3rdGenCunarder

You can bring on alcohol bought in port, but security will direct you to what I call the booze table, where someone will take your purchases for safekeeping until disembarkation. I don't think there's any fee for this.

That's apples and oranges. I don't think the addition of a combo in Ocean bar is meant to replace LC. HAL should have both! Since word got out that LC won't be on all the ships (and I think some ships are losing BB King), HAL needs to say what will be ADDED.

I used to enjoy both the jazz sets and the ballroom sets played by the band in the Ocean Bar. The dance floor isn't huge, and the dancers weren't "Dancing With the Stars" caliber, but they were enjoying themselves. I remember one couple who had just started taking lessons. They would forget where they were in the dance, stop, laugh, count the beat, and start again. Not great dancers (yet) but they were having FUN, and that's the point.

The policy is on the luggage tags, presumably so people can't miss it (or claim that they didn't know). This is the new policy (Jan 2023): All checked and carry-on luggage will be scanned and any prohibited items, including alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, will be removed, confiscated, and discarded. Please refer to your cruise contract for more information. This is the old policy (Feb 2020): Bringing Alcohol Onboard? Please remember our alcohol policy: • One 750ml bottle of wine or champagne per adult in carry-on luggage, which will not be subject to a corkage fee if consumed in the stateroom. • Additional wine or champagne bottles (no larger than 750ml) in carry-on luggage are welcome, but will incur a $18 corkage fee per bottle, irrespective of where they are intended to be consumed. • Other liquors, spirits or beers are prohibited. Luggage is subject to search.

It's a running joke on the Cunard board that those of us not in the Grills cabins/suites are "rowers."

Same pattern when I was on Eurodam in January. 5 PM on sea days. It does seem like an odd time. Perhaps they look on it as "filler" at a time when the schedule is light. Or perhaps they're throwing it under the entertainment bus by putting it at an inconvenient time so they can say that nobody wants ballroom dancing. Have you walked by to see how many people show up for it? Now that I think about it, they could offer ballroom dancing in the Ocean Bar at a better time. That has an unused dance floor. They use recorded music, so they could offer it anywhere.

On Eurodam last month, Explorations Cafe opened at 6 AM and the Pinnacle Bar was open for coffee at 7 AM.

I agree, too. I forgot about the creme brulee. That was always a good choice. Fruit crisps are gone, too. I know I had dessert every night, but I don't remember what I had, and I've only been home a week, so they can't have been outstanding. Sure, some things could be better. And sometimes, I get grumpy about the front desk or the shorex people. But I took this picture to remind myself that "a bad day at sea is better than a good day at work." THIS is why I cruise.

I think there were some apps available to order in the Tamarind bar, but I'm not sure what they were. I enjoyed Tamarind very much, but I didn't go for the spicy items. Best duck I've had in ages. I think HAL does assume that their demographic is not into spicy food. I tend to order mild or medium salsa or guacamole, depending on if I know the restaurant's scale of heat. But the salsa and guac at the taco station were too mild for me. (I usually got just guac and chips to go with a salad) The only thing spicy there was the ground beef, so if I had a taco, the milder accompaniments worked well for me.

😱

I didn't like the coffee from the in-room coffee maker. But the Neptune Lounge coffee machine was good. I wish they'd put in electric kettles so I could make tea. Or even instant coffee--I can hear the groans, but I'm not fussy about coffee. Tea, OTOH, matters greatly to me.

Holiday cruises are always crowded. If kids are off from school and HAL is doing "kids sail free," the increased numbers can burden the staff to the point that service becomes poor.

PEG799_Port_Facilties_MAP_11x17_02.indd (simpleviewinc.com) Port map

You can find out from the Port Everglades website, but only about a week out. Typically, HAL uses 19, 21, and/or 26. Port of Everglades - Public View (broward.org)

I have an oversized bag from Christmas Tree Shop. The kind they sell at the register. It has a cute pattern of flip-flops on it, so it looks like a "beach bag." It's large enough to hold my towel, snorkel if I'm taking that, water shoes, a water bottle or two of HAL's cans. I put the HAL bag inside that, with the smaller items like my camera in it. That big bag has been to many beaches and has outlived some of my HAL bags.

I haven't heard GIGO in a long time, but it's still true! I didn't get the survey, but I know what you mean. There's one that shows up on Cunard's survey often. It's a in list of agree/disagree statements. "I don't like to dress up; I like to be comfortable." I don't see those two things as mutually exclusive. I like to dress up and I have learned how to choose comfortable formal wear. So do I agree or disagree with this statement???? Did the survey have places to add info the way the post-cruise survey does?

Yes, the specialty coffees are included in the Signature package. I agree that the wines included at the price cap are limited. I did go over by a dollar or two sometimes on a glass of wine, but if the upsell to the Elite package is $17, I never went over the Signature package by that much on any given day. I can understand HAL not allowing people on HIA to upgrade the beverage package. Look back at the math posted earlier in this thread. If you look at the separate costs of internet plus the excursions plus the specialty dinners, what you're paying for the beverage package is around $14 per day. If you add the upgrade fee, you're getting the Elite package for much less than if you'd bought it on its own. On a side note, I thought the rule was that you can buy only one drink at a time with the package. On Eurodam, they were allowing two. I saw a couple buy two mimosas each at the pool bar. After they signed the bills, the woman asked "Okay, now can I buy two more?" The bartender said they had to wait a while. As the couple walked away, I heard one of them say "Where were they sitting?" Sounds like they were trying to share the package. The only time I bought two of anything at one time was cans of water to take ashore on a tour.

I agree about whale watching. If there's one splurge to do on an Alaska cruise, I think whale watching is it. I have done 4 Alaska cruises, and I don't recall ever seeing whales from the ship. You can get good information about whale watching on the port of call boards. I wouldn't count on finding something less expensive on the day. If there are multiple ships in Juneau, everyone is booked up. I also agree about Skagway and Ketchikan. If you're concerned about the cost of excursions, those are ports where you can wander around town. Sometimes there's good eagle spotting in the trees around Ketchikan. The train in Skagway is a great trip, but if I had to choose between the train and the whales, I'd definitely choose whales.

Look at your itinerary and, unless you have a lot of OBC you want to spend on board, consider booking tours and specialty meals in advance. With so many people getting the Have It All promo, tours and good time slots at Pinnacle are selling out before the cruise.

I trimmed the original post down to this paragraph because this is something we will deal with for a while. I saw it on Cunard, too. In June I was in Princess Grill, and service at dinner was excellent because of the staff-to-passenger ratio and the fact that they put their best servers in the Grills. In September, I was in the MDR, and service was poor. We sat with menus for 20 minutes, waiting for someone to take our order. The assistant waiter made errors that someone with more than a months' experience would not make. They're scrambling to get good staff and get them trained. I could see where HAL is cutting. Mostly small things, some of which I mentioned in my review of Eurodam. Nothing was a big deal that "ruined my cruise." I didn't mind that they saved money by not having pens made with "Holland America" on them, but I did find it funny that the pen said STAPLES. I would have thought they might have bought plain pens to make it less obvious that they were saving money. (Or maybe they've got a commercial tie-in with Staples?) As Kazu said, it's all over the hospitality industry. Hotels give you the option to skip having your room serviced, so a potentially germ-laden stranger won't be in your room. They benefit from this if they're having trouble hiring workers or saving money by not hiring the usual number of workers.

I could have sworn the mac and cheese just said "Beecher's," but lobster added to it would explain the charge. That cooking demo looks like fun! I would love to see more like that. Good to know the kitchen is still back there, at least on some ships.

The performers live on a different time schedule from a lot of the crew, and I suppose when they end their work day, they're still too "up" to sleep. One of my dinner table companions said he was out by the seaview pool early one morning and he saw some of the BBK group out there. His description of their condition was "$***-faced" so we figured they hadn't been to bed yet.

That has occurred to me when I've seen the Ulu knives for sale on board. Friends bought a letter opener with a Murano glass handle in Italy, and that was confiscated and held on board. Then two days later, it was delivered to their cabin. This was on Cunard, so it isn't just HAL that has confusing rules.

That is disappointing, but all the Norway ports are wonderful. I think the scenery in Norway was the most beautiful I've seen, even edging out Yosemite and Alaska. I can understand their point. The train is the big attraction for most passengers, and when that's sold out, there isn't much to do in town. It's been a long time, so I don't know what other tour options there are in Flam.

That sounds like good reasoning all around. Covid is so weird! Two people can be living together in the rather small confines of a ship cabin, but one gets it and one doesn't. I'm sure the balcony helped a lot. Fresh air and sunshine are good for anything that ails you. I hope you pass your last test!