LAFFNVEGAS

I sent a message but did not think it went through but it did, or at least they just zoomed into Wind Surf, she looks pretty with the sun shining on her in the late afternoon sun.

Just call into Holland America normal Customer Service, they will still assist event hough you have a HAL PCC, they will apply it for you.

A beautiful day in Sint Maarten today, Wind Surf is alone today so doubtful the the Web Cam Operator will zoom in but will try to send them a message again.

I think it is more that you see very few kids and they do not really cater to kids.

Windstar Cruises ranked number one for Best Boutique Cruise Line  and Wind Spirit was voted Best Adult Only Cruise.

And in a Very Large category of all cruise lines Windstar came in number 3 for Best Ocean Cruise Line.

These are some pretty good numbers for Windstar.

https://10best.usatoday.com/interests/explore/best-cruise-ship-cruise-line-2024/

USA Today has done their yearly Best of Cruise categories and Eurodam came in Number one for Best Alaska Cruise.

https://10best.usatoday.com/awards/travel/best-alaska-cruise-2024/

Holland America also had some other mentions in other categories

https://10best.usatoday.com/interests/explore/best-cruise-ship-cruise-line-2024/

Bon Voyage!!! Wishing you an amazing cruise!!

I have done 2 Japan Cruises 2017 and 2019 both on Diamond and totally agree that Princess and the Diamond Princess definitely know Japan and you will get a more Japanese feel. Princess tends to know the various regulations and rules and can change in Japan and things tend to go a lot smoother. But with that being said the itinerary for Diamond is not very good and the Celebrity itinerary is definitely much better.

While I do not know for sure but I am guessing not, I am noticing that the ships are selling out prior to the sail date. There might be an odd itinerary that may just have an opening but it appears in very recent times WS is not having problems selling out their inventory in advance.

18 hours ago, Pudgesmom said:

Do you know if that Webcam is at Holland House?

Yes, it is at Holland House. They actually have an excellent web cam with great zoom on the camera but that needs to be done by the operator of the web cam.

It was a very beautiful day in St Maarten, not at all windy or overcast. Guessing the web cam operator was not watching the web cam today because it never zoomed in even for sail away for Anthem of the Seas and at their Sail Away there was over 40 viewers. So not expecting them to zoom in for Wind Surf in about an hour.

The sun is shining on Wind Surf and looks like the aft is probably enjoying a nice sunset.

2 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

These were some of the things I was mulling over also. This flight would likely be a trans-pac and places to land could be very limited. Also, a red flag that went up for me was an apparent need for supplemental O2 in some circumstances but not during flight (in a cabin not pressurized to sea level)? As olsalt said earlier- not asking this of OP due to privacy,  - but it is certainly part of the equation that can determine “fairness”, which is being questioned. 

A question for anyone who wants to answer from experience- perhaps @LAFFNVEGAS who is a TA:

 

When one purchases flight tickets, is there a process they have to go through when certain special needs exist like when one books a cruise?  Does one have to pre-declare oxygen or other needs at the time of booking, or are those matters dealt with at the gate?

If so, that would be the best time to confirm flight is within policy of the airline who is providing transportation and get the Flight Medical team’s approval. A personal physician can’t speak for the airline.

There normally is a process that need to be done but it is totally up to the Traveler to advise the airline. I have to admit the way it was described there would not be any North American Airline that would be that strict when when it comes to airlines outside North America rules do change. Although based on what is being written they may have done what they were suppose to do. This is where Travel Insurance would be extremely important.

Did you have Travel Protection Insurance? If you had HAL's Platinum Insurance this would have been covered and refunded at 90% no questions asked. If you had another travel Insurance I would certainly be looking into filing with them.

Thanks Roy!!  I knew someone here would know an answer. It just shocked me since I have never seen an itinerary like this.

I was looking at The Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection for the fun of it, talk about crazy high prices but I saw an itinerary that makes no sense to me.

Since it has been many months since anyone has even bothered to post in the CC Ritz Carlton board, I thought I would ask my friends here how this cruise is even possible. It is a 7 day cruise that starts in San Juan PR and ends in Ft Lauderdale???

Kathi, that is wonderful news, I am so glad to hear it!! I am sure a cruise will be just what you need. Hopefully your stamina will improve to help with standing and walking.

No, that is definitely something new. Out of the last 3 HAL cruises 2 both when in a Neptune Suite we have been given about 2nd or 3rd day in a Gift Certificate to spend in Effy. The first one was for $500 and the second was for $300. We were not given one when we booked a regular balcony despite having previously purchased Effy when we got the $500 on board credit for them.

I do have several Effy pieces and do not mind purchasing when I have a whole lot of SBC from HAL, when I have that and the $500 from them and then my bottom line is only about $250 I consider it a win. But with that being said I honestly  would not pre buy $1700.00 or $1500. I see it is fully refundable but just not sure I would do it. Some of the Effy shops will work with you on pricing especially toward the end of the cruise 😉

@albingirl Thanks for your review.

We love NCL and HAL each for different reasons. I think a lot depends on your cruising style and where you like to hang out. I will admit for the most part we do book The Haven. With that concept you have the best of both worlds. Lots of quiet places to relax, but yet you have the whole ship to see great entertainment and be out and about.Tom loves their buffet because they are open a lot longer and more hours than HAL and is actually very good.  We love breakfast in the Haven Restaurant far better than Club Orange. We also love restaurants on board such as Le Bistro, Onda (but that is currently only on 3 ships) Ocean Blue and Q Texas BBQ are our favorites. We generally only eat night time dining 2 to 3 times in the Haven restaurant because we very much enjoy the specialty restaurants.

I know it can get crowded and noisy on NCL but to be honest we just stay away from it. 

NCL tends to have a bigger variance of ages on board and everyone is friendly. To me it is kind of crazy I have never seen so many people chat with each other in the elevators like I do on NCL. People tend to not talk much on HAL to others in elevators (Princess is even worse) but on NCL everyone is happy and saying Hi to everyone. I find it kind of refreshing.  

If penny for penny was equal in comparing The Haven to Neptune Suite, I would probably never return to HAL but in my experience in the past few years since the return to cruising from the pause The Haven even in the lowest category for same cruise HAL offers is considerably more money. On more expensive cruises with HAL I can at least get a Signature Suite that gives me more real estate. Since we want to cruise more rather than less I need to look at the bottom line. We do have 2 upcoming NCL Cruises in the Haven for 2024 then next one is mid April. But I also have 3 HAL cruises booked one for 2024 and 2 for 2025. For the time being we are just going to split it up between the two.

Unfortunately the cam operator was MIA tonight but she is on the move for Sail Away

Hoping the web cam operator will zoom in soon to watch Wind Surf Sail Away which  hopefully will be in about 20 minutes.

Just 5 weeks till be will be on board 😄

3 hours ago, POA1 said:

Hallelujah! Our 12/10 - 12/17/2023 Nieuw Statendam cruise credits just posted.

We got out 21 points as well  but we had already hit 5 Star in November and it was quick and applied for our December cruise. I certainly can sympathize with those moving to the next level with a cruise coming up very soon. It appears HAL has gotten it fixed.

Sails are up and she is on her way for the Classic Caribbean itinerary.

Unfortunately Web Cam operator is not zooming in like they did in the past several week she is sailing away now.

Here's our Wind Surf, Sail Away was to be at 7, looks like they are running late again, but then so were the two NCL ships.

I am watching again this afternoon, NCL Gem  has left and they are just waiting for NCL Encore which should be leaving shortly. Surf was right behind the Encore so hard to see her all day. Looking forward to when the Cam operator returns to zooming into Surf

Here is current web cam view