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Thanks for your replies, we will be content with what we get.

 

Too excited now to worry much about the cabin!

We received our guarantee cabin assignment and are very pleased with the location and cabin.

 

Is it possible to request no further upgrades from HAL?

 

We know that cruise lines feel the higher decks are preferable, but we don't agree.

 

Thanks in advance.

Thank you, we will be hitting four American ports in our 39 day journey, so hope to stock up on decaffinated Diet Coke and lime Coke...just love it.

 

I always rely on kind help from fellow cruisers. Thank you again.

We are particular in our soda choices so usually bring a case of soda on board on embarkation day. Does HAL also allow soda to be brought on board in ports of call?

 

Thanks in advance.

Thank you all for your kind responses. We do try to limit carbs as well.

 

It sounds like we should have no problem with food choices on HAL!

We are embarking on 39 day cruise on the Noordam.

 

We are trying to limit our sugars as a preventative measure so would like to know how HAL is with offering sugar free products (I.e syrups, desserts, etc.)

 

We might consider bringing sugar free treats with us depending on the info we receive from all of you informed CCrs.

 

Thanks in advance.

I think you would love Princess. We have sailed most of the large lines including NCL but moved away from NCL because we found the food in the MDR to be quite poor. We enjoyed their specialty restaurants but always felt that the line used the poor quality of the MDR to encourage guests to use specialty restaurants.

 

Princess has now become our favourite line for many reasons...subdued, elegant surroundings, good food throughout, Movies under the Stars, good entertainment and the most user friendly website (great for self booking)

 

Also, once you have sailed many times with them, they offer the best member loyalty program of all the lines, especially with internet use.

 

One negative however is that their cabins are smaller than some lines, esp. carnival.

We love cruising and have done the Hawaiian cruise out of San Francisco.

We hope to do the one out of Vancouver at some time.

 

We really enjoyed our Hawaiian cruise and the related activities on board and we enjoyed the long sea days.

 

However I don't think you can compare positively with a land trip in Hawaii. We have been on land trips to Hawaii several times and I feel you need the extended time to truly get a feel for the islands.

 

If there is only one chance you have to see Hawaii, I would suggest a land trip is the way to go.

 

Happy travels!

Thanks, Tights for that heads up. I did the "chat" with them again and this was the result:

 

Customer: Hello, Katie. We are sailing on the Noordam Sept. 29 and yesterday I chatted here with Nora who stated that power strips with or without surge protectors are allowed on board.

Customer: today, however I heard that a passenger last week on the Noordam had her power strip with no surge protector confiscated. Could you please confirm what the policy is, I don't want to bring one and have it taken away. Thanks

Katie: Unfortunately, power strips are not onboard. If you need an extension cord, you would be able to request one by e-mailing the ship coordinator, Shane at smacomber@hollandamerica.com.

Customer: OK, odd that I would receive two different answers from HAL personnel.

Katie: I am sorry about the misinformation.

Customer: Thank you, Goodbye

Katie: Thank you for contacting us. It was my pleasure to assist you today, and I hope that I have been able to answer all of your questions. If you have any more questions always feel free to call or chat with us again.

 

So I guess at HAL policies are dependant on who you are asking.

 

Sorry for temporarily leading anyone astray.

I just had a chat with HAL and they gave me the following info:

 

Power bars (with or without surge protectors) and extension cords are permitted. (For some reason, though she asked what ship we are sailing on <Noordam)

 

Automatic shut off kettles (and obviously non auto shut offs) are not allowed.

Our son and his family (kids 5 and 8) just returned from the Grand Princess to Alaska.

 

The kids had a wonderful time in the Princess clubs. They were separated by age groups which made our elder granddaughter ecstatic since she got to be away from her younger sibling!

 

From the Junior Chefs program to the talks with the Park Rangers, to talent shows, to arts and crafts to wii on the giant movie screen to pajama parties, they were in seventh heaven.

 

If the pictures they showed us are any indication, they had a wonderful time...as did their parents who had some alone time.

If you are thinking of buying, now might be the time since the stock has fallen a bit.

 

We bought when the stock was around $23 so have done quite well even though we bought solely for the OBCs. We receive OBCs each time we sail, have never had a problem with them being applied promptly.

 

The most OBC we received was $750 on our b2b2b sailing to South America ($250x3) (we booked the 3 segments separately so had three different booking numbers).

Our son and family are on the Grand Princess and she is docked in Skagway. It looks overcast but of course, can't tell about the wind.

 

It looks like they haven't had the best weather this week but from the webcams and weather reports it has been mostly cloudy with some rain.

 

We have been to ALASKA many times and there is no predicting ahead how it will be when you are there.

 

Of course it is always great weather in the gorgeous ships!

You need 100 shares

Happily we booked three upcoming cruises in CAD back when EX rates were AT 10 to 20 percent. That will be it for us till the dollar improves.

 

We were always waiting to see our beautiful country in detail... Now is the time!

Thanks for your replies...it sounds a bit iffy and I don't want them to rush trying to get on deck (they are the ones sailing) to see us after muster.

 

We'll just drop them off at the pier, have a nice long lunch at the Fairmont and then arrange to wave them goodbye after they have settled in.

Here's a long shot...for anyone who has been on the Grand to ALASKA this summer ....at what time were the muster drills?

 

We would like to wave away our son, DIL and grand kids from Canada Place Aug 15 but sometimes muster is at the same time as sail away and if so that wouldn't work.

 

 

Any help would be wonderful.

Thanks to all for your reassurances, we will be sailing on the Noordam for 39 days in Sept.

We were not terribly concerned, we tend to form our own opinions and I don't think we have ever had a bad cruise. All ships have their pluses and minuses, they all do things better or worse than others.

As one poster said, maybe the worst experiences are those involving rude passengers...and the worst day for that is Disembarkation Day! IMHO

We purchased HAL Platinum because we were tired of trying to read through all he fine print of insurance providers re pre-existing conditions.

 

The OP speaks of getting a diagnosis in the short term...most of the policies we looked at stated that if a referral or a diagnosis is pending and is on record coverage is not available to purchase at that time.

 

Insurance companies have access to all your medical records and anything on your record will come into consideration on the claim. There have been cases lately where insurance companies have denied claims because the purchaser did

not disclose a medical condition that was on their record even though the condition may have resolved itself many years prior.

You could definitely do Barcelona on your own if you took a cab to the sea end of the Ramblas. From there you can wander up the Ramblas, into the gothic Quarter and up to Placa Catalunya. If you are interested in some history, however you might want to consider a walking tour. Please be careful of your belongings though...in all our travels Barcelona was the only place we had TWO attempted pickpocketings!

 

As another poster stated, there is nothing in Livorno to see...a shore excursion is necessary here if you want to see Florence. I don't think this is the best way to see Florence; you really need several days there. If there is any chance of your going back another time to Florence, I would consider taking the train to Lucca or Pisa this time.

 

In Valencia and Malaga we took shore excursions.

 

I hope you have planned extra days in Rome...this is a wonderful city, best explored leisurely with lots of time available just to wander at will.

 

Have a great trip!

Thanks for your reply, that's what I thought the answer would be.

 

Might just have to be a spa day on board!

Ever since I read that it may not be your regular steward cleaning your cabin on disembarkation day, I give my extra tip to my stewards on the evening before.

Our HAL cruise to the South Pacific includes Suva and Lautoka in Fiji..

 

I am not sure why HAL is even going to these ports since all my research shows very negative reviews of the ports and YouTube videos are also not promising.

 

HAL excursions are extremely expensive for these ports so I am hoping that we will not be ship bound .

 

Does anyone have anything good to say about the ports or suggestions on what to do?

 

By the way, all the other ports on our itinerary look wonderful.

Hope HAL and Princess take a very long while to do this.

 

NCL's new CEO appears willing to try to get more dollars out of their passengers any way he can....$7.50 room service charge and now a la carte menus.

 

Will be interesting to see passenger reactions. He had to backpedal pretty quick when he instituted "no food to be taken out of the buffet or MDR to cabins".

Interesting, we booked in CDN dollars at the begin of July and it was at an attractive Fx rate but not 10%.

 

Our cruise is in Nov. And final payment is not due till Sept.

 

I did a fake pre pay of gratuities on line and the exchange rate was about 18%, so still a good rate considering.

 

 

We pay our final bill with our US credit card since charges on board will be billed in USD.