oceanmom

6 minutes ago, xlxo said:

Do the menu downloads work you?  It's not working on my phone.  Might have to do upload it again when I get home tomorrow.

It works on my desktop.  Wishing I was there now...

Back in pre-Covid days, my husband and I would be in a Neptune and two adult (30's) daughters in a balcony cabin. The reservations were linked together and, since it was combined Christmas birthday presents for the girls, all on one credit card. We never had any trouble checking in together on any of our five or six cruises--and we had a great time on each cruise..

On 6/3/2022 at 6:37 AM, blueexpedition29 said:

I have always had OBC applied towards gratuities.  What you CANNOT do is use OBC for   "additional" gratuities.    For example, if you have any remaining, you CANNOT tell them to apply it for additional gratuities for the crew in general or any specific individual. 

 

 

Pre-Covid, I was always able to use both refundable as well as non-refundable OBC for "additional gratuities for the crew in general". In fact, one time the night accounting office figured out how much of our OBC was non-refundable and put that all into the crew pool of gratuities and refunded the refundable OBC to my credit card. I made that request on the night before the last night of the cruise. I hope that hasn't changed.

One book I enjoyed on our Alaska cruise was Alaska by James Michener. Started it before we left home so by the time we got to Alaska I was into more recent history than the beginnings of time and mastadons, etc.

I think the area called "The Bridge" on the ship maps includes officer cabins between the passenger cabins and the actual bridge with all the instrumentation, etc. We had the Behind the Scenes tour on our last cruise in 2019 that included the bridge where all the action happens. It was much smaller than the grayed out area on the ship maps and was very quiet.

Our older than a teen daughter is vegetarian and has traveled with us on several cruises. HAL has options for vegetarians and we found the specialty places--PG and Tamarind always had vegetarian choices or could adapt for our vegetarian.

Those Neptunes mentioned above do not have smaller balconies, they have non-existent balconies, but do have a front facing window and are huge cabins. We ended up in one because we could only book a guarantee. Luckily I had booked a Retreat cabana which was right up the stairs and made for a great Christmas cruise. Never again...

Sometimes you can have the partition opened, usually they won't.

I like to have breakfast at a normal height table, have a couple of reclining chairs with foot stools, and a cover overhead providing shade on sea days when we spend most of our time on the balcony.  That's why we spend the extra money on a Neptune.

We did it last year and opted for the Premier seats. The seats were convenient to the entrance, you didn't climb hundreds of steps up, performers usually exited the area right underneath your seat, you had a great view of the other end of the castle ramparts (https://www.edintattoo.co.uk/the-venue), and it was well worth the additional cost.  Purchasing the HAL package was also worth it for the transportation convenience. Buses dropped us off near the main entrance and picked us up about three blocks away at the end. Only issue for us was a torrential downpour at the very end of the tattoo, everyone was drenched but they had hot cocoa, coffee and sandwiches waiting for us at the dock. A memorable experience.

We were on the first NS Christmas cruise, had to book a NS guarantee, and ended up in 10006. Never again.

No balcony space was the HUGE drawback. There were two chairs and a small table which left little space to even stand at the railing. Nice to have a front facing window, and the room was big enough to hold a yoga class. Other plus was being close to The Retreat. Glad we had booked a cabana as that was the only deck space we had.

On March 31, we cancelled two cruises booked for 2021, one had a cabana reservation already paid for. Received refunds for the cabana and the deposits (booked on a $1 deposit promo so a grand total of $4) dated June 4 and posted to the credit cards on June 7.

Did you look at the website that has "HAL" and the word "Facts"  run together .com? Several photos there of aft wrap S Neptunes which show the chaise which appears to be a twin size bed. Not sure it would unfold or is just made up as a bed. Seems to me that the Signature Suites on the Pinnacle class have a murphy bed in a space between the main bed area and the bathroom with a wall separating the main area from the murphy bed. That would give some privacy, but is not a Neptune suite. Or just google the ship name and aft neptune which should suggest some picture sites.

Just now, fatcat04 said:

No, it's due to being completely overwhelmed by an unprecedented world wide crisis plus having had several ships with desperate and even some ill passengers  still on them needing to get to safety. And that is far more important than my or your cruise funds. Thankfully most of us who a due funds or FCCs (and I would bet that is probably 90% of tye folks on this forum) understand this. 

Just what I was going to write, fatcat04.

I was able to cancel three cruises last week using the chat feature on the website--but I had booked directly with HAL, not through the big box store or a TA.

This was  a year ago, but I could purchase FCDs on-board for immediate family members when I was making a future cruise booking for ourselves plus them in a separate cabin.

Can't hurt to call but don't expect to be given an exception to the rule.

1 hour ago, oceanmom said:

Can only buy the premium plan before the cruise and paid for by credit card, not on-board credit.

Clarifying my response above: Only the premium plan is available to purchase before boarding with about a 20% discount and paid for by credit card, not on-board credit.

Can only buy the premium plan before the cruise and paid for by credit card, not on-board credit.

I generally try to book the Neptune under the Canaletto--usually very quiet.

Yes, whenever we have promo SBP package, we always max out on the bonus days.

Love our Neptunes!

5 hours ago, Snowerin999 said:

Are you referring to the current booking promotion where it states that you are eligible for 10% off select shore excursions if you book by 3/14/20? If so, I'm wondering how to apply that promotion as well Thinking I'll need to call HAL and ask as it doesn't appear to identify the "select" ones.

We have that promotion, and the 10% off select shore excursions shows up on the various shore excursion pages associated with your booking. Log in, go to already booked, manage your booking, select your booking if you have more than one booking, and shore excursions to see which shore excursions are 10% off and what the new price is. It will be printed in orange.

4 hours ago, madera1 said:

I looked on Amazon and they list several different RAV travel routers so not sure which one you use.

This is the one we have used--https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TQEX8BO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

4 minutes ago, LoraJ said:

Can you only be tested if you show symptoms? My parents are in the process of flying back to the states and now I'm worried they may get quarantined. I'm supposed to see them in a few days. Hi mom if you're reading. 

We can each only speak to our own feelings, but I would be overjoyed to have them back on the same/home continent even if quarantined.

And the pre-purchase Premium with the discount is often close in price to the on-board Surf package.

Christmas 2018 we did a tour/airport transfer excursion in FLL that was great. Included a drive, ride on a boat, and then a walking tour of some highlights of Ft. Lauderdale. Our luggage went on the bus with us and we were dropped at the airport at the end. We signed up for it onboard the ship.