gaunerdog

I think you are right about the Bella category as far as Cabin selection and dining times. I did not see any restrictions on various activities. We just booked yesterday and chose the Fantastica Balcony  category and selected early dining. We did receive $200. onboard credit and was able to select our cabin number. It is my understanding there are some activities and venues that require additional pricing or may be available with higher categories such as the Yacht Club. We didn't explore the Aurea category as we did not want to pay the higher price. We are leaving out of Port Canaveral and this itinerary will spend 2 days at their Private Island. This will be our first MSC cruise, and have sailed on numerous lines in the past. Hope this might answer some of your questions.☺️

We were on the Apex last year. We were in 7215,middle of the ship. The only thing that was mildly irritating was that being above Eden we experienced the base player from below in the late evening. that usually stopped by 11:00 PM. Other wise this is a great cabin. We love the Sunset Verandas.

We sailed last year on the 7th floor Sunset Veranda above the Eden Bar and restaurant. We were one of the middle cabins(I don't remember the number). The 2 middle cabin balconies are larger than the ones beside them and I assume that is the same for the upper decks. It was a great cabin. My only complaint was the lounge music around 9:30 until 10:30 when the drums or base were loud. My wife and I would take the cabin again on any future cruise.

I'm not sure of the exact time that we arrived but it must have been around 12:30-1:00 PM at the approach to Margerie Glacier on our Eurodam cruise in early June. Hope you have sunny weather as it was cloudy for us. Our previous visits here have always been clear and sunny.

Has anyone cruising with Holland America used the Rapid NATT at Walgreens prior to cruising? They indicate that the results will be available within 2 hours. My grandchildren have this scheduled prior to a June Alaska cruise.

Anyone familiar with the NAAT test offered at Walgreens? Results are supposed to be available within 2 hours. Is it acceptable with HA cruising?

Thanks! We will be on the Eurodam, taking our oldest grandsons(14,11) on June 4th. My wife and I have been here several times and always enjoy Alaska.🙂😎

This may have been answered previously. But, I just looked at recent CDC statements about Vaccines; and I'm  not sure if HA requires a booster to sail now. We have a booked Alaska cruise with my grandsons ages 11 and 14 in June. None of us have boosters but all have received the 2 required vaccine shots. My wife and I travelled on 3 cruises in August, October and December last year including one of those on HA. Your responses would be greatly appreciated.

On 1/22/2022 at 6:15 PM, AFNavigator said:

Another option it to order at the Tamarind bar.  After having enjoyed Tamarind a few days earlier on our Eurodam cruise, I was at the bar and asked if I could order from the Nami Sushi menu (ala carte item pricing vs Tamarind set price).  They said "definitely" and brought that menu.  This was a great because I wasn't looking for a big meal.  I did notice the four entrees on the Nami Sushi menu were the same as some of the entrees on the full Tamarind menu.  So, if you would like to see if your grandsons like the Tamarind food before diving in fully, this might be a great option to try.

Thanks, both younger grandsons enjoy all Asian dishes. Their father also cooks Asian foods often.

5 minutes ago, Crew News said:

Half price for children under 12 or free if they order from kids menu.

 

Kids Menu

Thanks for the info. We will have an 11 year old grandson on a 6/4/22 Alaska cruise but unfortunately his 14 year old brother will pay full price!😪

Is there a child's menu price on Tamarind?

On our Apex cruise ending on 12/11, we were assigned to the Normandie. We went there the first night, but as the other person posted you can visit any of the 4 restaurants on any day. Just walk up without any reservation and they will seat you at anytime during dining hours. There was no difficulty and yes you could order from any of the other restaurant menus for that night as well as Celebrity's Classic menus.  If you opt for other specialty dining I would suggest Le Petit Chef($55 pp) and a great show as well, for one evening. We also returned for lunch in this restaurant($20 pp) and it was extraordinary. We also visited Raw on Five for lunch($20pp) and it to was great.

We were about an hour early for our recent Apex cruise  out of Ft. Lauderdale but we would would have been waiting at the airport, so we decided we decide to travel to the port. We were greeted as they had entry points for all arrival times. There was a quick check of our papers and we were directed to board the ship and our keys(ship cabin entry cards)were outside of our cabin. Then it was off to lunch in the Lido restaurant.🥐🥗🍽️

There are a couple of hooks in the shower. Yes, you do see all kinds of dress. Dressier jeans are allowed in the dining areas. There will be at last 2 nights that request more formal type  wear but on our Apex cruise we saw only a few tux or gowns. 

I received e-mails from HA with the new Itinerary as well as from my Travel Agent.

We have this scheduled after two prior cancellations on HA. I was looking forward to visiting Key West again, but HA is skipping this port and replacing it with Costa Maya and the change was due to the statement that Key West was not allowing cruise ships accommodating more than 1500 passengers.. It was my understanding from prior reports that the Governor's ruling did allow larger ships into that port. Any clarification would be appreciated. So this has changed as well as the new SWA problems  as well as a quick Covid-19 test turnaround just created more anxiety for a planned cruise.🥺

Thanks for the info.  We are supposed to leave on the August 24 sailing.  Can't wait.

I did this with Celebrity last year but they still accept the same credit card without any propblems.

Yes, ours was listed under Seattle. We have it booked, so maybe we will see you on this excursion. We have traveled into the Sawyer Glaciers at lest 2 times before but not up close on a small excursion boat. 

Anyone stayed in a Sunset Veranda on the Apex. Sure would appreciate some feedback. We have one on the 7th deck in December.

We booked a Lift and Shift on the Apex for December 4th with Sunset Veranda 7315.a Anyone currently on this ship have information for this cabin and if Eden interferes with the loudness level or view from the back of the ship?

We have been at least 6 times mostly on 7 day cruises. on 3 different cruise lines. Our favorite areas by far are Glacier Bay. Skagway and Sitka are also great for scenery. We did fly into Juneau and rented a car and drove throughout Alaska; also found great scenery in most all areas with wildlife all over including moose by the airport in Earthquake Park in Anchorage and bear, Dall sheep and even a lynx In Denali National Park.

 Not again! Yes, our 12/06/20  Edge that was booked with FCC was cancelled. E-mail received a short time ago. Whether to Lift and Shift or get a refund😝

We have sailed from both Seattle and Vancouver a few times. Itineraries were similar. We have been to Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay. My wife and I both enjoyed Glacier Bay best. We enjoy the itinerary that includes Skagway(drive to the Yukon or ride the train). The sites are beautiful with each. We have this one scheduled again next June if sailing is happening.

Still waiting for prepaid gratuities for 4  for the April 5th Edge sailing! FCC and port taxes received by middle of April. Frequent contact with Engagement Center and by Travel Agent have yielded no results.