brightfeather

On 3/10/2022 at 7:56 PM, BermudaBound2014 said:

I think this is a bad idea. Let’s say someone unvaccinated tests positive 3 days Into their cruise. That means you (a vaccinated person) could end up locked in a quarantine room just because you sat next to the infected person during the comedy show. 
 

I believe tests and quarantine are best saved  for those who are actually symptomatic. 

Umm, cruise ship passengers right now, who are vaxxed (duh), are still getting it from other vaxxed passengers/crew and those cruise ship  passengers are being quarantined.  It doesn't make any difference.  And yes, if you go on a cruise tomorrow, you will get quarantined if you test positive.  Sounds like great fun to me.  Not.

We need to make a decision this weekend. We're definitely doing a Deluxe Suite in the Yacht Club on either the Seaside or the Meraviglia.  For those of you that have been on both or even just one - what did you like/dislike about each of them?  OVerall preference?  Is the Deluxe Suite YC cabin balcony bigger on the Seaside than on the Meraviglia (not including the forward facing Deluxe Suites on Meraviglia - Deck 15).

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated.  🙂

Hi,  does anyone know "when" these are usually released?  Thank you.

We've decided to do the Las Caletas tour.  Sounds like there is more to do there.  We were there before but it's been 10 years and from the YouTube videos I watched it looks like it's even better now.

Hi,

We will be here in April and am looking for YOUR experience as to which is more fun - or what your experience was.  They both look like decent beach days - but is the beach "better" at one than the other? I am hoping for a beach that is easy to get in and out of the water, and clear water?  Any insight is greatly appreciated as to what your experience was like at either of these and if you'd recommend it.

 

Thanks.

How much are the Retreat area cabanas for like a port day?  Where do we go to reserve one?

Thank you! 

Diane 😀

1 hour ago, JennyB1977 said:

@brightfeather & @CarelessAndConfused What I meant by "I missed" was that I must have left it in the cabin. It did not make it home with me.

 

Just went back through all of my pictures on google drive. I somehow managed to get pics of the Day 1 Patter...

 

 

 

 

Thank you Jenny!  I'm hoping this will give me some kind of idea of what to expect on our first sea day and what to recommend to our group.  I really appreciate that you took the time to do this.  Thanks again!  🙂

On 1/14/2020 at 5:43 PM, JennyB1977 said:

Here are the Patters. I somehow missed the first sea day. I also have uploaded the "Family Letter" from embarkation and the Disembarkation Information. I have all of the inserts for each port and the tender information if folks need/want that please ask.

At Sea 1.9.2020.pdf 4.45 MB · 60 downloads At Sea 1.10.2020.pdf 4.58 MB · 39 downloads Cabo San Lucas 1.6.2020.pdf 4.49 MB · 31 downloads Disembarkation Information.pdf 1.74 MB · 17 downloads Embarkation Day 1.4.2020.pdf 4.61 MB · 47 downloads Family Letter.pdf 1.27 MB · 37 downloads Mazatlan 1.7.2020.pdf 4.69 MB · 32 downloads Puerto Vallarta 1.8.2020.pdf 4.67 MB · 29 downloads

Hi Jenny, thank you for posting the patters! I have a group of 30 going in April so it's most helpful for me to plan.  Would you be able to post or email me the first sea day patter? I'd be truly grateful.  Dlyazzie@hotmail.com or post here? 

Thank you,

Diane

9 hours ago, skynight said:

How many depends on the cruise. I have seen lots and I have seen so few that they can just about get the 7 or 8 required to put on the show.

The audition is a song that you select from the ship's karaoke library. If selected the performance is from a list of about 150 songs, approximately half keyed for females and half males. These are the licensed songs for which the orchestra has charts. They are basically all pop/rock songs from standards to current day. I do see one musical theater song, Way We Were (A maj), on the performance song list. Don't see any others, but there are ballads. All performance songs are shortened versions, around 90 seconds. Have been on stage 4 times. My take away don't think of it as a competition. Think of it as putting on a show. What happens, happens. You never really know what will impress fellow passengers. It's not always the most accomplished performer that walks away with the trophy.

I'd sure love a list of those 150 songs if you'd be so kind?  We'll be on the Royal Princess in April and might be so inclined to participate.  I'm no Mariah Carey or Adele, but I did sing with an 8-part acapela in high school many years ago, church choirs, solos, concern choir, state competitions, etc., oh and karaoke, of course.  I have no grand delusions about winning, but it might be fun to participate.  Thank you in advance.

On 10/17/2019 at 3:22 PM, Cruisamaniac said:

We have found what seems like the perfect tour for us. Has anyone taken the "Scenic Barbados Coast To Coast 1/2 Day Tour"  By: RCR Tours or have any feedback concerning this tour? We will be traveling Dec 8, 2019 aboard the Freedom of the Seas.

Hi Cruisamaniac, we'll be on FOTS as well on that sailing.  If you haven't joined our roll call I hope you will.  We are also still trying to figure out some kind of land tour this time around since last time we did a sailing excursion while in Barbados 2.5 years ago.  

On 2/9/2019 at 11:00 AM, Hlitner said:

We are similar to the OP in terms of age and cruise experience and recently completed our first cruise on the MSC Divina (21 days) in the Yacht Club.  We were so pleased with the experience that we immediately (while onboard) booked another Divina cruise (same cabin).  The Yacht Club area (and its dedicated Le Muse restaurant) is a real haven from the rest of the ship.  But for most entertainment you will need to leave the confines of the YC to take advantage of the many entertainment venues around the ship.  On our cruise we had an excellent rock duo (from Italy) which quickly made us fans.  There was room in the lounge for those who wanted to dance, but a majority of folks were just happy to hear a duo that could handle the Beatles, Eagles, and even Pink Floyd without missing a beat.  There were other bands (in different lounges) which also seemed competent and one could choose between Rock, Jazz, some Country and even classical.

 

Service in the YC venues was absolutely amazing...while service outside the YC was fair to awful.  Our thought was that with the YC you do get what you pay for, and for those who want to cruise on a  budget outside the YC...they also get what they pay for :).  In a sense, MSC is trying to offer different Experiences for different folks (based on their personal preferences and budget) and to a great degree they succeed.

 

Hank

We had similar experiences while on NCL - the Jewel and Dawn.  Suite passengers are treated royally, but I would not be able to recommend cruising on NCL (nor would I) in anything less than a suite, due to a lesser quality in services elsewhere.

Hi,

Just trying to figure out which would be the better ship.  Same stops, pricing pretty similar.  We have a variety of ages going.  We've been on Princess 3 times, Carnival 2 times (and 9 other cruises on other lines).  We usually go in full suites, but would consider mini-suites.  Our various friends will book whichever they want.  I just wanted to get some points of view from you all.  🙂

Well, I think I've narrowed it down to Princess or Carnival's new Panorama ship going there.  Our friends with kids might like that better than the Royal Princess, but we'll figure it out.  :-)  

Hi everyone,

 

Can anyone help me with "when" the cruise lines will be coming out with itineraries for the Mexican Riviera for January - April 2020?  Is it just going to be Carnival & Princess?  What about Royal Caribbean and HAL, or NCL?  Any  help is greatly appreciated.

Were you given any reason for the vibration?

No explanation. Just that they knew it was an issue. The pool deck above was NOT an issue at all. I'd attach a video I recorded, but I can't seem to be able to. Our Concierge was sympathetic and offered a sleeping cabin down the hall but I paid to sleep in my suite, not schlepping down the hall in my jammies. Major disappointment. It wasnt until my 3rd complaint that they even offered compensation of $750, as we were getting off the ship.

 

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We love aft cabins as well. Which is precisely why we chose this aft wrap-around cabin on the 8th deck on the Eurodam. We have been on for other aft suite cabins never had an issue except when rough weather. I did my due diligence and looked online on cruise critic and YouTube as well as other websites to see if there was any problems with these aft cabins. As I stated, our neighbors were moved after the 1st night.

 

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Yes, I did. I found nothing about previous problems. But again, HAL moved our neighbors after the first night and we found a towel tucked under the 60" TV on the 3rd night so obviously an issue.

 

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We were just on the Eurodam, 8173, aft Neptune Suite. Our neighbors in the balcony cabin to the right of us were moved after the first night. We had constant (awful) vibration from Day 1. I figured since we were going northbound against the Pacific current with eastward winds from the Pacific that that was the reason for our horrible noise/vibration. It wasn't until we headed southbound from Glacier Bay on the 4th day that I was concerned. I have video of the noise/vibration. I've been on 13 cruises and this was our 4th aft suite, so I know that weather, currents can be an issue with vibrations. This was unlike anything I'd experienced ever before. someone previously had put a towel behind the tv on the wall due to the noise. Let's just say I did not sleep well 5 out of the 7 nights we were onboard. We've been on the older Adventure of the Seas in an aft suite, last year, so I do know what I'm talking about, as well on the NCL Dawn and Jade in aft suites (3 times), I'm no novice, but this was beyond ridiculous. Obviously our neighbors were smarter than we were after the first night and got moved.

Hi Diane:

Your cruise is just a short time away and I'm sure you're excited. I want to clarify about your cabin. Yes, it was the one we had, 8173. I had listed 8073 in my review incorrectly. I'd be interested to know what shore excursions you've booked. Then again, I can just wait for your review. Our cabin stewards (and probably yours) were Adi and Jamah and they were just fantastic. We usually tip our cabin stewards at the beginning of the cruise ($10.00 per steward) and the same amount at the end. However, my wife (Denise) decided to tip them daily in addition. I'm not suggesting you do the same but offer it as information only. You will be billed a daily room fee of $15.00 which HAL (and any cruise line for that matter) says goes to the overall salary of the crew member. That's not true. Cruise lines pocket that fee and only pass on a portion to the crew member.

 

I expanded your "signature" and see that you've cruised on Princess (more like HAL); RCCL; and Carnival. HAL is NOTHING like Carnival or RCCL. The food is much better and the atmosphere is much more refined. Actually, Carnival owns HAL but fortunately none of the bad decor and furnishings of Carnival have found there way onto HAL ships. My opinion only. Like I said in my review, I'm a snob. There are no stupid pool games and contests on HAL and overall, HAL is much more sedate. It's not boring sedate, there is plenty to do at all times.

 

If you've not already done so I would encourage you to book the specialty restaurants from home (Canaletto; Pinnacle; and Tamarind). They are fantastic. However, you might be the kind of folks who prefer to eat in the MDR for the entire cruise. That's fine. You should always do whatever makes you feel comfortable. After all, it's your cruise.

 

That's it for now on this rainy, cloudy Sunday of Labor Day weekend. If I think of anything more I'll let you know. Also, if you have anymore questions, fire away.

Regard,

Paul and Denise

 

 

Hi again, well we are back from our cruise. The weather was great, the food was amazing and yes, we did eat in Tamarind twice and the Pinnacle Grill for dinner once. Plus we used the Pinnacle Grill for breakfast on three mornings including disembarkation day. Entertainment was good, scenery was amazing.

 

The only problem we encountered was the tremendous vibration in our cabin on all days/nights except for two when we were only going a short distance and therefore, going much slower, to our next destination. I've never encountered this type of noise and vibration on any of our other four aft suites, except during stormy weather, which is to be expected. It was so bad that our neighbor to our right, was moved after the first night. I thought it would subside after we turned south and going with the Pacific current and if we were moving more slowly, but nope. It wasn't the noise so much (I wear earplugs anyways), but the vibrations, so much so the tv shook all the time, the cabinets made noise and the ceiling as well.

 

I didn't sleep much. :eek:

You too! We leave Thursday morning. See you soon!

 

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We will be with them too.

 

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Hi Diane:

Yes, the Hot Tubs are available and we saw them used quite a bit. We did not use them (just the Hydro Pool in the Spa). Also, yes, the aft corner Neptune Suites are somewhat smaller than the ones along the side of the ship (deck 7 primarily) because of the side deck part of the wrap around veranda. It made no difference to us. Be sure to eat in the up-sale restaurants. Are you on Eurodam or another ship? Regardless, thanks for responding and have a stunning cruise to Alaska.

Thanks,

Paul

 

Hi Paul,

We are also on the Eurodam, and are getting so excited to be on her. I knew before we booked that the Aft NS's were smaller, but the wrap around deck is what hooked us...especially for Alaska. And the fact that it's a covered balcony was icing on the cake, so to speak. I'm sure I'll do a report since it's my first time on Holland America and it'll be fun to compare with what we've done in the past. I always try to find the best in things, so it won't be "apples to apples", but I'll do my best. :-)

 

Diane

Hi DMG,

Sounds like you had a wonderful vacation! It was great to hear about your aft Neptune Suite as we will be in 8173 in 18 days. We chose that deck for the Neptune suite fully knowing that we were down one deck from the pool area, but thought pretty much the same thing as you did -- not as much use during Alaska cruises. Besides, the view from the corner suites has to be spectacular. We are so excited!

 

We are also from the Twin Cities - Farmington to be exact, so the weather shouldn't be much different than our fall season (or spring) here. I understand September is rainier than the others, so we'll come prepared. It's a bummer about Glacier Bay, but you can't do anything about the weather, and we'll be disappointed too, but that's cruising for ya.

 

I wish we'd gotten the included beverage package when we booked but it wasn't available. I thought we got a pretty good deal though, considering the full suites are generally quite a bit more than say the Signature suite. I also know these aft corner suites are smaller than the others, but I'm all about the views from that wrap-around deck. :-)

 

Did you use the hot tubs at all? I like using ours at home when it's cold outside, so I hope they'll all be available for using while on this trip.

 

This is our first trip to Alaska, but my 13th cruise overall I believe. Any other words of wisdom for us?

 

Thank you! :D

Diane

For those who said Sitka was their favorite port, would you tell me what you did while you were there? We haven't made up our minds as to what to do there. Thanks!

When during the year does H.A. offer the drink package as a perk for buying a cruise? Is it the same time every year, or?