mark46

Have folks used jetblue? It seems that their 'mint" class is very reasonably priced.

How do HAL transfers from AMS work, say to the New York hotel a couple of days before departure? Are the services greatly different if we stay at their hotel. ========== Going home, I presume that we will be fine using HAL's transfer of luggage to the airport and perhaps one of their tours.

We the Alaska cruise out of Seattle. ======= We are ready to take the tour to Skagway and are deciding regarding land tours. We probably want one of the shorter one. First, my wife is mobility impaired. She is able to walk short distances a cane and get on buses. We certainly would include Denali> Some questions. 1) It seems that if we choose 2 nights at Denali that it is basically sleeping one night, the Lonng tour, dinner and a show. That fine, but what could we had an additional day at the resort. 2) Are the shuttles dependable? I suspect that we should get lodging near the square. 3) What other things might we include? A tour of Whittier? of Ankorage? of Fairfield?

Cruisemapper has Byond docking in FLL at 7AM and departing from MIA at 8PM on May 4th.

🙂 On HAL, we sometimes put laundry out in the morning and got it back by that day. If we put it out in the evening, we definitely got it back on the next day. Basically, it one of our butlers saw the laundry, it would be immediately picked up, and of course if the laundry person had something to deliver, he would also pick up. ========= I suspected the situation was as your state, almost two full days.

We are used to HAL with unlimited free laundry twice a day, including pressing. How does this work on Celebrity Beyond? We are in a Royal Suite.

Hyatt Regency Miami near Riverwalk

Which restaurants are available to Royal Suite members at no extra charge? Can reservations be made before boarding? Do I need to use the Concierge?

SOME THOUGHTS 1) HAL has a service where they deliver your luggage to your airline (no charge). I don't know whether Southwest is covered, This helps us a lot, but is not relevant if you are going to stay an additional day. We add days before and have HAL deliver us to the airport after. BTW, an excursion is very inexpensive since they credit the cost of the shuttle. 2) The only issue with hotel shuttles is that you should book them immediately upon checking in. They can fill up. Otherwise, we have always found them reliable. However, Uber or a taxi works fine and are more convenient. 3) We have never had any problems with security at the cruise-port. Of course, any true valuables should be on your carry-on, not your suitcase. 4) Disembarking can be hectic. If you don't have an early flight, then wait as late as possible. 5) yes to air tags.

I like newer ships, so NA for me. I believe there are more dining and entertainment options. ====== With regard to Tamarind, it has the best Asian food on any cruise line. On one Youtube review, it was compared favorably with the best restaurants in Thailand.

I mean a non-stop flight

We are coming from SAV and will take a round-trip flight. My wife uses a wheelchair at airports (especially MIA) and we will need help getting to a shuttle or cab. We are now considering spending 2 nights at a hotel. Will the Hyatt Regency work, It seems to be near Riverwalk and other attractions, and we should be able to get transportant to an from. Are there better choices. Some mention the Hampton Inn - Blue Lagoon.

We've used Special Needs several times on Holland America. All went well.

We would like to stay a couple of nights before we cruise on May 4th. There seems to be a lot to experience close to the hotel.

So, to understand. I can board at 10:30-11 for a 8PM departure? In that case, an early morning flight seems to make sense, BTW, we fly into MIA. Is the best way to get to the ship a taxi, or does Celebrity have transfers?

We are boarding MIA in May. Docs say that we depart at 8PM. Flights generally arrive in the morning. How early can we board? We have a Royal Suite on the Beyond leaving May 4. m

Also, you can have as many sides as you want.

BOTTOM LINE The dining credit must include Pinnacle. It makes no difference what some of the literature says. The system is set up to require Pinnacle. Of course, the situation ended up being punted to Guest Services when onboard. I suspect that HAL just refuses to pay someone to make a programming chance. After all, they will make more money if a few hundred dining credits were used at Canaletto instead of Pinnacle. The extra money would add up fast. ===================== I contact HAL. Chat was useless. A call was useless until she escalated the call. The policy is very clear. The system will only allow the dining credit to be used for Pinnacle. The Dining Credit is indeed a Pinnacle (Dinner) Credit (sometimes plus tamarind or canaletto) ============== HOWEVER, the supervisor indicated that Guest Services makes this kind of change once we are on board. In other words, Guest Services becomes to good guys by allowing us to bypass HAL's rules. And, of course, our concierge would fix it after I'm on board, especially when all the reasonable reservation times are gone. ========

Regarding HAL desserts, I look forward to the sweets at the Dutch Cafe. I understand that many are excellent, and the cream puff is to die for.

Is there a customer care number that would help with reservations? The Navigator insists that Pinacle must be used. I will try again,

Haljo1935 mention food substitutions. Here I have not had a problem. Sometimes the protein will come with sides that I don't prefer. I've had no troubles getting substitutes, even those not on the menu. Also, I believe that the experience of those who have the same waiters almost every day can even ask for something different for the next day. I have heard a lot about Canaletto. That kind of service is certainly common there. I recall a story where a couple made their order and the chef came over and wanted to speak with them since they hadn't ordered his special lasagne. He offered and brought over a small serving for each of them at no charge. THAT is what I expect from HAL.

I won't point to youtube reviews since they may have copyright issues. Please note, that for this customer and for me, we LOVE Holland America and its food. Here's a customer comment from another site. I'm sure he/she won't mind. After such excellent experiences at Club Orange, dinner at Pinnacle Grill was a huge disappointment. From the service to the food, everything was horrible. 3 of 4 steaks cooked wrong.1 sent back twice. And what made it worse was no one cared, not server, not the manager and apparently not the chef. Asparagus tasted like it came from a can. We had to get up and pour our water after glasses sat empty. And again, no one cared. Baked Alaska was horrid with over cooked cake and icy, tasteless ice cream. No way was that Ben and Jerry's as advertised. . Worst specialty restaurant experience in 72 cruises. Will never go back or recommend. We will gladly stick with Club Orange where the food and service has been beyond expectations.

We always rent a scooter, delivered to us on board. My wife gets around fine on it. However, she finds it difficult to get in and out of our room without me being with her. The good news is that we almost always are together. The bad news is that she loses independence. One help has been to have a room very close to the Neptune Lounge. She is comfortable using a cane for short distances. Any tips. BTW, my late thanks to the one who posted tips regarding elevators. BTW, does HAL have a handicapped button outside the elevators. I have never noticed.

I have been fine with the appetizers. The BAKED Alaska was frozen and the flavor was NOT Ben and Jerry's. Sides weren't very good. Even the lobster mac and cheese was just OK. BTW, I'm from the only one. When looking for reviews of food on the Rotterdam, the reviewers all had their pluses and minuses. Overall, they were very. very favorable. Tamarind is of course one of the very best restaurants at sea. Some liked, and some loved Canaletto. But several had negative remarks about the Pinnacle.

Canaletto is what I had in mind I expect that our Neptune Suite concierge will be able to take care of this, but I wanted to point out the issue. Some of HAL stuff even says 2 out of Pinnacle, Tamarind and Canaletto. For me, this is plain silly (as is not allowing to use the credit for lunch). I don't know what they are trying to accomplish.