mark46

Do they send you formal or formal times? Do they matter? I know that embarcation is different for suite members as on most liners.

How does this work? For example are you bidding the total amount for the stateroom, or the total per person? Are you bidding say the $1000 that you are willing to pay to upgrade or do you bid the total price? I presume that MSC choosing your stateroom.

This cruise was at a slight discount was about $5 a night more.

😞 It took me less than 10 keystrokes. .Find Florida October 2024 Cruises to Mexico (with Prices) - Cruise Critic

I agree that all should be treated well, otherwise you should choose a liner that teats you well no matter the price. ======== With regard to price, there are those traveling for $55 a night on our next MSC 7-day cruise. If Carnaval and NCL have better prices and experiences, by all means choose them. ====== If I were to travel in a junior suite (glorified balcony) or less, I would ALWAYS choose Holland America. I think that ALL guests are treated very well.

We really like the Yacht Club. The experience is great and the prices are great. Are there those who have poor experiences with the Yacht Club on Seashore? I suspect all the problems are for those who choose other levels. And, as many have said, if one can afford Yacht Club, it is really hard to beat.

We will be going on the Beyond next year. We be in a Royal Suite. How can we get menus from the various menus before the cruise or shortly after we board. This would help us plan better. =========

Please help us decide from Celebrity, Horizon and Royal Suites. Are the Royal =Suite extras worth almost $3K extra? Can't those extra be purchased for less? or not?

On the website, it says that there is a minimum limit of passengers. Does that mean that she won't leave the dock without that many or that she needs reservations for groups only?

just considering

You can google or look on youtube. On HAL, we always book a Neptune Suite near their Neptune Lounge. BTW, I'm somewhat amused with the great O benefit of washers and dryers on every floor and 3 bags of free pressing. I'm used to daily free laundry that comes back within 24 hours cleaned and folded. HAL doesn't have a ship within a ship. They are similar to O in that they do value treating folks relatively equally. But there are many options and preferences given to Neptune suite guests. On Celebrity, we book a Royal Suite. This includes unlimited access to all specialty restaurants as well as to their ship within a ship. Suite guests have their own restaurant lounge, retreat and many other benefits. One also has access to the "healthy" restaurant BLU if there is room. Service includes a dedicated butler (not as good as MSC service, but cry good).

As I have said, I really liked the treatment in the Yacht Club. Perhaps, folks might consider the ship within a ship as a separate entity of like-minded folks who have access to another ship with lots and lots of entertainment and other activities. The negative of smaller ships is that the larger ships indeed have lot more to do and experience. The positive of the retreats is that you have the feel of a small ship unless you choose to go out. And, yes, then you are often given escorts, special lines, priority reservations and other goodies. The concierges and butlers recognize you (and other so also because of your wristband) and you are given priority treatment. For example, when we entered the buffet area, we were immediately met by a butler who offered us help. No, this isn't equality. It is level of service that some choose to pay for and others do not. Let me be very clear. MSC is very popular for those who do not choose the yacht club. There is solid value for the prices charged. I was amazed to see what some were paying.

Different strokes. We loved the treatment we got in the Yacht Club. And, yes, we did like the food, especially the desserts. I recall a recent comparison comparing HAL and Celebrity. Folks considered the pluses and minuses sort of balancing out. However, the standard was the Yacht Club.

We are considering Oceania to Bermuda next year. Bermuda is on my wife's bucket list and being able to get into Hamilton and St George is a major plus. We are used to Holland America (Neptune Suite), although we also like Celebrity (Royal Suite and MSC (Yacht Club) We would get a penthouse suite. 1) Are the amenities comparable to the other lines I listed? 2) I understand from other posters that the food doesn't meet the hype (how could it?). Are the specialty restaurants included for suite guests. If so, how is the food there compared with specialty restaurants say on Celebrity? 3) Is there a piano bar? What music venues are available in the evenings? 4) What are advantages of Oceania over Celebrity for Bermuda. Thanks in advance.

Both Celebrity and Holland should work well for you.

Oceania has cruise that go into Hamilton and St George, some out of Boston and some out of New York.

Much depends on the length of the cruise. Cruises longer than 7 days tend to have fewer under 50's.

Aren't the 3 heritage site fjords the "best" to see, or will be happy with any of the fjord cruises?

Will HAL be able to cruise into the Norwegian fjords in 2026. I see 2026 cruises listed but I understand that cruise ships will be banned unless they are emission free.

This past year on the Niew Amsterdam and on the Eurodam, we have had a "cocktail party" on Embarkation Day in the Neptune Lounge. It was for a half hour and left enough time to get to the evening show. The purpose was to introduce the concierges and to review the suite benefits that we had, as well as to answer questions about how to do various things (e.g. dining reservations. Club Orange). We did have a card invitation in our stateroom. They may have been a different captain's Cocktail Party. If so, it was not in the Neptune Lounge. In any case, none of these functions have dress codes, although I would feel uncomfortable in a bathing suit or even shorts.

I guess that I'm still OK. I fly out of SAV and occasionally out of JAX.

We do want business/first class. I've noticed that jetblue mint service is about 1/2 of the cost of other business/first class. It would be a plus if HAL worked with them. IN any case, the information here will certainly help.

We are going to our first European cruise out of Rotterdam next fall. I understand that booking airfare with HAL as a package with transfer and hotel makes some sense, especially since my wife walks with a cane. What airlines with flights from the US does HAL work with. If I were to book on my own, I think that JetBlue's mint service makes a lot of sense. I also see that Delta and AA have first class or business service.

I'm still not quite clear on all of this. This would be our first European cruise. Norway is on our plans for 2026. We are planning to arrive in AMS on Sep 17 or 18, 2025. We plan to stay at a Rotterdam hotel for 2-3 days and depart from Rotterdam on Sept 20th for our cruise. My wife uses a cane, so no trains or buses. We will need a transfer from the airport to the Rotterdam hotel. I'm fine getting from the Rotterdam hotel to the ship. ======== Q1) Are their HAL transfers from AMS to Rotterdam, and do they drop off at hotels, or perhaps they go the cruiseport and we need to take a cab from there (that's OK). Are these available several days before we depart? Q2) I understand that there are also transfers that are part of a hotel package at the Hilton with expected) higher hotel costs. Is that accurate. Q3) I think that I am fine coming back. I would expect to take a transfer or tour/transfer from the ship to AMS. How much time should I allow to make sure that we get our flight or should we just stay day at an airport hotel (BTW, would HAL let off at such a hotel?) Q4) HAL seems to have a TA service that sells airfare and presumably air/transfers/hotel packages. Are the air fares competitive (I presume Delta or JetBlue? Would I still get miles from the airline? Are the transfers less expensive in a package with airfare?

We have been in a Neptune suite 3 times in the last year. We always get our laundry back folded and on hangers, a pressed as needed. We got our laundry back within 24 hours, often twice in one day. I suspect that our cabin steward made shore that the service was timely,