CNSJ

I think @terrydtx was referring to Amidships Cabins. Desirable for smoother ride and central access to many. We have booked Deck 4 aft (starboard) on HAL ships in the past (Alaska and Caribbean) which have unobstructed balconies, and are ok over the dining room. Just try to avoid Deck 4 aft port side where you are over the main kitchen. General rule on cruise ships, noise above is usually worse than below (movement on deck), but a music venue below or above can be bad. Best = Cabins above and below. If the Pogo Stick Group is onboard, find another cruise.

On the Pinnacle ships I find the VA cabins on Deck 6 to be "better" than the V cabins on Deck 5. One deck up (on 6) lets you see better over the lifeboats/tenders, and its equidistance on stairs to LIDO Deck 9 or GRAND DUTCH Cafe on Deck 3. Lower deck does provide a bit less motion - that may drive the extra $100. Both are great decks as they have cabins above and below.

If your birthday is during a cruise you get two things.... 1. A year older 2. Cupcake and note from the Captain.

Mary- Must agree on European Breakfasts being well worth it. Consider that here in the states if you went to Starbucks and had a Latte, Yogurt and a Croissant (a meager breakfast to me!) you would see a $19 tab.

Must agree with the majority of posters here. We have stayed in the Hyatt Regency Vancouver and had no issues at all. Yes, homeless line some streets near Chinatown**, and sadly there are syringes and needles here and there, but the vast majority of city is safe and walkable. **Like some part of every other major city in North America. From the Hyatt we walked (downhill) to the Cruise Terminal at Canada Place. with our roller bag luggage. With streetlights to wait on, maybe ten to fifteen min or so.

Thank you for your to the point review. We are booked to sail Oosterdam to South America & Antarctica.

So agree! It would be great to see a few updates to the Vista Class and remaining R Class like the Grand Dutch Cafe, nicer verandah furniture, and other little things to bring up the standard a notch. Im willing to pay a bit more for better. I look at the impressive changes Fred Olsen Cruise Lines made to the R class ships they bought. They obviously have many nautical miles left on them!! Here is an example: https://www.fredolsencruises.com/our-ships/bolette

Now that Explora has a second ship I decided to research them a bit more. All cabins on Explora are balcony - with two lowest price Ocean Terrace cabins (over bars etc.) They are about the size of the Vista Suites on HAL's Pinnacle Class ships. On a 14 day Eastern Mediterranean Run I compared HAL and Explora a year out. Average Price on EXPLORA was about US$570 a night but was "all inclusive" - Suites moved the price up much higher. Kind of in the middle between HAL and Seabourn. Average Price on HAL was about US$290 a night/pp for a VA or V cabin (no HIA), about $360 with HIA. If I bumped up to a Neptune Suite on HAL (with HIA) , cost was about the same per night at Explora's base cabin. HIA allows us to compare a close to all inclusive HAL. So in the end, at least for me, I can take two 14 day HAL cruises in a VA cabin for about the same price as one on Explora. But, the Explora cruise might be more enjoyable, visit some smaller ports, and be much more luxurious I am sure. DW and I are sticking with HAL for now. We are satisfied with service, food, cabins etc., and want to cruise more during the years we can travel without issue. Sometimes when we want to try a new cruise line we look at Transatlantic cruises. They are 14-18 days with many sea days. That allows you a chance to spend real time on the ship, try all the restaurants and bars and get a good feel for the ship and its amenities. On a port intensive itinerary like the Aegean Sea, we spend much less time onboard so I can't see the cost difference.

Im guessing you need to book a Queen's Grill Suite to reach the level of their advertising. AT those costs I could cruise only once a year!

At this stage in my life, I don't enjoy the extra work for "peel and eat shrimp" or whole lobster either. Unless it's part of a social gathering. I am happy to just eat the good parts.

Agree with the others, this (The Glacier and Photo Safari) was a great tour. The photography info was useful, the tour guide was great, and we had a superb day out on the water with whales, porpoises, orcas and other marine life. Toss in perfect weather and well....what more could you ask for?

Canaletto can suffer from a lack of intimacy. Rudi's, Pinnacle Grill and Tamarind offer that in spades IMHO.

We didn't think the Seafood Boil was that great. Given the choice of Seafood Boil or Tamarind, - I'd recommend Tamarind.

Tough to lock in weather that time of year. We have been hot in mid October in Athens and further south in Crete, Rhodes, etc. Bring short sleeves and as others have said, a jacket. What matters is that October is perhaps the best time to visit the Eastern Med!

After 15 years of regular cruising we are very happy with HAL, even with the "changes" that fill the pages of Cruise Critic. I do hope HAL survives, I am not sure where I would turn - I think CUNARD might have service close to HAL's, and CUNARD may have itineraries we would enjoy. (I hate having to dress up all the time on vacation🫢). Maybe OCEANIA, at a higher cost? We may have to look at UK lines...Maybe FRED OLSEN, or perhaps VIKING, but to be honest....I just want HAL to stay HAL.

The Westmark in Fairbanks was not much better.

I don't know the age of the child, but I do believe they have children's life jackets when the cabin has children in them. Ask when you embark.

It is real.....Ill miss the Pork Chop Double Cut!!!

I think a "group" is 8 cabins, a "Charter" is the whole ship.

We have sailed with large (>500) groups before and I did not like the access restrictions to some venues and the lesser amount of entertainment as a result. Groups "tend" to be on shorter sailings - 7-10 days. Don't confuse large groups that monopolize the Main Stage with what I consider benign groups like the "knitting group" - other than 300 women carrying sharp weapons around, I have had no issues with them!

This is a great way to be able to get cash in USD during the voyage, and I too prefer traveling with less cash. Cruise Critic never ceases to provide excellent info to us Cruise Enthusiasts!

Liberty Station was built on what was the Naval Training Center San Diego. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. Navy Sailors went to boot camp and follow on technical schools there. They have preserved some of the base's buildings that were built in the Southwest Style in the 1920's and 1930's. The base closed in 1997. Of the military services, the Navy tends to have and or/have had some greatest real estate.

In my case a cabin location "we are unhappy with" - leads to DW reminding me about it for a long time. Upsells are great, but you can't rely on them as you know.

Well Done Cattman

I think HAL has a good system, and the Lido is perhaps better than other lines because of it. They will give you more chow if you ask for it. I eat a bit less with them serving, and therefore don't gain as much weight. On a cruise just after the COVID restart, a "nice old lady" (at least 80 years old) would use the spoon in the Vegemite jar, then wipe it off with her finger before putting it back in the jar. Seeing this a few mornings in a row, I asked the Lido Manager to say something. The woman was of course horrified at being spoken to, and yes they tossed the jar and put that behind the counter for them to dish out.....For the record, I dislike Vegemite.