3rdGenCunarder

All the more reason for a superior to take staff aside, away from prying eyes, for a dressing down.

Sorry, the OBC is the same no matter how many shares over 100 you have. I've never seen a form. I just fax or email a cover note and copy of the proof of ownership.

I'm glad it can be done online. I remember the noro questionnaire at the pier. I'd be juggling purse, carryon, passport and boarding pass that I just showed to get in the terminal, and THEN this little piece of paper with no pen to fill it out (which meant digging in my purse for one). Do they ask you the questions again at the pier? In Brooklyn (Cunard) in September, they required a health form online and then the check-in agents asked the same questions again.

I didn't say I don't have dessert. The salad is nutritional penance in advance.

I haven't been on Zaandam, but I've been on Veendam, Amsterdam, and Maasdam. For me the big minus is that the thermal suite has a hot tub instead of the thalassotherapy pool. On the plus side, the aft pool is still there on Zaandam (unlike the mess they put at the back of Veendam). The small size makes it easy to get around quickly. Unlike the Pinnacle ships, the promenade has deck chairs. And I think Zaandam doesn't have lanais, so none of the deck chairs would be reserved.

Thanks! That's my token healthy eating. Of course, on ships with a taco station, I used to go off the rails a bit with some chips and guac...

Not a correction, but an addition. Research White Star luggage handling and see if they will ship and store the bag. Or luggage Forward or similar companies.

I don't like standing on a line either, but for free super bowl tickets, I might go as long as 30 min! I've seen the grab and go salad options on the menus Kazu has been posting. Do the servers at the salad bar still make a salad to order?

I haven't been on HAL since the "before time," but I recall that they asked if your entire group was there and ready to go. You can't send one person down early, grab tickets, and then go back to your cabin to get whatever stuff you're taking ashore. Does someone have a more recent experience with this?

I have never bothered with the thermal suite on the R and S ships because there's no thalassotherapy pool. That pool is so much more relaxing than a hot tub.

It made a return appearance on QM2 in September. On QE in June, I was in PG and got two half bottles of an Italian fizz, don't remember the name. One was embarkation, the second one was WC. I was pleased to discover that I liked it. I was disappointed to discover PA in my cabin (I was in Britannia) on QM2. There was a note saying that half bottles in general had become difficult to get, so I would get a whole bottle of PA instead of the two half bottles of something else.

Rules/processes might be different for the UK, but in the US, if you don't book HIA when you book the cruise, HAL will send offers via email, probably more than once. I book through a TA and the offer for HIA was sent directly to me. The going rate is $50 per person per day.

Any reviews on the cucumber mojito? It sounds close to the honeysuckle daiquiri that I love on Cunard. Rum and lime is always a good start. 🍹

Woo hoo! It arrived! Now you need to find an excuse not to do laundry...

And it just happened to me. I'm on Eurodam, leaving on the 15th. Today I got an email saying that the snorkel by boat at HMC has been cancelled "due to operational reasons." Not a lot of ports on this cruise, so my HIA is now worth somewhat less. I don't think there's anything else I particularly want to do on HMC, so I may skip it entirely. I don't want to substitute the airport transfer. I'd rather lose the credit than deal with the whole bus thing. Edited to add: I spent some time on HAL website. Not surprising, anything I might have booked as a substitute is sold out.

I'm thinking along those lines for my cruise next year. 21 days on Zaandam. Traveling alone, it's hard for me to get through a wine package on a short (7-10 day) cruise. The last time I had a wine package, I ordered the fizz on the last night and shared it with the table, just to use up the package. But on a longer cruise, that might be a better way to go, especially at a 4* discount. Also, the HIA for a cruise that long has 3 specialty meals. I'm not excited about Caneletto (I can get rustic lasagna any night), and the Pinnacle on the R and S ships always struck me as dark and depressing. So you really do have to look at what you can get from the package on your particular ship and itinerary.

I do that math, too. I just booked a cruise for 2024, and my TA booked it on the advantage fare. I guess the website can show only two fares because the choices were "best price" (nonrefundable deposit) and HIA. HAL always says HIA is a "$100 value." Do they ever try to sell it at $100 per day? When I do the math, I don't see how it adds up to $100. $50 is about break even for me.

Your "medium" to me would probably be "hot"!! The tempura and the duck are probably going to be my choices. Thanks, everyone for the suggestions!

Most recent offers I've seen do not.

I'm finally getting around to trying Tamarind (on Eurodam). It's going to be difficult to choose! So many things sound delicious. What are some favorite items from there? And does the Tamarind bar have a different drink menu with something different or special?

I saw the same thing on QM2 this fall. Understaffed and lots of new crew. I was at a very nice table for 6 near the window in the MDR. The waiter station for our table was far away, and we got very slow service. The only way to get to the 8:00 show was to skip dessert. We complained and the pace of service improved. However, the assistant waiter continued to make a lot of mistakes, like offering horseradish sauce for lamb instead of mint sauce. Hardly a "ruined my cruise" situation, but it showed that there were new staff who weren't trained as well as they should have been. Edited to add: Now that I think about it, I was in Princess Grill on QE in June and service was excellent. I suppose it helped that the waiter remembered me from a previous cruise, but the grills in general seemed smooth and happy. Perhaps when ships are understaffed they put more people on the more expensive cabins/dining rooms (Cunard grills, HAL CO, etc) to keep those passengers happy?

The tail of each humpback has a distinct pattern, which makes them easy to identify. A whale watch company in Juneau keeps a book of tail photos so if you get a good look or good photo of a whale, you can go through the book and identify "your" whale.

I think the reviewer was angry and chose to hate everything about the cruise.

The review did not make my brain hurt. But my eyes hurt because they kept rolling. To go back to the title and original post in this thread, the reviewer says "After my experience I went here and read many low reviews..." And you're right, there is no 6039 on the deck plan. Unless they got one of the few OV or insides on 6, the cabin they were "downgraded" to was a Vista. The only downgrade was being a lower deck and not being next to their other cabin. I'll give the reviewer that--somebody screwed up the cabin assignment. As for being "much smaller rooms than what I booked," they got what they booked. The cabin size is on HAL's site, and they're all the same size, the smaller dimension, except for the larger accessible cabins. Yeah, HAL calls it a "suite." I've been in one of those "suites" and it doesn't feel like a "suite." But I knew what I was getting when I booked it, so it is what it is. If the reviewer had posted questions here, someone would have suggested looking at HalFacts. It's a shame people have bad experiences on cruises when the information to help them make better choices is here for the asking.

I have HIA (the $50 version without grats bought after an email offer) for my upcoming Eurodam cruise. If nothing else, the dining credit got me to finally try Tamarind. I do want internet and should be okay with surf. I'm not onine a lot, but I like to keep in touch with home. I was able to book 3 excursions for the $200 credit, leaving behind a whopping $0.15. I'm not a big drinker, so I'll have to keep track in my journal (anyone remember Bridget Jones recording alcohol units consumed??) to see if I come out behind, even, or ahead on the beverage package. I'm ahead of current bookings already. I did a dummy booking and my cruise currently has the HIA price at $60 per day over the no-promo price. I just booked the 21-day Caribbean on Zaandam for next year. I did not take the HIA, and not sure if I will, since the dining options are fewer on the small ships. I did the math, and currently it's $70 per day over the no-promo price. HAL really pushes HIA, so I'm waiting to see if I get a better offer in an email.