oakridger

When reservations for specialty dining open, they are for everyone, paid or HIA, at the same time. Bookings for my May 11, 2024 cruise only opened up two weeks ago. I really doubt that June cruise restaurant reservations would be completely sold out already! Have your Travel Agent "link" your dining reservations to your other cabin. ~Nancy

June sailings may not be taking reservations yet but check your Booking Confirmation letter to see which restaurant your HIA includes. A picture of my Booking letter is in this thread, post #3.

Are you sure? 1085 on Rotterdam is an interior cabin. J1085 FB 1185 is an Ocean View under the MDR

I suggest that you also post your questions on the "Pacific Islands, All Cruises" forum where you can get responses from a larger audience than just Windstar people. Here is the link: Pacific Islands, All Cruises Q&A: Find Tips & Recommendations - Cruise Critic Message Board Forums Have a great trip! ~Nancy

Do you mean that the service for drinks other than at the pools has been lacking? How about at the Ocean Bar or Crow's Nest in the afternoon? Have you gotten drinks there? Thanks, ~Nancy

That's fantastic that you had your birthday on the Panama Canal!! Really special. Have a wonderful year ahead Mary Ann! 🎂 ~Nancy

There are a couple other threads on the missing Mariner Points issue. Many people reporting that the points are now on their accounts as of today. Finally!!! ~Nancy

I hope the paper towels are in addition to the little cloth towels in the public restrooms. Please tell me that cloth towels are still placed in those restrooms. ~Nancy

Call your Travel Agent and have them fix you to the seating you requested.

Hello @iteach3 and Welcome to Cruise Critic @MayW! I think you want to be posting on the Roll Call for this trip which is where you can converse with others on your cruise. You can discuss shore excursions and other ideas and arrange to meet others there. I don't see a Roll Call yet for this date so here is the link to the Roll Call forum where you can find out how to start a Roll Call for your cruise. Holland America Cruise Roll Calls - Cruise Critic Message Board Forums Have fun! ~Nancy

Hello @plcoz. I think you would like to be posting on the Roll Call for this trip which is where you can converse with others on your cruise. You can discuss shore excursions and other ideas there. Here is the link: Have a great trip! ~Nancy

@tymike No name sharing of PCCs either. Here is the text from the Cruise Critic Guidlines: "Touting of your personal cruise agent or cruise line "personal cruise consultant" (or any other venue by which you purchase a cruise) is not allowed on our message boards. Postings that contain "tell them John sent you" will be removed without notice. This means you should not ask about someone's travel agent, nor should you respond in kind. Offering to email someone your travel agent's name or info is also not allowed, nor is asking members to email you for the information." ~Nancy

In Tahiti and Moorea, taxis and small vendors usually will only take XPF (French Pacific Franc). Larger stores and hotels will take credit cards. I will get some XPF from my bank in the USA before leaving but there is an ATM at the Faa'a PPT airport and in Papeete and a couple of them on Moorea. ~Nancy

To those considering a Hurtigruten coastal voyage, be sure to also look at the newest coastal company which shares the same route as Hurtigruten. Havila Kystruten. I am booked on Havila for this June and chose it because the price was considerably lower than Hurtigruten at the time of booking. Havila offers a large/nice/new cabin. I have traveled on Hurtigruten and absolutely loved the trip but chose Havila this time for the reasons mentioned. I'm so excited to be going back to Norway! Havila homepage - Havila Voyages ~Nancy

Would people on the WC want to stay onboard even if the ship ends up speeding around Africa with only service ports? Would Crystal allow that? I think if allowed, and supplies could be restocked somewhere in the middle, I would want to stay onboard. I love sea days in general more than some people do; however, four weeks is a lot of continuous sea days! What do you all think? Stay on? ~Nancy

@Cruising on a Sunday afte I would guess that Hubbard Glacier will be the first dressy night and Juneau will be the second since it leaves port the earliest. It is never on the last night of the cruise. Did you book with a travel agent or Personal Cruise Consultant at HAL? If so, they can take care of asking for early fixed seating for your group. You will probably get a faster response from one of them than a general email. If you booked it online yourself then calling should get you the quickest results. Have fun in Alaska, I love the Nieuw Amsterdam (3 times on her to Alaska)! ~Nancy

@Nodrog2024 Welcome to Cruise Critic! Celebrity Apex has the Solarium with a swimming pool. I haven't cruised on Apex but that looks like a great spot to enjoy with the enclosed area even in the cold weather!! You will love Norway. Have a great trip! ~Nancy

Or, if your main priority is to see Northern Lights, you could look at doing a coastal ferry trip with Hurtigruten or Havila which goes all the way north to Kirkenes. It's not a traditional cruise though so be sure to read about what they offer. They don't go to Geirangerfjord in the winter though (Only June 1st through August 31st) ~Nancy

The other cruise lines I have been on all change the ship time to match port time. It seems so much less confusing that way. Why does Carnival do this with the ship time being different than the port time? They must have a reason, but I can't guess what it might be. ~Nancy

Thanks, but how much is the one day (5-6 hour) Half Moon Key drink package? I've seen the sign for it but have searched all over the board here and can't find it!! ~Nancy

Late seating has been at a couple different times lately so possibly 7:30 or 8pm. First dressy night is usually the first sea day. Please share your itinerary so we can be a little more specific with possible dressy nights. The dressy night info will not show until you are onboard on the navigator app or on "The Daily" information pamphlet. ~Nancy

@VMax1700 did you really mean 2013? I'm guessing it's more recent! ~Nancy

@Bailey & Sophie give it a try and if you have any questions let me know. I'll be up for quite a while here on the West Coast! ~Nancy P.S. I'll be in Minneapolis at the end of July heading to Grand Rapids!

Page 3 of your booking confirmation lists your HIA amenities. This is mine for Zuiderdam in May.

Your confirmation email will show which restaurants you have included in your HIA amenities. You can only book each one once under the HIA plan. Price isn't the factor to redeem HIA. Go into the HAL website and then to "Manage my Cruise" then click "Itinerary" in the upper left corner. It will show how many credits for dining and shore ex you have. Click on "Complementary Dining" and if the dining is available already for your cruise (usually about 4 or 5 months out) there you can book your date and times. It will put the booking in your cart as $0.00 cost. Be sure to complete in your cart! You will get an email confirmation right away.