Epicureangirl

That is awesome! I knew there was a reason I felt an affinity with you!

(Sorry, I couldn't find an emoji with tea cups clinking!)

:)Count me in as part of the group that packs their own tea. But it is the iced tea that is served onboard that I don’t like. So I bring my own Twinnings Cold Brew green tea with mint. Perfect little individually package teabags that travel everywhere with me.

I really don't like the iced tea either on the ship. But for Canadians (me being one) iced tea is a sweetened tea -- not just cold tea. I didn't even know there was a such thing as 'cold brew' for iced tea. I have always made mine from a hot steep and then cooled it. I'll have to give it a try!

Thanks.

Not just the website: remember back, was it August, that HAL had an ad that said they would take you to 7 countries and 100 continents?:eek:

I don't want to hijack this thread and put any individuals on the spot here, but if you'd be willing to give me some suggestions of what wines you've enjoyed (on the thread I started called "Recommended HAL Wines"), it would be greatly appreciated. Cheers. :wine-glass:

In forums like these, I am comfortable making friends with people who stay on topic and express themselves graciously. Neverthelsss, thanks for the advice on the triangle, hopefully I don't feel a need to use it. The topic of this thread was interesting and some valid observations were made but we started drifting a bit. Now we need to stick to the subject.

 

I'm sure moderators have a way to deal with posters who go off topic but my point remains; If we all make an effort to stay on topic then it will be a more enjoyable experience for all.

Your point remains, as your opinion, which is a valid point of view but not shared by all. So please don't speak on behalf of all of us. It is clear that YOU have a more enjoyable experience when people stay on topic. However, some of the threads have become quite interesting (and even benefit some of us) when things start to drift a bit (as you put it) -- but that is my opinion.

Thanks for the thread! I'll be bringing agave syrup in straws ( from amazon) for my coffee habit! Lower glycemic index than regular sugar...some bars may have agave syrup for a gourmet sweetner option...there was a Connie Martini Bar -tender from Turkey who was thrilled to know exactly what I wanted!

 

I also like pistachios, almonds and dried apricots as a snack for the room and pool...

Thanks for your post! I have never tried agave syrup (though I have had things that have it in it). I used to have Sweet 'n' Low for my coffee habit but then consciously took that out of my diet, and have my coffee black now. However, that is really, really hard when you are used to sweetness in your coffee -- maybe agave syrup would have been the ticket! I tried to transition to Stevia, and just couldn't do it!

I'm not sure if there are others traveling in your party, but for me it would also have to do with if I was traveling with kids -- and if I wasn't, do I like them? :confused:

I have taken my daughters on an Alaskan Cruise during summer, I just didn't happen to choose HAL that time. There are going to be many cruisers from Canada on your ship, and the kids in British Columbia go back to school the first or second week of September, right after the Labour Day weekend here. If you are going in or out of Vancouver, I would also note that the hotel prices may drop after that weekend is over. Weather-wise, it is unpredictable but generally July-August is the nicest in the Pacific Northwest and after the beginning of September the temperatures start to drop. Our weather is really unpredictable though, so as another poster said... don't make that your only consideration.

Enjoy your trip!

That would have been a good compromise, but the reduced price would have had to have been materially reasonable. That is, giving a 10% 20% or discount off of the correct list price of $99.00 would probably be reasonable. But giving a $90.00 discount would be too much, therefore not reasonable.

How does one come up with that type of calculation and determine what is materially reasonable? Not only for the compensation, but of the original tour price itself? Do you know what HAL's profit margin is on the tour?

It has been made clear that legally speaking, ZERO is reasonable for HAL to have to compensate because they have the fine-print on their website as a disclaimer. Zero compensation was even described as a win-win by the lawyer on the thread, because the OP was not penalized.

Not to get off topic, because this is also about customer service and expectations, but this morning, 3 of us went for brunch and one of the items on the menu was not available. They immediately comped the replacement entree selected ($16). Then when 2 of our entree's arrived they were overdone. I did not kick up a fuss, I did not demand a thing, but they prepared our food again (to our liking) AND the manager then comped our whole meal. Our brunch would have been $80 and it was 100% taken care of, even though they re-made two of the entrees.

Will I go back there again -- of course, and I will tell my friends great things about their customer service. Now, do I think they were required to do that, absolutely not. But it is very common for companies (much smaller than HAL) to do that sort of thing when something is not right.

I know from your posts, many of you are wine-lovers and recent cruisers of HAL. Would any of you be willing to share some recommendations? It doesn't have to be only from the Wine Packages, it can be by-the-bottle selections available in the MDR or PG too.

I did read there may be some changes coming with the Wine Packages, and have been following that thread -- I won't really know until I'm on my cruise what will be available to me so the more suggestions the better! Thanks all... :wine-glass:

If you log into the HAL website before you look at a booking once you get past the 2 passengers, etc., you will quickly see if you have a discount or not.

 

We had a letter in our mailbox on embarkation night. I've had them before and tossed them. this time I sent the email. No give away cruise but I do get some casino cash.

 

I don't typically get the dirt cheap offers as we are not in the right state (heck we are in a province ;) ), but I have received them on the odd occasion and they are good deals it you want to do the Caribbean with limited dates.

 

Hope this helps a bit.

Thanks, Kazu. That helps a lot. I'm not really interested in any Caribbean itineraries (unless it also includes some type of repositioning), so going out of my way at the casino to try and get a discount would be a waste of time and money for me.

I am bringing my international French Vanilla with me but instead of the large container that I normally use that is refrigerated they have it in packets so I’m going to put those in a Ziploc bag and put it in my luggage. The reason I’m not putting it in my carryall is I don’t know that the airline would allow me to bring that on the plane.

 

 

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If it is a US flight, and each packet is under 100ml/3.4oz there should be no problem. Just make sure you put it in your clear zip loc bag and present it with the rest of your liquids/cosmetics etc.

In retrospect, this thread's title should have been:

 

HAL NOT HONORING TOUR PRICE MISPRINT

 

That way readers perusing topics in this forum would have a clearer synopsis of what the real issue was.

 

Leaving off the word MISPRINT in the title creates the impression that that HAL was doing something wrong, which clearly is not the case.

 

Perhaps it is more correct or complete, but when I am the OP of a thread I think my titles should be left alone. It is not for anyone else to police my use of the English language if I am not harassing anyone or swearing, and I think someone can read the thread and judge for themselves. If my title for a thread was "Best HAL Cruise in History" you would not consider changing the title, yet I'm quite sure my title would be technically incorrect too. But apologies in advance, I think I am getting a little off-topic here by discussing the title.

And might I add to this complaint (I so feel your pain)... when wanting to book a cruise (or see what the price will be) for any itinerary where you have a 3rd or 4th passenger -- it is SO annoying how many steps you must take. It always assumes you want to book 2 persons, you go to the cabin selection page to pick your category of stateroom, then back up a step and change the number of guests to 3 or 4, go forward a step again, then when you go to select a cabin it will no longer be available.

It also doesn't remember that you are searching for cruises with 3 passengers. If it would remember that one simple thing it would save a ton of time. If 3 or 4 passengers is my search criteria, I actually need it to eliminate cruises that have no staterooms left with a 3rd or 4th berth. And why can't it remember our mariner numbers? The popups are just too much. Rant over. Maybe I need to go old-school and get myself a travel agent. :')

And lately I have been trying to determine if an Asia cruise we are interested in for November will be included in the 3rd and 4th guest reduced fare program, but HAL does not list any sailings beyond December, 2017. Some 2018 cruises are listed for some destinations; many are not. It's hit or miss. And how confident can a traveler be when you see the heading "Canda" instead of "Canada." Those are just two recent examples of the website being less than user friendly.

I was trying to figure that out too, but the PDF link to the page that shows the reduced fare program was WAY out of date. Reduced 3/4th guest fares for 'some' sailings is supposed to be one of the Mariner's perks (even at my lowly 2* level), yet finding which sailings qualified was impossible. Instead of booking into the future (which was my original plan), I ended up booking my Asia cruise just over 2 months out and leave next week (all the way from Canda!). ;p

I went on my first HAL cruise in August and in Oct. Was offered a dirt cheap casino rate on any eastern Caribbean cruise before the new year. I spent minimal time at slots. Spent $20. Made $20, lost it all. I thought maybe the deal was based on other factors. Building loyalty. Getting ships filled and going back to hurricane affected areas. So went in Dec. And had a fantastic time.

How do you get the offer and is it a specific percentage they offer across the board? Do they email you? HAL calls you? How much time do you have to make up your mind? Am so surprised this was offered after your first cruise -- good for you!

I would like to bring my creamer on board. So as a first time cruiser I ask... should I have it in my carry on or in luggage is ok? Going on Royal in May.

The only advice I got (about taking maple syrup onboard), is to have it in a sealed (unopened) container, and that they would likely not allow it back off the ship once opened.

I don't know if they enforce this, or if it depends on the item and the port you are sailing to/from, but I am erring on the side of caution and bringing a size I think I can finish while onboard. I would put it in which ever luggage piece you feel comfortable having it in, that you feel it is safe from being punctured. It would be terrible to have creamer all over your packed clothing.:eek:

I never thought of it but now that you bring it up, i May want to bring pink salt and sriracha.

 

 

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Himalayan pink salt is my current favourite, it is so beautiful too.

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I started reading this thread just for the fun of it, and wow, some people are very picky eaters... Variety is the spice of life. I am willing to at least try anything. There's not really anything that I can list that I wont eat...

Really? Even when you try super hard you can’t even think of one thing? I agree that coming up with three is hard, but give us one. Please? How about a mild dislike? [emoji39]

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Red Pepper Flakes always cruise with us. :D

I love spices too. Did you take some on all 80 plus cruises? Wow, phenomenal!

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I wonder if I could bring sealed packs of tofu on with me? I heard they don’t have it on the ships. ❤️ Tofu.

Do you eat it raw? Or would you add it to other dishes?

I know some lines have an Asian breakfast station — but I think that just has congee, but I’ve never been tempted to see if there is anything else offered. I love eggs benny too much to notice the other options.

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Yes. I will be bring my Nutritional Yeast and special things I can eat that do not have salt or oils. I’m Plant Based not Vegan or Vegetarian and finding food with taste just don’t happen on the ship. We love to cruise and we usually eat in Coastal Kitchen where they are very accommodating. I also pack my own coffee.

 

Some say why I bring my own products my response so I can totally enjoy the experience instead of some who complain about the food.

 

 

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I don’t know if it meets your dietary goals, but I am a huge fan of some of the salt-free Penzey’s spice mixes. Good quality spices make such a huge improvement. ❤️

Is Coastal Kitchen a speciality restaurant on one of the cruise lines you go on? Good response btw!

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Hi! My husband and I will be going on our first cruise in July & I'm so excited!!! We eat a pretty healthy high protein, low carb diet. So we plan to bring the stuff we snack on at home: Quest bars, nuts, rice cakes, jerky. I drink alot of hot tea, so will be bringing tea bags & splenda. Oh and we will be bringing our flavored drink packets for the water we've ordered for the cabin as we don't drink soda. Lastly, we are definitely wine drinkers...so will be bringing on 2 bottles and receiving a free bottle from the steakhouse!

Fantastic — there are lots of low carb options so you won’t be hungry. I read that several cruise lines even gave low carb menus in the dining room — you may want to ask your server on the first night. They may also be able to help you with substituting the high carb veggies 🥔for something green. 🥗Enjoy your cruise!

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I happen to be an ATK/Cooks Illustrated/Cooks Country fan - watch them on TV, have some of the cookbooks, use their website extensively. That being said, I think I would be sorely disappointed with an experience similar to yours. Like others, I urge you to contact management with your comments. Surely, they would take note of well-presented constructive comments from a 5-Start Mariner.

 

I agree. I am a fan, I learned to cook using a Cooks Illustrated subscription and their cookbooks. I would have expected the Test Kitchen to be one of my cruise highlights. Not even getting a taste of the food would have also been sadly disappointing.

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This was hard for me to pin down, because I really do love most foods when they’re prepared correctly. I will try almost anything once, and seek out new food experiences. These items I would avoid and they would likely be found on a cruise.

1. Cottage Cheese. It being called a cheese is so insulting to cheeses of the world.

2. Raw slices of plum [emoji534]. I think many people already had this on their list. Grocery store [emoji534] are rather tasteless and the texture puts me off. As an ingredient though, the Italians know how to use it.

3. Liver. I grew up in an English family and we had it every week. Probably not optimally cooked by my mum, but that acrid metallic taste haunts me. I’m not sure if any US based cruises serve it, but I would imagine some European lines do. A reason to avoid those... [emoji6]

Bon appetit!

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You have to bring your own - unless you are satisfied with pot luck - I always travel with Lapsang Souchong.

 

Now that is a heavenly smelling (and tasting) tea!

I laughed at your reference to being “satisfied with pot luck”, I will be thinking about that comment when they present the tea chest (if they even still do that).

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