lpmpsail

We tried it once and will never do it again. Thought that our 4-star Mariner status would help to get a better room, but got an awful room - could hear everything from the BB King club 2 floors below and we're early to bed people. Got someone from Guest Services to listen at 10:00 at night - they seemed surprised at the sound. But they would not upgrade us to another level room - had to stay within the level we booked at - even with our Mariner status. Got moved to the back of the ship with a horribly restricted view. Never again will we do a Guaranteed room.

We were just on the NS last week. Rudi’s was almost always empty…staff had to go out to the Ocean bar to recruit customers. Way over-priced and then you still have to pay extra for lobster. Need to get rid of Rudi’s or lower price.

They might as well be removing the piano at the Ocean bar because they never used it. Used to love the jazz music in the evening there. We were just on the NS last week. Also need to get rid of Rudi’s because no one was ever in there. Way too expensive plus you have to pay extra for lobster. They had the staff outside asking cruisers in the Ocean bar to eat there.

We can still purchase internet on board, correct? Would like to use our OBC for purchase.

Taking the Antarctic Explorer cruise in December 2023 on Viking Octantis. Does anyone know if they provide walking sticks for shore excursions? I seem to recall seeing that they did, but now can't confirm that. Thanks in advance!

Do we earn Mariner points through gambling at the casino on board?

Has anyone ever brought their own hot air dryer blower brush on board? I’m just curious to see if it had any issues, like blowing a circuit or blowing up the hair dryer? It’s just a cheap Revlon one. I know they have regular blow dryers in each room, but this works so much better on my hair. Real world problems🤣.

I’ve complained on my exit reviews every time about the lack of non-sales pitch activities during the day. It’s absolutely ridiculous- literally every day 3 out of 4 events listed are a sales pitch. More passengers need to complain. We’ve paid for entertainment, not infomercials.

We’re booked on this trip in 2024. Are there any excursions to actual land in Antarctica? Or are we just cruising the entire time once we cross the Drake passage? I know other cruise lines have rib boats and special sanitization processes for your clothing but I don’t imagine that the Oosterdam has that capability. Thanks for any info on excursions!

Has anyone ever used your OBC for the Crew Appreciation charge at the end of the cruise? I've heard conflicting answers and forgot to ask on our last cruise. Thanks!

They had one in August on NS but it was at 9:30 pm - too late for our taste. Wish they'd do something earlier.

We just returned from a HAL cruise and noticed that there was very little activity in the Neptune Lounge. We didn't have access (didn't stay in a Neptune suite this time) so we couldn't see everything but it looked like they no longer have food and/or nicer coffees/juices available. Is that correct? I never even saw a concierge in the lounge. We used to really enjoy the use of the Neptune Lounge - has it changed that much after Covid? We're cruising next year in a Neptune and are rethinking the benefits vs the expense.

Thanks for that info - I'll check it out. Is this approved for HAL requirements? Have you cruised with this testing?

HAL needs to drop Covid Testing - just found out from Walgreens & CVS that I'll be paying at least $129/test for us to get their testing done since we have no symptoms or other reason to get the test, aside from travel. Yeah, guess I could lie about symptoms so insurance would cover it but that just seems like karma waiting to strike. The government has changed rules - it's time for the cruise ships to do the same. Even though we're fully vaxxed & boosted twice, obviously we can still get Covid. Something we probably will live with the rest of our lives, unfortunately.

I see that we can make our specialty dinner reservations online using our credits now. However, how do you do it when you want to book a table for 4 using everyone's credits? I haven't followed through the entire process yet, but it seems to only allow us to us our 2 credits and wants to charge us for the 2 other people. If each couple books their own reservation, wouldn't we end up with 2 separate tables? Seems to be a limitation in the process or I'm just not doing something right...which has been known to happen!