Haljo1935

Back to OPs question of how to bring water (or any consumable liquid) onboard: it is to be put in carry-on and scanned through at security. When we take drinks this way, we go direct to our cabin to drop it off. Even if the cabin isn't ready yet, we simply leave it along w/any other carry-on then head to lunch.

The Tomahawk steak does have an upcharge. Correct, you will pay $7 forcan additional starter and will pay 18% on the $7. We always pay it because we MUST have candied bacon and a salad, lol.

Aligned with others here that there is no self-ironing available. You can do pressing only if you don't want the items laundered. But if you are really looking to minimize packing, their laundry service is great.

Welcome to HAL! If your parents are not bothered by movement, the Oceanviews forward on 10 & 11 (called Spa Oceanview) have amazing views and are very spacious. They are also very convenient to the Crow's Nest for the reading area you mentioned they would like. They are; however, quite a walk to dining (all the way aft). They may be a better value using Club Orange, depending on your pricing.

Not looking at schedule to be able to answer whether there is a 14 day RT available, but as to booking separately vs single booking - I only book as a single cruise if it's less expensive. I have done as B2B without issue.

Welcome to HAL!!

Could be, that is not what I'm talking about. 😎

PCC lowered the price and you kept HIA? Just want to be sure I understand. Congrats! Safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

I've never gotten a casino offer that includes HIA. And while I've had other discount offers, including "private sales" that "include" HIA, when I ask for a lower rate, they remove HIA and quote me a lower rate, so HIA was not really included, it was just added on and paid in the price.

have you considered Club Orange to get the cabin upgrade?

Hey @SFO Peter yes CO does have limited availability as it's capacity controlled, but if it's something you're really interested in, you may want to check back occasionally to see if a space opens up. Like you, the main draw was the cabin upgrade and we were bummed when the day we were getting prices it was available, but when we called back the next day to add it were told it was full. So, we called again the next day and we were able to add it! Of course, our luck, our top 5 cabin picks were gone and we had to go with 6th choice, but we still got the area we wanted (true aft). They told us if we found a cabin (in the same category, of course) that we wanted, we could call and change it with no fee. Worth a shot if you really want CO.

HAL has water you're can order, they have glass bottles for in the cabin and canned water for taking ashore. You can also take a refillable water bottle.

Congrats and enjoy! I was told if I wanted to monitor the availability, if a different cabin came open that I wanted (in same category, of course) I could call to get it changed at no charge. So, if you see a spa ocean view does become available, you could move there. We did one in Feb - it was very nice; part room, great views.

Congrats and enjoy!!

Thanks @rodndonna I will try that one, hopefully that's the winner that ends my pouting 😪🤔

Hey @singleflyer can you provide the number you called? I'm trying to add HIA to a casino booking and have had no luck.

Is there a trick to getting HIA added to casino bookings? I'm 5 phone calls in with enormous amounts of time spent on hold trying to get it added to an 11 day and a 14 day cruise. Maybe you are blessed with nicer or more knowledgeable people than I am...🙄 Only one person just outright said no from the beginning. The others have been willing, but apparently hit a road block they couldn't get past when trying to finalize it, so they reached out to supervisors for help. Those supervisors have ultimately come back saying HAL is not combinable with the casino rate and that they have no way to override they system, "sorry, enjoy your cruise." So I hang up, pout, and post again on CC...

Appreciate the number. We got CO added (casino booking), but have had no luck getting HIA added. Multiple calls with supervisors involved, left us with a final(?) determination by HAL that it's not combinable with the rate code we used. We aren't big drinkers, either; the math works for us: 14 days@$50/day = $700 - $200 excursion credit - $208 internet - $84 dining = $208 remaining = $14.85/day for drinks. We know we'll each have at least 2 coffees/day plus water, juice and a couple drinks. It sure goes fast 🙄We were told we could only add it if we either paid regular price ($99/day) or had the cruise re-fared (not happening). Thanks again for sharing number; wishing you better luck if you decide to add HIA. Safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

Thanks for the update and happy to hear you got CO added. What number did you call?

Would one of the larger aft wraps provide enough view of both port and starboard to keep from switching sides and still capture all views?

@Jamman54 thanks for the great detailed info. We will be extreme aft port 1st week (Sept 16-23) and aft port wrap 2nd week (Sept 23-29). Would gladly be open to sharing our balcony to anyone who would like to do a Sail-a-Way Crawl with @Jamman54 as the guide, if he'd oblige. I've never done something like this, but think it would be a fun, patriotic, beautiful experience. @beatleang are you game?

No, you didn't miss anything, the HAL system isn't set up to allow you to spend OBC for pre-cruise purchases; it truly is "onboard" credit. However, you can prepay then request it be moved to OBC once onboard and you'll get the original purchase refunded. There's a specific process you need to follow to do that - several threads on here you can research for details. Don't confuse using OBC for excursions and dining with HIA credits paying for those - that's entirely different. HAL credits CAN be used in advance to prepay. Safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

I think you picked a good itinerary to ease your husband back into cruising - there are plenty of options to explore/walk allowing you to distance from the crowds. The beautiful scenery is great motivation to enjoy the great outdoors.

You are correct - you won't see the OBC in the booking, but you can ask for an updated invoice and you'll see it there. And you can use your OBC for gratuities.

We did a similar itinerary a couple years ago, our last cruise before Covid shutdown, from NY and the most moving memory (probably the most talked about) is seeing Lady Liberty as we left. We just couldn't get enough; probably the longest we ever stayed on our balcony during a sail away. It is actually the reason we booked this cruise with this cabin. We'll be aft on deck 7, so maybe we'll see you. Looks like we're already neighbors - Texas neighbors 🫠 so you know we'll be loving the cooler weather!