oceanmom

28 minutes ago, drowelf said:

And not even then. Equipment swaps and the randomness of the airlines system can cause seat assignments to change. Over on the FlyerTalk forums there are whole threads dedicated to random seat changes. Even on confirmed and ticketed flights I generally check my seat assignments every couple of weeks, just to make sure nothing untoward has happened. 

Even when you book with the airline, your seats may change. Example--bought tickets directly from United. Checked the seat assignments one week before the flight--everything was fine. While we were on the Caribbean cruise for 7 days our First Class seats were changed without notice from two together to one seat in row 1 and another seat in row 4. There was a couple seated in our original seats who must have had higher status than us and demanded two seats together so we got kicked out.

3 hours ago, suec12 said:

I'm so glad I read this thread! so when we have booked a cruise we can then book the HAL air flights (flexible)? We will pay nothing until final payment, have reserved seats and can cancel at any point, no charge? Is there any "catch" I am missing? Thanks!

Seat reservations are dependent on the airlines. Many airlines do allow you to reserve seats once the FlightEase booking is made, others do not. I know Delta does, but not sure of other airlines.

@Judyrem That's what I thought, too. Even had an SA Neptune assigned to us one week out which was changed to the SQ two days later.....

3 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

 

The only NS I would avoid would be the spa SQs on the Pinnacle class ships. Too far forward (motion) and balcony is small compared to other Neptunes.

 

I can confirm this comment. Ended up with an SQ on Nieuw Statendam last Christmas due to a last minute booking (had to cancel our 14 month reservation since we didn't think one person's vacation would work out--but then it did). Cabin was absolutely huge with a window facing the front of the ship which was really nice BUT the balcony was tiny. We could just barely find space to stand at the railing with two chairs and footrests on the deck. Motion wasn't too much of an issue in the Caribbean and it was nice being close to the Retreat cabanas. Thank goodness I had booked two cabanas for the family. But never again a Neptune guarantee on those big ships.

It has been my experience that your flights with FlightEase are covered if you buy HAL insurance, but the cost of the insurance is based on the cruise fare only. And FlightEase can be added to your HAL booking at any time, even after final payment.

52 minutes ago, suec12 said:

Well re-thinking the arriving day of....but now another question - I purchase a Delta seat thru HAL - let's say I miss a connection at CDG - who will I deal with HAL? or Delta?

Most airlines will proactively rebook your missed connection flight before you even know it. Since you are flying from Paris to Venice there should be plenty of alternatives. Your ship boarding passes will include phone numbers for HAL travel for you to call for more support but the first thing they say is to tell your airline you are flying to meet a cruise. Be sure to sign up for Delta's app before you leave as that will usually have the most current information. Traveling during the winter holiday season can often be a challenge due to weather issues so allow even more time for problems.

If you are not abusing the system nor a chronic abuser, HAL and FlightEase will try their best to make everything right. Cruise contracts are written by lawyers to limit liability.

20 hours ago, mexico8 said:

About your P.S.  Do you mean you took one Alaska cruise and that will be the last?   If so, we feel the same way.    Out of 7 days we had some nice views from the ship when going through Glacier Bay.   We stood on the outer deck in the cold and  fierce wind to see them at their best.

 

The other days all we saw from the ship was trees and mountains.  We see those from our window at home so we were not too excited.

I admit I live in the Pacific NW and see trees and mountains every day. But we cruise to Alaska every other year to see the water and no cooking/cleaning/laundry for a week or two and because we can drive to the ports from home. We also don't try to see everything in every port in one day and enjoy the history and hikes/walks. Works great for us, but not for everyone.

When you arrive on the ship, you should find several envelopes in your cabin stating the date and time for each restaurant's reservation. You do not get your choice of date and time in advance. You may always go to the dining podium usually located someplace around the Lido on the first day on-board to see if you can change the reservations. Sometimes it can be changed, other times not. If you are in a Neptune or Pinnacle Suite, go to the concierge in the Neptune Lounge. They have access to the reservation system and will be able to help.

Bottom line, you use HAL/FlightEase air and your flight is delayed resulting in you missing the ship, they commit to getting you to the next port they can get you to, their choice of which port. You might be put in a hotel in Venice or not. You might be flown out the same day to some next port or not. It will be at HAL's discretion.

If you receive the email upsell, call the number given, they will check to be sure you are on their upsell list, and then complete the transaction. Always be prepared with a map of the ship and ASK if there is a choice of cabins in the new category. We always ask and are always given a choice of cabins.

If you book with a TA, you may or may not receive the email upsell. There is a phone number that has been posted somewhere on this board before to call and inquire if upsells are available. There may or may not be ones available, and you may or may not be in that pool of people who are on the upsell list.

Upsells generally come out 2-4 weeks before sailing.

He is asking about "normal airlines limits for checked luggage size limits." Then he implies a quote " From Holland America website"   and then follows it with information directly from some unknown (apparently AA?)  airline website. No wonder we are all confused.

September 2020 14 days $175.99  ($6 more than Surf package on board purchase)

April 2021 15 days $187.99 

Isn't your FlightEase reservation linked to your HAL booking number--since you can't book FlightEase without your cruise booking number? Perhaps the total you paid to the TA included your FlightEase flights as well.

31 minutes ago, sevenseasnomad said:

Not sure what goes on with our account, as they always post full charge for the restaurant and credit 50% of the charge in the second column, which leaves half as a charge that we've already paid.

How recently has this happened to you?

We always prebook and pay for the speciality restaurants before boarding the ship and have never had the full amount posted anywhere on the folio statement. What shows up, as others have said, is on one of the early days of the cruise (last month on the third day), a loyalty credit shows up. The couple of times we've done lunch in the Pinnacle which cannot be prebooked, it shows up as the full charge with the credit.

It is my understanding that there may be different conditions based on what country you are in. Please check as I note you are in Rotterdam, not the US. In the US, the deposits and any payments are generally refundable up to final payment date UNLESS you booked with a non-refundable deposit.

If the ship has cabanas--Retreat or Lido--best to pre-purchase for best selection. They also sell out on warm cruises. Loved our retreat cabanas on a Caribbean cruise last Christmas. (Already bought one for an April 2021 Panama cruise.)

Your second PCC's excuse sounds strange "Incorrect information via an email but not over the phone"??? I would much prefer to have a quote in writing rather than his verbiage and my hand scribbled notes that he could dispute later--"I never said that!". My PCC, now moved to a new job, would always respond to my emails but it might be a few (3 or 4) days later. No clue who my new PCC is, no email or phone call or anything from him/her.

I always bring small and large manila envelopes to put misc. papers in--handouts from tours, daily When and Where flyers, receipts, etc.

I also have skin allergies that used to show up when I slept in hotels--so I finally resorted to taking my own sheets. Never had a problem with bedding or towels or sending out laundry on a HAL ship.

I send out light colors in one bag and dark colors the next day or in a separate bag after getting some dingy looking whites after mixing colors in the same bag. Solved the problem --- which was the first cruise out of six that I had the dingy problem show up..

Three gala nights on our 14 night cruise last month.

7 hours ago, kazu said:

There are some tech savvy people who have figured out how to work hot spots with devices and may know a way around it but for most of us, being on the internet at the same time = buying 2 packages.

We did the tech savvy thing with a mobile hotspot last month and it worked great--except it had a limited range so was really only useful by two people in close proximity, but that was fine for us sitting in the cabin/cabana. About $25 for the hotspot and $15 for a case. We have it now connected in our house as a signal booster.

They give "assigned times" but almost all of our cruises debarks have started early and called the colors earlier than the assigned times. I believe the issue is that colors are called as luggage is staged in the customs area. Go early and your luggage might not be there. Go later and it is really, really easy to find your lonely suitcases in their color area.

1 hour ago, ScottishMaid said:

I was told at the Maasdam Front Desk that I could NOT use the non refundable OBC to donate to the crew fund. I had prepaid gratuities.

Another example of inconsistencies between ships. It worked on the Rotterdam last month for us.

The prepaid gratuities showed up on the final statement as "Hotel Service Charge Day xx" with matching debit and credit.

The donation of excess non-refundable OBC to the gratuities pool was entered on the final statement as "Hotel Service Charge--GRA1-SU".

Since no one else has observed paper laundry bags on a regular basis, are you sure the person on the roll call has the correct information? Perhaps they are remembering a different cruise line?