electro

I was also on this cruise. I agree about the mess that was embarcation. 

It is hard to follow their arrival times when they give different times to people in the same cabin. My DH and I had time that were 2 hours apart. We showed up for my time. There is no way we were going to go the the port separately.

They also did not have priority check in for platinum and above. When I (finally) made it into the terminal I asked where the priority line was and was told only those who paid for it got priority.

I did find the ship quite crowded, hard to find a seat in the public areas. 

The line up for the Caveran club was ridiculous. I don't know who thought putting a venue that holds 120 people on a ship that holds over 4000 was a good idea.

I agree with the poster who said that having music in Maltings and Shakers at the same time didn't work. The venues are too open to one another and the two entertains drowned each other out creating an unpleasant noise.

I did have a great time but it make me realize that I am better suited to smaller ships.

My next cruise is on a HAL ship that has less than 2000 pax. Can't wait!

Lois

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

If the taxes per passenger were to increase (too few passengers), the line generally eats the increase.  If they go down (more passengers), there is an adjustment to the onboard account rebating the difference.  

I doubt that NCL is rebating any difference. They are no longer retuning any port taxes when a port is missed.

7 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

I think some people are complainers, regardless of what it is, to cold to hot, 😀 and some would be happier if they stayed home. 

I heard guest complain that the temperature out side was to hot, the vender's wouldn't except U.S. Dollars.

Why aren't there berries every day at Lido. And more and more.

Adult - Children.

My Mom had a saying about people like that. "they're not happy unless they're miserable."

Depending on what day of the week you are there, you can do a mine tour at the Glace Bay Miners Museum. It should be open Wed to Sun in June. If the restaurant is open, have lunch there as well. Have the pan fried halibut.

12 minutes ago, destar said:

On embarkation day, we found a yellow envelope marked "For Your Eyes Only" with a folder, patch, challenge coin and pin inside, on a separate an invitation to attend gathering. You have to be registered with NCL for Military Appreciation Program.

Unfortunately, the Military Appreciation Program is not available to Canadian military.

are these events invitation only?

11 minutes ago, kfarist said:

Leaving in a week on a cruise. New to HAL, but cruised many times. We booked fairly last minute in a cheap interior room and still do not have an assigned room. I have got many paid upgrade offers over the last month for different rooms (obstructed OV, OV, verandah) but this week the email only had verandah and the upgrade was $149 pp. Is this worth it? I thought if I got another email offering $99 I would pounce, but I know there is a possibility of getting upgraded even without paying as it seems the ship may be quite full. 

 

Thank you. Looking forward to experiencing HAL. 

I would take that offer in a New York minute!

I'm am looking at booking a transfer from the port to a Rome hotel. Has anyone used Zelit Limousine Services Rome?

Their prices seem reasonable.

We only have 2 days in Rome so I want to maximize my time there and not bother with buses and trains.

Thanks

Lois

2 hours ago, crystalspin said:

I asked on the LIVE 35-day SoPac thread, and it was confirmed at $25. Unlimited I think divided out to $7.50/day, for every day (that has a night) of your cruise, no matter when you turn in the first bag. I can't get into my 2025 SoPac booking (not even in incognito window) right now to confirm.

 

Also someone popped in to show that by-the-bag in Europe is $35. The unlimited for a 11-day cruise was $10.50/day. Historically the higher price is for the full cruise, even if the cruise only starts or ends in Europe. 

 

I add that not for you, OP, but anyone opening this thread cruising to or from or in Europe!

 

I am on a European cruise and then a transatlantic in Oct and i can pre purchase unlimited laundry for 10.50 a day. I think I'll just pay by the bag. 

I really don't understand the difference in price. 

On 2/2/2024 at 4:31 PM, pete_coach said:

I ticked off the box that asked if your were military and got none of that 😞

It is not available for Canadian military.

15 hours ago, iflyrc5 said:

We are currently on the Rotterdam and the Bill Board on Board only has one performer instead of the 2 people playing and singing.  According to our Cruise and Travel director HAL is going back to the "Piano Bar" format with just the one person and a crowd sing along style.  So far is seems to be very popular on the Rotterdam.  I assume at some point they will remove the second piano and reconfigure the area.  I just hope at the next drydock they close off the stairway coming down from the casino so we won't keep getting the smoke smell down on the Music walk.

Curious, who is the one piano player?

This is a scheduled activity?

And not in the kids club! 🙄

Wow, HAL is really scrapping the bottom of the barrel of cruise activities!

44 minutes ago, visagrunt said:

short answer:  yes.

long answer:  how flexible are you about dining times?  how much wait time are you prepared to spend?  If you are dining quite late you should have no problem securing a two-top, even without a reservation, but at earlier times it can get very busy as these are the tables that are most in demand.  If they are all occupied at 5:30 to 5:45, none of them are going to open up for at least an hour (longer on Gala™ nights, perhaps).

Reservations through the Navigator App are the best strategy, so long as you're not picky about time.

 

5 cruises on 3 different ships on HA. Never had to wait more than 5 min for a table for 2 with anytime dining. We usually go to the dining room around 7:30.

4 hours ago, mleng said:

 Can you tell me where to find the discussion thread?  Is it on CC or somewhere else?  My family just started cruising with HAL (did one in 2019 before COVID, then did one in 2023 and another one last month). We really liked the nonsmoking casinos and may end up doing most of our cruises on HAL going forward.  It would certainly be nice to know a little more about the ins and outs of the HAL casino and their offers.

Note that not all HAL casinos are non-smoking. There is smoking in the casino on Rotterdam and a few other ships. Check the HAL website for the smoking policy to see which ones are non smoking.

In Nov on the Rotterdam the smoke in the casino was bad but the deodorant they used to try to cover it up was much worse.

48 minutes ago, Laminator said:

Depending on who books your offer is whether you will see the casino benefits in the special services section. Fortunately for me I have a PCC that is very familiar with booking casino offers as she has been doing them for me since 2007. This shows on my sons booking. He received a free ocean view, $300 in Free Play and the DOU stands for Drinks on us which is drinks in the casino only. 

Thanks for this.

I have this on my confirmation for my next HAL cruise and I couldn't figure out what the Dou meant.

Now I know 😁

2 hours ago, ctbeacher said:

Hi.  How mobbed is it for pre-dinner drinks - say from 7-8:00?  Do seats around the pianos turn over much?

 

Thanks to all for the great information.

When I was on at the end of Nov, there was no live music before 8:00. 

I've been trying to price a solo cruise online, when I put in 1 adult for passengers it says the ship is sold out, but if I put in 2 adults, there is rooms available. Tried the Canada site, the US site and a third party site. 

Does MSC just refuse to sell rooms to solos?

19 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Apparently this is not true. Many reliable posters saying they've gotten drink of choice, $11 or under.

 

We didn't know this last year and had the Aperol Spritz for a starter at our NYE (and anniversary) dinner.

This was not my experiences on 2 different ships. On both the Zaandam and the NA I was told it could only be used for the mariner cocktail which was sparkling wine with St Germain. we didn't even receive them on my last cruise on the rotterdam.

2 hours ago, 510picker said:

I’ve never had an issue combining with other offers. Are you? Maybe I missed that above. 

Not yet, still waiting to hear back from my PCC. I was just responding to the terms and conditions that were posted above stating it is not combinable.

5 hours ago, cbr663 said:

Neither my DW nor I received the Welcome Back promo email after our Alaska cruise in May.  

 

After our California Coast in November my DW received the email, I did not.

 

HAL is once again consistently inconsistent.  🤣

 

I just looked at it and I don't recall seeing in the past that it was not combinable with other ship board credit offers??

 

 

5 hours ago, 510picker said:

I believe the Welcome Back incentive is available regardless of receiveing the email about it. You just have to be sure you book within the allotted timeframe and that whomever is assisting you with booking is made aware of it.

I am definitely with in the allotted time frame but if it is not combinable with other OBC it is useless.

Thanks all for the replies. I sent an email to my PCC so we shall see if he can add it for both myself and my DH.

8 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

Both guests get the offer......Her Majesty and I both got the emails (actually each got them twice) after our 10/15/23 Westerdam dis-embarkation.  It did take a few weeks for them to arrive.  Seemed like it was later than usual for the emails to arrive. 

 

We've got a cruise booked in April and both of us qualified for the offer (from a previous sailing, not this most recent).

 

I've learned from the wise folks here that you can always pass along the promo codes to your TA (ZPM or VPM) when you book the next cruise to see if you qualify.

 

We hope to use the offer when booking during wave season.....I think the expiration date is late January. 

 

Enjoy the journey......

Thanks for the info. My DH can't find his email and I wasn't sure if he didn't get it or if he deleted it. I'll ask my pcc to try the codes.

Do both people in a cabin get this offer or just the primary guest?

Thanks

a tag on air question:

has anyone booked air 10 months out and had the price go up before final payment?

I just booked air for our Oct transatlantic cruise from athens, we got a really good price with the $500 air credit. I'm wondering if I can expect to keep that price of if i should expect it to go up. Final payment is in July.

Thanks

Depends on where the ship starts. If it is another US port, you might not be able to disembark in Seattle without violating the PVSA. I think there is a reason the cruise ends in Vancouver and not in Seattle.