DesertRat46

Have only 2 Princess cruises, 1997 & 1999. About 12 HAL cruises since then Considering another Princess cruise in January. Wonder if I'm still in the system?

Well, they could at least upgrade to St Michele, What they "give" isn't even good enough for a Mimosa!

I know you can't mention of refer specific agents or firms, but I have a question I think can be answered. Since my first cruise more than 20 years ago I used a couple of TAs in my hometown. With COVID they have all retired and the agencies closed. I have use a HAL PCC for several cruises since traveling started again. I have been generally satisfied but... Reading post on this site has made me wonder if I might be able to get more perks or a better deal with a TA. The nearest "live" TA is more than 100 miles away. I'm just looking for opinions and options now. Thanks in advance for thoughts.

Because we had a late flight into Montreal (8:30 p.m.) we just stayed at a Hilton property nearby. Took a cab and dropped our bags as soon as allowed and spent several hours sightseeing.

Did this cruise pre-pandemic and the weather was perfect. The Captain said it was the best weather he had ever had on that route, Even Port Stanley was easy ,,,,except for the totally hosed up tender process. We too missed our booked tour. But we did ok with walking a local cab. Would love to go back, but this time on HAL or Princess for more time in the area.

We did a 3 day trip on our own after a Celebrity cruise before the pandemic. It's a trip not to be missed if you are already in country. We made our own air and hotel reservation and hired a guide for a lot less than Celebrity wanted. The only time it was really misty wet was in the Devil's Throat area. Hard to keep camera lens dry.

That should be OK. In October we got off the Westerdam and it was smooth sailing out to SeaTac with Uber in time for an 1130 flight.

When we were on the Westerdam last year we liked the table we got the first night and asked if we could keep it the entire cruise and the staff made that happen.

Anyone on CC attempted to book the new stand-by cabin? It seems to me that you are most likely to get an insider cabin/ Hope to learn from experienced cruisers.

We used Ubrer from airport hotel to FLL cruise terminal with no problem last spring.

All I can tell you is that on my late September Alaska cruise on the Westerdam the drinks you signed for in the Neptune Lounger were charged to your shipboard account at the regular price. It would be great if they were part of Have It All, but on this cruise and a previous cruise using Have It All in a Neptune lounge it didn't work that way. Be great if HAL changes that.

Access to the Neptune Lounge is the big perk. Snacks available, a nice place to sit and read/relax and a very helpful staff. Drinks are available, but not part of any beverage package. And, of course the bigger cabin,

There is a Holland America cruise Boston to Rotterdam, it's roundtrip, but you can book just one way. Think is in March of 2025.

My birthday was off by 1 day when I checked in at the port for my last cruise, but the person at the desk corrected it. Now I have to check and see if it was fixed for future cruises,

Have never tried dropping luggage that early, but frequently drop it about 10 am when the porters are there and then gone on to enjoy the port until boarding time. We usually board around 2-3 pm.with no problems.

We did this in 2019 and it was a great experience. While you do not "set foot" on Antarctica, you will not regret doing it. We happened to have great weather, the Captain said it was some of the best h he had experienced there, so saw lots of wildlife, ice bergs, etc. Do it!

Never tried boarding early, but have often waited until an hour past the "assigned" time and found the lines shorter. Depending on the port, can enjoy a nice lunch ashore and board when assigned or later,

In March, 2025 HAL's Oosterdam is spending 2 nights here. What are the top shore excursion ideas?

We did a trans-pacific to Japan on the Millie prior to the pandemic and it was a great cruise on a well-maintained ship. Great crew. Not likely to go back just because of flight time from Asia to US or US to Asia.

For our fall 2022 cruise it was not enforced that I could tell. However, we don't like to board too early, so it might have been at the start of the proess.

My tux stays home, but I do wear a sport coat (no tie) on the dressy nights. On my last TA, Celebrity, there were maybe 5 men with a tux and maybe 50% with a sport coat, and very few ties, More women were dressed for dinner.

With HAL & Celebrity (at least last year) if you have the drink package in Canadian and Alaska ports, there has never been a tax charged, So I'm guessing the cruise lie just absorbs the cost.

Thanks - I think it was just HAL's IT team at work again. Today I can see cabin choices,

Is it now impossible to book anything other than a guarantee cabin? I looked a several spring 2024 cruises and none of them appeared to allow you to select a cabin. I looked at oceanview, balcony and suites and only thing that popped up was the guarantee. Is this a new HAL policy? if so, it's not one designed to get my future business.

Hope this was a one-off cruise for X. We were on this ship in April and ate in the MDR most nights with a much better variety than reported by the OP. If this is to continue across the fleet, i guess we'll do a lot more business with HAL.