CruiseCruiseCruise13

Maybe you already checked this, but the tickets could be different class of economy.
A lot of airlines have economy basic and standard economy now.
Flightease only book standard economy (which usually includes a checked bag) the AA website could be showing you the basic economy price (usually no checked bag) they are not a different class of service, just a class of ticket and of course a different price 🙂

Hello,

we’re in port from 10am-11pm, we have an excursion booked to do klein Bonaire when we arrive. We’d like to also see the salt flats in the afternoon? It’ll probably be around 3pm and there will be 3 adults.    
 

is it best just to get a taxi? Is it possibly to get a golf cart for just a couple of hours?

There was on our cruise on the NS back in May/June

We’re on the same sailing, but in December. I have my eye on the marine park snorkel in Bonaire. Amber cove we’re just going to use as a relax day and chill by the pool. 
I also have my eye on the horse riding at Half Moon Cay. 

3 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Haha, we're all different. The (loud) trivia was what would drive us AWAY from Crows Nest! Also the better appetizers in the Ocean Bar when we were going HH to HH. They would only have peanuts in the CN. My husband loves (loved?) the big chairs with the big view, although the chairs just eat me, and I would pull a club chair over to sit next to him.

I haven’t seen any of the good appetisers on our last 2 cruises, only the peanuts. Will have to check out the ocean bar on our next sailing!

52 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

Once upon a time,  my HH residence was the Crow's Nest.  No where better!  But, then, HAL began figgling around with the Crow's Nest.  Other than the views, it has never been the same, in my opinion.  

I agree, my husband and I would love spending time in the crows nest, often spending a lot of our evening up there.  But since they’ve moved all activities (trivia) away from there we rarely find ourselves up there and have to make an effort to make sure we visit for the views and maybe some puzzles. 
 

I second what others have said, the bar tender makes the bar. On the KO we had a great bartender at Billboard. We also really liked the ‘bar tenders’ at the Dutch cafe on the NS, they have specialty beers there my husband really enjoyed. 

17 minutes ago, lesters said:

DH and I were wondering the exact same thing.  He is diving in the morning.  THought a 1/2 day afternoon rental might be great.  Might just stop by the provider and see if anything is available and wing it.  Don't want to pay for a full day unnecessarily - can't wait to be there in just over 3 weeks!! 

Enjoy! Would love to hear how you get on. We’re not there until December. 

As others have said specialty restaurant drinks are included. My husband found a wine he likes that is only served at Sel-de-Mer he was able to get a glass with out having a reservation, just asked the maitre de at the door.
Some of my favourite drinks are at the tamarind, The Emperors Nectar and The Wasabi Cocktail (this one doesn’t taste like wasabi, but it is served with a whole lychee that is soaked(?) in wasabi, that was a bit of shock when I put the whole think in my mouth! Haha) These can be ordered at the Tamarind bar without a reservation. 
My old favourite was the fashionista, it’s been removed from the menu but sometimes you’ll find a bartender that remembers how to make it. A good substitute is the raspberry lemonade at billboard or Roadhouse Drop at BB Kings. 
 

Of course you can’t beat a blended drink around the pool on a hot day, especially a Miami Vice (half pina colada half strawberry daiquiri)

This will likely depend where you’re sailing. On our most recent cruise (N.Statendam) the pool started off cool in Barcelona and around Spain, where the outside temps were warm.
Once we got to France and headed north up to Copenhagen the pool was so warm, it was wonderful. 
 

Edit to Add: we spent most of our time in the aft pool, so cannot speak for the midship pool. 

5 hours ago, 0106 said:

I changed my Southwest flight on the 19th from FLL to MIA.  It was $100 cheaper to fly from MIA.

 

I booked my flight to Barcelona with flight ease because it was much cheaper than any other one way flights I could find.  I haven’t given them any money yet, nothing is due until 9/6.  I am hoping for a direct flight from the US to Barcelona, really want to avoid the connection mess at the European airports.

We flew to Barcelona from the west coast at the end of May and connected through Toronto. Not sure where you’re flying from, but perhaps that’s be an option to avoid a Europe connection (we booked through flightease too). I would avoid Heathrow if possible, especially if you’re checking luggage. 

Does anyone know if they offer half day rentals?
We’re in port 10a - 11p and plan to do a snorkel excursion in the morning until 2pm. We’d also like to see the salt flats and hopefully some flamingos. Would a GC rental be best, or a would a taxi or afternoon tour be better?

12 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Thank you.  It just seemed like a lot of food per element.  I mean “Water”, alone, has 9 rolls more than I can eat!  They must be tiny.  I will be on K’dam in less than two weeks so I’ll let you know.  👍

My assumption is the 3 denotes the amount of pieces/slices, as nigiri is pieces rather than a roll. It’s still a good amount of food for the price I think.     

2 hours ago, KroozNut said:

 

I hope this is available for our next NA sailing in March, sounds really good!

 

Can anyone who has sailed recently on a Pinnacle or Signature Class ship confirm or deny?

We’ve sailed on the koningsdam and the N. statendam in the last year.
I know the N. Statendam had it for sure. Pretzels (various flavours), chicken wings, sliders, popcorn! As well as the usually pizza. 

I don’t recall if it was available on the KO but it should be. 

6 minutes ago, KroozNut said:

 

Or two nights in any of the restaurants, it's entirely up to you. We agree with you on Tamarind, it's our favorite restaurant on the ships that have it... even over the PG.

Well that’s good to know, we had assumed the PG was a given, I didn’t realise you could pick any. Thanks for the tip!

You’ll get 2 nights specialty dining for a 14 night.
One night in the pinnacle grill and one night in either the Tamarind or the Canaletto, your choice. (Personally we like the Tamarind over the Canaletto)  

When we used HAL flights for our Europe cruise this year, the air rep told us they do not book the lowest class fair anymore after so many issues.
We flew Air Canada they offer basic economy, which does not include a checked bag, but they also offer a regular (I think main?) economy which does offer the checked bag (and seat selection) no change in actual seat type. 
I think this would be the case for all flights, as long as the class of service doesn’t change, you should be booked onto the fare that includes a checked bag. 

2 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

I was thinking of saying what @Mary229 implied. The crew areas (blank spaces on floor plans, that are not kitchens!) do not necessarily mean NOISY. The stewards fairly tiptoe around! 

This is kind of what we figured, as long as we are not near the galley. I wasn't sure if the Neptune Lounge had any kind of kitchen, or if we'd hear them setting up early. I'm guessing probably not as it's not like they have to move furniture around. 

10 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

Here is a video of 7065 on the N.Statendam. This cabin would have the same layout as your stateroom, although its door would open on the other hallway.

 

 

Thank you! We're very familiar with the room layouts, but that's a great video for anyone who isn't. We're mostly concerned about noise, as we haven't had stateroom in this location before.

2 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I sailed interior in a pinnacle ship next to a crew area. It was not noisy.  The insides are small on the Pinnacles but we were content.  My cruise was 12 days and that is about the longest I would want to stay in that small of a room.  I was in a sideways room and the layout seems to be a bit more efficient of a design since the bathroom entrance is not near the door.   

Yes we really like those sideways layout rooms. We recently did a 12 day in one of those and really enjoyed it. Glad to hear you didn't experience any noise.

Thank you, that's really helpful.

Hello,

Does anyone have any experience of interior staterooms on deck 7, next to the Neptune Lounge J 7078. We're travelling on the Rotterdam, so any experience on a Pinnacle class ship really. We mostly curious if it will be noisy. I don't expect the lounge itself to be noisy, but perhaps there is a crew space nearby that might be?

I've tried all my usual searches for stateroom reviews and not been able to find what I'm looking for.

Failing that, which are your favourite interior staterooms?

We usually love the I category right by the elevators, sadly non available for our sailing.