Petronillus

I just did a Google search and came up empty on "Flexair" and "Flexair online booking engine." What is this?

Wouldn't a Chef Morimoto restaurant compete with the Tamarind? Considering that a cruise is an adventure in seafaring, wouldn't a seafood restaurant be a more fitting replacement for Rudi's?

DW & I are at the grandparent stage of life. We have tried to prevail on one or the other of our children to join us on a cruise and even considered, however briefly, bringing an 11yo grandson with us. That prospect is only possible because of the good things I've heard about Club HAL. On two occasions over the years we have had the pleasure of sharing a lunch table in the Lido with one of the Club HAL "minders" (d/k if that's the right term). In each case I was very much impressed with the caliber of the young woman, both in her personality and in her experience and training. I can honestly say that DW & I have been spared any encounters with a bratty child. In our experience they have behaved in a polite and unobtrusive manner. I tend to think that, in addition to good parental supervision, it's due in part to the atmosphere prevailing on a HAL ship that moderates their rambunctious tendencies. We avoid booking one-week cruises in the summer or during spring break time. We have never seen what it's like when the number of children reaches a critical mass. But we've never ever heard tell of some "Lord of the Flies" nightmare occurring on board.

Here's what we do, per instructions we first received via this CruiseCritic HAL board: email addressed to world_cruise_reservations@hollandamerica.com listing the following information: Name: [as it appears in HAL's records] Mariner ID Number: Booking Number: Ship: Cruise: Latest statement: see attached, pg __ of [month] 2023 statement The attachment is a pdf of the relevant page of our latest monthly statement of our brokerage account with JPMorgan showing our ownership of CCL shares. I retrieve the electronic version of our monthly account statement from the brokerage firm's website. The page I attach (as with each page of the statement) shows a header that identifies it as our joint account Our most recent cruise sailed on July 1. I procrastinated and didn't send in my email until June 19. I got an instantaneous (plainly, system-generated) acknowledgment from World Cruise Reservations and the relevant OCB was showing on our statement when we boarded. That email address, once again, is worldUNDERSCOREcruiseUNDERSCOREreservationsATSIGNhollandamericaDOTcom

On our recent Midnight Sun cruise to Norway, DW & I occupied a cabin connecting to our son's cabin. We very much enjoyed the open access when the barrier between the two cabins was opened on the verandahs. As for the interior of the cabins, none of us had any problems with noise contamination. FWIW. Everybody's experience is different. P.S. You gotta love the observation about the "prayer session" going on in the adjoining cabin.

It's funny but I think of the BBKing/LCS space as being next to the Music Walk but not part of it. It is obvious that a great deal of care went into fine-tuning the acoustics and the acoustic footprint of the space -- the way the inner walls (along the corridors on both decks) undulate and the like. A full set of double-doors set the BBKing/LCS space apart from the (the rest of?) the Music Walk. Part of the acoustic design must have addressed the "interference" of passers-by because I never encountered a problem there. To me all that care, work, and expense (including the acquisition of a dedicated Steinway piano for each venue!) makes the sacrifice of Lincoln Center Stage all the more lamentable.

Amen! Amen! Amen!

I have to paddle as fast as I can to maintain my 40%!

Speaking, as someone was, about the meager entertainment offerings, I am saddened that we no longer get weekly presentations in the main stage from the crew celebrating their home-country arts and customs. The Indonesians and the Filipinos alternated. DW & I always found the entertainment value high, and almost always saw at least one crew member we had already gotten to know. I remember too how nice it was to recognize performers afterwards and compliment them on their performance. When were these shows dropped, and for what reasons? Considering the additional burden the shows placed on the crew members, I do hope that HAL treated those crew members who participated to an honorarium, or additional shore leave, or some other form of recognition.

February is my least favorite month. HAL has become my preferred go-to for escaping Chicago winters in February. Having enjoyed the Caribbean, having transitted the Panama Canal, and most recently having circled Hawaii, DW & I have chosen to spend the entire month aboard the Westerdam visiting Japan, S Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, and China (Republic of, r/t Hong Kong and supposedly a stop at Shanghai). This will be our first cruise in a long time on other than a Pinnacle class ship. Along with the Music Walk and other amenities, I was pleased with the abundance of electronic ports and electrical plugs in the cabins. I'm wondering if I'll have to get our steward to scrounge up a power strip for my cpap machine and other pluggables. Somebody has already mentioned that seating at the Lido buffet is at a premium. What else will we be missing that we've gotten used to on the Pinnacle class ships?

Plus, you meet the nicest people.

This is why I keep coming back to this HAL board. Other than because of this string it would not have occurred to me to order flowers on board. Now I can't wait.

When the Adagio Strings and then the Lincoln Center Stage ensembles performed in a lounge, before the dedicated space just forward of the Music Walk was created for BBKing and LCS, groups of passengers with irreconcilably incompatible agendas caused a lot of tension. Some, like this poster, were looking for pleasant background music for their chats. The rest were there to listen attentively and enjoy the music being performed. Even though signs would be posted in the corridor asking for respectful silence during performances, they were frequently ignored. As with so much of today's polarization, neither group could see the other's point of view and make accommodations.

On our recent Midnight Sun cruise along the western coast of Norway, I think the Dutch outnumbered the Canadians. It was r/t Amsterdam, and from what I could piece together it appears that HAL flooded the Dutch market with "last minute" promotions to fill up the unbooked cabins.

And I can see it adds "stickiness" to HAL's loyalty program.

Aha! Thank you, crystalspin and POA1, for your patience and kindness. I didn't know there was such a thing as a non-refundable fare, much less that one can mitigate the effect of the non-refundableness through the use of FCDs, The bare-bones approach is something I'll need to consider sometime.

I've seen other postings where veteran cruisers make the same recommendation, but I still don't understand the benefit. And I thought I was able to cancel a cruise without penalty up to the date of final payment.

Busted!

I've never grasped the significance of FCDs, There must be some benefit besides a smaller up-front deposit. And aren't you "tying up" the cost of the FCDs?

I endorse everything everyone else has said previously. One of the elements that used to stand out was the small classical-music ensemble. It used to be, I believe, the Rosario Strings which then morphed into the Adagio Strings and then blossomed into Lincoln Center Stage, with young breakout artists carefully vetted who performed at least twice daily chamber music programs ranging from classical to show tunes. We are promised a changed format, but it hasn't happened. In the meantime, the absence is lamentable. I hope that the same bean-counters responsible for slashing the LCS do not go after the chaplain next. HAL is the last of the cruise lines to welcome a Catholic priest on every sailing. The opportunity for daily Mass as well as Sunday is a distinction of high honor. It's one of the things that keep DW & me coming back to HAL.

I agree that on the whole it was a great cruise. From a psychological standpoint, Having six sea days in succession, multiplied by two, poses challenges. You have the same entertainers on board for the entire stretch. On the outbound voyage we had the superlative Hyperion Knight, who is not only a virtuoso pianist but also a superb entertainer. Others not so much, but that's par for the course these days with HAL. The high points of each day were the Lincoln Center Stage recitals; DW & I sorely missed them on our most recent Rotterdam cruise. For the most part the ship on a Hawaii cruise is on the open sea with an uninterrupted 360-degree horizon; rarely was there any other seafaring traffic to be seen. The seas were rough for the most part, and the ship not only rocked but also rolled. It was impossible at those times for the Step One Dance troupe to perform. Maui was supposed to be a tender port, but the swells were too unmanageable and so the captain elected to skip Maui in favor of an extra day at Kona. That was a major disappointment; crew members in the Lido told us that some of the very best whale watching could be had right from the ship. By the tail end of our 18-day adventure, the 5 days steaming to Ensenada, time started to weigh heavily. As a final note, I must commend the cruise director, whose name I've unfortunately forgotten. She was a model of what a good cruise director can be and do. I can't say the same about the CD on our Norway cruise on Rotterdam.

The spa slipped my mind. If serenity is a high priority, then it would be to beat the ceramic-tiled, warm-water-fed loungers in the spa. Heaven on earth, imho.

On our Hawaii cruise last February, the Moscow Mule made with Stolichnaya (sp?) was all the rage. I'm a Bombay Sapphire guy myself but I heard lots of calls for a Stoli Mule.

We just spent 14 days in July on the Rotterdam cruising in and out of fjords and up above the arctic circle. The dome over the Lido pool was closed most of the time and was opened partially at other times. The hot tubs were frequently unoccupied and even when used never looked crowded. Absolutely no horseplay. Children were few in number and invariably well behaved. The other pool at the aft end is completely open-air. I saw very few swimmers but the hot tub got more usage. Of course, that's the only spot where smoking is permitted.

Spent 15 days on board the Rotterdam in July visiting the fiords of Norway and crossing the arctic circle to North Cape. Our enjoyment was diminished by the absence of Lincoln Center Stage -- even though some signage remained as pain-inducing vestiges. I happened to walk past the lounge area where the five members of the Rolling Stone Rock 'n Roll ensemble were submitting to interview questions. One of the musicians said something to the effect that between BB King's and their gig, HAL had all of the musical bases covered. I did not remonstrate until afterwards when I button-holed the cruise director (who on the whole ranged from mediocre to lackluster). I emphatically made note of our disappointment at the loss of LCS. She spouted the HAL party line: together HAL and the folks at Lincoln Center are coming up with a new format whereby the LCS performers will perform on the World Stage as part of the overall entertainment rotation. I was not mollified. For many many HAL passengers the LCS recitals were their introduction to chamber music, and invariably attendance grew over the course of the cruise. Moreover, the concert hall is not the right venue for experiencing chamber music. The intimacy of the LCS performance space, together with the finely tuned acoustics, made for a very satisfying experience. And, most of all, what a bonehead move to discontinue LCS as we've known it BEFORE the new format is in place. We did enjoy the 3-show repertoire of the One Step Dance Company at the World Stage.