Petronillus

It has been HAL's long-standing practice to provide room and board to Catholic chaplains whose principal duty is to conduct worship services not only on Sunday but on a daily basis. The chaplains receive no further compensation, and they are responsible for their transportation to the port of embarkation and from the port of debarkation.

I have sailed with HAL eight times and each cruise included a chaplain. OP's post is the first I've heard that suggests HAL is discontinuing this practice.

I too will be disappointed if that is so.

I'm particularly surprised the opportunity to attend Sunday Mass was not offered. I've heard that other cruise lines (Celebrity and perhaps others) bring a priest aboard from the local area on Sundays when possible.

52 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Pebbles Flintstone, I believe.

 

We have a winner!

I am so disappointed that they aren't reserved for the Yoopers of Northern Michigan. (UP = upper peninsula.)

The most memorable trivia question I've come across on board is as follows: Who was born on February 29, 10000 BC?

To my great astonishment, there is a genuine answer.

Assuming the question is still being used from time to time, what's the answer?

2 hours ago, IAcruising said:

We go out on own all the time, but I wouldn't even consider that the ship will wait for us if something happens that's "out of our control". We'll join them at the next port. Our mistake, our problem.

I am sympathetic and join in the resentment toward those who blithely take their own sweet time in rejoining the group at the end of a break. I think that was the original thrust of this thread. Shouldn't those folks be made to suffer some consequence.

But I also have enough sympathy to feel bad for those who return late for no fault of their own, the dreaded unforeseen event. If such delay has held up the rest of the tour bus, I believe that an apology and some explanation -- some disclosure of the circumstance that caused the unforeseen delay -- are in order.

It strikes me as harsh to characterize the latecomers' plight as a mistake; if, for instance, a private tour gets stuck in a traffic jam. the passengers in the bus are not at fault. They have run a risk, have experienced a setback, and have to deal with a consequence. 

That's one of the reasons why the worrywarts among us (DW is one) are willing to pay a premium for booking a HAL excursion. They manage the risk by buying a sort of insurance, in the form of HAL's assurance that it will hold the ship to accommodate its own excursion customers.

On 1/13/2024 at 6:37 PM, RuthC said:

I have some severe mobility problems, which have gotten worse over the years---slowing me down even more. And I take mainly HAL excursions. 
I have been back to the bus late exactly once---and that was only by a few minutes. 

Being slow, I can't get to the rest room as quickly as the others, so I am typically at the end of the line. One time I got lost trying to find my way back out of the building, with a zig here, and a zag there. I was a bit late. 
But as I said, that was exactly once. If I can get back to the bus in time, anyone can. 

Those who are new to this board may not know that Ruth is our matriarch, and what a treasure she is. She chimes in frequently and ALWAYS has something worthwhile to contribute.  Unlike me and my ilk, who like to crack wise, Ruth is a font of wisdom born of long experience.

At the moment Chicago is in the cruel grip of a prolonged stretch of subzero (Fahrenheit!) temps coupled with driving winds. I stare longingly at your snaps of the frolicking around the aft pool.

You've inspired me to jot my thoughts down right away and not wait to let them "marinate." That strategy invariably falls prey to my procrastination. Your core dump (so to speak!) was spot on, particularly as representing the perspective of a HAL newbie. 

You are refreshingly open to new and different experiences, coupled with your objectivity. I admire that you didn't let your familiarity with X and its ways spoil your ability to appreciate and enjoy HAL.

4 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 

Here we go, try thinking you have one of those big plastic dog collars around your neck, like recommended during the past covid days, That way you could pretend you had a barrier that kept your cross-contamination fingers out of your own nose, eyes and mouth.  

 

Put this same imaginary dog collar on,  but this time use it to keep your head from bending over to look and stay plugged into an internet device.  

 

Woof.  Just kidding of course. 🙀

The cone of shame!

On 1/12/2024 at 1:51 AM, nannygoatjunction said:

Aussie here - challenge accepted! 

We are on holiday and as thus champagne (or sparkling wine whatev's) every morning for brekkie to start the day.  Every day is a gift and a celebration and treated as amazing 🙂 We have always gone by this code.

We purchased the HIA as a way of not having to be bothered by a bill at the end without looking too much at it but when we did think about it, by the time we work our way thru coffee's, cocktails, and lunch/dinner/after dinner drinks, I feel fairly sure it will be quite the value package for us - yay!

Our daughter came home from a wonder-filled semester in Australia, New Zealand, and the Great Barrier Reef. I think she wanted to adopt the Australian way of life -- talking about having a "cuppa" and drinking "bee-ah" (in lieu of another hour of work). She was practically speaking Strine!

18 minutes ago, albingirl said:

I usually throw a bud light into my beach bag. But it's a secret.

News flash! Somebody still drinks BudLite! 

On 1/14/2024 at 9:16 AM, ClippyJoe said:

We were on the Konigsdam last year and the Super Bowl was shown on the large screen at the pool.

If you're referring to the 2023 Super Bowl, we were on the same 18-day Hawaii cruise. I never like the acoustics in the Lido pool area but the Jumbotron did the job well. People should be warned that NONE of the regular Super Bowl ads were run; it apparently has something to do with the licensing. Instead, they filled the commercial break time with the same three crappy ads that ran over and over. One was for some women's wrestling championship that was going to be televised in Australia & New Zealand only! A lady sitting behind us said, "These are the worst Super Bowl ads ever!"

What was the problem with the tendering? How did they get everybody back? Didn't those pax scatter once they got ashore? 

You don't sound particularly miffed about it. Maybe the expectations were low?

Is Easter Island on the itinerary too?

(My word-processing program was running a special on question marks. Sorry.)

Did you consider taking an elevator on its way up from Deck 4 and riding it down to Deck 2 at the first opportunity of a turnaround?

1 hour ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Your best bet is to frequent the bars during happy hour and stick with the one you enjoy the most.     You will meet like-minded people at the happy hours

You may find a particular bar/lounge especially conducive to chatting up strangers. For me it's the Billboard Lounge, which I came to know and love because it was the principal venue for trivia games.

DW & I usually lunch in the Lido Market, and we almost always join a table of four or take a table of four and welcome another couple to join us. We've had some delightful conversations that way.

14 hours ago, CGinMTL said:

Good morning from snowy Montreal

Your city is my favorite/favourite in all of N. America. We love to take the family on a cold-weather long weekend (usually, US Thanksgiving) in the Hotel Bonaventure, high atop the Place Bonaventure convention center/centre, where the open-air swimming pool is in use 365 days a year. This year we caught an amazing spectacle son et lumière inside Notre-Dame basilica.

Judging from other comments on this board, the quality, care, and speed of HAL's laundry services are one area where HAL is head and shoulders above the competition.

I realize that your focus is principally on Iceland but you do mention Norway as well. DW & I spent 14 days in July r/t Amsterdam on what was billed as a Midnight Sun cruise. The western coast of Norway is spectacular. I didn't realize how deeply some of the fjords cut into the interior of the country. And the profusion of waterfalls. 

It was a treat to cross the Arctic Circle. For three days the captain included in his noontime remarks, "Tonight there will be no sunset and tomorrow no sunrise!" It was like perpetually between 2 and 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

A fairly late addition to the itinerary was the Shetland Islands of Scotland. Two Scottish border agents came on board to check and sticker our passports. Trees are few and far between on the Shetlands, making for a bleak landscape. The Shetlands do not identify so much with the Celtic or Gaelic Scots as with the Scandinavians. They have their own flag, using the same colors as the Saltire (X-shaped cross of St. Andrew) but with perpendicular cross-bars just like Norway, Sweden, Denmark (and even Finland).

21 minutes ago, ottahand7 said:

We did another HA shore excursion because we had never been to Belize before.  The tour was great but there were four ships in port all requiring tendering.  It was a zoo at the port area.  I have another HIA excursion in February and I will cancel.   Not worth the hassle.  

Today we took a bus the the recently excavated ruins, Amon Ra.  It was an hour drive each way and we were served a simple meal away from the ruins.  It was not crowded at the ruins and both our bus guide and the park guide were excellent.  

Thank you for the passing on the word on Amon Ra, and especially for the photos. Sounds like what one hopes an excursion will be.

I agree with Sir PMP that the Billboard Bar is top-notch, but in my experience the Crow's Nest bar gives them a run for their money.

10 minutes ago, Real NHDOC said:

My own opinion is that when they started “giving away” specialty dining liberally (HIA, 5* Perks, Casino Comps) they decided to cut corners so like everything in life “if an offer seems too good to be true it probably is” applies now to eating in the Pinnacle. 

More's the pity!

3 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

@Seasick Sailorthat looks more like lobster Thermador. I'm pretty sure I would be sending that back.

A chat with the maitre de and an early exit to get the charge reversed on my account. 

To me it looks more like mac & cheese. Maybe there's some lobster in there, but if so my eyes can't make it out.

This has been very much a worthwhile thread. It's helped me develop an appreciation for what the PG is supposed to be and some useful tips for what to do when the PG falls short of its standards.

10 minutes ago, mawvkysc said:

Especially if I had booked a lower level of cabin due to having the retreat in my plans. I’d ask for a spa pass myself!

OP has a legitimate grievance and a compelling argument in her favor. As she stated in her original posting, she received a written confirmation of having booked a retreat cabana and relied on that confirmation, to her detriment. in choosing this specific cruise and the specific cabin she selected. An on-board credit is not a true refund, and she deserves at the very minimum a "clean" refund. In addition, she should be entitled to a cabin upgrade at no additional charge. If the ship is fully booked to the gunwales, then should be given a generous credit toward a future cruise.

She and HAL are negotiating and HAL has made an opening gambit. I have no doubt there are a number of remedies HAL is holding in reserve. I earnestly hope that OP will keep us apprised of future steps and let HAL know that she is chronicling the negotiation here on CC.

HAL must put its personnel under strict orders never to admit that anybody in management keeps abreast of what goes on on this board or that anyone with authority to act on HAL's behalf is kept so abreast. The silence is deafening.

In a separate thread on this forum, in response to one writer's complaint, another mentioned how the quality of "shore services" has declined since they were outsourced. That was news to me. I tried searching for any prior thread on this topic, without success. Is this true?

And, if so, what comprises shore services? Do shore services include our Personal Cruise Consultants? I've always taken it for granted that my PCC is a HAL employee.

4 hours ago, Caribbean Chris said:

 

You hit the nail on the head. The crew is worth all the special cocktail parties in the world. Reading through these posts, for some reason I had a flashback of boarding our first HAL cruise post-pandemic on the shiny-new Rotterdam in November 2021. All the staff was lined up as we boarded, waving and saying, “Welcome Back!”  I still get all teary-eyed thinking about how glad we were to see them.

I think it's a principle of enterprise organization that every organization has its own "special sauce." It's not always obvious what the special sauce is, even (or maybe even especially) for the insiders. But you mess with the special sauce at your peril. I think a huge element of HAL's special sauce is the cheerfulness of the customer-facing crew. It must be drummed into them during their training, and in my experience they are the most gracious bunch of folks. And their cheerfulness seems utterly genuine and seems to penetrate well below the surface. I've sometimes wondered how exhausting it must be, especially for the introverts among them.