CA-Cruzers

Thank you, 1ANGLECAT - I appreciated the updates and info!

I also leave in the room. In addition to the hallways being narrow, and people potentially drunk and tripping :) there are also folks using mobility scooters and this creates just an additional obstacle for them.

Having seen people with walkers and wheelchairs unable to get along through a corridor because of dishes and trays left in the way I can't in good conscience leave anything out in the hall myself. I'd much rather take the two minutes to call and ask for them to be removed.

Of course my DH said he would prefer that once we got home he would like his underwear & socks in a wicker basket with tissue to continue...NOT .

 

Wouldn't happen in this house, either. Thanks for that... I needed a chuckle afternoon!

We don't drink may sodas either, but sometimes on warm days they're nice. I saw them called "Fountain" cards, but wanted to verify, so before purchasing one of them on Friday I chatted with an agent on the HAL customer service page/site and was told the $25 card was good for cans of soda anywhere on the ship - about 22 of them, since a can is $2.25 - for the $50 value of the card. After reading this I chatted this morning with Jessica, who said it's only for fountain drinks before dropping the chat. Calling the customer service number got me Sean, who asked and then also said it's only for fountain drinks. They fill a glass and hand it to you. If you bring your own 20oz thermal glass (as an example), they'll put the contents of a 12 ounce glass into it. I didn't ask what all was available as fountain drinks, but they are Coca-Cola products.

We'll be there for a pre-cruise stop in a few weeks, too, and had no problems getting a reservation. Odds are against them closing the whole place down at once, but I'd also suggest calling and asking the hotel itself.

I've traveled a lot, but no day's a total waste if I learn something new... and I did. Lots of handy tips here - thanks, all.

As for stopping mail and newspapers, both our city police and county sheriff's offices were in agreement - don't. Have someone bring them in for you, or maybe have a slot installed so mail goes inside and out of sight. Their position was they'd had instances where employees with access to that info sold it to crooks. We'd had them come speak to the 2,000+ plus households in our neighborhood association at one point. Might be overly cautious, but it's just a thought.

Neither Lysol (over the counter) wipes nor sanitizer has any effect on Noro. Only a bleach solution can kill it.

A bleach solution works, but Clorox Hydrogen Peroxide cleaners work fine, too...without the stink. You can get a cylinder of the wet wipes on Amazon for a little more than the cost of an on-board bar drink, and they pack just fine into zip-lock baggies.

With Anytime dining you have lots of flexibility. Not only do you choose when to eat, to a great degree you choose the size of your table (which you can change every night) and with whom you dine. Meet some nice folks....simply ask them if they would like to dine with you. Find a great waiter....ask the Maitre'd if you can reserve a table with that waiter. In the mood to socialize? Ask to share a large table. Want a quiet dinner? Ask for a 2-top.

I think that's the most logical way to dine, too. While we've had good luck with assigned seating on past cruises - family along with us filled an 8-top one time - and haven't been assigned to a table otherwise where there wasn't someone worth visiting with, the ability to choose is attractive... so this upcoming cruise we're going unassigned, and I'm looking forward to the variety (even if it does perhaps involve a short wait before being seated).

It was tea, with a small pile of crumpets, but it was just a prelude to one of the art auction things. Not well set up either. I grabbed a scone and ran.

That's probably what I'd have done, too. Sorry to see the special teas ended, if that's truly what happened.

Thank you for that, michl8705 - a balanced report, and the photos were nice, too!

Anyway, we have not completely given up on Holland America. I would still like to hear from Mr Orlando Ashford before we relinquish our Mariners Society status.

Personally, I'd hang onto my MS status even if I sailed on other lines for a while.

In the unfortunate but possible event that illness, aging or injury end cycling days for one or both of you, you may decide to continue to cruise with HAL again.

Here's to new adventures, regardless!

To be honest, not my scene. But I do enjoy to watch people getting all dressed up. I just try to make myself less visible, since I am typically in shorts/shirt/sandals, and would rather not ruin people's time and be "that guy" walking around Piazza while everyone is all dressed up.

 

Come to think of it, I never actually wore a tux in my life....

I'm right there with Meanee on this one, and I admire his not insisting on swimming upstream on formal nights. I enjoy seeing folks who DO enjoy getting gussied up out enjoying themselves in the MDR and wouldn't think of trying to go in "casual" those evenings. In fact, I've felt a bit out of place once or twice wearing nice slacks, an ironed shirt and a tie when being seated at a table with everyone in suits and evening gowns, but I'm over that. ;)

People shouldn't be a distraction on formal nights, so if we don't want to play we eat someplace other than the MDR. It's only fair.

I've only worn a tuxedo once in my life, too. It was a work event, and that one time was quite enough.

I haven't been on a bicycle for 50 years, but I think it really stinks that responsible people are no longer able to bring bicycles aboard because of X number of irresponsible people, but evidently that's how it's going to be. By this quote attributed to HAL: "a lot of complications and issues that we have had with several other guests we had to make the tough call to not allow them on board anymore" it's closer to a sure thing that there have been multiple problems over an extended period of time.

The real shame is that those who've responsibly (and safely) done this for years are now denied, but we live in a litigious society. I look forward to reading reports of their trips on alternate lines... which is the logical choice for them now.

Would not recommend a cruise for anyone with a chronic illnesses, previous history of bronchitis or those 60 or 65 and above.

While I respect your place here to express your opinion, I feel obligated to balance that statement out a bit.

A cruise line that is remiss in keeping things clean on a regular basis might warrant a "stay away", but unless there's proof of some sort of Legionnaires' disease/Legionellosis being spread by the ventilation system (which I've yet to hear of) it's a little rash to advise folks not to cruise, in my admittedly less than humble opinion. It's unfortunate that you and some others got sick, but saying not to cruise is a bit much... especially with nothing more than speculation as to how or where the folks were exposed.

Please update this thread with any verifiable information from the CDC, though.

...I also put a bit of plastic wrap, like Saran wrap, UNDER the the cap of each of these bottles. I unscrew the top, place the saran wrap and then screw top back on. It's a nice, tight seal. Even though they're in a ziploc bag. It helps prevent spills.

It's nice to see someone else does this. I've had liquids leak in my checked baggage more than once because of in-flight pressure changes, so I just avoid the mess now altogether. I go one step farther and put them into zip-lock bags.

If you've got the weight allowance to bring big bottles of shampoo and things, more power to you. Frankly, I'm usually fine with the products provided. Family who just returned from a cruise on the Zaandam said they thought the Elemis products in the shower dispensers were nice.

We've been active with our neighborhood association - about 2,500 houses - and after a couple of home burglaries we invited the city police and county sheriff's departments to come out and offer advice. They both said NOT to have your mail or newspapers stopped. Why? Too often workers themselves (at one level or another) shared or sold that information off to burglars. They suggested a slot through the door for mail, where it could gather unseen, and someone coming to get your paper or put the gathered mail into a spot where (again) it could sit unseen from someone who might be looking in through windows. The world's so different to my childhood suburb days when you didn't have to regularly make sure the doors were locked.

We're on what the post office says is a "training route", so we have different delivery people every couple of weeks. We regularly get neighbor's mail, and vice versa. For about 8 years we had the same carrier, and we knew her well enough for Christmas, birthday and baby shower gifts. We still miss her.

I do hope you are willing to make an exception for a legitimate Service Dog?

I'm with everyone on no pets on board...but a Service Dog is not a pet.

Yes, of course. A properly trained service dog would likely be better behaved than some of the humans on board. ;)

My mistake not making that clear, sorry!

This is where cruise lines might lose me. Love my dog. He stays home. I'm ok with the RCI corkage fee. Not ok with pets on the Promenade or in the room next door. Not on a ship. Please no

Having a kennel area where passengers could go visit their dog or cat would be fine with me, but I'm with most folks I know: no animals should be out among the passengers or in cabins - on leashes or in backpacks or carriers or strollers. I feel bad for those who have a legitimate need for a support animal, but no... it doesn't need to become an imposition on others aboard the ship, plane, whatever.

"But, Misty's never bitten anyone before!" is the bread and butter of some of those TV court shows.

I hear (well, see) what you're saying, but I think your assessment of the value of Internet access between your daily "routine" and when you "get away" is way off target. I don't know what kind of charmed life you may lead, but if I personally encounter one thing during a typical day that is worth me photographing it, much less sharing it with family and friends via Facebook, that would be a remarkable day. Meanwhile, while I'm on vacation, I encounter such things several times an hour.

 

I think it makes no sense opposing Facebook while advocating reading a book. No - worse - it is an excessively insular perspective. As a matter of fact, a far better argument can be made that you've got it completely backwards, using the example I gave above about posting to Facebook being a form of journaling the experiences a vacationer on a vacation has, away from their typical routine.

 

I'm being a bit unfair to you (but only as a mirror of your own statements). You perhaps were only thinking of using the Internet in the manner you personally use it, based on your own background and experience, and perhaps you didn't think much about how other passengers engage with other people in a manner different than you do, and that they perhaps engage with other people much more so leveraging technology to do so. That's the risk you take, though, when you put forward judgmental appraisals on what others value (like calling it an "opiate").

 

Full Disclosure: After I post my recollections of the day on Facebook, I'm likely to read a book for an hour before sleep. The book reading is my "opiate". Of course, because at my age holding a heavy hardcover or even paperback book for an hour is likely to require pain relief for my wrist the next morning, I use a nice, lightweight Kindle.

I appreciated reading that, thanks. It's perhaps my manner of speaking that made it sound judgmental, and that wasn't my intent. I don't think you were being unfair at all. My life isn't "charmed", unless that means first world, and for that I'm grateful. What I probably lost in my being overly wordy was that being able to instantly share a picture of something doesn't make it an imperative. I enjoy trip reports here, but given the choice I'd prefer seeing people's travel pictures in person, with them there to describe the excitement. Or reading a trip report, blog post, etc. Probably just my own weakness, but FB is a big time drain for me, and I don't access it on holiday... unless it's 104F in Bangkok and - being neither a mad dog or an Englishman - I'm indoors, resting. Even then I'm more likely to be reading or journaling.

Some folks truly need to be in touch with work, family or something, and I don't mean to minimize that; it's when people are glued to their phones even as they stand before the Grand Canyon or - worse - jaywalk across a city street that I'd say maybe we're a bit too attached to the media, and not the humans and/or vistas we're around. Just an opinion, and again, I appreciated yours. No right one, I'd say.

BTW - I understand the "wrist" thing regarding books, too. I'm reading The Path Between The Seas prior to the Panama Canal cruise, and that thing's bulky! I may end up with a reader device yet!

When my better two-thirds and I go on a cruise it's to get away from the regular routine of being land-locked, and that includes the time online. If people absolutely have to do it, I guess the internet charge should simply be considered part of the cost of travel... and the cruise lines are running a business, after all.

I'd like to think people could look at the water, a book or something else besides their facebook page, but the internet's joined TV as another opiate for the masses - and from the number of folks nosed in on their cell phones while standing in front of a Wonder of the World, I'd say an intervention might be appropriate. ;)

I guess I'll be be the third to say I forgot the camera battery charger. Cables, plenty of memory chips, but a dead camera... and since I went digital, I take thousands of pictures each trip. I give friends a data disc of 1,000 unedited trip pictures so when they can't sleep they can put it into their DVD player. Works every time. ;)

If that happens again, look for someone on the ship with the same camera, I'm sure they would give you a charge. :)

Now that's a great suggestion! Hope I never have to try it, though.

There's NOTHING fair about being sick on a vacation! What miserable luck.

If the referenced article is correct and this was caused by the Legionella bacteria, I'm not sure as even being conscientious about washing your hands can protect you; being in a van where half the folks are coughing it out would do most of us in. This might be an instance where taking care of ourselves otherwise (proper rest and healthy food) might help, but who does much of that on vacation? I suppose the advice I've gotten about keeping your immune system up with something like Airborne might help, but it sounds a lot like just plain unfortunate luck.

I'll take the chance and continue to cruise, though ;)

Only Colon is in Panama. Puerto Vallarta is covered extensively on the Mexican Rivera board. Similarly, Cartagena is covered on the Columbia board, Puerto Quertzal on the Guatemala board and Puntareanas on the Costa Rica board.

Since we're booked on an east to west full Panama Canal cruise I've appreciated the responses in this thread, but as a relative newbie still finding my way around the board this was especially helpful, CruiserBruce... thank you. The wealth of information on this forum is almost mind-boggling.

At the risk of repeating some of the good suggestions already posted, here's what we try to do:

1) Familiarize yourself a bit with the deck plans of the ship you're boarding a day or two ahead of embarking

2) Arrive to board the ship as early as you reasonably can (waiting in a crush is no way to start any journey)

3) Find an early lunch - the MDR if available, just for the peace and quiet... but that's a personal choice

4) When the cabin is ready, drop off the carry on items

5) While you're there, note where your muster point is, and before you really settle in,

6) Wipe down the most likely sources of viruses/germs (phone keypad, receiver, remotes, switches, door/drawer/cabinet handles, faucets, etc) - Chlorox makes an unscented hydrogen peroxide wipe that'll cover almost all bases - even norovirus... I'm not OCD about it, but why risk losing cruise days to projectile vomiting?

7) Sit for a moment somewhere with a view, take a deep breath and note you're on vacation!

8) Take a walking tour around the ship and repeat #7 as necessary

9) If you have anytime dining perhaps make a reservation when you pass the MDR

A drink doesn't have to have alcohol in it. Haven't had any alcohol in almost three decades, and I'm just as happy watching a sunset with a tonic and lime, myself. If you've noted where bad behavior by passengers appears in threads, it's quite often fueled by drinking. Well, that and/or good ol' American self-entitlement ;) Up to the individual, I say. Live and Let Live.