Trapper44

If you are not able to change to Fixed dining the Concierge in the Neptune Lounge would be the best bet for getting it changed onboard. There are two of them and they can work magic sometimes to get things for you. There are light snacks and drinks available during the day. Unfortunately, you will not be able to use the lounge as it is reserved for Neptune Suites and the Pinnacle Suite. Depending on the ship your parents will be able to eat breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill.

Often, I or my wife will leave our card with the other to order two drinks. We have never had a problem doing that. We also have often ordered two drinks using one card without a problem. It usually is at least several days into the cruise when we have ordered two drinks, so it may depend on the ship and/or the waiter.

Not sure about ordering onboard Volendam. My suggestion would be to do as we did for our Granddaughter. We pre-purchased a drink card in her name for the cruise. She received a very nice card, with her name on it, to use during the cruise, and it served as a great souvenir of the cruise.

We were onboard Rotterdam in November. I drink Buffalo Trace on the rocks so decided to try a Whiskey Smash. Liked it so well that I had several every day after that. My point is that they were less than the $11 limit on the SBP because I was never charged for any of those drinks. In fact one bartender wanted to make me one with Makers Mark. The price on your list is $12 so the price of that drink did go up. I would not call Buffalo Trace a top shelf drink.

On the October 22nd Sunfarer, we received a letter a day or two before entering the canal, stating that all canal excursions were cancelled. I understand that about the same time on the November 12th Sunfarer the captain announced that all excursions were cancelled for the canal. On ours we still went thru the lock into Lake Gatun. Almost as soon as we were in the lake the captain announced that the canal had requested, we go back out due to upcoming traffic. So, we turned around and went back out the same lock we had just left. We were inside the canal less than 30 minutes. Judging from these two cruises I doubt Holland will make any announcements unless they eliminate the canal.

On the 22 October cruise it was 1 November. The second Wed. of the cruise and the night we were in Falmouth, Jamacia.

If you log into your HAL account and select profile, you can scroll down and it tells you you have $100 credit. It also tells you when you need to renew it. The verification is only good for one year. The military should be automatic when you book another cruise.

If you log into your HAL account from the website, you can see if you are verified and registered. Go to My Profile. then Furure Cruise Credits. If you scroll down, you will find Onboard Credit. Your Military OBC should show up there. When you book a new cruise, it will automatically be added to your OBC.

On our last cruise we had HIA. I found that it was easy to just order a double pour when I ordered at first. They usually brought two carafes' and poured them into one glass. My account was then charged for two wines.

Is the third person over the age of 21? Our experience with an 18 year old Granddaughter was I had to pay for her to dine at the Specialty Restaurants and for her excursions when she was with us using our HIA dining and excursions. We did not have to purchase nor did they charge me for any kind of a drink package for her.

When I called HAL and inquired about the OBC that was showing on my paperwork, I was told that the "Shareholder" OBC did not appear until you were onboard. That is my experience since.

Once you have applied you can log into your HAL account on the website. Select My Profile, find Future Cruise Credits, and then Onboard Credits. It should show $100 and a Must Sail By Date. Not sure if that means you must reapply before then or what. It has been added automatically to a cruise we took last November, and also shows on the one for this November.

I would think this poor horse is dead by now. Please stop beating on him. You are not going to change this to what you want, at least not right now.

This is the opposite of our experience of eating every breakfast of a 25-day cruise in the Pinnacle Grill. As we were being seated, our waiter greeted us. Our coffee, water, and juice were there within minutes along with a selection of rolls etc. As soon as we were settled either the hostess or our waiter was waiting to take our orders. Our food was there before we had a chance to finish a roll. It was always very hot. I have eaten in the Lido when not in a Neptune and it took longer standing in line, for the food, than it did in the Pinnacle on that trip. It may have been the hostess and the waiter, but they made eating in the Pinnacle a very special "perk". I agree that a Neptune Suite is a fantastic way to enjoy an Alaska Cruise.

The smoking area is on the Starboard side and even sitting on the Seaview deck Port side, on the NA, we didn't notice the smoke. As for the SB on deck eight, we had the one on the Starboard side. It was a different class but was a cruise to Alaska. We only noticed noise from the Lido deck when we were in Glacier Bay and we were making just as much noise. A side benefit of the aft cabins, for Alaska, is a lot of the wind and cold are blocked while you are outside. Our cruise was in May and we were still able to be on our deck whenever we wanted without dressing like you were going to the North Pole. A light jacket or sweater was all that was needed. All aft cabins are quite a distance from the lounge, so we actually lost weight that cruise by getting in plenty of walking.