work hard .

I booked through a TA and been advised to ask on board about gratuities which feels a bit odd to me .

You can calculate your total and make a deposit to your shipboard account upon boarding. Everything will be in US dollars.

[Modern_Viking]

You didn't mention which ship you are sailing. But, based on the cabin number and itinerary, I agree with DaveOKC that it sounds like you will be on the Maasdam.

 

As he pointed out, that cabin is below a public sun deck with deck chairs. There is certainly a risk you will have noise when the move those around and when they wash down the deck (which could be every morning). Also, it looks like you lose a bit of space to the emergency escape stairs located there.

 

It seems your only window will be facing out the port side of the ship. Were you hoping for a stern / wake view? There is an open area open to the public aft of that cabin. I doubt it would often be used, so you could go out there, but will be in a public area.

 

If it were me, I might look into a B category near the forward elevators. They might not be much more expensive.

 

It looks like cabin 220 does have a full sized couch, whereas some of the cabins on that deck have a love seat and end table instead of a couch.

 

The Vista suits on the Maasdam aren't much bigger than a typical outside cabin, so calling it a suite is a bit of a misnomer. Then again, I believe the typical Maasdam outsides are bigger than the outside cabins on many Royal Caribbean ships. The Maasdam vista suites do have a small fridge/mini-bar, which can be handy. The verandas are a decent size for two people to site out there at once, which is nice. The bathrooms have tubs equipped with a shower head (it can be used in a hand-held method if desired), which is a good size.

 

It's a nice cabin overall, but the location isn't what I would pick, but that is something open to personal preference (especially if you like a stern/wake view).

[OceanTraveller4ever]

I do agree with you that HAL has great itineraries. That is one main reason we stick with HAL.

Tip is charged daily to your account, so no need to worry. Envelopes are furnished to you if you want to give extra to some staff at the end of the cruise.

Have a great cruise :)

Edited January 10, 2016 by jpelleti007

[cruz chic]

We have booked our first cruise with HAL

 

We are not new to cruising have 15 under our belts with RCI, we felt it was time to try another cruise line .

 

We are booked to cruise to the Caribbean in April , and are impressed with the itinerary and all we have read on CC about HAL and their ships .

I know most cruise lines are similar so not too worried .

 

We are booked into Vista suite 220 , any thoughts on this room ?

 

Also I'm puzzled why we were unable to pay our gratuities up front.

Am I right in assuming that the gratuities will be added daily to our onboard account? Will this be in dollars ? And can anyone advise me of the amount .

I've read that gratuities are optional , but would not dream of opting out as the crew on any ship work hard .

I booked through a TA and been advised to ask on board about gratuities which feels a bit odd to me .

 

I hope you are not depending on getting good info from your ta. What a lousy answer. They should know the answer or check. Who needs someone like this.

[sue999]

Many Thanks for your replies.

 

It is the Maaasdam we are booked on .

I knew I would get some answers on here .

Will give changing staterooms some thought , but .. As we are really easy going it won't be the end of the world if we cannot.

Still excited to try HAL Roll on April:)

[rlindydiane]

As always use cruisedeckplans.com! Real pictures and deck plans is free to use and it's an incredible resource!

[ski ww]

Enjoy your cruise, we are leaving on the Maasdam on Thur, she is coming out of dry dock the day before we get on her. She should be nice and fresh for your cruise.

Allan

[KAKcruiser]

I don't think the staircase will impact your cabin. It's just the way they have to draw it. I do believe I read somewhere that you will have a longer balcony. It might end up being a good cabin.