Monarda55

Question for Inside Passage veterans: given that it looks like this cruise may now only go Inside Passage on the southbound leg, would it be better to book a verandah cabin on the port side (mainland) or starboard (islands). Goal is scenery and wildlife. Thank you in advance for your wisdom!

That’s a very good point, thank you.

This is genius. I too noticed the soggy Eggs Benedict, but it never occurred to me to substitute bacon. Thank you!

When I first started looking at this cruise several weeks ago, the itinerary map for April 2026 showed the ship sailing east of Vancouver Island both going and coming. The October 2025 map still shows that, but the April 2026 map has changed— now the ship sails west of Vancouver Island on the northern leg. The charm of this itinerary, for me, was getting Inside Passage scenery for both legs. Any idea why they would have changed it for one sailing (April 2026) but not the other (October 2025)? I hadn’t yet booked it, and I’m glad.

DS did the haunted historic tour in Sydney. He enjoyed it, but said it was a shame it was in broad daylight. Would have been spookier at night. Hope you and your mom have a lovely cruise.

Regarding HOB denoting High Onboard Spending — is that certain? Because my son received that email last night, and he didn’t spend a dime on his one and only HAL cruise. I did purchase three shore excursions for him, and technically I suppose they were in his name although charged to my credit card. But that was it. Less than $200 all together.

But where are you when you first step off of the gangway and onto the ship? Near the forward elevators, or midship?

Just wanted to say thank you to all who responded. I think it sounds like I should prepay internet in hopes that it doesn’t show up on the statement at all, and then purchase some OBC to cover gratuities and do a little fast talking if she notices, lol. Love this board, I’ve learned so much here.

I have an embarkation wayfinding question: at Fort Lauderdale, on the Pinnacle class ships, where are you when you first enter the ship on embarkation day? i.e. which deck, forward/midship/aft? Basically I’m trying to orient myself ahead of time so I can skedaddle to the dining kiosk to make MDR reservations. I have a gift for turning the wrong way initially in most circumstances, lol.

This is my current thinking, based on what I saw in the other recent thread.

Thanks to both for your replies! Yes, so far I’ve been making all the arrangements using my credit card. I’m pretty sure I saw in a recent thread where crew appreciation was itemized daily, even if prepaid, unless it was done so as part of a HIA package.

I’m going to be sharing a cabin with an elderly relative. She’s on a fixed income and tight budget, but insists on paying her share. I’m trying to take care of a few of the incidentals behind the scenes (internet and crew appreciation primarily) hoping that if she doesn’t know about them, she won’t feel obligated to pay. Assuming she downloads Navigator and happens to stumble across the onboard statement, what’s the most cryptic way I can pre-pay in terms of the wording on the statement? In other words, if I wanted to disguise the prepayment, would it be better to buy a sufficient amount of OBC and have internet and crew appreciation subtracted off that (I could say the OBC was from a promo if she notices) or would it just be better to pre-pay internet and crew appreciation? I was hoping that prepayment would mean that those two items don’t show up on the onboard statement at all, but a recent thread makes me think that might not be the case. We don’t have HIA, by the way. Yes, I do feel bad about fibbing, but I want to make sure she enjoys the first treat she’s had in years without undue financial stress on her part.

Just wanted to say Thank You to everyone who took the time to respond to my questions. It seems like excellent advice, and we’ll try to figure out a way to fly down a day early. I’m not a particularly experienced traveler, and have been pretty lucky with flights so far, so it’s given me a false sense of confidence. The stories of delayed flights and missed cruises were eye-opening to say the least. This board is such a great resource, thank you!

Thank you so much for your reply. I’m glad to know what it’s called; I’ve never heard the term side-by-side cruise before! We can’t arrive the day before, but we’ll definitely buy the platinum trip insurance and will probably take an earlier flight. And that’s good news about the internet, thank you!

I apologize if this is an idiotic question, but I’m a cautious sort and like to make sure I’m not overlooking anything obvious. My sister and I are thinking of taking two HAL cruises in February, both sailing from Ft. Lauderdale. The second cruise leaves the same day that the first one returns, but it’s on a different ship. So essentially we’d be leaving one ship, and rolling our luggage along to another ship. Right? Are there any potential complications I might be missing? How far apart are the piers, i.e. would we need to take a taxi from one ship to the other? Do *both* passengers in a stateroom have to sign up for internet? One of us needs internet to keep up with matters at home, but the other neither needs nor wants it. Last question, is a HAL airport transfer possible for a flight that arrives 3.5 hours before the posted sail time? We can take an earlier flight, but it’s considerably more expensive. Thank you in advance for your collective wisdom. 🙂