REOVA

Yes. The DJ is one of the entertainment/trivia staff probably with the same mp3 machine, they use for music trivia. I guess you could call Ocean Band the house band now. HAL used to have a house band for the World Stage as well as Ocean Bar Band, now just Ocean Bar musicians (who were good).

You may want to check with EXC desk but I believe unless you book a post tour excursion AND transfer, it may not work.

Jim. Maybe if you sail again on KDam, RDam or NS you can ask for 2 tiles from crew. The tile has all 3 ship names on them so hopefully that will catch you up.

Yes and same complaint. Since they switched talent agencies (pre pandemic) there are only a few dance and Cantare shows produced that repeat across ships and maybe a comedian. The fillers are movies 😔 if you are on longer than 7 days, expect repeats on same ship. It's like they don't expect you to cruise too long or on another ship within the same year.

We were on in July. The options for entertainment is Ocean Bar band which changes members different cruises, (who plays a variety of music and there is a dance floor), a DJ in crows nest at night for dancing, a piano bar and the Lincoln Center/Explorer's Lounge for classical/chamber music. The World Stage has the usual Step One Dancers, Cantare, BBC video with live music and sometimes members of the ocean bar or piano player will play with dancers.

It's a shame HAL (CCL) didn't order new ships designed around her, between the Vista and Signature ship orders. Especially before the Pinnacle Class. Is the goal to keep Seabourn small (new expedition ships), Carnival large and HAL in between with no overlap? Maybe they can bring bread and butter in on Pinnacle Class but still offer their "marketed" longer itineraries on new(er) smaller ships (<1200). I don't think they will have a problem selling out smaller ships, smaller ports and "re- rebranding" HAL even by offering both options.

We were on also but port side and the cabin creaked continuously. We know people have tried shimming the panels. The first night it bothered us but we "got used to it" but we've never had a noiser cabin like this. I was curious if Rotterdam has more of an issue than others.

Credit balances decline as you us them and its use them or lose them. They also are individual credits so another suggestion (which may be obvious to some but maybe not) is if you and partner do different excursions, but there are some that only 1 person needs to book but good for 2 or more guests, decide whose credit to book under. I usually do more active excursions and DW is happy to get off ship and walk in town. We booked a clam shell in HMC using her credit so I had more to use for other excursions. There are other examples or multi person excursions so plan ahead to maximize credit. We were able to use all credits and not have any left over (or spend extra) on a recent cruise. (We usually book private tours or do self tours but since we had credits, we found things to do with HAL).

It is a bigger balcony (deeper) but your view forward aft is limited as you'll be angled toward bow view (when not looking straight out). Also being deeper and the angle, decks above you can see onto the deeper part so be conscious when walking out for morning sunrise with others watching. We've seen some surprised guests that thought they were privately enjoying their balcony. 😁

A great recap and you sure made many crew members feel special. On Rotterdam they already show "City of the Sea" (maybe because it was longer than a 7 day cruise). It was interesting and much better than crowding through crew deck and bridge during these times (although we've done the later also). And mid cruise, masks came on more crew members but nothing was mentioned (other than during regular announcements a quick "if you are feeling ill please contact medical"). We also care for 93 yr experienced person and respect your precautions (we did the same). Thank you.

When you book make sure to tell them which TA you want to use, otherwise it defaults to the last one used on current cruise. You can also choose not designate a TA but transfer within specific time after disembarkment. Otherwise trying to change TA requires a release from the booked TA and acceptance from new TA.

The names in the cabin is what they go by not where the funds come from. So even if he wasn't adult and you booked them in your cabin, they still get the points. (If you were deciding to do that instead - 🤣). Our DD was 3 star before she was 18. ("Your welcome my child").

I thought they had them next to the sinks in the Lido.

Usually will on sea day for 7 day.

1. Deposits are usually less when booking onboard and OBC is usually more (barring any sale program that might come up later). Booking cruises within 90 days of offering will get you bonus OBC depending on Mariner level 2. Deposits usually ($100) need to be paid with credit card. At least FCC cannot be used for deposit so just assuming credit from a gift card (have not used them) is same but check with HAL. Future deposits booked are usually good for 4 years toward a cruise. So HAL can hold your money longer if you want. 🤔

Unfortunately, like any industry, nothing is consistent and finding staff and monitoring set protocols is not 100% possible. There will be gaps in processes, which is a reason you should never believe any claim of an organization that they have protocols in place for this and that. As long as you protect yourself, (mostly sanitizing hands and masking as needed) you should be OK. Even before pandemic we watched crew wipe chairs with towels and THEN wipe tables off which does not follow sanitary protocol (top down). No one wants to eat off of table wiped from where someone sat. But it happens everywhere. Protect yourselves and understand that gaps will always exist.

If you have a TA, they may have comped you. Someone posted about keeping their booked cabin by having TA redo booking to less expension cabin in that category and doing CO free upgrade to the desired cabin and saved money. But you would need to be careful that none of your other perks change if rebooking.

For 2020 COVID claims, there are many who were denied (myself included) when trips were cut short due to it not being a listed coverage. My insurance agent (Steve at Tripinsurance) had many customers' claims denied. Policies are different and the language needs to be specific. Tornados at home is a separate type of insurance than travel insurance.

If your cell is not in airplane mode, it's trying to use cell tower or roaming with the ships satellite. That gets expensive. You can call with wifi on various apps (FB messenger, Whatsapp, FaceTime, etc) that don't use cell service as well as checking your email. Not sure if they offer single day wifi on ship but each package costs less as days pass, so maybe towards the end you can get the last few days package for wifi.

I was speaking of travel insurance and regarding the 2020 claims that many were denied. I would think a trip cancellation, change, sickness or damage (during excursion) would need specific language including volcano eruptions.

Insurance usually doesn't cover Acts of Nature unless specifically named. This was the "excuse" for denying claims for COVID cancellations in 2020.

With your HIA did it include 2 dinners? If so you would have been able to select those to apply to dinner, plus you have 2 dinners for 5*. Your statement has 1) refundable section which will be where any refunds on the credit card would show from prepaid items and you get that back on card at end of cruise. (I ask for cash at Guest Services so it doesn't go on credit card and lose points). 2) non refundable credits would be OBC from HIA or HAL that you need to use or lose. So check if the dinners were HIA (which won't be charged on statement) or applied to your prepaid dinners (that should be credited back to you).

Just because OP got through doesn't mean HAL will pass you through. Protocol and staff seem to change with the weather. We did the online proctor test which was easy and they send you an email with the confirmation of supervision and test results. Hope you have a smooth embarkation as OP did and a great cruise.

When you go to dinner make sure matre d' marks it as comp Mariner dinner and then check onboard statement later at night.

Once you get off ship, good luck. Need to clear it up before disembarkment. Still waiting to hear from HAL but going through credit card company for refund since emails are not being responded to (except the auto - "will respond in 48 hours")