3rdGenCunarder

There's a place to check in for tours on HMC (the HAL tours), and I suppose if you get a last-minute urge to do something other than the beach, you might be able to get a spot on a tour from them. But they won't have anything more than the ship has, so there's no point in waiting.

Don't count on the snorkel by boat. It was cancelled in January, and when I checked with the shorex desk, they said it's cancelled for the whole season. I hope they cancel the call for the Carnival ship. Even with two HAL ships, it makes things crowded.

Because Zaandam is a smaller ship, there will be fewer/different entertainment options than on the larger ships. With HAL making changes to the entertainment program, what I've experienced on the smaller ships could be different by September. For me the only downside to the smaller ships is that the spa doesn't have a hydropool, just a jacuzzi. I will miss the hydropool on my next HAL cruise (Zaandam), but the itinerary will make up for it and then some. The other difference that comes to mind, and this is really picky, is that the Pinnacle Grill is dark. It doesn't have the windows that Pinnacle has on the larger ships. On the upside, it's a shorter walk to wherever you're going. For the problem with the booking, call HAL and explain the error.

That was the situation with the train. When Covid made crossing the border difficult, the deal was the train had to go a small distance into Canada where there were double tracks and they could move the locomotive to the front of the train. But nobody was allowed to get off.

Maybe not to customers, but HAL should have known and planned better.

I have enjoyed all of my cruise stops in Victoria. Butchart Gardens is gorgeous, but tours don't give enough time if you are really into gardens and flowers. I did a ship tour once, and the guide impressed on us that we HAD to be back at the bus on time or we would be left behind. So we were constantly checking our watches. The second time, I took the shuttle bus, back when they still allowed you to go back on any bus. It was so much more relaxing and I could literally stop and smell the roses. Victoria is a lovely city to just walk around in. I've done a couple of "foodie" tours and they were fanstastic. And for those whose cruises do get to Skagway, take the train! And have a beer at the local microbrewery.

Wow, that is WAY oversold! That's 360 "extra" people. I didn't realize there are so many trip/quad cabins. I'd like to give HAL the benefit of the doubt and say they didn't know they would be short 200 crew, but they should have been able to make some projections based on their issues with hiring and placing crew. They KNOW holiday cruises are popular (and lucrative), and they want to make as much money as possible, but they should also KNOW that these cruises involve a lot of extra work for the crew. I think they only looked at the passenger numbers ($$$!) when they should have kept an eye on crew numbers, too. There have been suggestions that HAL should take a ship offline and redistribute crew, but that isn't realistic. But HAL could hold back some cabins until closer to final payment when they have a better idea of staffing. If staffing is good, put more cabins on the website. Maybe they have to be sold on sale, but at least HAL would be selling a product that is up to their standards.

I think transfers are included in the cost of the cruise, but I find it interesting that the "included" transfer does not appear, although the overpriced bus tour transfer is listed. I think that the "included" transfer/tour options are worked out at the cruise line's "desk" at the pre-cruise hotel instead of being booked in advance online. Given the state of AQV's IT department, this could turn out to be a good thing. I hope you have planned on having a few days in Chicago. It's a great city!

@Seasick Sailor, I love your little champagne wire chair!!!!

In this case, I don't blame HAL. Like any other mass-produced ceramic item, the tiles are ordered in large batches of a single design. The factory may have a done a run of one design, say the one for Vistas, so those ships would have them (unless HAL messed up on the delivery). Other designs may be further back in the factory's production queue and HAL won't have those until the factory gets caught up.

Are you looking at the itinerary that comes up when you do the "find a voyage search?" Those haven't been updated yet. Click on one of the "premium" (extra cost) excursions, and you will be bounced to the page where you can find the excursions for your cruise and other cruises for your ship. I've looked at several and they all are missing a day and Mackinac Island is showing for a different day. I guess they're in the process of updating it.

On Eurodam last month, they said the tile program was being suspended due to supply chain issues. There was a letter explaining this delivered along with the daily program one day. I don't know about the medallions, but there was no Mariner brunch on my cruise. If there was any ceremony, I don't know about it. But I think only people getting medallions are invited to the ceremony, so I wouldn't have heard about it as I'm not due to get any "hardware" soon.

I think the Vista cabins with the bed near the windows are only on the Pinnacle class ships. Take a look around HalFacts to see what the various cabins are like.

An open air taxi might be a flatbed truck with benches in the back. I found them terrifying!

I have been lucky enough to avoid the oneupmanship people. Often, at dinner on the first night, as we're getting to know our table companions, someone will ask "Have you cruised with HAL before?" I've never had someone announce that they're 5-star or in a Neptune suite or anything like that. The closest I've heard to bragging is "yes, several times," but I've never heard someone recite their cruise resume. If someone says yes to have you cruised before, the most common follow up I've heard or said is not "how many?" but "do you have a favorite?" That helps move the conversation along.

I don't remember the amount, but I think they're charging a cancellation fee for any tour your cancel onboard, even if you're outside the refund cutoff, which is usually 2 days. If you cancel within two days of the tour, you lose the entire cost of the tour. I don't remember if they had this fee in the "before times," but I wonder if it's to discourage people from doing the cancel and rebook trick to use OBC.

"I went once and never felt compelled to go again" sums up my response to afternoon tea. I admit, I'm spoiled by Cunard's tea and a wonderful tea shop near me. But the ambiance of tea in the MDR is too busy, loud, and bustling. The first cup of tea was so strong that it looked like coffee! Two women at my table who said they normally don't put milk or cream in their tea used it just to dilute the strong brew! Sandwiches and pastries were nice, but nothing special. If you like tea, be aware that HAL's standard tea is Bigelow. I find their black teas bitter and, frankly, vile. There usually will be PG tips at the Lido. If you have a favorite tea, bring your own tea bags. I try to remember to pack Twinings. If your cruise stops at Victoria BC, you could go to tea at the Empress Hotel. It's expensive. Most afternoon teas are expensive because of the work that goes into making all the little sandwiches and pastries. But the Empress does an elegant tea.

Ohh, you mean the good music I remember from cruises past? Thank you! I might actually stay up past 9:00! 🎵🍹

I had a fight with one of those at a newly revamped Dunkin the other day. Amtrak's Julie can be annoying, too.

I just read that. So what about Volendam and Zaandam? Looks like they don't get any music? I've got 21 days booked on one and 24 on the other. I'll see sunrise every day because I sure won't be staying up late. 🤬

Or until he gets too smart for everyone's own good and says "I'm sorry. I can't make your martini, Dave."

I'm trying to imagine someone singing "It's quarter to three, no one in the place except you and me..." to a robot bartender. Nope, just doesn't work.

I wouldn't say HAL has a "ship within a ship." Setups like NCL's Haven where your cabin, pool, and dining space (for breakfast, I think) are all connected lets you stay away from the riffraff. On HAL and Cunard, you have to venture from your suite to walk the hallways to get to your dining room or lounge or cabana (on HAL). So there are special places, but you aren't sequestered. I think HAL has a good menu of upsell experiences. I like that I can buy what I want (thermal suite) but not pay for things I don't want (cabana). I don't know if many people buy all of the options. As you've said, if you buy everything they offer, that will increase your costs a lot. I do think all the upsells on the MDR menu look tacky. But if they won't spring for lobster for everyone, at least those who want it can get it. I never bother.

I can't recall discussions of star status. On my last cruise, we never talked about star status, although we had all sailed with HAL before. We talked about our cabins, but that was because of interesting locations. The couple who had been in an inside got upgraded to ocean view, only to be disappointed that there was a big orange lifeboat outside their window. The other couple talked about being near the glass elevator. And I told them about watching the wake. Nobody asked whose cabin was more expensive, we were just sharing our experiences on the cruise. Similarly, on Cunard nobody walks around saying "Well, I'm in Queens Grill and..." I have a nice collection of Cunard pins because they changed the design several times. DH would wear one of his diamond-level pins to the World Club cocktail parties, as that seemed a nice way to acknowledge the evening. Usually it was the penultimate design, because it's the nicest (and the newest design looks cheap). One time he wore one of the first pins we got, I guess from 1990s. No level indicated back then, it was just a small pin with their lion and globe logo. When we went through the receiving line, the captain noticed it and commented that we had been sailing with them for a long time. We accumulated so many of those pins that I had cufflinks made for DH and earrings made for me.

When HAL converted Promenade Deck cabins to lanais space and deck chairs that had been for everyone were reserved for the lanai passengers. HAL put cabanas by the midship pool on some of the ships, taking away space for tables and chairs along one of the glass walls. Bit by bit, space for all becomes space for some. It's everywhere.