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.

I am sorry for your loss. We did not have the same situation but our oldest teen son decided not to go on our trip last month, he and his brother were sharing a cabin. We did not request a refund but we did have our TA inform HAL. We did not have to pay more for our one son to have his own cabin.

My husband was positive 12 days before our trip. We got a letter from CareNow stating he was safe to travel / return to work, he took that and his initial paperwork showing the first date he was positive. On the health questionaire we marked he had been positive and it gave us a number to call. I called, they marked his file. We did the land portion first and had to test in Denali, at that point he was negative thankfully (11 days out from his initial positive).

We were on Noordam in June this year, first time with HAL. We liked the ship, some areas maybe seemed dated but overall it was nice. The MDR was nice, we didn't eat in the Lido much but it was never crowded on our trip (full yes but not like other trips where the buffet has left you looking for a place to sit). My husband liked the bar in the Crow's Nest the best (the bartender there made the best margaritas). The Lido pool area was nice and while not crowded always had people sitting in there. Good views, tables with chairs along the windows, a bar, the Dive In, three hot tubs, plus the pool and lounge chairs. We were in Signature Suite 8060. Very nice and comfortable cabin. The bathroom was very large with two sinks, a tub with shower and a separate shower. The bathroom even had a nightlight in the ceiling. My 16 year old liked the Billboard piano bar in the evenings.

We were never close to our 15 drinks a day so in the evening between my husband, our 16 year old, and myself we would go grab a couple of cans of water after dinner for the next day.

We started in Anchorage, not Fairbanks, but a couple of weeks I posted two separate posts, one for our land portion and one for our sea portion on Noordam, on this board.

Going to look for this or order on Amazon.

We did 7 nights on Noordam this month and the gala night was steak and shrimp. They did have lobster on there but it was an upcharge (I don't remember when, may have been gala night in MDR or we did one gala night in Pinnacle).

So sorry, I do hope you stay negative and your husband recovers quickly.

We were one of the lucky ones that had amazing views at Denali almost three weeks ago. Also one of reflection lake while on a jeep tour.

We just got off Noordam and had no complaints about the food in the MDR. Did not eat in the lido enough to have an opinion there. Husband and son also liked the Dive In.