washiotter

Okay, that’s what I thought initially. So everyone has their own login but you need to take turns connecting.

Wait, really? Yay, I thought it was one connection per cabin. My teens will be very happy.

…Or that the crew dislikes the same changes or policies that the passenger dislikes. I often think of this when people cite, as evidence for their opinion, that “my cabin steward/waiter/bartender agrees with me!” Your tip-dependent customer service worker made you feel supported and validated? Get outta town!

Wow, that looks outstanding!

We’re sailing out of Copenhagen next month with kids aged 18 and 14 and HIA. We were told that the 18yo will get the Signature package and the 14yo will get the Quench. With included crew appreciation, it made financial sense for us to do HIA regardless of beverages, so it wasn’t a deciding factor for us.

Aww, too bad! I guess I didn’t catch that you’re a different person from the OP, who did mention HAL. Sorry!

@cmph I just posted in the roll call - I got a yes answer from the KGB museum, so LMK if your family wants in on a private tour. $18pp. My teens are 18 and 14.

We’re on the same cruise, and I was all excited about the KGB museum! I’ve written to them to ask if they are willing to do a private tour on a Monday - I’ll let you know if they say yes.

Same for our June cruise, which is really puzzling!

How did you find out about the changes to your itinerary? Did you receive a letter, or did they change the info on the website? We are sailing on NS in June.

There was a pretty massive storm, I hear.

Yikes!

Are you by any chance on the June 8 Baltics sailing? I will also be on that cruise with a 14-year-old!

Wow, that is not my experience of this board at all! I am gearing up for my first cruise in June and have found this board pretty daunting with all of the complaints. If this is a fan club, I'd hate to see the critics.

Haven't you already said that you're not going to sail HAL again? It hardly seems like it would matter, if you're not. We've got HIA for our upcoming 10 day Baltic cruise on NS, for $500/person with crew appreciation and $75 OBC included. Running the numbers made it an obvious choice: 155pp crew appreciation 200pp shore excursion 75pp internet (not optional for us because we have teenagers 😉 ) 75pp OBC ...That's already $505pp before we have a single drink or specialty dining meal, so it's the equivalent of getting our drinks and our meal upgrades for free.

I *have* looked this up, because I’m planning a trip with two teens. Parents can authorize the crew to allow 16-17 year olds to leave the ship on their own. Otherwise they have to be 18.

Washiotter and family will be on Nieuw Statendam June 8-18 for the 10-day "Jewels of the Baltic" cruise. It's the first ever cruise for all four of us.

oh! The shuttle is provided by the port, not HAL?

In some of the live reports and the posted When & Wheres, I’ve seen mention of a shuttle provided from the port into town. How common is that? Is it something that gets announced in advance? We will be doing a Baltic itinerary with ports in Visby, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki, Stockholm, Warnemunde, Kiel. Except for Warnemunde, where we’ll be taking the train excursion to Berlin, we plan to explore on our own. Trying to figure out how to get back and forth.

Thanks, I have been wondering about that! I thought movie nights by the pool were really common, but haven’t seen them in the programs. I want to make sure I have the right information for my kids before our first cruise this summer.

I’ve looked at the drink menus for the different bars, and I’m wondering if the listed cocktails are the only ones available. Can you order something standard like a cosmo or a sidecar anywhere on the ship? Similarly, only the Lido Bar lists mocktails on the menu. Will other bars make them as well? How about restaurants?

I was hoping someone would post from this trip - what an amazing itinerary! Have a great time!

Thank you so much! I really enjoyed reading your thread and appreciated all the photos and details. I feel like I have a much better idea of what to expect.

We're booked on the 10-day "Jewels of the Baltic" cruise in June, and it will be my family's first-ever cruise. Can anyone point me to samples of daily schedules for a European cruise? The only ones I've been able to find online are for Alaskan cruises that are much more focused on observing scenery & nature. We'll be on the Nieuw Statendam, if that makes a difference. Thanks!

@willoL wow, I'm so glad your path crossed with mine! This is incredibly helpful. I can envision my 14-year-old hitting the mocktail bars with me in the evening too. 😉 I enjoyed reading your blog post about your trip - thanks for sharing it.