ris_scot

We have enjoyed both formats and each has it own merits. I would certainly echo the early comments about the talent and enjoyment Megan and Gabe give to all their performances. The final set every night was an all request show and so the playlist was always varied. It is hard to blame the performers if the passengers are making the choices. We did not have the good fortune to hear you Barry (so far) but maybe one day. I do get a bit of a giggle from some of the digs made about HAL cost cutting by reducing from 2 to 1 piano player but I do not recall the same argument when the solo performers were originally increased to the dual format.

Yes the spend credit is limited to one per day. I have checked my own Mariner points and we have always been credited with 1 point for spend each day we have had the Have it All package in place. Our only cruises where we did not get the full credit for spend pre-dated the Have it All option. We are nearing 5 star status as a result. ONBOARD SPENDING BONUS: One bonus credit will be granted for every $300 spent in onboard purchases. This is calculated on the combined folio charges for all guests on the booking, regardless of who signs each charge and who pays the bill. There is a limit of one bonus day for each day sailed, and 3rd and 4th guests on the same booking do not earn the onboard spending bonus.

We have stayed in the cabin below the bridge wings on the Rotterdam last year. No real noise issues from the bridge and the next door cabin was an Officer who always seemed to be working so no issues with that either. I actually only saw him on the day we left the ship. The comments about the veranda light are correct and this is actually controlled by the bridge but at night I prefer not having the light on as I want to see the night sky.

There is also a 28 day itinerary on the Nieu Statendam (round trip from Dover, England) in late June 25. We are already booked on this.

We were not travelling until much later in the day so had time to drop off our luggage and go into the nearby town. I understand your concern about transatlantic flights. Our flights were firstly to Paris and then onwards to Edinburgh. Passengers who are happy to carry off the ship their own luggage can normally get off the ship from 7am and I would say the drive in a taxi or similar would not be any longer that 45 minutes.

We used the ship organised shuttle and it was very easy to get to the airport. The ship will ensure you are given an early departure from the ship and the journey to the airport is not that long. I think in July we were in the airport by about 10.30 am.

We did a transatlantic on Rotterdam in April 23 and we were in 7005. We enjoyed this and the cabin on the curve in front of 7005 is a Staff Cabin. We only saw or heard the occupant once on the cruise and this was on debarking day.

Thanks for your guidance on this - my only frustration was being teased with the advert appearing and then disappearing. Not to worry I am sure we will find a deal that suits us. Hope that the deals are good.

When I log in (in the UK), the labour day offer appears for about 2 seconds and then disappears and is not available for me to search. This is frustrating that yet again HAL are being selective about which nationalities are made the same offers.

Thanks for the tips. We have booked Central Hotel and that is one more job off the to-do list before we travel.

We arrive in Athens the day before we cruise and are looking for any recommendations for a nice hotel ideally with transfer to port on cruise day. The HAL favoured hotel is fully booked. I looked on the Roll Call but nothing covered there yet.

Not in my experience. It normally resets overnight when the bars are all shut.

We regularly are the last to leave the bar (not proud) and on our last cruise on Nieuw Statendam last summer the Billboard Bar was the late night drinking spot. The bar staff were always guided by the number of passengers who were in the bar (and drinking). We had many great nights here and hopefully it will be the same on our upcoming trip on the Rotterdam next month.