Kansas Jayhawk Cruiser

17 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

4001 is far forward on the Upper Promenade.  Who took the booking, a TA or a HAL consultant?  Ordinarily on a nonrefundable promo you would be booked as a guarantee with your stateroom being assigned about three weeks prior to sailing.   You booked the cheapest veranda room available.  Call them back and see if you were assigned a specific room or a guarantee VH category. If it is a guarantee you will probably get a better stateroom.  If not, tell them you will accept an upgrade.

I called HAL and they said there is nothing they can do. We are stuck in 4001. I am a bit miffed. Our deposit is non-transferable. So our only choice if we really don't want to go with this cabin is to cancel (eventually) and eat the $200. But the cruise is a long way off, and we could be offered an upgrade. 

How "bad" are these forward cabins? I would think they would be right above the shows. We usually get a Neptune Suite (at least when traveling with my father-in-law) or just a balance or signature sweet or something like that. As long as I can sleep that would be fine...

Long time HAL cruiser. Recently received an email from HAL about Private Fare sale for some Mexican and Caribbean cruises. The prices were amazing, like $499 for a Veranda. Emailed our cruise agent and signed up for cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam March 31, 2021. 

We were assigned cabin 4001. I should have checked before hand but our consultant said it was fine. Turns out it can be noisy.

These answers are very helpful. I asked this question of our travel agent. They will get back to me.

But as someone above suggested, I tried to do the math.

With the double we would get:

Pinnacle Grill $29 x 2 = $58

Wine Tasting $15 x 2 = $30

Wine Tasting $35 x 2 = $70

Some wine related gift from HAL = ??

So the total for the above, rounded, is $150.

The cost is $300 (again rounded from $307)

So we pay $150 for 5 bottles of wine, or $30 for each bottle.

In looking at some of the 3,5,and 7 day prices for just the wine, this is just about right. The price per bottle is around $30.

So kind of a toss up, but I am leaning toward picking one of the wine packages (probably 5 bottles). Why? We might get a Pinnacle Grill dinner from our travel agency. We usually always get something nice (this time we are own a Neptune Suite). We can go to the wine events if we want or not. So overall more flexibility for the same price.

Does that sound about right?

Bryan

My wife and I like to enjoy some wine on our cruises. We only get a wine package if it is part of "bonus" - we have done this on Celebrity several times and it was great. We don't drink enough to justify the prices for unlimited wine packages.

On next cruise is a 7 day one to Alaska. I looked at the wine packages and was confused.

There are 3,5, and 7 day packages, Navigator and Admiral. These look just fine we would just buy what we think we would drink. Prices aren't too bad - but I am assuming you buy this for the cabin, not per person.

But then I saw the Cellar Master Package:

A premium wine tasting experience is available throughout the length of your cruise with the Cellar Master Package. Two wine tasting events conducted by our Cellar Master, an evening of fine dining in the Pinnacle Grill, five vintage bottles based on the wine navigators' preference, a Holland America Line commemorative bottle and wine gift are included for on board enjoyment. Pricing based on single guest, 7-10 day voyages. A 15% service charge is included in the price of the item. You must be 21 years of age or older to order and receive alcoholic beverages. *Mariner discount not available on the Cellar Master Package.

It looks like it is $252 per person.

Wouldn't this be a GREAT deal. We always go to wine tastings and at least once to the Pinnacle. So for two people it is $504 and we get

Pinnacle Grille for 2

Wine Tasting for 2

5 bottles per person so 10 bottles of win.

This seems to good to be true, am I missing something?

Hello fellow cruisers.

My wife and father in law have been on about 10 cruises - 5 HAL, 3 Celebrity and 2 Disney. Usually we get a good balcony cabin (Signature Vista on HAL or Concierge Class on Celebrity). Our last two cruises we were very fortunate to get Neptune Suites on HAL, which were simply bliss.

Our extended family is taking a holiday cruise on Freedom of the Seas on 27th of December. We are really really excited to be going with about 30 other relatives!

Our relatives are in D1 cabins (Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony). We are deciding between getting a D1 or moving up to a JS. The difference in price si pretty substantial, a little less than 4K.

We would like to know other cruiser's opinion on the difference between these two cabins. We are now somewhat used to larger cabins, and wonder if we would be happier in the JS. The other consideration is that my father in law would probably like to be as close as possible to the others.

Also, any comparisons between RCI and HAL/Celebrity beyond the obvious, younger crowd on RCI, much larger ship, etc. ? We are by no means cruise snobs and are very very very excited to have a different "bigger ship" experience and to take in everything RCI's Freedom has to offer.

Finally, we are Select on Celebrity and I understand that we get reciprocal benefits on RCI (Platinum). Is there anything we have to do to get these or just tell our travel agent.

Thanks for any insight suggestions that you may have, I always find these forums so helpful!

Bryan

We have a Celebrity Suite

My wife and I have been on 3 Celebrity Cruises and really enjoy the line. We have booked 2 future cruises with them, one the Holiday Caribbean 11 day on the Equinox and the other a cruise in March on the Summitt out of Puerto Rico.

I have read that the suite makeover will be done by April 2015, but haven't seen a schedule (even tentative) of the rollout of this by ship. Just curious when it will happen, as we have a suite on the Dec 22 cruise but don't on the March voyage out of San Juan.

As an aside, we have been in the Neptune Suites on HAL once and LOVED them, but this will be our first time in a suite on Celebrity. Anyone care to make a comparison.

My wife, father-in-law, and myself are all avid cruises. My father in law is 80+ while my wife and I are in our late 40s. We have done 4 cruises on HAL and two on Celebrity and love both lines.

Our last cruise was 7 days on the MS Eurodamn in the Caribbean in a Neptune Suite and we were blown away. We usually go with Verandas on HAL and Concierge Class on Celebrity. We have two upcoming cruises on Celebrity (Holiday and next March) and now are wondering about either switching one of the cruises to HAL in Neptune or better yet to maybe upgrade to a suite on Celebrity.

What we liked about the Neptune suite:

My father could smoke on our veranda.

Access to the Neptune lounge for snacks.

Priority embarkation and disembarkation.

Bigger room.

I think we can get the last three on Celebrity.

Would anyone like to comment on Sky and Celebrity Suites on Celebrity lines, in particular in relation to Neptune Suites on HAL?

Thanks!

Thanks!

On Reflection, the Aqua Spa is located on Deck 12, port side, forward. The Aqua Spa Café is located on Deck 14, port side in a forward corner of the Solarium.

Where is the Aqua Spa Located?

On our recent 7 Dec Reflection cruise, the Aqua Spa Café was not open on embarkation day. It used to be my favorite place for Breakfast & Lunch, but they've really dumbed it down -- no more fresh grilled chicken/salmon/tuna and their cold selections never seem to be rotated.

I had never heard of the Aqua Spa cafe, so I think I will try that. I think that is where I got the idea that we could eat at Blu.

Thanks to everyone for all the great comments!

My wife, father-in-law, and I are booked on the Dec 28 Celebrity Reflection Eastern Med cruise. We have all cruised before, but first time for my FIL on the Reflection. I love this ship and love Celebrity, so I am sure we will have a good time. Want to get the most out of it, so I have a few questions.

I signed us all up for the roll call, but only 14 people so far have signed up! I sure hope we do get to 25.

I read somewhere that the best idea for lunch on embarkation day was to go to a restaurant on the back of ship somewhere, but I forgot which restaurant. Any ideas?

Our caving is 1673, aft, and I hear mixed things about it, some say they are great, some say they are not. Opinions?

We would love to try Blu, but we are not in an Aqua Spa room, but I heard you can get reservations somehow. But how?

Any information would be most helpful!!! And appreciated.

Bryan

I really appreciate all the feedback on this forum!!

My wife was not wanting to go for my plan, but she LOVES the idea of back to back cruises that was suggested by one of the posters. Great idea.

Also, we are watching the Australian documentary (4 part) "Liners". Someone on the forums mentioned it. Very interesting show!

Thanks for the feedback!

Hello fellow Cruise Critic posters....

I am considering a transatlantic cruise on Cunard next summer and I would really appreciate any feedback from those who have been on this line..

My wife and I are in my late 40s. We have cruised on HAL, Celebrity, and Disney. We almost always go with my father-in-law, who is still very very spry in his mid-80s. He LOVES cruising, and in fact is the one who got my wife and I interested in it. He and I are history buffs and also confirmed anglophiles - I studied in the UK in 1989-90 and he has visited several times, as has my wife.

I would love to visit the UK with my wife and my father-in-law, but he is not excited about the long flights. I have quite a few FF miles. About 200K in VA, 300K in AA, and 200K in BA, so I could get him Business or First, but he is still pretty concerned that it would be too difficult a flight.

When I noticed that Cunard does summer transatlantic, I thought why not do a cruise from NYC over to London, spend a few days there, then fly back to the US. That way he would only have one trans-Atlantic flight, and I could get him for sure a nice seat on VA.

So I am curious what others think? Is this a good plan? And how is Cunard compared to HAL and Celebrity? We love both those lines.

What about the flights? I haven't flown trans-Atlantic in years.

Thanks in advance....

Bryan