Riversedge

But so do I….on top of my expensive cabin.

Wish those offers went out to others. I’ve never gotten one and kind of resent paying full price when others go almost free.

Thanks for the answer to my question, Hank. This is what my research found although HAL says visa required for there and Shanghai. I don’t believe they have that right in either case. It would be nice if they could give us clear and correct information. Appreciate your help.

Thank you so much. Looks like Nagasaki and Kagoshima are our only ports on the list. What about a visa for South Korea? Did you get one in advance or is HAL doing it for you? Thanks!!

I have the same question for Yokohama.

I am really enjoying your posts. We will be on the Westerdam for the month of February. Would you mind posting the list of ports you will be visiting during the next two weeks? I’m hoping it’s some of the same that we will be doing. You are a wealth of information. Thank you!

We earned it on our last cruise. This will be our first cruise with 5*

Do I gather from this that we can only use the spa pass on a port day?

I’ve been hoping to get onboard one day and find you there! Hopefully soon.

We will be 5* on our next cruise. I know that we get two specialty dinners and a day pass to the thermal suite. But I’m not sure how this works. Can we make dinner reservations in advance? Do we have to pay for them and then get obc once onboard? How about the thermal suite or do I have to wait until I’m onboard to reserve? Thanks for the help!

Hopefully you will have lots of fun. As a long time kindergarten teacher I can guess the 5 year old will be very bored. That’s a long time to play without other kids (maybe you’ll get lucky) even if the staff takes extra time to talk to them. We took our kids on cruises while they were growing up but not on HAL. I hope your cruise has lots of port days so you can get him off and do fun things. I doubt he would like the ship tours where most likely everyone will be retired.

I totally agree with you.

I wasn’t on this year’s world cruise but I have two friends who were. Neither of them were impressed. I was curious and tried to follow the blogs but get bogged down when I read the specifics of what they did with friends that day, pictures of their food, etc. I’m glad that people take the time to blog but they are not for me. We were debating taking a portion of the wc in 2024 but based on our friend’s reports we decided not to. We were spoiled on the 2020 Grand SA so our expectations are high. Hopefully it will get back to what it was but I’m not holding my breath.

For all of you got approved, was your school on the drop down menu?

I tried to do this and had several go-rounds with them (3rd party co) thru emails. First they told me active only so I copied the HAL advertisement that said retired or current. Then they told me that my school has to be on the drop down menu which seems to be mostly colleges or large cities. They said they would research my very small public school but it would be at least 30 days, which to my mind means never. I wish they wouldn’t throw deals out there that are impossible to get.

We just turned 5*. I see that a day pass is included. Do I have to reserve that in advance? I’m assuming it would be for the pool and loungers (Westerdam).

We have the saying “It’s all part of the adventure” every time something is not quite as expected. Learning to roll with the punches is a good learning experience. Thinking you are “owed” for the little things is not. What a teaching experience that could have been….about careers, what it takes to maintain a ship, how the lifeboats are used and how important it is to know what they’re for and how important they are.

We used to enjoy the free wine tasting but in the past they had nice little food/cheese offering with it. Last time it was paltry…maybe a few grapes. The wines (3 red and 3 white) were chosen by HAL and were nothing I would run out and order. Tasted like Aldie’s cheapest bottle. Still, we usually go because there’s not much else to do! Nice way to meet a few people at your table.

It’s been awhile since the last post but I’m wondering if others had difficulty getting the educator obc. I tried to submit the form to the 3rd party but my school did not come up on the pop up list. So I emailed them. My answer was it was only for CURRENT educators and the school has to be on the list. So, I emailed back the screenshot of HAL’s offer for current and retired educators. My next answer was it was only for the schools listed which was mostly colleges and universities. This seems like an offer that’s not really viable to most of us. They said that they will research my small public school but it will take 30 days minimum for it to “maybe” make the list. I was trying to get it for a cruise I was booking now so I’m giving up. I hope some of you have had luck.

Thank you! I ordered some. Sounds perfect.

We found the exact same thing. The sale that is not a sale…..

We had tough calamari in the dining room for lunch. Disappointing. They don’t seem to know how to make it on this ship. But overall we were pleased with the food.

Antarctica by far. We were on the Grand Antarctica and South America in 2020. We reminisce about it with each other often.

They are still booking Martin Beaumont? How sad. We have seen him several times, the last two times were right before Covid and then 2 years later. He didn’t have a single new joke. He's a good example of how HAL needs to up their game in the entertainment world.

It’s obvious that some love it and and some don’t. We sailed on the NS about a month ago and didn’t care for it. We have also sailed the Koningsdam which we didn’t love either. Too crowded and staffing is not up to par for a great experience. Venues were crowded and loud. We loved the Eurodam and Volendam. If all the smaller ships go away we will probably go elsewhere, possibly Azamara as we love their experience.