terrydtx

The issue is and always has been with anytime dinning, people line up way before the doors open so they can be the first to get tables. We have always waited until 6:30 to 7:00pm to enter the MDR and never waited for more than a few minutes. Last year on the almost full Oosterdam this was our experience and a couple of nights when we entered, we were taken upstairs to the traditional dining room as there were many empty tables there by that time.

Thank you for this information, I just sent a request to my CC for a pin to use in Amsterdam when we visit in September.

We sail from Rotterdam in September, flying into the only airport that serves both Rotterdam and Amsterdam, Schiphol. We will stay for 3 nights in Ams and then have a private transport booked to Rotterdam the morning of embarkation for our group of 4.

I will bet to get any streaming or Wi-Fi calling you will still need to upgrade to the premium Wi-Fi. Upgrading is still way cheaper than using Cellular at sea.

On the Oosterdam last year in Italy and Greece, once I upgraded to the premium Wi-Fi, I was able to make and receive phone calls and text messages though the "Wi-Fi Calling" mode on my Samsung phone. The surf Wi-Fi that came with HIA was useless and did not work for Wi-Fi calling. I was able to use the Wi-Fi calling feature to call my wife on the ship too. The messaging app in the HAL app is totally useless. In 2019 when we did the same cruise the OP is asking about, we had our AT&T cell service when we got to cities in Alaska and some very spotty service while we cruised the inside passage.

Our AT&T account includes Mexico and Canada.

Each post like this just makes my paying $25pp per day for Club Orange a better bargain. Will be handy for our K'Dam November cruise from San Diego. We are planning on a HAL Alaska Cruise in 2025 and no way we do not pay for Club Orange for that one now.

Or they were the ones who lined up before the doors opened and they were still waiting to get in. I never have understood why people would wait in line for a meal unless they were starving and hadn't eaten in sometime. Waiting in line like sardines in a can is also not the best place to be post covid.

Our first HAL cruise was in one of those Lanai cabins on the Volendam, and we were very disappointed in the cabin. Outside our door that opened on the Promenade deck were 2 deck chairs that were supposed to be reserved for our use, and we found other passengers in them all the time. At times it was also very noisy from people standing on the deck outside our cabin. On our August 2024 11 day Volendam cruise from Boston to Montreal the difference between a Lania cabin and Vista suite is only $500pp, and for us worth the extra cost.

The only time I have ever seen a long line on a full ship for the MDR was when people lined up just before the doors opened up. We have been choosing anytime dining since it began on cruise ships. We prefer to enter the MDR between 6:30 and 7:00pm and I can't recall a time we waited more than 10 minutes for a table. After reading this thread, I am happy that we paid the extra for Club Orange on our November Koingsdam cruise.

You could also book one Aqua Sky Suite for the 3 of you, it would have a sofa bed and it has access to both Blu and Luminae for all occupants. I would think 1 suite for 3 would be less in cost than 2 aqua cabins. You would also have much more space in the cabin and bathroom.

Same menus we had in 2019 on Noordam in Alaska, and they have gotten very boring.

If you are worried pay for the air now an HAL will pay for the tickets and you are locked in. I recently did this for my November Koingsdam cruise.

I have used both Flights by Celebrity and HAL Flight Eaze, IMO Flightv Ease is far superior.

If that happened one hour before the flight that was on the airline not on HAL FE. I had that happen last year on Delta from San Antonio to Atlanta because they changed aircraft the morning of our flight to one with 8 less business class seats. My wife and I got bumped back to coach, with no compensation other than a $75 flight credit we never used, and we booked those seats directly with the airline.

I have never had an issue with not getting the seats I chose online with FE, every time I got the seats and I also checked online with the airline to verify the seats. Not busy work but doing your due diligence when traveling. I never take anything for granted because I continual check my flights on the airline websites. We had one of our American Airlines flights to San Diego changed by AA and I knew about the change 10 days before I got notified by AA because FE notified me the day it happened.

I would check with your TA or call HAL customer service and not rely on information or speculation from CC members.

Somewhere in the reservation you should see something like "Status Ticketed"

We are booked on the Volendam for August next year from Boston to Montreal. If you want a balcony cabin you have to get a Vista Suite or higher. We are booked in a vista Suite for our cruise.

Flight Ease, which we have used many times, allows you to choose your seats when you book online, did you not do this? You can also go back online and book or change seats in your account.

That seems to be far more complicated than booking the trains in Italy that we did last year.

We have had anytime dining since HAL began offering it. Yes, there is always a line when the MDR opens between 5:00 and 6:00pm. I have seen people get in line 30 minutes or more before the MDR opens but we prefer to enter the MDR between 6:30 and 7:00pm and not once have we waited over 10 minutes for a table. Now I agree a table for 8 may be a whole different story.

We plan to fly in 3 days early to enjoy Sydney. After the cruise, we fly to Melbourne to do a 10 day driving trip to Adelaide and back along the great ocean road and some nice winery visits and tastings. We will be gone for 6 weeks and can't wait to visit. My biggest challenge will be driving on the left hand side of the roads from the right side of the car, totally opposite from the US.

I am sure that is their reasoning, but with the new policy of only paying the difference it is not that much of an issue anymore. However, with the HIA surf Wi-Fi we were able to upgrade to premium for very little. We booked our August 2024 Volendam cruise with the early booking premium HIA, so we have Premium drinks and Wi-Fi for that cruise.

Our last cruise before Covid was on Noordam from Vancouver in July 2019. It was the absolutely worst boarding process in our 16 cruises. We flew into Vancouver the morning we departed and got to Canada place by noon, it was after 3pm before got on the ship. Never seen so many lines winding back and forth in a building. It was so bad we will try to do our next cruise to Alaska from Seattle. We will be on the Koingsdam from San Diego in November, but we purchased the Club Orange option so that we get some priority boarding and not having to dine in the MDR. I hope we get the early boarding with CO as promoted. We do fly in the night before and are staying at a hotel at the cruise port. Our last 4 post covid cruises have been in suites and we are spoiled with priority boarding. If CO works as advertised, we will probably not sail on HAL again without it.