billydog

I took the X99 last year.  Staff and busses waiting for you. Great service. They offer  a deal too for tickets on the Red Bus Edinburgh city tour which is  great way to see the city in the limited time available.  

OP here.  This is not a Panama Canal trip so that doesn't seems to be the reason..

I was looking at 14 Western/Tropical Caribbean leaving Nov 30th next on Nieuw Statendam.    Charges at USD 906 seem out of line on total cruise cost of USD 5018.  Looked at similar cruise on Celebrity and charges far less. Is this an error or am I missing something?

Any advise would be appreciated.

Have 6 Celebrity (X) cruises before and now just returned from first HAL on the New Statendam.

Cabin  - largely similar. Large showers were a big plus for HAL.

MDR  - Celebrity wins here,  Service and food better. More of a sense of occasion on Celebrity. Also dedicated sommelier/wine on X.  Hard to get wine topped on HAL and never saw the bottle. On X bottle is left somewhere adjacent to the table. Lay out of table better on X. 

Lido/Oceanview. We preferred Lido.  Better selection.  Nicer seating area. HAL has the huge plus of the burger place and pizza place.

Theatre - HAL very poor here. No live band in theatre and mainly just dancers. No real stage show.

Overall Entertainment - HAL beats Celebrity. Loved the music mall.  BB King was best music I have seen on cruises. Trivia and other games like activities better on HAL.

Coffee Shop - Dutch Cafe beats Cafe Baccio hands down.

Staff- Both great. Maybe HAL shades it.

Speciality restaurents - HAL. Tamarind is terrific. I've had eaten in all X specialities and all under whelming.  

Visibility of captain/ officers. HAL wins here. Captain always about in evenings.  

General comments;

We have cruises in different classes on X up to suite. I liked the democratic nature on HAL with little class distinction where it comes to dining and access to areas. Except Club Orange which all can go to for a price.

Laundry on HAL was great value and provided great service.

I would be delighted to cruise with either line again. 

Any view on the aft Vista suites on the Beethoven deck Statendam?  

48 minutes ago, Mike07 said:

 

 

Agreed.... I've been on multiple Princess, Celebrity and this is my second HAL cruise since restart.... People don't seem to frequent the MDR so much. Still getting people at first seating for sure ... Don't get me wrong everybody, but idk if it's a European thing or what and people just eat later here.

 

I've never seen a lido packed so much at night across the three mentioned brands above.

Sound good!  More room and easier bookings in the MDR!

In a similar vein on the Statendam are most Vista Suites much the same or are they in categories? Which are the best and where?  I'm guaranteed Vista and like the OP am considering Club Orange. Aft facing Vista suites are booked out. 

Thanks

Does the $30 bag deal include ironing/pressing as well as wash or just fold?

Pricing a 2 week Northern Islands Europe cruise. For Veranda quoting priced at Euro 1,249 on HAL's site. Option for Have it All (and OBC $300) included at Euro 3,429. Surely cost a lot less to buy the basic cruise and add HIA later as an add on ($50 or $100 a day). 

I must be missing something here?

Included in our package is 

• 2 Shore Excursions - up to US$200 per guest

To avail of the full $200 do you have to buy 2 shore excursions or can it be used against one excursion?

Thanks

Thank you

Usually cruise with Celebrity.  First time with HAL on European cruise.  In general, do HAL provide transfers to city centres (pay I presuming). In particular Reykjavik if anyone has any experience.

Thank  

Thanks for clarification.  

We gave the Signature Package included in our fare. I have prepaid the daily general gratuities charge. I note that gratuities of 18% will be added to the price of each drink. So if I order a drink price at $11 will I have to pay an additional gratuity of 18% in addition to this? New to HAL, any help appreciated.    

Thanks for all the info. Very useful. 

We are starting a cruise on the  Nieuw Statendam in Copenhagen in June. We are flying in the night before arriving 10.30 pm approx to the main Copenhagen airport.  Very much appreciate any help given on:

1) What cruise port do HAL use in Copenhagen?

2) Plan was to take taxi on arrival to a hotel fairly adjacent to the ship.  Can anyone recommend a suitable hotel?  Ideally with pubic transport to the city centre so we can go in the morning to get a look around before boarding.

Our first HAL cruise after six Celebrity cruises so looking forward to the change!

6 hours ago, Pinboy said:

The guy was at a party blabbing and showing off, in front of everybody,  how funny he thought he is by making a joke about his mother-in-law's cooking. His wife, of course, heard everything and didn't think it was so funny ( him making fun of her mother's cooking ) in front of the people at the party. On the way home in the car, she gives him the " burn " , a cold shoulder and doesn't say a word to him-- very quiet in the car all the way home. 

He tries to explain to her that  " everybody laughed like hell " and they really knew he was only joking.

Apparently, it didn't go over very well with his wife , nor did my attempt at a bit of humor during these stressful times go over very well with some CC'ers.

 

 

OK, I get it now. I think it was the way you told it.  And it does not really like into the joke the previous poster made.

Anyway these kind of discussions are far more entertaining than "which side of the the state room is the bed on? Can I book a table in Blu, where is my refund?" etc. etc.

22 hours ago, Pinboy said:

Wow, you sound like a " real man ".

You remind me of the guy that's the " funniest , loudest , " at a party who ends up driving home in a car that's quieter than a funeral home.  " But, everybody laughed like hell when I told them what your mother's cooking tastes like " !!

 

 

This post has me really puzzled. For the life of me I cannot see the joke. Pinboy, can you explain what you were getting at? 

1 hour ago, JennAngel9 said:

Interesting.  As best we can tell, that policy is helping keep China from reintroducing COVID19 into the country...but they have also blocked all foreigners from entry as well.

 

I wonder how it would work for people who are trying to connect through LHR.

I would be more concerned with infection from USA travellers.  China has the virus well under control - the opposite is the case in the US.

Bigger question is would you risk going?  I certainly would not.

Even if the ports officially  open locals will not welcome cruisers. We are in Dublin, and while avid Celebrity cruisers, would certainly not like to see Celebrity coming in to port here and discharging thousands of people.  I think most people will think the same. We will be down at the port throwing rotten eggs at you!!

I think about $5 a large bottle of Pellegrino. We are normally on the Classic Drinks package but buy one upgrade to the Premium package for about $10 a day and can then enjoy premium waters at our meals and back in our cabin, as well as other perks for one of us.

Before you spend your money have a tour of the facility to see if it meets your needs. We have had access through Aqua Class but I doubt I would pay for it.

On recent Silhouette Caribbean cruise I saw 2 male passengers with M*G* baseball caps in the public areas on a number of occasions.

Also at dinner in Blue one dinner wore a baseball cap throughout (albeit not political) the meal.

I though Celebrity had rules around this?

Does Celebrity  ever reduce prices of upgrade drink packages or excursions etc for existing bookings in these sales.  We are sailing on Dec 1 next and playing with the idea of upgrading classic to premium drinks.