crystalspin

214 days here, and I have bought new "personal items" for my husband and myself (even though we'll be driving to the port!), and this four-way tank to dress up for Gala nights:

I think you should do it "as a splurge". I have mind-of-its-own-wavy and very very short short hair (see my avatar) and know nothing about this treatment, but the others who answered are for it. I don't think trepidation about trying something new should stop you -- you're on a CRUISE!

1)Stewards (both cabin and dining) as well as behind the scenes people like cooks & kitchen "help", laundry workers, and even the lifeboat crew all share in the daily hotel charge. Bartenders and servers are tipped by the 18% added to drinks. Spa by their added gratuity which I think is more than 18%! Some people want to tip those they see or who have provided help above and beyond, some amount extra: US$ or Euros for cruises to a EU country would probably be easier for the recipients. Room service is handled by volunteers, who do so hoping for the chance of tips. US$1 for coffee service or $2-3 for a tray-full is my habit. Have the cash handy, as they do not linger! 2)as others have said, US/north American 110V and European 220V outlets are provided. There may be USB sockets near the bed. If you want to bring a 'splitter' or power strip, make sure it does not have surge protection; it is a fire risk with the ship's electric! 5)HAL's laundry service is very very good. You can write special instructions (even air-dry!) on the laundry slip. Unlimited is most convenient (understand that you pay for every day of your cruise not just days you use) and by-the-bag is probably most economical - it's a good-sized cloth bag you can really stuff with anything that fits. For cruises with either end in Europe, the rates WERE $9/day/cabin unlimited and $30/bag; they may have increased recently.

Just remember you can only get "Spend" points equal to the number of actual cruise days. With suite credit (that isn't an upsell), that makes the most you can get three times actual days.

MONGOLIAN BARBECUE LAMB CHOPS at the Tamarind comes with bok choy and I'll have a side of Asian eggplant. Favorite snack is the Frites with peanut sauce from GDC.

Ours told us the same! We went and bought a magnificent home! (This was in 2020, when our plans to travel in retirement were put on hold.)

The water is fine, right out of the tap, or for colder water, get from a bartender or the dispenser in the Lido/buffet. Use a glass to transfer to your own container if you are using one.

If we are flying, I do this even though we only have carryon luggage. Sometimes (in the past) 'they' have taken our bags because the passenger compartment was too full!

I think the process is the same as EM has said. If you don't have a travel agent, you might want to ask Princess for a liaison, which I think they call PVP (personalized Vacation Planner?). Carnival, Princess, and Holland America are all brands of Carnival Corporation, along with a few more lines! but they do some things quite differently. Your PVP (or TA I guess) would be a tremendous help if you were to encounter the situation where a combined voyage showed different availability than the two cruises individually. They would "call inventory" to determine (and orchestrate) the booking. The Military/First Responders OBC (at least on HAL) is per voyage. The Stock Ownership OBC is by length of booking and can go either way -- we did a B2B of 9+7 days that was not sold as a collectors cruise, so we received $100 x 2 OBC. If it HAD been booked as a 16-day cruise, the OBC would have been $250. However, the actual fares can also go either way -- more expensive combined, or not!

The Happy Hour deal simply does not apply to Beverage Package holders. The bar servers like to refer to the packages with "Every hour is happy!" or the like.

Right, forgot about that 'dilemma'. On last winter's B2B, we caught on and alternated handing our sail-cards to the server on our long afternoons in the Crows Nest! We would say, "Let me buy you a drink" and the server would laugh, but it saves them a few seconds to scan and print one card over two.

Once you are booked, open your booking and choose BEVERAGES in the blue banner near the top. Scroll to the bottom of the offerings and find the Beverage Cards in amounts $50/$100/$250. Use for non-alcoholic cheaper drinks. Note, neither EBP/SBP or Beverage Card will be used for water bought on the gangway exiting to a ShoreEx. Stock up some water or fill your own bottle from the tap or dispenser in the Lido (using a glass to transfer). Honestly, we have had the SBP on several cruises and never maxxed out.

Air New Zealand: The sum of length, width and height of each piece must measure less than 46.5 inches. The "points guy" says that's 21.7 by 15.7 by 9 inches. And as you know, 10kg for PE passenger. The total dimensions are actually larger than US domestic airlines state -- and are starting to enforce. 22 by 14 by 9 inches = 45". The idea that US has lax-er requirements comes from the stated size(s) not being enforced, and luggage companies pushing the limits by not including wheels and handles! I thought 10kg (22lb) total for rollaboard and personal item, was very very light when we flew on Norwegian Air -- I literally weighed every single item on my utility/kitchen scale! But researching current requirements I see that's now the most common for European/international airlines. And some are less -- 7kg would be worth upgrading to PE! Although I probably could do it on Holland America, now that we've acheived 4*s (free laundry). Funny thing about getting the bags down to the ounce for Norwegian Air is: they didn't weigh us! Maybe it was because I lifted my larger bag with two fingers???

It's very close to the passage to an outside deck! Good for viewing in the Canal, and for ducking back inside when the muggy heat gets to you. If you're good with the forward location on the parts of the cruise NOT in the Canal... It may be 'rockier' than midship.

The TA's that post or advertise are sponsors of CC, posting one's own TA would be competing with sponsors. That's how I understand it. Also, welcome to Cruise Critic!

@travelhome I went to look at available cabins, and the HAL website shows the entire ship sold out! Maybe you have found a travel agent with some rooms blocked out?

Agree with the Zaandam choice and the location of the Lower Promenade deck - either inside or Oceanview. Steps from the biggest balcony on the ship! Just beware of cabins under the main galley (the blank white area between midship and aft elevator banks on Deck 4); they are noisy day and night! As far as the itinerary being too "aggressive" or busy. You are not required to do a activity at every port! Pick the ports you don't want to miss a scenic or historic drive, and pick some others to take a short walk or even to stay on the ship and have the Crow's Nest mostly to yourselves.

Hi sailing canary! Has your trip happened? We kind of hijacked your thread with excitement over new "personal item" totes. If you've travelled, how did it go? If you haven't yet, I will put in my two pence viz my system.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/32-cunard-line/ https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2930690-sept-5-2023-ft-lauderdale-to-barcelona-qe/

It's a blessing and a curse!

I am guessing the children were in one cabin and the parents in another, NON-connecting room. As there are no connecting obstructed rooms (and no quads there either), on the O'dam. There is more than one reason minors cannot book a cabin by themselves. Guess also the muster "drill" (video) was not paid attention to and the children coached on it. The good news is, there was not an actual emergency to be responded to so inappropriately.

@The O Mariners Bill reminded me -- on the Koningsdam (sister to Rotterdam) my phone would drop signal in the Crows Nest, not constantly but repeatedly. Our cabin midships Deck 4 was steady for both phone and laptop. The most reliable public location was the Grand Dutch Cafe -- across the attrium from Front Desk! This was before StarLink was installed; do not know if specific locations will be improved now, as well as better speed/bandwidth.

Oops, I get it -- the Mods moved it between my opening the post and my posting the link!

Do you have any family member that would like to cruise with you?

There is also this board to browse: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/386-florida-departures/