Considering first HAL cruise and have some questions!

[dobes3kh]

We are looking at a cruise with HAL and before we even book, I have a couple of questions that may be dealbreakers.

 

1. Does HAL still allow smoking on balconies? (The smoking thread is very long to go through and the last couple of pages weren't even related to this issue so I would hope that someone can provide a definitive answer for this!).

 

2. Flight Ease---is it possible to check out various flight prices without having to book the cruise first? We are Celebrity cruisers for all of our cruises except one on RCI and we use Choice Air which provides flight prices without having to book a cruise first.

 

Thanks in advance. I'm sure we'll have many more questions!

[jtl513]

1. yes

2. your TA can and should do that for you

[VTcruisenut]

We are looking at a cruise with HAL and before we even book, I have a couple of questions that may be dealbreakers.

 

1. Does HAL still allow smoking on balconies? (The smoking thread is very long to go through and the last couple of pages weren't even related to this issue so I would hope that someone can provide a definitive answer for this!).

 

2. Flight Ease---is it possible to check out various flight prices without having to book the cruise first? We are Celebrity cruisers for all of our cruises except one on RCI and we use Choice Air which provides flight prices without having to book a cruise first.

 

Thanks in advance. I'm sure we'll have many more questions!

HAL does allow smoking on balconies which has been discussed on this site in great depth. Obviously some pros, and cons. One poster on Facebook recently was on a cruise and her verandah cabin was between two smokers of cigars and she was miserable. One reason we don't bother to pay for a balcony.

 

Flights? I always book my own - in fact this time booked our flight to Fort Lauderdale back in August knowing there were at least 3 cruises to choose from at HAL for the date we wanted. As it turned out, our cruise price dropped considerably in early January and we did book it. I have never found the combo flight and cruise prices to be cheaper than what I could book on my own separately. A matter of choice, because I don't use a TA.

[dobes3kh]

Thanks for the responses.

 

We are extremely anti-smoking and I was hoping that HAL had implemented restrictions regarding this. We took a RCI cruise Oct 2013 in Europe and there were tons of smokers and we weren't able to use our balcony---had smokers on each side, above and below and it seemed they never left their balconies :(

RCI since banned smoking on balconies so we are willing to try them again.

 

I book all our travel arrangements including air----have never found a TA that is able to provide us with air arrangements that are anywhere near the price I am able to find.

 

Too bad about the smoking policy----we will have to really rethink whether or not to book the cruise we are considering. HAL has some amazing itineraries and that is why we are looking at them.

[take us away]

Have heard that HAL air fares are cheaper than what one can find but only for flights to and from Europe. The farther forward your cabin, the less smoke exposure when sailing if you are concerned about veranda smoking. Do agree about HAL's unique itineraries but there may be non-smoking lines that may offer similar cruises.

[Krazy Kruizers]

HAL air fares may be cheaper, but I have read some horror stories about the flights people ended up with.

We prefer to book our own air.

[nana51]

I've been on 5 cruises and never had smokers next to me. It happens of course but don't let it deter you.

[ithaca gal]

I've been on 5 cruises and never had smokers next to me. It happens of course but don't let it deter you.

 

We haven't always had smokers next to us, but we did this time and could not use our balcony when they were on theirs. We really, really like sailing on HAL, but are considering "no balcony smoking" lines after this most recent experience.

 

I have nothing against smokers (my very best friend is a smoker -- who would give anything to be able to quit) but I just want to enjoy my balcony without smoke.

[PathfinderEss]

I would say in the majority of our cruises we have also been very fortunate not to have smokers around our balcony cabins.

[Susie51]

I've become accustomed to having a balcony, but fortunately have never had problems with smokers next to us. HAL is a very nice cruise line. I hope it works out well for you.

[jtl513]

HAL air fares may be cheaper, but I have read some horror stories about the flights people ended up with.

Have you heard any such stories that happened with the new FlightEase program? It's a totally different situation now, and you have great flexibility in choosing your flights. We have found that one-way or open-jaw flights are substantially cheaper with FlightEase than anything we could find on our own, and with good routing.

.

Edited February 9, 2015 by jtl513

[JJPacer]

Because of the uncertainty of being able to enjoy a balcony due to smokers in the vicinity, we always choose an OV or inside cabin when we sail HAL. We choose a balcony on other cruise lines that do not allow balcony smoking. We can find a nice quiet location to enjoy the ocean somewhere on deck.

[summersigh]

I've become accustomed to having a balcony, but fortunately have never had problems with smokers next to us. HAL is a very nice cruise line. I hope it works out well for you.

 

We've been as fortunate as you Susie. In fact, we've sailed RCL after they banned smoking from the balconies and smelled more cigarette smoke on our RCL balcony than on HAL :rolleyes:

 

Like others have said ... I'm not saying it doesn't happen to some folks but rather that that hasn't been our experience.:cool: