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i would ask your TA to call the special services department at HAL. Your TA should surely be able to find number or email address for them.

On our last sailing on the Noordam in March/April of this year, the sommelier told me that the entire wine list was changing this year. My favorite is Meomi pinot noir and it was not on the new list for the wine packages. They were able to grant my request and supply my package with what I requested but was told that it might not be available for future sailings. We are boarding the Rotterdam at the end of this month. It will be interesting to see the new wine lists.

We sailed on the Noordam in March of this year and sailed from New Zealand to Vancouver. The internet was excellent. I never did any streaming , but I had no problems at all.

I think you should contact HAL for more information about their sheets. Probably best to err on the side of caution and bring your own. I would suggest a different color than white, however so that if you have to send them to be laundered, they dont get mixed up with the ship sheets.

I am on the Jan 28 sailing and never received a letter from HAL as the OP stated. Travel insurance with good evacuation coverage is essential for sure. No vaccines required for the Antarctic sailing.

If they want to sell "Baked Whole Main Lobster", they really should use spellcheck to make it sound authentic !!

Thanks so much. Very helpful

Our cruise ship stops for the day in Copenhagen. What is the best way to get to city centre from the Oceankaj? Will the port offer shuttles? Thank you

"Our 4 & 5 Star Mariners, Club Orange, and Pinnacle & Neptune Suite guests are invited to arrive anytime... Guests travelling on shared transport or arriving as a group will be checked in together." Regarding this statement. a group of 4 couples is arriving on shared transportation. All but one couple are either 4 star or Club Orange. The one couple that is not will be checked in at the same time per the statement above. Will that couple be able to board at the same time as well?

When I applied for my January 2025 sailing Stockperks sent an email advising that I need to apply for that sailing in November . Of course, as most, I like the old way better but it is what it is...the old dog new tricks thingie.

Well...yes and no. I just did a dummy booking of our January sailing under this promotion. Our current rate without crew appreciation is over 1K less than the same category under this new promotion. A bit of lure and bait . which happens so often in any business sale. But that said, I will as my TA to look into just adding the CA.

When we were on the Noordam in the spring this year there were several tables with little signs indicating CO (in the upper MDR). They were clustered near the entrance, away from the windows, There may have been others elsewhere in the MDR but I did not see them. I am sure if you are not happy with the location they would seat you elsewhere. Personally I think CO is only worth it on the Pinnacle ships with the separate dining rooms.

Funny , we were just having this discussion. We have friends who took a red eye from the west coast just last weekend to catch a cruise in Boston the next day...we cringed when they told us this,..especially with the Global tech issues going on. They got really, really lucky and made the sailing. We would never take that risk. Option 1 only...2 nights in port pre-board, ideally. Cruising is designed to be stress-free. why risk that!

I would say if they dont arrive in your email tomorrow call them . There is a phone number for rewards. I had to do this the first time ai ordered, also look in your spam folder incase they landed there. good luck

@hkymre My hubby is a bird photographer and you will see him on board during sea days on the same cruise with his long lens . Pelagic birds , flying fish , dolphins , possibly whales (not sure about whales, depending on migration) especially if you are continuing on with the TA portion.

Yes, but still beats the a la carte cost of a glass of wine with dinner. That is to say if you do not have HIA, of course.

Yes, we buy them monthly as well. You need to go to the rewards page and just keep on scrolling. They have changed from 10% to 8% but still a savings. You do need to be a member of AARP now..for a long time you did not. I receive the cards via email within 20 minutes. I then have my TA apply them to my HAL booking and have no issue, except that we just saved a good bit of money.

We generally book guarantees . We are not picky with cabin choices and have never had an issue with cabin location..we are just there to shower and sleep. We have tried different categories but like the HH obstructed view...I say that tentatively because I do not care for the obstruction, but the window is floor to ceiling and brings in a ton of light. I should note that if we are on a Pinnacle class ship we opt for a balcony guarantee as the promenade deck is not a lounging deck like the other categories. We have saved a lot of money going this route..We usually have our assigned cabin about 1 week from sailing.

What an interesting offer. The flights home could be an issue unless they are changeable. Will watch for this type of offer in the future!

We were in 5096. This is one of the large angled balconies mid ship. This was the best balcony as it gave plenty of shade or light. A vista suite was next door and that balcony was much smaller.

@SnowbirdsinTraining Thank you for posting this menu. My DH became vegetarian just last fall and for 2 cruises, he just picked and chose off the MDR menu for dinners, and Lido Asian station for lunches (Oosterdam and Noordam) . He did end up choosing fish options to be sure he got enough proteins. So...I just showed him this menu that you posted and he now he wants to get on the ship to try it out...haha...we are booked on the Rotterdam in September...I may have to find another cruise between now and then for him to try out the vegetarian menu...twist my arm.:)

I am sorry this happened to you and I would definitely arrange a meeting with the hotel manager to go over all the things you describe that should not have happened.....But I do have to say that an extra bathroom, (I presume with extra toilet?? ) would not be a bad thing. .

I think we will probably let this particular booking slide and find another TA for the next booking. Without going into detail, we have pretty much had it with this particular agency. Thank you for your thoughts.

We do this all the time...sad that the savings has changed from 10% to 8% but it is still a savings. I just applied 5 of them yesterday to an upcoming sailing. Zero issues.

Good morning. Has anyone every taken a booking from their TA and given it back to HAL?? I am wondering if this is possible and how I would do this? Thank you