twoforthesea

Hi Kazu-I wish that I had known this before our wonderful cruise on the NS! We would have packed less and saved some money on how we sent out our laundry for 14 days! I don't think we would have saved that much money but this is informative for me on future HAL cruises. I spent a lot of time writing separate instructions and now know that I could have been as general or as specific as I wanted. Most importantly we all learn from CC! Thanks for sharing!

Hi, if I recall correctly the items you stuff in the blue bag are only washed and folded. I don't think this option had a place for specific instructions which is why we just sent the few items we had and priced them individually. We also wanted pants dry cleaned which is also not an option on the full bag order. So I think in summary if you just want things washed and ready to wear again without specific instructions you are good with this option. If you, like me, had special requests (pressing, dry cleaning, starch, etc.) for a few items it is better to do those as separate items. I do hope this makes sense and someone else please chime in if you have had a different experience. Also, all of the instructions and information is on the laundry bag which will be hanging in your closet when you board. have a great time!

We are over packers so we were not sure that we would need the laundry package so we just filled out the form that was in our cabin closet once we were about a week into the 14 day cruise. We sent a few things out two different times as we had dry cleaning and laundry. Dry cleaning is NOT included in the "put all you can in the blue bag" so we didn't choose that option. Either way you choose would be fine but "once on board" decision worked great for us. Hope this info helps!

Hello again! Your suggestion is a great one! In fact, I think I will contact HAL with an addition to my post cruise survey about the coffee situation since I am a coffee/starbucks addict!! Adding another location for speciality coffees even in a centrally located bar for early morning would be great. Also, with only one true barista on board the explorations cafe becomes very crowded and very loud very quickly!! On the Eurodam we were very forward so we just popped up the stairs to the ex. cafe but on this trip on the NS we were true aft and dear hubby had quite the trip each morning bringing me my coffee-he is so sweet to do that for me!) Thank you for making that suggestion-we will see if it helps.

May I add some other thoughts? I am very picky (sad to admit this!) and always worry about dining on a cruise ship. I was above pleased with the dining room choices and for the first time we had chefs come around to each table every few nights to make sure all guests were pleased and if any special requests had been met. It may just be the NS as we were on the Eurodam this past summer and I was not as fond of the main dining room but the NS is wonderful. Perhaps because it is the new ship on the block? I just know that you could ask for smaller portions, extra portions, deviations to the sauces and dressings and everything was met with yes, we can do that! The one night we didn't eat in the main dining room the buffet had choices of steak, lobster, shrimp and so on... You can trust me on this one-objective and positive!!

We just spent 14 days on the NS so I can comment about what we actually experienced! I am not one to go to the main theatre productions but we so enjoyed the Billboard husband and wife duo. We found ourselves there most nights which is very uncommon for us. The great standards show of theirs was our favorite! We have sailed on over 20 cruises so I feel that I can give the answer to "aim cat" who started the post. We are late fifties with no kids and our past two cruises have been on HAL (Eurodam and NS). HAL is a perfect fit for us. Not over the top in cost, kid-friendly but not overrun with children, a wide variety of music-classic, rock, blues and pop, and delicious food. I think you should have no worries and enjoy your cruise!

We just got off of the NS after 14 glorious days. My hubby had flowers in the room twice. Once when we boarded in FLL and then the next week when we made the turnaround in FLL for the second week. He called guest services before we left home and they a florist in Miami arranges the flowers for both the Miami and FLL HAL ships. Both of the arrangements were lovely and they lasted longer than I anticipated. One piece of advice, we had a Vista suite (yes, really a mini suite) and the flowers took up a lot of the desk space. May I suggest a small yet elegant bouquet that would take up less space than a huge arrangement due to cabin space yet convey your thoughtful expressions at the same time! Have a great trip!

We also just got home from a wonderful 14 days on the NS. I will have to add that after 20 cruises this ship had some of the best cruise dining we have experienced. I am not sure why you would need to add speciality restaurants unless you just want the experience (and I respect all personal dining choices!) but the main dining room and the buffet (which has special nights with extra treats) were both fantastic. I usually skip buffets but with HAL using the staff to serve guests, I did not experience any problems health wise and the choices were awesome. You will love this ship!

We used the laundry option on our 14 cruise on the NS. The first time I sent hubby's shirts I didn't specify that I wanted them laundered and starched so they came back clean but somewhat wrinkled. So the next time I made sure that I wrote in laundered, pressed, and starched and they came back looking great! This is a great option if you want to pack less and use their services.

We just got off of the NS after 14 days and it was wonderful. Now, for the coffee info answer-We love our coffee and yes, the 8am at the ex. cafe was an issue for us. We did not enjoy the coffee at the Dutch cafe so here is what we did. If we had to be up and out before exploration cafe was open-we ordered room service coffee which was drinkable or got a basic coffee at the dutch cafe. As soon as we were dressed and ready for the day, the ex. cafe was usually open and then we would get our wonderful speciality drinks from the great barista Rizalynda. You will love this ship! Hope this info helps.