luv2cruisenz

Thanks for that. Yes I agree "The promenade is the biggest balcony on the ship" which why we like the lower prom deck. We used to do guarantees but now book a specific cabin after walking past noisy/vibrating areas on a couple of ships so didn't want to take a risk. I think the cabin size would matter more than the window size, and location is important as well.

I am nervous about going round the horn, was it rough seas when you went?

Hi, we usually book an inside cabin (and try to find a large inside), and for our next cruise to South America/Antarctica we were going to book category I on the lower prom deck. At the moment this is the same price as an OV in category E and EE, and H is even cheaper.

I was wondering if anyone had an idea if the I is larger than the E or EE? And which one might have the love seat or a full sofa? Just to give an indication of size. The deck plans on the website seem to be a bit generic and I'm not sure which would be a better choice.

Any help is appreciated, as always.

Many thanks.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I really appreciate it. I won't worry now 😄

I was just surprised as I thought if you booked a specific cabin number then you are not moved but now I know better ! We used to do guarantees but changed to booking a specific room. Any day cruising is better than being at work !

Thanks again .

Hi, we had booked our inside cabin on the EURODAM a year ago on deck 8, Navigation deck, as we had read it should be a large inside. We are sailing in a few days and HAL have just changed our cabin to 4071.

I don't know why they would move us but am more concerned if this change is OK. We are always cautious about being next to a noisy, vibrating area on the ship so have booked a room for many years knowing we wouldn't get moved.

Does anyone know if 4071 is OK?

Would appreciate any info.

Thanks.

Thanks Elsie. I have also been playing around with blogs and trying to find an easy one to upload the blog and photos especially when offline. I like the format of the wordpress one you are using - if you don't mind me asking, what is the name of the template? Thanks.

Hi thanks for your post. Just wondering if they have any happy hours, and what are the drink prices . Thanks.

We'd also like to have some information on this, and if the ship offered a transfer to Narita.

What would you pick for 30 something couple for a caribbean cruise, is HAL ok for people our age and do they have Dutch food as my wife is Dutch.

Hi, if Dutch food is important you should check with HAL if they always have it on each cruise, as I think it may depend on the nationalities on board. On our Rotterdam cruise last year there was quite a mix so there was Dutch & Asian food readily available in the Lido as well as 'English", "Canadian" and "American" bacon for breakfast so they tried to accommodate everyone. The announcements were in both English and Dutch for the first few weeks.

My DH travels on his Dutch passport and they usually give us menus in Dutch in the MDR on the first night and always greeted us in Dutch, so they must see your nationality when you give them your room number. He got several Dutch sweet treats sent to the cabin (none for me!) which was a nice touch, and also on a Christmas cruise on the Amsterdam, so maybe it depends on the Hotel Manager. We also sometimes get the daily programmes in Dutch and we have to ask for the English ones! I'm sure the staff on board will do everything they can to help if your wife prefers Dutch food.

It seems HAL doesn't understand that having music in bars draws people in. I've also noticed they are also not flexible to change a schedule (re entertainment in bars) when something is or is not working. Surely it's Hospitality 101! I believe the entertainers are contracted to work a set number of hours a day but surely they should play to the crowd!

Each cruise may have a different passenger mix and whoever is responsible for scheduling the entertainers should be more aware and do better at understanding what works for that cruise. For example, one time there was a Neil Diamond hour in the Ocean Bar and it was packed, people dancing, having a great time, buying drinks. But they never did this again on that cruise, or picked another similar artist that may have gotten that crowd in again.

I've also noticed the entertainers seem to have longer breaks and at the same time, which is just silly as you can easily lose your momentum and just go back to your cabin!

Hi, we did the HAL transfer and it was worth it. I can't remember the price but I recall the 'terminal' was small and very disorganised and there was a long, long wait to exit but once out the bus transfer was easy & efficient. There was 3 of us and we didn't want the hassle of taking a taxi with all our luggage. Lucky we did that, because the lines for the taxis was huge!

I think the only thing that could be an issue is the drop off point at the airport. As I recall there was only one drop off point (for all flights) and it may or may not be near to the terminal you need. We went to the international part of the terminal for our flight back to the US but this was wrong, there is a different part of the terminal for these flights (it's not domestic or international) and it wasn't well sign posted, so watch out for that if you are catching a flight to the US.

We had a great NYE party on the Amsterdam in 2012/3. It was formal night and an international dinner in the MDR I think from memory. There were Dutch & Indonesian treats in atrium area from around 10pm, and a big countdown party in the showroom. We were given new year hats for the men and tiaras for the ladies along with horns and those rattle shake things that make a noise, to use at midnight when the balloons and confetti were released from high above with a bang. They had DJ music and we were allowed to dance on the stage which was fun. There were decorations all over and it was a great festive atmosphere all around the ship. The crew and passengers were all having a good time. I'd love to have New Years on a ship again!

We had a HAL snorkelling excursion cancelled the night before due to bad weather. It was on a smallish catamaran and they said it was cancelled because it was going close to shore and we couldn't do snorkelling with the expected waves. There was another excursion on a much larger boat that was still going so I went on that instead. My DH preferred the smaller boat and be closer to shore, so I went on my own and still had a good time as I didn't want to miss out.

Hi, when I did this in 2012 I booked on the ship. Not sure why it wouldn't be on the website.

I vote for their Blue Coco Mojito, it's very refreshing on a sunny day, minty not sweet.

Ingredients:

2 Lime wedges

1 large handful of fresh mint using healthy top sprigs and separated mint leaves

1.5 oz Coconut rum

0.5 oz Blue Curacao

1.5 oz House-made sour

1.5 oz Soda

We made a booking on board and it was still more then what the Americans were paying and our orice was straight away in euro's stead of dollars as we aspected

Yes, HAL have a rule that they will always sell to you in the currency of your country of residence. If they don't sell in your home currency, it will be in USD.

On the Rotterdam in April/May this year they were selling them at breakfast on some days. There was a card on the tables in the Lido advertising them and one of the bar stewards was walking around trying to sell them. Can't remember exactly how much, I think $4.95, but it was cheaper than if you had them in the bar at night anyway.

I've used the really old fashioned wall mounted ones in the bathroom that are a nuisance as there is little power and have to wait until nobody else in in there to use it due to the lack of room & steam. I could get by as I have shortish hair, but it is no good for styling, its just OK for drying.

I have also used their handheld ones and most have been OK but they do vary. The usual issue for me is they are not hot enough or strong enough and so not that great for styling. If I have space in my luggage and it's a longer cruise then I take my own travel one just to be sure, as I like using a diffuser too.

We visited Saguenay in May last year and they went all out to welcome us with an awesome singing & dancing exhibition at the pier complete with teepee, fire, and wood sawing. Very friendly people here, with a comfortable terminal that had free wifi and some interesting unique craft shops. They have an excellent local version of a hop on hop off bus right outside the terminal, it was $15 last year and they accepted both Canadian & American dollars. For one price you got access to two different routes with bilingual guides on board and then another one hopped on at each stop to give you more information - it is awesome value for money so I recommend doing that. The people we met here are very proud of their town and I think they make a fantastic effort to welcome tourists. They had a major flood in 1996 and one of the 'attractions' is the big pyramid made out of traffic yield signs as a reminder to yield to nature, it’s quite cool.

It is also less than 10 minutes from the pier to walk along the flat waterfront to the town centre & a church, and there was also a market here if you do not want to do the bus or another tour. Or just stop off here at the end of the hop on hop off bus ride and walk back to the ship if it's a nice day and you have time. Here is a link to the bus; http://tourisme.saguenay.ca/en/activites-et-attraits/circuits-et-tours-guides/autobus-touristique

Hi, the machines use US quarters, it is $2 for a wash and $1 for the dryer (45 minutes). They have the liquid soap dispenser as well that is free if you choose to use it, just push a button on the washing machine. You can easily get change at the front office.

Over the weekend, I started dummy booking on one of the chosen cruises to see what cabins were left. Today I got an email - "dear ..., we saw you started to book ...., please call us to complete the booking etc"

Scary that they are monitoring this closely and taking the time to try to lure you in. Obviously, they are using some aggressive marketing tools.

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They are using marketing tools such as Recommendation Engines and Abandoned Cart, to try and claw back sales. It is very common on many online shopping sites. The legal position on how intrusive a company can be (well marketers don't think its instrusive!) will vary between countries and their privacy & consumer protection laws e.g. it might only be allowed to be used for a logged in user where the assumption is that the customer knows the company knows who they are!

Yes that's right,, when you book online you pay by credit card. If you book on board it gets charged to your onboard account.

Just off the Rotterdam and the internet speed was OK most of the time and I could access the internet in my cabin which was great. I had used up all the minutes in my packages and on the last day there was a special for 15 or 30 minutes which I signed up for, but it charged me the activation fee again. So the "one time activation fee" is not true either. I also had 'disappearing minutes' so next time I will be more vigilent and get proof as they surely add up, I think about 3 or 4 minutes went every time I logged in.

Hi, just off the Rotterdam for 43 days and I don't recall ever seeing Creme Brulee on the Available Daily section, certainly the brownie stack and the others were. I think it was on the main menu a couple of times though.

HAL will not allow Australians to access last minute cruise deals from any port.

 

If they were an Australian company there is no way they would be allowed to discriminate like that.

Hi, are you saying you can't book these using a local travel agent in AUD or that you are being blocked from accessing HAL's website and booking them yourself in USD?

Hi, I'm from Auckland, NZ and yes we're not known for snorkelling! But there is a marine sanctuary called Goat Island which is really good for snorkelling. That is near Warkworth just north of Auckland so it is a day trip by car and you walk into the water from the beach. It is very, very popular in the weekends in the summer, more so in January & February as it is school holidays.

Also further north, a beautful spot is the Poor Knights islands which you can get to from Tutakaka which has day trips by boat. Probably recomend a wetsuit there. There are loads of diving spots all around the country if you want that.

In the summer and through to about March the sea can get quite warm, not quite the Caribbean but I think it is warmer than northern California anyway. The main danger is if you are swimming in the surf as some beaches are rougher than others (mainly west coast like Piha), but this is normal anywhere. The surf life guards are only on main beaches and usually only till the end of the summer school holidays. Some beaches like Piha have them on duty longer, like every weekend from late October to Easter. Hope this helps and you enjoy your cruise!