scubacruiserx2

On 2/12/2023 at 9:36 AM, CruiserBruce said:

Yes, 3 times. Its great...the butler will take great care of you. The food is very good. 

 What kind of food or drinks are included ?

 One of the things that we added to our future HMC Villa rental is a butler service . Our TA did this on their 1st HAL cruise , but when we looked at Youtube , we could not find any videos of this service which includes food and drinks . We hope to record some photos or a video when we go .

  So sorry that squatters moved in while you were gone ! We felt like we were playing a game of Survivor on the island for our clamshell , so that's why I stayed there . We're from Florida and we know about the heat in the shell so we stay away from the midday sun . We think they are used for the frequent pop up showers .

  A look at HMC and a video of  the cabana and the beach Villa that we will be renting .

https://insightcruises.com/pdf/Half_Moon_Cay.pdf

  Room for 2 in a clamshell

Nieuw Amsterdam on the rocks at HMC

The mats that people were using for floating and Pat and Tyler snorkeling for fish . They found some that a lady was feeding and a turtle also

The sister ships at HMC

Getting too crowded for us . We have some nice beaches in Florida but we don't go where the crowds are .

 A large number of people keep bugging us about our shell .  Pat did meet a couple of ladies from the other ship who had paid and got no shell . It's seems that HAL had sold more shells than were available . They seemed to be very nice so we asked at the rental area if we could leave them the shell and  she said OK so we waited until they got settled in the shell before we left at about 11 AM .

Friday October 28th , 2023 HMC 

 Less than a week later we were back at HMC with our grandson for his 20th birthday present , his first trip on HAL .

We were up early to pick a clam shell before it got busy so we were on the 1st Tender . The Nieuw Statendam was right behind us .

As soon as we got off we made a beeline to the rental place before it got very busy

The water was warm and clear and Pat and Tyler wanted to snorkel . I just took photos and guarded the clam shell as people were checking ours out and asking a lot of questions about it .

   Our first Neptune Suite was our first visit to Alaska cabin # 7071 .

It was near the elevators and the Neptune Lounge . It was quite except for the people coming and going to the lounge especially during drinking hours in the afternoon . When we were on the balcony there was a loss of privacy on the balcony next to the glass elevators where you can be seen and many people stopped to get off on that floor to use the Lounge .

  Returning to the ship

  We went ashore after the crowds had left the ship for the lobster lunch .

 A visit to Half moon Cay from the Nieuw Amsterdam

We had booked the Lobster lunch as our only plan . And to take some photos also . The tenders here were more roomy , safer and more open which was much nicer that being squeezed into the orange boats .

 Some sights from Grand Turk

The beach that we went to

  My understanding from CC is that ashes go free .

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/scattering-ashes-at-sea-10-common-questions-answered#do-i-need-permission-from-the-cruise-line-to-scatter-ashes-at-sea?

 But that skeletons go for 1/2 price in your cabin during Halloween . 😁💀

  This is why we like Grand Turk so much . Our lunch after diving .

Conch Fritters , Lobster , Shrimp and a local brew

These are called Horse Eyed Jacks because of their large bulging eyes .

22 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

 

 Thank you for your service at a time when this country was divided over Vietnam . We saw a very good movie last night called Hacksaw Ridge . I had flash backs during of the movie but boot camp in the Navy was different . Our Company Commander was a Machinist Mate ( Engineman ? ) and I was in charge when he was gone called RCPO . He only spent the first night in boot camp to teach me what to do .

 We have heard good things about the Yacht Club from our TA . But we're still gaga over the suite on NCL and the cruise to Antarctica .

   This is our suite on our upcoming cruise .

  And this was our Suite on the NCL Star in January

 In addition to the best cabin , we our best CC meet and greet ever held in the French dining room .

 If you would like a free trip to Antarctica on the NCL Star the review is here .

10 hours ago, KruisinKath said:

Ooh, good tip re: the drapes!  Also, you probably figured, but our trip is 2025 not 2925, Lol. Sorry for not noticing/correcting!

 I did notice but you may be like me . Some people like to plan or book early . 😊

20 minutes ago, KruisinKath said:

Is this 7132? If so, that’s mine for our July 2925 Alaska cruise, with sis on one side, aft facing, and mom on the other side, port (?) side. We’ll open the balcony dividers and meander at will!  

 Yes it is . When we met our Grandson at Fort Lauderdale we had booked 7130 next to us and had the doors opened between balconies .

 He could use our balcony unless our drapes were closed meaning we wanted privacy .

5 hours ago, BSR said:

Thanks so much.  Video was very helpful.  

 You're welcome

39 minutes ago, Heartgrove said:

 

We had a great time with Mega Adventures. I was in the Coast Guard late '60's to early '70's and was an Engineman. We have been sailing on MSC and they also offer 5%+5% discounts. Their Yacht Club is great!

 Thank you for your service at a time when this country was divided over Vietnam . We saw a very good movie last night called Hacksaw Ridge . I had flash backs during of the movie but boot camp in the Navy was different . Our Company Commander was a Machinist Mate ( Engineman ? ) and I was in charge when he was gone called RCPO . He only spent the first night in boot camp to teach me what to do .

 We have heard good things about the Yacht Club from our TA . But we're still gaga over the suite on NCL and the cruise to Antarctica .

On 4/22/2024 at 6:35 PM, BSR said:

Looking to book my first Neptune Suite on N. Amsterdam. Is there any difference in the cabin size on decks 6 or 7? I see that the cabins on deck 7 are near the lounge. Also, I have a choice of aft cabins on decks 5, 6 or 7. Are these cabins larger inside or is the balcony huge? Trying to decide which one to pick. Any suggestions?  Thanks.

 We would recommend aft wrap 7 . We spent 3 weeks in it and here's a video .

  A big mistake on my part . The tittle should read 7 Day Tropical Caribbean on the Nieuw Amsterdam .

5 hours ago, Heartgrove said:

Something your grandsons might enjoy. We were on the Carnival Venezia in November and had a port call in Puerto Playa, DR. Our ship excursion was with Mega Adventures. We rode around the area in the back of 6x6 ex-Army trucks. They also offer zipline excursions.

 Thank you . We will run it past the kids and grandsons . One great thing for our son , DIL and 3rd grandson is that 2 of them are native Spanish speakers and our Son is fluent . DIL is from Peru . We speak survival Spanish and Russian . Were you in the Navy ? I was  a Corpsman in the early 70's . HAL gives a $ 100 credit but when we went to Antarctica on NCL this year they gave a 10 % price reduction on our Suite which is HUGE .

1 hour ago, 0106 said:

The beach at Grand Turk is beautiful.  The younger folks may appreciate the excitement at Margaritaville.  However, I walk about 10 minutes down the beach to Jack’s Shack.  I’ve also done private snorkeling tours with Blue Water Divers.

 

Don’t hold your breath with Key West. It is frequently cancelled.

 Thanks , we did charter a boat for snorkeling for everyone . We have 3 SCUBA divers but they may get bored watching us so we're all snorkeling @ Blue Water divers . There are a of couple nice places to eat lunch near there .

 We are the only ship on that date as we were in 2023 . Here we are at Mallory Square in Key West .

 This is where the locals gather to watch the sunset . We had a couple of late people that almost made us block the sunset which is why the natives get restless .

 We did move in time and it was a good one .

 Key West and the DR is where we mainly need some ideas . and help .

1 hour ago, Haljo1935 said:

Welcome to HAL!

You will automatically get CO with your Neptune Suite. 

 Thank you , but it's for the rest of the family .

4 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Get a villa on HMC. Fun splurge for a group like yours.

 We did book that along with a butler like we  had on the NCL Star in Antarctica . He was great . We saw them when they were being built in 2012 .

  It will be our Family holiday for the first time on HAL . Us , 3 kids and their husbands , wife and 3 grandsons ages 13-21 . HMC ,Grand Turk , Dominican Republic and Key West . Any ideas especially for the Grandsons ? All are Club Orange except us in the Neptune Suite .