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On 5/31/2023 at 7:55 AM, Mercruiser said:

As part of the Carnival brands, some Princess cruisers might be interested to know that are installing Starlink on the QM2 in the middle of the Atlantic. Starlink installation definitely does NOT require a dry dock or even a port stay. See pictures here:

 

 

 

OK... I want that install gig... sure they are working hard much of the day, but then they put human clothes on and enjoy the ship that night... 

8 minutes ago, pc_load_letter said:

 

Great! I would recommend heading to the back of the ship as soon as possible (if you want to sit by a pool). It's much quieter and a lot less kids running around, and crowd is subdue. The DJ music was getting annoying as well when the main pool area was busy.

 

During port days it's easy to get a chair but get their early on sea day as chairs are being hoarded by 7am.

Thank you very much. 

Personally, I am a frequent cruiser but my teens are not, it's only cruise #2 for them (and cruise #2 for us on Carnival).  I generally walk/explore all the public decks and orient myself when I get onboard, as well as eat and settle in.  Hope for some pool time, but don't know yet... gonna sit back and let the kids take the lead on this cruise.  Only nudge them along so we don't get stuck thinking about what is next, or steer them away from obvious mistakes.

My last few cruises have been significantly reduced capacity... kinda got spoiled! (though in some cases they reduced offerings more than capacity.  When you are at 60% occupancy, but cut 50% of the buffet, you actually make lines longer!)

Headed to the Radiance Aug 1st, just did check in.  Thanks for the review.

I know this thread is a few weeks old, but we are on the Aug 1st sailing, and took the upgrade offer from standard Balcony to Ocean Suite for $252, but we have 4 people in the cabin... so the cost per person was fairly low, and we could use the extra space.  My only fear is getting spoiled by it.

Unfortunately the clear skies didn't last... No northern lights for me.

Holy Carp... I see stars... fingers crossed it stays clear for a bit and maybe Northern Lights...

With all the bad weather, karma owes us one!

Remember there is no price protection policy at HAL. If you booked a non-refundable fare then you are locked in. Sure nice things might happen, but not always. If you book a refundable fare, then prior to final payment, you can make adjustments, but you may lose your previous amenities.

Once final payment comes, there are not guarantees. Working with a good TA that has a good working relationship with HAL will typically get you better results, but not always. Anything can happen. I watch pricing very close on HAL and would guess at least 75-80% of all sailings the price goes UP not down (depending on how early you booked) or were sold out. Of course, that is just my observation, yours may be different.

How can a mobile hot spot not have to go through the ship' internet to the satellite to avoid paying HAL for internet use? Is it possible to connect to the satellite?

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As a general rule prices go up. Think of it as a graph, there will be some up and down spots on the graph, but the line will head up.

Price drops are often caused by promotions ending. Holland America promotions are almost always more expensive than the non-promotional rate and 75% of the time the free item is not worth the price increase. Ie, you get $200 in free gratuities but the fare is $400 more.

Lowest prices and most options is by booking as early as possible. Of course there are exceptions, but not many.

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I recently had a conversation with a few people from Princess who definitely would be in the know. They said that ***** would continue its roll out this year. That they were a bit aggressive with the initial plan, but that they are expanding it. They just want to make it right.

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No it does not, and this is why these rumor threads are getting old. All it suggests until someone can post an OFFICIAL word of a sale is that HAL has not yet posted any 2020 itineraries for Prinsendam. NOT that there will be no further cruises. They only just posted Maasdam's early 2020 itineraries in the the last what? week or so? I have only been on this board for a bit more than two years and I've seen the same logic employed to pronounce the impending sale or transfer of Prinsendam, Maasdam, and Veendam multiple times for all three ships. And look what's happened--Maasdam got the EXC program voyages and Veendam is getting more interesting Cuba and Med itineraries and P'dam keeps doing her thing. Part of the allure of Prinsendam besides/because of her smaller size is that each of her itineraries is unique, she doesn't repeat in the same year. Such a schedule might be a bit more difficult to put together and confirm before announcing it to the public than for say the ships sailing the same two or three itineraries over and over and over in the Caribbean in the early months of a year.

 

Until someone can post a link to a credible source, can we please stop the rumor mill about the impending doom for these ships?

This isn't a site for a collection of press releases, that would be PRnewswire.com. This is a site of fans of various cruise lines discussing those lines and sharing thoughts and experiences. Maybe this thread isnt for you. I skip all threads about smoking.

The speculation is interesting, the business chatter is informative and I get a little insight from everyone's posts. Certainly nothing is done until it is official, and even then, companies have reversed course even after an official announcement.

My source was official, but I am not. So my addition to this thread would count as rumor. But the evidence mounts. We could be wrong, or maybe we are right at the moment but it could change tomorrow. Either way, to me, it's an interesting discussion.

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I am no business major, or financial whiz, but here's how I see the picture for the cruise industry:

 

1) Older smaller ships (like the Prinsendam) are leaving the fleets of mainstream cruise lines. Once they leave they are mostly going to niche operators unassociated with the big players in the industry.

 

2) Corporations like Carnival, Royal Caribbean and NCL have no interest in developing newbuild programs for their mainstream lines that replicate the types/sizes of vessels they are disposing of. They are instead focused on larger, more economical newbuilds for their mainstream brands and building the smaller ships for their Ultra Premium and Luxury brands where the lower passenger numbers can be offset by significantly higher fares.

 

3) New entrants into Ocean Cruising, Like Viking, are siphoning a distinct passenger profile away from lines like Holland America, Princess, Celebrity, etc and toeing up head to head with brands such as Oceania and Azamara.

 

4) If a corportation like Carnival, Royal or NCL wanted to build and operate smaller ships for their mainstream and premium brands like Princess, Holland, P&O, Celebrity, Royal, NCL, Carnival, Costa, etc, they would already have the vessels under construction. They fact that outside of the Celebrity Flora (Galapagos fleet) they have not done so speaks volumes. I think the big players are content to let the mid/small ship market be part of their Ultra Premium and Luxury Brands in the future, and are counting on the fact that attrition of those clients who prefer smaller ships and their unique itineraries will either go to other brands in the corporation or be replaced with a new consumer demographic on their new, larger, more economical ships that help bolster overall profitability.

There is 1 thing you are all forgetting... the cruise industry has been running at 96% of capacity (lower berths) and when you figure in 3rds and 4ths they have been running about 106% of capacity. So no one is taking passengers from each other because there are a large influx of new passengers. New cruisers have been growing far faster than capacity has grown for several years now... and the experts who know the trends keep ordering new ships.

Would it be possible for you to provide a link to that article? We were talking with our HAL PCC today and asked him if the Prinsendam had been sold. He said rumors once again have started circulating, but according to the front office, there is no truth to them. I would like to send that link to him if you have it.

Your HAL PCC will never address rumors. It's just the official nature of their job.

I was just on the Bliss for a preview sailing. The President of NCL reminded us that 4000 is for lower berths only (2 people per room). With the ship being far more family oriented than a HAL, I would expect that the real number could be closer to 5000 when kids are counted.

Can you use cell phone as hot spot? Att plan.

No. There are no towers at sea. Your cell phone will hit the "tower" on the ship, which routes through the same satellite system. It is very expensive regardless of carrier or plan to use your cell phone at sea. Don't even try it...you won't be happy with the bill. (I have heard of them in the $1000's in some cases).

In port, then yes, you can use your phone, even on the ship. Put it back in airplane mode when the ship leaves... or that Facebook update in the background that you didn't even realize happened just cost you $20 in data usage... and it does it several times an hour!

This is proof that there is no way to make everyone happy. There is nothing wrong with your disappointment, but HAL at least tried, there is no way they could have known why you wanted the cabin on 7. Of course, that is where the no-upgrades option comes in, and working with a human travel agent rather than an online site. When you do get a hold of Travelocity, the customer service rep may not even know there is such an option, or even how to fix it.. they don't specialize, they just get the next call in the cue.

Don't feel claustrophobic on deck 1. You are above the water, and it is no different than any other deck on the ship.

Make sure you want it and will use it. Typically the non-refundable deposit rate is lower than the Explore4 rate. You may or may not save money by getting Explore4.

I was talking to someone who is knowledgeable on the subject recently, and the fate of the Prinsendam is sealed. She will be leaving the fleet when her previously released itineraries are complete. I understand she will likely be staying in the family (ie another Carnival Corp company). As with all other rumors, this one is only as accurate as the person who told me, but at least they were a HAL employee.

Also, keep in mind that the people on these boards (many of them) cruise far more than the people answering the phones at the cruise line. The phone center people are not at the port... most HAL employees work from home. There are minutia and details that they simply cannot know perfectly for every port. Things change all the time at many of the ports, so it would be impossible for them to keep up with. They know the policies and the big stuff, but the details are just the best guess.

The experience on these boards is the best resource for that kind of information.

I don't have direct experience, but I know enough of the PVSA to say that you cannot combine the two. While both cruises, by themselves, are legal, CBP does not care how the cruises were advertised, sold, or ticketed, only the embarkation port and the disembarkation port, for the passenger in question. As such, since you are not "permanently disembarking" the ship in Vancouver, for you it is considered to be a SFO to SEA cruise, and therefore in violation of the PVSA. This is exactly the reason that HAL has the one night cruise in between the California coastal and the Alaska seasons, so that anyone who wants to, can sail from SFO to Vancouver, get off and make their own way to SEA, and then do a round trip Alaska cruise to/from SEA.

The easier answer is that no one would be allowed to travel from SFO to SEA, so they have to go to Vancouver, otherwise, the ship would have to relocate empty. The one day is to correct the starting point for the ship. The few people who need the extra stop for the back2back is icing on the cake.

is there any chance it could be exploded in the air?

You mean like shot down... not impossible, but unlikely unless it is headed for a developed location, like a city.

The odds of it hitting a ship or plane are extremely, extremely small.

CB. Let me tell you what happened last night when we called 888 6288107 were upsells are done Told by HAL employee that Neptune was available but since we have TA, they have to call. We understood and had TA call within ten minutes only to be told nothing available and that we were first in waitlist. We’ll have to believe it’s just the luck of the draw....

Not luck of the draw, there are often only a few rooms in play, and it is very possible with so few days left that your room you were told about actually sold in the 10 minutes it took to contact your TA.

A TA cannot change a Carnival price. They have access to all of the rate codes that Carnival does. They can give on board credit, but it usually comes from their commission.

If they don't charge you for the service, then there isn't any disadvantage to using them. If they charge then you have to decide if the service they provide is worth it.

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I am not looking to short change anyone. But I wonder about the attacks on the OP. This is a valid question. We are told it is a service charge/tips and that this is a huge part of what the crew gets paid. I dont think there is anything wrong with wondering what percentage goes to the crew or if any of it is kept by the cruise line for administrative expenses. The United Way passes on 91% of every dollar to its charities...but then those charities have administrative expenses, so on average 70% of the money collected actually reaches the people intended. This is not an insult to the United Way. But to illustrate that often not everything is as it seems.

The whistleblower theory is the one I put the most faith in, i hope that all of the money is going to the crew, but angry blind faith is not proof. To clarify, i am not suggesting this as an excuse not to pay.

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I have always worked some everyday as well and done fine with the package.

 

 

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The Value package?

It seems to be cheaper to pay for it before traveling ($10.25 per day)