terrydtx

Agree 100%, we NEVER use a cruise line shuttle. Either Uber or private transports, much cheaper, faster and not in a 30+ crowded bus.

Good choice, we NEVER use HAL or any cruise line shuttles as they are overpriced crowded 30+ passenger buses. We either use private transports like your choice or Uber. We have used Welcome Pickups very successfully in Europe.

Good to know, we will be on her in August for 11 days, can't wait.

Before Celebrity took away large OBC for booking suites and Aqua Class, we used those credits pre-cruise for shore excursions and specialty restaurant reservations. We have $1000 in OBC for shore excursions with Oceania for next March's cruise that we can use pre-cruise to book tours.

This is what I was going to recommend. Have never understood why HAL will not let you use OBC pre-cruise like some other lines do.

I have seen some posts from Volendam passengers this summer complaining about the cigarette smoke from the casino chocking the areas near the casino. Did you notice the same thing?

Hey Mike, The only E Cass ships we have sailed on are the Apex and Edge but I think the Retreat Luminae change on the Beyond to the 15th deck is something we would like. However, with all the changes of Retreat amenities and huge price increases we are taking a break from Celebrity. We have done 6 retreat cruises post Covid but with prepaid gratuities and large OBC taken away the retreat is no longer as appealing as it once was. Our last 3 cruises on the Apex (Sept last year) and Edge (B2B in January) were very disappointing when the butlers for Sky Suites were taken away, I know they are now back now but too late to keep my business. The 40% or more increases in Sky Suite pricing started late last year, was the final straw for us. Our next 2 cruises will be on Oceania and Holland America and if we sail again with Celebrity depends how those 2 cruises go. I hope you enjoy your cruise on the Beyond.

There was a recent discussion about the new tag's language on CC and the consensus was HAL was doing this to save the cost of printing and distributing the old colored tags. I will now for sure in August.

We did the same tours in 2022 and agree with your comments. As a result, we are no longer buying expensive overpriced and often too crowded ship sponsored shore excursions. We did a private tour for just the 4 of us in Lisbon on that trip that cost per person less than what the Cruise ship wanted per person for a 30-passenger bus tour of the same itinerary. SDT opened our eyes to how easy, safe and economical 3rd party private tours can be.

Here is a screenshot of the tags language, no times and I am not sure what the 6 F means.

We printed our luggage tags for our August Volendam and the tags say to keep them on the luggage as they will also be our tags for disembarkation in Montreal. We have CO if that makes any difference.

In the last year we have been on both the Apex, 12 nights, and the Edge, 22 nights, and we never heard any cabin creaking noises.

We did our first, hopefully not last, Pinnacle class cruise on the Kongingsdam last February. We loved the ship and extra specialty restaurant offerings not on the smaller older HAL ships, including the Club Orange dining room. For us the size of the PC ships is perfect for our likes. We also like the smaller ships for the interesting itineraries they can offer at affordable price points. Our Volendam cruise in August has ports in Canada, like Montreal, only smaller ships can access.

I believe the smoker area is the Port side of the Sunset bar. There may be a couple other outside places, but no smoking is allowed in the inside areas of the ship.

And they do not allow any passengers under 18 years old.

The separate CO line in the MDR will get CO guests seated before other guests in the anytime dining waiting lines. Also you will get an CO menu with the extra CO special menu items for that night.

Even Oceania's new ships (1250Pax) close to Volendam in capacity are charging Neptune Suite pricing. I do not believe HAL will ever go to the Mega Class ships, but I see their niche being the 2600-3000 passengers size ships. Sad to see but the Volendam and Zaandam are not the future of HAL and will be gone in a few years. 12 years ago HAL introduced the Signature Class ships just slightly bigger than the Vista Class ships, but they only built 2 of them. Then HAL changed direction with the Pinnacles with 600 -700 more passenger capacities.

Doubtful it will be smaller, HAL like other mainstream cruise lines need to fill more cabins to make a profit. The Pinnacle Class ships are already on the smaller design of new cruise ships at 2600 passengers.

Safe travels home.

Exactly why I have used the same TA for 15 years. We get OBC, free gifts and great pricing when available. Best part is we buy our travel insurance through her vendor and have saved $1000's over the years in cost for better coverage than what the cruise lines offer. She also has turned us on to great private shore excursions companies that have also saved us tons of money. No cruise line PCC can do either of these.

In Europe we tipped in USD which is the same as ship's currency. The crew can exchange USD onboard if they want local currency as well.

Last November we were on the Koningsdam and purchases CO well after we booked the last aft facing Verandah cabin. There was not a higher category verandah cabin, so we got $100 in OBC.

That was what we did on the Koningsdam last November in San Diego. We had CO and walked off when we were ready to find our luggage waiting for us.

If you do not want a HAL transfer, you could Uber to hotel, may be cheaper and will be much quicker.

We will only cruise on HAL with Club Orange added and my TA has never had any problem adding this when she books our HAL cruises. We also tend to book far out from departure dates when CO is still available.