RuthC

I love them; still have the 20-21 Atlas, and still refer to it. When I had a current one I would look through it constantly until I stumbled upon a cruise I would like to take. Then I would research it a bit more, contact my TA, and book it. I can't count the number of cruises, and HAL can't count the amount of money, that came from those few spare minutes of perusing the Atlas that was part of my Mariner benefits.

But no French??? In Canada, which is officially bilingual English and French? Sacré Blu!

I've been in many connecting cabins and never had a noise problem. I don't know the configuration of that cabin, so there may be one less closet, but I'm just throwing that in as a possibility. There are double doors, and unless there is a screaming/shouting match you should be fine. That cabin is in the rear of the show lounge, so should be very quiet from that. I wouldn't expect noise from the entertainment areas either, as they start on the other side of the elevator banks. Save the money and enjoy the cabin.

To some extent, that depends on what kind of cabin you have booked---outside, large inside, inside. The outside cabins on Lower Promenade are smaller than the outsides on Main and Dolphin. The outsides on Dolphin, though are under the promenade (LP Deck). Although there is supposed to be no running on Lower Promenade, some people don't believe that applies to them. It can get noisy when the thundering herds are out. If you do book an outside on Lower Promenade, book forward of the mid-ship elevators, or aft of the aft elevators. The cabins between mid-ship and aft elevator banks are under the galley, and it is noisy at night. The outsides on Dolphin are over areas where there is activity in some places. Some of these are great locations (based on info from people who have stayed in them), while others are not. Regular insides are too small for my taste, so I am not familiar with them. I love the large insides on Lower Promenade and Main Decks. They are barely smaller than the outsides, and are actually larger than the outsides on LP.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the bad news is I have brought you to the wrong pier. The good news is it's on the way to the HAL pier! Sit back, relax, and enjoy your free tour of Seattle."

When I've been to Antarctica, there was sometimes a bitter, strong wind. When there was, I found one side of the ship to be impossible to stay outside on, and the other was comfortably in the lee. Once in a while I would head to the bitter side, but stand behind the superstructure, which broke it and made it all right for a few minutes. You need to get outside and be able to move around from one side to another on this cruise. Sometimes there is no wind, the air is calm, and comfortable. Just bring a heavy coat and gloves.

Those are oh, so good.

I always bring formal wear, but it's made of chiffon or georgette, so it's lightweight. Cocktail length, so as not to get caught in my scooter or rollator. When I was stronger I brought beaded tops with an elegant skirt, but that ended when my suitcase was over 50 lbs. once. So, I guess my answer is A. Go formal.

Although there are several liquors in the drink, there are very small amounts of each (IIRC, it's 1/4 oz. each). So, the total amount of liquor adds up to the same as one drink with one shot of booze in it.

I haven't sailed that line at all, but the sale and re-do of the former Rotterdam and Amsterdam have gotten me very interested in trying them. I am also interested in what other HAL sailors have to say about the new incarnations of these former co-flagships. From the research I have done, I believe their cruises would have an atmosphere more like what HAL was before the introduction of the Vista class ships; more like what it was under Kirk Lanterman. That would please me. I know I could mix easily with a British passenger majority. From the few menus I have seen I think the meals are more geared to the British palate than an American one. Hopefully, I would still find something to eat. Who wants to come home from a cruise having lost weight! I'm looking forward to reading posts from those HAL passengers who have tried the former HAL ships.

In comparable categories, the cabins get smaller as the class of ship gets larger; they tend to down-size in every other ship class. The larger end of the range would be the accessible cabins. The S- and R-class ships had (Zaandam and Volendam are the only remaining R-class; there are no remaining S-class) identical cabins. They are the largest in the fleet, in general. Next came the Vista and Signature classes, where, in general, the cabins shrank. Now the Pinnacle class (Nieuw Statendam is one), have even smaller cabins.

If I were deciding between the two ships, it would always be the Zaandam over the Nieuw Statendam. I much prefer the smaller ships with the much larger cabins. It's easier to get to know people when you run into the same people more often. The Zaandam has a lovely promenade deck on which you can sit and enjoy the scenery. There's no comfortable sitting on the Nieuw Statendam promenade. The Canada/New England cruise is port intensive, so is not a late night kind of cruise. There is sufficient night life on the Zaandam for this itinerary.

I am so sorry I never thought of that myself. But now that you have mentioned it ... .

I would plan on 2 for the 7-night cruise, and 3 on the 14-night one. That's what's been typical the last several years. When you get your final documents, it will be listed on the boarding pass. Molde is one of the few Norway ports I have been to only once, and would love to get there again! I had a ball the first time, and never really got to see the city itself. My tour went out to the remains of a real Viking sailing ship where we were able to see the ship, watch a movie about Viking seafaring and life, then head over to another building for a bite to eat. Do encourage your kids to get involved with Club HAL right off the bat. That's where they will meet other kids their age and make pals to hang out with. My grandgirls really liked the friends they made there, and stayed in touch with some for a long time afterwards.

Look up Signature Beverage Package. It's about $55/day. If there are two adults in a cabin, both people must purchase it.

Do you have reason to think this may be the reason, or are you just speculating? Just because someone uses a TA to book the cruise, it does not follow that they would also have the TA also book all their shore excursions for them. I know I book using a TA, book my own shore excursions, and have been notified by HAL when a tour was canceled. I have also been notified by HAL when I have cleared the wait list for a desired tour.

I don't find that to be a problem at all. If the entire crew in a given lounge all serve me, then I give an envelope addressed to the crew of the lounge, for them to share. When they tend to cover for each other, they tend to pool their tips within that smaller group anyway.

In addition to Kazu's reply, letting you know specifically where HAL 'states' it, there is a former ships' engineer who has posted many times exactly how the HVAC system works, and what happens when the balcony door is left open. That. along with the sign on the door, is more than good enough for me.

It's more the custom to tip bartenders/stewards at the end of the cruise, than every visit to a given lounge. Much easier than being sure to have money with you all the time, too.

If it's too windy outdoors on a high deck, then I suggest the Crow's Nest. It may get crowded in there (especially if it's a cold or rainy day), so get there early for the best seat.

As Albingirl, and others, have said, leaving the balcony door open is not allowed, and now you know. When you leave the door open, it cuts off the air supply to all the cabins in your zone, which runs from higher decks to lower. That means the outside and inside cabins below you have no A/C or air flow. This is totally unfair to them. If you want to enjoy the outside air, go out on your balcony and enjoy to your heart's content.

It's better to read through the thread before responding. That way you can see if something has been sufficiently answered, eliminating the need to reply. Or, as in this case, to make it look like piling on.

Elycelynne, I haven't sailed on any of the HAL ships that have Billboard Onboard, but have read everything I can about them, which is to say every post on CC. From what I have read they are nothing like the great piano bars of old; they aren't even like the piano lounges the R-class ships had. Posters have referred to Billboard as 'shows' and 'performances', which is not at all like the party atmosphere of long ago where the passengers decided what was going to happen each night. The playlists are quite limited, as I understand it. The musicians don't seem to know the hundreds of songs that the musicians of old did. From the posts I have read, Billboard is not my cup of tea. Evening lounges with music close much, much earlier than they used to. By midnight you can't find anything going on. It's dead. There's also little to no live music and dancing at cocktail time. That could always be counted on in the Ocean Bar until 8:00 PM. Now you might find it on some ships, on some nights, but there are nights when as far as live music goes, the lounges are 'dark'. Daytime activities seem to offer less and less each year. The Cruise Director's staff is smaller, so there are fewer people to lead activities. The HAL you remember is gone.

I would not believe that APP on this subject. I'll bet my cruise budget that it is wrong. If by 'three weeks of cruising' you mean one 21-day cruise, then it would be 3 Gala nights. If it is 3 consecutive 7-night cruises, then it is 6 Gala nights. If it is two cruises of 10 and 11 days, it will either be 4 or 5 Gala nights.

Did you book using a TA or PCC? If so, contact them, and ask that they link the bookings and put in a request for the type of table you want. If you booked directly with HAL, phone them to make the request.