zelker
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Posts posted by zelker
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We just spent two nights post-cruise at the Amsterdam Marriott. Great location, very modern/fresh interior. The room was very comfortable with comfy bed and included unlimited mineral water and espresso machine (like a Nespresso), also free wifi. Onsite restaurants both good. Very knowledgeable concierge staff. Walkable to most everywhere you'd want to go but also directly on tram and bus systems. Close to shops, restaurants, parks, and directly across the street from one of the major canals so easy access to canal boat ride. Have nothing negative to say about it. Check out the senior rate if you qualify.
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Ran across a discount code on a few TA sites today … RCU23. Discounted fare and free air. Worked on November 2023 HI/French Polynesia cruise on Star, reduced the PV2 fare by $1k pp. Not sure what all it works on but worth a try. Good luck.
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17 minutes ago, wandrr said:
By the way, a Roll Call already exists for the P2P.
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2932165-volendam-january-25-2025-133-day-pole-to-pole/
Three pages already. Come on over.
I saw it but we're not interested in the P2P.
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Status Update for those with FutureDAM deposits -
I called the World Cruise Desk this morning to check the status. They told me they are starting to work on them and would do them in the order of them being received. She said that everyone should be notified by May 18th via email and we will have 5 days to respond and get a full deposit applied. Suspect there are likely a lot of people ahead of us since we only found out about doing the $200 deposits in March so no telling where in the queue we are. And so we wait some more .... but at least we'll be on a cruise (on Zuiderdam, ironically) while waiting! 😉
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Hi, Rich -
Between what you've posted both here and on your Facebook page, we've gotten to "sail" along with you and thank you for sharing your grand adventure. We board this Friday for the TA and British Isles (30 days, a far cry from your 143 days!) but are looking forward to being back onboard Zuiderdam. Too bad timing for your disembarkation and our embarkation won't allow at least a quick hug.
Welcome back to the real world and safe travels home.
Barb & John
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1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:
Thanks
Thank you Zelker ,a train is do able .Personally ,I would fly but my DW has a ear problem which could be dangerous in a plane flight . A 53 day cruise we never did before . Wonder if the newer HIA had the gratuities included for early booking .We will call HAL tomorrow
Yes, currently it’s bookable under the HIA with Early Booking Bonus promo which does include crew appreciation.
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1 hour ago, Mary229 said:
Could probably do one direction on the same ship as it heads to Seattle then train home.
Good thought but Westerdam is doing Alaska RT Seattle all next summer and all major cruise lines will be gone from up there by the time this one returns. I don't see any cruise lines (inc HAL) sailing from any port in CA to Seattle either.
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9 minutes ago, meg1021 said:
I agree with this! If you travel with the intention of enjoying yourself, you will! If you look for deficiencies, you will surely find them, and probably enjoy your experience a lot less. Having said that, we do expect basic competency in both service and accommodations. Perfection is not the goal, since it's impossible to achieve.
Well said!
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Not California, but close enough that you could get to/from the ship without flying if you're willing to take the train, bus, or drive ...
2024 RT from Seattle -
W460 53-DAY MAJESTIC JAPAN (hollandamerica.com)
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2 hours ago, milling73 said:
Did anyone see the recent sale code for South America cruises this Fall? Can you share please?
thank you!
Just got these in the last two days -
South America Ocean is EBD
South America Expedition is EAN23
Both are good through the end of May
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Don't forget they will add an 18% service fee to the price so it's really $17.70 instead of $15. Still a really good deal compared to a land-based restaurant for similar food.
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24 minutes ago, Roz said:
What is the official name of this Pole to Pole cruise y'all are referring to? Where can I find it on the HAL website?
It's not on the HAL site yet but Pete (The Inside Cabin) was kind enough to share the info they got on the WC last week from Gus A.
2025-World-Cruise-Package.pdf (theinsidecabin.com)
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8 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:
And the World Cruise.
Curious how you already have your cabin number confirmed for 2025?
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@richwmn Rich, if you do make it back to Oslo, you should definitely go across to the little peninsula (Bygdoy) via water taxi to visit the three maritime-related museums - the Viking Museum, the Kon-Tiki Museum, and the Fram Museum. All are fascinating in their own rite and definitely worth a visit.
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18 hours ago, cccole said:
Thank you. It is interesting to see how they have divided the 2024 WC. I'll wait to see how they segment the 2025 WC or Pole to Pole GV...
Here are the segments for the 2025 GWC from the selection form we got this morning; none indicated on the form for P-to-P segments. Hope this helps.
(ignore the blue highlighted line - for some reason when I did a screen shot, it came across)
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19 hours ago, Cruising Is Bliss said:
YAY!!! Pole to Pole on Volendam for me 🙂 I called my travel agent and she says HAL is going to be sending out a form to Future Dam holders asking everyone to pick whether they want their Future Dam applied to the GWV or to the Pole-to-Pole.
Just got ours and submitted it! Impressed how quickly that happened. Now we'll see if we get one of the staterooms we told them we preferred when I did the Future DAM deposit.
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Pete - will they both start in January?
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On 4/13/2023 at 7:16 AM, The-Inside-Cabin said:
We expect Gus Antorcha to reveal the 2025 World Cruise Itinerary on 20 April during his presentation on the Zuiderdam.
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On 4/17/2023 at 11:46 AM, leerathje said:
Next up in Port Everglades: Zuiderdam on Friday, May 12, 2023.
That's us!! And yes, counting the days!! 🤩
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7 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:
Great day in Dover, UK today.
Visited Dover Castle
Dover Castle from Ship
Approaching Dover Castle from Shuttle Stop
Ready to head up to the top! 120 steps!
White Cliffs!
We are heading back to Dover for dinner at The Elephant and Hind
Hi, guys. Will be there in May on Zuiderdam, as HAL cancelled Zeebrugges and replaced it with Dover. How did you get to/from the castle? Thx. Barb-
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1 hour ago, richwmn said:
April 15 – Portland & Weymouth, England
Today we entered England and had to do an immigration check. Again it went quickly and everyone had a sticker placed on their card. I remember a long time ago when no one could leave the ship until everyone had cleared. The stickers make things much nicer and I am very glad many countries are allowing the practice.
After the immigration check we went out and got on the shuttle. It was a bit chilly but the sun was out and it wasn’t overcast. The first stop on the shuttle was at a castle in Portland, then on to Weymouth. We had a very nice walk around the old portion of the city and the waterfront. We went into several stores and ended up getting a beer at one of the pubs.
Hey, Rich - we'll be there on Zuiderdam on May 30th. Was the shuttle free and how often did run? Thx. Barb
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2 hours ago, Cruise Junky said:
Princess has offered two for a little while now I think. One from NA and one from Australia. HAL is usually better with Grand Voyages + One World Cruise
Didn’t realize this was typical for them. We’ve never sailed Princess, unlikely we ever will. I was really more excited that they’d announced 2025 since they’re somewhat related to HAL.
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Saw that Princess just announced TWO 😲 World Cruise in 2025 ... one that starts in January on Island Princess and one that starts at the end of May on Crown Princess, and they're completely different itineraries.
Island - World Cruise - 2025 (princess.com)
Crown - World Cruise - 2025 (princess.com)
Would sure think HAL will be announcing theirs in the very near future ... and wouldn't it be awesome if they offer two in the same year, too!
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On 4/8/2023 at 3:48 AM, WriterOnDeck said:
I'm still on board -- and it wasn't a given! After a trip and fall in the Canary Islands, I thought I might have to leave the ship for treatment. Doesn't look like it.
I am still blogging -- you can find my latest report here:
https://www.writerondeck.com/2023/04/08/a-view-of-morocco-from-an-ambulance-window/
Oh, Jo!! Been there, done that .. also in the Canary Island (Tenerife). Unfortunately I wasn't as lucky as you to continue on as we were one day away from heading across the pond to FLL and the doctor on Celebrity was concerned about a possible blood clot because after assessing me on the ground on the pier where I fell, he was about 99.999% sure I had fractured my femur. Turns out, he was 100% correct, as was confirmed by x-rays later that night at the Tenerife hospital.
Assuming you'll be continuing on, we'll have to compare "ambulance ride" stories when we meet up on the TA. 😉 In the mean time, be careful!
Barb
Post Viking Promos
in Viking Ocean
Posted
It covers more than these ... I talked to Viking on Friday about the HI+Polynesia in November and it's applicable to that one. I'd recommend talking to Viking to inquire about other itineraries one might be interested in.