dundeene

Our laundry person was Rese or Rose on Westerdam (the note was hard to read)  Everything was done perfectly, even chiffon top that was dry cleaned. A+

Our upgrade was $60/person incl tax.  

This can vary with whether you had SBP from TA or from Explore 4 or another sale. Ours was listed as gift from TA/agency

I thought comedy pretty clean show.  I have not been to Pinnacle  for dinner.  But lunch was great. 

Web service So slooow. Don't try to do any work on the ship. 

I don't like Pinnacle Grill morning  hours starting so late.  Breakfast there has been good and food served hot.  

Avis car rental in Juneau  and stayed ahead of the crowds.  Dueling piano area well attended.  I really liked comedian

Laundry service is better than recent HAL cruises.  Whites are white. Nothing shrunk or mangled., service great everywhere. Canelletto very attentive,  desserts on new menu are better.  Wine service there a bit pokey.  My room continues to sparkle.  I am picky. All bar service has been friendly.  Actually very happy with EBP upgrade. 

A few people have asked for live reviews from Alaska. . . .

We are in NS on the Westie, aft wrap. Room is very clean and good repair. Balcony is huge.

Breakfast service in the Pinnacle was A plus the Neptune  lounge needs a letter above A! These ladies want to make you happy. I was able to upgrade the SBP through them easily. Snacks are higher quality than expected and changed out often. Both have been awesome. Ruth will fix anything. Even get you into the Pinnacle when it is all booked up.

Wines on the SPB not to my taste. Food in the dining room last night was Luke warm, but service was excellent and quicker than the past cruises. 

The blues venue was very good last night and pretty heavy Casino action.

Lido was a good choice for lunch and not crowded. Many coaches arrived late. Muster drill at 7:15

crew is all smiles. Lots of hellos and good mornings. Beverage service seems quick anywhere on the ship.

i will have updates as we go.

Have you checked on your rollcall to see if someone would like to split the cost?

My TA forwards me all emails within minutes. I have grabbed a few in the past. 

My advice is that if you are interested in upsells, be active on your rollcall.  I often hear from someone else that they received an upsell offer from either their TA or PCC. Sometimes the offers go first to those in a VS to NS or to people with OV to Balcony etc. 

We were on an Oceania cruise with a beautiful cheese board display in the Italian Specialty Restaurant Tuscana.  The wheels of cheese were huge! They were obviously for display and there were smaller wheels for carving. A little guy (about 4 years old) walked around the display running his hands over each of the unwrapped wheels of cheese. He then began to take pieces of the sliced cheeses and lick them, then return them to their place on the trays. I called over the waiter and he was appalled.  He ran over to the 4-year-old and said: "Stop doing that, where are your parents?" The parents got up from their table and grabbed the little guy,  who was kicking and screaming and left the restaurant in embarrassment. Kitchen staff came out and started removing the entire elaborate display. 

7 hours ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

Thank you soooo much!!! I commend you on your service with such wonderful animals! They are a treasure and can calm and be such more supportive than a human can be in many ways. I have seen it first hand, and my grand puppy is one!!!!

Thank you for a wonderful write up!

Denise😊

And please don’t be subjective to me, I’m not saying my Paisley would step onto a cruise ship at all, but I have witnessed 

her emotions of calmness to those less fortunate! Such a blessing to see.

She is a true service animal to Radys Children’s Cancer research Hospital in San Diego! 

My dog is a nationally certified service dog.  She is trained to alert nurses and caregivers for panic and anxiety attack as well as brain seizure. She is also a hospital dog:)

She also assists small children coming from the foster system who have been traumatized by abuse safely transfer to care centers and foster families. 

20 minutes ago, Hope89 said:

Someone posted on a roll call that Michelle’s plane was not involved and that she is safe. 

We are booked with Island Wings and Michelle in 2 weeks.  I am very shaken up about this crash. My Aunt and Uncle were on this tour through Princess and on the flight right before the one that crashed. Thank goodness the staff on the ships asked the people who might have a worried family to call home!

My aunt and uncle are on this cruise and booked this tour. I have been nervous since I heard. We are going to Alaska in less than 2 weeks and shared all of our tours and itinerary. (we also booked this tour)

 I just got a hold of my cousin and found out my Aunt and Uncle took this flight this morning. Thank God they are safe. They said that they were told by the staff that they should phone home and tell the family they are fine.  I hope others on the cruise contact those that know they booked the float plane tour to reassure them.

My thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families that are affected.

Again because I am part of a certified service animal team, I will try to answer a few questions.

 The reason that there is not a national certification process is cost and access.  There are many places where there are no certified dogs or trainers. (ADINA certification is the legitimate credential)

The government (Medicare, Medicaid) does not pay for or train these animals. No commercial insurance policies cover service dogs either. (there are some grants etc.)

By requiring specific licensing the Federal Government would have to run and establish these programs and provide access to everyone who qualifies. The cost to train is 10k-12k

There is not a federal definition of a wheelchair.  There are thousands of different models/types. There are many different skills that are necessary for service animals and ideally, they are trained from puppyhood for a specific type of patient. (blind, hearing loss, seizure, PTSD etc.)

My working animal was specifically bred and trained for pediatric use. She was exposed to an environment which included the sights and sounds of hospitals from the age of 6 weeks. She will lay calmly in a bed next to a 4-year-old connected to many tubes and machines with perfect stillness until released. You cannot even imagine the calming effect a soft little dog can give a scared child who is in pain. 

She will never step foot on a cruiseship, but if she did I can assure you that she would not EVER adversely affect your experience. Please do not judge the acceptance of a true service animal on the "faux" versions you have been subjected to onboard.

We read reviews of the bear viewing flight in May and found many people who said it was just too expensive since they did not see a single bear.  We decided to switch to the Denali flight with glacier landing.  We thought our chance to see wildlife would be about as high as the other flight, but that we would see amazing views in Denali.

We really wanted to see bears but will be in Alaska from May 22 to June 2nd.  Most people have told us seeing bears is unlikely.  We actually asked the owner of the plane what the chances were.  He said less than 25% chance.  We canceled the flight as it was very pricey. He said if you want a guarantee go to the zoo;)

Holland America has Mass and a priest on all their cruises that include a Sunday,

Just now, Underwatr said:

The ADA (speaking of American law here; I don't know other countries' laws) does not provide for paperwork or licensing of a service dog, not does it permit an establishment to request any sort of license or paperwork. A service dog may be privately trained, so no "paperwork" may exist. An establishment may ask whether the dog is required due to a disability and what type of work or task the dog has been trained to do. The establishment may not ask about the disability or require a demonstration of the dog's training.

 

https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html

Here is the quote I referred to earlier, very basic stuff. . . .

• A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his service animal from the premises unless: (1) the dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it or (2) the dog is not housebroken. When there is a legitimate reason to ask that a service animal be removed, staff must offer the person with the disability the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the animal’s presence.

In the instances described earlier the animals do not have to be allowed based on the above requirement. A service dog MUST be under control and housebroken, Period!

I am an early childhood center director and own a service dog. (pediatric panic attack, ptsd and anxiety)

You see her photo as a puppy to the left. 

It took 2 years for her to get her certification. In order to pass the test, she had to go into public (restaurants, stores, parks) and remain at stay/down without me until recalled for 20 minutes. This included being passed by people, wheelchairs, strollers, vacuums, bikes, children etc.

She is welcome in hospitals, hospice, etc and would never relieve herself when not approved. 

The dogs you are describing should never be called service dogs.

There are people who are able to thrive and function only with the assistance of their service dogs because of a variety of medical conditions.

Unfortunately, I have seen many instances of doctors who are family, friends etc. who will write the necessary letters for people to be allowed "service animals" simply because they want to bring pets along. There are many fake certification sites on the web.

By ADA standards if the dog is not housebroken, or not under the control of the handler/owner they no longer meet the standards and should be expelled from any place where only service dogs are allowed

Happy sails and trails in Alaska

1 hour ago, Double D Cruisers said:

Under those circumstances the bartender was acting in the passengers best interest whether he had reached his 15 limit or not.  Not to mention HAL's  liability issues if this passenger fell down the stairs and it was shown the bartender had knowingly served a passenger when significant impairment was obvious.

Yes of course, my point was that even though no one needs to be the designated driver ( I believe they are taking care of that on the bridge) bartenders will stop serving those cruisers who appear dangerously impaired.

I will mention that I saw a bartender on HAL cut off a man after he hit his 15 drink limit. 

It was about 5 pm. near the pool on a sea day. 

The guy was; as my ship's captain father would say, " 3 sheets to the wind". He was not being rude or belligerent, but definitely having trouble with balance and heavily slurred speech. 

1 hour ago, edgee said:

I started this thread by asking a simple question about whether healthy smoothies are available on HAL..  It was a sincere attempt to gather information to assist me in dealing with a health condition.I do not regard the subject matter as a "silly" one.   I am concluding from  the responses that, unlike, my experiences on Oceania and Celebrity, HAL does not offer them. That's okay, I will deal with it and have a great cruise.

I hope you find a way to have your dietary needs met onboard.  With 2 SILs with type ll, I know how important it can be to know the ingredients and carb counts of all foods. 

A cruise is a wonderful place to indulge in delicious foods if you are able.  I do think that all the cruiselines make a strong effort to accommodate those people with special needs.

Many cruisers report upgrading to the EBP for about $11/day.  The limit increases from $11per drink to $15 per drink.  One better glass of wine each day and you have already paid for your upgrade. I believe you have to upgrade both people in the stateroom unless the 2nd person has a medical release.

If it exceeds the limit you pay the full price.