PACD_JG

Lesson learned….no more holiday cruises for me.

Make sure you get the Yuzu cheesecake, in my opinion the best dessert on the ship. Speaking of desserts, why is it the only great desserts I've had with HAL have been in their specialty restaurants?

Not at all. But tell him to stay away from the Thai Basil Szechuan Shrimp. We were told items can be ordered mild, medium, or spicy. We told our waitresses that we'll eat it how it's supposed to be (so medium?)

I just completed my survey, so here are some more thoughts. HAL actually saved me a bit of money on this cruise. I was refunded $9.71 X 4 for "taxes, fees, and port expenses adjustment." That was nice because I'm going to assume that almost everybody onboard would have never noticed if HAL kept the money. Also, I had OBC to burn, and I planned on buying the drink package for us at Half Moon Cay. That was never an option online prior to boarding and while on board. I ended up only spending $32.45 during our stay there. Because of OBC to use or lose, we ended up booking at the Tamarind on our final night at $136.88 (ate there two nights prior). We all ordered the Wasabi & Soy Crusted Beef Tenderloin as our entrees because yes, it is the best meal on the ship. Speaking of...the wife and I ate at the Pinnacle Grill. My cut of ribeye was not very high quality. So if you're a carnivore, you are better off spending less money to dine at Tamarind to enjoy the Wasabi & Soy Crusted Beef Tenderloin and the Thai Beef Salad. Also, on at least one of the MDR dinner menus, the same ribeye on the Pinnacle menu was available for only $15. You'd save a lot of money just purchasing that.

If you were truly interested in doing your own thing...you wouldn't be a frequent cruiser.

I've been fortunate enough to vacation close to 30 days in Scotland, but just the thought of 12 hours on a ferry to visit the Shetland Islands has me seasick. What better way to visit than on a cruise ship...but again, missing the port would be a huge waste of a trip for me. Maybe some day...

I keep reading about cancelled ports, and the general consensus from this forum is that you shouldn't book a cruise solely for the destination. Why doesn't that advice apply to this case? I'm generally curious, because I would like nothing more than a port day in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, but I won't book it because I would be livid if the port was skipped.

I think your review is very fair, but I guess I don't feel sorry for the kids on the cruise because the parents should have known better - HAL's niche has never been about children. I say this as somebody who was on this cruise with a 15 and 14 year old (our second with HAL). Saying you sympathize almost sounds like you're excusing them from being little jerks.

Just another reason social media (including travel forums) is the devil. The level of shadenfreude is astounding.

Very tasty. But portions were very small, especially for a meal that usually puts me in a fetal position on the couch. And service was incredibly slow. We had a 7:45 PM reservation and we had to rush through dessert to make the 9:30 show. And lots of folks didn’t have reservations, creating a hot mess at the entrance.

I'll add something I found interesting. I don't think I saw a single Thanksgiving or autumn-related decoration on the ship.

I didn't like this procedure either. But taking into account the amount of cruisers who like to complain, maybe Guest Services deals with plenty of customers who dispute their charges...and now HAL has proof.

A case of more dollars than sense? Anyhow, I'm surprised none of the veterans said this yet... If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down.

I just disembarked the NS yesterday. The dumbest thing I heard on the cruise - a lady in front of me told an officer while we were getting off that HAL "should have less passengers like during Covid." The officer was polite and said thank you. I bit my lip but wanted to say that yes, HAL enjoys going broke - less passengers would be super.

I’m on the Statendam in a Vista suite and it’s a ProVersa by Jerdon, model number JHD632. European plug, use it at the vanity.

I feel ya. Making online reservations was available for my June Koningsdam cruise, but isn’t an option on my Thanksgiving Statendam cruise. On Monday I made a reservation for the MDR. I tried for 7, the closest available was 7:45. It was a madhouse - had to rush to be at the 9:30 show. Suggest you make your reservations from your cabin phone when you board.

Lawsuit!

On sailaway we were told there were 2900 people on board, and 350 of them were under the age of 18. As far as Club HAL, I couldn’t tell you how it works. As far as teens, they had daily meetups but my teens only went on the first day (they are ambiverts like their parents). Yes to kids everywhere…MDR, shows, lounges, and especially the pool. Just to add, there were 1800 folks on the Koningsdam in June and about 100 under the age of 18, about 30 teens total. I see 30 teens on this cruise walk by me in the Grand Dutch Cafe every 10 minutes.

Captain Noel just announced that today’s weather at Half Moon Cay was the best he’s ever witnessed. I’ll take it.

Since laundry is always a hot topic. I’m on the Statendam now and they want $9 a day, or $63 for a 7-day cruise. Because I was made aware of this about a week ago, I booked online for $49. Well, the other day a $63 charge showed up, and I had to go to guest services to have them remove it.

If only I was lazy enough to take 70 cruises, I would have known better. Now I know holiday cruises aren’t my cuppa.

After sitting in the lounge sofa? On deck 10 trying to watch Mrs. Harris goes to Paris and having other people’s children screaming while playing ping pong (wish they’d put the balls and paddles away if they are going to have movie nights), the adult-only Valiant Lady docked next to us certainly looked tempting.

I’m not the one complaining how much HAL has deteriorated. Obviously many Cruise Critic folks don’t like Target…

I think HAL is already doing it. Focus on 7-day cruises at a low price point. The entertainment is fine - keeps most of the riff raff away. HAL would do well on being the Target of cruising.