dbsb3233

On 2/18/2019 at 7:39 AM, ScottC4746 said:

RE: Eurodam 6 April 7 night Mexican Riviera

Question:  This is my first HAL cruise and just printed my boarding docs ... YEAH!  Now it does describe Gala Night as collard shirts and slacks for men i.e. what I call Business Casual.

 

Most evenings it says smart casual which has always been abused.  I take that as Business Casual or slacks/nice jeans and button up shirt.

 

Sadly, the days of black tie and suits are gone.

Thank you for posting this! It's been 3 years since we sailed HAL and I forgot to check if the formal night dress code had finally softened.  Very pleased to see that it has. 

Not that we mind dressing up from time to time, but we usually do 2 week cruises now (Europe, Asia, etc) with extra nights before/after.  Luggage space is at a premium when packing for 17 nights.  Bringing 4 lbs of dress jacket+dress shoes for a few hours on a couple of nights meant that much less room (luggage weight) for other stuff -- particularly souvenirs to bring back.  Now we can do a little more shopping while there. 😎

2 minutes ago, colbe said:

I use Firefox all the time and have no problems finding my bookings. Is the problem with your computer settings?

Possible (thus why I'm asking if anyone else is having the same problem).  I did have an Ad-Blocker turned on, but I just tried it again with that turned off and it still did it.  Just comes up with a message saying "We found your account, but didn't see any related booking numbers. Enter a booking number and last name, then click Find Booking to continue."

Since it's working for you, I tried another test.  I just pulled out my laptop to try it there and it was able to find the booking via booking# with Firefox there.  So much be something on my desktop.

However it still doesn't remember any bookings (I still have to retype the booking# every time).  Does yours remember bookings?

13 minutes ago, SJSULIBRARIAN said:

You may be already doing it this way so disregard if this is the case. I use Edge most of the time but Chrome when I am trying to print the boarding pass. (Don't know why Edge does not allow me to do it; I just try to find a way around these weird things).

 

To find my booking when there are multiple (and I book direct  with HAL but I don't think that should make a difference but who knows)

 

Sign In

Click on Already Booked

Click on Manage my Bookings

There is a pull down menu with all bookings listed

Select the cruise you want to see and hi-lite

Click on Find Box and it should appear

That's the way it's SUPPOSED to work.  When I pull up Manage My Bookings in Firefox, it doesn't find any bookings, nor when I give it booking# and last name.  Strangely, about 6 months ago it used to at least find it via booking#.  And even more strangely, it does find the booking when I go to Check-In.  It's just so buggy.

I can get to it in Chome (my secondary browser) but it's just annoying.  And I still have to type in the booking# every single time.  Hoping the cruise lines scan these boards periodically for feedback/issues. 

Is anyone else having trouble getting the HAL website to find existing bookings in Firefox?  I can get it to work in Chrome, but when I give it a booking# and name in Firefox, it just says something like "Can't find any bookings".  Ugh.

An even bigger annoyance is having to type in the booking# and last name every single time I log into the HAL website!  (For bookings made outside the website.)  I can't find anything like a "save this booking" anywhere. Surely there's a way to do that. Or if there isn't, there should be. 

Just amazes me how bad cruise line websites continually are (not just HAL).  

30 minutes ago, superoma said:

So how many days after a cruise ends could you book your Return? We hope to do the Panama on the Rotterdam next February flying in to San Diego a couple of days before. But when we get to FLL we would like to stay for about 10 days before flying home. Any luck with that? FWIW our start and end airport would be Detroit.

I don't recall exactly how many days you can add before/after.  We added 2 on each end of our Lisbon-Rome cruise in April, and I do remember that I could have added more (I played with some different options checking days before and after for the best fares).  But I don't know about 10.

Once you have a cruise booking#, you can go in anytime thereafter (up to 330 days in advance) to start checking flights.  Since your flights are all domestic, you might actually find better prices outside of FE if you want to use one of the discount airlines (like Southwest or JetBlue).

10 minutes ago, LF23 said:

Hi, this thread has such helpful info.  We’re stumped with how to compare HAL cruise fare options since we can’t check FE price first.  We have choice of a “private” fare or the current promotion which is $300 more but includes a flight credit. Any insight?  Thank you. 

Others that sail HAL and use FE more often probably have better insight (I've only used FE once, for our upcoming April trip). 

But FWIW, I think it depends a lot on the parameters, like how much the flight credit is as compared to the $300 higher cruise fare.  And also where you're flying to/from.  As others have noted, FE tends to have much better deals for international flights than for domestic (US).  Also depends on whether you're just flying between home and the cruise, or might throw in another stop for a few days along the way (we like to do that sometimes, like a few nights in Iceland on the way to Europe).  FE will only let you book flights to/from the embark and disembark cities, although you can add days to fly in a few days earlier or out a few days later.

Unless the flight credit is significantly more than the $300, I'd probably lean toward just booking the cheaper cruise fare.  That then gives you full options to keep checking airfares (through FE and independently) to find the best ones.  While FE will *probably* have the better fares, it's nice to have the option to use or not use them.  Depending how far out from the cruise it is, I often check airfares every few days for months waiting for sales before locking in.  By the time it gets maybe 5-6 months out though, I start getting a little nervous and like to get the flights locked in. 

1 hour ago, mkl55 said:

I just booked an international on Delta today and it was Economy Main Cabin, not Basic Economy.  It just keeps getting more and more layered and confusing, doesn't it?  

 

It sure does. And FlightEase doesn't do the best job of explaining things either.

Thanks for the confirmation.

Now I'm a little confused on the various fare types.  When I select "Economy" on FlightEase, how does that translate to each airlines newer fare classes?  For instance, on United, does FlightEase Economy translate to Basic Economy or Standard Economy?

And on Delta does it translate to Basic Economy or Main Cabin?

Basic Economy tickets are the newer no-frills tickets both started about a year ago to compete with ultra low-cost carriers, and don't include advanced seat assignments, free 1st checked bag ion international flights, etc. 

Thanks Kazu.  All sounds good, so I'll probably give it a try.

On a related note, I just noticed Delta is charging $60 checked bag fee for international flights now (basic economy fares).  Grrr.  Sounds like nearly all the major carriers are doing that now.  We just got back this week from European river cruise, and flew American with out bag fees, but that was booked before they changed their policy too.  Oh well.

Thanks everyone.  Almost sounds too good to be true, so I'm trying to figure out what I may be giving up vs booking independently like I normally do.  I hate not having control over flight choices, but it sounds like we can pick the exact flights we want and make seat assignments just like normal.  Almost no downside but a lot of upside.

The FE fares I'm seeing do appear to be the same range as the independent sale fares that pop up from time to time.  I have found the same $800-ish RT fares independently, but usually on 2-stop routes, or bad times, so I've been holding off waiting for better.  But FE has good ones for ~$800 (the same flights are still around $1500 independently).  Sound like they give us the "normal sale fare" at any time without having to play the game of checking daily for months until it finally appears.  Cool. 

Our cruise is booked through a TA (membership warehouse).  If I book the airfare on FE, does anyone know if that's a separate payment or does it simply add to your cruise price total (that would then automatically reflect in the TA total)?  That would be easier since we have 6 people (3 cabins) that need to be paid on 4 different credit cards.  The TA makes it easy for me to make multi-card final payment (unlike the airlines). 

I've always booked my own airfare independent of the cruiseline, but for our upcoming April Lisbon-to-Rome HAL cruise I haven't been finding good 1-stop fares yet (still around $1500).  I decided to check out HAL Flight Ease and wow, some good flights for around $800. 

Having never tried Fight Ease before, I've got a few questions...

1. I'm wondering what the chances are of the fare jumping up a lot before it needs to be paid for?  I don't want to book it only to find that $800 fare jumps to $1500 in January when the bill comes due.  How likely is it to change, and by a little or a lot?

2. If I like the fare now, can I just go ahead and pay for it now to lock it in?  Would HAL actually purchase the tickets then?

3. Can I do (economy) seat assignments (probably on Delta) when I book?  And do they usually stay intact (i.e. not at high risk of mysteriously getting changed somehow)?

4. When I book with Flight Ease without paying until it's due in January, can I just cancel that booking at no cost if I find a great independent airfare between now and then?

Thanks.

We will be on the EE for three months beginning in August so we are voting with our wallets. She did have a major refurbishment in 2016 as mentioned. Not sure the timing of the next one. Depending who you ask they spent somewhere around $15mm.

The cruise schedule for the Prinsendam shows a gap from Dec 7-21 2018, so presumably that's the next refurbishment.

Does anyone know if the Cat A or AA cabins with shower-only are smaller than the tub cabins? In looking at some limited traveler pictures, it almost appears as though the bathroom is narrower. If so, I'm wondering of the the whole room is narrower (like the space between the foot of the bed and the wall/table)?

I prefer the shape of a squarer shower instead of a slick/narrow tub, but not if it's going to cost us space in the rest of the room.

Prices often go up during a promotion. Not always, but it seems to happen more and more with each promotion. Sometimes the promotion is worth more than the price increase, sometimes it isn't.

 

You aren't being offered the Ready Set Sail promotion? Do a dummy booking on HAL's site and see if that promotion applies to your cruise. If it does, check the price and see how it compares to the TA's offer.

I'm not seeing this cruise (April 12 2019 Prinsendam 12-ni Lisbon-to-Rome) showing up under the RSS promo.

The price is also $1200 pp higher on the HAL website (for a balcony cabin, or "Vista Suite" as HAL calls it) than it is on the TA website. That seems odd too.

Explore4 is a promotion that HAL has offered in the past few years. There are four perks to the promotion: free Signature Beverage Package, free dinner in the PG, low deposit and 3rd and 4th Guest free (or low cost). Sometimes, for suites, there is an OBC component. The promotion has run from Jun/Jul to the fall, as late as mid November.

 

The catch to the promotion, as with any of HAL's promotions, is to check the pricing of the cruise with and without the perks. The decision should be based on YOUR value of the perks.

Does that mean they commonly raise the base fare of the cruise during the promotions?

We're considering booking a Mediterranean cruise on HAL for April 2019. No promotion showing now, other than the usual OBC that the travel agent (membership warehouse) offers.

Dbsb, did you ever hear back from Gate 1?

Bottom line is that since dinner can be served on the ship while moving, the only thing we can tell is that they plan to dock by 7:30pm Day 8. It's probably before that, but whether the plan is to dock around 2pm or 7pm, who knows? (I say "plan" because we all know it can vary, or even be skipped entirely if conditions screw up their plans.) As for departure, it appears to say we dock 2 full overnights and don't leave until the morning of day 10, if I read it right.

Anyway here's what I asked and what they answered:

=====================================================================

Question: We are planning to get tickets (independently) many months early to a few concerts in Vienna, but I wanted to confirm that the ship is normally docked early enough and late enough. We're looking at a 5:30pm concert on Day 8 (Friday), meaning we'd probably need to be getting off the ship around 4pm. And on Day 9 (Sat), we're looking at an 8:15pm concert, meaning we wouldn't make it back to the ship until as late as 11pm.

The itinerary says "The ship will remain docked in Vienna this evening", but I don't know how late that actually means. Do you think we'd be safe getting tickets for both of those? Any advice on the ship timing those days would be appreciated.

Thank you.

============================================================

Thank you for your inquiry! For Day 8 we offer the Vienna Concert as an optional tour. Dinner is at 6:00pm this evening and then the concert optional tour is at 8:15, so 7:30 you would need to meet to group to go to the concert and then you return around 10 pm. That night the ship is docked over night and will also be docked on Day 9 and will remain there until the next day.

Maggie

Reservations: Service

===========================================================

The Vienna Residence Orchestra at the Palais Auersperg was the same for Gate1. An entertaining evening. A nice, but crowded venue with all of the river boats and other tour groups.

Thanks. I'll pass the info on to out little group and see if they're interested.

We were on a Viking cruise and did the classical concert they offered. I forget the name of the group that did it, but it was for tourists, and it was very good. I think it was the Vienna Residence Orchestra. The venue, the Palais Auersperg, was very nice, and the convenience of being picked up dockside, and brought to the concert hall made things very easy. I believe this particular group does a lot of these "tourist" concerts, but it was composed of accomplished musicians and singers. We had a very enjoyable evening.

Personally I probably wouldn't know the difference. But one of the guys in our travel group is a retired music teacher and musician, so I thought we'd go for a big name orchestra if we could do it. We saw the London Symphony Orchestra perform last year following a UK cruise, and that was great. He really appreciated the opportunity to see one of the world's preeminent orchestras.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Dbsb, we're on the exact same cruise right after you. Please keep us updated on what you decide to do and what you find. We are also looking for an option that is not the ship's offering of the tourist concert. As far as I can tell, the ship stays in Vienna that evening, so at least we don't need to worry about the timing and missing the ship. Is that what it looks like to you?

I have an email into Gate1 trying to confirm the times we arrive and depart Vienna those 2 days. Should hear back in a day or two. Obviously the ship gets in early enough the first day to get to their optional concert, but the Vienna Boys Choir concert that day is 5:30pm which is probably a few hours earlier than theirs. And the website itinerary says they stay in Vienna the next evening but I just want to make sure that doesn't mean leaving before 11pm, which is probably when we'd make it back to the ship after an 8:15pm concert. I know there's always the chance of buying tickets for something on our own and then they go to waste because we're late, but we're OK taking that risk as long as we know that the assumed times look OK.

Here's a few of the links I found on concerts. It's too soon for the Philharmonic schedule yet, so we'll probably start looking more closely in April or May.

https://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/concerts/list

https://www.viennaconcerts.com/

I use this website for looking up the averages for any given month anywhere in the world...

http://www.weatherbase.com/

So for instance, April in Vienna averages 61F high, 46F low, and 1.5" precip.

Gate1 only provided the transportation related to the included and optional tours. The CD did provide information and help for people that wanted to use public transit or a taxi.

OK. Thanks again!

We docked near Nussdorf. If you start at the Nussdorf label on google maps satellite view and follow the river towards Vienna you will see the docking locations. Not walking distance at all. The Nussdorf Bahnhof station is about a quarter mile away.

Oh that sucks. Yeah, that's a little too far out to waste that much time walking. I'll have to figure out transportation options.

Did Gate1 provide a shuttle into town, or was everyone just on their own if they chose not to do a Gate1 optional tour?

The docking location is not close to downtown. So if you do plan your own concert you will need to plan for transportation to and from the ship. In most towns the docking location was very convenientm Vienna was the exception as it is from other lines as well.

 

The concert was entertaining, but it was basically an event for tourists. A few musicians, and a few dancers. Certainly not the Philharmonic.

Thanks. That's kinda what I figured, but it's hard to tell from their brief description. I'll explore some other options.

The ship dock at Reichsbrücke Dock, right?

Maybe we'll consider seeing a concert by the Vienna Boys Choir. Their venue is about a 1.5 mile walk from that docking location, which isn't too bad. We're OK with just walking that far.

We're booked on the Oct 12 Gate1 Monarch Princess 14-night Prague to Budapest. We'll probably do all of the optional tours, but there's one that we're unsure about -- the Classical Viennese Concert. Has anyone here done that one? We are interested in perhaps seeing a classic performance while there but maybe by the Vienna Philharmonic or something a little more well known like that. The description of the optional tour sounds it could be a little "low end" (if that makes any sense), and I'm having a hard time finding out anything more about it.

It would certainly be more convenient, since I presume the tour just picks us up and returns us to the ship. But it doesn't sound like it's too hard to find our way around on our own should we choose to get our own tickets to something else in town, right?

Thanks for any help.

I live in North Carolina and will be doing an Avalon cruise starting on May 22 with 3 days in Prague before heading to the 8 days on the Illumination. We will disembark in Budapest on June 1.

 

I am trying to figure out the best exit airport (ATL, CLT, GSP, AVL) and then picking a hub city so I can see some of Europe when I disembark at the end of the cruise.

 

I have been looking at Amsterdam, Paris, London, Athens, Rome, Dubrovnik. Regional flights have been running $100 or so, so I think it could be doable to visit a couple of cities/countries beyond the cruise. Have any of you done something like this?

 

Any suggestions or concerns? Thank you in advance!!

We added on a 2-night stop in Reykjavik on way to a Baltic cruise out of Amsterdam last year. That was great. Loved Iceland.

I often look for 3-leg itineraries when booking flights for cruises. Once in a while you'll find the fare is nearly the same (or rarely, even cheaper) to add a 3rd leg. I just use the 3rd party sites (Expedia, Orbitz, etc) to research (use the Multi-City option).