ExpatBride

I understand where you're coming from. HAL's screw up re: my pre-paid crew appreciation didn't bankrupt me nor was I going to remove it entirely to make a point. But how they handled it, which made me feel like they that thought I was trying to scam them, was not acceptable. Apparently, producing an itemized invoice wasn't enough to remove doubt about what I'd booked. That combined with the amount of time I wasted trying to get it sorted out, and the majorly downgraded experience vs. the onboard experience pre-shutdown is enough to make me not sail with them again.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for me.

I would't pre-pay it because it opens the door for things to go wrong. On NS last month, they kept adding the charges to my onboard account every day even though I showed them my booking confirmation, which stated that I had prepaid gratuities as part of a promo. I wasted a lot of time trying to sort it out with "Guest Services," who were supposedly trying to sort it out with the head office. Long story short, it wasn't resolved before I disembarked. So I ended up using my OBC to cover it and reduced the total amount by $10-20 (can't remember), which OBC wouldn't cover. That's a big black mark against HAL because it stressed me out, wasted my time, gave me less than I paid for, and affected my holiday. I had and provided documentation of the promo. It's not my problem that there was a disconnect somewhere in their process.

Considering how many Americans are on cruise ships, I doubt you'll be a special case.

He was also there when I disembarked on 2 August.

Have they said how many cases are onboard? I actually came down with something a few days after I disembarked earlier this month. I didn't test, but the symptoms tracked with COVID. I definitely caught it on the ship because we drove to the port and my symptoms showed up before I'd been anywhere but on the ship and in the car.

That's not even close to what was served on NS last month.

On NS last month, they opened one Lido station for "late-night snacks" and it was the oddest assortment. My SO and I started going every night just to see what odds and ends they managed to scrounge up. It looked like leftovers from the crew canteen.

The same thing happened to me with shrimp on "dressy night" 😅 Except they didn't bring me another plate 😑

And for the other people onboard who have the misfortune of being in the vicinity of a bored 5 year old. We were sat next to a table with 3 bored kids (I'd guess ages 5–7) in the MDR one evening and it was not enjoyable in the least. They may as well have been climbing the curtains.

I actually wrote HAL about this and was told directly that the revised itinerary with "scenic cruising" was correct. This was my fourth times sailing a fjords itinerary and it didn't make sense to me, which I explained to them in the email to highlight why I was questioning it.

There's a map of the ship outside every elevator along with a categorized list of venues and their locations 👍

HAL is not a cruise line for kids. There wasn't a kids club on my recent 7-day cruise. There were a few "meet & greets" for teens ages 13-17, but they were at 8 PM. I've just looked through my daily programs from that sailing and I don't see any kid-specific events. There were teens and kids running all over the ship bored out of their minds. We heard one of the teens say that he couldn't wait to go home "because even the music is disgusting." 🤣 Longer sailings usually have fewer kids than shorter sailings, so I think you can safely count on having to entertain your bored 5 year old.

I'm not picky about my cabin location and I find the best deals right around the last payment date. At that point, they're still offering perks (I got HIA, pre-paid gratuities and OBC on my July sailing) and cabin prices are as low as they're going to get with perks. I usually pick 1–2 sailings and then watch prices and book when I feel like it's a good combination of price and perks. I've been using this strategy of over 10 years. With that said, I sail out of a local port, so I don't have to factor the airfare implications into my considerations.

In my opinion, they're all breathtaking. But there's something extra special about Geiranger. I've always chosen my Norwegian itineraries based on whether or not Geiranger was included. There's a reason it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I had a not-so-great time on NS, but I'm glad I got to see Geiranger one last time. It's truly spectacular and the main reason I've sailed a fjords itinerary 4 times. I guess this explains the bait-and-switch of NS not actually "scenic cruising" in Geiranger for a second day after Alesund.

On the 26 July sailing, evening service was only upon request. Our steward asked the first day and it sounded like he was really steering us toward once a day, which suited us just fine.

On NS last week, a $50 spa "gift card" was delivered to my cabin. The only caveat was that it had to be used on a port day, which was fine with me. I got a pedicure for under $20 including the 18% service charge. It was a nice treat, but the service wasn't worth the regular price ($59). The woman who did it insisted that my polish was dry enough to put on my shoes (I disagreed). Long story short, she put my shoes on and the polish on several toes was ruined because I was right. I guess they wanted to get people in and out.

On the bright side, it'll be your first time on HAL so you don't know what it used to be like. I think it'll be less disappointing that way 😅

I wish I'd brought my own food last week 😅

I'm just off NS this week and there wasn't any karaoke.

A word of caution to anyone considering pre-paying gratuities... I know it's not an identical situation, but I had pre-paid gratuities as part of a promo. For whatever reason, it didn't show up on my onboard account. I had a copy of my booking confirmation, but "Guest Services" basically said, "sorry, you'll have to take that up with your TA." I wasted so much time trying to sort it out onboard, and it wasn't resolved before we disembarked because of time differences, etc. I ended up using OBC to cover it. I had to reduce the amount by a bit (about $20) to have it fully covered. I'm not one to stiff the crew and $20 seems petty, but after multiple go rounds with the guest services manager and submitting comment through the Navigator app, I decided it was the most pragmatic option. I shouldn't be out a few hundred dollars because of a clerical error. I had proof of what I booked in writing but HAL couldn't have cared less. I'm not happy to have forfeited my OBC to cover something that should've been included, but it wasn't the crew's fault.

It's interesting how these things are so subjective. My SO and I found Clare completely annoying 😅

Did she have long red hair? The one NS this past week was a screecher. I'm still having nightmares about what she did to "Skyfall" 😳

I was just on NS for 7 nights and there was no classical music. I don't understand the decision to get rid of classical music but keep both Billboard and Rolling Stone. HAL should really cast a wider net. It wasn't clear to me who they're trying appeal to. I'm solid Gen X, which would be smart demographic for them to court if they wan longevity and a younger clientele. Unfortunately, the music (even the "rock" music) wasn't my demographic.