Real NHDOC

You can use the gift cards when you pre-book or pre-pay for items before the cruise or you can bring them with you and have them applied to your onboard account as credit against purchases. If you want to use them to pre-book or prepay (for tips, for example) you just use the "manage my bookings" section of the website and when it comes to checkout there is an area to apply gift cards or credit cards. Just be aware you cannot split between gift and credit cards when doing this online, you can either choose one payment method or the other. But there is no limit to the number of gift cards you can apply at checkout so if you have say $1200 in purchases you can use two $500 cards and two $100 cards (or three $500 cards and just have a balance left on one).

Adjoining cabins can be a nightmare - I personally would never take one again. We were on back to backs on the Nieuw Statendam last winter and on one leg we noticed the noise from next door was excessive. We had a neighbor who opened the door on their side to use it to hang stuff from so there was literally no sound they made we couldn't hear because there was now only one door separating the two cabins instead of two. I know this is the case because I opened our door once and could look right into their cabin. We had to keep asking the steward to close the door on their side it was so noisy. Even when the door on their side was closed it was still much noisier than a traditional cabin without adjoining doors. Lesson learned. Never take a cabin with adjoining doors.

IMO there is no such thing as a large interior on any of the Pinnacle class ships. There are four larger category I interiors on deck 1 (1111, 1115, 1124 and 1128) but the extra space in them is pretty useless as it is mostly in the entry. If you had a scooter it would be suitable for parking it. None of the interiors have a functional sitting area other than the bed. No sofa, no table. They do have a dressing table with a cube to sit on, but that is all you get. Ironically, some of the J's have a couch in them but it's really for sleeping as third guest bed and not suitable for sitting as it is slipped alongside the bed with the TV hung above it. So it makes watching TV from either the bed or the couch difficult and awkward. Nothing like the large interiors on the smaller ships which have a wrap around corner couch or separate seating areas. In short, the interior cabins are all pretty small. Just a few feet bigger than the bed. Don't believe the claim of some being "larger" - if they are it isn't that much of a difference.

HAL does not use the term upsell for these paid offers to upgrade. They call them paid "preferrred limited upgrade special" Sometimes the offers get emailed out and sometimes not. If the ship is full or near full they usually don't offer any upgrades. The best thing to do if you are interested is to start calling the ship inventory department 888-628-8107 about 30 days prior to the sailing date and ask. They will ask for the booking number and you ought to have a deck plan and credit card ready. If you aren't satisfied with the offer you can ask if they have anything else (sometimes they will offer another, higher level). It doesn't matter if you book through a TA or not, you can buy an upgraded cabin directly from HAL this way.

I don't know how many times I have to say it but it's just not correct. The HAL representatives can and will add the benefit to a booking made through a TA. If I had not done it myself I wouldn't post it here. But my (and other posts here) contradict this and so my advice would be to just call back and ask another representative to do it. Sometimes with HAL you just have to be persistent and eventually you will find the right person who knows the rules and can actually do their job.

Several of my recent bookings were special "group rates" and I got the AARP benefit added to them so this is untrue. I would say it's a case that your TA just didn't want to go through the hassle of calling them. If I were you I would call HAL directly and handle it myself. Even if you book through a TA you can call HAL and get the AARP benefit added - trust me I did it.

While the $30 decrease is probably not worth fighting for it is important to know the rules when you book in case this happens on a future booking or on a larger reduction in fare. If your booking asked for payment in full (no deposit) and you were more than 90 days out then it was probably a restricted fare without any provision for cancellation. Some fares are nonrefundable from the moment you make the payment and some have nonrefundable deposits so it is important to know what the terms of the fare you got were (preferably before you book it) and then you will know how much leverage you have to renegotiate after booking. The flexible fare will typically allow you to cancel without penalty right up until the final payment is due (usually 90 days before sailing). With those you have the most leverage but usually pay a little more. Typically with those you can ask for an adjustment to the fare when it drops and they will grant it without having to cancel and rebook it but sometimes they require you to cancel and rebook if the terms of the offer have changed dramatically. Cancelling and rebooking for a lower fare will not sacrifice the AARP or stockholder benefits but you will have to ask for them again on the new booking. Since there is no limit on the number of times you can get those you will get them on any booking. The hitch you should be aware of is when paying with gift cards any cancellation refund goes back to the gift cards and that refund is not instantaneous. It can take up to a week or more to post back onto the cards. So don't count on being able to cancel and rebook with the same gift cards. Again, they write the rules.

In answering the prior two posts, there is NO LIMIT to the number of bookings you can use the AARP benefit for. The HAL representatives just need to be trained on how to add them to the additional bookings (see my post #303 above for what to tell them if they tell you there is a limit). And to the question about the deposit, no, it would have no effect on your deposit. It just gets added to the booking as an OBC. Just call in and tell them you want it added to the booking.

Those four large I category cabins aren't under BB Kings or any particularly noisy areas. We've stayed in them and they're quiet. Having said that the extra space in them, while it is usable for storing a scooter isn't very usable for much else. One of my pet peeves with the Pinnacle ships (and maybe my only one) is the cabins are all smaller than they were in the older, smaller ships and it is particularly true of the interior cabins. In order to get a cabin with any kind of seating area you need to book at least an Oceanview as there are no real usable couches in any of the interiors (yes, there are triples and quads but those have shoehorned in sleeper couches that really don't work as seating). We decided to go back to the Eurodam this winter because the J category interiors have plenty of space and a nice corner couch in them - there is nothing like those on the Pinnacle ships.

If anyone is told that the benefit is only good on one cruise per year (as my TA and I was) you should read this from the official terms and conditions to the representative: "This offer can be added to multiple, new bookings per year with revalidation required annually. The AARP Polar template will automatically build 1 FCC per guest. If any additional bookings are created outside of the first initial booking, then those FCC’s need to built manually by a supervisor." This was supplied to me by my PCC and is from an internal HAL T&C sheet.

You can call HAL yourself and have the benefit added to existing bookings even if it was booked through a TA, just be polite and insist that it has been routinely added to existing bookings and that if the representative who answers the phone doesn't want to do it ask them to ask a supervisor. Many TA's don't want to waste the hour on the phone so will tell you anything to avoid doing extra work - they already have the booking and there is nothing in it for them to do more work for you. HAL is routinely applying the benefit to existing bookings. I had one for a sailing in early September and got the benefit added to it last week. Fortunately I had booked that one with a HAL PCC and she did the work. She told me she had to speak to a supervisor to get it done.

After spending the better part of an hour on the phone with HAL the benefit is going to be applied to each booking after all. They insisted that the reason the benefit wasn't applied was because I hadn't been verified (even though I have an email from the end of July saying I had been and they had applied the benefit to one cruise already!). Anyway he took my AARP number down and told me it would be applied to every booking...we shall see! I keep hoping HAL will get their act together but it just seems like every day is their first day doing this stuff.

Booked four new cruises and was told that the AARP perk is only applicable to one booking per year! It doesn't say anything like that anywhere and I know other people have said they got it on multiple bookings. This is SO typical of HAL. Everything is always dependent on who you ask and nobody has been properly trained. My TA claims she escalated it up the chain but I am going to call now and get to the bottom of it. If it's a once a year benefit then it should say so clearly in the offer. It specifically says "Offer good for new bookings only" not one new booking. "Bookings" is plural and so it should apply to all new bookings...period.

It was the “POMPEII, SORRENTO & THE AMALFI COAST” tour. I sent a second email expressing my disappointment with the tour with a detailed description of our experience and received an automated response saying I’d receive a real response in 2-4 days. That was last Friday. Today is Wednesday. And that’s the second time I reached out to them. So I don’t think they will bother to follow up.

I would point out that on their website they have a description of the tour that differs significantly from that which is described in the lengthy confirmation email. On the website it reads: “Next, we will depart Sorrento and continue on to beautiful Positano, known as the jewel of the Amalfi coast. Explore the central Piazza dei Mulini, connected to a narrow downhill path and a few flights of steps that lead to the seafront. This must-see plaza allows you to appreciate the magnificent natural surroundings as well as local life and culture. Follow narrow streets leading to the Church of St Maria Assunta, a great example of medieval art. Time permitting we will also include a visit to the Emerald Cave” And in the email it reads: ”Time permitting (depending on traffic), we will go to the view-point overlooking Positano. We do not plan to enter Positano unless stated otherwise in your reservation above. (on the vast majority of tours we manage to cover the Positano view-point but in case we won't, no partial refund will be issued).” So, had we read the email more carefully we would have known that we weren’t going to get what was described in the tour description on their website. Is this a “bait and switch”? Yes. The email confirmation had 15 bulllet points and the section in which the Postiano visit is mentioned is just one part of bullet 5. They also described the “driver-guide” as providing us with advice as to what to see in Sorrento, which she did not do. We took several tours with their sister company in Spain and had no problems. So it appears that this tour is the one which is most problematic. As I had said if this one had been our first experience with them it would have been the last. So, overall I recommend using Italy Tours (and their sister company Spain tours) but don’t rely on the website description for what you’re going to receive. Read everything in the confirmation email (received after paying) and if you feel they differ significantly then cancel.

On our bus there was a guide and a driver but the guide was very inexperienced and her grasp of English wasn’t great. The driver also spoke broken English. My understanding is the bus guide is supposed to give narratives along the way and at the stops but on our tour she was useless.

We did Florence/Pisa and Palermo/Cefalu. Both were very good.

We did a few tours with this company recently. Two were very good but one was pretty bad. It was the full day small group tour of Pompeii, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. The young lady who met us at the port was very inexperienced. Our “tour” was basically 5 1/2 hours mostly sitting in traffic with nothing interesting to see and 2 1/2 hours of actual interesting experiences. We spent about 5 minutes overlooking Positano which we were supposed to be able to go to but because we hit so much traffic we ran out of time so just saw it from a distance. Our stop in Sorrento was 1 hour on our own, not even enough time to have lunch and sightsee. No guidance from our guide. She didn’t even know where the bathrooms were. Our first bathroom break was at noon after spending almost 4 hours in a bus. Our tour of Pompeii had to be abbreviated because we arrived 30 minutes late for our appointment. The Pompeii tour was very good. after we left Pompeii the driver and our bus guide had a hard time finding each other resulting in our group crossing several busy streets only to land up back at the exit where we began. Again, a sign of inexperience. The only thing we arrived on time for was getting back to the ship at 4:30. I had sent an email to the company while the tour was going on to inform them of the disappointing service and never received a reply which is surprising since up until then they had been pretty responsive. I would say if this had been our first experience with Italy Tours it would have been our last.

Reportedly it is 25% off all drinks but I cannot personally attest to this as we have not participated in it since 3pm-4pm is too early for us. The navigator app says 25% off the second drink but the daily planner says 25% off all drinks and we’ve asked the drink server and he said it was off all drinks. When faced with the “short pour” situation on other ships (and now on NS) my advice is to make friends with your favorite server and make sure they know you’re not on HIA and would appreciate a full pour. They are usually more than willing to fix it for you and remember that you would like to get what you’re paying for. At the end of the cruise we will give that special service the recognition it deserves in both a small remuneration and shout out in the guest survey.

We ordered a martini last night in billboard onboard. It was not during the 3pm happy hour but at a more civilized 5pm. $12.69 for one drink. Exactly what we had been paying for two on Rotterdam during happy hour at the same time of day. And it was half full to ad insult to injury. So half the booze at twice the price! Seriously, we’ve been averaging 100-150 days a year aboard cruise ships and like to enjoy one cocktail a day. The difference does add up but it’s more the principle of it. Same cruise line, should have policies that are consistent between the ships, especially when the beverage manager on Rotterdam said it was a fleet-wide policy. But the beverage manager on this ship disagrees and says it’s up to the beverage manager’s discretion. So who is telling the truth?

It’s not the second drink that’s 50% off on all of the other ships it’s every drink. So two people can each have a cocktail for under $13 for both. So that’s the difference.

Pleased to report that the energy in the BB King’s band is BACK on Nieuw Statendam. Totally different vibe tonight. Apparently the feedback they received incentivized them to step up their game. They literally had more energy in one set this evening than in the whole week last week combined. And the place was full with plenty of people on the dance floor. Very pleased they have improved.

My response was directed solely to the comments it referred to in the reply. That individual basically said he didn’t care about the happy hour special so I ask why does he feel compelled to follow the thread so closely and troll my posts? If he’s perfectly happy spending $25 for two drinks then this isn’t the thread that should concern him, that’s all.

Last night of this cruise and the band played a more or less normal set but they still seem to gravitate towards slower songs than most BBK’s bands and even when they play faster songs like “Dancing in the streets” and “Band of gold” they seem to play at a slower thsn normal tempo. Maybe it’s just the drummer who can’t keep a fast tempo (since the drummer seems to set the pace for the band). But at least tonight they played three 45 minute sets. I think it’s the first night that they played a normal three 45 minute sets all cruise. They are all very talented musicians but it’s just their style is a bit slower than we’ve grown used to with other BBK bands. We’ll adjust but it’s noticeable in the few people out dancing while they play. Last week on Rotterdam the dance floor was packed even on the last night. Tonight barely anyone was out there.