3rdGenCunarder

I wasn't asked about specific ports. But I found it interesting that the "itinerary" maps showed more ports than the questions asked about. A map for a potential "12 day, 7 port" cruise would show 9 or 10 different possible ports. This made the itinerary look very good, if not accurate.

The other nice thing about the CO upgrade for a solo is that I only had to pay for CO once. If I had chosen to "upsell" my booking, I'd have paid the single supplement for the better cabin.

I think that's why they call them vista suites. You pay more than the typical veranda price, so this is supposed to make up for it a little.

Sad, but true. I was the first customer my TA had ask about the CO upgrade. She didn't believe HAL would really let me go from the cheapest veranda to the most expensive because info HAL had sent to agents said one grade/level, not best available. I got it and I still can't believe HAL is giving away such good upgrades for such a low price.

About 5 years ago, I did Alaska on QE right after she had been in Asia and early dinner was 5:30. Late seating is too late for me, but 5:30 is too early.

I did the CO upgrade recently, about a month after I booked a cruise. I chose thelease expensive Vista suite (veranda, really) initially and didn't think much about CO (it isn't Pinnacle ship) because I thought I could upgrade only one step within the metacategory. When I learned here (thank you CC!) that I could move to the top of the metacategory, I did the CO thing. I had to pay for CO ($360) when I asked, and I got to choose my new cabin. I got an upgrade worth nearly $3000!

Yes, that's how I read it, too. A stepping stone on the way to the Grills. It reminds me of Caronia on QE2. The main difference was the dining room. You had your own table and did not have an assigned dining time, but the cabins weren't as large as the Grills cabins and there was no special lounge.

A good roll call really makes a difference. My recent HAL cruise had no activity beyond people wanting someone to book a private tour and not posting again. No chat, no sharing information. By contrast, the roll call for my September Cunard cruise was very active. We really got to know each other, and the get-together was fun. Despite the size of QM2, we often ran into each other around the ship.

My TA's usual rep got moved to groups, so she doesn't have a reliable contact. HAL staff (if they are on staff?) don't know anything. Despite choosing the travel agent option, my TA often gets the same clueless outsourced people passengers get. And vice versa. On one call, when I had chosen the not a travel agent option, I was asked what agency I work for. It's all scrambled. It was bad enough when you (or an agent) called and got HAL employees working from home, and too out of touch with the details. Now they're employed by God knows whom, and they seem to know nothing about HAL. I could tell from his questions that the one I spoke to was going through the same booking steps a passenger uses. And he was MUCH slower at the search process than I am. He had no access to any info I couldn't get from the HAL site. I'm tired of HAL's "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" approach to customer service.

Did everyone get the question about dressing up? It's odd that it was the only "shipboard life" question, and after that it was all about itineraries.

Thank you for responding to this thread. When AQV updated the itinerary on the website, the map was changed. Now I see Muskegon on the map. Is that an error or another itinerary change?

Is there anyone else booked on this cruise who didn't get the cancellation info? It's Monday, almost a week since others received notice that this cruise is cancelled. I still have not had a word from HAL, nor has my TA. The booking still appears in my account. If I click on the booking reference, I am told that my cruise is 327 days away! I was able to select a beverage package and it appeared in my cart. Meanwhile, the 2024 Legendary Amazon cruise does not appear when I click on "legendary cruises." Only 2025 is there, and no other cruise comes up if I click "other dates." If I use "find a cruise" to search for Zaandam, there's a gap from Feb 3 to March 16. What's going on, HAL?????

Or crispy, the way Tamarind makes it!

Go for it! I hope I get to sail with you one day!!!

I've sailed in the corner afts several times, and my last cruise was in a regular aft veranda cabin on Eurodam (sister to NA). I've never had issues with soot or diesel smell in an aft suite or cabin. The wrap-around balcony is wonderful for scenic cruising. If you get a rainy day, you have somewhere close to go inside for a bit and warm up. And at night, if you stand at the corner and look out, there's nothing but you and the sea and the sky.

Maybe HAL should start a new trend and hide books.

I loved my HAL cruises from NYC to Bermuda in the 1970s.. I don't know why they gave up the NYC berth. Maybe ports costs were too high. They came back to NYC about 15 years ago, but that lasted only a few years. We were happy that we did a crusie to Bermuda at that time and Veendam took us to Hamilton and not the Dockyard. Bermuda didn't have to limit the size of ships that could dock in Hamilton. The cruiselines did that by building ships that wouldn't navigate the reefs and rocks to get into Hamilton Harbor. We docked along Front Street on the Statendam and Volendam (previous incarnations of those names). But the Rotterdam of the 1950s-60s was too big to dock in Hamilton and had to anchor out in the Sound and tender passengers to Hamilton.

@JES4845, you will find a lot of complaints on this board about HAL's cost cutting and other changes. The entertainment is a definite weakness. They have made some changes, taking away some things, but not telling what (if any) additions will be made in their place. While Westerdam is larger than you're used to, it is not a large ship by modern mega standards. It's a Vista class ship, which is my favorite. I've been on 3 of HAL's 4 (Including Westy many years ago) and one of Cunard's 2. The layout is convenient, the spa hydropool is wonderful, and the ships ride very well in rough weather. Unless/until you find an itinerary on another line, I'd say keep your deposit and read threads/ask questions here. Your cruise is a year away. HAL is understaffed at the moment. Perhaps things will be better if/when they get a full staff. They have added annoying upcharges on foods. If they get enough pushback and complaints from passengers, perhaps some of those will go away as they recoup Covid losses. They might introduce some new entertainments or enrichment to improve the experience onboard. Or things could stay as they are, which would disappoint many of us who have sailed HAL for years. Don't rely too heavily on the reviews because a lot of those are written by people who were nitpicking or had some experience that made them want to slam HAL. I've been on HAL and Cunard boards for a long time, and when I look at reviews, I rarely see a name I remember from the boards. CC doesn't let us see the history/profile of reviewers, so we have no idea if their comments should be taken to heart. At least here, if you read regularly, you can see a variety of comments from people wyo aren't one-post-wonders.

That's right. For international shipping the luggage service acts as your customs agent, getting the bag through inspection, making sure all the right paperwork is there, etc. I don't know if they put in an amount of work equal to what they charge, but that's the reason for the price difference.

I use the kind of garment bag that zips all around and can stand up like a suitcase. It has been through more trips than I can count in at least 20 years. I could get enough "posh frocks" and DH's tux, and suit into it for as much as 10-12 day cruise. When we did 22 days around Australia, we traveled with two such garment bags. Plus suitcases. Over the years, I have learned to choose clothes that travel well. No fluffy dresses. Nothing that comes out of the garment bag looking like I slept in it. I do have one gown that I love despite the fact that I have to iron the skirt. Everything else travels well. I can steam it in the bathroom while I take a shower. For the nongala nights, I have a classic LBD plus its twins in red and blue. By changing out jewelry and lightweight jackets, I can make a lot of different outfits. If I don't want to take multiple gowns, depending on the number of gala nights, I can get by with a long black skirt and some of the beaded silk tops I have in my "cruise closet." Fortunately, Cunard has launderettes, and there is an iron and ironing board. If you think you will iron clothes, take a sturdy cotton handkerchief along to use as a press cloth. The sole plate on some of the irons can be a bit grubby. You can send things out to be pressed by the ship's laundry. One thing I suggest is shipping a bag home after the cruise to lighten your burdens while you do your land travel. Somewhere on Cunard's website is the number to call for luggage service. They used to call it "white star luggage service;" maybe they still do. It's expensive for international shipping, but worth it.

That used to be the policy but they've changed it recently.

Losing LC is a big disappointment to me, too. Give the Step One company in the showroom a try. The dancers are very good and the way they are choreographed with the visuals is impressive. I think four of their shows in 10 days was too many. LC used to accompany the BBC nature videos. I haven't heard what's happening with that now.

I think the list of cruise lines was always the same. They definitely didn't edit out the ones I for which said "never." They did seem to rearrange the choices in the matrix, though.

If all I'm doing is a cruise, I don't ship anything. But I often plan pre-cruise travel, and shipping a bag directly to the ship makes everything easier. I have used it once for HAL, when we were taking Amtrak to Montreal, spending a few days there, and then taking VIA to Quebec City. It was nice having less luggage to get on and off the trains. I have used it several times for Cunard, when I know I won't need the "posh frocks" until I get on the ship. DHL was the carrier back when I used the service for Cunard, and although there were no AirTags back then, I had a tracking number to see where the bag was.

I can see using the smaller ships for longer itineraries, especially for any that might be new and therefore iffy in terms of bookings. Plus smaller ports can be difficult for the larger ships. I just wish they'd figure out what the bleep they are doing with this ship next winter. The other legendary voyages can be seen. But Zaandam has nothing between Feb 3 and March 16. If they wanted to do the 28-day Amazon departing Feb 17, they could have reworked the 21 day Feb 3 Caribbean to a 14-day and had both ready to put on the website. Oh wait. Am I really expecting HAL to be that organized? 🙄