cruiseJMO

Cruise- about $125/night. Or $250 per couple.

 

 

For the same $250/night one can stay at the Luxor Hotel (much bigger room, but only once a day cleaning and no towel monkey). Included for the $250/night:

 

All inclusive package:

 

-All You Can Eat, All Day Buffet Pass (Pass entitles you to Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner at MORE The Buffet at Luxor)

-Two tickets to Criss Angel Believe (Wednesday through Sunday evening)

-Two tickets to Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition

-Two tickets to Bodies...The Exhibition

-Two Nurture Spa Day Passes

-Free Admission to LAX Nightclub

 

Minimum two night stay. Then one can move across the street and get a similar deal at a dozen other casinos.

That sounds wonderful. However, I really enjoy the ocean in a way that I can only have on a cruise ship. We almost booked a land vacation for October, but the lure of the ocean got us and we now have the Eurodam booked for November. I think I might even feel more confined in a big land room than a small cruise cabin.

Still, keeping this little info you provided in case we ever go land. 😊

Ziplocks are definitely wise to bring, just in case. I was suggesting to try to find them somewhere before boarding to be on the safe side. With my luck, they would be sold out. Already happened to me with a similar item. Even had a hard time finding it in all the Cozumel shops once we got there.

Sorry, didn't see that you need it so soon.

Maybe try a local Walmart or Target?

Go on amazon & search in Snorkeling for waterproof wallets. There are tons of options.

The sad thing about electronic cigarettes is that they are being used to hook kids on smoking. Why else do they add fruity flavors? It is a huge concern in my town with so many vape shops opening up.

Grown ups can't like fruity flavors?

Ugh, never mind. This board is about HAL's smoking policies.

I agree with what you say, but I think that it's worth pointing out that the root of the problem sometimes lies with passengers, not the stewards or those restocking the mini-bar.

 

DW and I prefer a late disembarkation time, allowing us to enjoy a leisurely last few hours on board. As a result, we have on several occasions still been in our cabin when they came to check the mini-bar and restock as necessary. The final accounting has now been made, but there's nothing stopping us from helping ourselves to an item or two before heading off. The incoming passengers probably wouldn't know they were missing and would eventually be charged for the items.

 

Not certain but in the past wasn't the mini bar locked after it was restocked prior to the next group occupying the cabin

I know this has been done on X

 

I never paid attention to this. Is there something in the room to check when u first get in the cabin to make sure all is there that should be?

I've always just taken whatever is there & moved it somewhere else as to not get mixed up with our stuff.

 

Hopefully HAL is reading so that changes can be made.

That's the equivalent of saying "squirrel" to most of us ladies.

 

Btw, do you think I could wear these sandals to the Mariners Brunch? :)

IMO, these are very nice. I never knew sandals were allowed at the Mariners lunch. I've worn dressy sandals and no one looked or commented. I also wouldn't consider these sandals just because they are strappy.

I wonder if they mean more plain, flip-flops styles are not permitted?

I say if you can wear them without falling or twisting your ankle, more power to you. ☺

That we are! Season ticket holders since day 1 and we go to at least one series out of town each season.

I have still my original purple Devil Rays shirt. Won't let anyone touch it. 😀

The Rays two fans are in this thread, we all know there isn't a third. ;)

Aren't there 3 Rays fans, 2 Red Sox? Rays up!

I gess I forget two profreed thet won! :(

Even your reply brought me back laughs as I visualized it again. Really, that was great, and even if you didn't do it intentionally, I thank you!

We usually stay fairly dressed up, but I definitely untie my bow tie, and if it's warm, I take off my tuxedo jacket.

 

I think you'll be fine. :)

I prefer this look. Shows you had enough class to dress up for dinner and are now ready to loosen up & have fun.

I never, ever wear stilettos on a cruise ship. They certainly can't enforce it, because they'd be looking to pay out a lot in medical. I opt for lower, wider heels that can be more stable when the ship is rocking. I was much happier (and still looking cuter 😇) than those that had to take off their stilettos & walk barefoot when the ship was too rocky.

I can't believe that the smoking issue has now turned so much into the vaping issue. I've tried the e-cigs, and they really don't seem to emit enough to bother anyone. Smell isn't an issue, is it??? If someone vapes on a balcony, is that ruining it for others on nearby balconies?? I GET that smoking drifts and is an big annoyance for people (although we are among the considerate who wouldn't smoke if our neighbours are out on their balcony. But vaping? Seriously? is it that you people can't stand the thought of anyone doing anything they might enjoy? How about you let it go on that one issue, recognizing that yes, the vapor might not be totally pollution free, but for heaven's sake, think about what you're inhaling in regard to the ship's own pollution and let some people who are trying to quit smoking in favor or vaping have their enjoyment. Good grief.

I had read somewhere on the Princess boards or Princess site that the lights on the end of the e-cigs can be distracting to the captain. I don't know if this is true, but still the only decent explanation I found.

HAL's current policy is that "Electronic cigarettes are permitted in staterooms but not in other public areas of the ship other than on outside decks designated as smoking areas." The extent to which the policy is enforced probably varies.

 

The policy itself is somewhat strange, in that it permits vaping in designated smoking locations outside, but doesn't allow vaping in any inside public areas, including those areas where smoking itself is allowed. As a result, your can smoke cigarettes while playing in the casino, but you can't vape.

 

I'm no supporter of vaping or smoking, and would be happy to see both gone from the ships entirely, but if HAL is going to allow it, they should at least develop policy based on a bit of common sense.

Totally doesn't make sense to allow toxic cigarette smoke from real cigarettes indoors, but not a vapor cig. Isn't the vapor harmless second hand?

BTW, my can never smokes cigarettes. 😧 (Couldn't resist sharing the picture in my head from your very small typo you/your). 😝

Wanna fight, cause that is war-enduring words.

 

Fenway did suck, in the late 90s. It's insanely improved today. Sure the seats are narrow but hell we are like 30% fatter than we were 100 years ago.

Oh, no! I never noticed your avatar before. 😧 For some reason I had imagined sppunk stood for St Pete punk & you'd be a fellow Rays fan. 😳

Ok, I admit I am posting this tongue in cheek but a few weeks ago someone asked about making it to a Red Sox game in time and I chuckled, knowing full well what we were planning to attempt yesterday! We did expedited disembarkation yesterday morning at 7:45 AM, took a Jet Blue flight to NYC, checked into our hotel on the Upper East Side and took the subway to Yankee Stadium arriving in our seats at 1:30. Yes, we realize that ALL the planets had to align for this to work but they did! Only glitch was our Tampa Bay Rays losing 3-2 but we're hoping for better results at today's game!

I love that you're a big enough Rays fan/cruise Traveler to have done this.

Go Rays!!!!!

Jennifer (St Pete, FL)

Everybody has a point at which they will draw the line. I can understand the OP drawing theirs at this point. HAL is excellent in so many ways. Hopefully they will resolve AND make up for the matter, convincing the OP to erase their line & give them another shot.

brentp - Have they not even sent you an email or something letting you know they are looking into it?

That was my personal opinion. Being PC didn't cross my mind... I just have too many bad memories of what Castro did to his people, killing and imprisoning anyone who didn't agree with him. The regime hasn't really changed. Younger people probably don't remember or care. I'm sure you're right in that this will be a great market. It's just not one I am personally going to support.

I'm younger. But, born & raised in Florida. I grew up knowing what was going on in Cuba on a daily basis. I don't fully trust any government, but have absolutely zero trust in Cuba's government. Only fear of.

To be clear, it's Carnival Corporation that received approval for their "fathom" brand, not Carnival Cruise Lines. fathom is the new brand where you pay an arm and a leg (something like $3,000/pp for seven days) to volunteer your time helping the disadvantaged. It's just a shame that Castro destroyed the country so that they need the help. I'm not convinced that money spent by tourists isn't going to go directly back to the dictatorship government.

I've been reading & watching specials on traveling to Cuba. I don't think the people are benefitting from tourism, either. NBC stated Cubans only earn $15-20/month. That is so sad. And, there's a 13% tax that is clearly not going to their people.

MSC Opera will be based out of Havana this December. I don't get it; I really don't.

Just because it's more accessible now, doesn't mean we should go there.

This is the #1 place I'd feel unsafe.

I am with you. We have done open seating once and decided we don't like it, unless we have our own group of people to go with. What happens at open seating, the waiters don't have ownership of you and the service really suffers. It almost feels like they don't care because you are not going to be at their table again next day. That's why we like the assigned seating. But, I realize that we can't have everything. Isn't there a late show though for the late seating dinner? I thought that are 2 shows or some kind of entertainment later on. On our previous cruises they had 8 o'clock show and 10:00 show for the late diners. Is this not the case on HAL? This is our first time on HAL.

The 2 of us always sat with 4 others. Many times it was around 10:15 before we were done. Maybe we were just slow because we all enjoyed each other's company. I will miss having that type of experience.

We're fans of the BB King Blues Club. When we had late dinner on the Westerdam, which had 2 sets of shows, we'd get there only in time to hear one or two songs. Whatever show was playing in the main lounge was always in progress.

We have the Nieuw Amsterdam & Eurodam booked, which I believe have 3 sets of shows, at least on some nights for the BB King.

I was hoping open seating would be like our Royal Princess experience. After the first 2 days, the hostess sat us with our same wait staff, since it was clear we found them excellent. There was only one night she wasn't able to do this, but placed us nearby. The interaction was great.

What ship did you do open dining on where they passed you around? From their point of view, I would want the hostess to always try to seat the same people with me for that hope of an extra tip at the end of the cruise.

Thank you so much for a quick reply. The issue is that this cruise is very port intensive with tours bringing us back to the ship just in time for sailing, which means going to dinner right the way without having a chance to relax at the pool which we like to do, or just simply freshen up before dinner. Early seating is too early. They ended up putting on the waiting list, but it shows on my reservation now that we are open seating. I will figure out something once we get on board.

Forgot to copy you again. 😨 See response above.

We have the same problem, only we like to have nap time in between ports & dinner, so we're gonna give open seating a shot.

I was just pointing out how everything closes early so you'd feel better about not getting late dining. 😊

I've read on many reviews that once onboard, people have easily made the switch by contacting the dining room. I guess that's when a lot of folks change their minds.

Sorry, I guess I was wrong. The handicap accessibles only show up to 4 people.

Have you checked out the thread with this spreadsheet?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10YW7fMQarer30UCHKqKJ_zLDmbyMTczCTtYf2XRflh8/edit?usp=docslist_api

I am very disappointed with HAL. We booked under the Anniversary sale and got OBC plus other perks. Now the price went down for a category higher than mine. I called my TA (booked with Costco Travel) and HAL told them I would lose all my OBC and will not get any $$ back either if I move to a new category. What's wrong with this picture? I also asked them to move me to late dining from early dining (still over a month before sailing) and they said they dont have any openings. Reallly? for 2 people? They said they can put me on a wait list, but if it will not be available, we'll automatically be put in any time dining. This is our first time with HAL and so far I am not impressed at all. We sailed with Celebrity and Princess and they were MUCH more accomodating. We were upgraded twice with Celebrity due to the price drop. Princess upgraded us even when the price didn't drop, which I understand is just a matter of luck or random occurance. But, if the price drops, or new promotion comes up, they should do something. Am I wrong? A question for those of you who previously sailed with HAL: is this the pattern, or just depends on whom they talk to? I can't believe that such a reputable cruise like would do things like that.

Forgot to copy you on my above reply.

I've only booked with HAL direct. Trying to get upgrades through a TA has been a worry of mine, since most lines ask me immediately if I booked thru a TA when I call to inquire about an upgrade.

Dining, tho....that is very possible for them to not have room available for late dining. Have you thought or asked about anytime dining? If you are interested in going to any shows or lounges at night, you may not want late dining. Hardly anything was open by the time we were done dining when we chose this. And, if they were, it was only for about 15 mins. So, it was pretty much eat & go to bed, which definitely isn't healthy.

We absolutely love the sideways cabins. They claim they are the same sq ft, but they always feel a lot bigger when you are in them. My daughter fell in love with the one we had on the Dawn a few weeks ago.

 

Does the BA have any cabins like this for interior?

 

She was checking out the blue prints and showed me this....

 

 

 

I can't tell if they are true sideways cabins or if they would be regular cabins, since there seems to be a hallway in between them that you could access the room from the end just like a regular cabin.

 

So do they have any?

Funny thing is I knew this was you from your words alone. Didn't even see who the OP was. True fan [emoji12]

Officially ran into problems with this 5 person OV category. 5 rooms left and they let us book 1 of them and went to book the 2nd and they are saying no more than 4 people allowed in them now. :mad:

 

Back to the drawing board.

What about the handicap accessible family OV? It's definitely big enough for 5. We have one booked b/c it was the only family OV left. I'm told it's possible they might take it away. Hopefully not, tho. All the handicap accessibles were left & none of the others.