Florida_gal_50

I guess it’s one of those surprise charters hal didn’t know of ahead of time 😛. To me that’s not acceptable.

I can't imagine why any kid would enjoy the retreat cabana. It is absolutely hot in the area plus there is nothing to entertain them. I can definitely see the Lido cabanas being a draw on the ships they are on because the pool is right there. They would be hot too though.

Same about the koningsdam. Unfortunately not all ships run the same way.

The op spoke specifically about complaints from not bing able to order 2 steaks in the pinnacle not the mdr. If 5 people order 2 steaks in the mdr and hal needs to raise prices to cover that they are in bigger trouble than I thought. On my many, many cruises on hal I've never seen anyone order duplicate entrees. I must be always in the section where people don't eat much instead of the section where people are eating 5 or 6 lobsters and multiple steaks. Either that or I'm not interested in whatever everyone else is doing.

Looks fine to me.

I’m not talking about appetizers. Yes there have been many of them. I have not seem any complaints about not being able to get two entrees. The op specifically stated people complaining about not being able to get two entrees. Could you provide a link please if you’ve seen the complaint about two entrees? That said, I don’t think most people have paid thousands to eat at a restaurant per person. I don’t see the relevance. I certainly would not expect to get 2 steaks in the pinnacle.

I’ve found the gym on every ship I’ve sailed on the be too warm. I do go pretty often. I will try sending a note through navigator. That actually never occurred to me so thanks for the suggestion. I just assume they keep it warm so you’ll leave an go spend money elsewhere 😛.

I don't recall anyone complaining about being charged for a second entree at the pinnacle never mind non stop. I guess I've missed a lot of posts.

They were trying something different on the koningsdam. All the cabana stewards were working in the cabanas for their entire contact. Usually they stay for a couple weeks then shift back to their regular job. I like the idea of having constant people there. They probably like it too because I bet they make a lot more money. I got this information from the stewards themselves.

This is what I dislike about westjet. Always waiting for them to “open”. I don’t know why the transfers to the airport are confused. My cruise with Princess was delayed coming into port because of fog. Then it took forever for the transfer. Then they got lost at the airport. We seemed to go around in circles. I barely made my 5 pm flight. I hope you make your connection.

I want to thank the op so much for this wonderful thread. Great detail. I hope all goes well with your flight tomorrow.

I’m not buying that it was a computer problem. Whenever I book a cabana I’m on hold forever while they go check whatever they check. If this was such a archaic system there would be a lot more issues than this. That said I can see hal having some kind of excel spreadsheet to keep this information 😛. While I’ve never booked a holiday cruise close to the sailing I have booked a few cruises within 10 to 14 days of sailing I’ve always been able snag a cabana. On my American thanksgiving and the week before cruises I booked my cabana about 3 months before and had my choice. Didn’t ask about the family cabana.

People just love to minimize the feelings of others. As I asked before, would you be happy with an inside room instead of a pinnacle suite or Neptune if hal kicked you out of it? For some this is their big celebration, maybe a once in a long time cruise. I know some people take cruises every other month. Maybe that would be no big deal then. Problems happen. It’s how you fix them that matters. Hal’s method is ignoring them and hoping they go away. Just like the airlines that do nothing to fix their issues. Now they are paying the price.

Great idea but I suspect the op will be off the cruise by the time they answer.

Guest services is useless. On my last cruise hal lost a lot of my information plus recognition I was blamed for all of it. Eventually they found out it was my room steward. No apology. That no way to run a company.

I can guarantee 💯 that would not happen unless you started throwing punches or getting violent.

They are really beautiful on the non pinnacle. I love me a pinnacle ship but those family cabanas are not worth it.

The family has the amazing view from two sides as well. Not the same for sure.

I don't love comments like this. Would you like if you booked a neptune suite or above and then hal told you here is this lovely inside room but don't let it ruin your vacation? It would absolutely ruin mine. I'm sure you could still have a lovely vacation in that inside room!

I'd be tempted to get on board with paperwork in hand (minus and cancellation info) and park my butt in that cabana and let HAL sort it out. Once you book you should not be booted out of it for someone more "important". The family cabanas are just lovely on the non pinnacle class and anyone that gets one would know this is a huge disappointment. Hal needs to honor commitments and stop treating people this way and think its ok. Good luck!

Dallen works at the port of San Diego.

I’d love a canal cruise from San Diego too. I’m just reading a thread on the Princess board on a ship I’m considering. She posted the breakfast menu and it’s disappointing as I remembered. She’s also posted lunch menus and I swear they are the same from when I sailed on them several years ago. I was considering celebrity but their cancel for any reason insurance sucks for Canadians. I’m not interested in traditional insurance.

Omg 3100 to 3200 at Christmas. Where the heck are they going to put them? I’m glad the mdr was open for lunch on embarkation. I remember you posting that. I wished it was open for my cruises. I love hals breakfast menu. Everything you could possibly want imo. I’ve read people being disappointed that they don’t have specials. What could they offer? The Princess breakfast menu sucks. My next cruise will likely be with them so I will miss the hal breakfast. I too wish hal would have some more variety of cruises from San Diego. I would love to see more 10 or 11 day Mexico that aren’t near the end of the month. I can’t get away from work at that time. Thanks for the review.

I've heard of people requesting certain tables in advance and getting them . This was in fixed dining though. I can't tell from your post if you are in fixed dining or not. If you are, hopefully someone can tell you to do it because I have never done this.

Given the choice of the MDR by a window or club orange I would take club orange every time. The mdr is chaotic. Even when full I've never found club orange to be like that. I can't remember ever having hot food in the mdr. I'd say 90% plus it's hot in club orange.