vicd1969

Upgrade from Balcony VF to VA may be worth it if they want to move to the center for a smoother ride instead of being at the front of the ship. But if your parents don't get seasick easily, may not be worth it.

Here's my take. Please feel free to give your thoughts on which type of cabin is worth purchasing Club Orange if you booked the lowest or lower categories within the cabin "meta". If you booked: Neptune Suite on any ship - No On Zaandam/Volendam: Vista Suite - Probably No Oceanview - Maybe if you need to move to center of ship but No otherwise Inside - Same as oceanview On Vista Class or Signature Class: Signature Suite - Probably No Verandah - Yes if one of those aft verandahs are available. No otherwise Oceanview - Yes if you have an obstructed oceanview. No otherwise unless you need to move to center Inside - Yes - the J class interiors are well worth upgrading to On Rotterdam, Nieuw Statendam and Koningsdam (Pinnacle Class): Signature Suite - Probably No. Unless you think Club Orange and priority lanes are worth the cost by themselves. Vista Suite - Maybe if you have Guarantee or the very front BC ones Verandah - Yes if you have obstructed verandah or the aft ones are available and you like that location Oceanview - Yes if you are in a family group of 3 or more (Not sure if you can upgrade from normal oceanview to family oceanview through Club Orange - can anyone confirm?) Inside - Probably No. Unless you think Club Orange and priority lanes are worth the cost by themselves.

Alaska is always a crapshoot weather-wise. I went one time in mid-September and sunny Anchorage reached 80 degrees.

There is a pretty reasonable drinks package at HMC. I think it's around $30 so worth it if you get more than 3 drinks during your time there. That may be the tiebreaker lol.

If the savings on the LA-FLL Princess sailing are significant to you, going with the HAL option would be better value. Given ports are almost the same, your priorities for the onboard experience are the big factors in your decision. If you go with HAL, you may miss out on lesser entertainment and fewer sea day activities but gain on what should be better food and service. HAL also tends to stay in ports an hour longer, but you'll have to check the itineraries. The Oosterdam is a slightly smaller ship but still fine to handle the South American Cape Horn. Both ships are around the same age and have been refurbished in 2018, ship condition would be a push I think.

Oh, just realized you are sailing on the Nieuw Amsterdam. For a while pre-covid, that ship was the subject of an unfortunate experiment by HAL bean counters to charge $$ for a second entree in the main dining room. So that was something "unique" 😜. Don't worry, the line realized the error of their ways and that's no longer the case.

I did also notice the lido was usually a zoo during my Rotterdam sailing. I chalked it up to the passenger mix and the usual first-time cruiser preference to eat there, but that could be a wrong assumption. I usually found a spot by the pools for lunch or ate lunch at later hours to avoid the lido rush hour.

If you are Catholic, there is always a priest onboard with daily mass. Tamarind on Signature and Pinnacle Class is said to be the best Asian dining experience on mainstream cruise lines. Dutch pea soup served in Alaska sailings while viewing the scenery Orange party - your mileage may vary but it is unique to HAL

Appreciate your first time thorough review. As you become more experienced cruisers, you'll find more ways to do local experiences in most ports without booking through the ship. My first ever cruise was also to Alaska and made me a fan of this way to vacation!

Looks like Wall Street knew this was coming - CCL stock ended today about 5% higher but not much after-market price movement currently as of 6:55 PM now.

Rooms will be ready upon boarding. I am curious to know how HAL is able to provide the rooms and Celebrity and Princess don't always have them ready, when all three lines kick off previous passengers around the same time. For passengers in groups, however, you may want to make sure the key card in your mailbox is not someone else's - we had that minor mix up in our 5-cabin group.

I think it's a $10 total difference when comparing the discounted online premium purchase with standard surf that's available on embarkation.

Maybe HAL feels it's an area to cut costs since there are no beaches to take the blue bags to in Norway 😉. That said, they did give out the Club Orange bags in my June Rotterdam sailing. Have you tried asking your cabin attendant for one?

Personally, I'd rather do the 11-day South Caribbean sailing on the Rotterdam than a 14-day sailing on the Volendam. A lot more music and specialty restaurant options on the Rotterdam than on the Volendam. Also, more balcony rooms available. You do miss out on Grenada and San Juan but have one fewer sea day as well.

US Citizens do not need visas if you're visiting as a tourist for less than 90 days. http://www.dha.gov.za/index.php/immigration-services/exempt-countries I didn't need one when I last went to South Africa, but that was about 6 years ago. Also, all COVID entry requirements have been repealed since June 22.

It depends on the itinerary. HAL isn’t as competitive on Caribbean routes because their ships are not “resort” type ships that attract a younger family demographic. It is likely OP is comparing Caribbean sailings if it’s November. Shipboard activities matter more in that region. HAL’s Alaska and European sailings are relatively pricier because they have of an advantage with itineraries mattering more.

They should have given you free passes to the spa instead of free Pinnacle dinners. Won't fully make up for having no cabin toilet, but at least you could use the facilities there and relax. Also, depending on the ship, Pinnacle would be a downgrade from Club Orange or Tamarind or Rudi's imho.

I can confirm that I had a "3 day" testing requirement for PCR. I took mine on Thursday before flying to Amsterdam that afternoon. The test was accepted when I boarded on Sunday. Also, if you can, just print out hard copies of your test results - makes document submissions easier at check-in.

For what it's worth, sister ship Rotterdam had the port section of deck 5 balcony cabins towards the rear blocked off for quarantined passengers as well. My cabin was a few doors down from the blocked off session.

Not sure if it will matter for your husband, but I believe there is a firewall for VPNs and so he wouldn't be able to use one to log in to his work network. WiFi is good enough to send photos and read most websites. I don't think Netflix would however work well most of the time, maybe late in the evening. Ironically, the ship internet is usually down when docked, which shouldn't be much of an issue on a Transatlantic.

That's really unfortunate that there were complaints about the basketball court. Surprised that someone on the Lido deck can hear and is sensitive to the ball bouncing, as the court is up on deck 10/11 far from any passenger cabins. My nephews were able to play a few times on the Koningsdam's sister ship and the fjord background made for a memorable basketball experience.

The underwhelming Mariner reception on your cruise may be in part due to the focus of the HD/CD on the large Dutch passenger mix, who tend not to be high star mariners. On my Rotterdam sailing, I didn't see much of the CD outside of scheduled activities on the main stage either. But she probably was interacting with the Dutch passengers more, understandably. Crew service was just as outstanding for us American passengers, but the ship activities did seem to have a different vibe with the Dutch crowd. The ship was still hopping at 11 PM, for example, and the Orange party was super-crowded in BB King (I didn't hang around long due to the large mask-less crowd as masks weren't mandatory on my sailing). However, applause reactions were slightly more reserved in the main stage, even though the stage was almost full every night.

That mirrored my experience on the Rotterdam comparing service in Club Orange vs Pinnacle - Pinnacle was just "nice" service-wise. They didn't do anything wrong, but Club Orange was far superior in terms of warmth and attention. I actually felt that the Canaletto staff and manager made a stronger effort than Pinnacle's.

Most "complementary" dining packages are for Pinnacle Grill with/without Canaletto. You may need to read the fine print for the package. I am with DaveOKC - I don't believe Rudi's or Taste of Librije (If it still even exists) are part of the package. If you do have a choice, my personal rankings on the Rotterdam would be: Rudi's Sel de Mer Tamarind Pinnacle Canaletto (may supersede Pinnacle depending on if you are a steak person or not)

It's the reality reflecting what one can bring on airlines nowadays for cruises outside the US, plus the post-pandemic movement for casual wear 24-7. When you are allowed only one free check-in luggage on flights to Europe, fancy clothes and shoes go down the priority packing list. Plus a sizable proportion of passengers now do post or pre cruise land trips where dressy attire is not needed for the most part. On my Norway cruise, the local Dutch passengers tended to dress up more than the Americans partly because luggage wasn't an issue for them. But we still got stellar service despite some of us wearing dark t-shirts for dinner on casual nights. As for Alaska and Caribbean sailings originating from the US, those locations have a more laid-back vibe as well.