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Got a notification that a waitlisted excursion for an upcoming cruise is available. When I go to the HAL website to check out, I keep getting error messages. It tells me to add my phone number, but it's already there (I even re-entered it). I'm thinking that the site might just be super busy with the $1 deposit today (took advantage of that last night). Anyone else having trouble?

Trieste is absolutely lovely, although I might be biased because my mother-in-law grew up there. There are tons of museums, it's very walkable. Be sure to go to San Guisto and Miramare Castle!

Everyone recovers differently, but 6.5 weeks post-surgery should be quite doable, especially if you keep up with PT before the trip. I've had both knees replaced and I have to say it has been life-changing and I'm so glad I did it! Good luck with your surgery!!

We were on Zaandam last month in an outside cabin on deck 2. The shower was very nice. There were grab bars and a glass door. Also a small lip to step over to get into the shower (2-3" maybe).

Thanks for the quick responses. I did love the view from the thermal suite on the Amsterdam, but really liked the hydropool on the Zuiderdam and Oosterdam. Trying to decide whether to buy a thermal suite pass for our upcoming cruise. Decisions, decisions ... such a first world problem!!

Does the thermal suite on the Zaandam have the larger "therapy pool" like the one on the Zuiderdam and Oosterdam or is it the hot tub size like on the old Amsterdam, etc.? Thanks!!

I just got the notification. I'm sure it will still be a great cruise, and I'm not really surprised about Bar Harbor since I have been reading that they didn't want cruise ships. Looking forward to going to Portland as I haven't been there before. Dh isn't thrilled about another sea day.

Thanks for your prompt responses. Good info to know! We were looking forward to the benefits of purchasing stock. Guess we'll just have to plan another cruise so we can use it! LOL

We purchased 100 shares of CCL stock last year and I submitted documentation to HAL for on board credit on our upcoming cruise. I got the following response: "Unfortunately, we are unable to apply the shareholder benefit due to the fare your reservation is booked under. The shareholder benefit is not combinable with reduced-rate promotions or guests traveling under an employee, interline, or friend and family type fares." Has this always been the case or is this something new? BTW .. I tried faxing documentation but the phone line was never answered. I e-mailed the documentation and had a response in a few hours that my e-mail was received and then the response about half a day later. That's a faster response than I expected. Thanks!

I love reading world cruise blogs. Looking forward to reading yours!

We reserved and paid in advance for Rudi's for our Jan 2022 cruise on the Zuiderdam, and it was delightful! Reserved and paid for one of the two listed available dates on our Jun 2022 cruise on Oosterdam. When dining in the Pinnacle one night, we were told that Rudi's would not be available. Manager said he was hoping it would be available on the next cruise. Very disappointing. Our account was credited promptly.

OK, so if I book the "free" inside cabin, I may or may not get an offer to upgrade at some point?

I got the e-mail and have been looking at the listed cruises. For those of you who booked and upgraded, were you able to do that at the time of booking? The e-mail says free inside cabin, but you can book another cabin type by paying an upgrade fee?

No visa required to visit Ephesus on our Oosterdam cruise in June/July.

Trieste is a lovely city with lots to see and do. We spent 5 days there before our cruise and didn't run out of things to do. We spent two days in Venice after our cruise. Granted, not everyone has extra days on each end of a cruise but, if you do, Trieste is very enjoyable.

Ahh ... I get that now. I guess it wasn't clear and I just "assumed" she let medical staff know. Good point!

All excellent points, Hank, and I appreciate your thoughts. Maybe I read more into the post than was there. It concerned me that, if the medical staff was told a passenger had breathing issues, and nothing was done, that's scary ... covid or no! With all the covid cases that have happened on board, I would think the medical center would be prepared with oxygen, isolation, etc. I guess I was looking at it as a "worst case" scenario. Breathing issues are scary! Totally agree with you about what would happen if you developed covid at home

I haven't read all of the comments, so maybe others have brought this up. I understand that we take a risk by cruising these days (dh and I have done 2 14-day cruises this year). I accept that we may get covid in spite of being vaccinated, tested, and taking precautions. I'm pretty sure most cruisers these days understand those risks. My biggest concern about what OP went through was that it sounds like they were pretty much ignored while quarantined. Breathing issues and no medical personnel came to check on them? Telling her dh to go to the medical facility when they knew he had covid? THAT'S the part that bothers me most. Refunds, FCC, etc., are important, but if I get sick (covid or otherwise), I'd like to know that I would get basic medical care onboard.

On the Oosterdam recently, I noticed that they offered a day pass for $49. I only recall seeing it for that one day so I don't know if it was available other days.

Room service breakfast wasn't available on disembarkation day on the Zuiderdam in January or the Oosterdam this month.

Got one in January on the Zuiderdam and June on the Oosterdam.

Overall, we are enjoying the cruise immensely. We have been looking forward to all of the ports as they are all new to us. The weather has been beautiful. Our biggest complaint is that last night, with several hundred people returning from excursions at 9pm and after announcing that the Lido would be open from 9pm to 11pm, they had ONE STATION open! That was crazy, but the staff serving did a great job and maintained a good attitude. The entertainment has not been great but we've been so tired after excursions that this hasn't been an issue. Agree with the poster who said the piano duo aren't impressive. The woman is not too bad but the man is mediocre at best. Staff is mostly awesome and very attentive. We've had minor glitches with room service breakfast (always something missing) but nothing major. There seem to be more families with children on-board than we've seen on past cruises. We've met some very interesting people.

We are currently aboard Oosterdam. This is our 6th HAL cruise. Boarding went pretty smoothly in Trieste. There was one other ship in port. We've noticed a few things not up to standard (slow water refills in main dining room, our bathroom trash not emptied for 3 days, no room service breakfast menu in our room, etc.), but nothing major. Some notes: tea served only on sea days, no Rudi's in the Pinnacle (Pinnacle manager said he's hopeful it will happen in the next few weeks), so far no cooking demos, no chai tea in the explorers coffee shop in the Crow's Nest. We went to the "Ask the Captain" meeting. The captain is very personable but seemed reluctant to answer some specific questions. When asked directly how many passengers on board currently, he answered that there are approximately 1800 "souls on board." We're guessing that means maybe 1100 passengers. Ship is definitely uncrowded. We have no major complaints. Capt also didn’t answer a direct question about why Santorini was dropped. We're having a very nice time and meeting some interesting people. We have, however, heard a number of pretty serious complaints. One person said it took 3 days to get their shower to have warm water, that it was only hot water at first. Another complained that their toilet didn't flush and that the shower leaked badly. They were finally moved to another cabin on day 4. We've heard several people complain about rude servers in the dining room, but we have not experienced that. We've spoken to a number of people on-board who are taking their first HAL cruise. Most have said they are underwhelmed and not one is planning another HAL cruise. Overall, we are pretty content and enjoying the ports a lot!

We used emed.com last week and it worked great. Biggest challenge was keeping the camera on my phone pointed down at the test card for the 15 minutes required. We were told we'd have official test results in our email within 24 hours. We received the emails within minutes. Super convenient!

Just did the same yesterday! LOL