HALrunner

Any guesses on which ships will retire?

I should be grateful for what they have done right....yes, the "same travel info for all passengers" field is super helpful if we are all traveling together:)

I am not very techie, maybe I have something enabled/disabled that does not save our previous info for passports, etc?

The excessive amount of drop down menus for flight times, etc are what get me. Rather than just typing in the exact hour and then minute, you have to scroll all the way down. Heaven help us if we have non direct flights that depart or land towards the end of the hour (scrolling down through 50+ numbers!). If I recall correctly, you can't tab between them either which then requires multiple mouse clicks to get to each drop down menu.

I had to fill out the info for a non US citizen that was traveling with us, so I feel your pain, Cashew14.

Disclaimer, we are a family of four so my frustration with the on-line check in is amplified as I have to complete four of them for each cruise! Out of all the problems in the world, this is a nice one to have;)

I agree, it is not user friendly at all. I'm sure it was designed by the same people who came up with the annoying "new" booking page as well.

My TA tried to use the ZPM with our FCD and was denied. She said it was not available with the rate code we were booking under. It may have been a Flash Sale rate....can't remember now.

Combine this with what Lisa said above and I am lead to believe one can not ALWAYS use both.

Oops, guess that was probably already old news. I just looked at HAL's website and noticed the NA's last published voyage is a one way trip to Vancouver April 2016.

IF she would do the Nieuw Amsterdam's itinerary, what itinerary do you think the Nieuw Amsterdam will do?

I don't follow the Alaska itineraries enough to know which ship it would replace, but through the rumor mill (or is it already fact/on CC, can't remember) the NA is going to Alaska.

I got to the booking page and now am just getting the hourglass:(

Last month a crew member (who had been with HAL for THIRTY EIGHT years!!!) told us the K'dam would assume the NA itineraries. So, I am placing my bets on yes.

* Disclaimer. I know that 38 years of service does not qualify him to be the all knowing authority on what the sailings will be, I just wanted to point out how amazing it is that HAL even has such employees:) *

I have been noticing the "Sold Out" Neptune Suites on the larger ships as well. Specifically, I have been checking in on cabin options for cruises on the Noordam and NA and they are marked as such and then later become available again. I think they used to use "Call for Price & Availability" when assessing inventory/making assignments/upsells etc. IMO, it seems they are just blocking off cabins as "Sold Out" when that is not always the case.

However......this seems much more believable on the larger ships. As for the "S Class" ships, maybe they are actually selling out. All the loyal Ryndam lovers might be making their own farewell voyage with her this summer?

Either way, good luck and I hope you can enjoy the SWEET life on the Ryndam next summer!

I am very curious to see how some of the new cabin categories fares will shake out. It looks like they are not available on the HAL site yet. Did I miss the chatter that they can only be booked through a TA/PCC for the launch today or something? It is funny that they have their countdown counter on the website and when it finally hit zero hours there is......nothing!

Great advice from both of you, thanks so much!

I can't remember....are these the cabins that were added in the last year or two? Does anyone recommend or not recommend these? Specifically 100001 & 100002 look slightly larger, is that true?

Being that far forward and that high up I am guessing one would feel a lot of movement. Any other negatives or positives you can think of would be much appreciated!

My eyes are blurry from studying the deck plans! Have I missed the chatter about what the extra specialty restaurant space is on deck 2 and Grand Dutch Cafe on deck 3? Can we also get three cheers for Gelato on the Lido?!?!

I don't think they are trying to capture the kid market. I just scanned the deck plans for a "Big Main Deck J" that our family loves on other HAL ships and didn't see ANY quad interiors. There are a handful of family OV cabins, but relatively few quads overall. I hope the family cabins are as spacious as our favorite main deck J cabins and we will enjoy the additional shower and sink.

Just off the NA this morning, I felt a slight chill in the MDR for lunch once. There was also one spot near the Park West gallery hall that always hit us with a blast of cold air as we walked through to dinner.

I just completed 13 days on the NA, disembarking this morning. Cantare is still in the line up. The other two cast shows were "NYC" and something about famous duos in which only two of the singers and two of the dancers performed. The cruise was fantastic and crew amazing, however we definitely feel that the entertainment was the weakest part of this cruise. As a matter of fact, there was a crew talent show on the mainstage and the dishwasher was far more talented than the current lead male singer of the NA.

We noticed a definite improvement in the entertainment department about 18 months ago, this was the first cruise since that time that the entertainment has been a disappointment. We were told that HAL is changing entertainment companies in five months. Hopefully the new company will freshen things up a bit.

I have participated in several of the yoga and pilates classes offered on various HAL ships. To be honest, I have found them disappointing. The first thing to look at is who the gym staff is for that particular sailing. In many cases they *appear* to be....I'm trying to be nice and not judge, but.....weightlifter types. Unfortunately, these will be your pilates/yoga instructors. It is clear that they know very little about yoga and pilates and therefore are not very good teachers.

On one sailing, the gym attendant (what is there title, anyway?) was a young man from India who practiced yoga regularly and was pretty good. I was the only participant, practice yoga and pilates regularly and am in my 30's. When I asked him to make it a little challenging (which it definitely was not) he gave some blanket excuse of HAL dictates what program he is supposed to do so that is accessible to all participants ages 30-70, emphasizing the older end of the range.

One other thing that is always a bummer: they automatically add a gratuity onto the overpriced fee for the class. Your best bet is to get one of those glorified coaster coupon books and at least get the BOGO fitness class coupon out of it before you let too many fruity cocktails sit on it!

Why do I keep doing it? I don't always, but it is better than nothing especially considering how many calories the average person consumes onboard;)

Thanks for posting the new list. I read it over and looked up the wines. I must say that I am very excited! Excited that I live in Fort Lauderdale and can bring my own wine & pay corkage. ;)

 

Inexplicably the 5 bottle packages cost more per bottle than the 3 bottle ones.

 

Navigator’s Choice

 

3 bottles $89.00 = $29.67/btl

5 bottles $149.00 = $29.80/btl

7 bottles $ 199.00 = $28.42/btl

 

Admiral’s Choice

 

3 bottles $119.00 = $39.67/btl

5 bottles $199.00 = $39.80/btl

7 bottles $269.00 = $38.42./btl

 

Perhaps they're counting on poor math skills...

POA1- I think this calls for some additional research by your team.

It appears they finally took my suggestion and removed all wines that include animals in the name/label from the package. If animals are needed to sell the bottle, that is never a good sign. Hooray, there is hope for better bottles!

Indeed, she is living with us! Even her visa application/paperwork confirms this! I thought it had more to do with passport than current residence. If it is based on current address this would solve the problem. I'll run this by my TA tomorrow. Thanks all!

Thanks for the advice! We will be footing the bill and I hadn't thought about adding her to our current booking number, I just assumed it would be an entire new reservation. This will be her first cruise and she is not interested in racking up cruise credit days like we are! On that note, I forgot that if we are paying for her on board expenses, that those might go towards our cruise credit days:)

When I log onto the HAL website when traveling in Europe, it automatically flips to the European HAL site. Is there any way to get to that site while in the US? Google was no help on this one!

We live in the US, but would like to book a European friend on an upcoming cruise we already have booked for ourselves. She will have her own cabin and therefore a new booking number. Our TA reports that HAL (seattle) will not allow her to book a European passenger.

Does anyone have any experience with booking (and paying for) a European guest from the US? Is there any way to do this remotely? Perhaps a different HAL site?

Also, are the fares (after currency conversion) comparable for EU and US passengers? I seem to recall a thread about Australian guests being charged more than US guests...

Our very first cruise ever was our honeymoon cruise to Alaska nearly 11 years ago. DH planned the entire thing and surprised me- I was completely clueless about anything cruise related! I was shocked to learn not everyone had a balcony;) The honeymoon is over and now we usually end up in an inside cabin.

We were contestants on the Newlywed Game and won! The prizes back then included a beautiful 8x10 frame and bottle of champaign. We still have our Titanic background honeymoon photo displayed in the frame on our dresser:)

Sail- I am so sorry to hear this tragic news. We will certainly keep you in our prayers.

Just off the Eurodam and Captain Henk said he has laid eyes on the plans and they are very "different" from all the other ships in the fleet. He said HAL is using a new designer. I think he said spring 2016 for a launch date and about 200 more guests than the Signature Class.

He also stressed that HAL will likely stay in the midship category and will not turn into a megaship company. (!!!!!applause!!!)