qsuzi

Kazu thank you! I had not thought about how many might have guaranteed SC's. Silver, this is fun. We are good either way... the cabin we are in or an upsell to a Neptune Suite for our right price. :)

I spoke with Barclays HAL card Customer Service yesterday. Is the following information correct?

I was told you can only redeem your points for "Statement Credits" when you have a HAL cruise or any airfare purchase within the last 180 days. The amount credited to your account is based on your total points not Statement Credits. For example of you have 3,000 Statement Credits in the last 180 days and 30,000 points you will get a redemption of $300 for your 30,000 points. If you don't have any Statement Credits within the 180 days you can use your points at any time for things like Gift Cards and OBC but not as a statement credit.

Thank you KK. Great advice take us away and THANK YOU. As of this morning 19 of the 24 Neptune Suite available yesterday are still available.

It was an upsell to a Neptune Suite and a 7 day cruise Silver to Gold and Kazu. Thanks for your comment saying you would also pass easyboy. Dave, think you're right about how the cruise is or is not selling. This was our first time getting an upsell offer so it was a nice surprise.

We declined the $449 per person upsell offer on our December 10, 2016 Westerdam cruise. There were 28 cabins available at time of the offer and this morning 24 available. We took the advice of our TA to decline at this price because we are happy with our SY cabin location but would consider another offer if the price per person was lower. Seems to us that one month out is early for them to be offering upsells but there are a lot of balcony cabin, Signature and Neptune suites still available.

On the list that showed up for me was my final payment, some purchases for specialty dinners, and my airline tickets to Ft Lauderdale with American Airlines. The airline tickets aren't as good of a return per point. And the miscellaneous purchases from HAL were not of a high enough value to be worthwhile, so I used almost all of my points for the final payment.

Do you receive the same number of points using HAL vs independent purchase of airline tickets?

It's been very enjoyable following the posts and seeing some great pix. Thanks to all who contributed and a shout out to AQ! It's also refreshing to read so many positive comments.

Really great pix Lisa and thank you for information on where to upgrade the drink package. A new question. When you use Explore 4 SBP, can you just pay the difference on anything over $8 and do you pay the full price of the drink if it's above $8?

Thanks to all who are posting from the Westerdam. Lots of great information and pix which is appreciated.

 

For those with Explore 4 what is the cost to upgrade to the Premium liquor package (7 day cruise), doth both persons have to upgrade, and where do you go to request the upgrade?

See where AQ said $80.50 per person and assume both have to get upgrade. Is it available from a bartender or only from the Front Office?

Thanks to all who are posting from the Westerdam. Lots of great information and pix which is appreciated.

For those with Explore 4 what is the cost to upgrade to the Premium liquor package (7 day cruise), doth both persons have to upgrade, and where do you go to request the upgrade?

So happy to see you are doing a live thread and will follow along. May your seas be smooth for the rest of your cruise. Best regarding your back and your mom's tooth issues.

We have nearly 500 days on HAL and about 300 on Princess so guess you would have to conclude that we enjoy both lines. In order to give a good comparison we would need to know the ships since there are many differences (between vessels) on both HAL and Princess. For example, all the HAL ships (except the Prinsendam) have indoor pools. But on Princess, many ships have no indoor pools. This can be an issue...especially if you are cruising to Alaska with kids.

 

If booking a balcony cabin you do need to consider that HAL allows smoking (including cigars and pipes) on all passenger balconies. If you are a bit unlucky this could prevent you from enjoying the balcony at many key times. Try eating breakfast (HAL has a pretty full cabin breakfast menu) on a balcony when a passenger a few feet away is puffing away on a Cigar!

 

We think that food in the MDR on both lines is comparable...which means good...but not great. We give Princess the edge on alternative restaurants. And HAL has nothing to compare with the International Cafe (on Princess). Entertainment is a mixed bag...again depending on the ship. We like the BB King Clubs (only on some HAL ships) on HAL and we also like HAL's piano bar. But it is true that on some HAL cruises (especially longer cruises) you might find very few folks awake after 10. Princess is definitely a better choice for late night (after 10). Princess pizza is also great while HAL manages to produce the worst pizza at sea (the Koningsdam is an exception.

 

Another issue (for some) is that HAL has limited dining hours. For example, their Lido buffet shuts down around 8pm. Breakfast often ends by 10 (this varies). Late night snack options on HAL are awful to non-existent (although you can always order room service).

 

Hank

Excellent comparison. Agree with your analysis.

I love this ship. First time on her and I'm already in love with the layout and the decor. Embarkation was a snap. My daughter says she's never cruising fro San Pedro again. LOL.

 

I'll try to check in but I don't know if this will qualify as a live from [emoji1]

 

 

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Would love to hear any/all details about embarkation. :)

Which bars on the Grand are your favorite and why? We will be boarding in a few weeks and would appreciate some feedback.

One of the reasons I posted it is because when we were pitched the program I instinctively wanted to see what people were saying about it online before I signed up. I had a few hours in port one day to do research on my phone while I had signal. I basically only found this message board with a few posts. Very few people were talking about it with first-hand knowledge. Such a dearth of objective information led me to want to contribute what I could for others who would inevitably want to know what the deal is.

 

I am glad to help :)

I sincerely hope they do not close this thread because it will allow others to make a better informed decision when they are pitched this onboard. HAL's decision to allow this product to be pitched is disheartening.

Thank you for the additional feedback.

It's interesting reading comments made. I just wanted to clarify that the $500 pp price increase was from 2017 to 2018.

Alberta Quilter, I sent you a private response. Kazu it is good to hear your feedback on the Oosterdam vs the Westerdam. Our next Mexico cruise is on the Westerdam.

WOW!!!!! Prices for the same Mexico itinerary are $500 per person higher than in 2017 for an SY Suite (same class ship...Westerdam vs Oosterdam). The increase for the same itinerary was $100 pp in 2016 and $300 pp in 2017. The price does include Explore 4 perks as it did in 2016 and 2017.

Honestly we would rather choose HAL but at $1,500 total less in a comparable size suite with All Inclusive Beverage Package or $300 OBC (and 150 minutes pp internet and other Elite loyalty perks) looks like it's Princess for us.

It's so great to read the recent comments that were made. THANK YOU!

Tell us what type of entertainment and other features you like on the small and medium-sized RCI ships to help us give you better feedback. There are some on this board who have been on the Prinsendam (their favorite HAL ship) who will hopefully provide information. Overall we find the food better, the service somewhat better, and the library much better than on RCI.

UPDATE - my April, 2017 cruise increased $500 pp (for 18 days) over what I paid in the Anniversary Sale. So, for $1000 increase in fare plus giving up $500 in OBC and $100 in Beverage cards, I pick up 2 Pinnacle dinners plus free beverages. Doubt that we could drink $1600 in beverages over 18 days. So I guess I will pass on Explore4.

Sorry it was not a better value for you. I would think this is not uncommon for those who already booked a Promo fare and are on longer cruises.

We did not book on a Promo fare and it's a 7-day cruise so our cost went up $200 total for the added Explore 4 promo benefits. Our TA does not have the exclusive Explore 4 fares/rates prior to Monday when the per person price goes up.

Lisa am I correct that the 5-27-17 Eurodam sailing will go up $100pp on HAL on Monday but agencies that can book it before Monday can book at the existing $1,999. At least one agency gives a $100 OBC for an SY suite and SY, SS, SA, and SB suites are all currently priced at $1,999pp?

Thanks for the information. :)

What is typically included in the coupon books? We will have them on our 9-18-16 sailing on the Grand Princess.

Melodie was one of the first to welcome me to this HAL board and was always so generous and helpful providing reliable information. She was part of what makes this board special because she was so kind and helpful.

Please let her family knew how much she will be missed and is held in high regard. Condolences to Ron, her family, and friends including those on this board.