Boatdrill

As for passengers on private tours ..whether in a group or just the two of you... consider leaving your names, room numbers, and tour operator/guide contact info with ship's security at the gangway. Also include where your tour is going, and estimated arrival time back at the ship. If security says they don't want it, leave it anyway. If you're not back by the sailing time at least the ship knows your whereabouts and the port agent (if necessary) can contact the local tour operator. I did this while escorting a group from the Veendam in Costa Rica, and it worked. During the tour we learned from our guide that the ship was going to sail early. We cut short the tour, and headed back in a hurry, and made it in time. However, the ship had to wait another hour or so for one of their own shore ex tours to come back; the bus was stopped in traffic. ps. be sure you have the ship's phone # and the port agent's # too.

Were you told on the tour why you were being recalled to the ship ? (just curious)

What kind of perks are you looking for ? Onboard credit ? Paid gratuities ? Dinner in Pinnacle Grill ? Ask the TA for what you want. A friend's agent arranges a private car service to take him from his home to the ship, and return after the cruise. The agent pays for it. That's what he wants and the agent obliges. He's been a loyal customer to that agent for years.

Next time try Marinetraffic.com. Last year I was on a HAL Sea of Cortez cruise, and saw a very distinctive mega yacht in the Cabo marina. Who dat ? I looked up Marinetraffic.com, found the marina, and located the yacht where it was docked. It belonged to Dan Snyder, former owner of the Washington Football Club (nee Redskins, now Commanders). If you look at Marinetraffic now, it has the M5 still docked in Smith Cove. What a beautiful, and graceful sailing yacht.

Try calling HAL Reservations Accounting at 888-663-5384. They might be able to help you, or will refer you to the correct department.

If Ships Services can't help, ask your TA to contact his/her HAL rep and ask them to find out.

Anchorage is a great port....even Captain Cook went there. I wish it was on itineraries more often.

If a cruise is shown as sold out a year in advance, consider that groups have made their room blocks for specific categories, and will continue to hold those rooms, both sold and unsold, until HAL begins to recall the unsold rooms and return them to available inventory to be sold to the general public. The recalls begin months before the departure date, so best to keep checking for availability (meaning actual rooms you can choose, not guarantees).

Where are their passports ?

The Volendam is doing two Mexican Riviera cruises from San Diego. December 10-22,2023 and the holiday cruise on December 22, 2023 - January 3, 2024. The segments are also being sold as one 24 day cruise Dec. 10 - Jan.3.

I wish everyone on the Noordam a safe passage the next few days. Another cruise line changed their routing to Alaska because of the weather forecast. From Cruise Industry News: "After sailing from Seattle on September 14 the cruise will no longer visit any port in Alaska. Instead, it will head straight to Japan, spending a total of ten days at sea before arriving in {Japan}. 'In partnership with our Fleet Operations Center, we are monitoring a low-pressure system in the greater Alaska region which is forecasted to create unusually high swells and strong winds that will impact the first part of our itinerary,' the company said in a statement given to guests onboard. 'To maintain a safe distance from the storm, we must sail south of the low-pressure system. Therefore, it will not be possible to visit Alaska,' [the company] added. The original itinerary of the repositioning cruise included visits to Ketchikan and Icy Strait Point, in addition to scenic cruising at the Hubbard Glacier."

I cruise with my flip phone (call and text only) and an international cell phone (call and text only) . Sometimes both have cell service, and sometimes just one.

I didn't post it on the CCL board because I wanted to ask Holland America guests about it, not Carnival guests. I guess I should have left out the ship's name. 🙄

Just read that the Carnival Luminosa has cancelled going to their scheduled ports in Alaska during their current repositioning cruise. They left Seattle two days ago, headed for Alaska, and then to Japan. Instead they're going straight to Japan - 10 sea days - in order to avoid a storm in the Gulf of Alaska. The guests will be compensated with onboard credit. I've heard of itinerary changes, but this one is major. Just curious if anyone has had something like that happen on a HAL cruise ?

I'm fascinated by this comment. If the great maritime explorers - Columbus, Cook, Bering, Magellan, Drake, Ponce de Leon, Cortez, Vespucci, Hudson, Cousteau, and others, including the intrepid Polynesians, et al - had this mindset, the world's history would certainly be much different. 🙂

Without tables and live dealers it sounds like the quality of the gambling experience goes down for guests. I'm not a gambler, so I don't know 🙂 . Even though a cruiseline casino vendor wants to keep costs down, don't tables and dealers make for a better casino experience, and attract more players ?

Has anyone received a free cruise (literally free - no charge for base cruise fare) from HAL because of their casino play ?

I'm glad that although you have found "the on board prices much higher than Princess", you're "Still planning to do the cruise". Frankly with the many "Princess has" comparisons, you may not be happy on HAL. It's a different brand (on purpose), and different atmosphere than other lines (also on purpose). If you share which HAL ship you'll be on, you'll get more specific information. I hope you have a great cruise, and find all the resources available here and on the HAL website to be helpful.

From the "Know Before You Go" on the HAL website: "Items such as sodas, energy drinks or other non-alcoholic items are not allowed on board in any form. Plastic water bottles are not allowed. However, an allowance of six liters, twelve (12) cans or cartons (500 ml in volume or less) or six (6) cans or cartons (1 liter in volume or less) of water are allowed per stateroom. Any amount in excess of this allowance will be not be allowed onboard. Water in plastic bottles will not be allowed onboard in any quantity, including in ports of call. Guests will be asked to discard open beverages in plastic containers prior to boarding."

Consider calling HAL's Ships Services 800-541-1576. M-F 7am - 5pm. They'll help you if they can.

I'm not questioning your recollection of what you heard. I'm astounded that an experienced cruise ship captain would share the details, in public, of how a guest was killed during cruise for which he is responsible.

The captain of the ship actually said this ? I'm surprised he wasn't more discreet.

The Labor Day Deal is available on select cruises sailing in Fall 2023 to Spring 2024.

I think everyone knows the story by now. My question wasn't asking IF someone went overboard, I was asking how/when it was reported. Sometimes family or friends don't report a missing person until hours later, because they assume he/she is sleeping late or what have you. The Wonder carries nearly 9,000 people (including crew), so assuming he was with other people wouldn't have been unusual.