LJProk

We did not gamble on our one HAL cruise to Alaska this June. Only sailed HAL once. I had not been searching HAL cruises but had looked at RCI recently. I wish we could do an Australia sailing on Noordam, but we both still work and don't have that much vacation time. Oh, and we had booked through a travel agent. For those asking why I would ask if it's a good deal, sometimes a good deal isn't really a good deal. Wanted to hear from people that have done it before. We still have to pay taxes, port fees, gratuities, etc.

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Was it $99 per person to add Have It All?

Thank you. Trying to see if we can swing a 9 day to Mexico over NYE (main issue being vacation days at work and finding someone to stay with our 16 year old and 2 dogs).

Has anyone done this? You pay taxes, port fees, gratuities, etc but the stateroom is free. Does it end up being a good deal?

We took our 16 year old son on HAL to Alaska this past June and he loved it. On the big ships like RCI and NCL there was too much going on for him. He would always be in his room. On HAL though he found places he could sit and relax outside his room and enjoy the ship. In the evenings he would go to the piano bar without us and sit to listen to music. And yes, my 16 year old is an old soul, LOL!

We were on Noordam in June this year, in a signature suite. We had a tub with shower curtain and a shower with a curtain as well. I do not remember there being smoking in the casino (my son liked hanging out in the piano bar that is open to the casino). We liked the food. We ate breakfast most mornings in the MDR and tried to do lunch there when we could. Dinner we ate in the MDR, one night in Pinnacle Grill and one in Canaletto.

https://www.amazon.com/American-Metalcraft-MELSL52-Endurance-Melamine/dp/B002C80094/ref=asc_df_B002C80094/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198090504402&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13321747656786574646&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9026804&hvtargid=pla-349308227239&psc=1 these are the same look but melamine which should be lighter weight than the ceramic ones.

We had the beverage package included so our 16 year old could get sodas, cans of water, and juice.

We were in 8068 in June and the only time we heard noise from the lido deck above was early in the morning from chairs being moved. And the couple of times when the water was rough you could hear the chairs moving a little. Otherwise it was very quiet.

We were on Noordam in June this year and loved the ship. We are both late 40's/early 50's and have a 16 year old son that was with us. Interior was very nice, not over the top luxury but comfortable, clean, and tastefully done. The rooms were nice too. As for entertainment, Rolling Stones was open late and the Billboard piano bar was too. There were nights I went up to the room at 11p and my son was still at the piano bar listening to music. Someone asked about the rough water. We had one night it was rocking and rolling and the next morning (this was our last at sea day headed to Vancouver). It was moving some but with some Bonine I was fine.

We did triple Denali before our cruise on Noordam in June. We did not have to test before the land part (but we had). Once we got to Denali they had papers for us with a QR code to sign up for a time in the main lodge to test. When my son and I went (with an appt time) there was a line but it took us maybe 15 minutes. When my husband went the following day he walked right in. It is an area sectioned off with curtains, they give you the swab, watch you, then you put it in the little vial thing. They email you results, check your spam folder, a lot of us had our emails go to spam.

On Noordam last month it was the side facing away from land (so port vs starboard would vary by cruise). It was deck 6 I think, but they also had the fire doors closed by the elevators so people could not just walk down that hallway. No other guests were staying in that hallway either.

Just did HAL last month for Alaska. Even on a gala night I saw a guy in jeans, a hoodie and a baseball cap in the MDR. My husband typically hates the MDR, doesn't want to change and dress up. This cruise he wore mostly jeans and a golf shirt, even a tshirt with hoodie one night. So much more relaxed. Even gala night two he wore nice jeans and a golf shirt. I typically wore nice jeans and a cute top.

We did land first with Denali only. We got there on a Thursday, were leaving Sunday for the ship. They provided a QR code and you logged in to set up a time for your test. They were testing in the main lodge. You could go Thursday, Friday or Saturday. They will send you an email with your test results, be on the lookout in your spam email folder, quite a few of us had it go to spam.