Haljo1935

On 7/3/2023 at 4:07 AM, alwaysfrantic said:

I can’t even get HAL to offer the right nights for dining.  They are selling reservations for 7 nights, but nights 2-8.  I can book dinner for disembarkation day, but not the first night.  

Highly recommend calling in to make your reservation. 

13 hours ago, cbr663 said:

If the issue is the plastic bottle have you considered simply pouring it into a travel mug or thermos and then placing it in your cabin refrigerator?

I have no problem doing that if leaving it in the original plastic bottle is an issue.

The one I've seen in the shops is what @Retired_Army described.

On 1/10/2023 at 3:00 PM, pghflyer said:

Here is what mine looks like having never used HAL before but properly linked with Princess, where I have cruised before:

You are 1 star:

Look in the circle on the left - there is 1 star.

Look just to the right of the circle  - the ribbon says 1 star under "Mariner ID" and below the ribbon tells you the number of credits needed to reach 2 star

Look to the far right of the ribbon - your next level is shown, so deducting 1 gives you your current Mariner star status

Hey @jasonwa87 another advantage of booking the Advantage fare, is that if there is a price drop after you book, you can get a reduction on your booking either to the cruise fare or as OBC. That is not automatic, you have to call in to have that done.

Safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

Very annoying is also having to constantly close out the "refer a friend" ribbon before being able to get anywhere beyond the first page - it blocks the log in button on my phone.

High class problem to have, I guess, considering it's a cruise vacation I'm trying to handle, lol.

2 hours ago, highscar said:

It’s large with lid insulated plastic. I like it 

Is it insulated enough to actually keep the ice frozen for a while or just keep your drink cool?

DS likes ICE!!

15 hours ago, lissie said:

Question on the room service menu here Breakfast-Room-Service-Standard.pdf (rogerjett-photography.com) it mentions milk as a beverage after tea coffee etc. Is that literally a glass of milk?  I hate creamers but I like milk in my tea/ coffee - would ordering a glass of milk and black tea/coffee solve my issue? 

Yes, it is milk; creamer is also there, so you have a choice. If you want more than the little amount in the glass jar, you can write in "glass of milk." You can also have it warm instead of cold if you prefer, default is cold.

Thanks @LBCABob we have been considering those cabins for AK for quite some time. DH is struggling w/giving up his balcony, but I enjoyed the forward views on a recent cruise w/o him, so I'm back to considering and researching again.

@MisterMatthew as others have said, yes after deposit is paid - up until final payment you can make as few or as many number of payments in whatever amount you would like. You can do that yourself directly on the website or app w/o calling in for a person to handle. You can also split payments between cards during a single transaction.

If you booked through or transferred the booking to a TA, your payments have to go through them - you cannot make payments except for excursions and other add ons.

If you book air through Flight Ease, that gets added to your total and eill be at final payment, so consider that as you consider budgeting payment amounts.

If you need to cancel even if you have a non-refundable fare, call in - they are at times willing to transfer all monies you've paid to another booking. I have personally done that more than once. Just be prepared that they technically can so no and may opt to do so.

Safe travels - enjoy your cruise.

I mostly agree with @Moriah ranking. For me, Explorations and GDC are very similar and completely acceptable for my liking. I will go to whichever is physically closest to me. Unless I'm feeling "snacky," then I go to GDC.

4 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

I have accepted upsell HAL email offers on most of my cruises and thus would not use a TA who does not pass these on.  I think that the issue is that SOME TAs consider it too time consuming to bother with (multiple calls to customer and HAL to work it all out).  

Agree although that is their job and by way of accepting the commission they're agreeing to do the work. But we all know not everyone does what they should.

It's hard to know what you're missing if you don't receive it. That is, you wouldn't know upsell offers were available if you didn't get the emails.

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

I always shared at lunch and breakfast until I ran into some folks who criticized our food choices.   I thought choice was the point of having a menu🤷‍♀️  I usually like breakfast with others as people can share their day’s plans.  Dinner is strictly a table for two, I don’t need to get riled up in the evening 

I hear ya - getting riled up in the evening ruins an otherwise pleasant day and makes winding down to sleep another thing for the "to do list"

But then getting riled up at breakfast casts a shadow on a new day and makes me grumpy 

If I wanted my food choices analyzed and criticized, I'd dine w/Julia Childs or my doctor, lol

21 minutes ago, cbr663 said:

 

Yes, I just checked and our cruise isn't eligible.  Our cruise is part of the Unforgettable Journeys Event promo.  I'm not a big fan of the HIA and would only consider it if it were deeply discounted as we rarely drink alcoholic beverages and most of the value, imo, of HIA is the drink package.

We do the math before deciding to add; the math works for us on this cruise. Usually the internet is where it loses value, but I will be working this trip, so I will need internet every day.

We also consider whether we will want to book excursions; we will on this trip, so the $200 credit will be used.

Always eat at Pinnacle Grill, so that will all get used, too.

That leaves $208 for beverages. Being coffee and juice drinkers then adding water for excursions, not much will be left for the occasional glass of wine or "other" drink. We'll drink 1 or 2 "other" drinks each day, so we will use it all.

34 minutes ago, AllTheSun said:

The website is a piece of junk and loves to tell people they aren’t eligible. Many people have to call.

I have called 6 times, but have not been able to reach someone who can or will add it. I'm told it's not combinable w/my cruise.

So, I continue to try via app & web just in case.

2 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

No fans out there of chicken and waffles?  (Atlanta's regional dish of choice....)

I don't understand chicken and waffles.

6 minutes ago, ldog said:

Can we talk about how the Caesar salad has changed?  I was so disappointed in the bit of big lettuce pieces with a smidgeon of dressing drizzled over the top and huge tasteless croutons.  I can't see how anyone would think that it was okay to charge extra for that.   We love the lobster bisque so had decided to split a salad as an add on.

I skip the Caesar get the iceberg wedge with thousand island. It is definitely large enough to share.

And, of course, has bacon crumbles 🤭

6 hours ago, NJJenLyn said:

...There were no promotions for moving people around. I was concerned that moving people around would jeopardize the promotions we are booked under.
... 🙂

Once onboard, you won't lose anything for moving people around if you choose to do so.

6 hours ago, bajae said:

I haven’t had the clothesline bacon yet but I expect that I will like it. I always loved when my bacon got some of my pancake maple syrup on it. However, in the pictures it looks like it is served with a lemon wedge. Do people squeeze lemon juice on it?

 

Put me down as one who loves pineapple on my pizza. I was introduced to it by a friend from Australia in the late 1970s. But I believe it was originally from Canada. 

I assume the lemon is for squeezing on it, but I don't do it. I have been known to peel a lemon and eat it like an orange (yes, I know it's bad for my teeth so I do it very infrequently, but like lemons that much), but I don't think I want it on my bacon. Maybe I'm missing out...

I don't eat the pickle, either, that it come with, but enjoy pickles as much as I do lemons.

6 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

Bring it, the worst they can do is take it away. I don't think it is cost prohibitive to lose a bottle of creamer. Of course you could probably get a very nice latte with any number of flavours on the ship.

Absolutely! I will enjoy my share of those; I'm just wanting for early morning in my cabin before I'm awake enough to go out.

2 hours ago, cbr663 said:

Am I correct that HIA, if available to be added after you book your cruise, is under Packages?  Or is there somewhere else I should be looking?

It's under Beverages.

On 7/3/2023 at 8:30 PM, loveandpeas said:

Yes, well my cruise was $0 sooooo... I took it! We have our assignment and were upgraded (?) to a G Category, so I think that gets us a porthole. 😅

Congrats - some things are worth waiting for!

Safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

2 minutes ago, Durango Sandy said:

Yep, 6102. Old accountant here,  transposition error. Thanks!

 

I do that more frequently than I care to admit, lol.

1 minute ago, Durango Sandy said:

Had a single friend in 6120 on an Amsterdam World cruise. She didn’t really care for it, even with spilt beds was weird layout, not much closet space. She would never book it again and could not imagine for a couple. It is easy to get out to the deck six balcony. We have done it from a way aft deck six cabin on same cruise, great view and worth any walk.

I think they're discussing 6102, not 6120.

1 hour ago, albingirl said:

Agree. I've never seen pizza in Italy with pineapple. They just don't do that in Sicily. It's an American custom to put pineapple on a ham but that just is sickening too. 😫 Not to mention the latest fad of bacon on and in everything. And I  am quite certain there is someone to dispute this...stay tuned.

I may want to OD on PG candied bacon (or at least whatever amount $8.26 gets me), but no, I do not want bacon on everything - no bacon milkshakes for me. And while I enjoy a nice donut with breakfast along with a double side of bacon, I do not want said bacon on said donut, ugh and ugh. 🙄

Let the voting begin... 🙄

1 hour ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Sweet and savoury just don’t belong together (at least to me).  I bet the peeps that like the candied bacon like pineapple on a pizza.  That’s just wrong too.  Pineapple good, pizza good, together 🤢🤮.

Nope, not all of us 🧐 I love the PG candied bacon, but wouldn't dream of putting pineapple on a pizza. That is wrong, just wrong. 🥴