wdw1972

This is one of the things that appeals to me - I'd rather be at sea, enjoying my cabana in the Retreat, vs wandering around a Caribbean port (been there, done that). My priorities shifted from ports to shipboard life a long time ago, at least in the Caribbean. Cruising somewhere new to me, my priorities would be different 😉 Sue/WDW1972

It's definitely not. In fact, cruises leaving the day after Thanksgiving tend to be the lowest fare of the season due to lower demand. Next year I'll be doing my November cruise as the 9-day leaving the day after Thanksgiving and it'll be one of the cheapest cruises in years! There should be few to no kids, which makes it even better. Sue/WDW1972

I have my travel agent book it, but I use the HAL site to determine exactly what I want, what the perks would be, pricing, etc. I always select my own stateroom - too much can go wrong if you leave it to the cruise line, so it's not with the "savings". When I cruise solo I typically book an ocean view stateroom. There are many located directly below a very noisy venue like BB King's Blues Club, or under the galley (kitchen) with carts rolling around all night, so I won't take the chance of ending up there! Sue/WDW1972

That's not true. Friends & I who book our own staterooms always book specific stateroom numbers. On a Pinnacle Class ship with solo staterooms we may choose the largest 3 of those, but on other ships we're all booked solo into 3 staterooms made for 2 or more. Those ships don't have solo staterooms, so no chance of being moved as a solo if you book a stateroom that's not designated for 3 or 4 people. Also, unless you're cruising HAL on a 7-night itinerary during a holiday week or spring break (or Alaska during June/July/August, there's little chance of being moved. HAL doesn't normally attract hordes of families with kids, and leans heavily towards the "couples" vs group of 3-4 friends sharing a stateroom together. Combine that with longer itineraries, and kids are thankfully few on most of the cruises - you can pick accordingly to minimize your risk! Sue/WDW1972

I've never seen soft serve on HAL (admittedly, with all the calories onboard I have not ever looked for it) but if they exist they're definitely not out where passengers could serve themselves. Carnival is a whole different animal - leaning much more heavily to self-serve vs being served in a Lido/buffet setting. Sue/WDW1972

No - the Lido is not staffed 24 hours a day. Sue/WDW1972

The other day I booked some HAL excursions for a February 2026 cruise. There's nothing listed for my October 2026 cruise yet. Sue/WDW1972

Same here - and also my wine package 18% gratuity has always been based on the full price. I wouldn't expect to "stiff" the beverage staff by being charged 50% of the gratuity, and the packages are an excellent value for high star mariners! Sue/WDW1972

The Neptunes on the pinnacles are much smaller than on the other ships. Cramming 3 or 4 in one of them wouldn't be a very pleasant way to cruise, so it's good to see them listed as double occupancy. Sue/WDW1972

The reason being is the description of Neptune Suites say they're for 4 people - 2 in the bed, 2 in the sofa bed. There's no need to mark them all. The aft corner wraps and a few others are smaller than normal, and those are marked with the triple sign because the sofa is smaller (1 person vs 2 for sleeping). It actually makes sense to me. A party of 3 isn't going to get you bumped, and a party of 4 won't either because they're too large for your Neptune! Sue/WDW1972

People seem to rave about the osso buco - I've never had that, however. My favorite item on the current menu is the burrata appetizer, which is big enough to be my meal. The meatballs are very good too. My favorite dessert was dropped during the last menu change, but the lemon ricotta cheesecake they added is very good. If the short ribs are still on the menu, they're good too. Sue/WDW1972

That makes all the difference. Anyone sailing in your stateroom would be considered your star level, even if it was their very first cruise. Sue/WDW1972

Darn - not surprised, but I was hoping maybe I just didn't know I should 😉 Sue/WDW1972

Interesting - when a 2-star friend accompanied me to a wine tasting (we have separate staterooms) she was charged full price. She was ok with that - didn't expect to go for free, but it's the first I've heard that I should have a "+1" entitlement. Sue/WDW1972

Since the laundry machines are huge, there's no way they're doing guest laundry individually. I'm not sure they can accommodate hypo allergenic detergent requests either. I've specified temperature (cold water, cool dry), but that's the extent of my special requests. This is a commercial laundry - hundreds of pounds washed & dried in the same machine. Sue/WDW1972

Great idea! Any recommendations as to which one? My "baby" is 37 years old, so my experience is limited 😉 Sue/WDW1972

Pretty sure it won't be long now, but based on recent releases I'm also pretty sure the pricing WILL be outrageous 😉 That seems to be the trend lately. Sue/WDW1972

We're in the NE section of town - actually live at the workplace (real home is in SW Florida). I did hear of downed trees affecting some staff getting to work - that was probably the culprit in your case. Glad it wasn't worse! Sue/WDW1972

Can I ask where in North Central Florida? I'm in Gainesville and our power never even flickered. The rain ended by 5pm and other than oppressive humidity (which isn't that unusual this time of year) there are no active signs of Debby at all. The ground is very wet of course, and lots of tree debris scattered around, but overall this is type of hurricane I can live with. Sue/WDW1972

The exception would be the Vista Suites on deck 8 on the Pinnacle class ships. Those don't have any cover, rendering them useless when it may be raining. Sue/WDW1972

Unless she's Doogie Howser, chances are she's 21 or more since she's graduating from college. 😉 Oops, sorry - just noticed the title said she's 20. This young lady sounds like a high achiever! Sue/WDW1972

Yep - you won't find me doing it either. Life's too short. Two in a stateroom (when hubby cruises) is bad enough! Sue/WDW1972

Sadly, no. Sue/WDW1972

It's happened quite often - it's called a "pop up" dinner. If there are any on your cruise you'll see them listed when you go online to book specialty dining. That, plus the Pinnacle will miraculously have NO available openings for that night - it'll be booked under a different dinner name. For my upcoming Zuiderdam cruise one night will be Morimoto popup, which will be held in the Pinnacle Grill. Sue/WDW1972

What is the usual time for this? My last neptune suite experiences I had no idea about a cocktail party/gathering and so never attended. This was many years ago. We've got a neptune in 2025 and although we have the beverage package so don't need "free" drinks I'd like the opportunity to at least decide whether to bother attending or not 😉 Sue/WDW1972