blizzardboy

Hi,

If we have the package can we give others a drink? So ordering 2drinks at the same time?

Or at the pool if you want a gin tonic and a water.

Tnx

You can get a glass of ice water anytime from any bar at no charge, with your gin & tonic. or without. The ship's tap water is safer than what most municipal water systems provide.

Just got off the Nieuw Amsterdam, and the public facilities were as Margieef posted - spotless. They also seemed to be checked with great frequency, as I ran into attendants at all hours. I've found this to be case on every HAL ship we've sailed.

Hi,

If we have the package can we give others a drink? So ordering 2drinks at the same time?

Or at the pool if you want a gin tonic and a water.

Tnx

Before I say no to all three, please use this link to read the Terms and Conditions and you'll find your own answers. The PDF has info on both current packages: https://jococruise.com/uploads/2017/02/Beverage-Packages-Terms-Conditions.pdf

Maine Lobster? Not a chance on any HAL ship. They will serve warm water lobster tails (small ones) on one of the gala nights. But for lovers of Maine lobster, the tails are not even close.

 

I always do get New England lobster before any cruise out of Ft Lauderdale. But I have to go to Kelly's Landing (a shore based restaurant near the 17th Street hotels). For years I have told friends that our best seafood dinner on a cruise is the one we have the night before we embark.

 

Hank

It says on the PG menu "12 oz Maine Lobster Tail" $20 Supplement

We are due to visit San Juan , P.R. on Saturday, January 27,2018. With all the destruction from the hurricanes, I'm wondering if there are any excursions worth doing?

If they're open, the Bacardi museum/tasting tour is really superb. It's also not going to kill your whole day. You can go to their website and reserve a time slot yourself. I can give you the number for a very nice young man who owns his own cab (Toyota minivan) if you're interested. He's honest and very knowledgeable. We had planned to be there for the 2 weeks ahead of your visit for vacation and to start looking at condos, but postponed a year and moved the party to St. Kitts. We love San Juan and will be there Jan, 2019.

We leave Saturday on the Nieuw Amsterdam. Our stop in San Juan was moved to the DR.

see this thread from last month: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2555916&highlight=110%25+refund

After she passed away, I contacted our travel agent and asked her to plead my case with HAL because of the circumstances and also my long term association with HAL. Not good enough. Out of the $13K spent, i got back the taxes and the beverage and specialty dining package we purchased. HAL didn’t even offer a partial credit, you should be ashamed.

I would write a letter to Ashford's office and make them turn you down in writing. I'd also check your credit card benefits. You may very well have travel insurance included in your card benefits.

does concierge just apply to high level full suites or can they help with signature suites as well??

The Concierges are in the Neptune Lounge and are only available to Neptune and Pinnacle Suite passengers.

And some Neptune Lounges don't have a printer if you need to print off air line boarding passes at the end of the cruise.

Download the airline's app on your phone, check in within 24 hrs of your flight, and the boarding pass is on your phone. All you need is cell carrier data connection if in port the day prior, or Wifi on board.

I would have called HAL by now.

Considering we're stopping in St. Thomas two weeks from now, you probably will in December. Even though much of San Juan is still without power, I wouldn't be surprised if you stop there as well.

A lot of your shade will depend on time of day and the direction the ship's heading. We've been in both corners on deck 5 (really huge verandas) of the Oo'dam and others, and deck 6 and 7 corners. With the 270 degree veranda you can usually find shade. I'd also consider the improved view from a couple of decks higher depending on your itinerary. We love the aft-wraps! You're closer to the aft pool and you actually get some exercise on the walk to the Lounge. FYI, SCs are still Neptune Suites.

Have the HAL Customer Service number and your Booking number handy. If you have a delay, let HAL know. If it's weather related, you might not be alone. We were the last to board a Christmas Cruise at almost 8 p.m. in 2004. There were a couple of hundred passengers similarly affected, but we were told if it hadn't been Christmas we would have been out of luck.

For good reasons, we are scheduled to land in Miami at noon before our Zuiderdam sailing at 4:00. (We normally go in the day before, and we do have trip insurance.) If all goes well, we'll make the ship. But I was wondering what to do if we get delayed? Has this ever happened to fellow posters? The first stop is Half Moon Cay, then Aruba.

Assuming your flight is reasonably on time, you should have no problem making your cruise. Grab a cab and go.

We thought the condition of the ship was excellent and could not understand why it is undergoing a dry dock at this time.

She hasn't had the suite/stateroom upgrades to my knowledge. Has the Music Walk conversion happened yet?

All cabins have voice mail. I don't know if the system is sophisticated enough for the ship to program "group messaging". If not, in advance, put together and distribute a list of all names/cabin numbers. If needed, you can call the cabin of key members of your party who are responsible to notify others. It's old fashioned, but planning never goes obsolete.

 

• For the first time ever, our experience in a surcharge restaurant, on any line, was a negative one. I’m probably overly sensitive,but found service focussed on passengers known by staff. We’d prepaid for another dinner but cancelled rather than being snubbed a second time. Of course the food, as expected, was excellent.
  

HAL has a large number of repeat cruisers, and a lot of long-serving staff as well. We find ourselves having "reunions" with staff throughout the ship on every trip. That being said, you should have received the service you rightly expected. On my way out, I would have expressed my enjoyment of the food to the Maitre d, and then my service concerns. I question the cancelling of your second visit as you would have been "passengers known by staff", and after your conversation with the Maitre d, I would be surprised if you didn't get super service on your next visit.

Previously on CC it had been stated that all newer HAL ships had usb charging ports around the lamps. We had none. We did find one behind the tv on our last day. The cabin only had 2 outlets; both had the international and US outlets.The 2 of us in the twin beds needed cpap machines. Fortunately I'd brought an extension cord which worked. It just barely reached our machines but stuck out in between my bed and the hide a bed so that my mom frequently tripped over it at night.

The Nieuw Amsterdam goes to the shipyard next month for the upgrades you're referencing. HAL's refurbishment schedule has been discussed on this forum repeatedly, but you must have missed it. We'll be sailing on her in a couple of weeks. We were on her sister the Eurodam in January, after she had her refurb, so this voyage will be a short trip back in time

For future reference, if extension cords are needed for medical devices, just ask your steward. Typically, HAL only wants their own approved cords to be used.

Have a great time. There are no bad days onboard, just some better than others.

We use these seats to check out shows without disturbing others, but if I had paid for a "Theme Cruise", being assigned there might bother me. I looked at one of the Blues Cruises on a HAL ship, and they assign cabins on a seniority basis. I want my king bed, which means a suite, and was told it might be 5-6 cruises before I had enough juice to get one. Maybe they assign seats the same way.

if you will provide the upgrade cost, you'll get a more complete answer. If in the tropics, free laundry and drycleaning is a nice perk. I love the Lounge in the morning followed by breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill. I'm an early riser so the NL helps keep the peace. My late-sleeping bride loves the light lunch and snack stuff in the NL.

You're close to the restrooms, you get attention from cocktail servers, and you can make a graceful exit if you don't like the show. FYI, some of those bar seats have impaired viewing as the ceiling gets in the road.

I have friends in Puerto Rico, the San Juan area, and although places like El Moro and the smaller fort are open, several places of business are not. Tourist hotels in San Juan still rely on generators for the most part. Don't expect the island to look the same, the storm took much of the lush tropical greenery and left brown dirt and hillsides. If you find an open store, you may do better with cash than credit cards, as they may not be able to have internet or phone lines. Enjoy your cruise.

The green vegetation will come back pretty quickly. Right now it's the lack of power that's holding things back. We're helping a family financially and indirectly some of their neighbors they're helping to feed. They're in San Juan around Miramar south of Condado, using a little generator for lights and a refrigerator. Three families are using the frig. We take a lot for granted.

I am going on the Z 12/6 for an 11 day Panama Canal cruise. I booked in May with a TA and was give free grats and $100 OBC from cruise line and $100 OBC from the TA.

 

Yesterday I purchased 2 excursions and a drink package.

 

Where can I find a list of these things in my account. I got an email confirming the purchases and when I booked a list of the perks but I would hate to go on ship and find out none of these exist.

 

HAL won’t help.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Log on to the HAL site. Go to your reservation and check your itinerary. Each day will list Specialty Dining reservations and I would assume excursions as well. Also save the email.

Your invoice should spell out your OBC and perks.

For those disappointed about not going to St. Croix please share with us what you were hoping tot do there that you are sad you will miss .

We have some friends who moved to St. Croix a year ago. We were going to see their villa and have lunch with them somewhere in between. It's not so much that we're not going to St. Croix, as it is our fear that St. Thomas is ready in name only.