One Practical/Reasonable Thing?

[kazu]

They used to board no earlier than 1 pm and the largest ship was about 50GRT. Now, they need the man power to get the rooms ready for an 11:30 embarkation and the new ship are so much bigger (longer and taller) it'd take extra time for those crew members helping to take your things that there'd be long waits for an escort to return and do the same for the next wave of passengers.

 

Now, a champaign toast on boarding, or on deck during sail away - I'd vote for a return of that tradition for sure.

 

That would be nice - even a sail a way party would be nice :)

[kazu]

Another vote here for making cabins & balconies smoke-free.:)

It would also be nice if we could count on one side of outer decks to be clearly designated smoke-free, and strictly enforced.

 

 

The outer decks are already smoke free on one side so I am thinking you mean to make the balconies smoke free on one side?

 

That would seem a reasonable compromise and perhaps make everyone happy :confused:

[Nanner]

While I have no desire to listen in my room to the CD beckoning me to bingo, on our partial Panama Canal transit last year (Zuiderdam) I did wish we could hear some commentary from the crew in our cabin. When we did a full transit on Celebrity, the narrative was available in the room.

 

I swear I remember past HAL cruises where there were speakers in the cabin (Susan the CD and her "Toodle-oo" come to mind). As long as we could turn them down/off when we don't care to listen, it would be grand to have available for times that you are transiting a canal, or if a pod of dolphins are off starboard, etc.

 

This is a nice thread, and I have to add my support for at least limiting smoking to one side of the ship and enforcing the rule.

[rafinmd]

Not sure if it's practical or not but more electrical outlets.

 

Roy

[Padraic]

2. Position the cabin TV so that the remote works without raising the remote above your head.

 

Amen! I'd go for this one.

[Oceans&Rivers]

Eliminate smoking in the guest cabins, including the balconies.

 

That would get us to book HAL again, for sure. :)

[Jemima]

Limit smoking to one small outdoor area.

More 2 person tables in the lido.

[mightycruisequeen]

The outer decks are already smoke free on one side so I am thinking you mean to make the balconies smoke free on one side?

 

That would seem a reasonable compromise and perhaps make everyone happy :confused:

Actually, I meant I'd like to see all cabins & balconies smoke-free.

As far as outside decks, I'd like to see enforcement on the non-smoking side. (Pax on HAL seem to smoke wherever they want outside:(.)

[Hobbsey]

Limit smoking to one small outdoor area.

More 2 person tables in the lido.

 

On the pier you mean?

 

I can't be that mean spirited. I do smoke a cigar now and then and my wife is a 2 pack a week smoker. She'll not use the balcony and is good about only smoking out on deck, not inside at all.

[sevenseasnomad]

A return of the Yum-yum Man. On our most recent cruise, he was available to hand out his treats to early fixed diners, but not to those of us who were assigned to late seating.

 

When we inquired, we were told he had been assigned to other duties after 9.

 

Anyone else notice his absence on your cruise?

[canadarocks]

Make Happy Hours work for both seating times.

 

On our cruise in March there was a Happy Hour from 4-5 in the Ocean Bar and another from 8-9 in the Crow's Nest! The first one made sense for those with early dining, but the second?:confused: A 7-8 Happy Hour please!!

 

And make the show times consistently 8 & 10, across the board, on all ships.

And what's with all the cool "game show" games at 9:00 PM, when many of us are eating dinner? :rolleyes:

 

Can you tell I eat at 8:00? ;)

[jtl513]

Does anyone know why it's a state secret how much shore excursions cost? (unless you're logged on as a booked passenger, looking at your own itinerary.)

There's a way to get exact prices without being booked or logged in. Go to Find A Cruise for a specific ship and date, and advance to the page where it shows the itinerary. Right above the itinerary table there is a button which says VIEW EXCURSIONS FOR THIS CRUISE. Click it and (unless the cruise is a long way off) in a few seconds a pdf brochure will open with full excursion descriptions and exact prices. Beside that long button there's a small one that says Email This Brochure, and you can have the pdf sent to yourself or anyone else.

 

Not sure if it's practical or not but more electrical outlets.

One easy way would be to provide a standard power strip in all cabins ... so that's my practical & reasonable suggestion. They would have to be "chained" somehow to keep them from being stolen, though.

[luxurysailer]

1)Have canned music of the same genre that is being played by the musicians in the lounges that would be turned on when the musicians go on break.

 

2)During times in which lounges with dance floors don't have scheduled activities, turn on the canned music and let pax enjoy themselves. On our most recent HAL cruise on the Zuiderdam there was a lot of down time during prime evening hours during which the Queen's Lounge was sitting idle for a couple of hours at a time. Various lounges also have a lot of down time on sea days. In either case, lounges with down time at any time are a total waste.

 

Both of these options would cost very little, would be potential revenue enhancers, and would provide a more enjoyable on board experience for those who are looking for more dancing opportunities.

[English_in_Spain]

Have the Neptune Lounge open 24 hours. It would be nice to go there for a coffee early morning or late at night. The concierge does not need to be there all the time.

 

Also have alcoholic drinks served there in the evenings.

 

HAL could learn a lot from Royal Caribbean regarding the 'Suite Lounge'

 

Also, reduce the volume of music by the pool. Several times we were sitting quietly and the HalCats arrived and blasted us out so we had to leave. Why do people think that loud music equals people having a good time.

[Calgon1]

Bring back -

 

The welcome aboard flute of champagne, and

The white-gloved stewards escorting you to your cabin, and

The h'ordeuvres in the lounges during the pre-dinner hour.

Keep the string quartet in the atrium during embarkation. (I understand on some ships this is no longer done).

[sail7seas]

We've been sailing HAL since about 1991 and I don't ever recall HAL offering a flute of champagne on embarkation.

 

Eurodam, Maasdam and Noordam all offered us hot hors d'ouerves in some lounges during cocktail hour on our cruises in the last year.

 

[oceanswimmer]

Just came off the Nieuw Amsterdam and would have liked to see movies at a different time. They were at 7pm and 10pm -- since we ate at around 7pm we couldn't do the first show and with having to get up about 6am for shore excursions 10pm was too late for us to do the 2nd showing since we wouldn't have gotten back to our room until midnight. If they had a showing at 9pm that would have been perfect for us.

 

Also, it would be really nice if the movies they showed had a theme that matched the next day shore excursion. Just by coincidence TCM was showing Gladiator the night before Rome which was pretty cool. They could have shown a Grace Kelly movie before Monaco, etc. or one on the Grand Prix.

 

Also, it would be nice if they had the daily activities posted up in the Lido -- too many times we were sitting there after dinner wondering what we could do next.

 

They also need to keep the Lido open later than 8:30pm -- twice we came back from shore excursions and barely made it back in time. There were a lot of unhappy people who came in after us when they found out it was closed.

[Calgon1]

Got the champagne on our honeymoon cruise on the (last) Nieuw Amsterdam in 1998. And not just because it was our honeymoon either. I remember being very impressed as we entered the atrium and a steward exchanged a champagne for my bride's carry-on ...

[mamaofami]

More chaises forward and aft of the lanai cabins on the promenade deck.

[WeLoveCruising]

A new one of mine to add:

Make bigger glasses for iced tea available in the Lido

 

And to echo others -

Eliminate smoking on balconies

Post the Lido menu on both ends is a great idea

As well as keep the Neptune open (unstaffed) 24 hours for self serve teas and coffees

[bcd2010]

I'm impressed- so many of these ideas would cost nothing or nearly nothing to implement!

[78232]

A copy of the MDR lunch and dinner menu delivered to all cabins on a daily basis or have them visable on the tv screen would be wonderful.

[vbmom87]

Many great ideas have been contributed. I just have one: Eliminate smoking in cabins and in the Crow's Nest.

[HAL4ME]

Stop calling them Verandah Suites call them what they are...only a balcony and also charge less for them as well...double the price of an outside sometimes is way too much!:mad::eek::mad:

[edmusic]

A new one of mine to add:

Make bigger glasses for iced tea available in the Lido

Amen, sister. Whenever I went to get iced tea, I'd bring back three or four of the small glasses so I'd have enough. Imagine how much less dish washing there would be not to mention less energy and resources used in cleaning the dirty glasses.