NancyDrew1953

I enjoyed the eastbound crossing on December 3, 2022; it was the Literary Festival, which changed the vibe on the ship a little bit (somewhat younger, more casual) in my view. Of the 2,200 passengers on board,1,600 were British, 400 Americans, with the rest Canadian, etc. This seemed to be a higher number of British due to the Literary Festival. The dates for the Festival in 2023 are, I believe, not in the period you are considering. All of the Holiday decorations were in place, but I was told it was too early for Holiday music or events since it was only the beginning of December. Weather was generally OK for December, but we hit a bit of a storm in Southampton. I would definitely recommend the sheltered balcony cabins, as compared to the glass balconies. The sheltered were usable, but the others not so much.

Although not likely for 2024, a World Cruise on one of the Queens is on my Life List. I would love an update from anyone on board.

Having traveled in the past on the QM2 (in Britannia Club), I have loved most everything except that to plug in my CPAP machine I have to run an electrical cord across the floor of the cabin. I have tripped over the cord in the past. For my next crossing, I am considering booking a Princess Grill cabin, but was wondering if there were any electrical outlets closer to the bed? I haven’t been able to get a definitive answer from Cunard although my TA has contacted them twice. Thank you for any information.

Weather yesterday in Rotorua was only so-so. OK in the morning, off the ship before 8am, but rained most of the afternoon and evening. Not back on board until almost 10 pm. Even with the rain, it was a great outing. Today is scenic cruising - not warm, but no rain. Hyperion Knight conducted a great Music Trivia this morning. If it is repeated on your cruise, don’t miss it as it was the very best. Tomorrow I’d disembarkation😥

We are visiting Tautanga tomorrow. The Noordam is scheduled to arrive at 6:45 am, with all aboard at 10:00 pm, so a very long day in port. Weather is supposed to be in the mid-70’s (F) and very nice. I have a lot of activities scheduled and am really looking forward to a full day. Today was Orange day, and it seemed like more than half the passengers were wearing something bright Orange. By the way, this evening’s main entertainment was Hyperion Knight - absolutely outstanding. I’ve enjoyed all of the shows I’ve attended, but Hyperion Knight is the best. If he is on your cruise, don’t miss him.

On the Noordam. They are still giving out surgical (not the N95s) upon request. There were some of the regular surgical ones in the cabin at embarkation, and you can get more at Guest Services or from cabin attendant. They seem to only provide N or KN 95s in very rare instances. As mentioned above, one of our group has tested positive and moved to a separate cabin. Her spouse has been tested daily and has been provided with the 95 masks by the medical team, but is free to be out and about with the 95 masks.

The first couple of days masks were mandatory, except when eating or drinking. Compliance was generally very good. After day three or four (I have forgotten the specific day), the captain announced that masks were no longer mandatory. At that point, probably only about 10 percent of the passengers and a somewhat higher percentage of crew continued to wear masks. Having said that, one of the group I am traveling with was diagnosed with Covid yesterday. HAL moved her to a separate balcony cabin, while her spouse (not Covid positive) is staying in their original (non-balcony) cabin. So far, I have avoided Covid, but I stay masked most always whether cruising or not. In my opinion, masks may help, but are no guarantee. There is some talk that if Covid gets to a certain level the captain may reintroduce mandatory masking, but it appears that we aren’t there so far.

Currently on the Noordam. We started in Sydney, then Melbourne, than Burnie in Tasmania (Hobart was not on our itinerary), them the South Island stops as planned. Weather in the South Island was dry, warm and mostly sunny. We did Port Chalmers. There were only two places on the North Island we are missing - Gisborne and Napier. We did not have Wellington or Christchurch on our itinerary, but Wellington was added as a substitute. We spent today in Wellington, weather was brisk and windy, but no rain. In the morning, I wore a sweater, but not needed in the afternoon. Today we visited Zealandia - highly recommend it. We have seen a lot of New Zealand so far. We’ve are headed north tomorrow for the one added sea day. Then onto Tauranga and Auckland - so far everything seems as planned, e.g. no changes to upcoming planned excursions. So far everything has been wonderful, both with excursions and the ship. My only complaint is that the nightly chocolates only appear on Gala Nights (only two nights) so far.😂

Just back on board from Picton and surrounding areas, including Marlbourgh wineries, the WW I historic aviation center (outstanding), and a chocolate shop. A fabulous day - sunny and hot. Tomorrow is Wellington, the replacement port for Gisborne and Napier. Then, the sea day. Tauranga is still on the agenda.

It has been wonderful. Excellent scenery, particularly the day we visited three sounds of the Fiordland National Park - bright, sunny and incredible views. We just docked in Pictor to another beautiful day. This trip has been near perfect, with great crew and service. This is the first time I have been on a HAL ship since 2018 and I’m loving it.

Currently on the Noordam. We are missing two ports - Gisborne and Napier, but are scheduled into Wellington on the 21st as a replacement with the other day (the 22nd) currently being called a sea day. Yesterday the cruise director indicated that HAL is still working on finding a replacement for this additional sea day, but that they are not having much luck. Our weather so far has been outstanding, and it has been an excellent cruise. You should have a great time.

I am considering a November 2023 cruise with Oceania. Although most cabin categories are fully booked, there is some limited availability. This would be my first time with Oceania, and I have not be able to find answers about availability of ship excursions on either the Oceania website or here on Cruise Critic (maybe my searching skills are poor). How far in advance of the cruise date are ship excursions open for booking? I am particularly concerned that most of the excursions may already be sold out as the ship is almost full. On the Oceania website, there is a listing of possible excursions for the ports. There are several excursions of interest, but are they likely to be sold out by now? Excursions are important to me, and for a variety of reasons (not interested in debating thus), I am only willing to do ship (not private) excursions. Thus, before I commit, I would appreciate any insight on the likelihood of booking ship excursions given it appears to be an almost full ship and that departure is only 10 months away.

I have the GeoBlue coverage for annual medical. I haven’t had any claims with it. Unfortunately, the emergency medical declines to $50,000 now that I am 70. I haven’t found any provider providing a higher coverage for 70 and over. Does anyone have a recommendation for annual medical insurance with more coverage for the 70 and overs?

Although technically not new to HAL (cruised on the Zaandam in 2018), I have a couple of questions that I can't seem to locate answers to on either the HAL website or here. (The answers may be around, but sometimes my search skills seem to be lacking!). Dining in the Main Dining Room: (1) I understand that certain entrees may have an upcharge. Am I correct in thinking that there is an charge if two entrees are requested? I think I read this somewhere but can't find it. How much is the charge? (2) Is there a charge for requesting more than one appetizer? Same question for dessert? If there is a charge for the second, how much is it? Is this indicated on the menu? (3) Do you have to request the Indian menu the night before? Or is it available at the time of dining? (4) Can you order off both the Indian and regular menu? Any other advice about dining choices in the Main Dining Room?

Although I agree that the planetarium definitely needs a refurbishment (broken chairs and others in poor shape), the shows I saw were fantastic and one of the highlights of the trip. During the almost one month on board (October 25 to November 20), there were 6 different programs offered (some only offered twice and others offered more frequently). Unfortunately, due to high demand, I was only able to see two of the 6 programs offered. The reservations went quickly, and even waiting to see if there were any no shows didn’t work. So if the literary festival takes over the venue, it will be very disappointing to me. My other concern with the literary festival is whether all of the Insights lectures will be literary oriented? One of the great aspects of the lectures on my last voyage was the diversity of topics - everything from science (oceanography and astronomy) to history (the Anglo Zulu war) to theater to cooking to British palaces,etc. While not all topics were of interest, there was something for just about everyone. Even though both crossings on my last trip had a theme (Anthony Ingles Eastbound and Greatest Generation Westbound), neither dominated the offerings. Furthermore, it seems that the literary festival will be taking over public spaces strictly for the those that booked through the literary group. That just doesn’t seem right to me.

Where are finding the literary schedule for the upcoming crossing? I am particularly concerned about access to the planetarium (Illuminations) as in my prior recent crossings, it seemed like there was only about two planetarium showings per day, always in the afternoon. On the prior crossing, access to the planetarium was difficult as demand always exceeded space (this may have been worse than normal since it was the Northern Lights voyage). Anyway, my question is where are you seeing a listing of the literary events? Thanks.

Oh, dear, not good news. I was on the QM2 from October 25 to November 20 on the Northern Lights round-trip from NYC. Although I know that there were some Covid cases on board, it did not appear to be that bad. At that time, my guess estimate was that about 5 percent of the crew were masked, but that less than 1 percent of the passengers were masked. I am back on the QM2 on December 3rd (this Saturday); hopefully, things will improve. I was planning of packing my masks anyway, but this is a bit discouraging. I know that the cruise lines do not provide numbers of Covid cases, but do you know the total passenger count on board right now. The Norway segment of the Northern Lights had over 2,400 passengers. The captain announced that this was the highest headcount post-Covid. Also, it would be interesting to know how many on your cruise back from the Caribbean are continuing on to Southampton.

I've been back home since Nov. 20th having done the Roundtrip NYC Northern Lights trip (Oct. 25 - Nov. 20). I keep meaning to write a review, but was very busy with the American Thanksgiving Holiday. The short version of my review is that I loved it so much that I then booked the Eastbound Crossing leaving this upcoming Saturday (Dec. 3). As a result, a longer review will have to wait.... I got a GREAT (UNBELIEVABLE) price for a solo booking this upcoming crossing while on board, so obviously the ship is not full. However, I am a little concerned because I've now figured out that I am on the Literary Festival crossing (and my internet sleuthing suggests that it changes the vibe on board and precludes access to parts of the ship).

Having just read this topic, I must admit to being a bit concerned as I am on the December 3rd Literary Festival (inadvertently). I did not know that it was the Literary Festival when I signed up (and now it sounds like I may regret it). I was just on board the QM2 from October 25 to November 20 for the Northern Lights and loved it, but the thought of some large group taking over the main venues sounds dreadful. The October / November crossings both had themes (Anthony Ingles and NSO on the Eastbound and the Greatest Generation on the Westbound), but they did not overwhelm the QM2 and there were plenty of options available. I will be particularly disappointed if the planetarium is closed due to the Literary Festival. It sounds like the Literary Festival may be a different (unfavorable) situation than what I have experienced on my last crossings. Does anyone have any additional insights? When I am back home I will offer my thoughts, but I usually don't try to post while on board given the quality of the internet.

The photo is exactly what I experienced on the QM2 on my Northern Lights journey, which just ended in NYC yesterday Nov. 20th, in the BC (Britannia Club). There were two nights on the recent Northern Lights 26-day journey with lamb offerings - not certain if they were rack of lamb or some other style as I am not into lamb. Food is a very individual opinion, but I was very pleased with the variety of choices. Although there was some repetition in the 26-day Northern Lights trip, I was impressed with the quality of the food.

Just disembarked from the QM2 today (in fact, sitting in LaGuardia waiting for my flight), and I can confirm that the photo of the cheese trolley was exactly what was in use during this journey. Normally, a choice of 5 different cheeses, and my waiter was able to explain the differences between the cheeses. I don’t have a very sophisticated knowledge of cheese, and prefer only mild ones. My waiter did a good job of helping me select.

Currently on the QM2, no coffee or tea offerings in the area behind Illuminations. Asked crew when this would resume, responses were no current plans to resume. In fact, that area is looking a little forlorn. So only place for free coffe or tea in the King’s Court (aka the buffet) or one’s cabin.

Loved the photo. This has been a wonderful journey, and I am dreading the end. So many perfect moments. I am already planning my new trip on the QM2.

The “Greatest Generations” presentations have been outstanding. As those who fought in WW2 slowly fade away, it is inspiring to recall there stories. The seas have been challenging. Although not prone to motion sickness, last night I skipped dinner due to some difficulties in walking about. Frankly, I have been indulging so much in great since boarding in October, that missing a meal is not a problem. Still bumpy walking about, but it seems much better than yesterday or else my sea legs are improving. I was disappointed to miss last night’s theater, particularly as that is when the captain normally provides statistics on passenger count and nationalities.

Dining in the Britannia Club, service has been excellent. My lead waiter (Anthony) has 22 years experience (16 years on the QM2) and his associate (Amondo) is equally well trained. Both are great at anticipating my needs and timing, quick at lunch if I am hurrying off to an event , but otherwise, accommodating my desires for a leisurely meal. My only other experience on the QM2 (which was pre-COVID) was in the main dining room, and the Club is definitely worth the additional cost (in my view) — quiet, relaxed and very personal service.