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I was confused during embarkation as the 4 different people I asked (guest services desk, restaurant reservation, the person trying to sell the beverage package, and a bartender) all said that the 15 drink limit includes nonalcoholic drinks.  Based on the responses that I got in this forum, we didn't worry about keeping track of how many nonalcoholic drinks we ordered.  I was not charged extra for any of the nonalcoholic drinks, and once I befriended more of the wait staffs and bartenders during the cruise, they told me to not worry about it.

To close the loop on this, the other adults in the cabin wasn't forced to buy an SBP.  However, I was confused during embarkation as the 4 different people I asked (guest services desk, restaurant reservation, the person trying to sell the beverage package, and a bartender) all said that the 15 drink limit includes nonalcoholic drinks.  I was assured by this forum that this was not the case so we didn't worry about it.  I was not charged extra for all the nonalcoholic drinks I ordered, and once I befriended more of the wait staffs and bartenders during the cruise, they told me to not worry about it.

I went to the specialty restaurant reservation desk at embarkation and to the Tamarind restaurant directly and they all told me no.  I wasn't that impressed with our dinner at Pinnacle Grill.  The tenderloin my wife ordered was really good (although she ordered medium rare and it came medium, but it was really tender), and our friends enjoyed their fish dish (Salmon and Halibut).  My bone in ribeye was almost inedible.  It was tough and full of gristle.  I was only able to eat 1/4 and told the waiter when he came to clean up the table.  No response.  I didn't want anything anyway as I was very full from my wife's leftover tenderloin.  The group agreed that we preferred the main dining room compared to our experience with Pinnacle Grill.  The food isn't that much better, we enjoy being with our bigger group, we liked having the same waiter that we had for the week, and we like being able to order multiple main courses to share as a group so that we can sample the different variety.

So here's what happened.  Room steward took the 3 bags away.  His supervisor came to us later to express his concerns that they cannot guarantee the security of the luggage and the contents as it's not stored in a locked/secured location.  I explained the situation to him and room steward took the luggage back to my mom's room while we were away for dinner and was able to get everything under the bed, along with all the other empty luggage.  I did not investigate how he was able to fit everything in, but my mom was happy.  Port Valet worked great.  It was worth carrying all the luggage into the cruise with us just bec of port valet.

I was able to make the internet sharing work by having my kids log in as me in their HAL navigator app, connecting to the internet, then select the option to disconnect other users. After that, I have them logout of the app and login again and other their own account so that the chat option works properly. Connection is very slow but kids are happy with being connected to their social media, I was able to restrict their time by the fact that we have to share it; and while I can’t access email, I was able to keep up with anything critical through social media and iMessage. 

I checked with the specialty restaurant reservation desk and they said no. I’ll stop by tamarind tomorrow and ask. 

Is the internet planned shared for all people in a room or each person charged separately if they connect using the social plan? My wife, daughter and I were planning to take turn connecting to the internet to check emails and social media but I don’t want to be charged 3x. 

Just boarded Eurodam and everyone I asked says that they count nonalcoholic beverages against the 15 drink limit of the signature beverage package. Everything I read before says that they only count alcoholic beverages. Is there a chance that they were told to give this as the official response but they don’t really count nonalcoholic drinks? I wanted to see what everyone’s experience is before we go crazy on the nonalcoholic drinks and find a big charge on our account. 

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

I won't dispute Ruth, but I've never heard of this, and while they may store an oversized, empty suitcase, storing luggage full of personal belongings may become a liability issue for them.

This may work also. If they can take the empty luggage, then we can use the space to store the full luggage. We are actually considering putting 1 or 2 of the luggage out on the balcony (only the hard sided ones in case it gets wet). 

2 hours ago, School library lady said:

We had three suitcases on our Hawaii cruise on the Eurodam. We put all of them under the bed without a problem.

They may end up with 5 check in sized suitcases plus 2 or 3 carry ons in their cabin of 4 people. 

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

Your cabin stewards should be able to take your excess luggage and have it stored during the cruise.
I once had a suitcase that was too high to fit under the bed; it was always stored for me.

Perfect. Thanks!

24 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

Something to consider, I don't think Port Valet is valid for international flights.

They are going to LA first for a couple of days before leaving for their international flight. They started at the east coast and slowly made their way west. 

I keep reading amazing reviews about Tamarind, more so than Pinnacle Grill.  We have the Explore4 package which includes dinner at Pinnacle Grill.  Is it possible to request a switch to Tamarind instead?  If so, is it a good idea?

Is it possible to ask our steward to store 2 or 3 big luggage somewhere else in the ship to have more space in our room in the Eurodam?  Several of the people in our group is heading back to Asia right after our cruise after a month of visiting the US.  They have to bring all of their luggage with them.  We were originally going to leave the luggage they won't be needing on the cruise at the hotel or our friend in Seattle, and go pick it up after the cruise.  However, we are changing our plans after learning of Port Valet.  It seems simpler and more efficient to just bring all of our luggage to the ship, and use Port Valet at the end of the cruise.  This saves us the logistical hassle (and stress) of running around after the cruise to pick up the luggage before going to the airport.  Since we will not be needing 2 or 3 of these luggage at all during the cruise, it would be great if we can have these luggage stored elsewhere in the ship and have it brought to us the last night of the cruise so that we can tag it and leave it outside our room for Port Valet.

2 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

If the SPB is received as part of a booking promotion then the requirement for additional guest in the room over 21 to have the same package is waived.

Thanks. This is exactly the answer I am looking for. I couldn’t find this anywhere in the HAL policy. 

Question re Explore 4 for our cruise next week.  Our cabin has 3 adults and 1 child.  We have 2 signature beverage package assigned to the first 2 adults as part of the Explore 4 promo.  I just read recently that all adults in the same cabin are required to purchase the beverage package.  No one mentioned it to me.  If fact, I had my travel agent just switch up passenger #2 and 3 a few weeks ago bec the 3rd adult does not drink alcohol and my travel agent did not mention anything about the 3rd adult being required to buy the beverage package anyway.  So my question is whether the 3rd adult in the cabin will really be required to purchase the signature beverage package.

I booked a 5 hr private charter with Baranof at Ketchikan for 6 people.  I have until 2 days before the trip to cancel it so I can continue my research to see if there are better options.  Fishing is a big deal for my son so I want to make sure we pick the best option for fishing.  My concern with Ketchikan is that it happen to be the port where we have the fewest time in port.  All we will be able to do is the fishing charter w/ no time to explore the town or have a buffer in the schedule.  On the other hand, Baranof said that their dock is close to where the cruise ship docks.

Let me know if this is the best option or if I should consider something else.  Which fishing charter company would you recommend at Juneau?  Thanks!  

Going to Alaska cruise for first time end of July.  My 13 yr old son loves to fish and is begging for a fishing excursion.  Ports we will be visiting is Juneau (1 PM to 10 PM), Sitka (8 AM to 5 PM) and Ketchikan (7 AM to 1 PM).  From what I can read in this forum, Ketchikan seems to be the best port for fishing.  My concern is that we are there only for a short time.  Will it be enough time?  I also see options for fly fishing, charter boat, or the fishing and wilderness dining trip.  Wanted to see what the best options are and recommendations for excursion company to use.  Thanks!

We are driving to FLL and will meet my my mom who is flying straight to FLL from Asia and has several full luggage that she is planning to leave in our van during our 7 day cruise. I am planning to use park and go, but wanted to see if there are other more secure and preferably indoor parking options. Willing to pay extra for the piece of mind. I have a lot of Asian snack goodies that my mom is bringing me in the luggage. It shouldn't go bad in the heat but it wouldn't hurt if it's covered parking.