cxc362

Great vlogs. Looking forward to the rest!

I would live to see NCL re-route us to the Southern Caribbean. I have a feeling we will end up in PR, Nassua, Port C in FLA. Not sure Western Caribbean is feasible from the NYC port.

We'd love going to the Southern Caribbean too but I can totally see your guess happening (with the addition of GSC).

We booked through a travel agent. We only got $50 obc but did the tax free. How can I find out if I have more I can get

Have your TA check with NCL.

On Friday our TA was able to have the offer added to our booking. She had NCL re-fare it but our fare did not change. I had checked the fare on the NCL website ahead of calling her to make sure the fare hadn't changed as I suspected re-faring was going to happen.

This promotion is combinable with the Free at Sea promotion but it is not combinable with Latitudes Rewards promotions.

My parents who are also on our booking had to make the choice of keeping their Latitudes Rewards promotion ($100 OBC + double Latitudes rewards points) or adding the Balcony Bonus Week promotion ($140 for their MA Mini Suite on the Gem).

All NCL ships have a generic sports court. None with a tennis net.

That's incorrect. The Gem has one and I've heard mention of others (on Jewel class ships).

Not everyone needs to be present to simply drop off luggage. Just have the tags stapled to the bags and give to the longshoremen.Not sure how much of the museum you will be able to see between 10 and 12, considering its a subway ride and lengthy walk to get from AMNH on UWS to pier in Chelsea.

The MCT is in Hell's Kitchen, not Chelsea.

NCL is owned by 4 different holding companies, none of which are Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

My info was old. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. is now 44% publicly traded on NASDAQ with the other 56% held by 3 holding companies.

We are on the April 30th, Venice to Rome. I did a great deal of research and found Lufthansa flights that

met our needs. We fly out of Dulles in VA. Over we go via Frankfurt and back via Munich. These are 2 easy to move in airports and since we leave Rome to another EU city we don't have to worry about the extended check in process in Rome. I found the flights, Holland America Flight ease was able to secure them for me for 300 dollars per person less so my advice is see what Holland can do for you!!

The only leg I've flown on Lufthansa was Frankfurt or Munich (I can't remember which) to Rome. The flight was great (with a lunch service) and we didn't have to clear EU customs at FCO.

That's great to know about HAL's ability to get your flights cheaper. I'll definitely have to keep that in mind!

Thanks for these comments about SWISS. We are flying them to Europe next year, and it's nice to see some favorable comments. We were lucky to get business class saver award seats (through United). I've read that ZRH is a very efficient and well-run airport, so I'm hoping connections there will be easy.

I'll second the comments about SWISS. My experiences on them have been enjoyable and efficient.

Sure I would book if I found a independent reputable tour company. There is no reason not to book them especially since HAL doesn't offer that specific tour. There must be a way to check their reviews on line. Most all the tours offered by HAL are by independent tours companies anyway. HAL is only the book agency between the passengers and tour company. However, HAL does ensure they are licensed and insurance, etc. But if you have any concern about that tour company you certainly can inquire directly with the company.

There is one big risk, however, and that's the tour getting you back to the ship late. If a tour is booked through the ship they will wait for you whereas if it's not booked through the ship they will not guarantee that they'll wait.

Having said that we've booked independent tours and been happy (balancing the risk/reward involved). Our arrival back at the ship in St. Thomas cut it pretty close and we did feel a bit uneasy up until we were pulling into the Crown Bay complex.

Northern Nights

"Northern Lights"

You're absolutely right. I forgot about the high speed trains (shame on me) on that run as I've never used them. Traveling on the regional trains requires a change in Chiusi (at least it did when I most recently did it in the winter of 2011).

A huge mea culpa is now required because I just realized that I was thinking about the train from Rome to Siena. That trip requires the change in Chiusi.

But what makes you think you have to change trains going from Rome to Florence - there are direct trains all day- about an hour fifteen to an hour thirty minutes' ride.

You're absolutely right. I forgot about the high speed trains (shame on me) on that run as I've never used them. Traveling on the regional trains requires a change in Chiusi (at least it did when I most recently did it in the winter of 2011).

Can we bring a case of pop/soda or bottle water at embarkation

Yes, you can take aboard non-alcoholic beverages (including soda and water) in your carry on luggage.

Hello HAL cruisers. We are new to HAL although have cruised many other lines, our fav is Princess (so far). I get the wine thing but would like to know if we can take bottled water and soda on board as well. I usually buy the soda pkg for myself but read somewhere both DH and myself need to purchase it. He might drink 4-5 a week so not worth it if we both have to purchase. I would be interested in bringing a case on board if it's permitted. Same with bottled water. Can anyone help with this? If different ships have different rules, we will be on Niew Amsterdam in November.

According to my memory, you can take unlimited non-alcoholic beverages aboard but they must be in your carry on luggage.

Thank you, cxc362, for updating the KBYG info ... serves to illustrate my point that not all info posted on here is 100% reliable and up-to-date, notwithstanding that the person who posted it was totally well-intentioned.

No problem! You're welcome!

Announcements are in English and Dutch. Not so. Perhaps when sailing out of Amsterdam, but out of Civitavecchia and Fort Lauderdale, its English only.[/quote]

 

I did wonder about that statement when I read the review.

A little more information on the wine please. I "think" I understand how much we are allowed to take on board and the associated fees. My husband does not drink, but I do drink wine. We are not purchasing a drink package, but we have OBC, which I intend to use for wine. If we purchase a bottle of wine in the MDR and I only drink 1 glass will they store it for me until the next time? On previous cruises (not HAL) the wine has been tagged and kept for me.

Yes, it will be the same as you described. The MDR staff did have some trouble locating a partial bottle of ours one night but it was located without too much delay.

What specifically is incorrect?

I'd love to know too as I'm looking at possibly booking an upcoming cruise on her.

It doesn't seem fair that you can only bring on one bottle per person no matter how long the cruise is. One of the reasons we started cruising Holland America was because they allowed you to bring all the wine you want on board. We enjoy having a glass of wine on our balcony and I sure don't want to pay more for corkage than I do for the bottle. It seems to me with a 14 night cruise they could allow more wine.

Many of us will probably agree that it's not fair (I certainly do), but that's the policy.

But more importantly I just think the staff is far superior on the Noordam. Personnel do change ships, but I have still consistently found the Noordam crews to be much better. In fact my only bad experiences on HAL have been on the Westerdam. I have sworn her off since having yet another bad experience in Dec 2016.

That's a shame to hear.

I will add that some of the service and the food quality were less than we were expecting from HAL. Our MDR food and selection were better on our Carnival Dream cruise.

My husband and I want to go on a cruise to Italy and the surrounding areas next year, with the focus on Italy especially Rome and Venice. ... The first one we could see more but I cant stand the idea of only being in Rome for not even a full day (We have never been to Italy).

As someone who studied in Italy, my advice would be not to discount Florence.

I enjoyed Florence much more than Rome and there's alot of history there of which many people are unaware.

Rome, while not to be missed, is a large, somewhat dirty, modern city while Florence is much more romantic and charming.

This is of course assuming you choose to do a shorter cruise and spend more time on land in Italy (and have the time to add Florence).

Traveling to Florence from either Rome or Venice by train is easy (easier from Venice as it doesn't require a change of train) and totally worth it (and don't even get me started on Siena and the Tuscan countryside).

Feel free to contact me privately if I can be of any help.

But it has been shown that many times Ship Services sometimes gives outdated or incorrect information. You can call three times with the same question and get three different answers.

Not to mention that anecdotal evidence of how things actually happened or have been handled on board can certainly be helpful to read (especially as in reality policies may be applied differently in different instances by different people).

This Post illustrates what I have been saying ever since I joined CC: although most CCers are well-intentioned, much of the "factual" stuff on here is outdated or just plain incorrect. As such, whenever I need information that relates to a HAL cruise, I go first to the "Know Before You Go" brochure (copy attached for your convenience) and then (via e-mail or 'phone) to HAL Ship Services for confirmation and updates. For matters of opinion, I consult CC, but for matters of fact I consult HAL

Smooth sailing :wine-glass: :wine-glass: :wine-glass:

I agree that the HAL KBYG booklet is a great first resource but unfortunately it's sometimes not clear or all encompassing so your suggestion of contacting Ship Services is a great follow up step.

Ironically your attachment is not the most recent release of KBYG. That release (for 2017) is available at https://www.hollandamerica.com/assets/cruise-vacation-onboard/KBYG.pdf .

Noordam is unique among the Vista class in having the library/explorations café on the Promenade Deck. The space on the starboard side of the Crow's Nest is taken up by the Oak Room.

 

If you are a library fan, the Noordam is the choice. If you want the newest design, then the Westerdam is just out of dry dock.

Great points!

Also keep in mind that under HAL's newest smoking policy the Oak Room on Noordam is one of the few indoor spaces left in which to puff on HAL (although this advantage for smokers would obviously be moot if the Oak Room is closed).