Alberta Quilter

I thought the monogramming was limited to three letters... But things may have changed since I got mine.

I believe the key words to use are refaring as opposed to rebooking. You want your PCC to check to see if your fare can be reduced to match the current offering. As others have said, you may lose some perks due if the promo you booked under is no longer available. Know what you have going in, and what is important to you. I'm sure (hope) your PCC will help you determine if the price drop is worth any loss in perks. Also, make sure that your new fare does not suddenly become non refundable (some have said that has happened). Good Luck!

Yes, guest services. I believe someone recently said that they have the full book of pictures whereas the Neptune Lounge doesn't.

Well that's a good excuse to book another cruise!!!

Seems odd to have happened... But couldn't HAL just charge the extra amount to your onboard account to bring it up to $16/day? Although if it's their error... I guess it depends on how much vacation time you want to spend fighting the error. For a few USD, I probably wouldn't bother.

I don't think you should judge HAL by a one night cruise. I've done the same cruise, in reverse, to easily get to Seattle for another HAL cruise on the same ship. The two cruises could not have been more different. At least try for a five day cruise (although those can also be party cruises) to get a feel for HAL. On a one day cruise, the crew is so overworked with all the changeover that they don't have time to give the pax any extra attention. I don't believe any extra effort is made in the food offerings either, on a one day cruise.

Choice of early, late or open dining is made at the time of booking the cruise. If you chose late dining, your dining time will be around 8 pm. Times will show on your cruise card.

The thing is that the crew constantly changes, including the Hotel Manager and Executive Chef. So the bland food and disappointing room service the Noordam had on a recent cruise will not be the same on the Noordam in the future, simply because there may be a better (or worse) chef or hotel manager at that time. So I don't understand avoiding a particular ship for that reason. The chef you had on the Noordam may be the chef on the next ship you cruise on so you may suffer the same bland food. I can understand avoiding a certain class of ships (or cruise line) because one prefers certain amenities over others but not something like food that depends on the crew to make it tasty and deliver it at the temperature it's supposed to be served at and in a timely manner. JMO

I did this back in 2019 and it worked. But others have said it is no longer possible. I no longer see the wording about calling in to book shorex if within three days of departure on the HAL website.

Please let us know when you hear from them.

@Minkangel I checked with my friend again. He has not met your parents but he said “the Captan said again yesterday that all passengers made it back, no exceptions.”

I've been communicating with someone onboard and was advised that all passengers made it back on board so I'm sure your parents are safe. Maybe that will give you some comfort. Hopefully they'll be in contact with you soon to let you know directly.

Wow, thanks so much for posting your pics and telling us about the trip. If you want to, I'd love to hear and see more.

I'm not Kazu but yes, there is a small elevator to take you to your room, and down to the breakfast room. The luggage elevator, that I think Kazu was referring to, was a short escalator so that you could "walk" your luggage from the street level, up the few (I think about five) steps to the lobby level of the hotel. It was a cool thing to use and I'm sad to hear that it's gone. We, too, loved the Banks Mansion when we stayed there in 2018. It was lovely to see the pics and relive our memories. Thank you, Kazu!

I’m interested! Please tell us more and post more pics! I’ve been looking at something like this for several years, though Adventure Canada. I didn’t realize the embark/debark was by zodiac! How did that go?

Thank you for your live thread! It's been nice getting to know more about you, and revisiting ports vicariously through you. Saguenay is my favourite port; just love the people there and how friendly they are.

Maybe double check to make sure the deposit you paid is refundable (or not). That might be why the cruise was cheaper. But that's a guess on my part. I hope you'll enjoy your cruise!

Murphy's Law! Since you had them, you didn’t need them.

@cruisemom42 did you use/need the rain pants? Glad you had a great time!

The only times I’ve seen reduced prices on shorex is when HAL offers it as part of a promotion when you book the cruise, usually in Jan/Feb. But I don’t think they’ve had that promo since Covid, especially now that they offer HIA with a shorex component. And, to be honest, the reduced shorex were never the popular tours. I agree with the others, book what you want now to make sure you get what you want.

My understanding is that turning off the auto gratuities means that the individuals you give cash tips to are not allowed to keep them; they have to turn them in to the "pool". If you keep the auto gratuities in place, the individuals you tip, over and above the auto grats, may keep the additional tip. I personally would keep the auto grats in place and tip only if receiving service above and beyond the usual service. Yes, it is a lot for five people; but all five of you are eating the food, using the facilities, sheets, towels, watching the entertainment, etc. As for the difference you're seeing, are you in Canada, by chance? Because I've been caught by that before; it's the exchange rate in my case.

The thing is that the conditions today have little to no bearing on conditions in a week or two. Conditions have been changing on a dime all spring/summer. I wouldn't let it stop me from going, though, because it might be totally fine where you are (unless going is detrimental to the local residents).

It worked for me using Safari but not when using Windows 10.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned above is the Clock Museum. Just a little museum, with lots of stairs but interesting and great views from the windows and roof top. My friend and I really enjoyed it.

Thank you for sharing your review.