Stevanb

Agree! Thanks for jumping in here!

 

Ken

Also on other lines they have a night light in the bath room for a new ship and you would thought they would have put one in. The cabin was fine for us never in there but to sleep first balcony we had in a long time used it for drying bathing suits only never sat out there just watched when we left from amber cove . Best part of cabin was shower stall no tub .

We where on the cruise with you . The problem we noticed all the public areas are small for the volume of passengers on the ship . The main ship room is so small they have to have 3 show a night . That seems to shorten the length of the shows. Food is subjective so no comment. In the past they where things to do at sea nothing really on this ship . We will go back to the smaller ships . The ship does look better than the old ones much lighter

Just got off that is for the large hot tub not the pool

Bring more than you think you need you can always bring it back.

We will be looking forward to the 2.5 mile walk (or 4.5 miles along the beach) to Los Olas Blvd from Embassy Suites 17th St., and eating and drinking at Rocco's Tacos & Tequila Bar. Best table side guacamole "ever" and strongest Margaritas "ever" lol

You better make reservation now as it can get very busy this time of year.

We have leaned to stay away from the internet during any of our cruises . :D

 

We make sure all our credit card bills & other non credit card have been paid prior to the cruise .:cool:

 

We have found that by not using the internet on our cruises we have had a much more enjoyable & relaxing cruise experience :D

Yes you are exactly right ;p

Nop There is not even a power plug near the bed would have to put it on the desk.

This has been the practice for many years. Unlike six star lines, HAL does not provide this service. I suppose one might suggest you get what you pay for.

 

harry

You are exactly right . We do both and the difference is big. We will book a ocean view on six stars for same price as neptune suite . When you figure in all the extras you do not have to pay for it work out

IMHO lanyards are a neon sign saying 'I'm a newbie'. If you can't keep track of your card without having it strapped around your neck, well then.. ;)

Like the people have there passports around their neck or mobile phones

About false advertising or people believing it protect them from noro

The C.D.C. says . Hand sanitizers can reduce the spread of some viruses, like the flu. But against norovirus they are largely ineffective; better to use soap and water

So when you go to the restaurant they almost force you to use it BUT it really does nothing per the CDC

Also, the OP mentioned Airborne, but it’s essentially a waste of money.[/qu

 

You never Know . We do nothing it works for us never even use purell

Cruise Ships can not make you sick people do . Also the humidity in the ships are very low causes a lot of problems when you are not used to it . We go on a lot of cruises have never gotten sick was on Holland a few years ago when the ship had Noro Virus we never got it. If you do not touch your face you will not get it ,

I know. It's so hard to wait. Didn't someone say once ''That patience is a virtue''?

Sometimes we have found out days before sailing, other times at check in. Keep your fingers crossed for a good cabin.

Sandra

We have waited for a cabin after we got on the ship

Jeez... give it up already! :rolleyes:

Finally someone who gets it You are on vacation wear what you want . Dress code should be like all inclusives have which we go to . Long pants collared shirt and no open toed shoes for men. Long pants, Capri pants, skirt, blouse, casual shoes and elegant sandals must be worn.Even the luxury lines have adopted it now. If you want formal go on Silver Seas we have been on it a few times and you MUST have coat and tie on formal and coat for semi . very few casual .

To cruisemom42

I muse...

How much to download "Decline and rise of the Roman Empire onto your Kindle?

Could I download it onto my Kindle?

Can you envision a future HAL "Library" encompassing a free download ability for thousands of books while on board?

Again I muse

Bob

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (All 6 Volumes) Kindle Edition

A expensive one $1.99

May I suggest sailing with Oceania, specifically the O class largest ships.

 

This brand offers all the former glorious attributes of HAL and they have magnificent libraries aboard with the coffee cafe located adjacent.

 

Just completed my first sailing on Oceania Marina in September - was blown away with the quality, the amazing service and the amenities.

 

The mass market lines are that - mass market. If you are looking for a more traditional product offering it becomes necessary to move upwards. After 20 years of mostly Celebrity, we left them due to their cheapening product and moved to Oceania.

 

My impression is that the mass lines in their arrogance take long time passengers for granted, assuming they will continue to book like the "obedient consumers" they are supposed to be. This allows the mass lines to reduce their product while raising prices.

 

Some posters here on CC are now moving to different lines away from the mass lines - how many - no one knows.

You are so right BUT when you price out the difference in price a lot of people do not want to pay, We have been on most mass markets cruise lines but when you get to the Oceania, Seabourn , Crystal Regent , Seven Seas, Silver Seas there is a huge difference so is the price . BUT you get what you pay for . TO complain about a library books I do not understand. Its like people complaining abut the TV in the cabin on our first cruise there was none .

We live in Pompano beach NO has mentioned it is STONE CRAB season.

If you do not like cutbacks you need to move up to a more deluxe line. Of course that means paying more . We have been on Silver Seas , Oceania and others and have sailed mass market which Holland is in that category. We have never worried about a cruise logs who is the captain or such trivial things that are posted on the boards. If anyone thinks a cruise line is going to change over the few people that post you are mistaken. Holland has about 24000 people on the ships and maybe 200 complaints about what most people do not care about . The cruise business is price driven the lower the price more people will book in mass market. Old days are gone. Prices have gone down not up that is what people want

Holland America has become a value line, offering cheap cruises and an inexpensive way to see the world. If you want more amenities you need to move up. Cruise lines are like hotels and restaurants, we’ve had to move up to more expensive brands to get a better product.

I had to laugh at the previous comment that HAL hasn’t bought new book titles in years. So true.

You are right . We do high luxury and mass market BIG difference. If you look at what you are paying for mass market theses days and look back a few years has the price gone up , We cruised in 2015 on Holland 10 days Caribbean and going in Nov 10 day Caribbean almost same price ,

Interesting to read comments about how Kindles and other readers are replacing print books. I just ran into a situation with my Kindle that is very annoying. The book is a best-seller mystery and I Iooked forward to reading it. The problem is that one of the intriguing aspects of the book is that some of the information is relayed by using supposed copies of newspaper articles, receipts, timetables, tickets, etc. In a print book, I assume that each of these will occupy a page, as they do on the Kindle. The problem is that those pages produced on the reader occupy only a tiny portion of the page and the print is so small as to be unreadable. I can change the typeface size for the normal pages of the book but there is no way to increase the size of those special pages which, of course, contain clues and advance the story line. Good thing it was a download from the library. If I had bought the book I would demand my money back.

Probably the format is not right try this https://calibre-ebook.com/ Some times formatting is off or not correct this will fix those problems,.

We have two ways of doing that we have a travel phone that works anywhere in the world you can latch on to a tower and on that phone we have Magic Jack they make it for mobile phones use cheap only need internet or magic jack go you plug into your computer usb plug

I love HAL, but I'm not happy with some of the changes over the years, but I realize everything changes. I was not happy with all the add on items last cruise. The final cost was not that much difference between HAL and Crystal where it is all inclusive.

Yes you are right if you take a lager cabin or a suite on Hal the price will be about the same Did Crystal in April and it was 12.00 per day more using there ocean view cabin BUT no bar bill

If you have cruised in the past looked at what you paid per day and look what you are paying now is there much of an increase. We looked not much at all sometimes it is less. Wonder why they cut back . There is a old saying pay more get more.

Just send a note to customer service and request what you would like and most times they will supply . I drink Rain Vodka and I requested that and sugar free ginger ale both where supplied even a bottle in my room.

Most traffic will be north bound on the turnpike. AT least from Orlando down we live in Broward and every holiday is like that