kstrittm

Do you have to clear customs at the cruise port?  Or do you simply take your luggage and walk off?

Is staff there to process at all hours (i.e., as early as 6:00 or 7:00)?

Thanks!

All,

I will be sailing on the Nieuw Amsterdam next summer.  She arrives in Venice in the afternoon, stays overnight, and then I disembark the next morning.  Our itinerary says "arrival in Venice" at 6:00 am.  Obviously, that's wrong since we arrive the day before.  Does that actually mean that we are able to disembark as early as 6:00?  I'm making travel arrangements and wonder if I can make an 11:00 flight.  Has anybody experienced a similar itinerary?

Thanks in advance...

Anybody else having problems logging in this morning?  I've been trying for about an hour - get a message saying "unable to contact server".  Hopefully, people from HAL read these posts and somebody will do something about their terrible IT department and web support staff.

All,

There was another thread discussing beverage cards, and it got me thinking about what (if any) benefit I may have when it comes to purchasing adult beverages onboard.  I am a 3-star Mariner, and I found the below description on the HAL website.  It's probably just me, but I cannot figure out what it means!  As far as I can figure, it says that a discount is applied to specialty restaurant fees and specialty coffee drinks in dining rooms and the Explorations Cafe.  It also says I get 25% off mini-bar purchases.  But then I have no idea what the next sentence means...  I think (and would appreciate clarification from y'all) it means the discount does not apply to specialty dining cards or any wine packages/cards or wine purchases at all.  In addition, the discount is not applied to beverage cards.

In a previous thread, somebody mentioned some sort of discount on drinks based on Mariner status.  But, if I'm right, there is none.

Can somebody please confirm that you get no discounts on drinks based on Mariner status???  Thank you all for your help.

A 25% discount on specialty restaurant surcharges and on specialty coffees in all dining venues*, beverages in the Explorations Café* and all mini-bar purchases* (restaurant packages do not apply to discount and wine packages discounts exclude wine cards, Cellar Master packages, individual bottles, wine-by-the-glass and beverage gift cards)

19 hours ago, Himself said:

Ijust got off the Nieuw Amsterdam this past week.  Club Orange had NOT been implemented.

Thank you for clarifying...  I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens for my September cruise.

If I understand correctly, the Nieuw Amsterdam has already implemented (or will soon) the concept.  I am wondering if the program eliminates fixed seating times.  I'm booked for fixed early dining on an upcoming trip.  Is this program similar to Princess where the participants can do "any time dining" in that part of the dining room?  I'm just trying to look for positives here...  I have been on several Princess trips that do this, and it is nice to be able to get a table for 2 at any time.  Also, just one woman's opinion, I think the service is a tad better in the reserved area (faster because the servers only have a couple of tables).  The additional item on the menu is usually "meh" on Princess, but basically it isn't as bad as many people have been fearing.

Can anybody tell me if there are separate free saunas for men and women on deck 9 of the Nieuw Amsterdam?  I'm looking at the deck plan and only see one sauna...

Thanks in advance.

Looking at booking a HAL Nieuw Amsterdam cruise September 14 - 21.  It is RT Vancouver with stops in Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan.  Does anybody have experience with a late season cruise?  How is the weather?  Are the tourist spots still open (i.e., stores, parks, etc.)?

Thanks in advance...

That certainly makes sense to me.  Thank you for the prompt response!

Apologies if this is a duplicate thread - I searched, but didn't see anything... 

Does anybody know when Princess will announce 2021 European sailings?  I saw on one post that Australian trips are suspected to be announced later this month.  Does Europe come out at the same time?

Thanks in advance...

All,

I am wondering if anybody knows the current offering of internet packages aboard the Koningsdam. I sailed the Zaandam in June, and it had 3 packages based on downloaded data volumes. I was very confused about which package I needed... Here is a cut/paste I took from somebody else's post: The basic service is strictly social media. The Enhanced service is social media, e-mail, banking, connecting to your office, and most website browsing. The Premium service includes all of the lower package capabilities, plus it allows Skype, and other VOIP services, video and music streaming.

Can somebody please explain to me what this all means? How can you determine if you are nearing your allotted amount of data each day? Or is there no limit? Is it basically just a matter of streaming speeds?

Sorry to sound like a dufus, but I am trying to figure out which package I'll need on the Koningsdam in a couple of weeks.

Thanks in advance!

OlsSalt -- thanks so much for the informative review. I found everything that you said to be extremely helpful! I'll be going on this trip next week and you answered many of the questions that I had. Thanks again -- appreciate your style of writing and the info you presented.:D

Thanks to all for your thorough responses. I definitely see a "thumbs up" for Celebrity, so I went ahead and booked both a cruise from Venice and a Caribbean cruise in Celebrity Suites. Bon voyage!

All,

I am looking for some advice regarding whether I should switch from Princess to Celebrity.

I enjoy penthouse suites on the Royal and Regal Princess. However, I am disappointed in the upcoming itineraries for them. I have never sailed on Celebrity, and I am very interested in doing so. What are the differences, pros, or cons of sailing in a celebrity or royal suite on Celebrity as compared to a penthouse suite on Princess or a Neptune Suite on Holland America?

I am in my late 50s, not a real party animal but not a teetotaler. I like to splurge on my trips, hence booking suites. I've got over 20 cruises under my belt with Norwegian, Carnival, Princess, and Holland America. Lately I've been sticking to Princess and HAL. I enjoy fine dining and some casino time. From what I have read, I think I fit the "demographic" for Celebrity.

What are your opinions/thoughts? I'm looking for an early summer cruise to the Med next year and a Caribbean cruise in early 2020.

Thanks in advance...

Thank you very much...

Sorry if this is a repeat question (I did a search and didn't find anything)...

Can somebody tell me where I can find out how much onboard credit I have for a future cruise on the HAL website?

I want to verify that I have the beverage package, that the credits from my travel agent are there, and that my CCL Shareholder credit has posted.

Thanks in advance...

A poster above said there are hoards of people in Venice when the big ships come in. Yes, that is true. However, Koningsdam will dock just down the road (less than 90 miles south) and I'm sure many of the folks onboard will take shore excursions to Venice. So, the same hoards -- maybe not as many hours in town since they'll need to commute; but still lots of people...

As to why HAL isn't sending any ships to Venice in 2019, I suspect they see the writing on the wall (i.e., no larger ships allowed, and the Venetians not really liking ANY cruise ships there because of the congestion). Moving to Ravenna isn't such a bad idea -- people can still see Venice, and Ravenna and Trieste both have wonderful sites as well.

However, having said that, I'm booked on Celebrity next year RT Venice -- want to make sure I get to do that before it is prohibited entirely...

I did review the port schedules, which is why I'm concerned about the crowds.

Thanks...

All,

I am scheduled to take the Royal Princess from Quebec City to NYC in October. I understand that there is a limited time frame for these trips (duh), but I am a bit concerned about the number of ships that will be in each port. Some of the ports aren't very large. For those of you who have taken this trip in the past, were the ports able to "absorb" the massive number of tourists each day? Some days there will be over 15,000 people in port.

As always, thanks for your feedback...

All,

I am scheduled to take the Royal Princess from Quebec City to NYC in October. I understand that there is a limited time frame for these trips (duh), but I am a bit concerned about the number of ships that will be in each port. Some of the ports aren't very large. For those of you who have taken this trip in the past, were the ports able to "absorb" the massive number of tourists each day? Some days there will be over 15,000 people in port.

As always, thanks for your feedback...

I, too, am waiting for the summer sailing itineraries. I called HAL a couple of weeks ago and was given the standard, "approximately a year out is when we release the schedule" response. We all know that isn't the case. I check often and hopefully we'll see something soon. My guess is later this month, if things go as in the past.

All,

I will be on the HAL Koningsdam next August, stopping in Edinburgh for an overnight stay. Naturally, we want to see the Military Tattoo. My question is if anybody knows if HAL runs tenders late at night to the ship. If the show ends around 10:45, figure it'll take an hour or so to get back to the port. Do they run tenders as late as midnight? Or is there some cut-off time for tenders?

Also, does anybody know if the shore excursions offered by HAL have good seats for the show? They won't come out with excursions for several months, whereas the tickets to the show start selling in December. I'm torn about whether I should just wait for HAL or do this myself.

Thoughts are welcome...

Kris

All,

I will be on the HAL Koningsdam next August, stopping in Edinburgh for an overnight stay. Naturally, we want to see the Military Tattoo. My question is if anybody knows if HAL runs tenders late at night to the ship. If the show ends around 10:45, figure it'll take an hour or so to get back to the port. Do they run tenders as late as midnight? Or is there some cut-off time for tenders?

Also, does anybody know if the shore excursions offered by HAL have good seats for the show? They won't come out with excursions for several months, whereas the tickets to the show start selling in December. I'm torn about whether I should just wait for HAL or do this myself.

Thoughts are welcome...

Kris

Does anybody have a guess as to when HAL will release their 2019 Med itineraries? I'm referring to the summer trips...

Thanks!

My cabin steward told me that dry cleaning was taken away as a free offering only a couple of months ago...

Yes, laundry is still an option...