DCThunder

That's an interesting dilemma if true. Especially, if you can't buy cards aboard ship.

For some reason, my TA booked me as a "Guarantee Cabin" on an upcoming Alaska cruise in late September. I'm told I'll find out my cabin "at boarding", but it will be at least a "Deluxe Verandah" stateroom. Will I truly only find out my cabin when I'm checking in for the sailing at the cruise port in Vancouver? Or will I be notified of a cabin earlier than that? Does anyone have any guidance on this?

Thank you! That's just what I needed to know.

I'm very glad to hear of this laundry service. I've got a 31-day cruise booked for next spring and was worried about how to get some clean clothes without a self-serve laundromat on board HAL ships.

First time HAL cruiser, here. I'm not a big drinker and so am not inclined to purchase the Signature Beverage Package. However, I have seen the Beverage Cards that are offered and might purchase one of them. My question is does the value of the card expire at the end of a cruise or if there's a balance, does that carry over to another HAL cruise? And can these cards be "refilled" on board or must they only be purchased prior to sailing?

Thanks to everyone who has replied. I just booked Nieuw Amsterdam form Sept. 25-Oct. 2. Last HAL cruise to Alaska for the season, I believe. Unfortunately, I can't stay on to go to FLL... ☹️

I had an aft facing/wake view cabin on a TA on Enchanted from FLL to Copenhagen in April and really liked the cabin. I got sun most of the day, but especially in the late afternoon and evening, and then at sunset. We were fortunate that we had great weather and I had no issues with motion. I've got a similar cabin (albeit on the port side this time, not wake view) on a TA from Southampton to NYC in about 30 days, so I'll see how the cruise westbound goes. I'm a fan of stern cabins.

Has anyone done an Inside Passage cruise in mid-late September? If so any thoughts/comments on cruising late in the season up there? Thanks.

I'm seeing a good deal on an Inside Passage cruise in late September. Has anyone done a late season Alaska trip and if so, do you have any thoughts/comments on seeing Alaska in the fall?

Are the OBCs for owning CCL stock the same across all the Carnival brands? And is there a link to the form that HAL wants us to use? I have the Princess form, but would need the HAL one.

Sorry. Oosterdam departing BA on Mar. 10 vs. Sapphire Princess departing BA Mar. 5. Essentially same itinerary until Santiago and same Peru port calls for each. From there Oosterdam heads to Panama, Aruba and FLL and Sapphire heads towards Nicaragua and up the west coast of Central America/Mexico to LA.

I am a relatively new cruiser and so far have sailed exclusively on Princess both in the Caribbean and a TA/Northern Europe/Canary Islands sailing. I've booked a Princess cruise from Buenos Aires to Los Angeles as well as a separate Panama Canal sailing from LA to FLL. However, I'm considering cancelling the Princess cruises and booking a 31 day BA to FLL cruise (including a Canal transit) on HAL instead. I must say that I have had zero issues with Princess but I am considering if I get more "bang for my buck" with a different itinerary on HAL. Can anyone who's sailed on both Princess and HAL give me any advice as to which cruises to do? The cost of the BA-LA on Princess and the BA-FLL on HAL is essentially the same, but I'd save on not doing the LA-FLL Princess cruise. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. TIA

It looks like the CDC announcement of late yesterday is sparking all the cruise line stocks today. CCL is up so far today and back over $10/share. Dead cat bounce? 🤷‍♂️

Back to your original question, the times of the boarding groups don't really seem to matter, or at least they didn't the two times I've boarded a ship in Port Everglades (January and April 2022). No one ever asked or checked what time my "check in slot" was. So my advice is not to sweat that part of boarding.

I had a Rivera (Deck 14) aft facing cabin on the Enchanted for a TA/Northern Europe cruise. That's two decks below the Wake View Bar/pool. I never heard a sound from above, day or night. I realize I had a cabin buffer between me and the bar, but I had absolutely no issues with noise. In my experience, the Wake View bar isn't a real rowdy location at night, but on cruises that had cooler weather, there wasn't as much outside sitting/drinking in the evening as there might be in the Caribbean.

There's really only one outlet which is located above the desk. It has US/British/Euro style outlets. The bedside lamps have USB ports in them, but not electrical ports. Depending on what you'd need to plug in, you'll need to bring a non-surge protected outlet expander. If it has USB ports in it, you wouldn't need the charging ports, most likely. There's also an outlet in the bathroom to plug in an electric shaver. It's a US style plug.

Exactly. You are free to tip individual crew members (bartenders/room stewards, etc.) if you wish.

If he's still on-board (IIRC, he said his contract was up in July and he was going back to Peru for a while), he'll make you what ever you want.

This was absolutely my experience in both Copenhagen and Southampton on a B2B2B. You get a "Passenger in Transit" card from the steward and exit the ship when you want and return before departure. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy as the Brits say.

Everyone who has taken the tour has had so swear on a stack of Bibles to not tell what goes on "behind the scenes". The Knights Templar and the Illuminati have their tentacles in everything, donchaknow...

Go to Bellini Bar and have Christian serve you a drink. He's a great bartender!

I have watched a Princess desk clock move one hour ahead at 1200 hours (noon) as we sailed east on the TA. It suddenly became 1300 and the hands of the clock moved forward automatically. And yes, Millennials, since we know you can't tell time on a clock with hands, they weren't digital... 😄

He's a trusting soul, I guess...😀

Well, I got the confirmations last night that had $1.00 deposits for 3 2024 Australia voyages, so I guess he was not wrong.

Well said. Bravo!