3rdGenCunarder

And you've got it. Nobody is going to give you a glare or say "shh!" at BBKing, Rolling Stone, or Billboard. And it looks like HAL is going to keep these venues in various combinations, depending on the ship. But some of us want a different experience than that. Now that LC is gone, I don't know what I will do in the evenings on my cruise this winter. I'm tired of Step One and that seems to be the only mainstage entertainment. I have little faith that LC will be rotating on my ship--or on any ship, frankly. I think the rotation scheme is a way for them to quietly disappear. Has anyone seen Cantare on a recent cruise, or has HAL quietly dropped them? There seems to be an added jazz combo, but that isn't certain for all ships.

Welcome to Cruise Critic! I don't know why you're seeing only the HIA price, but to add to the confusion, there is a third price called Advantage Fare, which never shows up on the website. (Nobody knows why, it just doesn't) The cruise only fare on the website has no perks and the deposit is non-refundable. The Advantage Fare is a little more expensive, but the deposit is refundable and there may or may not be some extras included, depending on the promos on offer at the moment. The HIA is more expensive because it has the wifi, drinks, and some credits. The HIA fare is often around $50 per person per day more than Advantage fare. Call HAL or your travel agent, and you can get quotes on all three fares.

I really doubt the audience at Lincoln Center wanted it to be non-revenue generating. It would have been nice to be able to have a drink while I listened, but HAL put LC in a space that didn't have a bar and they didn't bother to send bar waiters there to take drink orders. There was plenty of time before a performance to do that--people arrived early to get a seat, so during that time, beverage service would not have been an interruption.

Do you dock at the cruise port or tender into town? If you are out at the cruise port, there will be shuttles into town. What company are you going with? I went with Baranof tours (excellent!) and they leave from the dock at the municipal center, which is where the ship's shuttle drops you off. Best to check the website of the company you're going with or email/text them with questions.

Yes, HIA shorex credits are exactly that. If you don't buy excursions that use up all the shorex credit, it doesn't convert to regular OBC. Oddly, the website says a shorex credit of $200 is for two excursions up to a value of $100 each. But people have reported using the credit for one excursion that costs up to $200. And last winter, the system let me use my $200 shorex credit to book one tour at $69 and two more at $59 each.

OP says they will have the same cabin, so a move isn't necessary.

If you look at the deck plans, there are a lot of triple and quad cabins. K'dam's double occupancy is 2650. Max occupancy is 3194 (according the data on cruisemapper, which was the only place I could find the max without counting all those little squares and circles on the deck plans). That's an extra 21%, which has to affect dining and also crowding around the ship. Eurodam's max is an extra 20%, and the Vistas only 15%. So when they have the "kids sail free" or "third and fourth passengers sail free," it's no wonder serving gets backed up.

Euwww! If the sticker is their system, they could at least do something more ordinary, like a color or number, the way tours often do. Even "NCL" if they want to advertise themselves. @SuzWillCruise, the spa thing has been an issue for a while. Even though you booked the crusie as a B2B with one booking number, the computer doesn't let you do some advance bookings for the second half of your cruise. Book the first week and talk to the people in the spa when you get on board. They may not be able to do the second booking then, but they might be able to make sure you're on the list for the second week so you don't get shut out. You probably won't be able to book tours for the second week once you're on board (until the second week starts), another B2B glitch.

I agree! You can say you've "seen" London, but it would be barely a glance. I have never done a B2B because I can't imagine getting to England and having no time to tour around. I like it when there's an EB, a Europe cruise, and a WB. I can do the crossings and use the time in between to see more of the UK.

I've had reminders that I hadn't completed check in when I knew I had. It always seems to be emergency contact. It somehow disappeared and when I went back in to enter it, the information wouldn't save. I logged out, logged in, tried again and same thing. I could type everything, but it wouldn't save. I had to call HAL and have someone there enter it for me. Once that was done, it stuck.

I received an email from HAL touting cruise bargains. In the array of photos, there was a link to "The Best in Live Music." And here is what the link gave me. Note the large number of "results" to sort through!!!!! 🙄 Entertainment Enjoy outstanding entertainment options across our fleet, from R&B, rock, pop and more in our music clubs to visually stunning performances on the World Stage. Whether you’re in the mood to carve up the dance floor or to relax, you’ll find something to love, night after perfect night. Venues vary by ship. 0 RESULTS SORT BY ALPHABETICAL A-Z page 1 of 1 Page 1 Of 1

And public spaces in general.

I don't know, but I wonder if it's the size of the MDR and distance to the kitchen making service slow. Have there been similar complaints about the other Pinnacle ships? Or maybe, for some unknown reason, they're limiting the number of people in fixed dining on the K more than on other ships. This puts more people in the anytime line. I have seen posts where people complain they couldn't get fixed early, even if they had booked well in advance of the cruise. (Sorry, don't remember which ships were involved)

I traveled on QM2 with a friend who is vegan last fall. We were in Britannia restaurant and every night, the assistant Maitre d' came around with a menu for her to select from for the next night, as they do for other special diets. She found the variety and quality to be very good. I'm sure PG will do at least as well.

I keep a journal when I travel, and although I have been lucky to not have run into too many jerks, they become fodder for my journal and email the blog I send to friends. The best was a very snooty woman at the dinner table on Cunard. She was NOT pleased to have a couple of Americans (how crass!) added to what she considered "her" table. She sounded totally "home counties," (counties around London), and her husband, who had family in Scotland, didn't sound any more Scots than I do. But she kept saying "In the Highlands we do this" and "In the Highlands we have that." In my journal, she became Mary, Queen of Scots.

O Canada! Have a great day!!!

Just order garlic bread!

If they do serve escargot, you can have mine! 🤢

I hadn't thought about that, but you're right. What about group bookings, like the special interest groups? Do officers attend any of their events?

Where you have to be careful about the HIA included fare is if you're a solo. Solos pay double, and sometimes the HIA fare for a solo is double the HIA per person fare (two Advantage fares plus two HIA). Sometimes it's double the Advantage fare plus HIA for only one. You have to get out the calculator to know which fare is best for your needs.

Cunard has a similar variety of offerings on their Vistas as well as on QM2. Sadly, HAL has put all their money into what is pretty much the same genre. Adding the combo in Ocean bar is a good move, especially when you consider the poor offerings in the main stage. But the only way it replaces LCS is as a line in the budget. HAL is too cheap to give us both.

I wonder if the BB King's musicians might be able to play a jazz set if they weren't locked into the pre-arranged sets. They used to do a blues show in the main showroom that was fantastic. Real blues, not loud covers of rock music.

They are bringing back the jazz combo, like the old Neptunes, in the Ocean Bar. I don't know if it's on all ships, but I hope it's on my future HAL cruises. I don't see classical and jazz as mutually exclusive. I would love to have both on a cruise. (I do get both when I sail with Cunard. Their entertainment puts HAL's to shame.) But I have a problem with the "social environment" approach. I like to LISTEN to music, and not just the classical performances. I don't want to have to hear people's conversations while I'm trying to enjoy music. People may not shout as they do in the loud venues, but they do talk loudly to be heard over the music in smaller lounges. I've seen/heard it on ships, in restaurants, even outdoor jazz concerts. I don't understand the point of going to a music performance only to ignore it and talk the whole time. LC didn't have a rule against drinking. HAL just didn't bother to send in a waiter to take orders.

The "traveling group" will not be on all cruises all the time. They've had a "traveling" vocal group, Cantare, for several years and I have yet to be on a cruise that included a "visit" from them. I fear it will be the same for LC.

The HIA fare for an early booking promo is the best deal I've seen. I got grats and obc when I booked a cruise for next summer. I don't do non-refundable fares, either, so I wish they would show the advantage fares when you search onthe website.