JohnCoffield

We were on Noordam in March (our first HAL cruise - on Nieuw Statendam next Sunday) with open seating & never had to wait more than a couple of minutes for a table for 2. One night the head waiter asked us if we wanted to reserve our current table for the remainder of the cruise at a time of our choosing. We passed as we like the flexibility of turning up when it suits us, but maybe it just comes down to each cruise & how busy it is.

Our first HAL cruise was in March this year on Noordam & we had the HIA package. Coffees were included in the package, though neither my wife or I are milkshake or smoothie fans so can't comment on them. As long as you are within the 15 limit then you can double up on spirits & not get charged - at least the bartenders did on Noordam! With 30 drinks per day between my wife & I were never in danger of breaching the limit!

Only this morning. From our previous experience with HAL it tends to be around 14/15 days prior to embarkation. As a personal service to you, I'll check out as many of the beers, wines & cocktails & report back🍻🍷🍹!

We’re boarding in Copenhagen on July 2nd & have been allocated 12:20, group E. This is far better than our HAL cruise in March when our time was 15:40 & group L! (Obviously we ignored that & turned up at 1:15 & went straight onboard!)

We were able to FaceTime our daughter back in the UK whilst in the Southern Ocean between Australia & New Zealand in March when on the Noordam. Very good Wi-Fi throughout our 2 week cruise.

Our first HAL cruise was out of Sydney in March this year & our allocated boarding time was 15:40. We turned up at the terminal at about 13:15 & were onboard within 20 minutes. No one questioned our allocated time.

Hi all, we are new cruisers to HAL & are on Noordam on March 11th leaving Sydney for a 2 week cruise. We've just received our boarding time - 3:40pm. I know I'm a first time cruiser with HAL but on the previous cruises I've been on (10) I've never had a time as late as this. Any comments or suggestions are most welcome.

I can also attest to the above. We saw them on a Princess cruise in January 2020 & they were excellent. Lots of energy & can hold a tune. I'd defiantly see them again given the chance.

Thanks very much - this is most useful.

Thanks to all of your replies & most helpful. I'll print everything & take it with me just to be on the safe side. (Yes, Wokingham is near Reading & Windsor)

Hello, we are on our first ever HAL cruise on March 11th (Noordam) & have Carnival shares & been told that the OBC will appear on our account when we board. Not having been with HAL before I guess I'm just looking for a bit of reassurance that this is how it actually works as with other cruise lines, such as P&O & Princess, we've been able to see see that the OBC has been applied to our account prior to sailing. Any comments/advice gladly welcomed. Thanks.

We've not been on Arvia but we were on Iona last July & stayed in an aft cabin on deck 12 beneath the pool & we wouldn't do so again. Water did come down onto the balcony & there was some noise both from the pool & from the bar area at the rear.

Thanks for the updates. We're on our first HAL cruise ever on Noordam in March & really looking forward to it. Hopefully covid testing beforehand will be simple as we are flying to Aus from the UK a few days beforehand.

Many thanks for an interesting & well balanced review, which I've found really useful. We are on our first HAL cruise in march when we sail from Australia to NZ aboard the Noordam so a review such as yours is much appreciated.

On G221 on July 2nd - I think I would currently prefer that everyone is tested before they board. I know it adds to cost & stress levels (we went to the Caribbean in January with P&O when we were only sure of going after we'd tested negative at the airport) but as has already been evidenced things can spread quickly on cruise ships. We'll test anyway the day before boarding.

On G221 on July 2nd - are we all the P&O guinea pigs? Not surprising that absolutely noting is being offered to those of us who have purchased the LFT tests, which probably applies to just about all the passengers departing this Saturday (25th June) So, I have a one time only offer of 2 LFT tests for the bargain price of £35 - any takers?🤣

To add to this thread, we've just had the same notification for G221(departing 2nd July). It would seem it is off the itinerary for everyone!