oaktreerb

Yes ,they have been enforcing boarding times in San Diego. If you are 4* or above you will need to tell the staff your status if you want to board early.

In San Diego you may be stopped (and many have) because there is not room for everybody in the terminal. Do not show up as early as you wish unless you are 4* or above. If you do show up before your boarding time you may end up standing outside waiting in a long line for your group to enter the terminal. The ships are sailing full and the port is making an effort to keep the boarding process orderly. Please show up at your assigned boarding time!

and above. Stands to reason. I’m not above yet. I was speaking of my experience. Priority printed on the boarding pass meant nothing to the staff and I had highlighted it on my boarding pass. The person I spoke to said it is hard for the staff to see 4* on the boarding pass.

If you choose “buy now” whatever you want to buy should go into your cart. Then you decide if you really want to buy it. You may need to call someone at HAL or your TA to walk you through the process!

In San Diego my boarding pass said “Priority” and I had Club Orange. The only passengers who were allowed to go onboard as soon as the ship was ready for boarding were 4* Mariners. I had to tell the staff that I was 4* before they gave me priority access to the boarding check in line. Best advice is to arrive at your assigned boarding time or after. The terminal staff’s job is to see that all passengers get onboard in an orderly manner. Your luggage should have your luggage tags attached when you get to the ship. The luggage staff will collect your bags and they will be delivered to your stateroom. The tags will be coded for deck, location and stateroom# for delivery purposes. Club Orange will allow both staterooms occupants to have breakfast and dinner in Club Orange. It also will exempt you from having to get tender tickets, you can get in the tender line at any time…just show your room card. There has been a lot of discussion on this board about the challenging boarding process now that the ships are sailing “full”. Since your bookings are linked you hopefully will get the same boarding time. If not just go together sometime around the earlier boarding time.

I’ll be interested in your experience. We ate in Sel de Mer the week before Rudy was expected to be onboard and our server was looking forward to meeting him. The manager introduced himself and when I asked about some empty tables he told us that reservations are limited so that they will be able to offer attentive service. This is intended to be a 2 hour dining experience. The Sel de Mer dining room is very intimate as opposed to the Pinnacle dining room. Enjoy!

I experienced the pop-up Sel de Mer on the Nieuw Amsterdam. I have also experienced Sel de Mer on the Koningsdam. The Koningsdam had much better service. The server on the NA was inexperienced at de-boning the Dover Sole and it had so many bones it was almost inedible. In the Sel de Mer dining room the servers debone every night. On the NA it’s once a week at most. We didn’t complain because I felt it would be unfair to the server. There is no comparison as far as the service provided. Top notch service is one of the reasons for choosing Sel de Mer on a Pinnacle Class ship.

The larger veranda will have two adjustable loungers on the balcony. If they are not there, ask for them. All balconies I have had on a HAL ship have a lounger or a chair/footstool combo lounger. I haven’t been on the Rotterdam so can’t give opinion on stateroom.

Have you ever used the “free” laundry room on a luxury line cruise ship? On a sea day it is constant activity. Find a washer that works, consider whether you should remove someone’s not quite dry laundry from a dryer that signals the clothes are dry, determine where to put someone’s dry laundry when you want to use the dryer. Wait for the iron to be free for pressing. I was surprised that a lot of men are responsible for doing laundry on the ship! Laundry is a bargain on a HAL ship whether $9 or $20 a day. And you can use OBC to pay for it!

You have to be ONBOARD 30 minutes prior to departure.

HAL does not allow you to choose a check in time. The earlier you are assigned a check in time, the more likely it will change. What time does your itinerary leave port? The port of departure also makes a difference. Many factors come into play. Generally plan to board sometime early to mid afternoon in most cases. HAL’s goal is to have the rooms ready before boarding,

Not at all.

Deck 4 aft, deeper balcony, partially covered, quiet unless you have noisy neighbors, close to dining room, my favorite location. The forward staterooms are nearer the showroom and entertainment venues and far forward have steel railings.

I also got the waitlist notification and was told to accept the waitlist booking, pay for it, and get reimbursed onboard. It was the only excursion I wanted to do so I was happy to get it! I made a note on my printed confirmation so I won’t forget to ask for the credit (to my credit card) when we are onboard.

Anyone can order from Room Service. Call your concierge and ask them if you can order from the Pinnacle. Club Orange has a special phone contact to call and you may as well take advantage of it!

Sometimes HAL sends notices that do not apply to your cruise. Which itinerary are you cruising? Covid standards still exist in some areas. Do you need to show proof of vaccination? If HAL asks you to download Verifly you should probably do it to be sure you have completed all of the necessary documentation in order to join the ship.

You need to choose your stateroom. The obstructed veranda that you paid for with the addition of Club Orange makes you eligible to choose any stateroom within that stateroom category. On the newer ships you could choose from a VF to a VQ stateroom. You must have paid the upcharge for Club Orange. You may be able to call Club Orange directly with your booking number or you may have to go through your TA. Look online at the stateroom selection before you call.

If the ship is ready for boarding the 4* and above just proceed to go onboard after going through the boarding process and security. There was no line for 4 and 5 star that I saw. I arrived at my boarding time and after telling them I was 4* I walked into the terminal and went through the boarding/security process.

There is an elevator. We walked up the stairs.

Kids sail free?

Agree about the drinks. Training may be an issue here. Agree about Sel de Mer. The lobster was disappointing. The Salmon was excellent. Dover Sole seems to be the best choice. Service is excellent. The staff was looking forward to Rudy being on the Nov 12 sailing.

I hope you have fixed seating. If not, charm the Maitre’d into giving you a fixed table in open seating. Our stateroom was on 4 aft and we had to wind our way through the crowds of people outside the dining room on our way to Club Orange for dinner (where we also had to wait sometimes). Food was good, portions small. I don’t care for the Lido so we only went there for a salad to take to the room. It’s not the food, it’s all the people milling around that bothers me. Servers were helpful. We did have a full ship and the Grand Dutch Cafe was pretty busy but it’s worth the wait. People tried to leave open seats in the showroom to avoid crowding. Arrive at your boarding time, tell the reps that you are 4* or above. Assume that you will be going directly into the terminal upon arrival. You should be treated with courtesy. If you feel like someone has given you the wrong information, ask someone else.

There is some seating inside the terminal building near the entry point and just in front of the bathrooms. Sometimes you just have to ask the right person so if somebody is trying to hurry you along, just ask another port rep who seems more open to assist you.

It may depend on which staff member you meet at the entry point. If everyone came at their assigned time it would make the process so much smoother!

You have to tell the staff that you are 4*. or above. The PRIORITY boarding printed on your boarding pass doesn’t mean anything to them. You shouldn’t expect early check in but you should expect to be admitted to the building if you arrive at your boarding time. HAL has made an effort to have rooms available at embarkation to reduce crowding in the Lido. Do not expect lunch in the dining room. People on this board who talk about arriving early because they are higher priority star status mess up the boarding process for everybody.