OlsSalt

This was the crazy part - we booked last minute when only ocean view cabins were available, which is why we booked the additional cabana. Then verandah cabins became available so we paid to upgrade to one on Deck 4 - the extended length verandahs. (Sorry I did not use the "Club Orange" upgrade option to get both the upgraded and Club Orange in the same package - live and learn). We debated up to the last minute about cancelling this now no longer needed cabana, but was swayed by the good reports to give it a try, just to see if we enjoyed having the extra privacy and tranquility. Or if it might make sense to book a cheaper ocean view cabin along with a cabana, in the future. Since the future of HAL looks like larger ships, it was worth trying the cabana experiment just to see. Hope our experience helps others to weigh this additional expense option, with their eyes open, and make sure there is a clear understanding about what to expect for the price. Yes, in retrospect an upgraded cabin is the better option, or a good set of headphones. Plus, it is the luck of the draw as I stated, others on the other side of the deck were not impacted. BTW: Internet connections inside the cabana were very spotty. So if one plans using this private space for working online, this is not a guarantee either.

The onboard feeling was much more "old Hal" on the New Years cruise, compared to the Christmas cruise -which was an unmitigated zoo - but we knew that upfront.

Sent a message on the Navigator immediately asking to cancel on the first day. Did get a phone call from Guest Services who said she did not know if we could get a refund - she would need to check with accounting. She never got back to us, we decided to continue with the contract and use the space -why lose out of both ends of this contract? The biggest impact was when Club HAL was closed mid-day; less so when they were on a shore excursion while we stayed on the ship, only for the noise and intrusions to return when they came back. Final days, again made a report to Guest Services and stated ongoing problems for the record - no response obviously. Basic question - why were we asked to accommodate to failed expectations while the other offending party was not? We both paid the same amounts - two adults using a two person cabana; compared to this party paying for a two person cabana, but used by 8 people - adults and six children? Did they in fact rent four 2-person cabanas? It did not look like it, since they had an extra table set up outside and all the food delivery for 8 people collected in one cabana. Two problems - (1) lack of clear stated policies - I picked up my expectations from available online official HAL promotional material (which I just posted here). (2) Failure to enforce policies, if they indeed are as stated in their own promotional material. Caveat Emptor. Luck of the draw that our cabana was close to this large family group - others on the other side of the deck may not have been so immediately impacted. We asked for a change of cabana's but was told they were all sold out - which makes renting a cabana a gambling proposition, if you want "tranquility and quiet".

(NB: this was from 2017 - obviously the adults-only terms have changed) - from HAL facts link to HAL official Guest Services site) 2017 CABANA PRICING CABANA CLUB/RETREAT CABANAS for two adults with two loungers ms Eurodam, ms Koningsdam, ms Noordam, ms Nieuw Amsterdam, ms Oosterdam, ms Westerdam, ms Zuiderdam PACKAGE Cabana Club/Retreat Cabana per day — port day Cabana Club/Retreat Cabana per day — sea day Cabana Club/Retreat Cabana Package — up to 7 days Cabana Club/Retreat Cabana Package — up to 10 days Cabana Club/Retreat Cabana Package — up to 15 days Cabana Club/Retreat Cabana Package — up to 20 days Cabana Club/Retreat Cabana Package — over 20 days RETREAT CABANAS ms Oosterdam, ms Westerdam RETREAT CABANAS ms Noordam, ms Zuiderdam CABANA CLUB/RETREAT FAMILY CABANAS for four adults with four loungers ms Eurodam, ms Koningsdam, ms Nieuw Amsterdam, ms Oosterdam, Westerdam, ms Zuiderdam M 5 4 3 2 1 W Del Sol PACKAGE Family Cabana Club/Retreat Cabana per day — port day Family Cabana Club/Retreat Cabana per day — sea day Family Cabana Club/Retreat Cabana Package — up to 7 days Family Cabana Club/Retreat Cabana Package — up to 10 days Family Cabana Club/Retreat Cabana Package — up to 15 days Family Cabana Club/Retreat Cabana Package — up to 20 days Family Cabana Club/Retreat Cabana Package — over 20 days

From the Holland America blog:

Recent Konnigsdam Lincoln Center - it was packed, when they were playing straight classical pieces - got standing ovations - they were superb. Smaller crowds, when required to play watered down, out of the classical genre selections. Loved having this long standing HAL tradition continue and the space offered for this was lovely in all regards - except for the acoustic compromises being an open-sided space on one side. This is Chamber Music - to be played in a smaller more intimate setting; not on the World Stage and NEVER with the use of microphones to fill such a large inanimate space if offered only as a special evening performance. The early evening, pre-dinner hours worked best for us to have a few special musical moments to wind down from the day. Agree, this would be a loss to a long standing HAL tradition for evening "chamber music". May this tradition continue on the smaller ships, even if reduced to only a two- person ensemble since many of them were quite good.

HAL promotional material claims the Retreat Cabanas on Pinnacle class ships to be tranquil, peaceful spaces, adults only, with occupancy restricted to 2 adults in most retreat cabanas along two "family" cabanas limited to four adult occupants. Our recent experience on the Konnigsdam - New Years cruise - was anything but. At approximately a $500 surcharge for 9 day cruise, we learned our tranquil, adults only space would be shared two cabanas away with a family with six children under the age o 12 who were given free reign of the central area while making excessive services demands on the two staff attendants. (They were not in the "family" cabana, but the kids did invade this adjacent family cabana space at will to play games, when the reserved occupants were not present.) Guest Services complaints by myself and other Retreat Cabana occupants were ignored, and we were told there was nothing they would do about this, let alone assure us we could cancel and get our money back. So we hung in there and tried to work around it. We finally stopped going. So did another adjacent occupant who shared in the complaints. We were told we had to accommodate to them, instead of asking this large family unit to accommodate to our clear expectations about the use of this reserved space. Cabana steward told us after our first complaints, they wanted to make "everyone happy" - yet they only made the large family happy; not the other impacted cabana occupants. Besides being greeted by the unexpected numbers of young occupants, there was also the awful loud music that plagues far too many other areas of the ship. At least we got this music turned down, again with the support of other cabana occupants who also expected this to be a quiet retreat space. The sounds of the sea and waves is what we personally find tranquil and peaceful. Asked if this music could be turned off instead of just lowered in volume, the staff attendant was shocked by the request and said not possible, but at least it was reduced to be minimally intrusive. Overall retreat cabana experience was a C -: breach of expectations; no, peace and or occupancy limits; not adults only, food delivery service took well over a half hour or 45 minute, so items arrived cold - pick sandwiches, salads and potato chips if you want predictable choices. A few chocolate strawberries and a glass of white sparkling wine at the end of the afternoon for a "reserved" lounger was not value added for the expense in our final assessment, especially since Guest Services refused to honor the original expectations. There are plenty of loungers all over the ship, with speedier access to Lido food for...... free. And with a little searching one can find a few spots around the ship, blissfully free from the ubiquitous piped in music. (Port side Crows Nest special meeting room, Ocean Bar -daytime, window seating outside Club Orange-daytime .......and ironically the elevators...... which do not have piped-in elevator music!) Report from a long time "Old Hal" 600 day plus (S,R, Vista ships) cruiser who found this first experience on a Pinnacle Class ship to be a 50/50 good/bad experience. The Gelato Bar was the one 100% happy experience, even with the minimal surcharge. It was delicious.

Agree, one must solve for "they" first, in order to effect change. Then solve for why.

The "leisure and hospitality" sector of our economy will need new branding.

Contact HAL guest services ahead of time and arrange for any special dietary requests.

"Show Me" the Trieste train station - looks fairly simple and direct - a seven track station and all reports are it is clean and easy to use. Be sure to have one euro coins, if you wish to use the restrooms. https://showmethejourney.com/train-travel-info/countries/italy/cities/trieste/rail-stations/trieste-centrale/

Helpful tool for tracking Northern Lights from University of Alaska: https://www.gi.alaska.edu/monitors/aurora-forecast

The glass domed Lido is a favorite and toasty spot when cruising in cold weather destinations- all the chairs that normally face the pool get turned around to face outwards to the sea and the passing scenery.

Who are also certified to be fully vaxxed, boosted and tested. What is the next threshold to add?

Just speculating, since this has come up on other threads - indicating HAL will deal only with the travel agent and not directly with the passenger on some matters.

My sister has been debating about the 71 day Grand Africa - October 2022, and even was going to spring for a Neptune Suite if she could, but decided to hold off simply because of all the ongoing "covid craziness". There will be no future for cruising until this gets settled. Asking everyone to follow strict guidelines and still find people get "covid" which throws them into quarantine or off the ship who knows where is just no a sustainable business plan. Sad to say. I want cruising to continue but not under these highly variable and erratic demands. "Case numbers" and "test results" are too variable and even meaningless at this time to allow any solid future guidelines for passengers to risk both vacation time and the cash. Sounds like the large majority of passengers are doing just fine, until they get the dreaded and random test results or minor symptoms. Yet, the entire industry is held in this prison of daily uncertainty. I can only hope once they analyze the ongoing data from the past few months in this remarkable closed-system experiment, they will find more stable footing.

One typically does not sail HAL for trendy decor. But for solid, if often fusty, value and the travel experience itself. Yes, please look at the dates of the photos. Most ships have been refreshed over the past few years. But you will not find the same level of glitz on most HAL ships. Just more traditional and comfortable, unless you stick to only their very newest builds.

Makes one wonder what in fact our common prior experiences with "cruise crud" was, which was also endemic on most if not all cruises, no matter which brand. Short-term URI, which could knock you out for a few days.

There are no showy central atrium activity centers on HAL ships, but there are very nice public areas with sea views. At one time HAL ships were known for their vast libraries - which gives you an idea of what the focus was for a lot of the longtime and loyal HAL passengers. More diffuse and quiet. The retractable glass dome Lido pool area, with windows facing out to the sea acts as a main central gathering area on HAL ships - quite pleasant and usable in any weather. Then there are various smaller lounges for other public gatherings, along with the Crows Nest for forward looking views from the top deck. The brand new larger ships do have a more spectacular central staircase, but it appears to be more for sheer "transportation" floor to floor than a dedicated activity area. The libraries have been scaled back and almost eliminated on the newer HAL ships. But one comment one hears about HAL ship design is they keep you more focused that you are at sea, rather than driving one into indoor activities.

The larger sq ft number for cabin sizes is one-off - may refer to only a few in odd locations, or the dedicated handicap cabins which I believe are larger. More typical is the smaller cabin size. Having sailed on most of the HAL ship classes, except for the very newest ones, the first thing we noticed was the smaller cabin sizes once we left the older S and R class ships. Not that it is that material - they are still well-designed cabins with adequate storage, but there was just a more expansive feeling, more maneuvering room and a few more drawers and closets shelves in the older cabins. The brand new ships are a bit disconcerting in their more cramped layouts. But I have not been on one yet so maybe they are just fine too. I always overpack anyway, but we do take the longer cruises so this could be more my problem than it actually mattering for shorter cruises and more pragmatic packers. The hardest cruises for packing are those that go through several climate zones so you need a little of everything.

WSJ has a very good documentary about the current "supply chain" issues going on right now - there are weak links up and down the commerce chain. It is called "Chain Reaction" and I think you can get it off their website - no fees.

I would never call the HAL experience one where one gets "fawned or doted on". Save that for the high priced cruise lines. We like smaller ships for their sense of space intimacy and connection to the sea. We don't like "fawning or doting" either and why we never went back on Crystal - too much of that. HAL felt just right - reserved, but professional and always courteous service. We don't ask for much but always enjoy the overall friendly and helpful attitudes of HAL crews that make them very pleasant ships overall.

I love the older ships and will always choose them first, but for this itinerary not sure it matters which one you take - small and more intimate, easier to get around with larger cabins, or larger ship, newer and more onboard variety but smaller cabins. Do you want to share the experience with about 1400 other passengers or 2500 other passengers? Great itinerary. Good thing, you won't lose either way.

Even taking the "highest bidder" for suite upsells is a gamble - not sure who gets to decide what and when they get the highest offer,, because once we turned down an offer, counter-offered and was turned down. Only to learn later when cabin numbers were announced, that we got a Neptune suite anyway, for no extra cost. They took a gamble they would get more than what we counter-offered, but apparently they did not so the roles got reversed on that one. Too bad they were not on top of our former offer, because we would have been willing to pay them that amount. Sometimes there are Neptunes available with some major, but not material, flaws, like a large crack in the verandah window (behind the curtains) that they know they can't sell to a full price Neptune customer, but still can book it as a throw away "free" to someone who might be a little more forgiving - like the higher star Mariners, who pretty much know the ups and downs of the HAL brand by then, and like HAL anyway. We always have a per diem in mind - how much more will we pay per day for an upsell to a Neptune and if we get close to that, we take it. If not we stick with our original choice. And we still look very carefully at the location of any upsell, because they can be some clinkers even at the higher suite levels. We don't think there is much benefit if the Neptune Lounge is on another floor or even a long passage way away on the larger ships. I recall one complaint about a Neptune Suite located right under the ping pong table in the Lido on one ship - hadn't thought about that but they found it was a pretty annoying sound intrusion. So that would not be a bargain upsell at any price. (maybe!)

Oceania could have given us a free cruise for what they have paid for postage and heavy mailings to us often several times a week. One draw back a lot of these other ships have is no glass covered Lido/pool zone like on HAL ships, which lets you enjoy feeling like you are "outside" when the weather outside is frankly wretched. Plus HAL's wrap around walking decks make HAL ships our continued first choice. I feel most at sea on HAL ships due to their wide use of outside view windows and deck traffic plans, but still with enough comforts of home when the sea has other intentions to not be so welcoming.