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Question for those that have used the gift cards when paying your on board account. If up front I give the folks at the front desk a card for $500 and then don't need all of it what happens to the overage? Is it credited back to the gift card that was used or something else?

I had that problem too - the CC company was flagging it as a fraud charge. I called the CC company - told them it was a good charge - they updated their system and then I was able to purchase several gift cards without a problem.

Our TA was able to get the educator benefit added for us. My wife is a retired teacher.

We were on the NS for 42 days in Feb/Mar 2022 and all was good. Doing 28 days in Nov and another 42 in Jan/Feb 2023.

Same here - we are saving about $1000 by using the Gift cards for our Rotterdam cruise in 2023

Yes, I guess they have us locked in so don't need to offer us anything. I just hope they don't reduce/dilute our 5 star benefits any more than they already have over the last several year.

Wondering - we are 5 star with 35+ cruises on HAL and use a TA for our bookings and have never gotten any offer like this. Are you booking your cruises with a PCC or directly on the HAL site?

You can get a great view from the crow's nest and don't have to worry about the weather.

I would call Allianz and ask.

You can eat in the Lido with shorts so they are OK in the evening around the ship

In the Caribbean they are show by the pool in the afternoons on sea days. Say cool in the pool and watch the movie. Did it several times on the NS in Feb

I purchased 5 each of the $500 cards on Sept 8 without a problem. I got the emails within minutes. I hope it gets fixed as I would like to get 5 more in early October for our final payment that is due on Oct 10

Yes - we do that all the time.

On the NS in Feb/Mar the meeting location was the BB King lounge and not the World Stage so just read the paperwork they send you. It will give the time, location and any other needed information.

We brought a bottle on in Feb without any problem

Yes - Monday and Thursday will be your "dressy nights"

We were on the Volendam for the last Grand South America that ended on Mar 20, 2020. It is a great ship with an outstanding crew. Will probably book this cruise again in 2024 or 2025 if it goes.

If you didn't get the survey did you check your Spam folder?

Yes - at least as of Feb 2022 we still got the 50% off wine packages but it was interesting - we did a B2B on the NS. During the first 21 days we got 50% off of the Gelato bar - that stopped on the second segment so only HAL knows what will be going on in the future for loyal 5 Star guests.

The Navigator app for our Nieuw Amsterdam cruises in Nov does not show anything extra for multiple appetizers.

If you don't want to snorkel in Bonaire (although if you have not you really need to do it there - best location in the Caribbean) you can also rent a golf cart and tour the island on your own - we did that in Feb 2022 - very interesting.

When be became 5 star they had hands on cooking classes for the 5 Star by the chef on board and then after that we were hosted to a lunch with wine in the Pinnacle grill. Also, now that HAL is selling club orange the benefits for priority boarding and priority tendering are diluted and the club orange folks also get a priority line at guest services where the 5 Star folks that have spent thousands of dollars over the years are not given any priority. There are a couple others but I can remember then since they were removed shortly after we became 5 star which was about 6 years ago.

The pool area is a 5 minute walk from the ship - very nice - no cost - correct there is no beach at the port. We have taken a HAL snorkel tour at this port and it was terrible. Not safe and nothing to see in the water.

If you like snorkeling we can highly recommend the Woodwind. They give the best safety brief we have ever had on a snorkel tour, they have people in the water with you for safety and to point out things not to miss, 5 minute walk to their boat from the cruise ship. https://www.woodwindbonaire.com/

Stop removing the 5 Star benefits that we spent many $$$ on. We are your loyal customers that are keeping the business going.