cruiser4305

Thanks everyone, we decided to book two rooms on a Windstar ship because of the low (19%) single supplement.

I'm a newly divorced 40 year-old that wants to do a cruise with my two elderly parents. We were planning on booking separate cabins, but with the single supplement it might make sense for us to pay a bit extra to book a one or two bedroom suite. As long as there is a wall and door between us, it should be OK. It's such a chore to wade through all of the stateroom layouts, I was wondering if anyone knew of any ships in the Caribbean that offer a separate bedroom and pullman/pull out couch or something similar that is reasonably economical? We don't need butler service or anything like that, just a wall between beds.

Are they still limiting lobster tails to five per guest (no, we don't eat the sides too)?

Sometimes hubby gets turned away when he wears his favorite (older) jeans shorts, but more recently they have been more forgiving. Just be careful on formal nights, they are stricter and wouldn't let us in with our touring jackets on (leather and tasteful patches) but they let us in after we took them off, even though we just had (clean) white t-shirts on! Where's the logic there? They've even been fine with sandals and aquasox when we were a little late leaving the pool one night. Basically as long as you aren't sopping wet you'll be fine. Have fun and don't skip the lobster!

Bumping 😁

Hello, I'll be cruising on the horizon in Feb '23 and was interested in the scotch selection on the ship. Most of the whiskey menu photos I can find are of pig & anchor and it looks like they just have American and Irish whiskey available. Which bar/restaurant has the best scotch selection and is there a menu available?

I know all of the tricks on HAL (embarkation lunch in the MDR, happy hours, clear the mini bar, free spa room) and CCL (drink match plays, get your liquor delivered on the last night) but this will be my first time on Norwegian (Sun). What should an experienced cruiser but first-time Norwegianer know (besides how to spell Norwegianer)?

5 hours ago, Sunset Viewers said:

WE find the water out of the tap on the ship to be great and just bring thermos to fill...

I've found the water on Carnival to be unpalatable. Is HAL water better?

Literally 99.99% of questions on CC have been asked and answered already. It's a site dedicated to quite possibly the most predictable form of vacation in the history of mankind (not knocking it is, sometimes predictable is EXACTLY what you want). Without repeat questions the site would die overnight. And I also don't think someone should be forced to spend hours reading threads that are at best 80% tangential to the thread title (just like this post). In fact, this would be the first result in future searches about second entree charges and it's just two pages of blabbering nonsense.

Can anyone clue in a HAL noob as to the time of the embarkation day MDR lunch, and what the menu might consist of? I can find breakfast and dinner menus but nothing about the MDR lunch. Is it better quality food than the buffet? We'll be on the Rotterdam next week.

We have always carried our beverages on with us, and have seen other families do so as well.

I believe that the official policy is that beverages must be carried on.

What are the prospects of hiring a water taxi from the port up the river dolce to see the castello de san felipe and then hit up some restaurants (El Viajero, etc) on the way back? Approximate cost? We'll be there in early April on the Rotterdam. Thanks!

Just now, wytygr8 said:

 

You should probably try Princess or Celebrity.

I have, and I prefer them, but they do not sail out of my home port so I am limited to CCL and RCCL unless I extend my vacation days +2.

CCL has always been adequate, I don't mind the people that don't dress up or ever go to the MDR (I DO mind the flip-flops in the MDR though), they can enjoy their vacation as they see fit. The problem is that there are so many of them now (most tables around us in the MDR have been empty our past three cruises) that they are dictating the trends of the cruiseline. The worst part is that they don't realize that they aren't going to get any perks in their favor if the MDR is removed, it will just go away with no replacement (and probably lead to longer lines in their beloved buffet to boot!), with CCL pocketing the savings.

What vestiges of cruising would even be left at that point? Some half-assed playlist shows and invisible stewards?

In my twenties it would have made great sense if I could afford it (usually I'd just bring enough booze back in my belly from port to carry me through the evening and drink lightly on the ship). Nowadays, there's no way it would work out for me. I like 3-4 drinks a day maximum, and generally just prefer La Croix around the pool. If I do feel like partying it up I just do it on a port day and drink the local drinks.

I'm a fairly religious scourer of cruise deals since I have a flexible schedule and live in a cruising mecca. But this year I've seen prices jump more than in years past, with no signs that they are coming down. Last year around this time I was able to book several cruises for about $38-45/nt, now there are only a handful of non-repositioning cruises that are $54/nt, most are much higher.

Had anyone else noticed this? Any explanations? Higher demand, or...?

3 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

I am not sure that I am understanding you. Your charge will be to Holland America on your AmEx credit card, even if you took through a TA.  I have never had a charge made to a TA, and I would not do it.  It should be to Holland America.   If you are saying that the only way you can get the discount is by booking on HAL, I would as a TA if HAL will accept your Amex credit.  Better yet, call AmEx and ask them if the credit applies when booked through a TA but charged to HAL.

 

Finally, is the credit worth paying the higher price on HAL's website?

I am seeing the best price on a third-party website, my assumption being that they will charge my card. The exact verbiage on the AMEX offer is trips "booked through hollandamerica.com", so I'm not sure if it will fly. The difference in price is about $250 for the trip and the AMEX offer is only for $100 off.

5 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

The HAL website will often "default" you into a higher package price but drilling down further into the website you can get a lower, fewer frills price. I think the HAL website is deceptive in this way, but there has been little improvement since it was rolled out some time ago. It appears a big advantage using a 3P booking agent is they can throw in extra perks that in essence "reduce" the cruise price if you want to take advantage of them - on board credit, free specialty restaurant dinners etc.

 

 There will also be a price difference when booking a specific cabin versus booking a guarantee, letting HAL assign you your final cabin which may or may not be a good personal choice for you.  A while back, we just gave up trying to shave dollars and get what we want if the original price meets our own travel budget and then just let it go. 

 

Additionally, some 3P websites don't show the final price, with taxes and port fees included, so be sure it is their total inclusive price when making these comparisons. But it is a crazy bazaar out there - and the worst ploy is the "brochure" price - which I have never seen put in place anywhere, often double the actual price the passenger finally pays. Is this ploy supposed to make it look like a bargain, when no one pays the "brochure price" in the first place? A very odd pricing marketplace.

 

But I have to admit we took our very first cruise with a cruise line that offered a "half off" sale - wow, what a bargain my inexperienced mind decided.  The other ploy is second passenger cruises for free or two passengers for the price of one. We learned to look at the actual per-day charges when comparing prices - and really, anyone who still comes close to $150 a day per passenger for room, board, transportation and entertainment is still getting a pretty darn good travel bargain. 

I tried going to the end of the booking process and the price never decreased even when I rejected the perks. As I pointed out above, it is a significant difference in price, about $100/pp and another $50 or less in port fees.

I have found some good prices on third party sites for a certain cruise, but I would like to use my AMEX credit on hollandamerica.com. However, the prices on hollandamerica.com are much higher than what I've been quoted on other sites! Is there a way to get hollandamerica.com to price match the third party sites?

The messaging feature is not free, it's $5 per device.

If you don't have a corkscrew available, you can always use a saber.

[green]Testing[/green]

Just now, Host Hattie said:

There is no access via Tapatalk or the CC app as mentioned in Laura's original announcement.

The new site is designed to be mobile friendly

And I'm done! There's zero benefit to the end user to disable Tapatalk integration. The only reason is to shoehorn people into seeing your advertisements. I can barely read black text on a white background anymore and that's why I use Tapatalk, plus it keeps all of my forums neatly organized in one place.

3 minutes ago, rtkenmore said:

How about bold and red and 48 font?

WHY STOP THERE?

I get a network error when entering my Cruise Critic credentials into Tapatalk.

If everyone posts in bold, problem fixed!

Everyone should start posting in BOLD so people can actually read it!