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We aren't concerned about the number of sea days. There are 4 Sea days out of 14 days...we enjoy sea days gives us a chance to enjoy the ship more fully and recharge our batteries. We have never been on a B2B cruise before and figure this will be kind of like that....We will get to experience the thrill of staying on while others are packing up to leave.

Yikes this is impossible to read! Here are the ports: Amsterdam Eidfjord Scenic cruising Hardangerfjord Alesund Geiranger Scenic cruising Geirangerfjord Bergen Amsterdam Scenic cruising Oslofjord Oslo Kristiansand Stavanger Scenic cruising Sognefjord Flam Amsterdam

Hi all we are booked on a 2 week best of Norway cruise for Sep 2023. Very excited! We have been to Amsterdam once about 25 years ago and other than that all ports are new to us. I've posted our itinerary below. Flam Railroad is a bucket list thing for me and have already booked that. Other than that open to suggestions about what not to miss at the other ports. I've already done a fair bit of research and have some ideas but want to make sure we aren't missing anything. Are there any ports where you would recommend going on a boat tour vs a land tour for example? We did Alaska for the first time this year and while we loved it we realized afterwards we had booked almost all boat tours and while they were great it would have been better to mix it up a bit. Thanks in advance!

If you want fixed dining couldn't you just make reservations for the same time every night? We have an upcoming cruise on the Edge and chose anytime dining as we like to eat at different times depending on whether it is a port or sea day, and what we have planned in port. I have already made reservations for every night rotating between the 4 MDRs. Perhaps this won't work though if you want to sit with others.

You should be able to see all the shore excursions offered for your cruise by signing into the website, or accessing through the app. If you don't already have an account you can create one through the Celebrity website. It will then show you all cruises you have booked and you can book everything from shore excursions to speciality dining, spa treatments etc for your cruise. Hope this helps.

How soon does Celebrity normally start their Black Friday sales? I have my eye on a Hawaii 2024 cruise and hoping there will be a good Black Friday deal. Alternatively we have a cruise in early 2023 so could book this onboard. Not sure what would be the best deal and if Hawaii cruises typically sell out. Thoughts?

We are Elite with Celebrity (have not yet sailed E class ) and have sailed with HAL 3 times. Our most recent cruise with HAL was last month on the Nieuw Statendam. We have also cruised once with NCL on the Escape. DH and I like to joke about creating our ideal cruise line and picking the best from each of the 3. Would look something like this: Thermal Suite from NCL . HAL is a close 2nd, X a distant 3rd as there is no Thalassotherapy pool Theatre from NCL re show quality, however X is close, HAL is third. For the actual venue we preferred HAL. On X there are too many obstructed views re the giant pillars. Dinner Theatre from NCL is only one that has this and it was great. Comedy Club from NCL - only one that has this and we loved it Live Music - absolutely loved the Music Walk on HAL...hands down the winner. Celebrity 2nd as we liked the smaller venues with live music ie Ensemble lounge. NCL found venues crowded and noisy Coffee/pastry venue: Loved the Dutch Cafe on HAL, much better variety of food (ie could get soups, sandwiches etc) than on X Cafe Al Bacio. However no table service at the Dutch Cafe and lines could be long at the counter to order. On NCL this venue was in a really crowded noisy area didn't care for it at all. Our ideal would be the Dutch Cafe on HAL combined with table service from X. MDR: Celebrity for the win here for food quality and service. Also like ability to reserve in advance (for any and all nights) even with anytime dining a huge plus. Our wine glasses were never empty on X in MDR, whereas on HAL we had to ask for refills. We did find the HAL MDR to be chaotic and loud at times. On NCL there were a few MDR so they were smaller, and they had live entertainment which was great. Also had a pub style restaurant that we enjoyed and no upcharge. Our ideal would be smaller MDRs (we have an Edge cruise coming up so will get to experience that on X) with live entertainment like on NCL as well as a pub style venue like on NCL, but with the food quality and service of X. Specialty restaurants: Our favourite was Qsine on X which sadly is no more. Also loved Bistro on Five and the Gastro Pub on X which also are no more. Petit Chef is one and done on X. Murano on X I think is overrated. We do enjoy the Rooftop Grill on Celebrity and Tuscan grill although not sure they are worth the money as we really the MDR. On HAL we enjoyed Pinnacle. Tamarind was a bit of a disappointment. We did not get to experience speciality dining on NCL other than dinner theater, as we booked last minute and couldn't get reservations. No clear winner here. Our ideal cruise ship would have Qsine and Bistro on Five as well as a dinner theatre. Bars/drinks: HAL seems to have more bars that offer a wide variety of drinks within the standard drink package. Don't feel the need for expensive drinks at world class bar or Martini Bar on X. NCL we enjoyed the Margaritaville, although food was an upcharge from what I remember. Also enjoyed the Waterfront on NCL which offers options for outdoor seating for bars and restaurants. Our ideal would be Waterfront bars like on NCL as well as indoor bars without overpriced drinks like on HAL. Cabins: we always book a veranda, never had a suite. Both HAL and X cabins are great. HAL does provide footstools on the balcony which is nice and our ideal cruise ship would always offer that. Pools: Love both the Solarium on X and the main pool on HAL with the retractable roof. The main pool on X can be noisy/busy and on NCL extremely so. Our ideal would be both a Solarium pool and a second outdoor pool (or retractable roof) that is quiet and offers both shade and sun (ie no loud music/pool games) Overall Vibe: We really like both HAL and X for this. We found the NCL Escape was too big for us making the common venues crowded and loud. For us it comes down to itinerary and price at this point. Would sail on all 3 again, however would only sail on NCL with the addition of the Spa Thermal Suite as the main pool areas are too crowded.

We did proctored tests using Azova and they use the the time/date of where you are when you take the test.

When we were in Mykonos in 2019 we took a 3 .5 hour tour to Delos through Celebrity in the morning and then we explored Mykonos on our own in the afternoon. I don't remember Delos being overly strenuous.

We have done it twice and worked great both times 🙂 Hubby and I made separate appts for the same time, but just one on line session. Once we connected through DH tablet and second time through the app. Both work well. You will get your results very quickly through your Azova account...they do that automatically. They are very good at sending texts/emails as reminders and to let you know when results are available. We were nervous the first time we used them too but worked so well we used them a second time.

Our US based TA gives us OBC. I've compared it to what the big box store offers and it isn't as much. For one cruise he was able to price match the OBC from the big box store. The next time he wasn't able to and we booked with him anyways as we value his customer service. Our TA is amazing which became even more important with all the cancelled and rebooked cruises, price matching etc over the past 2 years and that to us is priceless.

We were on the NA last month and had open seating. You could only reserve one day in advance. Only once were we able to reserve at a time we wanted. All other nights we just showed up and waited to be seated. We never waited more than a few minutes. The downside of this is that we were in a different section almost every night. We did try requesting same section/table but wasn't possible.

I had a keratin complex express blow out and a cut on Statendam earlier this month. While the keratin was fairly expensive it was totally worth it! I have never had one before and it made my curly frizzy hair softer and less frizzy without straightening it. Ruth did an amazing job so much so that I went back later in the cruise for a wash and blow dry. She even gave me a gift certificate to use for the wash and blow dry so it didn't cost me anything other than the tip. She didn't try to sell me products instead she gave me some advice on what types of products to use (ie sulfate free products as well as occasionally using purple shampoo to cut the brassiness of my gray hair). Wished I could have brought Ruth home with me!

We have been to St. Lucia once before and did an amazing full day tour that included snorkeling at Sugar Beach. We absolutely loved it! We will be going to St. Lucia again in February but this time would like to just spend the day on a beach that has good snorkeling. Is Sugar Beach something we could DIY or is there somewhere else closer to Castries that is recommended? Just looking for a place with nice facilities and snorkeling from the beach that we can reach by cab or water taxi. TIA!

Just got off the Statendam and there were 2 dispensers on the bathroom wall. One for soap and the other for lotion. No small bottles. We were in a balcony cabin.

Thank you so much this has been really helpful! One quick question: for Gala nights is it strictly the Gala menu or can you also order off the "everyday menu". I can't remember how it works with HAL but with Celebrity there are some standard menu items called Classics that can be ordered every night. DH might find some of the Gala menu items a bit too fancy lol. Thanks again all!

We are booked on an upcoming cruise and dressy nights are finally showing in the app. Turns out we have already booked specialty restaurants for both nights. What are we missing by not being in the MDR on dressy night? We have only sailed HAL twice and don't remember if there is a special menu. If so perhaps we should switch our specialty restaurants to other nights. Also does the MDR menu show in advance on the app or onboard? The app currently just shows a sample menu TIA 😊

Thanks for looking into this much appreciated! Hopefully next cruise season there will be fewer restrictions for cruises from Canada and there won't be so many hoops to jump through.

That was my understanding too, so was confused when I got the email from HAL indicating that I did need ArriveCan before boarding a Quebec-Boston cruise. Cruising used to be so simple...not anymore. And the fact HAL is providing conflicting information than the Canadian Government definitely adds to the confusion. It is very clear on the Canadian Government website that I don't need ArriveCan to embark, but HAL is saying it is required. And when things are changing so quickly it makes you wonder if a) one of them is providing out of date information or b) there is a miscommunication or c) someone is just plain wrong. From Govt of Canada: Travellers who are staying within Canada throughout their entire journey or who are leaving Canada and not returning don’t have to complete ArriveCAN.

WOW will isn't this a hot mess. Can anyone who has done a similar itinerary with HAL provide any insight as to how they completed the Arrivecan?

We are Canadians taking a cruise from Quebec City to Boston. My assumption was we would only need ArriveCan for our return flight from Boston to Ottawa. However, today I received the following from HAL, so it appears we need to complete ArriveCan twice; once before we embark on the cruise and then again for the flight back to Canada. Has anyone else been on a similar cruise and can confirm? TIA IMPORTANT INFO PLEASE COMPLETE ARRIVECAN BEFORE YOUR CRUISE We look forward to welcoming you on board for your upcoming cruise that will visit Canada. Please be advised that all guests, including Canadian residents, must register for ArriveCAN and provide mandatory travel information. You will need to enter contact information and travel details, vaccination information and proof of vaccination. Please visit https://*****/hal_arrivecan for additional information and instructions on completing ArriveCAN. Once you have completed ArriveCAN you will receive a receipt in the app and by email. This receipt is mandatory for entry into Canada and must be completed before embarkation. You will be asked to provide your ArriveCAN receipt at cruise check-in.

We are disembarking in Boston next month and have a noon flight booked. Transfers are available through HAL but it doesn't say what time the transfer is...no option to choose a time. How do you know what time the transfer is?? I've put the transfers in the cart but haven't checked out yet.

I like the way you think!!

HI All, we will soon be going on our third HAL cruise but its the first time that we will have a decent amount of OBC. Can we use it to pay the crew appreciation? Our cruise already includes 2 specialty dinners, wifi and beverage package so don't need it for any of those things. Excursions are already booked and paid for. We will probably use some for a spa treatment but will likely still have some left over. TIA!

Could be its too soon. We have a Caribbean cruise booked for Feb 2023 and not all ports are showing excursions yet. We just did Alaska in June and there were several excursions available for Icy Strait Point. We only booked the cruise in April so all excursions were available when we booked.