Gigi1977

It depends on when your cruise is….. they usually load restaurants at least 6 months prior but be aware that sometimes changes are made when they add pop dinners. ie Tamarind in the Pinnacle when there is no Tamarind restaurant onboard.

Sometime they scan the barcode and it makes things faster. Just depends on the port. They will let you in with or without it.

No. I do not recommend as it is just not our ‘taste’ but taste is so subjective. Yes. There is an up charge- more than the Pinnacle Grill up charge and it is not eligible for your star discount if you receive one under your Mariner discounts. Everyone pays the full price.

It is not with Shore Exc. You will find it with pre and post cruise travel with Flight Ease.

We took the HAL transfer from Canada Place to SeaTac. It was fine except we had time constraints because of a flight. I would not recommend it for a same day flight. You could then transfer to a hotel and then to ship.

We turned 5 star in April on a 42 day cruise. The last night they put pins on our bed. They do have medallion ceremonies but no pin ceremony.

And I will add - they sometimes change it several times before your cruise….

We always check both. Usually flight ease is best but occasionally, it is not. Our most recent trip to and from Copenhagen we booked ourselves simply because we did not care for flight ease choices and the cost was comparable. Be sure to pick flexible fares on flight ease so that you are able to change them up until final payment - which is another perk - you don’t pay for air tickets until final payment.

There are options for ordering from other restaurants but you pay for them. You can have dinner in your room. The Neptune concierge will set that up if you request it. in my experience we have ALWAYS answered the door for room service breakfast and tipped whoever brought it. Guess you can hop back in bed if you want it there! The concierge staff is always great and will help with most requests including restaurant reservations, shore exc, and billing.

Thank you! Several different spa managers have presented this as the RULE…. And I fell for it! 🤣. Not the next time….

Yes. It’s only valid on port days. Have you achieved 5 star or is it achieved on you next cruise? You have to wait until after it is achieved to be able to use the status. Just like free laundry for 4 star. You get the perk the cruise after you achieve your ‘status’.

You go to the restaurant or to where they are making reservations onboard and make a reservation and then tell them you would like to use your five star benefit. You cannot make reservations until onboard. For the spa, go to the desk on a port day and tell them you would like to use your five star benefit and they will give you a key. Alll is very easy to do.

We were on N Statendam in August and we had a choice of once per day or twice per day. We chose once per day because our cabin stewards had so many more rooms than they did prior to shutdown. We also requested ice in the evenings - just ice but they always checked our towels and took any dirty dishes. Not a ‘full turn down’ but they took very good care of us.

We love Movenpick. It’s quiet while still close enough to the city center and central train station. They have a very nice breakfast and their on site restaurant is good too.

We have booked many expensive international flights flexible fares through flight ease and we have never had a fare change. We have had time changes and when connections are tight, it can be concerning. On domestic flights, we have not found significant savings, so we usually book those directly with the airline to have more control. Also, sometimes you are able to pick your seats on flight ease but if you fail to, you cannot pick with the airlines. They will assign. We try to pick our seats when booking flight ease.

We ate at Rudi’s on N Statendam and my lobster was so tough I couldn’t cut it. Server noticed and was going to replace but after that experience I just asked for grilled shrimp which they were glad to bring and did. My BEST lobster onboard was the MDR lobster. There was an up charge of $15 but SO worth it. I had it on a night when nothing else appealed. Will order again. It was delicious!

My PCC could not figure this out. He told me it couldn’t be done. My former PCC did it for us all the time. There are a lot of new people that have not figured out the system. We eventually had to cancel all flight and book ourselves. Today we start the first leg of the trip. We love booking through HAL flight ease …. Just wish for our old PCC or HAL would do more training. Good luck.

We love only having to fly one way internationally. Also try and book something of the ‘front end’ - another cruise or river cruise or a land trip to justify the cost of the international flight. I have gotten too old to fly in coach, imo! 😜

We have found there are far more dining ‘events’ offered on longer, less port intensive itineraries. This spring we did a 40+ day New Zealand to Vancouver cruise. The first 14 days in new Zealand and Australia, there were no ‘events’ but once we departed from Sydney porting a few times, there were many - 2 Cellar masters - one in Pinnacle and one in Canelletto , an Indonesian dinner, the Seafood boil was offered 3 different times, Sunday Brunch in the Pinnacle and main dining room.

I’ve only been on one ship that I would be concerned about being beneath the Crows Nest - the old Ms Rotterdam had BB King there nightly…. It would have been loud. Eurodam - I would not be concerned.

Shrimp tacos I had in the MDR aboard Ms Rotterdam. For some reason, they were outstanding. Have had them since….just not the same.

My best guess is day 2 and day 11 with one other on maybe an earlier departure time. Rarely are they held the last night but can be… It will be noted in the navigator app shortly before departure. You may book and then move reservations once you are onboard.

Since restart, cards have been in mail box next to room door. Precovid they gave them to us in the terminal. Preshut down, our room were ready when we boarded at 11:30ish. Now I’ve notice ready about 1:30ish- but able to drop off carry on luggage in room.

I’ve never heard of a 75 cent drink on board in all of my 30 plus cruises. But I’m sure if there are, you may pay for them….

Same for us. We fly American and select our seats on flight-ease but I think if you do not select at that time, you have to wait for your flight to be ticketed (HAL pays airline) before you can select on the airline site or app. We have a situation with Viking. We have paid in full but Viking has not yet paid the airlines so we can’t pick seats. Viking doesn’t allow you to pick on their site.