3rdGenCunarder

I wonder if it depends on how many ships are at HMC? If there's only one, both island tenders can go to just one ship.

Something to look at in comparing itineraries is not just the ports, but how long the ship is in port. I hate feeling rushed to get back to the ship. I like Grand Turk better than HMC. You can walk beyond the cruise line's area and find beach bars (bucket of beer and free wifi!). I can't explain it. I guess I like that it's a real place, as opposed to a purpose-made development. I'm a minority voter here. I don't like the Pinnacle ships. IMO they feel more crowded. Cabins tend to be smaller than same grade on the older ships. I hope they did something about the MDR design for Rotterdam, because on K'dam, it was unpleasantly noisy. The lack of a proper promenade deck is another minus to me. I also dislike the layout of the thermal suite. The heated loungers are supposed to be a quiet, relaxing space, but on K'dam, that was the entry to the thermal suite, which made it noisy. The one thing I liked on K'dam that the smaller ships don't have was the movies by the pool. The music walk is a big deal on the Pinnacle ships. Because I dislike noisy, crowded places, I did not like it. But again, I'm in the minority. Sadly, there was little else by way of entertainment. HAL is making changes to their entertainment program, so it's hard to say what will be available late 24/early 25. I love the Vistas, and Zuiderdam is my favorite. I like the layout and the size. The thermal suite, my one big indulgence, is great. I recently sailed on Eurodam, and while it was a bit larger than I like (aft cabin made it a hike to the spa!), the ship was attractive, rode well, room was comfortable. One thing that Eurodam has that Zuiderdam (and all the Vistas) lack is Tamarind. If you like Asian cuisine, that's a big plus.

@Vict0riann, I'll be interested to learn whose "priority" was bettter/faster, CO or stars.

I had $200 shorex credit on my January cruise, and I was able to book tours in separate transactions. I booked inexpensive tours, and it let me use the "two tours up to $100 each" to pay for the three tours, which I hadn't expected.

I have a cruise booked for Feb 2024 and neither shore excursions nor specialty restaurants are available yet. That's HAL, consistently inconsistent. No, the HIA excursion credit is for excursions only. HAL cancelled an excursion I had on my recent cruise, and there wasn't anything else I wanted to book. The leftover shorex credit did not become available for anything else.

Stormin' the beach is right. I believe the tenders were from WWII.

Are you sure it was HMC? I remember those tenders "Little Norway 1" and "Little Norway 2" but we went to NCL's island, Great Stirrup Cay. Several comments about cruise lines "owning" islands. I thought they were all long-term leases.

I don't know which ship @vino100 is on, but the Vistas and maybe Signatures have a room to one side that can be set up with a long center table and then some people would be at side tables. Depending on how busy Pinnacle is, they could take up most of that room.

Thanks for the update, and yes, please do let us know when you get paid.

The service does do international shipping, but it's more expensive than domestic. I have shipped bags from the US to Southampton, England. It was around $100 more than shipping within the US. Shipping to Canada is more expensive, too. This is because the shipper acts as your customs agent. The forms for England required a very detailed list. Canada just needed a letter that said "Everything in here is my stuff." They give you a tracking number. The first time I did it, I was concerned because the bag was in customs for a few days, so I called DHL (the carrier Cunard was using). They told me not to worry, if a bag is early, they sometimes wait until they get around to it, but it would make the sailing. And the next day, tracking showed it had gone from Heathrow to Southampton. I haven't seen a porter an at airport in years. I haven't seen curbside luggage drops, either.

Six steps is a lot of planning and "what-ifs." I've had Uber drivers who thought just popping the trunk was enough assistance. Step 1 Call Luggage Forward (not luggage direct as I said earlier, that's the airport service). Luggage Forward® - Shipping & Luggage Delivery Worldwide Since 2005 Step 2. Pack Step 3. Arrive at your cabin and unpack.

If you need a supervised test, Rapid Test and Tracing is good to work with. I used them before two cruises. You supply your own test, and they watch you on a video connection. IIRC, they used Google Meet. You have to write your initials and the date on the test so that you can't swap with a previous negative test. I think the self-certify rules should require that to keep people from reusing or sharing a negative test. And taking a picture of your watch??? That proves nothing.

Even at lower wind speeds, there are times when it's unpleasantly chilly on the glass balconies but nice and cozy in the sheltered balconies. I love the sheltered balconies for a TA. It's true that you can't see the ocean when you're sitting down, but you can have fresh air and sunshine (depending on the orientation of the ship). I don't like the obstructed balconies. On a sunny day, the lifeboats give the room an orange glow.

You might not be able to cancel and rebook the second leg excursions until you're on the second leg. People have been reporting difficulties with booking tours (and maybe also specialty restaurants) for the second leg while they're on the first leg. Not a HAL rule, just a glitch in the system.

@bvocruise, you're on the Nieuw Amsterdam, right? That's a signature ship, as is the Eurodam. On the Eurodam, there was no "cafe" midships, but the Pinnacle Bar had specialty coffees. On my cruise, Explorations opened at 6 AM and Pinnacle Bar at 7 AM. In a Neptune Suite, you also have access to the coffee machine in the Neptune Lounge. I'm not sure when that opens, maybe 8 AM? 9 AM?

There is a typical "service please"/"no service" sign you can put out. Your cabin attendant will try to stop by on embarkation day and introduce himself, so you can explain what you want then. HAL does say that if you don't want your towels replaced, just hang them up. Leave them on the floor/bathtub if you want them replaced. They do not change the sheets every day. I'm fine with both of these actions, as I don't get fresh towels or sheets every day at home, so I don't see the need for that when I travel. You can probably send a message via Navigator explaining what you want/don't want and why.

An aft corner in Alaska is fantastic! You will have great views, and if you get a cold or drizzly day ("liquid sunshine"), you can duck inside to warm up.

On NA's sister, Eurodam, the PInnacle Bar had specialty coffees. On sea days, I went there for a mid-morning latte. Because I had an aft cabin, I didn't want to hike to Explorations just for coffee, so I was pleased to discover it midships. I was also able to get cans of water on my way to an excursion. The deck 11 forward Explorations is not at all like the old Crows Nest. It has tabletop screens where you can search for cruises or where your ship is or some such thing. It has very cool screens with all kinds of ship data, like the angles of the azipods and how fast they're turning. Unfortunately, these screens sit right at the center of the windows, breaking up that lovely panoramic view you used to get when you first walked in. As nice as the forward view is, I found sitting in the Pinnacle Bar with a coffee much nicer.

One of the good things about the Navigator app is that you can check out the Lido menus to see what the deserts are for that day. One day I saw that they had opera cake, one of my favorite desserts. I went to the Lido right at opening and grabbed two slices (oink!, I know) to take back to my room. When I went to actually have lunch, the opera cake was gone, so after I had lunch, I had dessert on my balcony. And another thing the GDC doesn't have is HAL's famous bread pudding.

Best source of gossip on the ship!

When CO was new (K'dam was the only Pinnacle ship then), HAL hyped CO as a big deal. It's definitely not a ship within a ship. CO dining room gets one extra main course. And CO passengers get a special tote bag!!!! Whoopeee! (Actually, it is a nice bag, but hardly a big selling point IMO) I'm 4-star and don't need the CO priority, but I have bought CO on my last two bookings because the price of CO was a small amount compared to the value of the upgrade I was able to get. I keep expecting HAL to change the upgrade to just one category up, not to the highest in the "meta category." Yes, it is, and I love it. Although Cunard doesn't have a ship within a ship, moving up to a better restaurant is a much bigger step up than CO. Someone on this thread said that Princess Grill is the same food as the MDR. That's just a starting point. There are always extra choices, a very good "always available" selection, and some special items that you have to order the day before, like crepe suzette flambeed tableside. You won't see that in CO. I usually sail in a balcony cabin, and eat in the MDR, but once in a while, I splurge on Princess Grill. I can't quite bring myself to pay Queens Grill prices.

QE2 carried about 1800 passengers. Norway was probably about the same. QE2 had four dining room levels. By the time I sailed on her, "classes" were not kept apart. There was one bar for Grills passengers, and that was the only distinction. Definitely not a ship within a ship. Today's Cunard ships are similarly low-key about classes. France had two dining room levels, but as Norway she had only one class, and neither dining room was a higher class than the other. Sadly, sailing for NCL, Norway had very little class in her later years.

Check out Luggage Direct. They will pick up suitcases at your parents' house and deliver them to the ship. For going home, your parents will have to collect their luggage to go through customs/immigration, and then give it to the Luggage Direct people. There will be porters who can help them with that. It can be expensive, but to lighten the load, and in this case make travel possible, it's worth it.

Sometimes the Hubbard excursion isn't offered until you're onboard. I think that was the case on my first QE cruise in Alaska.

I love the Vistas! Just a great size and easy flow around the ship.