sue117

Let's see...the casino opens right up to the Gallery Bar. It's very open and very nice, IMHO. There is no smoking anywhere "inside" now, including the Casino, so it doesn't smell horrible like it used to (Although I can still smell whiffs of smoke, I assume it's in the machinery and floats out now and then still).

The gallary bar is very nice in yellow and greys and there is a big TV that had sports on it the last few times I walked by.

the BB King's Blues Club on 2 has been scheduled heavily in the daily program, so they are pushing that for sure. No mention of 70s and 80s music in the latest programs, but "the party continues" in the queen's lounge on floor 2. lol. Nothing mentioned in the Crows nest after 9pm on the schedule.

pics aren't uploading right now, but I'll get them loaded when internet is faster. :)

Day 0-Sunday Dec 20

Today was good. We got into FL last night around 9pm and after getting the bags (the airport was CRAZY busy!) and waiting for the hotel shuttle, we got to the hotel around 10:15 or so. We got up in the morning, putzed around, and went downstairs to get the shuttle to the ship. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza and the transfer was only $8 a person.

We arrived at the ship around 11am, got checked in (Hubby got frisked at the security. Something was setting off the metal detector and he couldn’t get through it without it going off. Too funny. There was only one line (no separate suite line), but since there weren’t that many people, it didn’t really matter. We got our card (no ship map since the ship just got out of drydock) and went upstairs where the suite waiting area was. Right around 11:30 we were allowed to go onboard. Our room was ready (on the 6th floor, midship).

It’s spacious and looks good. The tan couch, blue leather chairs, and the new furniture on the deck looks great. We toured the ship, went upstairs and talked to the librarian, hubby watched a cargo ship leave and another come in and dock next to us.

The emergency drill seemed to take forever. It probably wasn’t THAT long (maybe around 40 minutes), but I swear the others we’ve done recently were over quicker. I’m sure we were waiting on passengers who didn’t understand that mandatory really did mean MANDATORY.

Eventually we went up to the pool on the back deck and waited to leave. And waited and waited. I got an overpriced, watered down drink, and still we waited. Finally around 5pm they started throwing off the tethers.

There were something like 7 ships in port, it was crazy how BIG those other ships are too! Lol

With dinner at 5:30 we finally got bored and went back down to our room and watched us leave the port from there. We headed to dinner (6 seater table…which we’ve learned are always on the back against the windows). That’s a good size for us because hubby can’t hear all that great and it’s not huge or too small. Our tablemates joined us. A husband and wife from Canada and his mom. The 6th seat was empty. Hubby and the other man had a lot in common (both prior military), so we had a nice chat.

As others have said, dinner took a while. Not sure if it was a lack of staff, or just them getting back into the swing of things after the drydock and not having passengers for a while. My lip is still healing from where I had stitches from the dog bite, so I gladly ordered off the kids menu. I had mac and cheese and hubby had steak.

There was a comedian tonight, but he didn’t come on until 930pm. We went back to the room and settled in to watch some episodes of Criminal Minds on the HUGE TV. I guess when I heard “interactive”, I thought it would bring up your bill and you could pay it and things like that. But it’s really just where you can pick from TV shows, music, live TV, movies and things like that. Maybe I haven’t played with it enough, but I didn’t see anywhere that you could see a review of your bill. I’ll keep checking it out though.

The TV is really big. It’s clearly seen from the bed. And THE BED! OMG! New mattresses!!!!!! Now, of course it’s 2 twin beds stuck together, so if you’re a couple that likes to sleep in the middle all wrapped up in each other…you’ll be very uncomfortable in that crack, BUT the mattresses are NEW! I have always hated HAL’s mattresses. It’s obvious that 1.245 million people have slept in the exact same spot before I got there. But this mattress is firm and there is NO DIP! Hallelujah!

Our room steward was confused and didn’t realize we had the early meal, so he popped in about 9pm. I waved at him from the bed! Lol I’m sure he’ll come while we’re at dinner tomorrow night.

Overall a good start to the cruise. Everything wasn’t perfect, but we’re on vacation and it was good enough. Tomorrow is Half Moon Cay where we have nothing planned but walking around and getting into the ocean.

If you have specific questions about the dry dock just let me know.

BIG TV from the bed. My view.

No aft wrap unfortunately. Just a random Neptune suite on floor 6 in the middle! I'll try out a mimosa or two for ya though! Lol

It looks like the cushions in the crow's nest are new. Carpet is new too. No unlimited internet. :( Librarian said that another ship was "testing" it, but they recently stopped testing it...she wasn't sure what that meant...

Here is a view from deck 11 of the cabanas above the pool on deck 9.

I'm not sure if these big lighted maps next to the elevators are new or not...but they are neat.

Is there anything anyone specifically wants to see a picture of since the ship has been through dry dock?

We are on board and the smell of new carpet makes it seem very "clean" if that makes sense! Lol

Below is a pic of our room...a Neptune Suite on the 6th floor. :)

And the "interactive tv"...which is not touchscreen. Lol. That's the first thing I tried. But it's HUGE!! :)

So far so good! Traffic wasn't too bad on the way through Fort Worth to the airport. We thought it might be awful because it's the last Sat before Christmas. It looks like the traffic for my mom on the way home was worse than on the way. Poor mama.

We had lunch and are happily waiting to leave. Told hubby about the first class seats. He was happy. Got everything we needed in the 2 suitcases with no issues. Weather is good here at DFW and in FL.

We are supposed to be able to call for the shuttle to the Crown Plaza Hotel when we get to the airport. Here's to hoping that goes smoothly because I'll be tired and cranky and it'll be dark by the time we land.

Hopefully at check-in there won't be any cranky employees who take one look at us and assume we shouldn't be in the suite line like last time. Ha! See ya'll in FL!! :)

YAY! Got our room today. We went from a VF guarantee to a VA on the 8th floor. About 20 min later we got an email about upgrading to a Neptune. Called our rep. There was ONE room left, and we'd save about 2K from the "original" Neptune price, so we took it.

Now we are in a SB Neptune Suite...it's not on the same floor as the lounge, but whatever. DH really likes the special breakfasts and not having to go to the Lido each morning.

So yay! Free laundry! Breakfasts in the special room! Big Balcony! More room!

Is it time yet? :)

Make sure to protect the injured area from the hot/strong sun!

Good point! I'll be sure to throw in a few hats a well.

We haven't reassessed our excursions, want to wait and see how my lip looks once the swelling goes down and stitches come out. But we had a few snorkling excursions planned, which should be ok..salt water should be good for it...but not sure about the "river rafting". Hummmmm.

Maybe I'll just have to sit and put my feet up. lol. win-win :)

I AM glad that I'll have the stitches taken out before we go through so I don't have to rely on the ship doctors. I'm sure they're good, but still. Here's to hoping the stitches are ready to come out in a week.

Y

 

Your suitcases need a little tweakingTaking a second look at your pics, you've actually got lots of space, it just isn't utilized well at the moment the pics were taken.

 

VERY true. I haven't really tried to pack yet...just throwing stuff in for now so I don't forget them (passports are now thrown in as well. lol). But great tips for the packing (And I've already got shower caps thrown in for the way home with our "wet" shoes.

:)

So yesterday was not a good day for my family. :( Ended up in the ER with about 40 stitches to my lip/face because of a dog bite. I'll get the stitches out on Fri before we leave, but PLEASE if you see me don't point and laugh. (I know, no one would do that, but still. You probably won't see any full face selfies in my review...maybe some "half face" selfies.)

I'll probably have an appt with the plastic surgeon in a few months to try to further fix my lip. :(

But...it's not going to keep us from going or from having a good time.

Still no room number....and I don't really care what room we're in....I just wanna know! Lol

Packing is gonna be a problem if the looks of the suitcases at the moment are any indication...

Let's see...I've got my shoes, presents for DH, my suit, and shampoo and conditioner...clothes are optional, right? And yes, the plan is for us to share these 2 suitcases! Sigh. I might have to have DH open some of those before we go (and they're all little things...socks, undies, candy....but still). Sigh. Oh well, ill worry about it in another week. Ha!!

Don't forget -- it usually shows up on the luggage tags first.

I didn't know that, thanks!

Of course once before we got our room, I put it on all the tags, showed up on the day we left and found out we had a last minute room change. I was irritated until I figured out that we were put into a suite. :)

As long as I get a room, I'm happy!

Is it wrong that I am constantly refreshing my HA page to see if we've been assigned a room yet? lol Sigh.

10 days!

We also sailing on Dec 20. This will be our second Christmas cruise with HAL.I see a that quite a few folks planing to do LIVE, so i decided to drop out of race:) Will just enjoy my first ever aft cabin.

You're gonna love it! We had one when we went to Alaska a few years ago. my dad had one on one side and we had one on the other side...we spent quite a bit of time running back and forth in front of those glaciers! lol

:)

One thing I did was SPLURGE on first class tickets to get to Ft. Lauderdale.

I wasn't going to as the flight isn't that long, but I had just gotten done spending $800 EACH for us to fly over Thanksgiving...and was irritated...so when I saw that the FC tickets to get to FL were "only" $800 I said WTH and went for it.

BUT, I haven't told DH that we're flying First Class. Hee hee. So it'll be a Christmas present for him. I can see it now.

"Come on, hon....we'll check in here."

"But that's the first class line."

(me, with a satisfied look on my face...) "I know."

:) OK, it's a little thing, but I'm looking forward to surprising hubby with it.

The weather over the next 10 days is amazing here in TX (seventies!!!) but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that a crazy ice storm doesn't descend on us after that! lol

I don't drink a lot, but it would be really nice to have a "Not your Father's Root Beer" while on board, but assuming they won't have it on board. lol

(have you guys tried it? It's a malt, but tastes almost exactly like root beer! Yummy!)

We probably won't pack until the morning we leave...but whatever...we're on vaca! We'll figure it out! lol

I'm Baaaaack!

I admit, I don't post a lot, but I lurk a LOT...especially right before we cruise. Our first HAL cruise was in 2000 and we're still going strong (see signature for cruises). This is our first time cruising together in the Caribbean. We tend to like Hawaii and Alaska (obviously. lol)

DH and I are in our 40's and we LOVE HAL. We aren't party animals (DH is 20 years sober) and don't dance...we DO like to eat, relax, and hang out...so cruising on HAL is perfect for us.

Last year we went on a river cruise in Europe for Christmas. It was great...although after about 15 Christmas markets we were done. lol. River cruises are VERY different from ocean cruises...you can see land at all times, security getting on and off the ship was lax, and entertainment was lacking.

Oh...and the rooms....yeah....twin beds (the sofas folded out into beds) and they were TINY. You can see how small they really were.

Also...it was Germany and France...in December...so it was COLD. Here is DH trying not to freeze to death at one of the stops. Brrrr

I'm gonna do my best to show you some interesting stuff around the ship as this will be the first cruise after the Eurodam comes out of dry dock. I'll answer questions ya'll might have as well. We are in a guarentee room with a balcony. No Neptune or super suite for us this cruise. Just an normal every-day balcony room.

We have some excursions planned...although not at every port. Snorkling, the Everglades, American Cup Rigatta, River rafting, Sting Rays...the usual stuff. :)

I am a full-time romance author, so I'm not known for my brevity, but I'll see what I can do. lol My goal is to write my next book on the cruise and I'm hoping there will be unlimited Internet so I can keep in touch with my readers (and post pictures to this thread).

We are leaving our "kids" home with Grand-dog-ma, but most of the time all they do is sleep, so I don't even think they'll notice we'll be gone. ha!

We have a table for 6 in the early dining (those tables are usually along the back, by the back windows...which we like.). The bigger tables are too big because DH has some hearing loss from the Army, and 6 seems to be a good size for us..small enough to get to know people, but not too small if someone decides to eat in one of the specialty restaurants.

I know there are a lot of these "Live" posts, so I'll try to do this one justice. If you have any questions, just post them here and I'll see what I can do.

We tend to be very laid back...so if the food's not exactly right, or if something happens that's not perfect...we aren't really effected... we are Anti-drama at all costs...I'll try to share any info that's pertinent that we might hear.

Less than 2 weeks and I'm MORE than ready! Christmas decorations and presents packed, swimsuits ready to go...is it the 20th yet?

:)

DH and I will also be on the ship right after drydock (Dec 20th). I was going to do a live from, but I'm not sure how many live-from's are necessary. I'll play it by ear. :)

2 weeks. Can't wait!

We went through this with my father and his GF. We knew she would not be able to go on the trip, so we bought the platinum insurance. They told us over and over, be SURE to call TWENTY FOUR hours before the cruise starts and my father wouldn't have to pay the single supplement, and we would ONLY be out the 10% for the girlfriend.

We called when we got to Seattle and 24 hours before the cruise...and she was canceled with no issues and my father was able to cruise without paying anything extra.

My advice? Call within 24 hours and you'll get 90% (or whatever it is) of her payment back. It stinks, but if you follow the rules you can get your money back.

So in 2013, my hubby and I took my father on his first cruise.

Here's the live thread from it: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1914651

He LOVED it. He's been on a few by himself since then (including a Disney Cruise with his grandkids...which is a VERY different cruise than on HAL. lol)

He decided to bite the bullet and go on the World Cruise this coming year. He'll be by himself, but is very excited. He's asked me several questions that I can't answer because while I've been on several cruises, I haven't been on one over 15 days and certainly not the WC.

(Like...when and how much do I tip...I told him I guessed it would be broken up because the stewards and waiters and such might be rotated off the ship at some point).

So what other "tips" do you have for him? What does he NEED to bring, or what should he know before he goes in Jan?

I DID tell him to make sure he got an extension for his taxes...

Thanks all! I think he's nervous, but very excited as well.

I've been away from cruising for the last 2 years, so this is great to hear! My business (author) relies on the Internet to keep in touch with readers, advertising, uploading books, etc, so having unlimited Internet is vital. Here's to hoping it'll be available on the Eurodam in Dec. If not, I'll still use the other kind, but unlimited would be nice.

Thanks for the updates!

I'm BAAAACK! (It's been a while since I've been on Cruise Critic...but now I'll be on 2 HA cruises in the next year., so I thought I'd better come back and see what's up in the world of HA!)

Anyway, hubby and I will be on the Eurodam in Dec right after the dry-dock. I'll try to take pics and have a live thread. We're doing the back-to-back collectors cruise...14 days.

I'm sure there will be "bumps" in the road since it's right after the drydock, but hopefully nothing major. :)

Gina06- it was a ship excursion. I tried to price other helicopter rides and they were all about the same price as the ship one so I figured we might as well go with the ship. The one where you walk on the glacier is a bit more but I think really worth it.

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Llmace--- SO cool about your story about that lighthouse! Have a great time on your cruise with your mom!

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Sue117, Hello! I have a Question that you can give me, an opinion on. You had access to both sides of the ship which one do you think is better to have for Glacier Bay viewing? Or just the whole trip in general. Thanks

You don't really need a "side" for glacier Bay viewing as far as I'm concerned. The captain of the ship does a great job of spinning in circles so all sides of the ship get the same amount of viewing time on the glacier. And in the past, when we didn't have an aft balcony we spent time on the upper pool deck and wandered back and forth from side to side depending on which side of the ship the glacier was on.

That being said people have suggested that for an Alaskan Cruise the right side of the ship is better since when you are headed UP towards the cities land is on the right side of the ship. This didn't matter to us on our cruise through because it was FOGGY and we couldn't see land anyway! lol It also seemed like we moved a lot at night when we were sleeping to again, seeing land wasn't a big priority when it's dark and we were sleeping! lol

Hope that helps!

Oh my gosh, I forgot to tell all of you guys another funny (ok, I'm sure you don't REALLY care, but still....)

About 2 weeks after the cruise I went to Las Vegas for a geocaching event (yes, remember that I am a nerd). I met up with one of my friends from IN. Well my DAD was in Vegas at the Same time! lol He was still on his way home from the cruise and had gotten to Vegas. So even though I had just spent a week with him on the cruise, we met up in Vegas and had breakfast together! What a coincidence!