fairydustca

You're correct. I forgot Rudi's doesn't get the discounts like the other specialty restaurants.

My husband got the hot smoked salmon appetizer last time which is brought under a smoke filled glass dome which the waiter removes at the table and the aroma fills the air--it was heaven. We will be on the Koninsgdam next week and I can't wait to order that! We love lobster so usually get that as an entree, but I may try the Dover sole that everyone raves about. Make a reservation early or you will only have 8pm or later. There are only about 10-12 tables and it fills up. Take your time... it's at least 1.5 -2 hour experience. Bon Appetit!

Everything is getting so expensive, I'm not surprised they are charging an upcharge on certain items. I really appreciate the special touches also. Carnival Corp. still has alot of losses to recoup. The stock price is still very low, but not at the all time low it was during covid. Frankly, I'm surprised we are not getting charged the fuel supplement they can charge us. The good news is-people are cruising again!

Agree! Life is short! Enjoy yourself whatever you choose. We have loved Rudi's. These are French-inspired meals that I would probably not prepare myself. As far as Canaletto, I am 100% Italian and a fairly experienced home cook and really did not care for the food there or the atmosphere. Of course, I'll admit to being more critical about Italian food since I was raised on it. We have eaten at Canaletto because it is sometimes comped. But to us it was very similar to Olive Garden.

That's so unfortunate! Maybe it depends on the ship and the management on that ship? We have usually cruised on the Koningsdam and have always had a wonderful experience. I hope things have not gone downhill since we were last on. We have Rudi's reservations on a cruise next week and again in December. Since HAL does not have a Chef's Table, we usually really enjoy Rudi's. If November is bad, we will probably cancel the December reservation.

It is pricey, but we find it worth it. The last couple of times we cruised, we were served 14 oz. impeccably prepared lobster tails along with all of the other delicious courses like foie gras and oysters. Lobster in our area is usually over $30/lb. if you want to prepare it yourself. Actually, every meal we've had there has been wonderful and the service is very personal and highly attentive. If you are 3 or 4 star Mariner you do get at 25% or 50% discount which does help make it more affordable. The biggest problem is trying to get a reservation. It always fills up early.

Agree with another poster...spend some time strolling around Piazza Navona. The fountains are beautiful, and the area is great for cappuccino or wine and people-watching! Have a wonderful trip. We love HAL, especially the music venues. We will be on a similar trip on Viking in February!

I just checked this offer. It is still available, but my Cali cruise in November for a balcony ends up costing $400 more than I paid and I booked an aft-facing balcony which are no longer available for pricing. Seems like their "deals" all end up costing about the same in the end by the time you add it all up. I do like to upgrade the drink package because it also includes unlimited specialty coffees and waters, which were counted as part of your 15 drink limit the last time we cruised on HAL in December. That was a recent change. Not sure if they are still doing that.

Definitely! Sounds like a plan!

Hi Lorna, This is Fairydustca, (Denise & John) not Hobson, although Hobson will be a shipmate on this cruise 🙂. Yes, originally we were thinking of just doing Viking's Rome extension, but 2 days is not enough after let lag from Cali. Then we decided on 4 nights or 5 nights. We want to take the train to the wine region south of Rome and that will be one entire day itself. It will be nice to not be on a strict schedule and be able to take walks and eat locally. I hope we can work it so we get to spend the day and have dinner in Venice. Such a wonderful city to walk around in at night. We have never been to Greece and are also planning to stay an extra 2-3 nights in Athens on our own because otherwise we will just be shuttled to the airport in the morning to fly home and not really see Athens at all. I'm carefully following this Live thread and so looking forward to this cruise! It's great to have other cruisers to collaborate with!

Hi Hobson, Lorna and CC WineLover! We are also doing legs 2 and 3 next February/March (Rome-Venice; Venice-Athens). We will be arriving 4-5 days early to spend time on our own in Rome and will take our own transport to meet the ship. If anyone wants to share transport from Rome to Civitavecchia please let us know We will probably do the included excursion of Chioggia on Day 1 in Venice if it is offered. On day 2 since those of us on the B2B will have the entire day, I'm hoping we can use one -way Viking transport into Venice (not sure if this is by bus or boat). We loved Venice and would like to stay into the evening rather than return back in the afternoon with the scheduled tours. It looks like a private minivan can be hired for up to 7 people for around $175-$200. We are figuring others will be interested in this option and staying later in Venice. Does Viking allow only using their transport for one-way? Looking forward to sailing together next year!

I tentatively booked this same cruise. They are trying to give me a much earlier final payment date. May I ask you when your final payment is due? Did you just ask them to extend it and they agreed? Thanks!

milling 73, This cruise is on the new promo... code WMD23, but no free air (haha...the code made me think of Weapons of Mass Destruction!)

Jazznpool, I just received a brochure today for river cruises thru 1/31/23 "free airfare, $25 deposit, reduced fares". I don't know if it will be a better deal or not: RJE23. Good luck!

Watching you cruise carefully. Thank you for the update.