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roxybear135

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  1. It’s been a while since my husband and I cruised and we just booked a September cruise to Alaska that I’m very excited for! We booked have it all which includes the signature drink package. I know you used to be able to upgrade to the elite beverage package and just pay the $5 per day difference (plus 18% gratuity). Can you still do this? If so, what is the easiest way to get the upgrade done? I remember we had some difficulty in finding someone on board who understood what we wanted to do and was able to get us upgraded, so hoping to avoid that if possible. Thanks!
  2. Congrats on taking your first cruise - you will quickly be hooked! I've done 2 HAL cruises to Alaska, but both were roundtrip Seattle. I can't answer all of your questions, but can answer a few. For the wifi and drinks package for HIA, it won't show up anywhere other than your booking confirmation. When you get your room key, the drink package will be loaded on to it so you can start using it right away (keep in mind the 15 drink limit per day, including non-alcoholic drinks). As for the wifi, you will be able to sign on to the wifi on whatever device you want to use and activate your free wifi package on there. You can then switch between devices if you want (i.e., from iPhone to iPad) because the wifi only works on one device per person at a time. You should be fine decorating the door to your stateroom, as long as it is with magnets. I've seen a handful of people do that on the cruises I've been on, and some go all out with it. Make sure to pre-book your free dining included in the HIA now, so you get the time slots you want. They tend to book up quickly, so you don't want to get stuck with something that doesn't work for your schedule. Also, keep in mind that the dressy nights (former gala nights) tend to be on sea days and are never on the first or last night, so those are good nights to book specialty restaurants to make sure you don't miss out on the dressy nights because those menus tend to be more upscale. You can start looking at previews of menus in the navigator app to get an idea of what will be on the menu during your cruise. For Juneau, the only place I've ever eaten there is Tracy's Crab Shack, which had really good Alaskan king crab. It's extremely casual though, so might not be what you're looking for. Juneau is fairly small, so you may want to research restaurants ahead of time in case you want to make a reservation. Try and make it up to Mendenhall glacier if you can, it's really beautiful. Enjoy your trip!
  3. Never had a bad meal at Tamarind! Some favorites are the wonton soup appetizer and the crispy duck with udon noodles. The wasabi cocktail is also delicious!
  4. I did the same thing after our last cruise so I sent an email to the president (as suggested above) and named a few crew members who were fantastic. I got a response thanking me for my kind words and saying that they would make sure that those crew members got recognition for what I had said about them.
  5. No there isn't. Just fill out your room service hang tag with what you want and leave it on your door the night before and it will be delivered at the time you selected. We thought the room service coffee was actually pretty decent (the coffee in the Lido was awful).
  6. I think it was around $40-50 but I'm not sure. I do remember it was more expensive than a regular Tamarind meal
  7. We had this on our cruise to Iceland/Norway/Scotland back in June/July on the Nieuw Statendam. We didn't hear about it until I happened to see a sign posted for it on board. The dinner was completely sold out but we were able to finally talk our way into getting reservations for it. It ended up being one of the best meals of the trip (we have been to Indonesia before and the food at Tamarind for the special dinner was just as good as the food we had in Bali). It was a few appetizers, about 6-7 entrees (you got a small portion of each), and dessert. Highly recommend it!
  8. Yes, there's sushi on the buffet at the Asian station but only during lunch. They usually have 3-4 different types of rolls. Our favorite is the poke roll.
  9. They have it at the Asian station during lunch. They usually have a veggie roll, Philly roll, and a poke roll (veggie roll with poke salmon on top). We always enjoy the poke roll a few times throughout the cruise.
  10. Tuna, albacore, and yellowtail are probably the mildest of all the raw fish. The tuna poke (cubed tuna tossed in a citrusy soy sauce with avocado and I believe mango) at Nami is amazing and a must get for us. I would also recommend trying eel (unagi), which is actually cooked. It's flaky and tastes similar to a teriyaki sauce. They make have chopstick helpers (a little plastic thing that clips on the end of the chopsticks to hold them together in proper form and make them easy to use) if you ask, but using a fork or your hands is also fine to do. We always tend to overorder at Nami since we absolutely love sushi, but the prices are incredibly reasonable compared to any sushi restaurant on land so it's a good way for you to try some new things without spending a bunch of money.
  11. Just got an email from SAS this morning saying that I'm getting the 600 euros ($582 USD) and reimbursement for the food I purchased at the airport (it was only around $20). The email said it should be in my bank account in about a week.
  12. I haven't received anything. I also can't find any way to look up the status of my claim. I'm assuming with the number of people who probably filed claims due to the strike that it's going to be a long, long wait.
  13. We've used eMed a few times now and had zero issues with it. You buy the tests through their site and they overnight ship them. You have to sign up for a Navica account to do the test and then they upload your results to that within minutes (and email you a certificate of the results too). Super easy to use and highly recommend them.
  14. We have had Club Orange on both the Koningsdam in December 2021 and the Nieuw Statendam in June/July 2022. On these ships, it's a separate dining room that's only available to people who have Club Orange access either through their suite booking or if they've purchased an upgrade to Club Orange. It's only open for breakfast and dinner. We liked it because there was never a wait for a table, the staff got to know you and your preferences, and sometimes the special entree at dinner time was great. You get the same selections as the MDR except mimosas are complimentary at breakfast and there's an extra entree option at dinner. Our experience at Club Orange on the Koningsdam wasn't the best (the cruise was very crowded because it was a holiday cruise and they seemed to be short staffed) but was absolutely fantastic on Nieuw Statendam.
  15. The cream puffs at the Grand Dutch Cafe (they were absolutely amazing on the Nieuw Statendam but not great on the Koningsdam) and the poke sushi rolls at the Lido. We get these multiple times on every cruise!
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