richwmn

Looking at a short lead-time cruise for next month on the Westerdam that would be our first with HAL. Hopefully, some of you Mariners will be able to answer some quick questions for us:

 

1) What are the time(s) for traditional dining?

2) Are the Signature Suites similar to Princess's mini-suites or do they include other "suite perks?"

3) What perks come with Neptune suites?

4) Do the Vista class ships have self-service laundries yet?

5) Is smoking still allowed on verandahs?

6) Is one bottle of wine per adult allowed onboard for free for in-room consumption?

7) Does HAL offer any OBC for military?

8) What is the OBC for Carnival stockholders for a 7 night cruise?

9) What is the auto-tip per day?

10) Approximate cost for a "simple" cocktail such as Canadian whiskey & ginger ale?

11) How much is the charge for alternative dining venues?

 

Thanks for any help and/or other insights...

 

Paul

#4 - Very little chance that self-service laundries will ever be retro fitted

#7 - AFAIK Princess is the only Carnival Brand that offers a Military OBC

#8 - For all Carnival Brands the Stockholder credit for a 7 day cruise is $100

#10 - Seagrams VO and Ginger Ale as of the end of November $6.25+.94 gratuity for a total of $7.19

others can add appropriate answers

Does HAL have the Microsoft Techspert classes on every sailing? I'm considering one of their short spring repositioning cruises from San Diego to Vancouver/Seattle, but I would book only if these classes were offered as I need to learn Windows 10 before upgrading. Previous cruises with workshops in 7 and 8 were a great help as I upgraded to those programs in the past.

I see that you live just outside Seattle. Just wanted to make sure you realize that if you board in San Diego you must leave the ship in Vancouver. Under the terms of the PVSA (sometimes wrongly called the Jones Act) you can not board in San Diego and leave the ship in Seattle.

I feel that I should add my recent experience on the Oosterdam. I had $600 OBC from HAL and $200 from a TA. Early on I tried the Casino trick and removed $100.

On the last night I stopped at the front desk to clear my account. The first person I talked to said that she had to check. The supervisor came up and checked the screen and mentioned "refundable" to the other lady. After determining that what I had left was refundable the supervisor cashed me out.

This was the only time that the front desk did more than look at the balance and refund it to me.

I was interested in booking the Veendam for 3/20/16. So is it true this is the last cruise before drydock?

 

I thought I read once that a last cruise before a drydock they sometimes start shutting down services like pool etc. before the cruise is over. If that is the case I would never book it. Anyone have info on this happening?

 

It says leaving from Tampa. It hasn't been changed to Ft. Lauderdale has it?

 

We would be new to Holland America, New to leaving from Tampa and a few new ports that why I'm choosing this one.

 

Thanks for any info on helping decide if its safe to book this, that there aren't any unexpected changes I don't know about:)

AFAIK - the 3/20/16 cruise should still be leaving from Tampa.

As far as being the last cruise before a dry dock, I was on one a couple of years ago and if I hadn't know about the dry dock it would not have been apparent. However, depending on what might need to be accomplished some things might start happening early as some have reported.

Everything is subject to change based on operational needs.

That was 2004, when the Aloha was moved from being planned as the second US flag cruise ship to the first, when the America sank at the builder's yard in Germany. There were 3 US flag ships in the 2004-2008 period, the Aloha, America, and Hawaii. The Hawaii flagged out in 2007, and the Aloha in 2008, leaving just the America.

Looks to me like the NCL Sky (Bahamas) changed to Pride of Aloha (US) from 2004 to 2008, then went back to being Sky (Bahamas):

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_Sky

 

edit: sorry chengkp75 ... you were answering while I was researching.

I knew about the earlier (04-08) sequence, but the way you answered it seemed to me that a more recent re-flagging had occurred.

And even when the ships use a US shipyard, the shipyard (just as Freeport does) only provides the labor and expertise for the marine portion of the shipyard repairs, not the hotel refurbishments. It gets a little more complex with visas in the US, but the lines will still bring in their tiger teams from Europe and Asia to do the refurbishments. Heck, we did just that for the Norwegian Sky in San Francisco when she came into the shipyard as a Bahamian flag ship and left as a US flag ship (Pride of Aloha).

Just curious - when did this happen and does it mean that there are now 2 cruise ships flying the US Flag?

I would add that if you are really serious about protecting American jobs stay out of most, if not all, of the major chain stores. A very high percentage of the items (well over 2/3) they sell are made in China - to include the computer you use and the cell phone you talk on. You could not afford them unless they are made overseas.

Tried but no luck. Just a regular cabin photo; none of the room itself, bathrooms, etc.

make sure you are looking at the site that has Facts about HAL in the site name. There are about 10 pictures of different views of the bathroom and many more showing various aspects of the rest of the cabin.

try a search on 7002-Amsterdam. That should bring up a site with quite a few pictures of the Amsterdam's Penthouse Suite

The lifeboat (muster ... ) drill is about to begin. Looking more like a 4pm departure.

According to my online docs:

November 16: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Ship in Port Ship Departs at 4:00 PM

4:00 PM

Ship Departs

The Oosterdam is scheduled to set sail at 17:00/5:00 PM EDT (subject to change as always).

 

The webcams are at:

http://portevergladeswebcam.com/

http://ftlauderdalewebcam.com/

 

Also departing at 16:30/4:30 PM EDT is Independence Of The Seas.

 

11 Day Southern Caribbean Wayfarer Itinerary:

 

Nov 16 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US

Nov 17 At Sea

Nov 18 At Sea

Nov 19 Philipsburg, Sint Maarten

Nov 20 Castries, Saint Lucia

Nov 20 Scenic Cruising Soufriere Bay CO

Nov 21 Bridgetown, Barbados

Nov 22 Fort-De-France, Martinique

Nov 22 Daylight passing Mount Pelee CO

Nov 23 Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis

Nov 24 St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

Nov 25 At Sea

Nov 26 Half Moon Cay, Bahamas TR

Nov 27 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US

 

 

 

21 Day Southern Caribbean Wayfarer/Seafarer Itinerary:

 

Nov 16 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US

Nov 17 At Sea

Nov 18 At Sea

Nov 19 Philipsburg, Sint Maarten

Nov 20 Castries, Saint Lucia

Nov 20 Scenic Cruising Soufriere Bay

Nov 21 Bridgetown, Barbados

Nov 22 Fort-De-France, Martinique

Nov 22 Daylight passing Mount Pelee

Nov 23 Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis

Nov 24 St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

Nov 25 At Sea

Nov 26 Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

Nov 27 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US

Nov 28 Half Moon Cay, Bahamas TR

Nov 29 Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos

Nov 30 Cruising Bahia de Samana

Nov 30 Samana, Dominican Republic

Dec 01 At Sea

Dec 02 Kralendijk, Bonaire

Dec 03 Willemstad, Curacao

Dec 04 Oranjestad, Aruba

Dec 05 At Sea

Dec 06 At Sea

Dec 07 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US

 

Actually the date has changed also...we were originally supposed to sail on the 12th of April...now it is the 9th of April.

Skipper - I think you are talking about a different cruise. The cruise that SeaBands is talking about, and I am on, sails from Fort Lauderdale on the 24th of April, same date as it was supposed to sail from Tampa.

If anyone cares, one of the best books I've ever read was about bananas. It's called "Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World" and chronicles how the banana trade helped populate the earth and all that. It even talks about the thousands of different varieties and how every few years disease kills the current version so they have to create new ones. It really is a tremendous (and quick and fun) read.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Banana-Fate-Fruit-Changed-World/dp/0452290082

Funny you mention that since this showed up on my news feed this morning:

http://secondnexus.com/ecology-and-sustainability/bananas-are-going-extinct

Booked this cabin for a lomg S america cruise. Any thoughts, comments or issues we should be aware of. Searched and it seems like we should be ok but would appreciate any recent feedback. :confused:

 

Thanks!

If you google 232-Veendam you will find pictures of the cabin and the view from the balcony.

Rich

 

Thanks to HAL and this posting, I now have two email addresses for you:):):) I am still steamed at the blast email and I noticed your "other" email address...

 

Still no word about what is happening to the Veendam from 27 Mar when it returns to TPA and our cruise. Not sure where there input about drydock came from. Ashford's comments did not include the S-class ships for the upgrade. Please let us know if you find out the plan...

you have about 7 or 8 more to find, including one that I can't put on CC, but not to worry - they all go to the same email client!

could you email me with your phone number as I would like to discuss this with you. Steve msjn@cfl.rr.com

done - subject line is "as requested" from rich at wa70 dot com

since they changed the booking they should give us the cruise month obc of $150 pp in addition to the paltry $100 they are offering per cabin. We have 3 cruises booked with HAL for 2016 and they seem not to care if we leave them as a 4*Mariner. We will need to drive 2X the distance from a Tampa departure and will need hotels at both ends as our return flight from Montreal will get in late and don't want a long drive after taking 2 flights. HAL should have an ombudsman to allow passengers to talk directly with the cruise line rather than going back and forth with the TA and HAL talking and we are left out of the negotiations.

SeaBands - on our Roll Call in post #62 I mentioned getting the Cruise Month OBC and in post #63 Cruising-along said that she called and got it too. Your TA may still be able to get it for you if they call in today. Again, this is their responsibility. If the TA is not taking care of you then maybe you should look at another TA.

Also, in your title you mention that your TA is part of a large network - that changes the dynamic. The notification may have gone to the network rather than the TA and it puts another layer in the situation.

I posted this to SeaBands on the roll call as well

Hang in there and remember that the offer can change. I don't know anything about your TA, but remember that by contract your TA is your advocate here. They need to step up and make sure that you are satisfied. That is what they are getting paid for.

Also, just for my information, is this a small TA, one of the large Cruise Specialists, or a big box store? Several types of TA's are only in it to get the commission without doing much and when something happens they are lost.

Do you know yet if your ports are changing, too?

No word on that. Really wish they would add Charleston. Right now we're showing taking the slow boat to Boston. ;)

The schedule that came with the email was the same as before except for the change to Fort Lauderdale. One sea day is listed as scenic cruising Florida Straits as in going in a big circle off Fort Lauderdale.

We were on Veendam in September and didn't have any problems. Nobody we spoke to mentioned any issues. Maybe they're going to repaint the logo on the funnels?

 

BTW (this is not aimed at you Rich), I get where the OP is coming from. HAL could put all this money and energy into a big announcement about technology to give people more information, but they couldn't be bothered to send information about the change in his cruise to his TA. At the very least, I find it ironic.

After I wrote I didnt see the relationship in the subject line between the announcement and this, I have to say your perspective makes sense. Makes me wonder how many of the staff that should have been coordinating this change were otherwise assgined to working on the event.

Although it is easy to place the blame on HAL here, I am not sure that is where the fault lies. Those of use that booked direct with HAL all got notification about the same time. For those that booked thru a TA, the email would have gone to the TA and the TA has the responsibility to notify the client. Understand, I don't have any problems with a TA, but the email most likely went to an agency address, not to the individual agent, and the agency had the responsibility to get the information to the proper agent.

The 20th is the last cruise for Veendam on the HAL website atm. I'm wondering what is up with the drydock as she just had one a year or so ago.

When I first got the email about the change I wondered about drydock as well, but I don't remember any posts recently about problems - but I might have missed them. It just seemed a bit quick.

The change really doesn't make any difference to me - no flights booked yet and FLL is as easy as Tampa for me to fly or drive to. FLL is just a bit longer of a drive.

op

 

would you tell me the date of the cruise that was changed. we are planning a cruise on mar. 20 2016 out of tampa.

thanks in advance.

I am on the cruise with SeaBands that got changed. Your cruise for the 20th is the last one without a change. Nothing is currently on the HAL website from the time you depart on the 27th until we depart on May 7th.

I just saw the answer that SeaBands posted. If your cruise has been changed, you should have received a notice from HAL or your TA. If you haven't I would call and ask. Based on HAL's site I would guess that the dry dock starts on the 27th rather than the 20th

Walt - Please take a look at AdminCP > Settings > Options > Message Attachment Options > Attachment Resize Options

 

I think that you can manage the attachment size from there.

Please go back and recheck. We don't have an AdminCP. We have a UserCP function. We also don't permit attachments except in the form of imported pictures via the little Insert Image box that is a small mountain with a yellow background. The sizing of the inserted image is set by the user.

Like most software of this type, the software that is used here has various levels of access. Most likely Walt has not been granted the AdminCP priviledge. See

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forum/vbulletin-legacy-versions-products/legacy-vbulletin-versions/vbulletin-3-7-questions-problems-and-troubleshooting/299956-admincp-vbulletin-options

for more information

But Labatsman's cruise only had 3 ships in port that day and the Westerdam went to Havensight.

The sequence I gave is what I was told several years ago. Operational considerations always have priority.

According to WICO Westerdam was scheduled to dock at Crown Bay. There might have been a reason to move her to Havensight but it would not necessarily have been published.

VI Now also shows that Westerdam was scheduled for Crown Bay

Havensight is the older of the cruise ship docks, it was around in the '70's. West Indian Company manages it. Crown Bay (Sub Base etc) was renovated a few years ago with Carnival Corp providing some funding along with a 10 year contract for HAL and Princess to primarily dock there.

There is, howevetr, a slight problem - The Allure and The Oasis won't fit at Havensight so they have priority at Crown Bay

According to both VI Now and WICO there are 6 ships calling on St Thomas on the 11th with only 5 berths for docking, 2 at Crown Bay and 3 at Havensight.

That leaves Westerdam as Odd Man Out.

If a more than one HAL or Princess ship calls on St Thomas when the Allure/Oasis does, the additional HAL/Princess ship will dock at Havensight unless it is full, in which case it will tender.