wandrr

3 hours ago, ski ww said:

Why would any one need to carry a leatherman on vacation??

I have carried a Leatherman tool around the world a couple of times and have used it MANY times. One example: on a shore excursion safari in Africa, the door to the safari vehicle would not open, and the guide could not fix it. Five minutes with my Leatherman tool more-or-less saved the safari because the passengers were on the edge of mutiny.

On the other hand, security has tightened up. Both shoreside and shipside security have sometimes detected the knife and objected. On one occasion, I was almost detained by shoreside security on my way to the ship, but shipside security had absolutely no problem with the knife. In fact, they knew me and my Leatherman and told shoreside security to bugger off. Lots of inconsistency between shoreside and shipside security.

Bottom line - I no longer carry my Leatherman tool on cruises because the hassles outweigh the significant advantages.

Also be aware that there is at least one crew-only elevator that dings fairly loudly, much more loudly than the very quiet passenger elevators. It is located just forward of the midships stairwell and elevators, on the port side. We currently are in a cabin on Zaandam just across the corridor from that elevator and clearly hear the "ding-ding". Note that that crew elevator is not close to your cabin 1827, but you should always be aware that SOMETHING unexpected might create a bit of a disturbance.

31 minutes ago, albingirl said:

laugh if you want to, but they always run out of Bud Light.  My beer of choice, much to the disdain of my friends.

How can I not laugh! Still, running out of the highest selling beer in the USA is inexcusable on a line with ships usually about 75% American. Shows how much attention they really pay to the beer drinkers. The wino's would mutiny if they ran out of Chardonnay.

As a suggestion, drink something else!    🤣

1 minute ago, anniegb said:

Agreed and one of the world's best lagers is still missing.

I would amend that a bit "All of the world's best lagers, and stouts, and red ales are missing."

Unfortunately, as ever, they have not enhanced the meagre beer offerings. Right now on Zaandam, the ONLY place you can get a Newcastle Brown Ale is on draught at MIX.

200 (at least) different wines, but only ten or so beers.

Priority boarding and priority tendering. Your entire party can be part of the priority that comes from your four-star mariner.

https://www.cruisemapper.com/?imo=9156527 shows Zaandam about four miles out as of 0815.

I have used one good technique to convince some service person that you definitely must have email conversations. Simply tell the person (via email or text chat) that you cannot speak or hear. The only option then is email. It is a white lie in my case, but it could well be true. One service person who insisted on telephoning while we were on a textual chat basically went silent when I typed that line.

This trick works, and has the added benefit of raising awareness of the plight of disabled people.

I echo the points that others have made. Email is pretty much by definition a recorded and deliberate communication medium. Voice calling is for fun and banter and is taken as unofficial.

8 hours ago, Bill B said:

I always tell the steward he/she doesn't need to do my room on 'turnaround' day.

Just to be sure that the steward does not get any flak from the supervisor, you should send a note to the housekeeping manager (just drop it to the front desk well in advance) to the effect that you do not want any cleaning on turnaround day. The word will roll downhill officially to the stewards and everyone will be happy. You might also take that opportunity to thank your steward in writing to the supervisor. Praise and recognition like that will go farther than tips.

We have been on B2B's with about a hundred passengers doing the same B2B. Works great - simply follow the ship instructions.

We did a New Year cruise last year on Volendam. For us and about 40 others, the cruise was a back-to-back with the Grand South America. Of the 40 who did the back-to-back, the universal opinion was that the New Year seven-day cruise was awful. Many children were on board, most of whom were well above the age of majority. Childish behaviour was the norm. The majority were loud, boisterous, rude, demanding louts. The crew interactions that we witnessed made us cringe because of the rudeness and downright nasty behaviour of the passengers. We personally were threatened with physical assault by one of the overage children. The crew intervened and censured the offender and then apologized profusely to us. The perpetrator was completely representative of the majority of the louts. The only saving grace of that New Year cruise was the fact that it was a precursor to a Grand voyage.

Note that this is not just our personal opinion. All 40 of the passengers doing the back-to-back agreed with our assessment. Even more telling was the unofficial opinion we heard from many crew members, from senior officers to the lowest ranks. They hated the seven-day New Year cruise.

Never again, for us, and we are serious.  🤬

Last winter, shops and casino open. Laundry closed because of what @chengkp75 said. We were also asked to conserve fresh water.

10 hours ago, Btimmer said:

We're booked on the Volendam's Atlantic Adventurer for 2024 and will look forward to the changes.  We've sailed many nights on the Volendam and love sailing on it.

I am pretty sure these changes are only applicable to Grand Voyages, which the Atlantic Adventurer is not. At least they are fixing up the ship!

Yesterday, we received an email containing an announcement by Gus Antorcha, the President of HAL. The changes appear to be a result of complaints by those who have taken a Grand Voyage after the COVID restart, including us. Some changes are pretty trivial (for example, expanded wine packages), but some are more significant (for example, increased variety of World Stage performances). In our experience, having taken several Grand Voyages over the years, this is a welcome announcement, moving HAL back closer to the "good old days" when a Grand Voyage was definitely special. For those who may not have received anything, here is the full text:

Dear Valued Guest,

When we returned to full service following the industry-wide pause, we vowed to return as the best version of Holland America Line. Many of our Grand Voyage guests have provided us with valuable feedback, and based on those comments, our team has been working diligently to create an elevated and more consistent guest experience for Grand Voyages moving forward. We are constantly evolving the products and services we offer our guests because we are committed to creating an exceptional experience every time you step on board. With that in mind, here are some of the things you can expect on future Grand Voyages.

Dining and Entertainment

We know how important dining, beverage, and entertainment options are to the overall cruise experience. So, starting with Zuiderdam’s Grand Africa Voyage in October, and on all Grand Voyages thereafter, guests will enjoy:

• More themed Dining Room dinners and additional decorated themed parties

• More sailaways with themed food, drinks and music

• Additional themed dinner menus in the Lido Market

• Additional pop-up experiences in the specialty restaurants

• The option to purchase beverage packages (including a non-alcoholic option) – an exciting first for our Grand Voyages

• Expanded wine packages, with the option to purchase 12- and 24‑bottle packages

In addition, we’ll get your cruise started off with a “welcome aboard” gift bag filled with practical items for the voyage ahead.

Then, starting with the Grand World Voyage departing this January, and for all of our 2024 Grand Voyages, you can expect even more, including:

• Appearances by guest chefs cooking regional dishes

• Additional guest performers to increase the variety of World Stage performances

• Printed port maps and daily news digests

• Ballroom dance instructors for the duration of the voyage

Many of these changes are based on direct feedback from you, and I hope you agree they will enhance the onboard experience.

Upgrades to our Grand Voyage ships

On any cruise, the ship on which you sail is your home away from home, and this is particularly true on a Grand Voyage. We are scheduled to use Volendam, Zaandam and Zuiderdam on upcoming Grand Voyages, and we’re committed to making sure these ships remain in top condition, in keeping with the quality you have come to expect from Holland America Line.

Major improvements are being made right now to all three ships, with a focus on air and water systems, plumbing, and heating and air conditioning. These improvements are being completed without disruption to current guests.

Your feedback is immensely helpful as we continue to enhance the Grand Voyage experience. I plan to visit all four of our Grand Voyages next year to continue to hear from our most loyal guests like yourself, and I hope to see you there.

Kind regards,

Gus Antorcha
President, Holland America Line

Had one on Volendam last winter. Def not useful for us - just got in the way.

Last winter, we had one item lost out of a full bag. Guest Services contacted the laundry supervisor who immediately searched far and wide and was extremely cooperative. Our cabin steward also got involved in the search. After bringing us a couple of items that were similar but not ours, they gave up and turned the case over to Guest Services. In due course, we did get some compensation, only a few dollars since the item was just a tee shirt, albeit a nice one. Should have said it was studded with diamonds rather than just a few sequins!   🤩

Overall, the incident was handled extremely well. For years, we have been extremely pleased with the HAL laundry service.

1 hour ago, VermeulT said:

I hope they offer it in 2025 or 2026.  I'm doing the Alaska 28 day next Summer and pole to pole would be too much for one year, both in cost and time away from home.

The P2P IS in 2025. Dep Jan-25, rtn Jun-07, round trip Fort Lauderdale. No news on a 2026 possibility.

18 minutes ago, sue1898 said:

I’d be interested in where on FB the original poster @richwmn saw this. I couldn’t find it on the HAL FB page so perhaps it was not a communication meant for passengers but rather some kind of internal notice.

I have no idea where he found it. Ask him. I was responding to the "secondary flow" question.

12 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

I assume that is for those who are not on the "Have it All" fare as there is some specialty dining. included in that fare. That would also include those with the "Have it All" that book more specialty dining not included in their fare.

You assume wrong. The "secondary flow" is a web site thing which is used when you select your booking number to reserve or pre-book dining or shorex and so on. Have a look at the URL when you click on a booking number. It changes to https://www.hollandamerica.com/secondaryFlow/home . HAL only knows why they do that, and why they would use a term in the announcement that should be internal for use only by their web developers. As many have said, HAL's web site leaves much to be desired...

Kazu nailed it. Nothing to add other than to say that longer cruises are way better. You will probably experience a different mindset. You start to think of the ship as home for the time you are on the cruise. Often, on a port call, we find ourselves saying "Let's go home" which means back to the ship.

We have done several repo cruises and enjoyed them all, but one stands out.

On "Another Cruise Line" a few years ago we did a trans-Atlantic repo on a huge mega-liner, fully expecting large crowds and suchlike. Not so! The ship was half empty, which means the 14 restaurants and all the many shows and attractions were always available. Essentially, it seemed like we had the ship to ourselves. Turns out a large group (a couple of thousand or so) had cancelled at the last minute, which explains the great situation for us. Had they been on board, we would have suffered.

Your mileage may vary, of course, so be prepared for anything. Overall, we echo the previous posters - repo cruises are good!

A current live stream:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q1N4J5oTSE

Enjoy!

On 7/7/2023 at 2:05 AM, Haljo1935 said:

We will be taking my parents (Navy vets) and brother in October and know wherever the selected location will be, is where they're supposed to be.

My husband knows when the time comes for me, he's to take me to AK and let HAL determine where I will debark for the final time.

I appreciate HAL doing this and with such respect as it deserves. 

Thank you all for participating in this thread; it comforts me as I get through the months leading toward my family ceremony and validates I've made the right decision. 

For those who wish to have US Navy veteran's ashes committed at sea, have a look at https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Support-Services/Casualty/Mortuary-Services/Burial-at-Sea/ . The USN does perform this service.

18 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Being an elite on princess and 5 star on Hal I hope they don't do that.  I gained all my perks the old fashioned way, by having my butt in a bed and not in a suite earning double.

If they matched, you might be President's Club on HAL, or perhaps 6* if they ever decide to offer some real perq's.

A few years ago, we attended a presentation on board a cruise by the HAL president at the time. This matching question came up, but only asking about across the Carnival Corp brands. He said that the senior managers have often discussed the desirability of matching, but they could never agree on a matching system. In other words, for example, perhaps Seabourn said that one cruise day credit on Princess should be worth 0.75 days on Seabourn, but Princess forcefully did not agree. Multiply that by the combinations of all nine brands and you can see the problem. He said that the senior executives every time just gave up.

In my opinion, someone (the head dude at Carnival Corp) needs to clunk all their heads together. Get some worker bees tasked to create two or three options, present them to the seniors and then decide on something. This is a management problem.

1 hour ago, Seacruise said:

Nightly turn down? When, where? Sure didn't happen on my recent 39 day cruise. The answer from the room Steward was this, we went from 21 cabins to 31 cabins to clean.

On our last cruise, we were officially offered the option of a nightly turn-down. Some kept it, some did not. We opted out, but the stewards did it anyway, and definitely closed the curtains each evening. This was on Volendam Grand South America this year.