crystalspin

We were happy to wait, often chatting with Ship's Officers (apparently GDC has the best coffee on board). The quick arrival of our order of Frites was a bonus! Of course, we had no pressing deadlines...

Hi Tom! The Orange Party is (1) at the discretion of the Captain, and (2) late at night. Where by late I mean at LEAST after 9pm! I have never been to one, although I own an orange "pashmina" and have obtained a mostly orange tie for my husband... and he looks dreadful in orange! just in case we end up awake at those hours.

The first two passengers in a cabin earn the same maximum points. Additional pax earn just the sailing days (and maybe HIA $ points?). The site should say "the spending bonus days are limited to one per sailing day". If you are also in a published-rate suite you can earn up to 3x sailing days. Pre-booked purchases do count. I'm pretty sure deducted crew appreciation counts. And having a beverage package or HIA counts as if you bought 15 drinks at the max price of the plan, essentially maxing out your spending just on beverages! Or at least it used to... We did come up two points shy of max on a 16-day B2B despite having HIA.

You don't save on the laundry package by pre-booking, but of course you can.

One idea is to bring your own reusable bottles and transfer the included canned water, keeping it chilled in the mini-fridge (have steward remove contents you don't want like the pre-mixed cocktails). Or nab a couple of the screw-top aluminum bottles IF they are offered, and reuse the same way.

I have read (on Cruise Critic) that including the Hotel Service Charge/Crew Appreciation changes it for taxes in the home countries of most who are included in its distribution -- hurting the employee.

In many ports, not just Alaska, local tax is added.

It does mean that, according to my PCC. At least if you are booked in a triple or quad. However, according to Mary's algorithm and your details above, you are unlikely to be bumped even if it's a 3 or 4 room.

He probably got the 12oz prime strip loin that is on the lunch menu, per Roger's page https://rogerjett-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Pinnacle-Grill-Lunch-2024.pdf It is not reasonable to project that he got a dinner menu T-bone just for being obnoxious.

Yes I cancelled one day before sailing with HAL's standard CFAR. It was a 35-day cruise so between the cost of the insurance and the 20% not repaid, it cost us about $5,000 to cancel (but the reason would not have been valid for credit card coverage). All excursions, taxes&fees, and even a flower arrangement that I had pre-paid, were refunded within a working week.

Congrats! Enjoy!!!

We have taken family members on HAL cruises, using a Personal Cruise Consultant, and I did all the pre-sailing organization. Our dining times were linked (I think the 10-person table was the largest on the Zaandam, though), and we would all get together to recount how we had spent the day! There will be early or late fixed dining time. I could and did sign everyone up for the same excursions. Everything went on our credit card; those with the ability did register their own CCs to their room number for incidental spending. I recommend getting a PCC assigned to you. Call this number, and stay on the menu until it offers a real person, then ask to be given a PCC. 1-800-355-3017 If they don’t seem to be up to the problem, repeat! Have a wonderful cruise!

Yes, when we added HIA (independent of booking), our CPP amount went up.

Many people who arrange their own excursions, aim for a schedule that gets them back to the ship two hours before All-Aboard time.

We paid quite a bit of a B2B over NewYears ('22-'23). The "cards" arrived instantly, electronically. No roadblocks with AARP or HAL, but if you need to cancel, the refund will be to the card (good only on HAL). We were told by our Chase banker, that only the part of the cruise paid to the cruiseline would be covered by the Sapphire protection! Even if the cards are paid on the same card as you think you have "insurance", you should confirm. Others read the CSR (Chase Sapphire Reserve) policy to cover everything if any part is charged to the credit card, I am not comfortable with the giftcards for the fare. We have a couple $100 "cards" to redeem on board for OBC, only.