NCTribeFan

Had CO on the Rotterdam 150th Anniversary sailing last year (plus 2 5-nights added on after). Absolutely loved it! Never had a drink at that little bar near the dining room since we always went to the Pinnacle bar. Sad to say, I can't remember the names of the two bartenders there, but they were great. I wasn't that found of the male Maitre D, but really liked the female. She was friendly, efficient, and helped us with some specialty dining reservations that were pre-booked but messed up when we checked on them after boarding. Really enjoyed her. So spoiled by having that separate dining room that I have to have it now on Pinnacle-class ships. Unfortunately, though, that class ship doesn't have my favorite "large interior" cabins, so the upgrade for that doesn't have the value it has for me on Vista & Signature class.

I'm on 7+17 for January (booked as a single 24-night sailing). The first week is Baja California. I don't want a spa pass for that. The 2nd portion is 17-nights RT SD-Hawaii. I do want it for that. Options are $149 for 7 days and $299 for 14-20. If I purchase the $299 package, I'm afraid it will start on Day 1. That would mean the last few sea days coming back from Hawaii would not be included. Since this sailing is also sold as separate 7 nights and 17 nights, I'm concerned that if I wait until I'm on board and try to purchase just for the 2nd leg, that it might be sold out. I imagine the thermal suite is popular on that Hawaii leg with so many sea days coming and going.

Aperol Spritz is now my favorite drink while cruising. I was on HAL's Rotterdam last year for the 150th Anniversary sailing (17 nights and added 2 5-nights at the end). Tried one and loved it. Light and refreshing. Not heavy on the alcohol. Great when you want to drink over a few hours but don't want to get hammered. At my age, I can rarely drink enough to even get a buzz without feeling like crap the next day. I haven't had that problem when drinking these. I checked in this morning for my 11/4 Reflection sailing. Got 11:30 check-in. I'll check in next Wednesday for the 11/9 Beyond. I rarely go to shows on ships any longer, but I may have to check out a couple on X. But I'll definitely pass on ABBA singalong, thanks! 😁 Thank you for taking us along!

I started watching at 5:49 per my above post. In Chrome, it would hang up. Pause, play for 3 seconds, buffer for 10. I quit and tried in Edge. Same thing. I closed everything on my laptop and tried on my phone. Exact same situation. It was absolute AGONY! Way too much about excursions (but I tend to avoid ship excursions whenever possible). I finally finished at 7:50! So, two whole hours. Yes, I took a screenshot. I better get my points! Then, when it was finally over, I got the email. 😄 I'm tempted to start again, and just let it run here on my desktop while I'm working. Just in case.

I didn't get the email, either. In fact, I wasn't going to open this thread because there hadn't been anything lately except pages discussing breakfast options. 😁 Watching it now.

That cheeseburger (from Day 1, I think) looks really good. I don't eat much red meat these days but I do crave a good cheeseburger on occasion. I don't really eat much sweets. I'd rather waste the calories and carbs by having another beer or glass of wine. 😁 Looking forward to Coco Cay. Was rather alarmed at the prices X wants for some of the beaches and to rent a decent chair. I'm not really a "beach person" (sounds silly when you've been to Caribbean islands dozens of times), so I'll probably just walk around and check everything out. Stop and have an over-priced beer somewhere. Is the casino open when the ship is there? Seems some lines keep it open when they're at their private islands. I like the drum slots. And the one I call Money Pit. And usually some that have dragons.

I no longer need a fan since I bring a small white-noise machine (very lightweight and small). And I just crank the a/c all the way down at night. Still find I sometimes have to fling the covers off in the middle of the night. At my "advanced" age, I shouldn't be having hot flashes, but I still do. No fun! I don't really drink hard liquor. The occasional Dark-and-Stormy, when I can find Gosling's Black Seal Rum on a ship. I've become addicted to Aperol Spritz. Light, refreshing, not heavy on the alcohol. Occasional beer during the day & wine with dinner. I'm on Reflection 11/4 & Beyond 11/9. After that, I'll spend 2 nights in Ft Lauderdale, then board HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam on 11/17 (my b'day) for a week. I started out with that as a casino offer, then when I started looking at the X offers, I added Beyond to the front end. Then added Reflection to the front of that. Will be an interesting comparison trip. I love N. Am. and her sister Eurodam. Perfect size ships for me. I'm not one who needs lots of glitz and shiny, new venues. I want somewhere quiet to sit and read during sea days.

Following along. Will be on Reflection-Beyond side-to-side in November. Having only sailed X once (5 nights on Summit a couple of years ago), I was surprised to suddenly start receiving casino offers (I'm definitely NOT a high roller). Mine were "only" freebie for me, pay a deeply-discounted fare for the non-existent other cruiser (I'm solo) interior offers. I'm not getting free for 2 interiors and free for 1 OV or Balcony but my cruise calendar is pretty full for the next 1-1/2 years. The add-on prices were definitely a shock. I've been Diamond on Carnival and never purchased the drink package. Lately, I've sailed HAL where I typically add on their Have-It-All package which is sometimes as low as $55/pp/day. That includes basic drink package, wi-fi, some specialty dining, some shore excursions credit. If you book extra-early (and I have), you get upgraded to premium drinks and wi-fi plus gratuities on top of the other perks. Imagine my shock to see the 35%-off basic drink package was that price. So, it's ala carte for me the whole way. I'll carry on 1 bottle of wine and get drinks while in the casino. Hopefully, that will actually be possible. I've read that it's often difficult to get service. Looking forward to more!

Thanks for sharing. I'll be on a side-to-side in November (Reflection 5 nights to Beyond 6 nights). I've only sailed X once, a 5-night sailing on Summit a couple of years ago. That was a side-to-side from Summit to MSC Seashore, which was rather a shock. I much preferred Summit. Seashore was way too big and too many large family groups with lots of kids, even in mid-April. Anyway, thanks for sharing the dailies.

I'm only seeing the schedule for the upcoming week. I tried putting in some dates in early November and got nothing. I'm on a side-to-side, switching ships from Reflection to Beyond on 11/9.

Thanks. I keep everything on a spreadsheet (hey, I'm a CPA; I can't help myself). So, if they would only tell me what I'm receiving, I would add that and have it as "proof" so that when I board, I can make sure it all appears in my onboard account. Guess I'll ask her to confirm because it seems I'm missing either the Early Booking or the AARP. I should have at least $200 each Then I'll request my CCL s/h credit closer to sailing and add those to my spreadsheet.

Is this on top of the HIA Early Booking Bonus (the upgraded drinks, wi-fi & grats included)? I booked Nov 2025 Oosterdam and April 2026 Westerdam both on 5/26/24. Both confirmations show $100 OBC (I'm solo on both) but I thought that was the AARP credit. I really do wish HAL would itemize and label the OBC. I'm sure my PCC gets tired of me requesting that she give me a breakdown. I have $700 OBC on my January Hawaii cruise and I have no idea where it's coming from.

I'm a reader and since I typically book interior cabins, it's always rather disappointing to want to sit and read (and I need quiet when I read) but not be able to find anywhere on a ship to do that. Even if you find a venue that isn't open until later, and there's no one around, there's usually blaring pop music that can't be tuned out (at least I can't). I'm on a side to side, Reflection then Beyond. Hopefully, I'll be able to find somewhere relatively quiet on Reflection, too.

Already went through this a while back and reported it here. I have often purchased HAL and Carnival GCs through AARP or got them by redeeming my credit card points. So, after booking a couple of X sailings, I bought just $100 GC through AARP. My booking was a casino booking and was paid-in-full when I booked. I had planned on just going to GS to apply my card once I was on the ship. Then I read a thread here that you cannot do that. I contacted X and it was confirmed that those are actually considered Gift Certificates and can only be applied to payment of the cruise fare. The person I talked to tried to get my pre-paid grats refunded and then apply the CG to that, but couldn't. In the end, she gave me $200 OBC for the confusion and her inability to resolve the issue any other way. I have no plans to purchase X CGs in the future unless I book a "regular" fare (can't use them to even pay the fare for a casino booking).

It has never occurred to me to deposit a GC and then request cash. So, HAL becomes a no-fee ATM? That sounds too good to be true. 😄 I bring GCs because I don't like to carry a wad of cash when I travel. But mostly, I back my account with a credit card that gives me 3x points for travel. Then I redeem points for gift cards and also use that credit card to purchase discounted CGs from AARP.