sambamama

There has been a definite decline in HAL. In the MDR, the food is still good, but there are less entrees to choose from, and many of the items I liked are now gone. Chilled fruit soups? Gone. Soups in general? On the decline. Nasi Goreng? Gone. The Yum Yum man has been gone for years. I really, really miss candied ginger as that always said HAL to me. However, the wait staff is still amazing, and will bend over backwards for you, and get you things not on the menu. No broccoli? They will try to find it. Want fresh fruit for dessert every night? They will try to do that too. The MDR is always closed for lunch every day the ship is in port. The bread selection in both the MDR and the Lido and even the Pinnacle has taken a huge hit. I found myself struggling to find a single item to order some nights. Did I have good food in the MDR every night? Yes, I did. I was disappointed with my last cruise, but not because of the MDR or the Pinnacle.

There is usually no issue getting dining refunded. But depending on the cruise, there is no need to prebook as there may be plenty of space. It also depends what time you want to dine. If you like the later times, there usually seems to be plenty of room.

I think it depends on your drink consumption and if you will actually use the shore excursion credit. For me, it doesn't. At most, I have 4 drinks a day. I usually have 2, but I am fine having none at all. And I almost never go on a HAL excursion. They don't do what I want to do, or they are too big, and too short, and too high in cost. I am traveling as a solo, so I am already paying 200%. It's probably a moot point as at with a 100% solo supplement, I won't be cruising HAL anymore-it's not worth it. I get much more value from land travel.

I booked a private snorkel tour for a cruise tour for 13 people by chartering a speedboat through this company 10 months earlier. I used it numerous times while in Koh Samui the previous summer for airport, hotel, and ferry transport, and they were great. The tour was arranged with no lunch from 7:30am to 1:30pm for $71pp payable on the day in USD, baht or credit card with a 5% surcharge. There was a 350 baht pp Marine Park fee. I arranged this, but didn't know anyone, and only had cabin numbers. The day before, they contacted me and demanded a 30% discount of $775 for the tour and to pay for the lunch (there was no lunch arranged!) I stated twice that was not agreed upon, and I had email proof. They kept pushing, and I said I would cancel. The booking manager finally emailed and said there was a mistake, and no prepayment was needed, and the boat would be there at 7:30. We were on the pier at 7:30, but no boat was there. I contacted the company, and was told the boat was there. I looked everywhere, and no one was there. I got back in touch, and no one ever replied. It turned out our boat had broken, but Mr. Samui never notified us. They showed up an hour late. The guide refused to take credit cards or USD, and no one took us to an ATM. This was a huge problem. He also did not take us to the Marine Park, and just pocketed the park fees for himself. I wrote Mr. Samui after the tour about these problems, but no one ever got back to me. I can't recommend this company any more in good faith. They are not reliable, and they are poor communicators, and they tried to renegotiate the deal at the last minute. I sent a number of people their way, and this was how they repaid me. I would not hire them.

The laundry service is awesome!!! General turnaround time is 24 hours, but sometimes 12. Your underthings come wrapped in tissue paper with a seal, and most things come back on hangers, and those that should be pressed are, even if you didn't ask. Best benefit of 4 star ever!!!

I researched this thoroughly and decided the best way was to do it myself and get off the ship first thing and jump on a taxi. I did that, and the driver tried to pull a fast one by not turning the meter on. When he got to Pearl, and told me an outrageous amount, I paid the going rate and got out and told him to turn the meter on next time. Unfortunately, you could not board the ship, only drive by because of oil leaks at the time. I spent the entire day there and the base staff told me how to take the bus back. I looked into buying my ticket in advance, but figured by getting there so early I would get in, and I did. Seeing the hangers with the shot out glass was pretty amazing as well.

I was given Group A. Its possible people were given times earlier than that, but I made an assumption no one was earlier than earlier than Group A. I left that out. You are correct that other people may be boarding earlier. No one on the roll call reported anything earlier than 1pm. The 1pm is not that concerning to me, and I am planning to come earlier. However, the 5pm boarding time when the ship is scheduled to sail at 5pm is disconcerting. Perhaps the sailing will be delayed and that hasn't been announced. I was really trying to see if anyone has had these times on other boardings.

I went to the Pinnacle twice and had bad service, but not bad food. Both times, they gave me a free meal. I've had them make me items that weren't on the menu- both on the night and with a days notice. They've brought escargot from the dining room before. I've never had a bad meal there, and I've eaten there many times. As far as your ports, the ABC islands and Grand Turk are known for snorkeling, especially Bonaire. No one would ever travel to the Caribbean and expect significant cultural or historical experiences. Go to Europe or Asia or Africa. That being said, there are some cool things to see. Sea caves, old Jewish synagogues, amazing sea coastal those are either on Aruba or Curacao. Bonaire is one of the top 20 drift snorkeling spots in the world with water clarity to 100 feet. Its common for the town to not be by the port. How do you know Samana isn't nice if you haven't gone there? I think I went on a dolphin and whale watch there. Its unfair to knock an island for being a beach resort when you knew that was what it was. About the only one that may have what you want is Bermuda and that's not in the Caribbean. To get what you want, you need to do research, spend money and go on a tour or hire a taxi. Or stop going to the Caribbean. I agree that I'm not fond of the private islands. Many times, I don't bother getting off the ship.

Our cruise boards in Singapore on 1/20/2024. The ship is scheduled to dock at 7am. Our roll call is fairly active. There is a preceding cruise, and a number of people are staying on the cruise to continue with ours. The ship is scheduled to sail at 5pm. We are getting our scheduled boarding times, and they seem insanely late. The earliest is 1pm, and there are even people scheduled to check in at 4pm. There are a good number of people scheduled to check in at 3pm. I've sailed 240 nights with HAL, including 2 TAs and a 20 night South Pacific cruise from Auckland, NZ. I've never seen such late boarding times. Is this the new norm? If so, I hate this. One, I want lunch on the ship in the dining room. Two, hotels usually have a checkout time of 11am to 12pm. No one wants to sit around the lobby. Three) Big cities like Singapore start getting bad traffic starting around 3pm. Four) Who in their right mind schedules people to check in an hour before the ship sails? I a think there is a huge risk of the luggage not making it onboard. Five) What's the point of priority boarding if you get on way past lunch? I hate having to battle the hoards in the buffet the first day. I like a nice quiet lunch in the dining room. It may be the only time I have lunch in the dining room.

With insulin, it's possible they might have waived the refrigerator cost. This is what's great about Cruise Critic - you can find out things like renting refrigerators, bad cabins, privates tours, how to tender, etc. That's how I found out to rent a refrigerator.

If the ports were shopping stops with beach activity, that's on you, not on HAL. Does that mean you took all HAL tours and that is what they were? I am sure they were described. Does it mean that you went to Caribbean islands with beaches? That's where the ship sailed to. If you just got off the ship and just walked around the port, that's on you. The port is what you make it, not what HAL makes it. Do a private tour. Go sailing or snorkeling. Explore the island on a jeep. And most of the ship activities don't have sale pitches. The shows don't. The trivia contests don't. Many of the crafts don't and the contests don't. The photo gallery and art gallery always did. As far as the officers, I think that's pot luck as to each ship. You usually see a few in the bars or walking around and you can usually approach and say a few words.

According to this, it was a disaster. The ship paused disembarkation for some time. The taxi line is very long, they don't take credit cards and there is no nearby ATM. These people were delayed by at least an hour to get off the ship. I have a 12:30 flight, and I am going to check when I get on board if the ship airport transfer will get me there on time.

Did you enjoy your cruise at all? From your posts, it doesn't sound like it. I've eaten at the Pinnacle many times. My go to is the lamb chops , which are amazing! But if I go twice, I get a rib eye, and they have always been good. Every baked potato there has been fine unlike the Main dining room, where I have had a few that were not cooked all the way. I've had tough steaks there, but that didn't surprise me. I do think the steak quality has dropped a bit over the years.

I think it is 5:30. It may be 6. But I think 5:30. Not sure as I never take it, it is way too early for me. If you are assigned anytime, go to the dining room the first day and ask to switch to fixed late. There are usually plenty of openings. Most people want anytime ( which I hate.)

HAL laundry is by far the best benefit of being 4star, IMHO! Love, love, love it! Usually comes back in a day, sometimes the same day. And I do ask for for cold or gentle wash. I love getting my dainties folded up in tissue paper with a seal! Sometimes I hunt something up to send out every day. The next thing closest to this was when I sent laundry out on my 2 month trip to Morocco and Egypt where the laundry was dirt cheap.

And I've never seen a first night MDR chaos. But then I eat a fixed seating at 8pm.

They were the last time I cruised, and it was easy to get in that night. At least the Pinnacle was. I've never eaten in the Caneletto, the menu doesn't appeal to me.

All I want for Christmas is You is a more modern Christmas song and is actually non commercial if you think about the lyrics. Is that a problem for you? Young kids probably know that song much more than Here Comes Santa Claus. No one makes anyone buy the pictures. Its like the pictures boarding the ship. No one makes you board them. In fact, you don't even have to participate any more. Same with pictures at formal nights. We should be glad HAL is still doing this.

I went to Lincoln Center a great deal, and I never heard them play Peanuts or Led Zeppelin. Every group had their own personality. I heard wonderful classical music with charming banter in between. The Adagio group was a big reason I fell in love with HAL, and Lincoln Center was even better. I sorely miss Lincoln Center. I'm hoping HAL brings back some sort of steady classical music. I sailed on Princess for the first time around a year ago, and they have great classical music there and a good choice of entertainment. There is a classical duo who plays in their atrium, and they were excellent.

I have 130 sea days. I am a 4 star. I've never heard an announcement for the Mariners' lunch. As 4 star Mariners, you should know that there is always lunch in the main dining room the day you board and it's for anyone-nor just for Mariners. I always try to go there since the buffet is always mobbed the first day. Of course to be a Mariner, all you have to do is sail once. There usually is an announcement sent to your cabin that laundry put out the second to the last day may not get done. Again, as 4 star Mariners, I would think you would realize that and get your laundry our two days before the end of the cruise. The luggage getting there at 5 sounds normal. I've had my luggage not get there until 10pm before. It just depends on how full the ship is, and how proactive your cabin stewards are in getting it to you. The free wine tasting is always scheduled whenever it fits in best with the cruise schedule. I've never seen it scheduled so late. Maybe the sommeliers were sick. Of course they promote the wine packages, but you don't have to buy them. me, I never go, but I don't like wine. There has been mention that sometimes the Mariner's luncheon isn't held. Personally, I just want to get the tiles myself. The things you were upset about aren't things I would care about at all. Now my luggage not showing up for two days, or the air conditioner not working, sure!

Premium economy is a nice compromise from business class when flying internationally or perhaps cross country. Read reviews but not just on the points guy. Google it and you can find reviews on Youtube. Look for current ones. Check with each airline to see what each provide. I flew Air France Premium Economy from JFK to Paris and Paris to Bangkok and hated it. AF doesn't provide individual air nozzles, and their planes are too hot, the seats slide forward instead of reclining, so I couldn't sleep in them. Never again! Research is your friend. Also, each class differs with meals and baggage, cancellation, and picking your seat.

How long of a cruise? How much luggage? How tight can you be and how much money do you have? 3 people can do an inside or outside cabin for a 7 day cruise if you get 4 closets and don't pack alot. Just don't spend much time in your cabin and rotate the bathroom. Obviously there is much more space in a Signature Suite. Does the third person mind as of a bed or a bunk from the ceiling?

I would look for a hotel near to a MRT station. Look on Booking.com and check the Travel sustainable box. Hong Kong is NOT CHEAP! I stayed at the Conrad, which was lovely, but expensive.

I'm sure you will have a great time. He is arranging a private snorkel trip for 13 of us to the Marine Park in late January.

There are beaches to go to. You can go snorkelingfor around $40. You can take a private tour starting at around $70 a person for 2 people. That's what most people do. Google or look on Tripadvisor.