MR NW GUY

I've often wondered if there's an underground data base maintained by stewards listing the deadbeats, so they're known on boarding day! ;)

Yes, I bet there is and they must have several nick names for them...

Cheap Cruisers

I was on a port intensive HAL cruise in Europe last month. Every day the 60, 70 and 80-somethings were up at 6 a.m., meeting up with tour groups and walking miles, seeing the sites, exploring,,,,,sometimes walking over rocky surfaces and climbing lots of stairs. They did this day after day in every port. It was exhausting, but lots of fun.

 

A few years back, I was on a RCI cruise in Mexico with a ship full of 30-somethings who managed enough energy to get drunk and sunburned every day.

 

I'll take the old-fogies on HAL.

Great post!

Has anyone noticed the look on a crew members face when you mention the words "Cruise Critic?"

If you are signed up for a meet and greet.... THEY KNOW!

What did i win??????? A cruise???????? :)

Sorry... I already won. See post #64.

Humor folks....

I guess there is a real mix of feelings about security onboard a ship. I fail to see the big deal posting a Cruise Critic sign with your name on your door.

Take a look at the roll calls... I see many people posting their names, city, and room numbers there.

Be safe....

Is there a question here?

Age, bookings, stamina .... and wine policy?

I just don't understand what this thread is about.

As you know, HAL's new carryon wine policy limits each guest to "1 bottle of wine not to exceed 750ml ".

 

I recently sent a letter to HAL Predident & CEO Stein Kruse asking him for clalification and if I could carryon 3 splits of champagne or 2 half bottles of champagne as long as the total does not exceed 750ml.

 

To HAL's credit, I have received a quick response from Christine Ferris, Senior Advisor, Office of the President.

 

The respose to me states, " ..." so far as they do not exceed 750 ml total, you should have no concerns. In addition, we have made the ms Eurodam aware of this for your ..... sailing, .... ".:)

 

Thought others might be interested.

Do you think you will ever hear from Mr. Kruse? or just the assistant?

Seems like all of my port web cams are down this morning! Is it just me?

My Links are working...

Just got off the Nieuw Amsterdam and was astonished to see a 25 cent charge to print out a boarding pass. So after paying outrageous rates for under-performing internet, HAL wants another quarter to print out your boarding pass. Give me a break!

Welcome to the HAL Boards....:rolleyes:

We no longer print our boarding passes much to the dismay of the airline. We either use their kiosk in the airport or a app on our I-phones.

.25-cents does seem a little silly and I do understand where you are coming from.

This whole fee thing around internet use and printing is interesting. Cheap hotels provide free internet and printing. The more expensive hotels only offer free internet in the lobby and charge when you are in room.. Go Figure!

Maybe the new wine policy will improve revenue enough that HAL can provide some free printing?:eek:

This past summer - only two ships in port. Limited customs. No apology signs however.

Sure....

The Westin Diplomat in Hollywood Beach is our favorite.

Hello OP -

For us, the pre-cruise experience is at least 1-day, but usually more. When departing from Fort Lauderdale, we love to take advantages of the wonderful beach resorts Fort Lauderdale has to offer.

So far the ships we have been on still have a bottle of cheap champagne in the Suite Cabins.

Health Insurance -- sure does go up and up. Pensions are locked in and Social Security is going up only slightly.

I have been able to have the champagne switched out for a bottle of wine by just asking.

Why not sail Crystal where every thing is included?

Crystal is something I need to try sometime! I think the promo is also targeting a different market. Notice the child... Maybe the older crowd is not spending enough to keep catering to them.

What you don't see in this photo is that I'm in a wheelchair, so I fit right in on HAL :)

They won't look like you! I still think RCL and NCL would use your Mug...

Not that I think we look like people in the HAL ads, but the first thing that came to mind when I saw this photo of us from our cruise last November was it looked like an ad. Of course, without my beautiful wife in the photo it would be just another boring photo :)

 

Great pic for a RCL or NCL Ad.... Def not HAL

Being a big fan of Boston terriers . (I have 2 myself) Thats a cute picture. Not as handsome a fella as my Jeter :) But very cute.

 

Of course you would never get that outfit on either of my dogs *LOL*

 

 

DD tried to dress them up for Halloween one year and it was a dismal failure .

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Sure -

We were in 1718 - one of the two Sky Lofts. I enjoyed the suite as it was extremely quiet and private. The entire loft requires a Key Card to get in. The service and attention was really special. I do have to admit that it was so high up that I did not feel real connected with the ocean. The pools, concierge lounge, and Central park was very convenient. The loft did provide a nice get away...

Our first was on the MS Westerdam for our honeymoon. We became hooked, and have cruised every year. We are now cruising multiple times a year (3 times this year, same for next).

Like your name here....

NCL Skyward 1973

Just a quick update - I emailed Value trips this morning as I had heard nothing, and they responded within 4 hours. They did indeed send me a confirmation on the 4th, but my email must have rejected it, treating it as spam.

Sigh of relief!:)

Oh, I am so happy for you! I am glad it is resolved.:rolleyes:

I can't honestly say I have mixed emotions or thoughts about a cruise on Oasis or Allure as I can't say I'm not at least a bit curious either. Our vacation time is precious to us as Mrs. K, who by the way is a Federal employee and just this afternoon got called back to work, still works and we just have so much time and other resources to cruise. Spending the time and money for a " curiosity cruise" on one of the mega ships just isn't in the plans any time soon but still... We love the smaller ships and as it is we don't even like the Vista class all that much and haven't ever seriously considered a Signature ship. We're back on a very small....actually tiny even compared to HAL R and S class....ship next year and very excited about it. :D The thought of descending on some small island or port with 5,400 +/- other passengers doesn't hold much allure or sound like an oasis to me. :rolleyes::D

Hey Randy -

Yea, the Oasis and Allure are very different than anything HAL has to offer. When we want to get away and do not much, then HAL is a good choice. Our trips on the Allure and the Oasis have included adult children and friends! We have enjoyed an Owner's Suite, Crown Loft Suite and most recently the Aqua Theater Suite. All are amazing and different experiences.

The suite amenities are pretty amazing. Happy hour in the Concierge lounge includes all the liquor and wine you want! No need to haul your own and race back to your room and pour refills (you know who you are).

Another fun experience is to have "dinning room" menu room service for breakfast, lunch or dinner. White table cloth dinning on the balcony - a great way to dine.

Shows include broadway productions, intimate comedy clubs, Ice shows, traditional shows!

I too love smaller HAL ship experience too.

Check it out and let me know if you have any questions. There are also a lot of open minded people on the RCI boards who will also share their experiences.

Don't let the narrow minded and uniformed rain on your desire to consider another experience.

CHEERS!

I submitted October 2nd, and have heard nothing. I am a bit concerned seeing as they have all my credit card info. Should I be worried? Evidently they did not accept my booking, but you would think they would at least inform me of that.

Oh my....

I hope this gets resolved quickly for you. And, yes they should have informed "you".

Cheers!

We've been in both the SA and SC-aft-wrap Neptune Suites on the Vista Class ships (Oosterdam and Zuiderdam) and found the SA suite was slightly larger to accommodate the larger queen-size sofa bed when it is opened. Yes, there is a bit more space and while the SA will take four cruisers, the SC will only handle three. If you are just two people (as we are) the size difference from SA to SC is insignificant when you see the size difference in the balconies.:D Zuiderdam 5191 has a balcony of over 400 square feet. I measured it.

 

There are different sizes to the aft-wraps as well and you should take care when making your selection. We booked our upcoming Noordam cruise over 18 months out so we could select our specific aft-wrap. Yes, we did mark our booking "NO UPGRADE".:)

 

One of the CC members has (in the past) posted a listing of the size of each of them to help us out.

 

Unfortunately for we aft-wrap lovers, HAL has seen the light and raised their prices on these cabins starting on various dates in 2014.:(

The only cabin better than an aft cabin wrap cabin on HAL is a Aqua Theater Suite on the Oasis or Allure...

Darn.... the 2014 price increases! Maybe we should start stating how much soot lands on the furniture. Or how bad the noise is from the Lido Deck. Or how bad the vibration is on the stern. Or the LONG LONG walk to the Neptune lounge.... There are so many reasons to not raise the prices! :rolleyes:

Prinsendam's Neptune Lounge has wndows and a verandah but, frankly, who needs windows in a Neptune Lounge. :confused:

 

Our cabins are always just across from Neptune and we have Plenty of windows in our a suite and very comfortable verandah. We don't spend hours sitting in Neptune. :)

 

We go in and get what we want, may chat for a few minutes with people we see there and return to our cabin unless I want to use the WiFi there. That signal is sometimes better than the one in our cabin.

 

 

 

Clever! and well said... I never connected "Neptune" to no windows.

Approx $30 a day pp extra is a good deal for the added luxuries.

I think it really is about the added space. The Neptune lounge does not even have windows.