fsufancc

My advice is if you are going to use magnetic hooks, get the heavier duty ones (35 lbs or more) versus the 22/24 lbs ones.  The lighter duty ones will hold a shirt and maybe a windbreaker, but you have to gently hang the garment on the hook to avoid pulling it off of the wall. 

Mrs Fan kind of dropped a shirt on one of the lighter duty ones and it fell off the wall and rolled somewhere under the couch.  I could not find it to save my life.

HAL newbie here. Trying to figure out how early I could get the train to Paris after our August sailing on HAL/Rotterdam.  I know that the train station is a 10 to 15 minute walk from the cruise terminal.  The ship docks at 7:00 am.  Would grabbing a 10:10 am train to Paris be too early?

Go to "The Man in Seat 61" website.  This guy has the absolute best overview of how to get around on the train.  Drop down menus for city to city travel

Listen, and understand. That Spa Staff is out there. It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you agree to buy overpriced products.  😂

Mrs Fan who is an introvert by nature asked the spa person to not do the upsell and she did it anyway.  Now she won't go to the spa anymore.  What should be a relaxing time is now a huge sales hassle and it is a shame.

@scubacruiserx2 Mrs Fan and I sailed on the Liberty a year before the pandemic started. We booked the trip and then her mom passed away about 2 weeks before the sailing (early December).  It was a great trip as Mrs Fan could shake off all of her emotions about her mother's passing (and years long illness leading up to that point).  We never even got off the ship.  Just chilled, had daily happy hour on the balcony, relaxed in the adult only areas of the ship, caught a few shows. I guess due to the dates of the cruise (again, early December) it was not filled with the knuckleheads that normally seem to sail on CCL.

I had posted this in another thread about Seattle hotels.  

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We are sailing RCL on the Quantum OTS in June with our 3 grown kids and spouses.

I booked a room in the Warwick Seattle.  We did an Amtrak trip just before the pandemic and the Warwick was one of the hotels on our itinerary.  It was clean and comfortable, on-site restaurant and bar, a 10-minute walk to Pike Place Market. There was a CVS across the street so we could grab some needed supplies. Join their frequent stay club (free) and you will get deals sent to you.  We got the room for $177/n which was hundreds of dollars cheaper than other places in the same area.  Breakfast was not included. 

16 hours ago, Dobby36 said:

Yes, I was taught the double “trick” too, and on the Rotterdam last year the staff quickly recognized me and (maybe I drank too quickly! 😜 ) would just confirm I wanted double wine.  It always worked with HIA, unlike double bourbons which depending on who rang them in would sometimes trigger a more expensive price which knocked them out if the HIA price guidelines and showed up on my bill.  But even those could be removed by a call to guest services.  

Looks like my new strategy will be to get bourbon on the rocks at the bar, head to the MDR and ask for a shot of bourbon. 😄  Shame you have to jump thru hoops just to get a double bourbon on the rocks.

Mrs Fan and I are sailing in Aug with the HIA via the "Best Deal Ever" sale.  We are on the Rotterdam.

Can I upgrade just myself or do both persons have to upgrade?

What would the upgrade cost be?

I assume that I need to upgrade first thing once we board

Does anyone have a link or PDF file of a drinks menu with pricing for the Rotterdam?

I've seen conflicting information on drinks above the $11 threshold. Do you pay for the entire cost of the new drink or just the overage? 

We are sailing RCL on the Quantum OTS in June with our 3 grown kids and spouses.

I booked a room in the Warwick Seattle.  We did an Amtrak trip just before the pandemic and the Warwick was one of the hotels on our itinerary.  It was clean and comfortable, on-site restaurant and bar, a 10-minute walk to Pike Place Market. There was a CVS across the street so we could grab some needed supplies. Join their frequent stay club (free) and you will get deals sent to you.  We got the room for $177/n which was hundreds of dollars cheaper than other places in the same area.  Breakfast was not included. 

I am reading these threads with some cautious optimism.  We are HAL newbies and have never sailed with them before.  We lived in Florida and had kids so we have done a lot of budget trips in the past (Carnival, Norwegian).  We sailed this past fall on Royal Caribbean (old ship, the Voyager OTS) and I was severely disappointed (with everything but the cost).  We had fun but the "fit-n-finish" was not there from our pre-pandemic trips even on the budget lines. We have another RCL trip this June to Alaska with our grown married kids. We wanted to do Princess, but they all wanted the on-board "stuff".  So, we are going on a larger Quantum class ship with RCL.

But I had a bucket list of seeing the Norway Fjords.  We booked a trip on the Rotterdam out of Amsterdam in August.  I look forward to a more upscale trip on the Rotterdam. I just learned about Club Orange and would have probably signed up for that when I booked last September. 

Seeing the news about all the hiring and recruitment efforts in the cruise industry as a whole.  I am hopeful that some the recent trips that everyone are complaining about are just post-pandemic hangover (at least in part). I realize some cutbacks are inevitable as the industry is facing rising interest rates, higher fuel costs, staffing shortages and more. I just hope they can balance out the cost benefit to keep their clients/customers happy.

Don't nickel and dime me with dinner upgrades

Don't serve weak drinks

No need to clean my room 2-3 times a day, once is enough

Stop ruining my relaxation by trying to upsell/hard sell me lotions and creams in the spa

We are sailing on the Rotterdam in August.  We have 2 veranda rooms on the starboard side.  I figured that you sail into the fjord and then out of the fjord.  So anything you did not see heading in, you could catch coming out 

Sorry for the confusion on my part but I am still unclear about the process.  We already have 2 veranda rooms for a trip in August on the Rotterdam that I am not interested in changing at this point.

But for future trips (and if it makes monetary sense)

1. I start by going online and seeing what veranda rooms are available and make notes of the ones I would like to have.

2. Book the least expensive obstructed view veranda cabin with my TA and ask to add CO

3. Then request TA to contact HAL and ask to upgrade to higher level veranda room - give TA some room numbers that I would like to have. 

So, moving from an obstructed view veranda room - can I request any category veranda room or is it just one step up to the next class?

Also, why would you not employ this strategy every time you book a trip (at least on Pinnacle class)?

22 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Assuming you made your reservation with a refundable deposit… and assuming the price/pp is not greater than the price/pp at time of reservation…. and assuming that you won’t lose any included perqs…. and assuming that your TA does not charge a cancellation fee… I would cancel the original reservation and book the lowest/or a guarantee verandah cabin and request Club Orange be added to the reservation.  Be ready to let them know which rooms you would like to reserve as you get to choose from what’s available.  If they don’t know what Club Orange is then ask to speak with someone who does. 

Too many moving parts at this point.  I like our rooms; the reservations are not refundable, and we got in on the "Best sale ever" (or whatever it was called way back in September) and it has since gone away, and the perks are not in line with what we received at the time.  Plus, our room is next door to my sister and sister-in-law, and I don't think either of them has been on a cruise before. We want to be able to help them navigate the ship and trip.

Good to know for next time.  

Wait... Wait... Wait.  I am just hearing about CO.  Mrs Fan and I are on the Rotterdam in Aug out of Amsterdam.

We are in a VE Balcony room.  Actually, we have 2 VE Balcony rooms reserved for ourselves and my sister and sister-in-law that are side-by-side.  Does CO upgrade a move to a suite?  Or just a better version of the Veranda staterooms? 

Also, we booked thru {Large Warehouse} Travel. Are we eligible with them as our TA?

On 1/16/2023 at 11:33 AM, Mick B said:

Next cruise was in April 2022 on the Voyager from Barcelona to Copenhagen. Well, this ship looked OK at first glance, and had been laid up as a hospital ship, but on closer inspection there was food under the bed left from when crew had been using the room. We got moved to a Balcony with rusted paintwork and dry/rotten wood on the rail outside. Why someone could not have given it a lick of paint/varnish whilst out of service, I don't know. 

The cruise director (Rob) stayed the distance this time. Again, some shows missing.

Food in the MDR was spot on. Just hope the galley wasn't anything like our first cabin! or second as well!

 

 

 

There is Pre-Pandemic life and Post-Pandemic life.  Now we are dealing with a post-pandemic "hangover". 

We sailed the VOTS back in October.  The ship is "long in the tooth" and it does not seem to be kept up to a high standard.  Staff seemed new (and short staffed).  Dinner orders were messed up nearly every night in the MDR. Some bars were out of simple things like white wine and whiskey (could be a lazy bar manager). The Donut shop served NO donuts and had only cookies and some left over desserts. Drinks were very weak but still pricey. A coffee station could not keep the urns filled and full of coffee on several days in the early morning (blame staffing shortages). 

I know that all the lines are in a big hiring and recruitment phase, and I hope these problems will get behind us soon.  Hard to spend the money that we are laying out and have sub-par offerings.

I have stated in other threads that the cruise industry as a whole is coming out of the post-pandemic hangover.  We sailed RCL Voyager OTS back in October and the "fit-n-finish" was not there from trips we had taken pre-pandemic.  New hires, supply chain issues, ships appearing to be sailing without a full staff (even though they want to be fully staffed).  I think things will work out over time as all the lines have done massive recruitment efforts to hire personnel, get them onboarded and trained.  Time will be our friend as the new hires will learn the ropes and become more experienced.

We booked our August sailing thru {Big Warehouse} travel during the "Best Deal Ever" or whatever it was called at the time.  These were the perks offered for the trip (Below). 

Just to be clear. With the Signature Beverage Package, the tips are included?

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• Shipboard Credit Per Stateroom (included in cruise line shipboard credit shown above)
• Reduced Deposit
• Included Crew Appreciation (previously called complimentary shipboard gratuities)
• Signature Beverage Package
• One Specialty Dinner
• Wi-Fi Surf Package for Two
• USD 100 Shore Excursion Credit (per person)

HAL newbie here and going on our first this coming August.  The Rotterdam out of Amsterdam to see the Norway Fjords. Can't wait to go. We are going to make a big trip out of it and visit Belgium (pre) and Paris/Normandy, France (post). 

We did a RCL trip to NE/Canada last October and they seemed to still be suffering from post-covid hangover.  We are going on another RCL trip to Alaska with our grown kids (all married and in their 30's) and the ship was their choice with all the "stuff".  

Hal newbie here.  Does HAL every have sales on their add-on offerings?  

I am looking at a week-long pass to the Thermal Suite.  It appears to be at standard price ($149/week).  Do they every have a sale or % discount off on their website? 

We are back into sailing again and have been on a couple of RCL cruises.  Their prices are up and down all the time on things like spa, drinks package, specialty dining, etc

13 hours ago, HAL4NOW said:

Most of what we need comes to us by email, so I just name the cruise (examples: 2022 Hawaii, 2023 New England, 2024 Panama Canal) and create subfolders under my Holland America email folder.

^^^This^^^ 

I too create e-folders (aka sub-folders) on my computer and in my e-mail.  Move each e-mail to its own sub-folder and download any attachments to the respective e-folder on my computer. 

2 hours ago, disneyochem said:

Have two cabins booked for November 2023.  Daughter received offer, we did not.

 

Here’s the code: Campaign ID: HETRESPF7

Not sure the Campaign ID is a promo code.

I looked at the fine print (I did not look at this before) @Gail & Marty sailing away

2 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Is there a code??

Sorry no code.  See below.  You have to log in to redeem.

Screen shot of the actual e-mail.

I too received this offer.  We sail in August.

I was able to book during the Best Sale Ever (or whatever it was called).  Supposed to get $100 OBC with that special pricing.  I wonder if it would not allow the OBC due to "fine print" of not to be combined type wording?

My final payment isn't until 04/30.  I have to think this is a cash flow issue/grab for CCL. 

First off, taking investment advice on a web board is probably a bad idea. Secondly, I do own 100 shares for OBC.  But hate to admit it but RCL and other cruise line stocks are just above junk level. The shares I own are with money I can afford to lose or don't need at this time. I'm not saying that the money isn't important, it is just that if the shares drop substantially, I'm not fretting.  The travel industry as a whole is extremely volatile (as Covid has shown us).  My financial advisor "bites her tongue" when it comes up in planning sessions.

As far as getting the OBC, I find it very easy using the online portal. I download my financial statement in a .PDF file, black out important account information, then highlight the RCCL shares.  Email the sheet to RCCL shareholders site and within 48 hours, the OBC is posted.

This is the E-mail that I got for a cruise in October.  Once we got onboard, when we went to our lunch, the RCL rep handed me a letter in an envelope that said basically what is listed below.

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Dear Guest,

We're excited to welcome you onboard soon! Before you set sail, we wanted to remind you of the benefits that come with The Key program.

Here's what you can expect on your upcoming sailing:

• Early access at the terminal.^*
• Drop off your carry-on luggage in the Main Dining Room on Deck 3 by 2:00 PM - your carry-on luggage will be hand delivered to your stateroom.
• Exclusive welcome lunch in the Main Dining Room featuring the Chops Grille® menu (open from 12:00pm - 1:30pm). We recommend arriving to the terminal no later than 11:30 AM for you to have enough time to enjoy lunch with us!
• Private time at some of our onboard activities such as rock climbing, FlowRider, etc.
• Priority departure from ship-to-shore at tender ports.
• Seats in the exclusive VIP seating section at shows in the Main Theatre, Aqua Theater, Studio B and Two70, however a reservation is needed so don't forget to book once you're onboard!
• VOOM Surf & Stream package, now including high speed internet, for one device (1 package per guest).
• On debarkation day, enjoy a private á la carte breakfast and choice departure.

^*Please arrive at the terminal at 11:30 AM. If you are not able to make the early access window, you should arrive within your appointment time and will receive priority access into the terminal.

Lastly, when you arrive to the port for your sailing, please locate The Key signage for priority access into the terminal and make your way onto the ship.

We look forward to welcoming you aboard Voyager of the Seas in the coming days!

Sincerely,

Royal Caribbean International