kaiiak

We are a family of 4 traveling to the Caribbean in April as well. I just purchased the laundry package. $49 is so cheap and I figure by mid-week we can each send a few things to be laundered (underwear/shorts/tees).  I am only packing one gala night outfit and figure the second gala night we can either do the lido or room service.  I am separating my clothes into categories: pool/beach days, resort wear that I can wear for day or night on ship, and the odds and ends (pj, workout gym outfit, gala).  Packing cubes are also helpful - my husband is cube crazy right now!  

8 hours ago, Debbborra said:

I am booked for a ten day cruise tour that begins on June 13. I've bought beverage packages, dining packages and all excursions. I bought new luggage, luggage tags and a rain coat. I'm shopping for a dress for the second gala night. 

 

All that's not actually what makes me worry. 

 

I dream about the cruise every night, and it seems like all night. Every time I wake up I've been dreaming about it again. 

 

It feels like it may be a long three months. Is this normal? 

I'm leaving in 5 weeks and I got new luggage for Christmas, prepaid beverage packages and shore excursions, have bought lots of new clothes that I don't want to wear til we cruise, and made an excel spreadsheet of what I am planning packing! Although I haven't started dreaming yet.  But yeah, part of the fun of going on a cruise is the planning and expectation of it all! Have a great trip. :)

Just now, sevenseasnomad said:

OMG, my son is autistic too.  Call HA immediately, well, 1st thing Monday when they open.  Ask for ship services.  Let them know the score.  My son can't stand a lot of traffic, so we always ask to be away from a wait station.  We also back up our request with a doctor's letter, which helps immensely.  They should be able to accommodate your request, since it involves a recognized disability.

Small world this little autism world of ours. Actually my son is pretty good in restaurants because he is a foodie and loves to eat! But he is on a GF diet right now. I did fill out some online forms to Ships Services, but have not heard anything from them and am trying to see if there is any sort of priority boarding or area with smaller lines etc.  He tends to get very rigid when anxious and anxiety is at a high in a new situation, so I can foresee our initial boarding he may be a bit difficult.  He saw a picture of a HAL ship today and said he hopes its not like the Titanic and we don't sink! So yes, I plan on calling Ship Services soon. Thx.

21 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Try calling ship services at 1-800-541-1576. They may be able to help. Ship services was able to confirm me on one cruise for fixed when my TA couldn’t.

Otherwise do as Mary suggested.


www.theinsidecabin.com

Thanks. I am planning on getting a call into them soon because my TA also had some questions regarding my son who is autistic, but he said he was on hold for 45 minutes.  If we can't get through then we will try the maitre d after we board. 

19 hours ago, sevenseasnomad said:

The maître d' will be set up the first day in one of the lounges to deal with passengers who prefer a different table/time etc.  See him.  Perhaps he can change you to early fixed.  If he can't accommodate your request, I suggest you scout the dining room for a table you think you'd like and make reservations for your preferred dining time.  You can make reservations by phone or in person for up to three days at a time.  If you don't get early fixed, this is the best alternative.

 

We alternate between fixed and anytime, depending on the cruise.  Both work well, we've found, providing we make the reservations when we have anytime.  We don't even notice a difference and have always been able to snag a particular table for the entire cruise.  Gook luck, and have a wonderful cruise.

thank you. We always use to be anytime diners when we cruised.  My son has a disability (autism) so I now like the idea of routine and the same waiter each night that can get to know us and our preferences, as well as cater to his diet restrictions etc.  

21 hours ago, Mary229 said:

When you embark go straight to the main dining room and make a reservation for your preferred time and arrangement 

OK will try that if I can not get through to the Ship Services beforehand.

11 hours ago, CDP Cruiser said:

Unfortunately we haven’t sailed on the NS yet as we are only set to sail on her next winter. However, we’ve done 7 cruises on the NA, although a bit smaller in terms of size of ship and passenger capacity, we found that we never had issues with crowds or lines.  Boarding time is always the hardest but we tend to come very early to board the ship to avoid the “peak times” when most people are trying to board. In my experience, the staff tends to be flexible when it comes to families with kids boarding and we have always been able to board in a short period of time.  The terminal where you wait is fairly large so there is plenty of space for him to “get away and find some quiet space” if necessary.  We bring my son’s noise blocking “headphones” with us to help keep the noise to a minimum for him in crowds. There have never been line ups at the Lido that caused my son to have a meltdown.  The hardest part was waiting to board the tenders at certain ports like Grand Cayman or Half Moon Cay. I always asked the night before these ports what the best time was to wait for the tenders so that the line wasn’t so long and they were able to give me a “window” on when we should go and it’s worked for us the last 7 years 🙂 We’ve always taken “open seating” for dinner as my son tends to have meltdowns when he feels rushed or overwhelmed so we like the flexibility of being able to dine when we want. My suggestion is to always call ahead and make sure there is a table available when you go so that you don’t have to wait.  When you board on the 1st day, try to see the Dinning room Manager and explain that your son cannot wait in crowded places nor in long lines.  You will be surprised how flexible they will be with your family.  I hope this helps! You and your son will have great cruise with HAL! Enjoy!

OK thanks for the info. He is really good in restaurants etc bc he is a foodie so no concerns there. It is more waiting to board bc it is such a new experience if he gets anxiety his rigidity comes out.  He usually only needs headphones at shows. Once he had an epic meltdown in a Vegas show but nobody noticed bc it was so loud.  After that experience he always wears BOSE head phones to shows but not in the turned on function, so the sound is muted and he can still hear it all and enjoy the music. We will try to get there early board. 

When we booked our April cruise we were put on a waitlist for the fixed Early Dining time. We just received our docs from our travel agent and were given Anytime Dining.  Is there any way to request a fixed time once we board, or is that impossible? Thanks.

On 3/6/2019 at 6:46 PM, CDP Cruiser said:

My now 8 year old son has been cruising every year (sometimes twice a year) on HAL since he was 6 months old.  He actually just received his bronze medallion last year for having sailed more than 100 days with HAL. He is an only child and is autistic with ADHD. He doesn’t like large groups of kids as he feels out of place and he feels stressed with loud noises.  The reason we love HAL is because there are less kids on board versus other cruise lines. We’ve done Celebrity and Norwegian with him but he didn’t like the fact that there were so many children in the club all the time. He loves HAL because the groups are small so he gets more attention from the staff and the activities are more “personal” since they get a lot of 1:1 time with the staff.  There have been at least 3 cruises where he has been the only child on-board.  Those times he loved being able to have free reign of the games he would play with the staff.  It was so hard to pull him away when it was time for lunch or dinner as he wanted to spend the whole day at the club.  There are plenty of activities for kids of all ages. Toys and board games along with art projects for younger kids and they have movies and gaming consoles like a WII on-board for the older kids to use.  Although there are no fancy activities like rock climbing or ice skating or water slides, I find there is still a lot to do at the club. Hope this helps!

My son has Autism as well and we are traveling on the NS in April. We have never cruised with him before and only have experience cruising with our older child (now an adult) with no disabilities.  Does HAL offer any accommodations for Autism? I filled out the online disability forms but have not heard anything back yet.  Looking for possible alternative boarding areas with less crowds/lines etc.  in case of sensory overload/meltdown.

Just now, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Please report back. When are you going?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not til April 14th! But yes I sure will.

On 3/5/2019 at 7:48 AM, The-Inside-Cabin said:

No Pai Gow

 

The $25 blackjack table pays 3/2 on blackjacks

 

Tommy says they now have a poker table - not sure where they put it unless they took out the crap table or roulette wheel.

 

One of classrooms would work if not busy and it would be fun to try.....not sure how to find other players. Word of mouth in the casino. Ship may not like even with no money on the table

 

 

 

www.theinsidecabin.com

Thanks for the info. Yeah I told my husband the same thing about finding other players.  Hopefully Tommy is correct and they have added it.

On 3/5/2019 at 3:04 AM, tommy said:

I was on in Feb they had poker and tournaments.I  played

Awesome. thanks

23 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

They don’t have tournaments.   This is the only HAL ship without one.   I didn’t spend any money is the casino when I was aboard.   This along with crap blackjack payouts, extra zero on roulette, only double odds on craps.....This casino is not for serious players.  I’ll save my money.  

 

Casino was busy anyway so I guess it will never change.  

That's a bummer.  My husband is a poker player and will be bummed.  He's thinking of bringing his own chips to maybe start a friendly game somewhere else on the ship if he meets anybody willing to play.  Are there spots where he could hook up with others? Also, my game of choice is pai gow.  I love to play in Vegas because I can push and play for hours.  Do they have pai gow?  Is the $25 blackjack 3/2? Lots of questions!

6 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

They have the following.

 

(1) World Poker Tournament Texas holdem heads up

(1) Three Card Prime

(5) Blackjack.

(1) Mini Baccarat

 

Crap table ( double odds)

 

Roulette Wheel

 

No “Let it Ride”

 

No Texas Hold’em table.

 

6/5 on blackjack. Except at $25 min table

$6 min on blackjack which requires a $10 bet if you even want to get 6/5 true payout

 

They added a third Zero square to the roulette wheel...

 

 

 

www.theinsidecabin.com

 

 

 

 

With no Texas Hold Em table, do they hold any tournaments onboard? If so where? 

On 1/27/2019 at 11:00 PM, KatPem said:

I am not sure about uber...i am sure there is but there is a free trolley in Old San Juan.  Here is a link to info on it. https://sanjuanpuertorico.com/trolley-old-san-juan/  The walk to San Cristobal isn't bad from port either.  From there, it is a nice walk to El Morro too if you are willing.  

Hi, wondering how far the walk is to San Cristobal - 1 mile, 4 miles?  Everyone's view of not a bad walk is different.  Also how long is the trolley ride from right near the Pier to El Morro? Trying to plan out how to visit some of the sights before my spouse's ship shore excursion begins. thanks

Just now, Alberta Quilter said:

 

I'm sorry, we never got to a tea on this cruise.  I only saw it in the program.  As we disembark tomorrow, I can't find out for you.

No problem! Hope you had a wonderful trip.

2 minutes ago, sevenseasnomad said:

Except for embarkation day, Dec. 23, it was held each day in the MDR.  No, we didn't attend because we were either busy doing something else or were on an excursion.  The daily program simply stated Daily Tea-Main Dining Room.  I have no idea what they offered.  Would we have made time for it had it been held as a Tea Dance in the Queen's Lounge again?  Most definitely, we would have tried to go at least one time.  As I recall they only offered this type of tea twice during that cruise, on the sea days.

Thanks for the info! 

8 minutes ago, sevenseasnomad said:

On our Dec. 2017 K cruise, HA offered a "Dance Tea" several afternoons in the Queen's Lounge.  It was lovely, with tiered silver trays, white-gloved servers and teapots on all the tables.  Musicians played mostly ballroom dance tunes.  IMO, it was one of the highlights of that cruise.  We saw nothing even remotely like this on NS this past Christmas.

Sounds lovely!! When you were on the NS during Christmas did you ever attend the daily tea?

7 hours ago, eroller said:

 

 

Since you love High Tea, I highly recommend Cunard.  They do High Tea every day in the Queen's Room, with white gloved servers and a harpist/string quartet.  It's fantastic and it's done every single day at 4pm.  Very, very civilized.  

Someday I’d love to sail Cunard! 

15 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Sorry to be a pedant, but "high tea" is not what you're talking about. High tea is not a fancy or formal tea. It's a different meal than afternoon tea. Afternoon tea has sandwiches, sweets, and scones. How formal/fancy (not high or low)  it is depends on how it's served and what's offered. Certainly Cunard's afternoon tea is a proper version, with waiters pouring tea from real teapots. Most cruise lines offer a less "proper" version, at least from my British heritage. A teabag in a cup is not my idea of "proper" tea. And one does definitely NOT drink the tea with the bag still in it. (I scream at the TV when I see the Bigelow commercials with somebody drinking tea and the teabag tag is hanging over the side. Just not the "done thing.") 

 

High tea is actually a larger meal, with more savoury items, and at least some will be hot. More like a light supper. But the tea should still be brewed and served in a pot!

 

 

Yes I am aware of the difference between the two, but for CC purposes going with the typical term that many people use here in the US, even if not quite correct. I thought they use to have some sort of Royal Dutch Tea or Afternoon High Tea etc at least once or twice a week. What I was looking for was brewed tea in the pot brought to the table and a tiered tray either delivered to the table or even buffet style. I haven’t cruised in over 10 years but recall doing this in the past on HAL or Princess. I just enjoy the relaxation of it, the yummy sandwiches & watching the sea go by. 

13 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

Only daily tea is served now.  

What does the current daily tea consist of? 

For those of you recently on the Nieuw Statendam do you know which days they offered High Tea service? Do they still offer a daily tea as well? That is one of my favorite parts of cruising so I want to plan my itinerary around it! Thanks in advance!

3 minutes ago, wdw1972 said:

That is true, but there's always the possibility the ship could run into a problem and get into port late or get cleared late - just something to think about.  I think I've done 25 HAL cruises, mostly from FLL (Port Everglades actually....not the airport <g>), and at least once there was a mechanical/engine problem that affected our speed on the last day and it was announced we'd be arriving several hours later.  Guests who booked air through HAL had nothing to worry about - HAL changed their flights at no cost.  Those who booked independently were on their own - HAL sold some smaller internet packages so they could go online (this was back when internet was sold by the minute).  I heard several people talk about $500/person fare increases plus change fees.  Then we were delayed further - felt bad for those people....and the ones waiting to board for the next cruise (also delayed).  Yes, hanging around an airport is no fun, but consider doing an excursion if you book a later flight.

 

Sue/WDW1972

Yes I totally get it. We had the flight from hell last May on Jet Blue to New York and had to circle over the SouthEast for hours and had to land after 8 hours to refuel, stuck on the plane for a total of 11 hours, ultimately canceled, the remainder of the flight, then stuck in an airport in Virginia til 2 am til they found us all a cheap motel to stay in.  Missed our older son's college graduation from NYU the following day at Yankee Stadium because they delayed even further.  So I understand last minute emergencies, but trying to gauge what the norm is. Yes I live about 10-15 minutes from Disneyland in Fullerton, CA.  We have annual passes and visit monthly and stay at the resort every few years. Still want to go to WDW someday. 

4 minutes ago, wdw1972 said:

Neither - anyone can sign up.  It just means you're able to handle all of your luggage yourself (carrying it off the ship).  That group gets off first, while they're still setting up the luggage in the terminal for passengers following to retrieve.  It also means the shortest lines at the customs/immigration stuff.  For years now I've carried all my luggage on & off the ship (I use a large carry on and a duffle/tote).  I never have to wait for my stuff to be delivered, it doesn't get tossed around, and I can unpack immediately upon boarding if I choose.  

 

Sue/WDW

Great thanks! BTW does WDW stand for Walt Disney World? Do you work there? I'm a former Disneyland cast member and now my oldest son works there! :)

Thanks. FLL has so many flights early in the AM and then late in the evening going to the West Coast, but hardly any mid-day that are nonstop or reasonably priced.  Normally we would stay overnight and fly out the next day but hubby just got a new job and doesn't want to take advantage of another day.  Seems like a long day if you are waiting around with luggage if we get one of the evening flights.