mountainmare

Be aware that smoking is permitted on balconies on HAL. A hot button issue on this board but since you cruise another line something you may not have picked up on in the fine print. You may be next to or above people who enjoy smoking on their private balcony and smell smoke. This is HAl's policy and they have every right to smoke there.

Thank you COLLEYBERRY!!! I know we're not to correct spelling but this was driving me crazy.

If you join this cruise it will be because you love this friend and want to spend time with her and take part in the themed cruise. You will not have the same experience that you have as a Haven guest on NCL...do not try to compare, if you decide to go just decide to enjoy.

The dress code for the MDR has not changed but you can order room service off menu and dine in your suite. There is open dining (officially) in one level of the MDR, but the dress code is the same as for "tradition fixed seating"

Actually now that I think about it Carnival did something along those lines years ago when they introduced "spa cabins" on the newer ships. The entire spa cabin area including balconies was smoke free. The result was people would pay a premium for spa cabins to make sure they were not bothered by smoke. I'm not sure but I believe Costa has the same policy for spa cabins.

HAL has spa cabins (sold at a higher rate) that offer a table top fountain, yoga mat and water, but its still ok to smoke on the balcony. I do think people would book spa cabins to insure no smoking but at this point HAL is just waiting to make a no smoking announcement fleet wide. I'm guessing 2016.

Or on the road---anywhere but home. If you want some fun drive down I95 the first weekend in January...you have to fight your way to the coupon books at the rest areas! But its fun to be able to pack as much as you want for a cruise and have a vacation before and after your vacation. Oh wait...when you're retired it's all vacation!

I am also a retired teacher and was warned that the first fall would be hard, the only hard part was not getting locked up because I was smiling so much. My sister was just "forced" into retirement from her teaching job and called my crying because she was so sad. I'm sure you all heard the laughter across the land when I told my fellow retirees about her tragedy.

Now the hard part was when DH retired last year--I never counted on sharing the house with him full time!!!

Enjoy your adventures.

I'm somewhat surprised by the short lead time between the official announcement and the when the changes take place. I may be wrong but I think that Celebrity had a longer time frame and does anyone remember how much notice was given when HAL banned smoking from cabins?

If HAL would change (and that is a big IF)I would think the timing would be after the GWC and Grand South America depart. I don't see it happening this year.

And that one person would take his business elsewhere because he felt he was treated unfairly. I had a student attend my final exam IN LABOR because I had stated in the beginning of class there would be no excuses for missing the final (after talking to her husband waiting in the hall yes she was excused and yes she still earned her A).

There are always exceptions in business and in life, it is a part of being human--in this case it doesn't matter, damage is done.

That is exactly what I was saying--once the damage is done not only that customer is lost but perhaps other potential customers that he/she talks to. It's a matter of too late to change a first impression. In this case the "facts" don't matter, the bad taste is there and HAL could make this into a teaching situation for it's employees.

I still believe that it doesn't matter if we all understand exactly what she meant. From a business point of view HAL has probably lost not only the OP and family as future HAL customers, but also anyone they talk to--all for $400.

We know someone who was unhappy with a HAL cruise (after we said we loved HAL) and to this day anytime we are with a group and someone is thinking of a cruise she warns them to stay away from HAL--"they lie and take your money". Her complaint to us was ridiculously minor and could have been fixed by management very easily--but I know that she has taken a bit of business from HAL and moved it to Celebrity by expressing her opinion.

All HAL needs to do is train its phone people to not say a blanket "no way" but to transfer the caller to someone else explaining that the request is beyond that PCCs authority.

We have had several aft cabins and your instinct is correct the smoke does stay around the center aft cabin because there is no wind. Forward is better, we love aft cabins but will not book them after two smokey cruises.

But the OP did not cancel two cabins, she paid full price for a suite ( not an upsell or upgrade). She let HAL know before booking exactly what she intended to do if a suite became available, including moving one child to a family members cabin. At that time HAL did not inform her of any fees. Do people who take an upsell after final payment to a different category pay a cancellation fee on their old cabin?

The point is that HAL knew of the intentions ahead of time when she was put on the waitlist and did not make it clear that penalty fees would be charged.

None of this changes the fact that the OP is not pleased with HAL and will likely take considerable travel dollars elsewhere in the future and not recommend HAL to family and friends.

There will be no drink involved with my flamingo--but I do realize at my age it could be seen as too young to know better.

At least you didn't mention my mare.

Since the OP has had his question answered maybe the hosts can lock the thread.

You are opening a can of worms here. Smoking is allowed on balconies, your neighbors beside you above you or below you may smoke and you will smell it. If this will bother you you should stay with the cruiselines you know and like that ban balcony smoking. It doesn't matter if people come and say on their cruise last week didn't have any smoke, the truth is that you are simply taking a chance. If balcony smoke is not a big deal to you then book HAL, if the chance of having smokers next to or below you (and possibly chain smokers) is a deal breaker then don't book HAL. Smokers have every right to smoke on balconies on HAL.

Off topic--PLEASE look at my name. I have had the misfortune to lose a beloved horse--yes she is dead. Every time I see the "dead horse" comment it causes me pain. So please pick something else.

We spent the day there and rented bikes with another couple we met on cc. I was riding around the walls not paying attention to our happy foursome and made a wrong turn. All of a sudden I was lost--I was standing in a plaza admiring a fountain and a beautiful Italian man rode up shouting miss miss you are lost!!! He led me back to my group and we proceeded to have a wonderful day wandering, eating well and getting lost.

I recommend getting rescued by a beautiful Italian!!

Paris is much safer than Kansas City, it is beautiful (and you won't get shot on the freeway)

I'm getting my first ink for my 65th birthday, a tasteful flamingo. No I'm not kidding, a friend and I already met with the artist and have the appointment (she's getting a circle of cats)

How would they know that a person removed the HSC? Is it flagged when you make the reservation? Is the waiter then told in advance?

What about the person who removes the HSC near the end of the cruise, after they have tipped? Does the waiter have to give it back? If there is a tip pool, is it only for people who have removed the HSC?

Isn't it supposed to be the case that all tips, even those in cash given to an individual are supposed to be turned in and "pooled" for all to share? I remember one waiter telling us that at one time.

I don't feel the need to tip extra at the specialty restaurants. People will say that it is such a bargain, and it indeed is for 3-4 stars, but for others when you consider that you have already paid for dinner in your cruise fare you are not just paying the upcharge but for the dinner that you missed.

I do believe that the servers in the specialty restaurants are at the top of the scale for servers having shown that they are exceptional and are probably paid more. Do they deserve a tip more than the person bussing tables in the lido? Do you tip the person who makes your sandwich in the lido? If you have open seating do you tip every meal? Do you tip at breakfast in the Pinnacle?

We have enjoyed meals in the Pinnacle but have never had over the top super never to be forgotten service. Its been on par with a nice dining experience on land, but not an exceptional dining experience.

There are some cruiselines that have a special crew fund where people who want to show appreciation for above and beyond service can give. I think this is more appropriate.

I agree--I even walk down the streets on Google earth. Last trip I backed off a bit and enjoyed the adventure much more.

We had unused old FCCs that we let expire (back when they would expire) and got a "we want you back" e-mail several years ago. I wrote back that when we purchased the FCCs it was in the hope that the smoking policy would change, but that we were moving on to different options both on the sea and on land. No drama, just letting them know why we didn't come back after being regular customers for years.

I still think its an idea that makes sense maybe for one season to "test the waters"

First--remember we are not talking about Fort Lauderdale in any way shape or manner. This would only affect people who regularly (not just once we tried it) from Tampa. We winter vacation on Anna Maria Island, where you can see the ship every weekend, but we have only sailed out of Tampa twice. So "it's not as easy as FLL" is a moot point.

The advantage to HAL would be that they might attract more people from the mid/south west who would like to test drive HAL. They might start to attract a younger demographic that they need to survive, a group that is looking for something a little more upscale (well promoted as upscale).

They might also attract HAL regulars who would want to see a new port and do an easy Western Caribbean route.

Just saying it makes sense to me, now New Orleans--that would be fun!!!

But can we get rid of the hamburger sticky and someone look at the classes of hal ships and see how out of date and useless it is.

A link to halfacts should be a closed sticky, a link reminding people of rollcalls is important. I would like a simple where you can find blogs place, but know it would get cluttered with "love your blog" "thanks for blogging" "hate your point of view ...how dare you say something against hal" posts.

PLEASE get rid of the stupid Dive In sticky, we are gownups, we can order a burger.