Ipeeinthepools

I'm sorry but you can't be serious

Really? You've indicated that you have sailed on the Pinnacle class ships and I'm sure that you understand that there isn't an alternate route to get around the casino without going outside or walking to another deck. From the Rotterdam deck plans.

That's good to hear.

No, they should better train and better supervise new employees.

The gelato scooper really isn't any different than any other job on the ship. If the scooper isn't trained and supervised properly they will not be very efficient and there may be a long line for gelato. My problem with inexperienced people was at Guest Services, I received incorrect information several times. After a while I learned that if was a significant issue that I shouldn't talk to the person at the front desk and I should just ask for a supervisor at the start. I'm sure that slowed down the process but it also slowed down the process if I had to go back 2 or 3 times.

I was joking. (There was the winking smiley.) Club Orange upgrades for the non-suite passenger on longer HAL cruises, when the price is lower, is the best thing I've ever found on any cruise line. I'm surprised HAL doesn't charge a lot more. I just hope this option doesn't become more popular.

Do you know if there is a way to find out if Club Orange is available without your TA calling HAL?

Please stop giving out this tip. 😉

No, I didn't tell anyone. But now that you have me thinking, maybe I should have moved the chair and put a towel over the bag.

That's ok for us. We did a round trip out of Seattle a couple of years ago and we don't really have any burning desire to go back to Alaska. It was nice but for us it was one and done. We'll avoid Vancouver for other trips to Hawaii or other Pacific cruises.

We don't sail on the Koningsdam until February, I'll be looking forward to hearing about any boarding tips for San Diego.

After all of these horror stories, I'll never book a cruise from Vancouver.

I saw this on my last cruise, a beach bag with a cable lock. The chair hog locked their bag to the chair. Hopefully they won't be sell this in the gift shop anytime soon.

I think this is the best approach. Why try to spend it on things you don't really want? The crew will apreciate it.

My only experience with HAL was a B2B2B on the Rotterdam last February, but maybe this is the answer. Guests on the previous cruise that are B2B cruisers can book dining long before you get on the ship and can take up most of the prime time options. It didn't seem fair but that was how it worked on the Rotterdam. Once the system was explained to me, I made it work for the last two cruises.

Of course !

We were in a Spa Verandah balcony on the Rotterdam in February and as far as I could tell, it was only the location. There might have been a couple of water bottles. But it was a very nice location. One thing to note is that the Spa Verandah balconies on the Pinnacle Class ships are considerably smaller with a reduced depth. Even with the smaller balcony, we would book it again in a heartbeat.

The heated pools are great, I can spend all day in those pools.

If you're new to HAL perhaps you would be better served by booking through a travel agent. The travel agent may have answers to questions you haven't even thought about and you won't spend days trying to get through to HAL.

As nice as the aft cabins might be I avoid anything on the rear third of the ship. I hate vibrations. It's been my experience that vibrations are larger and more prevalent toward the rear of the ship. This is independent of any particular ship or class of ships. I don't know if it's the engines, azipods or other mechanical equipment, but I have encountered numerous annoying vibrations toward the rear of the ship. Having frequent or persistent vibration in my cabin would ruin the trip for me.

The Covid situation is a lot different today than it was last August, but I do have a question. Who monitored you and your wife after you left the ship? Was anyone watching to see if you wife left the hotel or if you were staying with her? Did you still need a negative Covid test last August to fly back into the US?

The process in India is interesting, it looks like the PIN is designed to protect the driver from people impersonating the passengers. I've also heard stories about Private car companies in India. The scam is for the imitation driver to walk around the group of real drivers holding up names of passengers and copy a name. The imitation driver is also holding a sign with the passenger's name and he hopes that you see him before you see the real driver. After you leave the airport and you are in a remote location, they demand more money or just rob the passenger. I had never thought of this scam. That's why I now ask the driver where we are going before we leave the airport.

I'll make it three. We're E+ on Celebrity and sail in balcony cabins and we're likely done with Celebrity after a cruise this Fall, primarily due to the IV balcony cabins and less interesting itineraries on the M and S class ships. We tried the Rotterdam in February and we really enjoyed that class of ship and several more cruises booked on the Pinnacle class ships. I think we'll see a lot of former Celebrity cruisers on Pinnacle class ships.

Is there a cruise line that can meet your expectations at the same price as Celebrity?

If you are new to the Rotterdam, you should be aware that smoking is allowed in the Casino. I offer this as information, please take any smoking discussion to the dedicated thread.