Modern_Viking

2 hours ago, fabric_fabric said:

I am confused by the above. This is what I am seeing for cruises departing from the U.S. https://www.hollandamerica.com/content/dam/hal/inventory-assets/Health_Sanitation/2022/US-Cruise-Protocols-0314.pdf

You are quoting two different policies. 

The original poster copied the rules for cruises embarking in Europe: no test to board the ship, but a test may be required to enter the country. 

You then posted the rules for cruises boarding in the USA and Canada: test required to board.

I do see the confusion if you are boarding a trans-Atlantic cruise in the USA and going to Europe, as the statements (depending on where you look) contradict.  But I think which rule applies is likely based on where you board, so a USA to Europe cruise would require a test to board, but a Europe to USA cruise would not.

It looks like Zaandam has left Cadiz, Spain for Port Everglades, and is expected to arrive on Thursday, April 14.  I'm guessing she might subsequently anchor out in the Bahamas for a while between then and her first scheduled passenger carrying cruise May 12.

10 hours ago, Btimmer said:

It's bad news for us as we were booked on the 5/15/22 sailing.  But it's a great humanitarian gesture and likely quite financially incentivized for HAL.  
 

For the first time we had booked our airline flight to Amsterdam through FlightEase. Let's see if they will help us get them changed or cancelled as we have another reason to be in Europe around the end of May. 

I've only booked air travel through HAL once, for a cruise in Summer of 2020.  After the cruise was cancelled, HAL automatically cancelled the air as well at no charge to me (I hadn't paid for the ticket yet, only reserved it).  I hope they can do the same for you.  You may have to book your replacement flights at the now current fares, though, so the replacement tickets might be more expensive.

29 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I have previously posted what was to be done based on the information I read in Cruise Industry News.  Much work including interior refurbishments as well as mechanical and work on the hull.  Maybe a search of my posts might provide you with the list.  

Is this the post you mentioned as to what was planned for both Volendam and Zaandam in drydock?
 

On 3/30/2022 at 4:16 PM, seatrial said:

I just noticed that on  the app I use to track ships, the Zaandam appears to have moved to a different drydock. It was out of drydock for a few days, but now appears to have returned to a different, but nearby drydock in Cadiz. 

I noticed that, too.  Odd that Zaandam would come out of drydock for a few days, get fueled up (I noticed a bunker ship next to her for much of a day), and then enter a different drydock in the same city.  Then again, as of now, it looks like the Carnival Breeze is being staged to perhaps enter the first drydock where Zaandam had been located.  So maybe that is a bigger drydock and they needed to make room for the bigger Carnival ship scheduled to arrive soon.  Or maybe different types of work being performed (hull painting vs. other work).  I'm really not sure, but curious. 

But, I suspect that as long as she leaves the Cadiz area by late April she can get to Port Everglades in time for her first scheduled cruise as part of the re-start.

From what I have heard, many Volendam ocean-view cabins, a few year ago, had their bathtubs replaced with showers.  But certainly not all.  So with some research, you might be able to find a cabin to your preference on that topic. 

The destinations you listed seem to fall into what I might call commodity cruises, with lots of competition and low prices for much for much of the year.  I expect HAL feels there are people who are generally willing to pay higher fares in September for cruises to Alaska, New England / Atlantic Canada, and Europe than for cruises to the Caribbean, Mexico, or California Coast (r/t from a US port).  You might be able to find a reposition cruise on HAL in September sailing one-way from Vancouver to San Diego, but that doesn't seem to be what you are seeking. 

Sorry not to have better news, but from what I have seen, HAL doesn't usually offer what you are seeking and I am not sure why they would want to change, as it seems like they might lose out on revenue if they did. 

I'd say the demographic of people sailing HAL is somewhat similar to the demographic on Celebrity cruises. A major difference in the lines is the style of the ships, however.  HAL embraces old-world charm, decor, and style. Celebrity aims for the modern, now, chic.  The inside of HAL ships tends to be darker, with more wood, and public rooms tend to be smaller (to fell more intimate or just because they are on smaller ships with fewer passengers, usually). Celebrity goes for light colors (i.e. whites and creams), lots of glass, larger spaces, etc. 

On a 22-night cruise, on likely any line, the demographic is likely to skew older and quieter as well. 

On the Oosterdam, the extra cost restaurants, in my opinion, aren't worth it. That seems to be something emphasized more on Celebrity and RCCL. I'm not sure that you would care.

Past-cruiser status on HAL isn't a huge deal, and the big perks don't kick in until 4 star status (200 nights/points).  And then other than faster embarkation the main perks are some discounted wine packages, mini-bar purchases, and laundry.  Not really big deals.  Also, on HAL even if you are not in a suite, you can pay extra for "Club Orange" status which gives you most (maybe all) of the suite and loyalty perks. That said, the value of "Club Orange" seems to have been diluted a bit since the 2021 restart, so even that doesn't seem all that special to me.

HAL passengers, to me seem largely interested in the destination, tend to be well traveled, are often friendly and social, and may enjoy letting loose in a bar/lounge at night, but otherwise tend to be pretty relaxed and quiet.  The ships are normally pretty quiet by 11:30 / midnight.  In fact, the midnight buffet of years past in the Lido has been replaced by a late night supper from 10:30 - 11:30 pm.  After that, room service is the only food service until breakfast. 

I have only tried one Celebrity cruise, back around 2007. At the time I found the style of HAL more to my liking and haven't gone back to Celebrity.  At the time, I also found food service on Celebrity overrated for what it was. (To be honest, I think HAL food service has declined, on average, over the past 15 years so I don't know which line is better "today."  Although "better" is often a matter of personal choice.)

I visited a RCCL ship long ago, but have not sailed on one.  I expect the passengers on HAL are much closer in personality to those on Celebrity than RCCL.  Also, the level and type of activities on HAL would be much closer to Celebrity than RCCL. 

One note: recently HAL has replaced their main production shows with dance focused shows.  They are well done, but different in style that old-fashioned reviews. Recently they have also had a pair of comedians on-board, at least for shorter cruises. So I don't know if that type of entertainment appeals to you or not. HAL also has been adding more live music venues open in the evening. On Oosterdam the main choices at night will be B.B. King's Blues Club and a dueling piano bar. There is also likely to be a chamber music type group on board, but their concerts tend to be earlier in the evenings. 

As you say, Disney hasn't released all of the details for the Wish yet.  Since you are new to cruising with DCL, and asked what might be similar or different to other Disney ships, I will try and give you a summary of some things that I expect based on Disney announcements.  (I don't work for DCL, so these aren't official but are a best guess from someone who has taken 6 Disney cruises.)

(1) There will still be rotational dining (at dinner only) in 3 main dining rooms.  The decor of the 3 dining rooms on the Wish will all be completely different than the themes of the 3 dining rooms on the other ships, however.  For example, the existing 4 Disney ships have an "Animator's Palate" but the Wish will not.

(2) There will still be 2 fixed dinner seatings with no option to just show up at a random time for dinner or make reservations in the main dining rooms for a time other than the 2 fixed times.  I think there are 3 main reasons for this: (1) efficiency and ease of operations for DCL, (2) to better schedule meals around evening entertainment activities (people who eat early are able to attend the 2nd showing of the headliner entertainment and people who eat later are able to attend the 1st showing of the headliner entertainment, and (3) there are shows scheduled during some dinners, and those shows are timed to coincide to when guests arrive, start eating, start eating dessert, etc. thus the show timing wouldn't work if people weren't all eating roughly the same dinner course at roughly the same time. (Disney is focused on entertainment, so it makes sense to me their dinner schedule is tailored around helping the entertainment cast do their thing.)

(3) Some dinner venues will feature some amount of live entertainment.  On the Magic and Wonder, 2 of 3 locations have entertainment during dinner.  On the Dream and Fantasy it is 1 of 3 (maybe 2 of 3 if you count a live pianist at dinner as entertainment, which is certainly nice, but not as big as the other offerings).  On the Wish, it appears 2 of 3 dinner locations will have live shows during dinner.

(4) It sounds like the Wish will have 3 headliner, Disney themed nighttime shows in the main theater. I think I heard at least 1 will be brand new for the Wish and at least 1 will be a duplicate of something offered on at least one other Disney ships.  I have not heard the names of the shows yet.  On the nights when one of these 3 shows aren't performing, there could be a movie, a guest entertainer (like a magician, juggler, ventriloquist, hypnotist, etc), or possibly another show by the ship's cast (often a "welcome aboard" themed show).

(5) The cabins on the Wish will be quite different in decor and theming,  Out are the darker, primary colors and nautical themes, and arriving is a much lighter color palate.  I don't remember seeing any indication that inside cabins will have "magical portholes" like on the Dream and Fantasy only, or that there will be any "steam trunk" themed furniture/storage items.

(6) Instead of having one fairly large movie theater onboard, there will be two smaller movie theaters.  I expect movies will still be free, but refreshments will still need to be purchased.

(7) There will still be some quick service, fast food, and/or buffet dining options on the deck with all the pools.  Some or all will be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

(8) There will still be an 18+ only pool / sunbed / hottub area on the Wish, but new to this ship, it will be all the way at the back of the ship to reduce the chances of (or need for) some people (including those under 17) to walk through the area on their way somewhere else.

(9) The first 4 Disney ships all have an area of one of the lower, interior decks that becomes an 18+ only entertainment district starting at some point in the evening.  I haven't seen such an entertainment district on the deck plans for the Wish, although I suppose some lounges might have an 18+ requirement at night.

(10) The Wish has a small pool for concierge cabin guests in addition to a lounge, whereas the other 4 ships only have a lounge.  Also, new on the Wish is that all the concierge grade cabins seem to be clustered toward the front of the ship on multiple decks instead of being more spread out.

(11) The Wish has two main stairwells and elevator lobbies per deck whereas the older 4 ships have 3 of each.  Perhaps the hope is clustering the elevators in fewer locations, with more per location, will reduce wait time or otherwise increase elevator efficiency.  It could also mean it is a longer walk to the nearest main staircase, however.  On the Wish, however, it seems like many of the galleys (kitchens) and other crew only areas have been moved to the back of the ship, so maybe that means guests areas are more concentrated further forward in a somewhat smaller area, so maybe the max distance to an elevator might not actually be much or any further on many decks. 

(12) On the Wish there still seems to be one deck where most of the kids' clubs are clustered.  New to the Wish it is deck 2 (as opposed to being deck 5 on the other 4 ships).  On the older ships, the kids' clubs are in areas that would have blocked windows due to the placement of the lifeboats.  On the Wish, there is evidently going to be a slide from the main atrium lobby (on deck 3) that goes down into one of the kids' areas on deck 2.

(13) There is a deck 13 on the Wish, as there also in on the Dream and Fantasy, but not on the smaller Magic and Wonder.  I guess DCL doesn't buy into bad luck superstitions relating to a 13th floor/deck. Sorry, but I couldn't help but say something quirky for #13.

(14) The Wish will have multiple, extra-cost, reservation only, 18+ only dinner and brunch venues.  They will be themed and named differently than on the other 4 ships.  For example, instead of a "Palo" restaurant serving Italian food (as on all 4 ships), the Wish will have "Palo Steakhouse."  Instead of "Remy" on the Dream and Fantasy only, Wish will have "Enchante." Whereas Dream and Fantasy have the "Meridian" bar for cocktails pre and post dinner in those extra-cost restaurants (or whenever, you don't have to eat there to drink there, I think), the Wish will have "The Rose" for that purpose and it will be themed to the movie "Beauty and the Beast."

Anyway, those are the topics that came to mind for me.  Hopefully this list is at least somewhat useful to you (and others).  Admittedly, I don't have any breaking news to share, but maybe I noticed some things that others didn't notice.

The last time I had free gratuities included as a perk from HAL for booking a certain promotion, I saw it in two difference places:

(1) On my PDF/paper confirmation form sent to me when I paid

(2) Sometime after I boarded (maybe immediately after, or maybe soon after) I had an onboard credit in my account equal to the costs of the gratuities for the full cruise.  Then each day HAL would charge me one day of gratuities, until the credit was zero'ed out by the end of the cruise. 

Times may have changed (this was maybe 2-3 years ago), but that's what I saw: no mention of the included gratuities as a perk on the HAL web site in my booking info.  It only showed up on the confirmation and similar to an OBC.  (And for completeness, no I didn't prepay the gratuities; it was a HAL provided perk as part of a package including maybe a specialty dinner and a reduced size deposit). 

I noticed that the Disney Wonder, this spring (2021) has sailed to PROGRESO, Mexico, then to Freeport, and then back to PROGRESO.  Any idea what that is about?  Picking up crew?  Or maybe testing out the sailing time to PROGRESO to see if it would be a viable new port?

I'm just curious here.  I figure DCL wouldn't spend the money on fuel for these trips without some good reason. 

Live entertainment / shows!

On 5/7/2021 at 4:25 PM, snoozecrooze said:

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ports-destinations/disney-cruise-line-pursues-long-term-agreement-port-everglades

According to the port's director, Disney is in talks with Broward County to possibly begin using Terminal 4, Carnival's former terminal. 

It was reported earlier last year that Carnival "amended its agreement" with Port Everglades, but we can comfortably assume that they've basically pulled out as there is no active ships based at the port in its current schedule through 2023. 

What's interesting to me is that there is mention of Disney looking to possibly base a ship holding up to 3,500 passengers at Port Everglades.  That seems to imply this would not be the future home for the Magic or Wonder, but for a ship of the Dream class or Wish class.  So maybe the Dream would sail 3, 4, and 5 night cruises from there, or eventually the Fantasy might sail 7 night trips from there.  Or who knows; I guess it depends on whether DCL can make a better deal with Port Miami or Port Everglades for future terminal/pier space. 

On 4/4/2021 at 4:52 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

Were you as surprised as I was that when we returned to Port Everglades we were docked at Pier 4?  I had my car that the Mid-Port Parking Garage and that proved to be an "interesting", but successful with not as much stress as I expected, to get a taxi from that terminal to my car.  (It was a costly experience, however, with the taxi driver taking me on such a short trip, but, he did take me to my car in the Garage.  Which was most appreciated!)

I am sorry to hear that.  I was on the same cruise and it was the second time I had started a cruise from either pier 19 or 26 that ended at pier 4.  Both times, Port Everglades provided a free shuttle bus from pier 4 to the mid-port garage so I could retrieve the car and didn't need a taxi.  This time, the problem was that I think 7 or 8 ships were in port, thus when I went to get my car parked on the very top deck, the line to pay and exit the garage snaked all the way up to that level.  It took roughly an hour for me to drive to the ground level and pay.  When I did pay, it seemed every cashier spot (payment booth) was staffed; there just were too many people and not enough booths / exit lanes available. 

As for the Volendam herself, I found her interiors (especially carpets) freshly replaced and the ship interiors looked to be in great shape.  The exterior was also not bad.  The a/c in my cabin on main deck was tolerable, but only just (i.e. a bit cooler would have been nice).  The public rooms were a comfortable temperature, however, and I experienced no problems with any plumbing on the ship.  In fact, the first morning the cabin steward had turned the water in the show up to full hot and it was especially scalding; so it is good I tested it before getting in.

The larger (than before) flat screen TVs with on-demand were indeed in place.  The DVD players were gone.  

I noticed HAL updated their ships at a glace chart (downloadable from their web site) as of April 2021.  The Zaandam is listed as the only HAL ship not having the on-demand TV.  In addition, while the Volendam had both Lincoln Center Stage and Billboard Onboard in Dec 2019, the same HAL ships at a glace chart says those have been removed (and they aren't shown as added to Zaandam either).  Granted, elsewhere on the HAL web site, Volendam is listed as still having Billboard Onboard (but not Lincoln Center Stage) so there is certainly some sort of website error (certainly wouldn't be the first), but I wouldn't be surprised if HAL backtracked on adding the extra musicians on the R-class ships.  I was on the Rotterdam (VI) for one cruise when she had the B.B. King Blues Club, but I understand that was removed not long after (and well before HAL sold that ship).  So maybe the same thing happened with Lincoln Center Stage on the Volendam; here yesterday but gone today.

I don't know if HAL will bring back one of their old duos (violin and piano) on the two remaining R-class ships or if (sadly) they just won't bother. 

HAL_Ships_at_a_Glance_Chart_2021-04.pdf

I see Disney announced on Christmas day (2020) that a statue of Cinderella will be in the lobby of the Disney Wish.  (I saw the announcement in the form of a YouTube Video).  So a bit more information has been released.  The in-service date is being listed as "Summer 2022," consistent with other recent press releases. 

I noticed today that HAL has updated the schedule for the Volendam in fall/winter 2021 on the HAL website. 

There is a 14-Day Southern Caribbean cruise r/t Port Everglades Nov 25, 2021-Dec 9, 2021.

There is a 12-Day Southern Caribbean cruise r/t Port Everglades Dec 23, 2021-Jan 4, 2022.

I wonder if there will be one or more cruises added to cover the Dec 9 to Dec 23 time period or if Volendam might be sent to drydock in Freeport for those two weeks.  HAL seems to like December and January drydocks, and I think Volendam was last in drydock in late 2019, so going for another one just over 2 years later seems reasonable. 

I suspect DCL starts decorating their ships for Christmas in early November. A surer bet would be to look at the DCL website and see if the cruises you are considering are described as "Very Merrytime" cruises. If so, then I would expect some holiday decor and themed activities onboard.

And yes, I think sea days are great on Disney cruises as there are more activities scheduled on sea days vs port days.

DCL does decorate the Miami terminal a bit to make it more Disney themed. Still not quite as mych as the DCL buses or terminal in Port Canaveral, but I agree with the previous post that since so little time is spent thete, it makes little difference.

So given the choice, especially if the prices were similar, I'd take the 4 night cruise on the Magic.

While not ideally timed for a 3 year old, on the last night of the voyage, starting at I believe 9:30, there is a final character gathering in the main atrium called "Till we meet again."  There is an introduction of various characters, and then a little time for meet & greet with photos.  I doubt there is a fixed set of characters, but I think Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy are normally there.  On my only cruise on the Fantasy, I remember Ariel being there.  Perhaps one or two other official princesses, maybe Jasmine or Cinderella, but I am not sure.  I don't think Anna and Elsa were there (sorry). 

The Frozen and Princess gatherings seem to be the most popular, and thus are now (no extra charge) ticketed events. 

As I recall, Aladdin is one of the main Disney production shows on the Fantasy.  So your daughter should be able to see Jasmine on stage, although that isn't a meet and greet.  Still, has she been to meet and greets at the Disney Parks (since children that age don't always like being up close and personal with the characters. 

For the princess meet and greet, it is possible that your daughter might be able to see/watch the 3-4 princesses in the atrium during the formal meet from an upstairs railing.  If you think she might like seeing them from another deck, you could try that.  Or, if you think she will be jealous of the others getting to meet the princesses, you might want to make sure you don't walk through the atrium during the event.  (At least, in my experience most of the meet and greets are in the atrium.  Although, I think the Frozen one is elsewhere, perhaps in a dining room outside of regular mealtimes). 

knippsel:

On 3/29/2019 at 4:47 PM, knippsel said:

Why might that be?  Just curious. Checking  for a cruise later this year.

 

Thanks for any info!

Kathy

To avoid being over the engine rooms, which cause some vibration.  It isn't horrible, but I avoid it when possible.

This study seems to include some likely truthful data, but seemingly not much useful data. 

As others have pointed out, it seems like it would be a bad idea for passengers and cruise to spend lots of time in areas that get sooty, dirty, or dusty from the ship exhaust generated by engines, galleys, and laundries.  While the study author seems to have selected a seemingly reasonable place to get a baseline reading for airborne particulate matter (PM) while the ships are underway (looks like a good start to me) the only other measurement locations were in the two spots most likely to face high PM readings.  I would find value in this "study" if data was collected at least as often in: (1) the main dining room, (2) the main galley), (3) the Lido restaurant, (4) the Lido pool area, (5) on the navigation bridge, (6) in multiple passenger cabins, (7) in some lower deck crew areas like the crew mess and in typical crew cabins, (8) in designated smoking areas like the casino, and (9) in a high-capacity, crew operated laundry room. 

I wonder if there are more strict rules about air quality in cruise ship galleys and laundry rooms than there are rules about air quality near the main funnel.  I know laundry room lint (a type of PM mentioned in this whitepaper) contributes strongly to the risk of onboard fires, so probably there are rules about making sure there are somewhat low lint levels in laundry rooms (even if the way to achieve that is to vent some lint filled air out the smokestack, or to collect the lint using air filters in the room). 

It appears the author went to great lengths not to collect data while people were smoking or vaping near by.  That's good, to a point, but how bad would be data be, in comparison, in designated smoking areas?  Could the smoking allowed casino have a higher PM reading than an aft deck while underway?  Maybe, but that probably would not be of interest or use to the people funding this whitepaper. 

I think we could learn much more about the possible risks of sailing on a passenger ship with those sorts of data points.  But it would have taken more effort (and probably more cost) to get all that data.  And getting data in some of those area would have required the consent of the ship operator (who might try to affect the quality of the data or refuse access).  If most or all of those locations also had equally elevated PM counts I would be very worried.  But somehow I would guess that they wouldn't (or at least shouldn't). 

The information provided does seem to be a potentially valid warning for "patrons and staff who are in the aft areas of cruise ships" for long periods of many days.  It probably is also bad news for people who live downwind of ship piers.  But it doesn't provide any indication that there is an elevated risk to patrons and staff who primarily spend their time in areas of the ship that other than the upper decks aft of the funnel. 

Also note there is little to no maritime specific data listed.  As others pointed out, there is no data presented like (1) wind speed and direction, (2) speed of the ship (if underway), and/or number of generators running (3) type of fuel being burned, (4) if the ship, while in port, is cold ironing (i.e. using shore power vs. onboard power generation), which I believe the ms Amsterdam could do in some of the listed ports of call, etc.  Heck, even the diagrams used to show the measurement points for the ms. Amsterdam and the Emerald Princes are not diagrams of those ships, but of some other HAL ship (the Nieuw Amsterdam, looks most likely to my eye).

Granted, I am not an expert in public health, nor do I hold any maritime licenses (i.e. I am not a professional ship's navigator or a ship's engineer).  But I know enough to see there is a terrible lack of serious and useful data in this study.  This seems to me like a quick first trial (or white paper) done with the hopes of attracting more grant money in order to go off and do a real study.  Or maybe it is just salacious enough that the funding parties got what they want and they don't intend or desire to spend the money to perform an in-depth study.  Yes, cruising causes pollution.  As do many human activities.  But this doesn't seem like a careful attempt to get much more than an initial set of possible worst case or maybe just random sample, results.

On 1/27/2019 at 12:33 AM, SeaDog-46 said:

The new Ice Class that came into force last year will reduce by half the number of cruise passengers going to Antarctica over the next few years.

Zaandam & Prinsendam will run out of certification under the Grandfather clause - expected in May 2020.  

This will also apply to other main line cruise vessels currently visiting Antarctica but they cannot continue past the next 5 year survey.

 

 

So, just to try to better understand what you are saying, based on new IMO regulations (which seem to now be official, or are they still in the process of being approved and in more of a final draft state?), while the Zaandam will be able to sail to Antarctica in December of 2019 and January of 2020, and while the Volendam will sail to Antarctica during its Jan 2020 to March 2020 Grand South America cruise, neither ship will be able to said to Antarctica in December 2020 or beyond?  (Or really, neither ship could sail there beyond May of 2020, but HAL wouldn't have scheduled them for winter in Antarctica anyway vs waiting until the following summer.) 

As someone who has toyed with talking a cruise of this sort, but never actually done it I am disappointed.  Although, I guess it was never enough of a personal draw to cause me to rush out and book such a trip anyway.  Plus, I understand these aren't exactly the safest cruises to operate (largely because there aren't many options for helping a large ship in distress near Antarctica vs. a ship sticking to busy shipping regions). 

I would stay far away from HH 375 & 376.  They have nearly pointless windows that won't let you see much, and I think they are under the galley.  And they, as a previous poster pointed out, are smaller than most Maasdam rooms. Not worth it.

If you want to be on Lower Promenade, I would actually suggest a category I inside (just not adjacent to the passenger laundry), and plan to walk outside to the public deck (or go to a bar/lounge/library) elsewhere on the ship when you want to see the outside.  You'll save a few bucks, have a slight bigger and possibly quieter cabin, and will get a better view from elsewhere (but with the caveat that you will have to leave your room for a view).  All told, I like the idea of an I category, although I haven't actually stayed in one.

I have stayed on Main Deck, once in a J inside and once in a C outside.  Both fine.  You may sometimes hear footsteps of people on Lower Promenade.  If you book a J, I would try for port side so you have another cabin under you and not the risk of a machinery space (and the associated noise). In a C, I would want a cabin no further aft than 615. 

I have also stayed on A Deck in D category outside (good, but I would not want to be any further back than 790 (port side) or 777 (starboard) to avoid being over the engine rooms, and in an E near the forward stairs.  The forward cabins rock more and were a little noisier than the E, but are conveniently nearer to stairs and elevators and are cheaper.  In general, A deck cabins seem to be slightly cheaper than Main Deck cabins for no good reason (that I can think of) other than certain passengers assuming that being on a higher deck is better or more prestigious or simply slightly closer to the main dining room and lido. 

These are my preferences; you might have different priorities than me.  Still, I would strongly suggest something other than your initial picks (of HH 375, 376) either moving to a probably cheaper inside or an better outside (if a water view is important).

On 1/22/2019 at 4:46 PM, txwriter said:

Does anyone fly into FLL instead of MIA for Disney Cruise out of Miami?

...

If you s done both fly into FLL and used alternative transportation to the port and also done the direct flight to Miami with Disney transfer, which did you prefer?

I've done each of those things once.  Both worked fine. My decision between the two largely came down to cost (particularly for flights). Flying into/out of Miami seemed a bit simpler, but not much.  Flying into FLL gave me more options / flexibility / ability to do things more on my schedule.   Overall, I wouldn't sweat the choice much; either will work. 

If you want more details of what I did, here who are, but as previous posters have said, there are many more options as well.

MIA:

I flew in the evening before the cruise.  I had booked an airport area hotel for the night, in advance at a hotel with a free hotel shuttle.  They picked me up at the airport, brought me to the hotel to check in and freshen up.  Next, the free shuttle took me (and a few other guests) to a local shopping center / strip mall with a few food options.  I ate dinner, then called for a pickup, which I shared with some other hotel guests who had eaten at a different local restaurant.

Next day, I ate the free hotel breakfast, packed up, and took the free shuttle to the airport.  From there, I took a prebooked Disney shuttle to the port.  I had to wait in the airport at least 30 minutes for the next bus, and then 15+ minutes for the bus to fill and depart.  I should have just taken a taxi from the hotel to the pier.  A taxi would have been a few dollars more, but much faster.  Still this worked out.  The buses chartered in MIA are not the Disney themed Mears buses like in Orlando, but were clean and effective.  And while this hotel had a free shuttle for the airport and the local shopping center, they would not take anyone as far as the cruise pier.  (This seemed typical.)  They would have booked me a seat on a shared bus from their favorite (i.e. biggest tipping/kickback giving) service, but I didn't take that option. 

After the trip, I took the Disney shuttle to the airport and flew home.  It took a little while for the bus to fill, but wasn't too bad.  It did take a while at the airport to reclaim bags put in the "bottom" of the bus.  Overall, simple on paper, but not the speediest option.

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Second trip, flew into FLL.  Took the airport shuttle bus to the rental car center (which is attached to / walkable from only one terminal building in FLL, but not all).  Got my car, and got on the Interstate.  I stopped along the way for dinner.  Having a car I could just pick something from Google maps and take myself.  From there I drove to my hotel.  Since I had a car, I didn't need to worry about a hotel with a free shuttle.  Spent the night.  Next day, drove to the downtown Avis/Budget rental car facility that offered shuttle service to the pier (for a built-in $10 fee per car rented, not per person). There was a bit of a wait, maybe 10 minutes, then I took the van to the pier.  Beware that much of I-95 and other area freeways give drivers the option of using either free lanes or toll lanes.  NOTE: Be sure to plan ahead and program the mapping software in your phone in advance per your preference to avoid surprises. 

After the cruise, I waited on the pier for the SuperShuttle I had previously booked.  Based on my reservation, it seemed like they should have just picked me up, but they didn't.  I called just after my appointed pickup time to inquire, and they dispatched a van.  Got to FLL, maybe 10 minutes later than expected, but plenty early.  There had been other shuttle services at the port who were trying to sell rides (mostly to MIA but also to FLL) to people without reservations, so that could have been an option as well.  My luggage traveled with me, with no fuss.

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Of the two airports, MIA is bigger, offers far more international flights (especially to Europe and South America), and is a hub for American Airlines.  FLL used to be the quiet, little brother airport to the north (with West Palm Beach being the even quieter option further up north), but then the low cost carriers descended on FLL, making it much more crowded, but now offering an increased number of flights to many destinations, often at lower prices than Miami. 

14 hours ago, sprockie said:

Exactly our thinking.  San Juan has absolutely no appeal to me.  We've been here several times too many.  Here we are on the ship.  Might as well be at sea.  I sure wish it was an option to circle back to HMC and catch it on the way back but that is never done.  I don't know why.  We've missed HMC a few times and GT once before, but never this kind of a mess.

Do other lines miss ports often or is this a smaller ship HAL thing?

From my observations, it is not the size of the ship that matters.  What definitely matters is the strength and direction of wind, the port layout, the port facilities, and perhaps the strength of the thrusters on the ship (and maybe if it has azipods or the like). 

On one 9 night HAL Caribbean cruise, we missed 2 out of the 6 planned ports.  We missed Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk. (Sound familiar?)  For the first, high winds and choppy seas prevented safe tendering.  As for the second, Grand Turk is a rather flat island that provides a minimal wind break.  We had a strong crosswind when approaching the pier via the narrow channel.  When we approached, based on the crab angle needed to keep the ship (ms Maasdam) from drifting, we couldn't fit along side the pier in the available space.  If the captain had continued the attempt, the bow would have been in the pier and the stern on the reef.  We turned, hovered for about an hour, then left for a day at sea.  The captain later said there was no tug service available there, and if there had been, we might have had a chance to make it in.  Maybe.  I don't remember him commenting on thrusters, but if the Maasdam had stronger bow thrusters and asipods, that might also have helped a little.  Still the funnel especially (and the superstructure in general) was acting as a big sail, catching the wind and blowing us away from the pier.

During the same cruise, we made it into San Juan seemingly with no problem.  That harbor is well sheltered by mountains that block the wind.  Thus, there didn't seem to be a problem with docking. 

We also made it to St. Kitts (barely, per a brief conversation I had with the Captain in the Lido that afternoon).  Evidently he needed one or two (I forget) tugs and the full power of the ship to get to and stay alongside the pier.  There, there was plenty of room to maneuver, and drifting a bit would not have put us on a reef, so a much safer place to be and thus OK to be a bit more adventurous trying to come alongside.  Later in the day an MSC ship docked on the other side of the pier.  They made it, but seemed to have great difficulty.  That ship lost lots of paint (seemingly down to bare metal) on the hull where it scraped up against the pier while trying to position itself.  I didn't see any significant dents in the hull, but lots of missing paint.  Their wake also caused problems for us (the captain came on the PA to apologize for the vibration from running the bow and stern thrusters to keep us in place while the other ship's wake pushed us away from the pier).

That trip we also made it to St. Thomas (specifically Crown Bay, another well sheltered pier) and Sint Maarten.

Te seas where certain choppy the whole time, but not all that rough.  But there was a strong wind the entire time, and that seemed to be the problem.  Heck, even in Port Everglades we needed two tugs to pry us away from pier 19 due to the wind out of the north. 

I don't think a bigger ship would have been any better.  A bigger ship might have been worse, in fact (more sail area to catch more wind and less room to maneuver due to being longer and wider).  Truly huge bow thrusters might have helped, but I don't know if such things exist on cruise ships. 

Some friends on that same cruise stayed on for the next 7 days (for back-to-back sailings).  They said during the following week the weather improved, the wind calmed, and they made all 4 planned ports. 

Thanks for the info.  I also am not a fan of either "Triton" or "Trident" being the name of the next DCL ship.  Hopefully that is just the project name.  And while it seems traditional for a class of ships to be named after the first ship in that class, not everyone does that.  Since ~2001, Holland America Line (HAL) has introduced the "Vista class," "Signature class," and "Pinnacle class" but none of their ships are named Vista, Signature, or Pinnacle.  So, maybe DCL will do something similar. 

As the Twitter discussion in the linked page mentions, there are three ships planned for the new class.  Also, it will be the third set of Disney ships.  Trident is a three pronged item, and Triton starts with "tri" as well, so this could just be a placeholder name for the three ships in the third class. 

Granted, if King Triton were chosen to appear on the next DCL ship as either a statue on the stern or as a statue in the lobby, that would be fitting, I think.  Ariel is already in the lobby of the Disney Wonder, so fitting to have King Triton in the Lobby of Disney ship, take 5. And DCL seems to alternate between male and female characters in the lobby of the ships, so next in the pattern would be male (plus an art deco interior style).  The 6th ship would then have a female lobby statue and art nouveau interior design.   

Speaking of which, I wonder if the lobby of the 7th ship might have a couple in the lobby artwork.  Maybe Cinderella and Prince Charming? Belle and the Beast?  If so, I wonder if the interior design might be more modern, and a departure from the existing two styles.  I am not sure it would make sense to have the ship interior be half art deco and half art nouveau.

  Or maybe DCL has something completely different in mind.  Well, I guess we wait until the annual stockholder meeting and for the 2019 D23 Expo to hear more.