SilvertoGold

The last cruise before the 14 day TA on the N Statendam leaves October 29 for 11 days. Could be a dry dock in between as cruisemom suggests Too bad as we would be very interested if there were a European B-B connected to this good deal.

Sorry this happened. We have found that HAL lets you know when work will be done on your balcony, so for work on the lifeboats outside your window this should have been done, as well.

I have experienced this using the HAL website booking program which is a pain to use. How is this new way of pricing being discussed different from paying more for each category? C costs more than D which costs more that E, etc. What I see is that you get to choose between GUAR and Choose. Plus with Choose you can pick aft. midship and forward, all of which will be different letter categories.

Interesting that you think that 14 night TA will drop further! In Canadian dollars it is nothing to write home about...yet. Love these deals and hoping there are more. We will be taking another one of those 14 day Alaska cruises while this promo is in effect! Hope you have something good picked out yourself :)

BermudaBound: I thank you for posting this deal. We sailed in June under a similar deal in Canadian dollars. It was about half the price we had paid in past years for the specific cruise so we were very pleased. I agree that whether or not someone is retired with endless travel time is irrelevant to the post. You are right: it is a good deal and to pass it on was thoughtful.

How do people feel about how this pricing reflects how important fares are overall to HAL? This pricing is maybe half or a third of the "normal" fare. What HAL is "losing" with these cheap fares can be easily made up when pax are on the ship (shorex, wine, shops, casino, specialty dining, etc) and HAL probably can fill the ship much more easily. Also, pax might be more free with spending onboard if they know they have saved a lot on the fare. This sounds like a good win-win promo for HAL and quite a good deal for the right pax.

Nice deal. How much do the taxes add on?

Very good info. I really dislike having to stand in line merely to find out the "flavor of the day" ice cream. I asked the Lido Manager and the next day it was listed, for a couple of days then, back to "normal". And this Manager is a really good one!

Delightful report, great photos! Thanks for posting on the HAL board about this!

1. On some searches under Plan a Cruise I cannot find the basic pricing, only Have-it-All. 2. I would love to see the search function show cruises in chronological order. Even a search over just one month has me looking at a list like October 14, October 1, October 28, October 21. I would love to be able to see these listed from October 1 onward. 3. I find it unclear what promo is actually included once into the booking function when the promo is something other than HIA: promos such as "gratuities included", "OBC included". At the end where the price break-down is, it does not give a specific breakdown of what is included.

We loved this cabin! The extra bathroom is tiny, but fine for kids. Shower is OK, but small. We did not use this extra bathroom very much...but loved the size of the cabin, the extra cupboards, shelving and drawers. It has a spacious feel. Deck one is excellent, especially aft of the elevators. A more private area, just up the stairs to the Main Dining Room :) and just around the corner from the elevators to the Lido.

Cantare in March on the Noordam. Excellent, well-attended. Also, over the 39 days the RKs Vintage Band (outstanding) and rock violin performer. A few other music performers, comedians, BBC films and Ocean Bar band (Happy Hour was packed there and in the CN - 50% off any drink)

Louise Thank you so much. This sounds reasonable since you are travelling soon after the end of treatment. I wish you a wonderful trip!

Thank you, Louise! The no waiting period seems a bit unusual but just shows you do have to shop around. Good for you. Would be interested in knowing if the pricing is astronomically high or just high compared to obtaining normal travel insurance :)

Primelinkinsurance.ca Snowbirdinsurance.ca Travelinsurance Plan.ca (cancer patients) You can read these websites, get some ideas and learn quite a lot and then phone them. It will be focused on your husband's exact situation. There are riders, exclusions, stability time periods and exclusions, different deductibles, waiver of pre-existing conditions. Quite a bit to learn :) I would really appreciate knowing what you find: rentalrichmond@gmail.com Good luck to both of you: it is a slog!

I see only the venue on the Pinnacle class ships as being "right" for Lincoln Center. The present venue, the Explorers Lounge, is too small and too crowded for the popularity of this group. Serving drinks is almost non-existent and pax standing out in the hallway is not very classy or uncomfortable :) However, I can see the group playing the World Stage, but not on the stage itself. On the area in front of the stage where the seating is on the same level (as in the Explorers Lounge) and then in some rows behind, making for a more intimate grouping. Serving drinks would easy and I would think more people would partake (as at the shows). Entrance could be confined to to Deck One straight to the front area. If HAL can put one comedian or one musician on this stage, they can put a 4 or 5 member instrumental group.

NZ is the expensive one. As noted by Cistern, if you need ETAs for both NZ and Australia it adds up for 2 travelers! Luckily both ETAs are good for one year :)

Sailed on Noordam last year and in March and April this year. The area was dark for both cruises, roped off, furniture piled up. It was said that HAL has not decided what they will do with this area and that renovations are not scheduled at this time. Money seems to be a factor in this decision.

Sailed the 39 day HAL cruise NZ to Vancouver a couple of months ago. Take your time with these online "visas". Websites can be down for a while. Instructions are easy to follow, just read all it all and stay calm. NZ one is a bit more involved, so I would do the Aussie one first. They are added to your passport and download to your iphone but I made paper copy, too, just in case. Enjoy your cruise!

It seemed to me from what was said on our last two cruises that that the Ocean Bar group will be on most cruises. It may be a direct replacement for the Lincoln Centre on short cruises. As to the Explorers Lounge being turned back into a lounge with bar, it remains to be seen if HAL can spare the money. I think part of the reason for the music now in the Ocean Bar is the drink profit that it brings in, as opposed to almost nothing for Lincoln Center in the Explorers Lounge. On our last cruises the Ocean Bar was packed whenever the group was playing there. I have seen almost no drinking at Lincoln Center (except on a Pinnacle ship, and then not much).

Photos make it look as if there has been a bit of upgrading here since we were last there. A cute island, lots of shellwork and other craft-y items to buy. The ride around the island was a nice way to spend some time and contribute to the locals. It will be hot so take your own water!

Music seems to be still up in the air, but I don't think we will be hearing Classical music on anything but the longer cruises. Not HAL's standard 7 day cruises. What constitutes "longer" is the question: 14 days, 21, 35?). That will likely be on the Main Stage and possibly back to a 4 or 5 member group. I believe the Ocean Bar group is a permanent addition to HAL's music lineup and very popular.

Total spending on board might be a criteria. Actual cruise fares don't seem to be the major profit for HAL. Sailing with warm bodies who spend on board is maybe the most profitable way to profit. Keeping the spending type coming back is possibly worth much more than high fare pax. Add up money spent on board for shorex, booze / HIA packages, spa, casino, shops, specialty dining, photo gallery and you probably get more than the fare many pay, especially on the shorter cruises.

Hmm, just thinking how much has been said about the dumbing down of the food on offer on the new Canaletto menu. With our 50% discount: for 2 this would set us back $34 US ($46 CND) plus wine. Next, thinking about which is the best buy: Pinnacle or Canaletto?

Interesting takes on possible qualifications to be a HAL rep :) I think, usually, the PCCs know quite a bit. But the reservation agents, that is another story. HAL expects me to book a cruise or three with one of them? HAL should think twice about serious training. That said, some TAs are not much more knowledgeable that some of the reps. so I have always though I need to know the score, know something about the question/answer before I ask.