Mary229

American backtracked on that policy. So I assume Flight Ease may start offering American again if they haven’t already

A few more things. Book the hotel as soon as you decide as they often sell out. You don’t have to pay until final payment and can cancel up to then airfares won’t be available for your perusal until 335 days before your last cruise day

You don’t need to use HAL air to take advantage of their hotel and transfer package. The list of airlines and flights is ever changing. Go to manage your cruise page and click on the heading related to travel and flights. Their program is called Flight Ease. There you can study what is available, check back often as it changes frequently. You can select a flexible fare now and won’t have to pay until final payment and you can change your selection at anytime until final payment. Of course you can cancel totally penalty free up to final payment tip - always check business class, sometimes there are surprisingly cheap fares

No one is suggesting to fly into Rotterdam. Rotterdam is a great hub city to quickly get to The Hague, Delft, Gouda, Kinderdjik and beyond.

The HAL transfer without hotel is only day of cruise and only airport to terminal Booking all with HAL is not a bad choice. I find it convenient. It includes a transfer that meets you at the airport up to 2 days prior, free breakfast and early Checkin. Finally it also includes transfer from hotel to ship. For your first trip it would provide a lot of ease

Rarely do we agree but look it is happening! I think HAL particularly is suffering from an identity crisis and a lack of focus. They need to define their brand, create a plan and move forward. Anecdotally and coincidentally my loyalist DH just commented it is time to move on after our currently booked plans. I did cancel two this week, they just seemed lackluster, no other reason. No excitement, no anticipation. Travel is discretionary, there must be spark.

Princess just announced a new ship https://www.carnivalcorp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/princess-cruises-reveals-epic-2026-alaska-season

Alaska has been very popular lately and I would book your most wanted excursions asap. Many of the tour operators watch what the cruise lines charge and match the prices so you will not always save money by going independent. Also many of the tour operators prefer to work with the cruise lines as the cruise lines have insurance to cover lost revenue. Either way, choose early and reserve. May will be better than June as far as availability. whale watching tours fill up quickly

As recently as last spring HAL was offering their shuttle service from the Movenpick Centraal in Amsterdam. So if you want to use their affordable shuttle and stay in Amsterdam you could either stay at the Movenpick or get there. DO check with HAL to see if that service is still available . Last I checked it was $29 per person and that is a crazy good price

That is exactly what we decided to do. Our lanai experience was nice but I think I will enjoy the more efficient flow of the OV. I will bookmark this thread and leave photos and comments.

Thanks for the review

I love the location, the promenade is quite a bit more social than those not staying there realize. However the rooms are smaller and the layout of the furniture is not optimal to accommodate the sliding door. We are once again on deck 3 next week but chose the OV instead of the lanai. I will let you know how that works out.

Since the start up in 2022 I have the crew much less reticent about confrontation. I attribute this to two factors 1. Many are novices and 2. Many more pax are much angrier and disgruntled

Exactly and @sunviking90 when you refare you could be choosing a nonrefundable deposit as the new sale price may require that. I give my TA a bullet point with all of my current perks remarking on the ones I absolutely want, those that are expendable and those that make no difference. She shops the new fares with a tracker and alerts me when there is a potential re-faring opportunity. Occasionally we have been able to keep perks from the old booking in exchange for removal of a perk on the new - this is rare

Not a good situation. Safe travels.