olya1972

The "Have It All" promotion is currently 50 % off from regular price. It appears this sale will last till September 30th, 2022. For those who have experience with dealing with how HAL usually runs it's promos, is it likely not to be renewed post that date? (For example, NCL and Royal, the companies I am more familiar with, make "sale" claims every month but then continue extending same promotions.) I am watching a December 2022 Caribbean  cruise and trying to wait for better price (ship shows a lot of cabins availability), but I would really want "Have it All" promo at current rate. For that particular sailing without sale "Have it All" is a $1000 per person. Sale makes is $500 per person plus it includes crew appreciation. Thank You to all who can reply.

In Bermuda it is $50 for each day there ( even though it is one and the same port every day).

CollinIllinois, Thank You. That's exactly the info I was looking for. shanley, Thank you.

I am not booked yet. Can I still access that info? I couldn't find it.

What are the current prices for internet package on Escape for this coming summer?

Pokerpro5. Thank you again. Hope your health issues are better and you'll be sailing soon.

Thank you for the response. The cruise I am looking at is that to Bermuda from NYC during 4th of July week. As I understand, this is a popular cruise. However, yesterday was a final payment date and price for balcony cabins dropped $250 per person. Simultaneously, instead of " take five promos with balcony" they switched back to " take two promos with balcony cabin". Despite the drop, price is very expensive ( it's NCL Escape). I don't know what to do. On one hand we are day post final payment with $500 savings and numerous cabins show as available. On the other hand, it's a popular week and expensive itinerary. Should I wait for 90 days? If they decide to bring back " take all five promos with balcony cabin" promo for this sailing, will the price jump back up? What would you do?

What are the current price of Cagney's? Is it one set price ( cover charge) or is it alacart?

Now, that the final payment date is 120 days out, how does it change price drops? Is new 55 day mark becomes 90 days out?

What are current prices for pay as you go upcharge restaurants on NCL Escape? Thank you all who responds.

SRF and CynthiaRI, Thank You.

What about Day Beds? Are they located close to Cabanas or Bangalows? What's the lunch situation with day beds?

Just read through this thread. First of all, Thank You to the OP for providing the information. I have been cruising since 1995, but that's not all I do, so reminders of ever-changing rules and regulations are appreciated. In no way did the original post impressed me as accusatory or pity seaking,  but rather matter of fact informative post. However, the responses that immediately followed are atrocious. They are condescending, insulting, accusatory and mostly useless. The OP didn't ask a question, didn't ask for any advice and out of nowhere such a wave of blame, accusations, assumptions. I understand how incredulous OP must feel, so it's absolutely normal that OP would respond in defensive manner. Again would like to thank OP for posting this reminder as we are cruising in a week's time and will be aware of the trap.

To me GR was more like a real marine vessel while Anthem is more of a floating resort.

Thank you for your tips and thoughts. We are thinking to go to some park on day one. If we dock at 12 pm we should be in a park by 2-2:30 pm. We can stay till closing time. I need to do research how late parks are open and whether we can see fireworks at any of the parks in the evening. I made a mistake with dates. Day one is Sunday, 1/20/19. Day two is a holiday, MLK Day, Monday, 1/21/18. On day two we can go to Disney Springs. I wonder if there are any swimmable beaches this time of the year in Orlando area? Well, I guess lots of research needs to be done. Thank you, again.

We have been just informed that our mid-January, 2019 cruise will spend an extra day with overnight stay in Orlando, Fl. The ship will be in port from Monday, 12 pm till Tuesday, 8 pm (originally the ship was supposed to be in port on Tuesday only, 7 am to 7 pm). We have been to Orlando as a part of cruise stop few times. We did KSC when with all the kids and went to Animal Kingdom last February when our son was with us on a cruise. The first time we did tour of the canals where we saw dolphins and manatees and beautiful private homes facing the canals (or rather away from them). Come to think of it, I believe we have been to Orlando once more and took shuttle to the beach and surf shop area. Now, with practically two full days with a luxury of overnight stay Monday into Tuesday night, what should we look into doing? We can rent a car (for two days? or return back prior to boarding the ship on day one and rent again on day two? Is there even a place in port to park rented car overnight?) I would like to go see Downtown Disney just to browse the area shops and restaurants and I would want to do an attraction park but very worried about crowds, lines, etc. Originally I was considering SeaWorld because ship provides transportation there (for longer duration of time then their transport to Universal) and the park doesn't seem as overwhelming as some others.  Any advise on how to best structure the two days is appreciated. ( We are two adults travelling without kids, late 40's/early 50's, enjoy sightseeing, walking, nature/animals, good food and historical and cultural aspects of travel; don't enjoy crowds and active pursuits). Thank You all who respond.

18 hours ago, ScottC4746 said:

My last RCCL Cruise was December 2016 and you may have read my disappointed review regarding that cruise so I decided to try HAL April 2019.  Just made the final payment and am wondering if maybe RCCL isn't so bad after all.  I am on the young side of the HAL demographics but am Platinum (or is it Emerald which ever is lower) and only 10 nights away from the next level.  Sure things have changed drastically in the cruise industry since my first cruise in 1994 on RCCL, but the industry has HAD to change to keep up with society.  Class is not in the mainline cruises as it once and even the very high end cruises discourage formal black or white tie affairs now for simple.  This is not the 1930's anymore and I think this is just the way 21st Century cruising is now.  I also have to realize my status (in life not with RCCL) and while I am not quite down to Carnival or Norwegian, at least RCCL is a bit more affordable, and still takes me to some interesting ports.

Any constructive comments or opinions appreciated.

We did two cruises on HAL, both to Alaska (Osterdam in May, 2016 and Westerdam in May, 2018). We loved both of those cruises and the ships we sailed on are not the newest in the HAL fleet. Osterdam was just out of the dry dock and we got an up-sell to a suite ( we were four in a room with two teens, so that made sense financially and otherwise). Westerdam was supposed to go into dry dock during the time of our sailing, then the company cancelled those plans and created extra cruise to Alaska. The deal was great and we jumped on it. I was very worried about sailing on a ship that is sailing instead of being dry docked, plus it's being HAL (older, smaller ships) and reading all the reviews I was expecting the worst. Well, it was great. Everything was good, from the condition of the ship and room (regular balcony cabin), to food, to service and entertainment. HAL passengers, at least on Alaska itinerary, were not much older demographic then on our Anthem cruise last February (just fewer kids). Even though people say that entertainment ends early, there are much more food options (and good ones) available at much latter hours then on  the RCCL's ships we sailed. I don't know if lectures and such are of interest to you, but on the Alaska itinerary the enrichment program offered by the ship with lectures and documentaries was very interesting. I felt that overall the vibe on HAL was a little more sophisticated but not stuffy. We are few years your juniors (not by much), but we prefer quieter evenings with good food and drink. 

One of the aspects of HAL I liked was the overall feeling of being on a ship, whereas with RCCL and NCL it's more like being in a hotel / floating resort. Every cruise we went on, from the smallest, oldest ship in a fleet to the latest mega ships we enjoyed. We would't hesitate to book HAL again. (I did a short review on HAL Osterdam if you'd like to read it. I don't know how to attach it, but I am sure it can be found through my posts). BTW, what ship is it that you are sailing on ( and where to, Caribbean?)

One more small point. Someone above posted that HAL is for dead people. On our 2016 sailing we had two teens with us and they both liked the cruise. On the 2018 sailing we had only one of them with us and he still enjoyed the trip even though his siblings were not with him. He did mention to me after sailing on Westerdam that Anthem was "kinda more fun", but he surely didn't sound like it was all that vs HAL ship ( and as far as activities options on those two ships it is day and night). We would't hesitate to book HAL again (if the price is right).

Agents will adjust the price only if the drop is before final payment due date. After final payment date there are no adjustment. Also, as above poster said, the perks you get maybe decreased. For example, your $200 on board credit can go down about $25. You will have to monitor the prices drop yourself and then call the agency to do adjustment for you. After final payment date if there is a price drop and better cabin then yours costs same as you paid, you can try to get switched to such cabin for free. Again, you should monitor all of that yourself and be prepared to give your agent exact info. Agents give you the perks but that's the extent of what they do for you. If you are able to hold off on booking air tickets, you can take a gamble and wait till cruise line's final payment date then check daily for the next week. More likely then not, you will see drop in prices at this point. Then you call the agent to book. Between now and your dates in June the only sales I saw throughout the years will be around Memorial day which is too late for you because of the air. If I were you I would see what happens over Christmas/ New Year and if nothing then either book or gamble with post final payment date ( set by cruise line, not the agent. Agents final payment dates maybe a week or two earlier).

6 hours ago, boscobeans said:

I've been drinking coffee from every kind of place you can imagine for about 60 years and the coffee served on Royal Caribbean is equal to if not better than most of the stuff I have found.  

bosco

My sentiments exactly:) (5 cups daily from various venues in NYC)

1 hour ago, vacationlover_mn said:

It sounds nice!  What we are looking for is a beach with a pretty view, clean, relaxed vibe 🙂.  We don’t have kids, so we don’t need water toys.

Same here, so considering Milea resort day, maybe even Hilton by cruise port. Will see. On previous trips during winter months water was too cold for swimming. That's another reason I am hesitant to commit to cruise excursion to Blue Lagoon. We are sailing in January. BTW, water on private island was warmer on the same sailings ( too shallow?).

32 minutes ago, vacationlover_mn said:

We ended up just booking Pearl Island, since it seemed to have a better ocean view 🙂

Thank you. People say they love Pearl island, which I am sure you read about. Enjoy.

On 11/10/2018 at 7:30 AM, vacationlover_mn said:

Hmmm, I see the VIP package includes umbrellas...

Hi. Did you ever find out an answer to your question? We have booked this tour (Deluxe, not VIP) via RCI for upcoming cruise. Now when I started reading all the different descriptions of people's experiences on this forums, it appears that chairs are on availability bases, umbrellas are not included and, like you said, it's not clear whether they can be rented or not, and that there is no shade unless one is in VIP section. I am considering to cancel and just book a day in Melia instead. If you have additional info or any comments, I'd appreciate that. Thank You.

1 hour ago, drdisney77 said:

So I just booked a cruise a few days ago. As part of the promotion, it included 2 soda packages for the cabin. Is it possible to upgrade this to any other drink packages, or would I need to just purchase a separate package altogether ? 

The agencies I have booked through usually have a note that the perk/amenity received as a gift through them (TA) can be received in a form of board credit. Drink packages were never part of the amenities I have received. I would suggest that you call the travel agency and ask them if they can substitute the package with on-board credit. Then you can use those $ towards the package you want. The OBC (if they agree to it) will appear only once you are on board the ship, so you can use it only once on board. At that time any packages may cost more then a pre-cruise $ you would pay in cruise planner.

7 minutes ago, siempredescalzo said:

 

I admit I didn’t explore a TON but I did walk back to the tender instead of taking the tram back so I got a bit of a look at the other areas. I personally liked the area we were in, but I also prefer to go into the ocean to quickly cool off and not swim around or snorkel. This is a map of the island right now. The beach beds are on the far side in South Beach. It’s about a 10-15 min walk from beach bed area to tender, depending on pace. 

 

Thank you.

8 hours ago, siempredescalzo said:

 

I just got back last night from a trip on Enchantment that included Coco Cay where I had a beach bed. The thing I did that worked out amazingly was going to the excursion desk when I first got on and asked to choose my beach bed. They pulled out a map with the bed locations and you could pick which one you wanted from the ones that hadn’t been assigned. I went around 11:45 or noonish and only one other bed had been chosen at that point so I had great selection. You are right in that there are 2 rows of beach beds and the rear row doesn’t have an unobstructed view of the ocean like the first row does. I went with bed # 15 which was PERFECT because it was first row and close to the bar with only another bed on the right hand side of it. It wasn’t sandwiched in like some others were. This is a picture of our bed I took from the ocean and you can see how it seems a little more private than the others. 

Thank you. This is exactly the info I was looking for. If you don't mind, one more question. People write that the beach area where the beds are is very shallow and undesirable for some other reasons they list ( don't remember the details). Did you see other areas of the island? How does the bed location area compares?