houstonheels

Hi, Are the menus that HAL currently shows online for Canaletto, Tamarind, and the Pinnacle Grill out of date?  Are you on board now so you see the daily MDR menus?  Thanks!  

How do you figure out whether OBC is refundable?  

19 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

@Cheadle_Chick it's worth another phone call to HAL to see what's available and get a rate. Don't be afraid to negotiate, just be reasonable. Just because it was ridiculously priced when you talked to them, you don't know how many cancelations they've had since then. They will be motivated to take your $$ to fill those beds.

And yes, there will likely be signs at Guest Services saying there are no upgrades available, but go anyway as soon as you get on the ship. One of you go stand in that line and other one take the kiddos someplace like Lido for lunch and meet up after the one who lost the coin toss finishes at Guest services.

Smile and very nicely ask to be put on the wait list for an upgrade - they do have a wait list and they do work through it. Sometimes it takes until the next morning so just check back if haven't heard from them after breakfast. 

And when they call, you can still negotiate. Sometimes the offers are very generous and I jump on them, sometimes I've negotiated a better rate and sometimes I decline. They will usually let you go look at the cabin before deciding and will never just arbitrarily move you.

The cost of the upgrade will be added to your account. 

So, no there's no longer anyone doing at the port, but it can be done onboard if there's availability. 

Good luck, safe travels  - enjoy your cruise!

I’m curious …when you call HAL pre-cruise, are you just talking to any PCC that picks up?  Or is there a specific prompt that you select to get to people who specialize in upgrades?  We got quoted a ridiculous rate to upgrade, but it didn’t occur to us that it might be negotiable!  How many days before a cruise do you generally try for the upgrade?  For upgrades, do you think that it matters if you are a 1* star mariner vs a 4* mariner.  Thanks for sharing your insights and experience. 

@Gail & Marty sailing away we will be on NS in October.  I have read some conflicting posts - is NS back to twice daily housekeeping?  Or is it just once per day?

1 hour ago, mrspdp said:

I think you are saying that you are using your Shareholders OBC which can go up to $250 instead of your Veteran's OBC.  You cannot use both, correct?   The Shareholders would still be useful for longer cruises and stock is at a bargain price right now....I have not bought stock yet.

If one person in a stateroom is a veteran, that person can get the veterans OBC, and if a second person in the stateroom is a shareholder, that second person can get the shareholder OBC.  At least that has worked for us.  the veteran and shareholder OBC are the same amount.  One person can’t get both the veteran and the shareholder.  And if you have two shareholders in the stateroom, you can only get the shareholder OBC for one person.  

Hi, curious if they had baked Alaska on the last night of your cruise?

We checked our luggage at Egan center. It was delivered to our cabin.

 

The train station in Seward was at the dock.

 

There were very long lines to board our ship, since so many people were arriving at once.[/quote

 

Thanks for the info. About what time did the train leave Anchorage? We are currently booked on the bus transfer, but I may try to change to the train.

We took the HAL train from Anchorage to Seward in June. We had booked independently and were not staying at the HAL hotel. The meeting place was Egan Center. (When I called HAL, I was told that we could either meet at the Egan Center or the Airport. When we went to the airport, we were told that HAL had given us old information. The meeting place had been Egan Center for several years!! So we left for the Egan center.)

 

When we arrived at the Egan Center, there were two groups there. The people who had booked the HAL train and the people who had booked the HAL bus. We checked our luggage at the Egan Center and got our tickets for the train. The first group departure was the people who had booked the bus. A short while later, they called the people with train tickets, and we boarded a bus to go to the downtown train station.

Hi, I have 2 questions about the train arrival in Seward. When you arrived in Seward, was your luggage taken directly to the ship or did you have to collect it and take it yourself? How far was the train station in Seward from the ship? I’m thinking that it can’t be far given how small Seward is!

You can also use the punches to get gelato at the Gelateria on Roya/Regal and International Cafe on other ships.

We also used Ephesus shuttle -from Kusadasi - the tour guide was fantastic.

IN Istanbul, it is so easy to just DIY - hop on the tram and get off at Sultanahmet for all the major sites.

We are on the Royal next month - we'll see what Princess decides to do about stopping in Istanbul.

eclue:rolleyes:

We - my sister (virginiavacationer), husband, and I - are currently signed up for a Princess excursion in Istanbul given the current circumstances there, assuming that we stop there. Royal is next scheduled to call at Instabul on July 28, so that might give some indication for us in August.

We were in Ephesus two years ago and used Ephesus Shuttle for a private tour and had a good experience. I believe that their website is http://www.ephesusshuttle.com. We are scheduled to be in Istanbul and Ephesus on Royal in August and waiting to see what Princess decides to do!

It's personal preference. I actually love the baked Alaska and usually get two of them. I am really excited on our upcoming Med cruise that it's a B2B, and I can eat it twice!

Curious about the Beatlemaniacs - we saw them last summer on Regal, and their website says that they are back on Regal this summer. But like you, we are on Royal in Med this summer, actually going the opposite direction as you - Barcelona to Athens. Can you please tell us which days they were on your cruise? Thanks!