KJ Knowles

29 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

The Captain informed us that our departure from Puerto Plata would be slightly delayed due to wind. This time last year, the Encore’s sister, the Escape, left the DR in high winds and ended up running aground and punching a hole in the hull. Passengers were evacuated and flown home. And the Escape had to undergo two dry docks (a wet dock in Port Canaveral and a more extensive dry dock in Europe) to fully repair the damage. 

I'm very glad to hear that the Captain is taking great care with you and the Encore. We are looking forward to hopping onboard after you disembark Sunday for our first Haven adventure. It wouldn't do to have the ship get "dented" and have our upcoming voyage cancelled. (How's that for selfish? 😉) 

I hope you have much enjoyment during the remainder of your cruise time. Also, thank you for all of the info you have taken the time to provide here! It is invaluable to those like me who will be first-timers on Encore. 👍

34 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

I see you are on the Encore.  Well I was on the Encore for the repo this past November from the west coast thru the canal for 21 nights and the bidding did not work out. I too saw those great prices and I bid max on everything. It went live bidding.

 I won the lowest haven room which was a spa room for a little over $4000pp.

Unexpected results can occur on upgrade bids. We were notified of an upgrade acceptance       yesterday...one of 7 that I placed for the Encore 4/16-5/1 sailing. I did not expect to be awarded any of them as my bids were only 60ish percent of maximum. Less in a couple of cases.

It was for a Forward Facing Penthouse, upgrading from a Club Balcony. I don't really get it, but I am certainly delighted (although not nearly as much so as my wife. 🙂)

20 minutes ago, Suze58 said:

Holland America offered a laundry service of all the laundry you wanted to do for one fixed price. They also offered to nickel and dime you for each piece of laundry.  We found that we could pack a fraction of the clothing needed by using their laundry service, BUT couldn't get the first bag of laundry back until the 2nd day of the cruise at best. And there was no laundry service on the last day of the cruise, so had to plan accordingly.

 

It would be great if NCL offered the same. 

I think that was my favorite Holland America perk. Last October the price was $60 for the cabin (10 day cruise). Sent out laundry every day and came home after with nearly no clothes to wash. It was very easy to get spoiled. Still, we're back to NCL for our upcoming one. Certainly both lines have their appeal.

I'm glad this topic came up to remind me that I need to contact NCL about my status. While I was making reservations for our pending cruise, my efficient and affable PCC noticed multiple accounts for both my wife and myself. He said he could get them merged to assure no confusion or mix-ups would occur.

My reservation now has me as listed as "First Timer", although her status is correct. My first NCL cruise was 1980 and there have been a few in between...not exactly a First Timer. 😀 Time to shoot off an email to NCL. I have 3 weeks before sailing on this one. It should be enough time to get the issue sorted...maybe. 😉

Wow. We left Zaandam that morning following the previous cruise. Many onboard were continuing on the Grand Africa voyage. Wishing the best for the passenger(s) involved. 

I got lucky with VeriFLY. I checked it this morning and it no longer was asking for test results. Showing green and ready to go for flights and cruise after I entered the ArriveCAN Travel Authorization code.

Port Charlottetown, P.E.I. is scheduled to reopen to cruise ships on 10/1 (Technically end of day, 9/30). I haven't heard any info on other affected ports.

Port Charlottetown update

Timing is everything. We board Zaandam in Montreal on October 1. 🙂 I'm still going to complete ArriveCan and Verifly. Proctored tests are already scheduled and paid for and the early transition period of the change may suffer "right hand/left hand" communication issues.

And of course we fjy into Montreal on September 30. 😄 Cruising on Zaandam October 1-10. 

There has been discussion of Mah Jongg on the roll call so you should definitely do as @StLouisCruisers suggests. See you in Montreal!

I'm interested in learning about this also, as I am on the October 1 Montreal to Fort Lauderdale sailing that is just before the Grand Africa voyage. Not that it is critically important to me, just curious. 🙂

I received boarding time this morning for our October 1 departure, similar to the 14 day time previously mentioned.

I suppose they will be installing/replacing them while the ship is in service. I see no pause in the Zaandam's scheduled itinerary.

If the cabling was previously fitted (as I have read here on CC) and the data infrastructure/support equipment is in place and tested it shouldn't be too daunting a project. It will be interesting to read about how it is done.

We will be boarding her on October 1 for the 9 Day from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale prior to Grand Africa. Looking forward to my first cruise in ages (five cancellations prior to this since 25 September, 2020). 

I requested the shareholder benefit via email on August 1 and received confirmation yesterday, August 4. That was considerably faster than I expected after reading the experiences of others. I am posting it as a data point for those interested in the benefit.

This is a good site with monthly updates on the factors affecting Japan reopening:
 

When will Japan reopen to Tourist travel?

We booked three Japan cruises beginning with August, 2020 that were cancelled. 😔 We are in wait-and-see mode, now.

Our January 30, 2022 Panama Canal cruise due date has also been moved forward a month. From 11/1 to 12/1. 

Final payment is due November 1 for our February Trans-Canal cruise. If the mask onboard requirement is still in place at that time (seems pretty likely) we will regretfully cancel. No problem with pre-cruise testing. I can certainly see a benefit to it. 

Being on a ship full of masked passengers and crew just wouldn't feel like a vacation to me. Especially for 14 days. I confess to admiration of those you who able to manage it and have an enjoyable cruise. 🙂

Jacqui,

Please remove me from Noordam - 28-Mar-22 - 14 day Southern Japan. Struck down by American Airlines instead of HAL this time. The fare has almost doubled and they contend that the credit for the tickets THEY cancelled will have expired by 3 days on our return flight. 3 days. 

I was Platinum or Executive Platinum level with American almost every year since 1990. A serious case of "What have you done for me lately". Business class seats DFW-Haneda-DFW are $8K each. 😲 Does anyone actually pay that? We were going to fly premium economy and even those were to be $2.5K each. Pretty much double the original booking cost.

We will probably switch to a 14 day Panama Canal cruise that returns within the deadline of the travel credit. Thank you, Jacqui!

Fairly recently @CatherineFromForneyTX has required a mobility scooter to get around. We got her an Optimus compact self folding model. It has worked well so far, but we have not yet flown or cruised with it. 

It worked very well on a couple of road trips. It is extremely quiet. I was worried when we took it to a museum, but it was necessary to listen carefully to hear it at all. It is fun to watch it fold/unfold itself and always gets attention. 🙂 This can be triggered remotely by buttons on the key fob or by a switch on the back.

I wish the turning radius (37") was tighter, and the back is prone to flopping around when folded. I use a velcro strap to secure it, but it should have come with some sort of latch. It weighs 56 pounds with battery, is 20" wide (without armrests) and can be rolled like a suitcase when folded.

The video at this link is full of marketing speak and bad acting but it does show the folding/unfolding and some other useful info:

Optimus self folding mobility scooter video.

@CatherineFromForneyTX has recently become mobility limited. We knew mobility aids would now need to be acquired/used for travel. The photo below is from maiden voyage of her new scooter during a road trip we recently took to the Texas Hill Country. It has worked very well for her while being compact and easy to transport.

It is called an Optimus, named after the Transformer character as it folds and unfolds itself into a compact package at the touch of a button. Kind of fun to watch! The other photo is in the folded position. Even if not easy to ride into/out the room, it can be quickly folded in the hall and rolled into the room like a suitcase.

It is 20" wide (without armrests, she does not use them). When folded it rolls like a 2 wheel suitcase using the handlebar as a handle. Weighs 52 pounds. There is another brand called "Transformer" that is VERY similar (and probably first 😉).

I think it will work well for our upcoming Japan cruise (March/April 2022). We have a Signature Suite booked on the Noordam. I do have a concern that it will survive air transport. It is a pretty rugged little chunk, but baggage handling is always a bit of a crapshoot. Anyone have experience regarding that? I have poked around on the CruiseCritic Disabled Cruise Travel forum and resources and will continue to do so.

!

@CatherineFromForneyTX and I are booked on March 28, 2022 - 14-Day Southern Japan - Noordam. Try Number 5 for 30th Anniversary and Retirement celebration cruise. 🙂 Apologies for adding to your edit list yet again, @kazu.

I just noticed on my HAL account that we have been rebooked from our cancelled Volendam 11/25-12/8, 2021 departure to Nieuw Amsterdam 11/20-12-5, 2021. That was surprisingly quick.

We won't be staying with that booking for multiple reasons, but I am impressed it happened that quickly. No notification other than the changed booking in the account. Anyone else gotten their automatic rebookings?

On 5/24/2021 at 11:23 AM, kazu said:

 

I feel you pain on the cancelled cruises 😔 From the looks of things, this cruise looks very hopeful (it’s right after our cruise).

 

Happy to add it for you and I hope you have a wonderful anniversary * retirement celebration even if they are very belated 😄 

Thank you, Jacqui!

I did notice that you would be leaving the Volendam the very day we board it. I hope you have a fun and memorable cruise!

Johnson

CatherineFromForneyTX and I have booked and hope to sail on the Volendam 11/25 14 day Southern Caribbean cruise (following 3 cancelled Japan cruises). 

This is a long postponed 30th Anniversary/KJ Knowles retirement celebration.

I'm not letting them off the hook, by any means, but I believe CCL was the first line to build LNG powered cruise ships, including the first to use LNG fuel at sea (the AIDAnova of AIDA Cruises). Several others used LNG at port. The new flagship Mardis Gras will be the first LNG powered cruise ship to be based in North America.