elaine5

thank you. I thought I read that C class got wine with dinner. seems like the C perks are meh for us.

does gty concierge include perks? Is wine anytime or dinner? Is the sparkling wine anytime/anywhere, or only in cabin? Is there a selection of wine by the glass (or price limit)? Is there a different dining room or different menu in MDR? Any "bad" cabins? thanks, Elaine

One week later could be the pricing difference, esp. if around Easter? Usually, I find them similar prices. Like others said, there are TAs whose pricing beats RCI direct by a quite a bit. Princess pricing tends to be very similar on their website and via TA. We sail both lines frequently and like both. I view Princess as a step-up from older Royal ships for amenities, entertainment, food, and equal to older (newish) ships like Anthem. Haven't been on newest Royals yet. Enchanted would deliver a quality product, Royal will have a bit "funner" vibe and more active/sports offerings. With teens/young adults, we prefer Royal, but not for 50% more!

thanks, I thought a read about a new policy for 2 hours in advance.

I just saw that our shops leaves at 3pm. Is last all aboard 1 or 2 hours beforehand? I don't plan to cut it that close--but want to build in time for traffic, etc.

We decided to try HA as the timing, ports, and pricing was good. I also read some good reviews about the Music venues and if I want steel drums, I'll just pop in ear buds with downloaded island music. I'll post an update on this thread when we get back. Thanks for the reviews. Elaine

How about at 5:45 or 7:15? this is for Rotterdam winter Caribbean from Florida.

On Rotterdam, how is anytime dining working? Are there long waits without reservations for 6-6:30? Also, are reservations made (at kiosk) only once onboard? Are they available for most days at 6/6:30? We'd be party of 4 persons? And, if the wait was long and we said we'd share a table with others, would we get seated fairly quickly at an 8-10 table? Thanks, Elaine

No steel band in the Caribbean? No live music on deck? And, what exactly is there to do after dinner? From 8-11pm? I thought Rotterdam had “stepped up its game?” I really wanted to give HA a try…

For Rotterdam, are there bars/venues with music in the evenings before dinner? For Ex. at the back deck bar on both Celebrity and Cunard there was music (band, guitarist, and/or singer) from late afternoon/evening--or something in the lounges before dinner--Irish music, vocalist, etc.? We're not crazy party people, but also don't really want solitude on a cruise. We are active, early 60s. Newly retired--so lots of quiet times to read at home. Celebrity is perfect for us--but Rotterdam schedule/ports looks really good.

can we combine combine AARP and shareholder OBC?

Thanks. We’re going to give HA Rotterdam a try this winter. We sailed Cunard this summer, and though a bit subdued for us, loved it.

what is the "vibe" and demographics on HA Caribbean cruises compared to RCI, Celebrity, and Princess?

thank you! got it!

I can only see my next cruise on the App. How do I find subsequent cruises to make dining reservations, etc.?

We tendered last year on the Vision. 2 hours post arriving was not an issue. Note, we were on a smaller ship (1/2 the passenger capacity). 1.5 hours might be tight on a larger ship.

I recall recently getting a "refer a friend" email, which I deleted. Does anyone have it? thanks, Elaine

How is it working to just walk up and say you'd be fine with a share table? Pre-Covid, we were seated almost immediately around 6:30pm, both on Europe and Carib. cruises. Wondering now for AU/NZ/ Asia cruises? thanks, Elaine

from above, thus why I am asking. I'd assume that Sydney is up to par (or surpassing) USA hospitals, so the chance of medically necessary evacuation from SYD back to USA would be nil? Then, question is, is it worth it to up the already $75K medivac cruise insurance to $500K?

We are traveling to Oahu, AU, cruise to NZ, then cruise to Japan, before returning to USA. We will have cruise insurance. I see it only covers up to $20K sick/accident and $75K med evac. We have Fed govt BCBS (under 65). Should we get GeoBlue for additional evac (5 sea days in Sea of China)? We will have a week in AU pre-cruise that cruise insurance would not cover. But, I assume it's unlikely to need (or even get authorized for) med evac from AU, given the excellent medical facilities. And GeoBlue wouldn't cover HNL, as it's in USA. We are early 60s.

Husband wore new black leather shoes, not patent, which he could wear with trousers other nights to conserve luggage space (multi-day train traveling afterwards). More comfortable and widely available in many sizes. They looked completely appropriate-I even didn’t notice he didn’t have patent on. I very much enjoyed the roaring 20s night, esp the ladies’ dresses.

Just had 7316, balcony. Great location, small amount of noise from people at night a few times. Didn’t bother us at all-and I’m very picky. I’d take this area again.

a RT transfer to Aix from Marseille? If so, could you share the booking site? Thanks, Elaine

Good to excellent MDR Explorer Seas in Europe (from Ravenna in Aug 2023). Fish perfectly prepared, Meat was good/very good. DH got a med+ prime rib, when he asked for Med-rare, but it was a huge piece, so he kept it and said it was fine. On par with Celebrity and Princess for this cruise. Better than Vision (Europe) last year.

Using above math (3X7) + 1 extra point=22, plus my post 2011 cruises is 56 points, which is what C&A shows. Thanks for insight. Weird though, a 7 night (from last year) that's counted in that 56 doesn't show up, and DH is at only 49 points with that 7 night (as well as all others) showing up.