iowacruiser

19 hours ago, oakridger said:

You only get one reservation for each restaurant with the HIA is why you can’t reserve two Pinnacle Grill. If you want to book additional reservations you can book and pay for them with your credit card.    Have fun!

You are correct sir. I just checked again and Canaleto is the only option available for using a dining credit. Thanks for the info..

20 minutes ago, Cruise Suzy said:

 

What restaurants are you trying to book? On what ship?

Only Canelota and Pinnacle Grill on Oosterdam. Trying to book Pinnacle twice. Got one reservation-the other didnt go through.

3 hours ago, Cruise Suzy said:

Are you trying to make 2 reservations for the same restaurant? If so, that's the problem.

 

How many dining credits does it list on your online itinerary?

Two... It took one of them but not the other..

22 hours ago, iowacruiser said:

We will be on Oosterdam in September and so far have been unable to book specialty dining.

Booking for HIA dining finally opened yesterday but the website is only letting me use 1 dining credit instead of the two that were part of our package.

We will be on Oosterdam in September and so far have been unable to book specialty dining.

9 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Your bags will pass directly to your Athens flight. You don't have to collect and re-check.

Thanks..

We are booked on Air Canada from Orlando for a Med cruise in September leaving from Athens.

We are flying Rouge to Montral and connecting to mainline AC for the international leg.

Will our checked bags pass through to the Athens flight automatically or do we have to claim them and recheck?

Weve flown in and out of Canada a number of times but never connected.

Thanks

16 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

We are looking at sailing the Oosterdam for the first time. In looking up cabin sizes the balcony cabins have a wide range in size. How does one go about finding the larger?  216 sq ft would feel pretty tight, but the larger end of the range is attractive?  In trying to find this information, I came across two options that caught my attention. Cabin 7149 aft….and 4166 with the extended balcony. We tend to use our balcony quite a bit, so both have their distinct advantages. Does anyone have experience and thoughts on these locations as well as interior space?

We also looked a Signature suite 6115. Not sure if these are worth the extra cost?  
thank you in advance

We have stayed in an aft corner NS on Oosterdam and the balconies are so large you could have a small party on them. They are also less affected by the wind.

We have also stayed in an SS on Amsterdam and Eurodam-both cabins on the bump out. You basically get two balconies in these suites. One facing out and other facing forward. If you love your balconies either would be a good choice.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts..

We are venturing to Europe for a cruise in September and have never purchased travel insurance for past cruises.

Is the HAL platinum plan good insurance or is finding a private insurance policy a better idea? Your thoughts?

15 hours ago, colbe said:

 

We stayed in 7093  (SS suite) on the Rotterdam last week. Noise was never an issue.

On 4/11/2024 at 11:17 AM, Moriah said:

On the last day of my recent cruise, I received an offer (paper card/letter) in my cabin stating that if I book another cruise within 30 days of disembarking that one, I would get some free play in the casino, and I believe free drinks in the casino - to be honest I didn't pay much attention because at the time I was "sure" I would not be booking another cruise in the coming month, but... actually I did - and of course, I didn't save that card with the offer.  Does anyone know how I can find out the info to give to my PCC?  He says I need some kind of offer number for the offer for him to add it to my booking.  I have tried emailing the Players Club and so far no response (it's only been 24 hours), but thought I'd come here to see if anyone's had a similar predicament or has an idea how I can redeem that offer having thrown away the paper trail (it wasn't an email, as said, it was something I received in my cabin on the last day of sailing, presumably because I'd spent a bit of time in the casino on that cruise!).  Thanks in advance if anyone has any idea.

Interesting... We just got off the Rotterdam. We booked two future cruises on board and both times the Cruise consultant said I qualified for casino rates. I was surprised because all I played was $100 at the craps table..,,We got a decent discount so not complaining.

We board on the second leg with friends/neighbors who are getting married on the ship.

On 3/16/2024 at 2:42 AM, LAX said:

I think I have narrowed my choices down to Eurodam to Alaska. I am trying to figure out the best stateroom within my budget that is also still available to book. I want a stateroom with a verandah. Is picking a forward stateroom on Deck 4 (Upper Promenade) that is directly above the World Stage a bad idea in terms of noise? How late do events run on the World Stage? Would being on a lower deck somewhat mitigate the risk of motion sickness in a forward cabin vs midship? Part of my challenge is trying to book 3 staterooms that are near (preferably next to) each other.

 

LAX

 

We took your cruise last August. The only rough water we ran into was Icey Point to Sitka. The captain deployed the stabilizers that night and you could barely feel the motion. We were on Deck 7 midship..

55 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Yes, you can book directly with HAL then transfer to a TA. There is a time limit (60 or 90 days, don't remember which) from the time you book and it can't be w/in final payment. You can get the form from HAL or the TA can give it to you.

If you do this, you shouldn't use a HAL PCC to book as that's a lost booking against them; just use a general reservation agent that answers the phone. 

If you have questions that you really want to ask directly to HAL, you can do a 3-way call w/them and your TA - they will talk with you that way.

60 Days.. Our friends tried to transfer their booking to a TA for our September Med cruise. They were told transfers arent allowed 60 days after initial booking.

1 hour ago, Vallesan said:

Marina is going into dry dock for refurbishment at the end of April. The PH cabins are being completely refurbished with new bathrooms etc. The lower cabins are due to have new ‘soft furnishings’ but the bathrooms will NOT be refurbished.

Thanks..

Reading a number of reviews about the need to refurbish Veranda cabins.

Have the PH cabins been refurbished

20 hours ago, JohnCoffield said:

I've always said that size isn't everything...this picture really does confirm that we won't be moving from HAL anytime soon.

Agreed... Dealing with a mass of humanity isn't my idea of a relaxing vacation.

A friend just returned from the Seashore  and said it took more then an hour to dock at Ocean Cay. She said it was windy and it took the crew multiple attempts to dock but they finally made it. As noted in a previous post, ships must navigate a narrow channel that's almost a half mile long. In order for the ship to dock on the starboard side they have to back the ship down the channel. Wind would certainly be a factor.

8 hours ago, IAcruising said:

 

Fellow Iowan. We have a UK trip out of Rotterdam in August (flying to Amsterdam out of Des Moines). Flight Ease isn't even remotely close to what we can find directly. 

 

We live in Florida now and FlightEase is way cheaper for business class to Athens.

8 hours ago, Mary229 said:

Flight ease should quit selling flights day of embarkation that are over 5 hours.  It presents a false sense of security which does not truly exist.  On a recent cruise we were forced to stay in a lousy port overnight and miss our next  desirable port to wait until an international flight arrived.  That was not a reasonable excuse for us not to sail and if flight ease had not sold such an ill timed flight we would not have been forced to miss our port 

Appreciate the advice. We are flying to Athens two days ahead of sailing. Would never fly International arriving the day of departure..

I have read several posts about Flight Ease-the pros and cons. I understand the difference between flex and restrictive fairs.

Curious if anyone booked a flex fare and then had their flights and or seats changed after final payment for the cruise. Cruising on the Oosterdam out of Athens in September and the best fares are on Air Canada. Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated.

On 1/27/2024 at 5:39 AM, Bizziecruzer said:

Hi all. We will be cruising on the Rotterdam, our first time with HA.

We can choose cabin 5096 (has larger balcony) or cabin 6152 (angled balcony, larger cabin). Which would be your preferred cabin. We are cruising to Norway. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Have not sailed on Rotterdam but on NA and Eurodam we have booked SS suites with the angled balcony. More room and better viewing.

14 hours ago, Tiki_Man said:

Quick question about Muster Drill. What time and did you still have to go down to Deck 6 to personally check in but only at a specific time?  We are on board on 1/28 and have only sailed with MSC once before. Thanks for any insight 

Cheers 

Tiki

The muster drill was the only negative on our Seashore cruise in December. Having the entire ship working their way to deck 6 using the stairwells was a cluster. We felt bad for older passengers who have difficulty negotiating stairs. A lot of pushing and shoving. HAL's procedure is much better-watch a video in your room and at some point make your way to the muster station. A ship wide cattle call makes it much more difficult. 

6 hours ago, Langoustine said:

It's NOT possible. They have to get married either before or after the cruise.

Thanks for the info..