Ipeeinthepools

This thread really makes me rethink my decision on the Koningsdam and future cruises on the Rotterdam. We like longer cruises and try to book the Collector Voyages and we like the Spa Veranda cabins. The problem is most of the cabins assigned to the Collector Voyages are connecting cabins. I have tried on two different cruises to change them to non-connecting cabins and HAL refused. In both cases there were plenty of cabins available. If someone knows the secret to getting them to switch to a non-connecting cabin, I would appreciate the hint.

Moving to port Canaveral is a move to get more families with kids onboard. No thanks, I’ll find other options.

I agree with HAL. I think you will be fine with HAL and you’ll find me in the HAL pool. Welcome aboard

I didn’t think so. If you have a ship’s tour don’t worry, you’ll be fine, but it will probably be after 1:00 am before you get back to the ship. If you don’t have a ship’s tour, good luck, I hope you have a good camera to get a picture of the ship leaving you. Just kidding, but te challenge wil.be to find a find after the event.

Even more important than culinary school, I know what I like. The cookies on Celebrity are terrible.

Thanks, I knew everyone could not make it back to the ship by 12:30 and I would have been a nervous wreck worrying about it. You had the fastest way back to the ship on a ships tour and you didn’t make it before the published time.

You won’t need premium service, the free service will do. I’ll also let you know in January. How much sailing did you do around Antarctica?

Yep, you’re correct. Weather and sea conditions always control where a ship can sail. Please watch the routes they sail in January

What time did you get back on the ship?

I’m sure those are the rules and I’m sure everyone follows the rules. Bookmark this thread and we’ll come back to it in January when the HAL ships are operating in Antarctica. You’ll see that they follow the same routes as the expedition ships on the west side of the peninsula.

Although I’m not a baker, I know what is tasty and I agree 100%. Celebrity’s cakes are tasteless and I never even consider having them for dessert. A small scoop of vanilla ice cream is really the best choice for me.

Maybe because we have been conditioned that a sale isn’t really a sale. All too often we have seen the prices rise just before a “sale.”

Me too, I got my point.

Yes. The number of days is material, it increases your odds of finding wildlife and you potentially can explore more scenery. Based on what I saw last winter, I would not hesitate to book a HAL drive by cruise. It is not the same as an expedition ship, but you will see exactly the same things as an expedition ship. The same scenery and the whale watching will be very close. You likely will not see Emperor penguins but every thing else will be similar. Most of the ships spend the bulk of their time on the west side of the peninsula and the ice class rating will likely not be a factor most of the year, the larger cruise ships can see exactly the same thing as the expedition ships. Take a look this December and January and watch where the ships operate. I would probably suggest watching from the promenade deck and then moving to the other side if the Captain or crew spot whales or other wildlife. Don’t worry about any limitations that you might have that keep you off the expedition ships, instead enjoy what you can see from the other ships.

You obviously haven’t seen my 6-pack

I’m not sure what you are telling us in this post. 🤔 if you are telling us you still like Celebrity, that’s great, you can have my spot.

I only read the words that were posted.

Really? How’s this for an example. On the National Geographic ships, the passengers have Bridge access. I would spend every morning that we were cruising the Antarctica peninsula on the bridge with the Captain looking for whales, penguins, birds or just picking our way through the ice looking for a way to get to our landing spot. As nice as the HAL trips might be, they are still very different from the expedition ships. And don’t forget the pool on the expedition ships.

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I’ve never seen this before. We are currently on the Rotterdam and this is the last day of the cruise. The housekeeping staff got up early and made a bunch of towel animals to decorate the pool area. I’m not sure if it’s just for fun or this is one way to slow down the chair hogs on the last day. In any case everyone seemed to enjoy it.

My hotel checkout time is often at 11 and I’m not going to sit around the hotel lobby for a couple of hours. Nothing will stop the whining.

The short answer for HAL excursions is no. However, I’m not sure exactly what you are asking with the term “step foot on the continent.” We were on a National Geographic trip last year and actually only landed on the continent once during our trip. All of the other landings were on islands around Antarctica. However at least some of the HAL excursions sail very nearly the same path around Antarctica as the expedition ships. We had friends on the Volendam last year that spent several days around the Antarctica peninsula and they sailed very nearly the same path as we did on the National Geographic ship. The whale watching and the scenery should be a very nice experience on HAL.

We’re supposed to go there next week on the Rotterdam, hopefully we’ll make it.

Since you’re too busy to read the entire thread, I won’t spend a lot of time on your comments. There’s a big difference between the suite an non-suite experience on most cruise lines. It would probably be useful to limit your comments to a specific category.