msjb22

Just now, Nicou said:

Thank you very much for your comment. If you have refused their « offer » I wish you a beautiful cruise 🚢 

Thank you. 🫶 I have indeed refused, as this will be my first ever cruise and I definitely want to keep my balcony cabin for it. I just hope they won't move me after all due to not enough cancellations, given some of the stories I have read here recently on the board.

18 minutes ago, Nicou said:

Good for them 👍 Did any one on the stand-by list for the departure on 31st of Augustus from Rotterdam got an OK cabin ? 

I highly doubt it. I'm booked on that cruise and just received an offer to downgrade to an inside cabin or cancel this morning/overnight! Seems they oversold that cruise.

Btw, does anyone know why it says "Cruise fare refunds do not include Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses."?

This would seem extremely unfair and not sure this is actually legal (at least here in Europe).

That's a really bad exchange rate for the euro!!! 100$ is currently at nearly 90€...

I just got an offer to either move to an inside cabin from my verandah for a 50% cruise fare refund or a full refund plus 100% FCC and 250 OBC if I cancel for the 14-day Northern Isles cruise on the Rotterdam.

Seems they overbooked the cabins with a view.

It's my first cruise and I really want access to outside space in case I get seasick, so I won't bite, but it seems these offers are still happening.

1 hour ago, tigervixxxen said:

This is the first I’ve heard of such a Scandinavian brunch. Is this once per Norway cruise? You said it’s in the CO dining room, is it just for CO guests? I have booked CO so that’s fine but just trying to gather the logistics of this. 

The brunch has been showing up on the final sea day for the Northern Europe cruises on Navigator this summer, and I think it's in the MDR. I think what they meant was that they saw the queue for the MDR while they headed to CO which had regular breakfast.

How much was the taxi (in euros)?

I couldn't book until 4 months out for my upcoming cruise (leaving Rotterdam on 31 August).

Thanks @terrydtx!
Unfortunately from past experience “wide selection” doesn’t necessarily mean a lot of choice when it comes to plain black tea… I have an aversion to Darjeeling and Early Grey teas, which too often are the only black teas available so if anyone could post a picture or a list of all the teas currently available on Rotterdam, I would really appreciate it. Otherwise I may have to add that to my packing list, as I really don’t function well without my morning cuppa…

I'm a first time cruiser, travelling solo around Iceland later this summer on the Rotterdam (31 Aug to 14 Sept, already joined the roll call), and I have two questions that may be me overthinking things:

1) Does the gym on board require specific shoes (light coloured soles, not used outdoors) to use? I don't think I've seen any link to any gym rules on the website...

2) As a tea addict: What kind of tea (I mean proper, black tea) is available on board and where; and also, does room service deliver full pots of tea or is it in glasses/single servings, especially for breakfast?

3 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I think you could do a solo Djupivogur walking tour on you own😉

I could, but I want to get a rough idea of the area with a local guide, and would prefer to book through HAL in case the port gets cancelled. I figured the early walking tour would give me the option of either adding on another tour or exploring further on my own afterwards.

Thanks everyone! Specifically I'm on the Northern Isles Cruise to Scotland and Iceland leaving Rotterdam on Rotterdam on 31 August.

I have booked an 8:30am walking tour in Djupivogur, which is scheduled for 2h, and am currently on the waitlist for a tour also through HAL that leaves at 11am. Was wondering whether they might coordinate their tours so that if they don't overlap they might wait 5 minutes...

I'm also debating adding in an afternoon tour on the Isle of Lewis, but as recommended, will probably wait until I'm on the ship to book that.

Due to exchange rate losses I'm currently reluctant to prebook tours I might have to cancel, as the refund for cancellations always ends up being less than what I paid and I hate giving that extra to the banks...

First time cruising this summer with HAL and I'm wondering how much of a buffer is recommended if booking multiple, consecutive shore excursions on the same day through HAL, especially at a tender port.

From what I can gather meeting points for excursions are usually on the ship at tender ports, but would you be able to join the tour on shore as well? And if so, how much of a "break" is necessary between the tours. Would 30-45 minutes between expected return and the next tour be enough?

On 5/28/2024 at 1:13 PM, AusMum said:

If I have the opportunity to see the northern lights (on land) in Iceland, what lense would you suggest?

I would use the 9-18mm for the aurora, you need as wide an angle as possible. It's a brilliant lens for Iceland actually, I had this on my first trip (alongside the Panasonic 14-140mm) and I much preferred the wide angle look of the 9-18mm.

Just keep in mind it's not weather-sealed from what I remember, and Iceland in September (actually, pretty much at any time of the year) can be very, very wet and windy. I've never been as wet as on my two land-based tours of Iceland (one in late Sept/early October, one Feb/March).

On my most recent trip I had the 9mm prime from Panasonic (MicroFourThirds lenses are generally interchangeable between Olympus and Panasonic, I use Panasonic cameras but some of my favourite lenses are Olympus) along and it was perfect for the aurora, you need that very wide angle ideally.