Sea42

Just a guess but I would "bet" they're spending that in the casino. HAL is not giving those cruises away out of the goodness of their heart! There were some good giveaways at the startup to entice people back to cruising but those offers are gone now.

Do you really think that, as cheap as HAL is on perks etc., that they would be giving away "free" cruises if they weren't making a profit on them? That doesn't make any sense.

We were recently on the Nieuw Statendam and on that ship, deck 4 had deeper balconies than the other decks. Is there an equivalent deck to look for on the Oosterdam? Any other preferred balcony cabins? Thanks!

I do enjoy a proper promenade deck! It was one of the only things I didn't enjoy about our cruise on Oceania. On the Marina the only outdoor walking area was on the top of ship with stairs up and down at the bow and stern. Not very enjoyable in the rain or blistering heat. On HAL ships, I love the deck 3 promenade decks (Pinnacle class ships not as much). They are continuous and sheltered and much closer to the sea. Just a wonderful place to go for a walk!

I ask the hotel director on our recent N.S. cruise about behind the scenes tours returning. He stated that they know how popular the tours were and that there is discussion on bringing the tours back late in 2023 or early 2024. Just discussion, not a firm approval that he was aware of.

Sorry I don't drink coffee. I didn't save them but there is someone onboard right now who is doing a Live From thread and maybe they could help you.

LOL I had my haircut about 2 weeks before the cruise! I'm glad we did get a chance to say hi. The photo is from the Orange party night on our cruise. My flannel was the only thing I owned that was orange and it came in handy on some of our chillier days!

Just to add to the confusion😁 On our recent cruise, we had $190 OBC leftover at the end of the cruise $89 of that was non-refundable. I asked at Guest Services if I could cash out my account to use it for a tip for our cabin steward and she gave me the entire $190 in cash. I'm pretty sure that was not suppose to happen.

Mustafa Gulbahar. Hotel General Manager on Nieuw Statendam gave that information about crew members being allowed 15 extra minutes of time off for mentions on the Navigator app while doing a coffee chat program with the cruise director. This was on the May 14th of this year.

I used the app to give a thumbs up to my favorite bartender on Nieuw Statendam. The next time he saw me he thanked me but asked if I might mention the rest of the crew that regularly worked that bar. He said that they worked as a team and the service they provide is only possible thru a group effort. I thought it was great that he would advocate for his coworkers.

I guess I was comparing it to the offers people get that include the cabin, drinks and playing money. But this thread was about the fare discount not the free offers so it wasn't an appropriate comparison. I'm quite happy with the amount of the discount we receive.

I take a pill the night before anything that might trigger my motion sickness.

No you don't

Yes, there is a seat at the end of the shower. In addition to the overhead shower, there is a handheld wand and 3 vertical shower jets on the wall.

Sorry I didn't see your questions earlier. We got off the N.S. on the 28th and were in 4211. We loved it! I know it was smaller than other Neptune Suites and it is a hike to the Neptune Lounge but for us that was not an issue. We had one day/night of moderate, 20ft, seas with a good swell and had no alarming noises, clanking, booming or whatever. We were in Norway so it was cold but we were on that balcony a lot. One side or the other was always out of the wind. On our cruise the scenery was very important so it was the perfect choice for us.

During a coffee chat type of program on the Nieuw Statendam the Hotel General Manager (?) Mustafa stated that every positive mention on the Navigator app that a crew member receives earns them 15 extra minutes of shore time. They can accumulate their 15 minutes to use when they would like. I don't know if this is ship specific but that is an incentive program under this manager.

I ordered mine at the guest service desk. They had a binder of the available choices. I got 2 bow vases and the rectangle one. They make a very nice grouping.

It was! There were a table with 4 chairs, 2 chairs with ottomans and 2 loungers. There is a window washing machine that is parked, beyond the railing on the side portion of ship. It really doesn't interfere with the view but something to be aware of.

@cruising sister or @kazu might be able to answer to answer this better from a solo perspective but I would say yes for the fact that dinning wait time is much better. Also, if there are many tender ports on your itinerary having priority for tendering is nice.

I hope you have a safe, uneventful journey home! I too thought we had better than expected weather for this time of year. I will always remember the amazing waterfalls on this trip!

I thought it was going to be Friday morning. We haven't been on hal recently so that's probably just a faulty memory on my part! It has been a wonderful cruise though I wish you had been here with us!

Some negatives from Nieuw Statendam: 5 out of our 14 days were sea days. It would have been so nice to have guest lectures on board! There is such an opportunity here for talks on history, the environment, the ice age etc. No laundry service for the final 2 days. Thursday evening was the last time we could send in laundry for this cruise ending on Sunday. On these cold weather cruises the ship can be very crowded especially at meal rimes. Hardly anyone is using the outside decks to hang out or eat, so inside seating is at a premium. Related to the prior issue, Club Orange should be open for lunch on sea days! I don't mind background music in the dinning room but IMO it should be instrumentals only. That's about it for my negatives. None are major to me except the first one.

Best wishes for you with your new knee! My husband has had both of his replaced and it has helped him so much.

The last two days have been great! Geiranger was amazing. We took the Waterfall Walk up to the Fjord Center as did many other people. There was another large ship in port with us, so the going was very slow. That was OK though because it gave us plenty of chances to catch our breath on the way up! The Fjord Center itself was packed when we arrived. There were several buses in the parking lot and the line to enter was out the door. We decided to continue walking and try coming back later. There were several trail options to choose from. We chose to walk a few km to a lookout. It was a challenging, uphill walk so unfortunately we didn't reach our end goal but it was a very peaceful walk through the woods. It was a mix of gravel path and stone steps. Back at Center the crowds had thinned so we had a leisurely look at the exhibits. Our visit was complete with a waffle and hot chocolate on the patio.

It did drizzle now and then but a mostly dry day. Over 300 people on HAL tours were late coming back due to a bus mishap (Mein Schiff) on the road back to the port. Of course the captain waited and we had a great sail back out of the fjord. I even talked my husband into experiencing part of it from the aft hot tub!😁