DaveOKC

They use either the phone app or your cabin key to verify when you board the excursion - quick and easy. Just be sure you know where and when you are meeting up with the tour.

Just call hotel when you have your bags and they will send a shuttle. The sign on the van was a bit small to see. Be sure you get the correct one, as there is another one that goes to the Hyatt Place in Dania Beach.

That Hyatt Place now uses a service for shuttling to and from airport. We paid $9 each last month. Had to wait about 15 minutes.

i disagree. Assuming that your TA has made lots of money on you in the past and likely will again on future bookings, I think it is very shortsighted of them to not handle this booking, even if they are not making money on this transaction. If they are this greedy, I wonder what else they are shorting you on???

Yes. It was on the Eurodam last month.

Time for a new TA in my opinion. Never had an issue with booking through a HAL PCC.

OK - now I am getting a reduced price on my FREE cabin. Yesterday it was $1014, today $601 (pp) plus tax and fees. Even stranger is if I want to add HIA it comes out to only $45 per day?? Makes no sense to me.

We had Club Orange on the Volendam (sister ship) recently (it was included as part of being in Neptune). The only benefit I could see with it is priority boarding and tenders (which Neptunes get anyway). At the Excursions desk they had hidden the Priority Service sign for Club Orange until I asked about it! In the main dining room they did not have out the special menus for CLub Orange. And the bag we got was the old cloth one! Unless you are using it for a cabin upgrade - not worth the money IMO.

Neptunes get CO included, so no worry there. Plus Neptunes get VIP (early) boarding and tenders, plus free laundry and a few other perks. Plus of course access to the Neptune Lounge and the concierges there who can do about everything for you (even get your airline boarding passes, specialty dining reservations and problem solving. HIA packages can vary a bit, but generally you get $$$ for shore excursions, 1-3 specialty dinners (depends on the length of cruise), free wifi, and of course drinks. One nice thing about this and being in a Neptune is that you can get free drinks from the Neptune lounge (just sign a slip as its an honor bar) - very quick, convenient. Neptunes with HIA makes for a nice cruise!

If you read some of the other posts on here about gambling on HAL, you will note that it is a point based system. One point for every $2 you bet on slots, one for every $5 on video poker, and an unknown formula for table games. People have reported that you have to earn around 500 points per day to get considered for a free cabin, but I think that this really depends on how full the ship is (why give away cabins if someone is willing to pay? Personally, I think you should play for the entertainment value of it and if you get offered something in return, all the better, Never chase "comps" such as free cabins as in the end it is usually a losing deal.

Has anyone who just received this same offer today tried to book it online? I used to be able to see the offer online when logged into my account, but not this time. I liked that as it told me what I would have to pay to upgrade to a higher level cabin.

It all depends on your play. The casino tracks that closely and rates you for different levels of deals.

We have been able to get Club Orange and upsells on our $149 or $199 fares. Guess its who you talk to at HAL. Could not get Stockholder nor AARP OBC though.

Well, after a long drought we finally once again are getting a FREE Interior cabin. We were getting these two years ago, but during the past year they wanted $199 (no OBC back) for a 7 day cruise. This time the cruise is for 7-10 days. Hopefully we are back in the system again.

On two recent Eurodam cruises I booked a Verandah guarantee and then upgraded to an aft facing specific cabin (VB level). The cost was a small amount less to book without Club Orange, in this case, but I think it often is less expensive (according to reports). One thing to consider however, is that if you get an upsell offer to a Neptune, they will apply the Club Orange fee to the upsell charge. In my recent cruise, the Club Orange fee offset the upsell fee, so taking the upsell was free! You do have to ask for this when upgrading.

Last two cruises on Eurodam - NO Club Orange bags! All in last 3 months.

It is pretty stupid to make such a big deal about not wasting paper onboard and then needlessly print off these receipts.

Ditto this. Also specialty dining.

We were on the Volendam about 6 months ago for 12 days (Alaska and West Coast). I thought the ship was in very good condition, better than I had expected. The only issue I heard of was that the AC was running very cold in the aft sections of the ship.. I would not be afraid to sail on her. And the crew was fantastic! Only negative is that being a smaller ship there are fewer dining options. Positive note is that there is less walking involved.

Around 10 am. Sometimes 10:30. Boarding usually starts around 11 am, sometimes 11:30. This depends on how quickly the ship is "zeroed out" from the previous cruise.

Maybe the first step in eliminating the Medallion program?

Very Good IMO. Seemed to be fairly recently redone.

I just read a review from a person just off the Eurodam and they mentioned that their Bronze Medallions were just sent to their cabin. In the past these (and higher level ones) were presented at a special event on the last sea day. Is this the new program? If so, its just one more minor cutback by HAL. Funny thing is that one month ago on the Eurodam we were presented our Silver ones at a special event. At the time I do not remember anyone receiving Bronze ones, but a few other Silver and Gold ones. Come on HAL - enough of these cutbacks already!

I cannot believe that they just sent your bronze medallion to your cabin! We were on the Eurodam right after Thanksgiving and were invited to a special event where we (and others) got their Silver and Gold medallions. Not much of a ceremony, but we did get nice photo with the Captain. I do now recall that no bronze medallions were handed out, which I thought to be a bit unusual, so perhaps this is the new program.

My thought is that when there are empty cabins, the better the chance you have for an upgrade.