sciencewonk

I am aware of that. This thread is about Neptune Suite perks. This is a Neptune Suite perk on Noordam.

On Noordam, you also get breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill every morning. It was one of our favorite activities on our recent cruises.

I can't answer your value question because I've never been whale watching in New England. I have been whale and porpoise watching in San Diego and Nelson Bay (Australia) and it was similar to those (not better / not worse). What was different was the type of whale. We saw lots of orcas and a couple of humpbacks. We also saw many sea lions and a bald eagle. I hope this helps a little.

I've wondered about the security of placing the key cards outside the door, but based on the limited descriptions of mishaps on this thread, I'd say it generally hasn't been an issue and if it happens, you have yet another travel story to tell people.

My DW has this issue, so I've researched it a lot online. Studies of these bands (called portable acustimulation devices in the medical literature) have not shown any benefit. (for reference, see https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15018290/) The medical literature shows mixed results with the use of ginger. Current recommended treatment is still scopolamine, a first generation antihistamine (eg dramamine), or habituation. Disclaimer, I am not a physician and am not offering medical advice. I am summarizing what I found in the medical literature. I hope your wife finds an effective treatment and you can both enjoy cruising.

We were on a Nov/Dec cruise from Auckland to Sydney. That was our second time on Noordam. The first was a year earlier when we cruised from San Diego to Sydney. We absolutely loved it.

Kristina (the Neptune Lounge concierge) was our favorite crew member on our recent cruise on Noordam. She took such good care of us when my DW and I got COVID (sequentially, not together). She was also proactive when we were having troubles with room service. I think she put the fear of God into the room service staff. After the first couple of issues, the service was prompt and over-the-top gracious. I can actually picture her as horrible embarrassed at the situation.

We love the aft Neptune Suites, especially for scenic cruising days. Now we don't want to sail in anything else. We have been on Noordam in aft Neptune Suites for transpacific and New Zealand cruises and loved the cabin and the ship. I can't address your other questions.

As others said, only the Neptune Suites and Pinnacle Suites have coffee makers. In my experience, the coffee they made was so bad I preferred to find my coffee elsewhere. If you're in a NS or PS, the coffee maker in the Neptune lounge is terrific. I thought the Lido was hit and miss. If you got it freshly brewed it was ok (but not great). If it had been sitting there a while it wasn't drinkable. Room service coffee was also ok. Exploration Cafe was better because it was always made fresh.

Many (but not all) of the tables in Noordam's Pinnacle Grill are next to large windows. The view would be great. On our New Zealand cruise, we booked the PG during our cruising of Milford Sound for this reason. Unfortunately, I came down with COVID and we had to cancel the reservation. (The Sound still looked great from our balcony.) The Morimoto pop-up wasn't available on our most recent Noordam cruise so I can't comment on that.

We do know the whole story. They were late for the ship. The ship left.

For us, breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill is usually one of the highlights of cruising in a Neptune Suite on a Vista Class ship.

I've not cruised on NCL, but here's my take on HAL given your priorities. (These are all my opinion, your mileage may vary.) Entertainment is probably the weakest part of the HAL experience but they don't have many game shows. I love the food in the MDR and have rarely had a bad meal there. The daytime activities can be hit and miss. Check your roll call and there might be some passenger-organized games like Mexican Train Dominoes or bridge. I think the education talks on HAL are great, especially the nature ones (As a retired biologist, I might be biased here.) I was on a 34-day HAL cruise (transpacific) and it actually felt too short when we reached the end.

I can't remember the answer to your question, but I do remember that there is some fine print on the menu that warns of any additional charges.

When we embarked Noordam in San Diego, we were scheduled for a 18:00 departure but didn't get underway until about 22:00. My parents are buried at Fort Rosecrans Cemetery, which all ships from San Diego Bay sail past to get out to the ocean. We were permanently moving from San Diego to Australia and wanted to say our good-byes as we sailed past (they loved to cruise, also) but it was too dark to see anything.

We did the 34-day crossing on Noordam from San Diego to Sydney in Oct/Nov 2022. 1. We didn't get tired or bored. In fact, at the end of the cruise, we were sad that it was over. 2. We ate in the MDR every night except for three nights in the specialty restaurants. A great added bonus with fixed dining is that you get to know your waiters very well and they take extremely good care of you. 3. I'm not a beach person, so I can't answer this question. 4. I wasn't overwhelmed by the HAL-sponsored activities, but there was plenty to do on sea days if you went looking for it. 5. I wasn't there at that time of year. 6. Get to meet people. We're introverts, so that's not easy for us, but it was worth the effort. This probably won't be relevant to you, but a year after our transpacific cruise, we cruised from Auckland to Sydney on the same ship. The first crew member we saw as we boarded Noordam was our waiter from the earlier cruise. We ran into a lot of crew members from before and it was great to see them again. I'm sure you're going to love your cruise.

I can't answer your question, but might guess that you can put the name of the ship? I just wanted to say that we took the reverse voyage on Noordam (San Diego to Sydney) and it was the best cruising experience of my life. I hope you enjoy your cruise as much.

We only cruise in Neptune Suites, so for us it's worth the money. We like the extra space, the larger balconies, the included laundry, and having breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill or Club Orange. Most of all, we love the Neptune Lounge with its access to the concierges, who have fixed so many small and large problems during our cruises.

Fuel efficiency is getting better with newer cruise ships, but the ships are getting larger, which requires more fuel, and it wouldn't surprise me if the net effect is close to zero. The shipping industry needs to accelerate the improvements on fuel efficiency and emission standards. That being said, when I moved to Australia from the US I was shocked by the lack of emission standards here in NSW. I'm getting tired of driving behind cars and utes spewing noxious smoke. And with the increasing popularity of American-sized pick up trucks, things are only going to get worse. Why do we have to import the worst of the US? (slightly off-topic rant over)

I have been traveling between the US and Australia once every year or two for the last 28 years. I take my meds in weekly planners and have never taken a copy of the prescription or the original bottle. I have never been stopped or asked about the meds. My one trip to NZ was the same.

We've booked a cruise in Japan and Korea for March 2025. We've never booked this far ahead, so I'd like to know when the shore excursions for the cruise will be listed online or on the Navigator app. I think they might book up quickly, so I'd like to get them scheduled early.

We were on a 34-day Noordam cruise from San Diego to Sydney that went to Hawaii first. Overall I think there were about 12 sea days and I was never bored, but I'm a fairly low-key individual. One thing people haven't mentioned that distinguishes HAL from other lines is that the promenade wraps around the ship. I did laps on the promenade multiple times a day. Enjoy your cruise.

When we make voluntary additional tips in cash, we tend to use the currency of the next ports of call. For example, on a 34-day transpacific cruise from San Diego to Sydney, we gave some tips in USD when we reached Hawaii. We gave some more tips in AUD when we reached Sydney. If you cannot get the local currencies, I'm sure they will appreciate any standard form of currency, such as AUD. Enjoy your cruise, its sounds great.

People who work for tips are among the most vulnerable people in our society. The large corporations who employ them get away with paying lower wages because the companies are insulated from the fallout. Tipping is NOT bribery. It is a recognition of a service someone has performed specifically for you. Withholding tips doesn't hurt large corporations, it only hurts those who can least afford it.

Are you being dishonest about being dishonest? Does that make you honest?