Banditswife

We have the very same itinerary Dec 3-10. Don't be surprised if KWest is changed to Bimini Bahamas especially if there is another ship in port that day. Ours was changed from KW to Bimini. Speculation on our roll call was that KWest doesn't want that much cruise ship traffic. Gr Cayman & HMC are definitely tender ports. Last visit to HMC, tendering went very quick & smooth, seems like that depends on how many ships there are that day. Have fun

Agree with Cruiser Bruce--we have been on 1 HAL & 3 CCL cruises since the restart. Both lines are doing the safety briefing on your in room TV, then you go check in at your muster station where they scan your room card. Both lines made it very quick & easy. We enjoyed being able to unpack our luggage while watching the safety talk. Such an improvement over standing out on deck in a huge crowded group. Just remember, you do need to make sure your key card is scanned- I think they only need to scan 1 card from each cabin.

I am not sure how to figure out the voyage #, sorry. The voyage

Thank you for this review. It got mixed reviews on the HAL web site. We have this tour booked for our Nov cruise. Had been to Amber Cove previously & didn't want another pool day this trip, but also didn't want to break the bank. I am glad you had a good tour.

We do have Tamarind & Pinnacle reservations with our HIA pkgs- 2 bookings on NS Nov 26- Dec 10. But I will definitely get my sweet tooth satisfied with a cookie from Gr Dutch Cafe. And if we are tired from a busy day ashore, we might just do the $15 filet from Pinnacle. But we usually enjoy the company of others in the MDR or Lido.

I will have a cookie in your honor. LOL Thanks

I love all your menu pgs, easy to read & make decisions. So the things that have no $ amount beside them are "included?" If I read that correctly? Much larger selection than Carnival

I know the web page says " no shorts" on cruise casual nights, but it didn't seem like anyone was enforcing that on our last cruise. I guess capri length pants are ok for ladies. Hubby would also enjoy wearing a pair of dress shorts, especially in the Caribbean or warm climates.

Crew News web pg is a good resource, it appears the menu changes each night. We have only sailed HAL 2x previously, usually sail Carnival. Room service is "included" on HAL with no fees attached? We would tip the delivery person, but no fee other than that? I ask this because Carnival does has some "included" room service items, but very limited selection. Pizza delivery now has a charge attached & several other items that were at one time no charge, now have a cost attached to them.

I agree, what you hear/ learn from HAL web pg or rep differs from what actually happens on the ship.

We have used texting & emails while on board using the ship's WIFI. Yes very slow, but ok to check in with my pet sitter. On a Carnival ship, we got an emergency message from 1 of our adult kids, but couldn't figure out exactly what it was saying. So we went to guest services & the person working there allowed us to make a quick phone call to home for free. It really helped ease our worry being able to talk to them.

I had to go look for the date we booked our cruises. It appears we made full payment on 05/06/2022. And none of our documents say "kicker" offer. We were offered $200 per person. So hopefully we can use our OBC for gratuities, but if not, we will deal with it.

We found shore ex in the "crows nest" area last Oct on N Amsterdam. As other's said, it was easy to miss.

impatiently waiting here as well for Nov 26, Dec 3.

Luggage weight: we invested in a small luggage weigher. So far it has been pretty accurate. We pack our bags to be about 45-48 lbs by our weigher thing & have never had an over weight bag. It packs very easily into a suitcase or carry on, so that we can weigh our bags before setting them out the night before disembarkation.

Oct 2021, boarding the N Amsterdam in Seattle, we had a later boarding time, but walked right onto the ship around 11-IIRC. Very easy, quick. Now that they are not required to check vaccinations & covid testing, I would think it would be even faster. It all depends on how quickly the ship gets cleared from previous cruise.

I am not sure about your cruise, but ours - N Statendam from Pt Everglades 11/26 - says all on board by 2PM. They have moved the sail away time up to 3 PM. We are going to try for a little earlier than 11:30.

Agree: here is my math- HIA pkg is $350 per person for a seven day cruise. When you calculate $100 shore ex credit, $45 specialty dining credit, Low level WIFI $20 (value to me)- then you are left with $185 for drinks over the course of 7 days. Will I spend approximately $25-$30 per day on drinks like coffee, soda & non alcoholic beverages? Yes, plus I might experiment & try things I might not have otherwise tried.

Thank you for your review. I agree with most of your review. We are an older couple & have only been on HAL 2x, but both were longer cruises- 19 &21 days. Both on N Amsterdam. These 2 points you made are spot on. Hate those horrible circus type tents they try to sell you, bad decision HAL. They detract from the over all beauty of the ship. Crew: we found the crew to be awesome on N Amsterdam this past Oct, 2021. Especially in the Lido/Seaview Pool area. There was 1 crew member out there every day, knew our names & what we wanted to drink, even if that was a cup of coffee. He brought it out with the best attitude I have ever experienced on a ship. We hope to find a similar crew member on our upcoming N Statendam.

I am hoping we can use our OBC for crew appreciation. I was told by a HAL rep we couldn't. I am hoping you frequent cruisers/posters are correct. We have $200 OBC pp for each of our 7 day cruises coming up. My question is, will they deduct the $15.50 per day from our OBC individually? Or deduct $31 per day from 1 account.

For the past few cruises I packed my own coffee creamers. Most coffee I have had from any lido machine is way too strong for me. I add hot water & my favorite creamer to make it tolerable. This works for iced coffee too. Fill my own tumbler w/ ice from lido then add the strong coffee & my cream. I agree about the lower category cabin, we don't spend much time there anyway, so why pay for a balcony or a suite when an inside is much less expensive. Now if they offer us a good deal on an OV or higher, sure we will take it. Also depending on where you are going, sometimes the benefits from a veranda are worth the cost. Laundry: we are Platinum on Carnival, so laundry is included. But on HAL, we use the "by the bag option." We can pack much lighter knowing we will have it sent out 1-2x per every 7 day of the cruise.

We keep an eye on our onboard spending by checking our balance at least daily. We try to keep to a budget that we set forth prior to cruise. For our upcoming cruises we bought the HIA pkg. Even though we are not big alcohol drinkers, we felt it was a good value for the $50 per person per day. Even though going to casino can be costly & wasteful, it does seem that generates future cruise offers. So we play a bit, keeping to our budget.

None of us want to get sick. Hopefully none of us want to pass an illness to someone else. We do what we can to protect ourselves & others around us. The seasonal flu, norovirus, covid are not going away any time soon. So do what you think is best for yourself- if that means staying avoiding cruise ships, then do that. We do what we can to protect ourselves & still enjoy life.

We have cruised since April- 7 days in Sept & are cruising 14 days in Nov-Dec. We use common sense & caution. Wear masks when recommended, keep to ourselves, frequent hand washing. I will not hide inside my house for the rest of my life. Covid will be around for a long long time. It is now about like the seasonal flu.

We were on a longer 17 day cruise this past April, 2022. All passengers were required to be vaccinated & boosted. We were required to do a pre cruise covid test & then were tested a 2nd time in the terminal. Masks worn by crew members & highly recommended for passengers. There was an out break, I am assuming Covid due to rumors. No announcement was made, but a mask requirement was implemented. Red bags along hallways indicating quarantined guests. Rumors were flying like crazy. But there must have been an outbreak among crew, because service became slow & sporadic. Crew could not keep up with the food demands of the quarantined guests. People saying they had called for room service & either couldn't get through or it never arrived. We later found out it was a covid outbreak, the people who were doing B2Bs had to be tested prior to the next voyage & a bunch of them tested positive.