DaveOKC

Was out in early Dec as well!

Danai Beach is now a better option than previously. New shopping/dining area adjacent to Hyatt House has lots of options IMO.

Just to clarify for a DOUBLE upsell - we moved from a Verandah to a Signature and then a month later took another upsell to a Neptune. We DID NOT get the double points for being in a Suite, even after a double upsell.

We already paid for the upsell to Signature a month prior. I think it was about $249 pp for the 10 days.

You are correct - we were offered an upsell from our Verandah (with CO) aft to a Signature and took it. However, at the time there were no Neptunes available. Then on the day before sailing one opened up and they called me about an upsell to it for $249 for a 10 day cruise and I jumped on it. As I mentioned, I ended up offsetting the $249 with the $250 CO charge, so got a $1 pp refund to my credit card.

My friend is 16 points shy of getting his 4 Star and is taking a 14 day cruise. I have heard that sometimes the front desk will upgrade you to 4 Star if you ask and IF the points needed are fewer than the days sailing on that cruise. Now, my friend is in a Neptune, so he will earn 14 regular days (not enough), but of course another 14 for being in a Nepunte, which would easily put him over (28 total vs 16 needed). I understand why HAL does not let you apply the spending days earned, since you cannot be sure how many will be earned, but with the Suite extra days they should know for certain. Has anyone else run into this situation and if so, what did the front desk do?

Yes - we had a $249 upsell offer and had paid $250 for Club Orange, so we actually got a $1 pp refund to take the upsell to a Neptune! Hard to beat that deal.

Many people use the CO upgrade to take Verandah aft cabins. Also, the small dining area IMO is much better than using the Main Dining Room for breakfast and dinner.

Remember that if you purchase CLub Orange (generally to upgrade your cabin) and then later take an upsell to a Neptune, ask them to apply the CO charge to the upsell price. We did this in Dec - Paid $250pp for CO and later was offered an upsell from our Verandah to a Neptune for $249. When I mentioned that I had already paid for CO, they gladly applied that - thus the upgrade to the Neptune ended up being free!

We usually get right off our ship (about 8 am), catch a taxi and get to the airport in about 15 minutes. Have TSA and airline Priority and usually are at the gate by 9 AM. Of course, your situation may not be the same, so a 10:05 flight could be cutting it a bit close. Key is to get to the airport BEFORE the cruiseline buses start dropping off their customers, as then the lines can get very long.

Try the Hyatt House or Hyatt Place (across from each other) in Dania Beach. Have airport (free shuttle and one to pier (cost $15 pp). Right next to lots of dining and shopping options.

Normally they will exchange it for you, but once in awhile I have been turned downed on this request.

Contact 888-628-8107 between 8am and 5pm Pacific Time Monday-Friday t

Check to see if you are signed up for promotional emails from HAL. Can find this on your account profile.

Possible, but I checked with my PCC and she told me that she checked my account and it shows that it was sent out and I believe her as we have a good relationship.

Sounds like HAL is having another one of their famous tech related problems! Will need to be more proactive with them in the future.

A member on my roll call board mentioned that they received an upsell offer on our cruise, but I did not get one, so I called the upsell department and they were able to get me the last Neptune available. They (and my HAL PCC later verified) that an offer was sent to me 7 days ago, but I never received it. Since the cruise was 43 days out at that point I really was not watching for it. I checked my Spam and Trash files and nothing was in them. Thus a heads up for everyone - check with others on your roll call to see if anyone has received and upsell offer, starting about 45 days out.

Agree with this. Better service on Deck 7 when in a Neptune. Sometimes when in an aft Neptune we do not get all the Neptune oriented mail for example.

Both good options, but unless going to a scenic area like Alaska, I would go with deck 7 by the Lounge.

Most times this works but not always. Depends on the ship. Just turned down a few months ago on the EUrodam.

Hyatt Place - we stayed there three months ago. Great location. Free breakfast (just OK). Rooms and hotel in general are a bit tired IMO. Nice staff. Shuttle from airport for a fee and also to pier (fee).

I do not know for certain, but have been told that they are on salary but do have some sort of quota system, so booking with them aids them.

Book at 5PM - especially the first day it is then easy to get a window seat (few diners the first day for several reasons).

May Alaska cruises are nice due to the extra sunlight (versus Sept). However, ice in the water can restrict some glacier and Tracy Arm viewings. Prices normally are lower, with the ships less crowded, especially fewer families.

In reality a price drop is not necessarily a true decline in prices, as the old price often was reflective of a "package" of items, Later the cruiseline may offer a barebones deal with fewer or no perks, but also a much lower price. They are trying to appeal to different segments of the market is all.