Andi Land

In 2019, we had a retreat Cabana that we authorized my in laws to use if we weren’t up there. It wasn’t an issue at all.

I had the CPP on a Panama cruise for 2023 that I canceled just a few weeks ago. I had no issues getting the 90% refund with the platinum plan. I’d call back and talk to someone else since you have the coverage.

I’ve tried working with a PCC and I am too much of a control freak for them. My last one broke up with me because I put a courtesy hold on a cruise over the weekend and according to her “didn’t give her a chance to help”. Oh boy! Too much drama for me. I asked HAL to not reassign another.

Amex always offers 100 offers at a time. So, go in and add a few to your card and refresh for new offers. Hopefully the HAL one will show up.

In order to get mine to show, I had to go thru the first part of the booking process where I picked my room then it showed the lower rate.

There was a report a few weeks back that the TVs had been delivered but no report on if they’ve been installed.

The dining rooms will allow shorts on the first night due to the fact that not everyone has their luggage yet to change. We learned this the hard way in 2019 when our luggage didn’t show up until day 2.

Great review! Thanks for reporting back. ☺️ As an FYI, you can wear jeans in club orange. None of the dining rooms allow shorts but jeans are fine.

I’ve found when I try to search online and sort by “lowest price”, it doesn’t actually give me the casino offers first as I’d expect. I have to go thru the pages one by one.

Looking forward to your review. We were to be onboard but COVID took us out. Have fun!

Love the glass art. So beautiful! Do you remember the name of the store?

Hi Jim! Great thread so far. I do have a question for you. I want to book for next year but as a one way. Is there a direction you’d recommend? NJ to Reykjavik or Reykjavik to Boston? Or, does it really matter? Thanks a bunch ☺️

I’m not sure it matters all that much. The 2100 HAL cruisers and the 3600 Princess cruisers will all be in port at the same time anyway making for crowded port areas. So, pick the ship, itinerary, and price that work best for your family.

We did this excursion in June and had a few families on the catamaran with us. The youngest child was about 15 months old and he was miserable the entire time. He didn’t want to sit. There was nowhere to walk and the outside decks were crowded and cold. This little guy did not have a good time and there was a lot of crying that made it challenging for all onboard. The bathrooms are tiny and barely have enough room for one person. Definitely no changing station and nowhere onboard to be able to do a diaper change and keep it sanitary.

I’m supposed to be on this cruise on the 27th but just tested positive for COVID. So, I’m really looking forward to your report so I can live vicariously through you. Enjoy and happy anniversary.

Can’t wait to go next year. Your pictures make it even more exciting.

There are 3 docks in Skagway. Last I knew, only one was shut down and it wasn’t the one HAL generally uses.

Yes

I got one Friday for the cruise we took in June. It was really delayed.

Great pics! We loved Fortress of Louisbourg tour when we visited in 2014. It was fascinating.

I love the naturalist they bring on board for enrichment in Alaska, Panama Canal, and I’ve read for Hawaii as well.

Could be. We got a last minute upgrade to a Neptune suite.

We had it in June on Koningsdam. Not sure what other ships offer it.

I haven’t sailed NCL so I can’t comment there. We did a land tour of Alaska in 2021. Flew to Anchorage and rented a car and spent a week exploring the Kenai peninsula. So, on that info alone, I’d pick the one to end in Seward. Seward was a great little town with an excellent tour of Kenai Fjords National Park. Whittier is cute but there is nothing there. Everyone who lives there lives in one multistory building. It was cute but not exciting. We stayed about half an hour and turned around and went back through the tunnel to get out of town. The tunnel was the neatest part (should be able to find a video on YouTube of tunnel).

I really love HALs small ships and was not impressed with the larger Pinnacle class the first time I sailed one. Now, I really love the Pinnacle class too. I’m back on a small ship in August (Zaandam) for the first time since 2018. So, it’ll be interesting to compare and contrast. I’ve looked at the itinerary you are considering and it looks fantastic. I’d book it. The ship has a great space to passenger ratio and the rooms are generously sized compared to the bigger ships. That 14 day itinerary is port intensive so I think the ship is truly the means of travel and not the destination.