silversneakers

2 hours ago, Tudy said:

That message is exactly what I get when everyone does not have the same TA or is in a different country.

 

Here is what I have done and what I would recommend: Now that you are linked, you can purchase anything you want to anyone you want. You just have to pay for it. Purchase (If you know that they will repay you) specialty dining for everyone for the same place at the same time. Then you can call at your convenience and have the reservations combined. Or you can just go to the maitre D of the restaurant when you board and ask to be seated together.

Thank you.  The issue has been resolved directly with RCCL via TA.

Well that was "fun" trying to book specialty dining for 8 people on my account.  Here is the message I received and neither is  true.   I understand it was 1 1/2 hour wait for a RCCL call contact???

 "Because these guests have a different booking currency or group ID, they must make their own reservations"

3 hours ago, HxFx said:

I'm scheduled to do this next week. I'll try to remember to come back and let you know!

THX

19 minutes ago, Tudy said:

The cruise does not need to be paid in full, but you will need to pay for all the people for whom you make reservations. You will need each reservation number, the last name of one person on the reservation and that person's birth date. This will link your reservations and then you can (usually) make reservations for everyone. If one party has booked in a different currency or in a different TA's group you will not be able to make reservations for everyone as a group.

 

You might be able to make reservations for everyone if you call.

Thank you.  That info is exactly what I needed.

When booking specialty dining, it states you can book for up to 8 guests.  Do you have to provide booking #'s and names for all guests when reserving? Also, must your cruise be paid in full prior to booking specialty dining?  

Anyone experienced the Chefs Table on Allure and, if so, did you think it was worth the money?

How do you pre-book on line dining reservations for large groups or link reservations together??

On 10/26/2023 at 6:24 AM, travellovers2 said:

Hello! We're looking at the Central Park cabins on Allure, but the only ones available now, for the sailing we're considering, are on deck 14. We already had the experience on another ship where we had cabins right below the pool deck area and were awaken in the early morning when staff was dragging lounge chairs around.  

 

How noisy are the Central Park area cabins below the pool area on Allure? 

 

Thank you for your help! 

You can look at cabin tool checker for different ships and the cabin location.

On 10/21/2023 at 1:18 PM, kristapb said:

I used some AARP gift cards to book a Celebrity cruise; it was really convoluted and convinced me I never want to buy them again.  As opposed to HAL gift cards, which you can apply easily online to any cruise booking.  I really hope they loosen the crazy requirements for the AARP ones, which seemed to be more restrictive than the ones you buy direct from Royal.

Actually I purchased AARP Holland America gift cards for my last cruise (Oct. 22) and had no issue as I gave them to my Personal Cruise Planner for input.  However, I just purchased some RCCL gift cards to AARP and you cannot apply them directly as they have to be emailed to a specific address and they stated it can take up to 10 days to be applied to your account???

What is the best restaurant on the Allure for a family celebration of 10 people?

On the coast between Cocoa Beach and Vero Beach.  Not much except tropical winds and light rain here on the coast.  Beach erosion will be the biggest issue from what I can gather. 

Also note that CO is only refundable IF you have a refundable fare and have to cancel. Another good reason to have insurance.

On 11/2/2022 at 8:06 PM, mizLORInj said:

We are two friends who have cruised many times on various cruise lines.   We wanted to check out Virgin Voyages.  Flew to Miami the evening before cruise departure and stayed at the Holiday Inn Port Miami.  Comfy bed, nice room; old worn out bathroom, though the toiletries were nice.   They offer a breakfast buffet which was good.  Across the street, the Bayside shopping area was a good place to wander and get a drink or eat.   Enjoyed the Mojito Bar and had an awesome lobster roll at Mason's.  Note the gratuity is built into the bill you will get at some of these restaurants. Hopefully next time in town we can do the ferris wheel for about $20 per person.  Many touristy things like boat rides are here.   Liked this area a lot. 

 

Took Uber to the port for about $10 including tip.  Our check-in time was 1:45 and we arrived just after 1:30.   Walked right up to the door (no line) and a lady asked if we are on the VIP list.   Did not know if we were, so she checked and our names were there!  This was due to cruise line loyalty level matching--we are diamond on Royal Caribbean so we got VIP Sea Rover status on Virgin.  (You needed to provide proof of your level in advance, which we did.  I believe this perk is only valid through this year-end.)  Went up the escalator to a check-in desk, then through security and up to the waiting area which was full by this time.   If people would put their luggage aside, there would be seating for more people.  Called boarding group 1 (Sea Rover perk) at 2pm and onboard we went.  Dropped our carryon at our sea terrace cabins on deck 13 port side aft.   Our two side-by-side cabins were between mid and aft elevators.   

 

Cabins were nice and pleasantly appealing.  I think this was the smallest bathroom I've yet seen on any ship.  More eye-level storage shelves and a place to hang hand towels would have been good.  Yet, I was thrilled there was no "toilet paper helmet."  You know, the metal piece many places have on the toilet paper roll.  So unsanitary.  Yuck.  The shampoo, conditioner and body wash were surprisingly good.   There is a rain showerhead and also a hand-held that shoots such a hard spray it could cause injury.  Not to mention get all over the bathroom.   Back in the cabin, hangers and some shelves can be hidden by a curtain, and there is a safe and some more shelves and some rather useless shallow drawers too.   Our fabulous cabin stewardess, Batania, showed us how everything worked.  It was disappointing that my balcony had one peek-a-boo partition, but we were told these are all being replaced to be solid for privacy.  We were able to have the partition between our balconies open for some of the cruise.  The hammock was great!   Tablet in my cabin did not work a few times.  Many movies on the tv and a few news channels.  We missed having a navigation channel showing where we are, where we're going, wind, temp, etc.  Also we missed the bridge cam to watch while coming into port.  I  heard my neighbors' tv several nights which I don't usually hear on other ships.  Did not like that we could not turn off balcony lights at night!  Way too bright out there.  Also could not tell if what I was seeing through the curtain was daylight in the morning or balcony lights.   

 

We were told my several crew members that this sailing had around 1,000 passengers.  We learned from chatting with people that many were first time cruisers.   

 

We did have occasional wifi connection issues with their app, so Virgin has not resolved that ongoing issue. 

 

Wandered the ship and found a few places we really liked.   Soon it was sailaway time so we headed to the pool area to get our champagne, and found a cute spot to sit for the cruise out of the channel.  

 

While I don't recall which shows were which night, we went to Never Sleep Alone which is run by a sex therapist we were not familiar with, Ashley something.  It was entertaining to the point where my face hurt from laughing.   We chose to be "not adventurous" so we were not seated in the area from which she chose audience participation.   I did learn to use "2 statements, 1 question" to speak with people, so I did learn something!  

 

The other shows were just ok.   A production show is missing from this ship.   No comedians either.   The acrobatics show in The Red Room was very good.  I heard that people enjoyed the parties by the pool various nights.

 

Lots of cool places for picture taking around the ship.   Love their unique spaces.   Walk each deck from 6 and above from bow to stern to check everything out.  

 

Service for the most part was good and most crew seemed happy.   A few at Sailor Services were not very helpful.  Wrong position for those people!

 

We ate at all the restaurants except Pink Agave.  Test Kitchen was the one we were most unsure of, yet it was the one we liked best.  Our server Valentina was excellent.   We were not dazzled by Razzle Dazzle.  The servers tried but it just wasn't to our taste.   Extra Virgin we had heard negative comments about the service, but our server (so sorry I forgot her name) was really good.   The potato gnocchi was the best gnocchi I have ever had, but the pasta I thought should have been more tender and the bolognese sauce was scarce in the dish.  Sea bass was delish.   The Galley was good for breakfast items and even has breakfast all day.  Best bacon at sea.  Be sure to check out all the stations so you don't miss anything.   Loved the ice cream place and had a cone every day.  Pizza was good too.   Different bars have different drinks, and all of the cocktails I ordered were $11.   Some places close at odd times like mid-afternoon which is unlike other cruise lines that always have a few food venues open.   Check the daily paper that you can pick up from the Galley or Sailor Services for timing, or check the app, which may or may not be working for you!   The paper is not left in your cabin like other lines do. 

 

There are lots of great outdoor spaces at the stern (aft).   The only forward viewing area is part of Richard's Rooftop, so for anyone not in a suite, you have no forward viewing, which I did not know or like.   Lots of seating spaces along deck 7 on port and starboard, and a great outdoor place at the stern.  Also had very good small plates you order from a server.   

 

The officers wear regular crew clothing, so make sure you read their nametags to see their position.  We chatted with a few and all were nice and quite informative.  I did miss seeing what country crew come from as that is not on their nametags.

 

I had heard about all these secret parties, so I asked one of the entertainment staff we ran into about them, and her response was "ooh, the best way to NOT get invited is to ask about them" which I thought was a rather guest-unfriendly response.  Never mind, we didn't care.  

 

There are no broadcast announcements.  Nothing that tells you the ship's cleared in the ports or to leave.   Also, we noted that several people who debarked with us did not know they needed to keep their ship bracelet out for their final scan.   That kind of info would be helpful--maybe a First Time Cruisers event to inform them how it works.  

 

Ports.  

Puerto Playa in DR.   We took a ~15 minute taxi to Playa Dorada for $35 r/t per person, and taxi stayed with us a few hours till we wanted to go back to the ship.  Very nice beach, and on this Sunday it was full of family get-togethers which was nice to see.  Cheap drinks and eats at a few places here.   2 chairs and an umbrella were $20. 

 

Bimini.  Wow.  Took the ship-provided shuttle for the short (couple miles) ride to the resort.  2 huge pools, tons of seating, loungers and umbrellas on the beautiful beach.  There was some seaweed early in the day, but such soft sand.  Would love to go here again.   It was a unique lunchtime menu that I liked with a few curried dishes, but I heard others' comments about beach fare.  (Royal Caribbean does a great job with food options on Coco Cay.) There was also a 3pm barbeque which I forgot to check out so I cannot comment on it.  Bars here and you can use your cruise bracelet to pay, as well as water and self-serve soda.  Small hammocks were so nice to relax in.   Really liked it here.  Next time will make a later dinner ressie so I can stay on the beach longer. 

 

Missed having a sea day before the cruise ending.   Love that last sea day.  

 

Debarkation began a bit after 7:30am and we made our way out.  There was a line at passport check though which we are no longer used to since Bayonne (Cape Liberty in NJ) and NYC both use facial recognition.   Got an Uber to the airport and luggage was checked by 8:30am!  

 

We really enjoyed the cruise.  Wanted to try out this new line for ourselves and we are glad we did.  Virgin does a great job in some ways.  We thought their nightly entertainment was a little lacking--at least compared to other cruise lines.   Food was superb.   Ship was beautiful.   Could have used some doors that were sensor-opening as a few times both guests and crew had a hard time with plates or carts opening the doors.   

 

We will sail with Virgin again.   We will also keep sailing with other cruise lines because we like variety!

Nice review.  What was the age span of the passengers?  It seems geared more to younger people rather than seniors.  Any topless areas on the ship?  

2 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

 

We used to do this....We kept clothes that we said were "one more times" and we used them for our travels and then would just throw them away as we traveled......works well with holes in the undies...LOL...never mind what mother said....LOL.

 

Lately, we only carry a carry on bag and backpack only (no matter the travel length) and we use the HAL laundry...."Rinse and repeat" as they say......This works out well when we head to Europe for a week land tour and then bring our carry on full of dirty clothes onboard a trans Atlantic ship and boom, all good to go......

 

We are flying to Machu Pichu in March for 5 days before boarding a 'dam ship to sail back to Florida.....That plan will work well for that also.

 

 

Microfiber material (underwear, etc.) works very well for rinse and wash for quick dry.

1 hour ago, crystalspin said:

If you blow up the attached, it says:

Express Service -- Items received by 9am will be returned the same day. Add a 50% surcharge.
Regular Service -- Items received by 9am will be returned the next day.

 

I'm not sure about specifying Express for Unlimited -- is that 50% of the day ($3.50) or 50% of the items' price, which could exceed $3.50 if more than one piece!

Our recent experience with "unlimited laundry" has been next day delivery, usually late in afternoon.

On 10/31/2022 at 9:01 AM, rgoldstein86 said:

If you would like to donate to me, I'd be happy to spend your money to keep HAL sitting pretty. Just kidding (....kind of) 😉. I think the intent here was to get ideas on how to save money for those who might not have so much excess pocket change. Not everyone is in a position to be thinking about the the financial health of multi-billion dollar international companies as opposed to themselves. Any way to be able to enjoy amenities at lower cost is a great thing to know about for me, and I think what the OP was hoping to hear about.

 

I'm also interested in any cost-saving options. I've read about happy hours and 2-for-1 deals on drinks but don't know the details. Following.

Happy Hour 2/1 is now gone.  The Happy Hour now is buy one get 25% off second drink.

Looking at both options but have truthfully never sailed on either line.  Which would you choose if cost was not the factor (not saying cost is not my factor)?

14 hours ago, Lucy Jane said:

I'm a five star mariner, I've never had a problem with my credit card. When I booked my cruise online, I gave them my credit card information no problem. I just got a notice in my cabin saying that I had exceeded my credit limit and then I needed to go down and either bring cash or my credit card so I can continue using my signing privileges to enjoy all the services on board. I'm really disturbed, it's the same card I have always used and now they're putting a limit on me. They say I've had an excess of $500.07. I don't understand this at all they must be really in the money. It's always the same card number. I've always used. I've never had a problem. I pay it in full every month. I think they're financially in big trouble. That's just my thoughts. But it's strange. I've never had this happen before. 

It may be a daily limit imposed by the cruise line.  They usually test the credit card which usually shows a "pending" status on the charge just to be sure the credit is available.  I don't think I've ever been contacted directly so I would think this is an error on their part.

It could also be that the flu is ramping up so it could be flu, Noro, or COVID. On our last recent cruise it seemed some crew were in quarantine but they never announced that specifically.  When they were having an emergency test drill. part of that announcement was that crew in isolation should stay in isolation and not participate. There were a minimum number of people wearing masks and it was "recommended" but not required.

Our recent experience is that the dining room takes a long time for service so if you don't mind that, you are okay. Also, the portions are very small.  Recently ordered escargot as appetizer in the MDR and it was the worst thing I have ever tasted. All the desserts taste the same....looks pretty, no taste....but I don't usually order dessert anyway.

For me, the Lido deck has more options to my liking. I usually like vegetables and fish for dinner and salad for lunch. We usually try to go to the Lido at a later time so we won't have to experience the lines. We always get breakfast in our cabin.

At the pizza location they also have a selection of sandwiches and a salad or two and we have taken that option and had a quiet meal on the upper deck by the pool.

4 hours ago, Guardsy said:

We were recently on the NS for this repositioning cruise.  First time on HAL since the late 80's when we switched over to Princess. Some thoughts and observations.

 

Beautiful ship and a GREAT layout.  Probably the easiest ship to navigate that we have ever been on.  We had an ocean view cabin, midships, on the Main Deck, just off the elevators.  This location made going virtually anywhere on the ship a breeze.

 

Embarkation was a breeze.  Not having done an embarkation with HAL recently, it was a bit odd not really doing a "check-in" in person, just a check of our vaccination paperwork.  No keys handed out, etc.  Come to find out, you just board and your keys are in your "mailbox" outside your stateroom.  All was fast and simple.  Waited maybe 15-20 minutes to board when we arrived at 11:15 for our 12:30 boarding time.  Cabin was ready (except for the flowers I ordered ahead of time. They were delivered the next day).

 

Lido buffet.  Was adequate, but for breakfast and lunch it was pretty much the same thing every day.  There was some change-up at dinner and maybe at lunch, but basically it seemed to be the same offerings every day.  Adequate, but BORING.

 

Dining rooms were nice.  We enjoyed most of the menu's, though they also became a bit boring.  We did have one night each in Tamarind (LOVED it), Pinnicle Grill (was ok, had to wait forever between courses, don't do the $10 lobster upgrade, ONLY do the $20 12-0z lobster upgrade.  Completely different lobster, taste, etc.) and Rudi's (our favorite.  Would do it over Pinnicle in a heartbeat.  The service, presentation and food was all impeccable.  The size of the 12-ounce lobster tail was just stupid huge and it was AWESOME!  Nice little extras given out between courses).  

 

The rest of our dinners were in the main dining room.  Had anytime dining and had a different table, waiter and seatmates every night.  Overall things were fine.  Given the low cost of our fares, I never expect 5-star dining on a ship.  This was maybe 3-star, or better.  Very efficient service.

 

Shows/Entertainment.  Probably one of the biggest differences between HAL and Princess.  Much, much more to do, all day/evening long, on a Princess ship than on this HAL trip.  Just as pronounced was that shows/musical sets in bars, were only 45-minutes long.  Seriously?  We did see a great signing impersonator, twice, who was very good and also a comedian twice who was good.  Sat in on a couple of other shows (standing room only), left some early.  All three music venues are next to each other and they did a good job switching on and off so as not to cover each other.  The 45-minute sets made for a nice break to stand up and walk a bit, but whether for a show or music spot, they just seemed to get warmed up and it was over.  Sad.  I remember GREAT shows on HAL.

 

Drinks/Drink Package.  Was odd where you could or could not find certain alcohols at bars.  All certainly do NOT have the same selections.  I mostly drank Heiniken during the day, and whiskey/sprite in the evenings.  I prefer Seagrams 7 or VO, but it was rarely found at a bar.  Crown Royal for a back-up, but you had to ASK for it, as they do not display it.  They do, however, display all of the flavored Crown Royals they have.  Thank gosh for Woodford.

 

We had the HAI package, which was fine.  Nice on Princess that your coffee drinks and waters are included for free on your drink package and don't count against your totals.  NOTE - Always use both of your room cards when ordering drinks, even if the server tells you they only need one.  I still have to check our final bill to see if all the extra drinks were credited back or not.  Turns out I drank A LOT, and in the first 4-5 days exceeded my 15 drinks (including water and coffees) many times, while my wife rarely ever drank.  Even ordering dinner wines, the table server would just grab one of the cards.  Turns out I had 7-8 charges for exceeding my drink package, totaling about $140 extra.  Went to the front desk twice about it, but never saw a credit before we disembarked.  I even had a highlighted print out for them.  I was told the front desk was not authorized to make the credit, it had to go to the beverage manager.  Not nice, HAL.  I should have known better, but so should your wait staff.

 

Pools/Hot Tubs.  Pools are NOT heated.  Darn COLD!  It was very pleasant around the middle pool when the roof was in place, but pool was not heated.  We did finally get nice weather as we got towards Florida and the roof was opened.  Lovely place to sit.  Hot tubs were adequate, but I ended up with a bad chemical burn after using them one day (a passenger had a "biological accident (diareaha)" in one of the adjacent tubs early).  We were told it wasn't in the tub we were about to use and that it was safe, but two hours later I had hives on my neck, chest and back.  That night at dinner in Tamarind, we saw a team of 8-10 crew in something short of hazmat suits completely scrubbing and hosing down the entire aft deck of deck 9.  Not good, HAL.  Just close to pools and pool deck and do it right.  Don't let the whole afternoon/evening go by.  HAL did cover my trip to the medical center and the ointments they gave me for my "skin allergy".

 

Cabin.  Cabin was great, steward JAS was even better.  Turndown service if you request it, but we don't need that much attention.  Room always kept up and cleaned.  TV worked only 50% of the time.   On a 14-day cruise, it is nice to relax and nap with the TV, but nope.  Not in that cabin.  We were told by the front desk that there were lots of issuers with their internet & satellite service throughout the cruise, but on the 12th day one of the techs told us it was just a bad TV in out cabin that the ship kept neglecting to replace.  Not good, HAL.

 

On my trip to the medical center on the last day of the cruise, they noted that my temperature was up, so they did a covid test and declared me positive.  Current on all vaccines and boosters, including the latest one a month or so ago, yet here I had covid!  Who knew!  For that I got quarentined in our cabin overnight with strict instructions on what would happen for disembarkation, luggage, etc.  At least they had a plan!  Too bad none of the plan worked the way it was told to us, but we were taken off the ship away from other passengers and basically just waved away from the ship and the pier to wander off on our own.  At least it was easy to find our luggage!

 

All in all it was a good trip.  We now know that 14-days is a bit long for us.  10-days is perfect.  While we enjoyed many parts of this HAL trip, we will likely go back to Princess for the most part, just for a bit more lively time onboard and more activities.  She was a BHB, though!

Agree, not much to do during the day. We enjoyed the food in the Pinnacle, had room service most of the time for breakfast. I liked the offerings on the Lido for dinner most of the time.  I liked that fact that you can look at menus on Navigator.  We enjoyed the cruise, port intensive even with one port being skipped. I would probably do this itinerary again now that I know the "lay of the land".....

Is Club Orange cost refundable if you have to cancel the cruise after final payment?

42 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

We are sailing on the NS on November 5 on a casino cruise.  What was your experience with cocktails in the casino?  I plan to have cash on hand for tipping.

We actually didn't use a casino offer for this cruise (other than casino "welcome back" cash). We had no issue with drinks. I played mostly slots in the non-smoking room (which is small) and they were pretty attentive.

Anyone have an opinion on which HAL ship has the best casino (I know someone will say "only the one you win in").  I thought the Statendam had a small casino and I'm not sure I like the "tap" card system but I have only used it once.

On 10/20/2022 at 5:26 AM, Euby said:

I'm trying to plan out what nights to go to the Specialty restaurants for my cruise at the end of the year 12/27-1/7.  It's an 11-day cruise, so I'm guessing that there is supposed to be 3 Gala (dressy/formal) nights.  The itinerary is below.  I would think that New Year's Eve would be a Gala night, but it is a port day.  Then again, the holiday does lend itself to being a formal night.  Would I be safe in guessing that 12/28 and 1/5 would be the other formal nights?

12/27 - Embarkation Day
12/28 - Sea Day

12/29 - Sea Day

12/30 - Sint Maarten
12/31 - Saint Lucia

1/1 - Barbados

1/2 - Martinique

1/3 - St. Kitts

1/4 - St. Thomas

1/5 - Sea Day

1/6 - Half Moon Cay
1/7 - Disembarkation Day

I believe they no longer call them "Gala Nights" but dressy nights. The cruise I just returned from had them on sea days.