CNSJ

Looking at 2024, I see that HAL has a circle Japan 14 day itinerary. It is very port intensive with 9 ports in Japan and 1 in South Korea. I am not familiar with these ports and wonder if the Japanese ports are mostly in industrial harbors or if any are close to sightseeing. It would be nice not to look at shipping containers in every port and have to take shuttles/buses every day. Any other comments on circle Japan are helpful. Thanks!

Thats a great deal of brunt if you ask me.

Good points from the Chief Engineer. Wrinkle spray is good. I find that bringing good quality shirts that the wrinkles fall out of is even better. Then again, we usually spend a few days in the embark port before the cruise and use ship's laundry. There is something to be said for getting clothes back ironed.

I marvel (and have some degree of jealousy) at those that book a series of back to back cruises that result in 60+ days on same ship that is not doing a grand voyage or world cruise. I see benefits of multiple visits to same ports where the one day visit just isn't enough to see things you want to see. I also think that Shareholder and First responder credits apply to each leg, so there's something to be said for that. My questions are: 1. How do you work with your TA or PCC or Website to get same cabin for three of more legs, as some chunks of cabins are held for longer cruises that are in fact two shorter cruises combined. 2. Do you need to get new Keycards each leg. Is that a hassle? 3. Do you price the combined legs to determine pros and cons of each segment as a stand alone trip? If using HIA, it seems a better deal to buy multiple segments as you get more shore credit and more dinners than one big cruise. 4. When more than one ship is in region (like Med) do you ever jump ship for a a seven day segment, to (a) spend more time ashore in the embark/disembark port (b) or switch to another dam ship? Interested to hear various approaches and methodologies.

If I recall, Konningsdam did a round "the bottom" trip a few years back. To those in AUS and NZ, my apologies for my Northern Hemisphere view of things.

I believe that Konningsdam has stayed on the West coast since arriving there. The lifeboat fix on Rotterdam is kind of cool if you are in to mechanical things. Rather than a pivoting davit set, the lifeboats extend and retract mostly horizontally with hydraulics. I think I would prefer a Panama Canal cruise on a Vista or Signature class ship due to the extensive promenade. On a Pinnacle, the lifeboats will be pulled in during transit taking up half of the promenade and blocking most of the view. That makes the viewing areas on higher decks and bow more crowded.

It seems the shipping containers are to protect people walking down pier inside. The containers take the brunt of any rockslides.

Changes happen. Timing may be poor with respect to payments.....but.... We had several changes on Westerdam Transpacific in fall of 2022. I do believe they try their best to make things work. *** In our case, when a schedule change caused by local politics prevented us fro visiting one island in Papua New Guinea, the Captain worked it out to get us a second full day win the Conflict Islands....total paradise....there were few complaints. When weather prevented us from tendering into Moreton Island which was just a beach day.... the Captain kicked up speed and got us an extra full day in Sydney. The extra day was docked right downtown next to the Opera House and at foot of Harbor Bridge. Then we moved in middle of night to White Bay terminal to disembark. Best Captain ever (in every possible measurement on this trip) ....Captain Wouter Van Hoogdalem! *** a few days before end of cruise we had later from Captain crediting all with $500 OBC and a 10% FCC of our cruise fare paid. Great customer service action IMHO.

Agree that HAL remains a primarily single class ship and do hope it stays that way. We are finally 4 star mariners after cruising the past 12 years (covid delayed use few years) but have tried a few other lines. Celebrity has the AQUA CLASS, SUITE CLASS...RETREAT, MSC has its YACHT CLUB, and NCL has the HAVEN. CUNARD.....still beckons the days of British Peerage... Maybe HAL has resisted this because of its large number of 5 Star Guests that dependably book Deck 1 Amidship Oceanview Cabins for 90 plus days a year. Keep the base happy. I'd cruise twice as much for Oceanview/Inside prices, but my DW said no balcony...no trip.

Thank you for the great coverage of your World Cruise. On our bucket list for sure!

Infrequent ports for HAL are ports to book early. Our October 2023 cruise that has two stops in Israel had the overnight shore excursion fill up more than a year out. I got on the wait list, and luckily a few spots opened up. It was a port that I preferred to be on a HAL tour as we were going far from port and an overnight in Jerusalem.

One good thing about the Unlimited Laundry package is that if you have a thord or fourth person in stateroom, you still pay same charge. This was a big cost saver when our daughter recently joined us on a cruise.

kapitch, It seems we had similar comparisons. How could I have forgotten the elevator floor mats! When we crossed the dateline on Westerdam this past fall, I wondered if the day we were skipping was put out for a few songs or we just jumped ahead two days. Has planned to wake up a midnight to watch....But didn't!

Mister 67 I wish you a great cruise on the REFLECTION!

ProCruise you are correct that everyone has their own opinion. I will agree with that on all but one area: Ship's Maintenance. Significant deterioration due to corrosion is not up for debate if you ask me. Before inspecting a Naval ship I learned that Cleanliness and Preservation observations tell us a great deal before you run damage control drills on the crew....Perhaps that's the old Navy Submarine Chief of The Boat showing through..... As for music loudness..... I didn't bring a decibel meter. We were on Rotterdam in December - had ZERO Complaints other than how they handled a cancelled shore excursion due to weather. 🙂

They may be too focused on the EDGE class ships..... At least HAL keeps up the older ships IMHO.

As OP: I want to clarify one comment I made about breakfast upcharges. That bullet was specific to room service. All lunch and dinner room service had a charge. Also, they did not serves deserts (Sahara, Mobi, etc.) they served desserts!

Wanted to compare Celebrity and HAL. We have sailed Holland America (HAL) and Royal Caribbean (RCI) over the past 15 years, with 80% of our trips on HAL. Stopped sailing with RCI after what DW described as "Inedible Food" in the Windjammer Buffet. Since COVID ended, we have sailed Transatlantic on EURODAM (FALL 2021), West Carib on ROTTERDAM(WINTER 2022), Alaska on NOORDAM (SUMMER 2022), Transpacific on WESTERDAM (FALL 2022), and Southern Carib on ROTTERDAM (DEC 2022). That’s a good mix of HAL ship classes and ages. We normally sail in a V or VA but have on occasion taken the upsell to a suite. Having heard so much great things about CELEBRITY (X), on this forum, we decided to give them a try, with the post-COVID standard in our mind. Granted we selected a short 5 day cruise (fit schedule nicely), on one of their older ships (about same age as Noordam) and not a long journey, but hoped to get a feel for their service, food, and approach to cruising. Sailed last week on CELEBRITY SUMMIT. These are my observations, and yes we entered with an open mind. We found a few things we liked, and too many things we did not to want to book again. CABIN: We had a deluxe verandah on X (7111) which was not in Concierge or Aqua class. That meant we could not use their exclusive restaurants Luminae or Blu (did eat in Tuscan Grill). Cabin seemed smaller by about 10% and the balcony was noticeably smaller. Bathroom was good, but shower was much smaller than we have had on HAL. CABIN Issues: - Thick sticky dust on some light fixtures, bathroom fan, vent, and on upper shelves - Mold in shower corners - Bad rust on balcony and window coated with salt - Queen bed did not have a strip that helps minimize the two twin gap. - Bed was not made up as well as we are used to, mattress pad untucked etc. - Mini-Bar was warm, called maintenance to have them change it out (didn't stockers notice this???) - One light burned out - No varnished wood balcony railing…fake wood product of some kind. - In Cabin TV movie choices were much less than HAL as was Live TV Channels SHIP CONDITION: I have posted before that a safe, well maintained ship matters to me. (I spent 26 years in the Navy on Submarines). I have never seen anywhere near the amount of dirt, rust, corrosion, pitting of surfaces, dirty glass, and other indications of poor maintenance. On HAL cruises I see maintenance people all the time working on the ship exterior. Saw one or two and I am out and about a lot. Makes me wonder if safety equipment such as lifeboats is being maintained properly. SHIP DESIGN: - Fewer elevators per person than on HAL ships. - I am a deck walker. This class of ship NOT set up to walk. Promenade only extends 70% on each side. No wrap. The deck 11 “jogging path” is short – 9 laps+ per mile and a mix or runners and walkers, with deck chairs at edge of red painted area. - Access to Deck 12 Rooftop Lounge was terrible. Very steep ladders from Deck 10 aft or an exterior lift for wheelchairs (we didn't need this lift). CREW: Crew did not have same professional polish that we are used to. Wide range of home nations here. They were friendly, but a great deal of joking around with each other. Service at the Pool was almost non-existent, and they did not come by often to clean up drink cups etc. PUBLIC AREAS: Focus was on very loud music. I could hear the Deck 10 pool band and music from my balcony on Deck 7 very clearly. It was so loud we could not sit near pool on Deck 10 or 11. No area to read, play cards, or do anything else that wasn't loud. Exception was indoor pool (Solarium) – Too shallow to swim as it's a big warm tub, but no area around it with tables. GOOD: More hot tubs. But more kids in them. OCEANVIEW CAFÉ (BUFFET): - Large number of stations, but only at breakfast and lunch. They shut more than half down at dinner. - Tables were not set up with dinnerware, napkins, and cups. You had to get your own. - On HAL, we usually had a server come by within a minute of being seated to offer us water, tea, etc. on X we had to get our own after five-ten min of nothing. - GOOD THING is they have to go cups for coffee. - BAD THING is the coffee was bitter in the MDR. - Food quality in Buffet was on par with HAL at lunch and breakfast, but you serve yourself on everything but some deserts, which seemed odd in a post COVID world. - Dinner food (from the stations open) had few entrees to pick from, too many things laden in sauce or gravy. No carvery. Not same food as MDR. - GOOD: Much better ice-cream shop than HAL. - Outside dining area aft of the Oceanview too small and people camped out there all day as some chairs were really lounge chairs not dining. MAIN DINING: Service and food here on par with HAL. One good thing is that the MDR is quieter as they have carved out part of the MDR for Blueu and Luninae restaurants. Our waiter was Indonesian, and did a great job. Coffee in MDR was not great. CAFÉ BACIAO (Coffee Shop): Coffee more bitter than same experience with HAL. Smaller sizes of cups and if you order a pastry (including Black Forest Cake) it was given to you in a paper sleeve with a small wooden ice-cream spoon. They don't want you to take a plate to your cabin. TUSCAN GRILLE: Prices higher than Pinnacle ($40 for lunch) . NOT A HIGH-END EXPERIENCE. We had lunch on a sea day. Slow to take orders, and then they mixed up entrees and sides. DW had Prime Rib that was small and about 1/3 inch thick at best. My Filet was about 3 oz and very good. One Entrée was Crab and Mac/Cheese. We ordered this as an extra entrée to share – to find out it was small for a side dish, let alone an entrée. Desert order also mixed up and the coffee was same as the MDR Coffee (I asked waiter and he said same coffee). OTHER: - No small tables mixed with loungers on pool and sun decks. Drinks go on the deck. - Anything but most basic breakfast items (pastry, fruit, coffee) was an upcharge. All lunch and dinner (menu for room service poor selection) was a charge. Perhaps we had a bad pull of the straw with SUMMIT. It seems that CELEBRITY may be focusing on their exclusive restaurants (BLU, LUMINAE) and Retreat areas, but we booked a standard cabin. The average age on board was probably 40. Loud music in most public spaces. Granted there was more entertainment, but some of it was not very good. Not ready to try them again for a while.

I believe (if I recall) we booked our open dining about four months in advance. It opened up after the specialty dining opened but well before cruise. Again, things change all the time. Right now I can't advance book any dining on my OCT 2023 sailing in Europe.

Three cruises in past six months. Last one in December. Was able to pre-book on all. Then again I pre-booked a while in advance.

I have found that I am best off booking MDR when it opens for booking in advance online. I get my table for 2 with no wait. Depending on post schedule and my desire for specialty restaurants on special nights - I select a time between 5:30 and 6:30 PM. It just works. Walk right past the long walk up line. I always cancel a reservation by 4:40 PM if we choose to eat in the lido, so they table can be reassigned right away. MDR Service has been good. Yes its a 80-90 min meal, but then again its served in courses and that includes coffee with dessert! For those who want extra entree portions, just ask....they will happily bring you two!

Too bad we can't eat all our meals like they are our last. Learned from a Cancer survivor to live every day like it is your last.

A wonderful selection. The cardiologists of the world will thank you! 😀

The big dish of scrambled eggs is more likely to be Frozen Liquid Whole eggs. They come in cartons or large boil in bags. You can ask them to scramble up fresh eggs, the same ones they use for fried eggs. Even on our 36 day transpacific in OCT-NOV 2022 they had fresh eggs the whole trip.

CruiserBruce---On my last few cruises if you have the have it all package, the three letters are HIA. It may say SBP when you just buy the drink package alone.