DaveOKC

Some people attend DAILY mass onboard, not just Sundays.  Same goes for Holy Days.  We really appreciate having MASS.  And, think of the crew who are heavily Catholic.

One less reason for us to sail with HAL in the future.  We certainly appreciate having Mass on almost all cruise!

On 8/30/2024 at 4:59 AM, TiogaCruiser said:

 

You can always move that life jacket to grammas cabin when the child is with her. 

Easy to forget though

Not having enough lifejackets would concern me.

Lately we have been getting casino reduced fare offers from the casino, but when we go to book online they do not show up.  Earlier this year they did.  Has something changed?

One time we stayed in the street tower and I measured the distance to walk.  From our room to the front desk was almost exactly the same as from our room to the ship!  Easy walk and even a traffic signal to assist you.

There is a reason why the early (and late) flights out of FLL are less expensive.  Demand pricing for the easier to make flights.

You have PLENTY of time, unless the ship is late.  When we get off in the first couple of groups we are normally at the GATE by 9 am.  We do use a taxi. which is quicker.  Once the cruise buses start arriving at the airport, things will slow down.

As mentioned, some airlines restrict how early you can drop luggage off, normally 2-3 hours.  If you have VIP status with your airline sometimes they will waive this. 

About a year ago I had to cancel an excursion about 2 hours prior (it was first thing in the morning).  I knew that I would lose the money, but I cancelled anyway so that the tour would not be looking for me.  To my great surprise, they were able to find someone to take my place and I got a full refund the same day!

During the post Covid period we all were spoiled IMO with good cabin upgrades and assignments.   Now that the ships are filling up, we all need to be more careful with our bookings.  As already mentioned - be sure to mark your reservation Do Not Upgrade, unless you are certain that you would be happy with ANY cabin rated higher by HAL.  

Once we reached 4 star we started booking Signature Suite, as the cabins are not that much smaller than the Neptunes, plus 4 and 5 stars get you some of the same benefits as Neptunes (free laundry, VIP boarding, some events).

Also, be watch closely for upsell offers.

8 hours ago, Wayward Son said:

 

It's called the TV. I know it doesn't print, but it still gives you what you need. Just curious, how old is your android?

 

I take photos of my final bill from the TV, just in case.  Helps me keep track.

Only time I would use them is if I had OBC to use up (or lose).  And assuming I had plenty of time.

We generally just take a taxi - usually lined up and ready to go quickly.  If you wait to be the last off the ship however there may be a short (5-10 minute) wait in our experience.

If we have excess OBC to use, AND we have lots of time to kill, we purchase HAL transfers at the shore excursion desk.  It costs a bit more, but if we want to use OBC up, it works IMO.

5 hours ago, HermmyGranger said:

We are going through this right now. We booked a guarantee Neptune Suite because choosing your own cabin was $700 per person more. Unfortunately, we were unaware of the Neptune Spa Suite cabins and are stuck in one of those and we can't move because the ship is sold out. I'm still not sure we would have paid an additional $1400 to choose our own cabin, but I wish I'd known that the Spa Suite was an option. I wrongly assumed that they were a different category since they are sold separately from the standard suites.

I personally think that HAL made those Spa Neptunes a higher rating so that they could put the guarantee bookings in them and say that the person was upgraded.  We were in one of these on deck 10 really did not care for it (it was not terrible, but IMO the Neptunes midships on deck 7 are better.

We have done the off early, taxi to FLL and TSA precheck many times.  We generally get to our gate by 8:30 to 9:00 AM.  However, if there is any problems along the way, a 9:30 flight could be a real problem.  Also, weekday flights normally are easier to get through the airport, as once the massive ships (who usually dock on weekends) start letting people off, the airport can get very busy.

12 hours ago, happytotravel said:

Hi,

The first leg of my cruise begins June 01. I have my boarding pass with bar code.  The boarding pass for the second leg should be ready today with the bar code. The bar code is still missing.  Am I just a day or so too early?

Thanks, happytotravel 

As already stated, you will not need it.  The issue here is that the bar codes usually show up about a week prior to sailing and you will already be on the ship.

We had CO on the Volendam last year and quite frankly it was not worth much.  No CO line at the excursions desk and hard to find at the Main Dining Room (where you were seated the same as everyone else, except quicker (and had to ask for the CO menu everytime).

13 hours ago, SeeSun&Sea said:

HAL uses the Non-refundable OBC first for all charges, including gratuities. Once you've used that up, HAL starts charging against the Refunable OBC. And if you use that up, they start charging your credit card.

Unless I am misreading your comment, I do not think this is totally correct.  Non-refundable OBC cannot be used for casino charges.  

1 hour ago, crystalspin said:

Any! I think Casino Play is the only restricted one...

Correct

Both non-refundable.

Increased prices are no surprise to most.  Post Covid sailings were deeply discounted to get people back into sailing and we enjoyed some great deals back then.  Now, with the ships filling up AND inflation high, of course the pricing is way up, especially when compared to just post Covid.

Mariner parties seem to vary alot by ship, perhaps depending on how many by category (3,4,5 Star) there are on the cruise.

13 hours ago, HermmyGranger said:

If the cruise that we are supposed to be taking in less than three weeks no longer shows as an option on HAL, does that mean it's sold out?

Often HAL closes out the top categories 3-4 weeks prior to sailing so they can do their "upsell" process.  It could be that it is sold out also.

Did you research the number of unassigned cabins recently ( say the prior 2 weeks to that)?  That could give you a better read on what the situation is,

As already mentioned, you will likely need to call HAL to get a proper answer.

Seems like a very fair compensation to me.  I have done both routes several times each and while the Inside one has better scenery and calmer waters, to me it is not worth 10% of the fare.