LizzGo

We have our first HAL cruise booked for January 2023. (Previously Celebrity cruisers) I'm starting to get nervous about HAL as things have not gone smoothly so far. First, we had Have it All, according to our TA. I was even prompted to select our dining and shore excursion options. But decided to put that off; no hurry, I thought. When I went back to book - gone. Contacted TA. The first HAL rep said we had it, the second one said first made a mistake. Disappointing yes, but whatever.

So, rebooking to take advantage of a different perk. Was promised same room and they would transfer deposit. That was a few days ago. Now, they have to refund not credit the original deposit, so we'll have to pay full amount while waiting for refund.

Questions: Is HAL usually this flakey? Will we wait forever for refund? Can I count on getting the room we booked? What has your experience been? (Tell me something good!) 

Does anyone have or know where I can find a typical wine by the glass menu - for Koningsdam specifically, if it makes a difference? TIA. 

Are they on the Koningsdam? How do you rent them? 

As long as we’re talking drink packages, I have a question. We have the HAI with our upcoming cruise. How to we upgrade the drinks package? 

Sounds lovely! Better than Saskatchewan in January!

Thanks! We’re not Sun worshipers so cold is ok, but how cold? Like windbreaker cold, or winter parka cold? Do they make an effort to enclose areas to protect from wind? 

We’re booked on a Circle Hawaii cruise in Jan where there are eight sea days. I’m wondering about what sort of temperatures to expect on board, especially in the evenings . I’d like to get the packing list organized. Thanks! 

Wondering if yoga classes are offered- if so, what are your thoughts? Please don’t tell me they’re at 6 a.m. 🙈

New to HAL. Have only cruised Celebrity before we always purchase the premium beverage package and have always been happy with the premium wine offered. ( we have also found on Celebrity that the somms often found some nice wines for us not on the list!) Can anyone here compare HAL to Celebrity wine selection? Where can I find more info about the wines offered? We don’t worry about cost or mark-up. We just want to enjoy what we drink. 🙂

Last bottle in cellar 😭We are hoarding it. Can confirm it is worth seeking out.  Getting back to the topic at hand (I think!) We have always just gone with the premium drinks package and always been happy, but not overwhelmed by, the wine choices. On our last trip we had a fabulous wine pairing dinner in Murano and we were blown away.  We had no idea that they had wine THAT good onboard!

Anyway - here comes the question: It looks like Celebrity has changed the whole drinks thing and it more resembles all- inclusive resort. We don’t think that is a good thing. I would think that quality would go down when you’re trying to cater to the masses. Am I right, is it more like an all- inclusive? If not,can you explain the changes? Better, or no? 

My husband and I are looking forward to cruising again but we certainly do not want to cruise with unvaccinated passengers. We got off a Celebrity cruise just a week before the images of that Princess cruise with passengers confined to their staterooms for weeks hit the airwaves. (While still aboard, were hearing snippets of conversations about a respiratory going around and noticed a big uptick in sanitation.) What a nightmare!
 

Cruise ships are a microcosm of society and this shows how our personal actions can profoundly impact those around us. We are very happy to be reading here that most fellow cruises share that opinion. It makes us feel much better about the prospect of cruising again. If fact, it’s starting to look like cruising may actually be safer than just general travel as there will be some control over the people we encounter.  Makes me feel confident about actually booking a cruise! I think I’ll get right on that……
 

1 hour ago, Budget Queen said:

 

I have sailed this itinerary multiple times and just again was able to grab the last sailing of the NCL Star 2-29.    Of course I think it's excellent and so glad not to miss it this season.    The Demographics you will find not the numbers of North Americans you typically find on board cruise ships.     South Americans have greatly increased in numbers the last few years.     

 

The ports are all excellent and have multiple touring options to consider.   They are each very different from the other so, I'd suggest carefully considering a comprehensive look first.   I've seen too many times-  CC roll call "groups" organized  by people who'd never been there,  and some people "following along".    Choose the touring based on the details and your interests.  🙂   

 Thanks for the reply. I’m hoping for 2022.🤞🏻 

We would love to take a cruise that would would go around the southern tip of S America and include the Chilean fjords. We are looking at a Celebrity cruise right now, but we are open to other cruise lines. We would  like about a 14 day cruise.

Our questions: If you have taken this cruise, did you love it? Recommend it? What cruise line? What were the demographics of other cruise passengers? Please feel free to add any other info you would like to share. Thanks all!

We will be Cartegna next moth and I want to make the most of our 7-4 pm stop there. We are interested in the culture and history.  Many have posted rave reviews about Dora the Explorer, but the group is limited to 16, which means there will probably be 16 in the group. We really do not want a group that large; ten would be tops.

I know about toursbylocals.com and have used them in the past with great success but we are only two which make sit quite expensive. I have posted on our roll call but no bites.  

Can anyone recommend a quality tour to fit our preferences? I am actually kicking around doing one of the free tours. Even if we end up with a large group at least we're not financially committed. Has anyone tried one of these free tours?  TIA all!

You have some great responses here. I can’t add much but to say that before our very first cruise after much research I settled on Celebrity because: 1) smaller ships, less crowded; 2) they do not cater to children like other cruise lines do, so there will be fewer; 3) did not want an overly casual vibe - in the evenings, specifically. Celebrity fit the bill on all counts. Last year we tried MSC yacht club and while it really was fabulous, we came running back to Celebrity. 

So so while it is not stuffy, Celebrity is not overly casual in the evenings either. I think shorter cruises, especially in the Caribbean, may be a bit more casual than other cruises. But in any case  men are fine with a collared shirt and dress pants or khakis. Even on formal nights, and your cruise will probably only have one, not all men wore suits. 

And great advise about the roll call and meet and mingle. It really helps break the ice and so much fun to swap ideas and info before you cruise. 

Have a great time! 

Did I read somewhere that there is no longer a Cellar Masters on Reflection?

Thanks both for response. Since December we have not received any further communication from Sixt, leading  us wonder if the claims were even from Sixt in the first place. They certainly looked legitimate; letterhead, photos of our rental car etc.  We thought it odd that they asked us to remit payment through  the mail and even asked for cc info if we preferred to pay by credit card. We have simply chosen to ignore even though we were given a Dec 31 deadline. Nothing yet this year. We rent cars often. This is the first time there has been an issue 

I would tend to agree with you last comment if not for one thing- Trip Advisor and all over the internet on various travel blogs I have been seeing stories about Sixt just like mine, Sixt overcharging after the fact, and pressing for damages long after the rental was returned. When I read negative reviews I try to read between the lines and try to determine if the complaint is warranted or just sour grapes. I now wish I had heeded those negative reviews. 

Btw - the refund was a 300 Euro hold against my card, not a charge, but was supposed to be for damages to the rental. So why release the hold if the vehicle was damaged?

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond.  Yes I know Sixt is a major operator. That was one of the factors in deciding to rent through them. They certainly were not one of the cheapest. Our 24 hour rental was around $200. 

it may be worth mentioning that they put a 300 Euro hold on our credit card against damages, and that was refunded Then, a month later they decided we were responsible.

Anyway, we are keeping a close eye on our credit card, although oddly enough they are requesting our credit card info to process payment. And I am quite positive  this IS coming from Sixt, not some hacker.

Needless to say we will never use Sixt again.

We rented a car from Sixt in Barcelona, pre-cruise. The first problem we encountered was upon returning home almost two weeks later and finding we had been charged two days for a one day rental. Long story short: I was able to successfully dispute their claim with photos from the cruise, showing we had somehow managed to return the car after we were on board our ship and afloat in the Mediterranean. 

Now, two months later they are claiming damage to our rental. They even said we declared the damage when we returned the car!  There was no damage. In fact, we only rented the car for 24 hrs and were not in the city. The only time we were away from the car was when it was parked and there was literally nothing around - no other cars - nothing. I think what happened was we dropped off the car and the employees drove it around for a couple of hours, got a scratch on it and tried to pin both the damage and overtime charge on us. The person who accepted our return said there was no need to inspect. 

Usually we do not purchase insurance as we have good insurance on our credit card plus a rider on our homeowners, but this time we did. We purchased third party liability - whatever that is. 

Anyway my question: What should we do? I have no intention of paying 270 Euros.  Should I cancel the credit car I used? I there someplace to report scams like this? 

Any and all suggestions appreciated.

Thank you for all taking the time to respond to my question. I had followed the above steps on the MSC website before, and just did it again, and the info on "what to wear on board" is very general. What I was looking for was the number of gala nights on our cruise. The cruise is 7 nights. I cannot find anywhere a specific number of gala nights or when those nights would be.So I should assume the Fantasia is the same as the Seaview, 2 nights?

Thank you for internet replies as well.

Formal nights- How the heck do you know before hand how many formal nights, if any? And what is the dress code? I cant find that info online or in my documents.

WiFi- Did not purchase package and am wondering if there are lounges onboard where one can log-on for free? On past cruises we have just enjoyed being offline, but sought out hot-spots in ports. Now I am being warned that WiFi hot-spots are becoming increasingly popular with hackers. I would think cruise ports would be a goldmine with all these cruisers desperately seeking out a place to connect.

Thanks, very helpful. Did the butlers arrange for a cab?

According to itinerary, our ship -Fantasia- arrives in Barcelona at 9 am. Is that actual arrival or disembarkation?

We are in YC and intend to take a cab to Sants station to catch a train. I need to pre-book train tickets. Can anyone help me figure out timing, as in reasonable time to book the train? We are not in a hurry, but also do not want to hang around Sants station for hours. There is one other ship in port that day. TIA

Thanks for the detailed response. So it looks like they are just selling a bit of convenience, but you’d better make sure you don’t purchase more than you need. I was thinking it may be convenient for the casino. We like to play a bit of Blackjack. I think ships often charge a premium if you draw casino cash from an OBC as opposed to cash on the spot.perhaps if you go this route you don’t incur the extra fee? I think I’ll star another thread about that. Would be good to know.