Haljo1935

Not having been on Celebrity (and no real plans to change that, but plans are just plans), I am happy to see you report something positive about HAL MDR. It sure seems to be getting kicked a lot. We have 2 HAL cruises leaving from Rome coming up later this year, so definitely nice to hear the food was good.

Thank goodness!!

Best rule to remember is EVERYTHING goes on your S&S card and you always have the option of giving an additional cash tip. If you give your card (S&S card) to someone, the charge goes on your card If you sign a slip, the charge goes on your card If your card is scanned, the charge goes on your card If you lose your card and the finder uses it, the charge goes on your card (seriously, do report it lost asap) If you add an extra tip to a charge slip and give extra cash, the charge goes on your card

I never considered insurance costs being added to HAL excursions; although, perfectly logical that they would be. With all my cruising experience, I just never thought about it. I'm aware of their best price guarantee, but have never compared the details to see if any I had booked actually qualified; I'm guessing not. With that said, I compare prices and schedules a little. If we're familiar with or comfortable with the port, we're more inclined to venture out on our own or take an independent tour. We second some incredible tours both ways - through the ship and independent - I can support both. When there's a lot of travel involved, especially when language barriers impact us, we will opt for ship excursions as the " no man left behind" policy is very comforting.

Hope you consider doing a live review or at least a post review - would be interested in your thoughts of the Koningsdam and to see what I'm sure will be awesome pictures. We really enjoy the Grand Dutch Cafe on deck 3 - great coffee and snacks; they have some unique food items not available on other ships. Safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

You are not serious, right, that this is long and boring? You're just wanting the pat on the back and accolades for sharing insight and awesome pictures, right?! AK is absolutely a unique and amazing experience; we always "already" miss it before we're even off the ship. Thanks for sharing, still hope your knee is better even though you're long winded and boring, lol!

Maybe @Pickalily, Wilts lives next door to his parents, lol!

Yeah, well, that list is a long one...

I don't think I'm alone in expecting basic repairs and safety maintenance on all ships, no matter their age, beyond that I do think personal expectations vary and can set a cruiser up for disappointment. I'm w/you @Saint Greg that my expectations for a 20 yo ship are different than a new one. Overall, I think Maintenance has a big task given the wear and tear often inflicted by hearty partiers on some ships. Even normal day-to-day use by thousands of passengers is a lot.

My sailing was Nov 26 - Dec 10 Mexican Riviera. Both weeks sold out, but so were both weeks Feb 5-19 2023 Nieuw Amsterdam Caribbean, Oct 2-8 Nieuw Statendam Canada New England and April 29-May 6 Eurodam Alaska, none of which had anywhere near the wait times as K'dam Nov/Dec. Not disagreeing all the things you mention impact wait times, but it's just odd that the wait times/lines for MDR were exceptionally and unusually long on K'dam. They were around the corner, down the hall, past the bar, out of pager range long. The other sailings I listed, while not holidays, were generally more popular: Feb was Valentine's, May was opening week of Alaska season and Oct was Fall Leaf Peeping. I just think something's out of sync on Koningsdam, but sounds like maybe it's been resolved or getting better.

No doubt, as was I by my "lol." I am curious how Marketing could spin it, though, on the benefit list, lol. 🙄

Completely aligned as both a customer and stockholder, as well as someone concerned about the environment, with CCL doing what is necessary to eliminate/minimize waste. However, when those actions drive customers toward the competition, it's time to course correct. Not everything is a win. We've noticed a decline in the amount of food in the halls waiting to be picked up, so likely charges are working to a degree. But some of it may also be due to increased cleaning practices which remove the trays sooner so we don't seem as many. But there is still too much wasted. I don't think the answer is more price increases, at some point customer responsibility needs to kick in (ie passengers need to realize they just don't need to be so wasteful and eat what they order).🤔 I say it all the time, too - cruising IS the best value for my vacation money!!🚢

Not that any of us can know what people will do, but is there a concern that crowds would gather on 6 forward to the point that the views from 6100 and 6102 would be obstructed while going through the locks?

Now I'm hungry.

That's why we travel without them, lol. Sometimes just traveling w/my husband and I, we're doing the best we can. 🫠

Maybe the country code was added later so we didn't actually complete it. They've been doing a lot of maintenance lately and are revamping the website.

We're getting a little closer!! Been reading about potential issues with getting ice buckets and/or ice delivered to cabins. Hopefully all that will get sorted out before we board, but we'll be taking plastic zip bags (they take up very little room) so we can get ice from Lido if necessary.

Right, that should have been what I said.

I had never done an Oceanview but kept telling myself I needed to be more flexible as a way to stretch my cruise budget. So, when offered a really good deal on a true forward oceanview, I took it to test it out. We loved it! The cabin was larger than the verandah we usually have and the views were awesome. So that led me to consider those 2 on Zaandam. I don't think I could give up having a balcony permanently, but for certain itineraries where the weather doesn't allow a lot of outdoor time or it's a really port intensive itinerary where we won't be in the cabin much (so no real time to use the balcony), or when verandahs are too much, I would not hesitate to book one again.

That is good to hear; I think if they have a waitlist, they need to honor it.

Yes, ma'am - Aunt Ethel's tissue is to open the door going INTO the restroom, lol (not) since so many people don't wash their hands. 😒

@recruiter 28 Haven't been on it yet, but have looked at 6100 and 6102 several times; please let us know your thoughts if you do book. I spent 5+ hours on the bow going through Panama Canal and while it was a long time, I thoroughly enjoyed it (diff ship). Safe travels - enjoy your cruise! hal-za-deck-plan-050822_230418_000855.pdf

If you had to Google it, you might not wanted to know, lol.

That's just wrong. Glad to see you're still with us.

Funny off topic cat story - I was responding to a cruise post when the cat jumped on my tablet hitting the "report" button so OP got flagged. I felt so bad and instantly sent an email letting hist know what happened and that I had no issues with OP. Sometimes cats are a bother, lol. I think I will take a couple puzzles to donate.