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I lurk on the HAL board and enjoy reading about the exciting journeys that many of you take. I generally write a restricted F*ceb*ok diary for family and close friends when we cruise, but this time I thought that I could try putting some posts here for anyone who is interested. We are a retired couple from Aotearoa New Zealand. I am a Maori Kiwi and DH is a UK born, East Africa raised, and now an adopted Kiwi. We flew from Auckland to Houston, landing 13 hours later, and 5 hours before we had left NZ (yep, that pesky dateline confuses the heck out of my brain) Air New Zealand offered us free upgrade to Business Class if we didn't mind that one of the seats had a fault, and would not convert to a fully lay-flat bed. Well I'm vertically challenged and do not need a 2m long bed, so we jumped on the offer. Houston Airport was a pleasant surprise. Immigration and security were vastly more organised and speedy than our last two experiences. This time we were 2 hours early at the gate for our flight to FLL, last time we were 10 minutes late and they were holding the plane for us. We booked into the Hyatt Place Cruise Port Hotel for two nights to give ourselves time to adjust to the time change, and as a buffer incase of flight changes.. We have stayed here before and like the big rooms and the locality. This morning we set off to walk over the 17th Ave bridge to see what was on the other side - and what did we see? We saw the sea! Actually it was to get some exercise and some daylight to change our circadian rhythms. On the way back we stopped at Publix to buy 3 kgs of Red Mill muesli to take on to the ship. We are not accustomed to eating highly processed food and I don't enjoy the US style overly sweet cereals provided on board. Whole grain muesli, with added nuts and seeds from the galley, makes a nourishing long- lasting breakfast for us. For lunch and dinner we simply request extra steamed or raw vegetables. We have a shuttle booked for tomorrow and the next chapter of our big adventure begins.

We have not received ours from August 8th.

What currencies were you able to get from the front desk?

If you have not received an email with your booking information, check in your spam box first, then ring HAL to send it to you.

Twice a day in Neptune Suite on HAL. Enjoy your cruise.

Eg: Coral Princess was found to have sea snails in discharge pipes.

Cruise companies know exactly what is required of them. If they wish to sail into a pristine natural area such as Fiordland National Park then ofcourse they need to ensure that they do not damage the environment. I don't ever remember HAL having any problem with complying with the requirement to have the hull inspected and cleaned. I hope that you enjoy your wonderful cruise.

That would be because freighters do not sail into Fiordland National Park.

These are from a market stall in Hilo Hawaii. They were a replacement for my HAL flowers that had reached the throw out stage.

I use incognito mode on Chrome. Solved the problem immediately.

You should also be able to see the Grand Australia and Aotearoa/NZ departing Jan 3 2024.

I would grab 6170. Quiet position, good size balcony.

Hal facts

The information is also on your TV.

No. Taxis and public transport is available. Check the cruise port schedule for each port to see where you will be docked. https://www.cruisetimetables.com/copenhagen-denmark-cruise-ship-schedule.html

This was a generic message covering all nationalities who will be on board. If you follow the provided link you will see that if you are a USA citizen then you do not need visas before you board. Some of us will need to pre-apply for visas and we will have to show them before boarding. This is nothing new, if we are cruising to any USA port we have to show our ESTA before we can board.

The pastry selection is on the breakfast menu. You simply ask for what you want when you order.

Have you gone onto the Air NZ site and checked prices there? If you book direct you have complete control of your booking. Do check prices for Premium Economy. Also check where the seats are that Flight Ease have assigned to you. If it is a bulkhead bassinet (baby) row then you could get moved if a family book between now and departure.

Yes

It is on the MDR menu for anyone to order. CROISSANT AND BREAD PUDDING pomegranate seeds, candied citrus

Hi Steve, I could not find a way of pre-booking a cab more than a couple of days ahead (we are on for 21 days). As we have a 12 noon flight and there is talk about how difficult it is to get a taxi from the port I chose to go with Booking.com. I have used this method before. 1. You do pay immediately but it is fully refundable up to 24 hours before travel. 2. It would certainly be worth asking the hotel reception. If they can not help you, there will still be time to book elsewhere. Kind regards

@SSBrickNJ You can book a driver to collect you from the terminal and take you to the airport. You will be docked at C332 which is terminal 2. I booked through Booking.com very easily. We are walking off with our luggage and meeting the driver at 8am.

Yes, that is what I booked.

A six seater with room for six bags is $US111.46