schoolinmy3

Zuiderdam - September 14, 2024 - 7 day Canada / New England

Diane Kradel (schoolinmy3) and Arlisa Elkins

7 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 

 

If you need to be catered too, pampered, constantly fed have instant drink orders and entertained 24/7, then you will probably be disappointed. But since those were never HAL's strong suits even before "covid", you may notice little missing at all.

 

With the larger ships in the industry today, the cruise experience is clearly dividing into those who like to sail floating Las Vegas style hotels where the onboard experience is the critical draw,  and those who still enjoy the quiet joys of traveling to interesting destinations  by sea. HAL is having a bit of a split personality disorder right now, trying to be both. 

Thank you for that perspective! I've always traveled on cruises for the itinerary - first cruise being the Alaskan Inside Passage on the Westerdam and then several cruises in Europe - Mediterranean twice and the Baltics once. Also have cruised to Bermuda and the islands in the Bahamas. I work hard with long hours (I own my own business) and especially since my difficult separation/divorce at the age of 50 six years ago and am just now feeling like I can travel again. I have always preferred to cruise on the smaller ships anyway and don't need entertained or pampered. You'll probably find me up in the Crows Nest with my Kindle and a glass of wine lol. Or walking laps on the promenade after breakfast.

I've been a loyal HAL cruiser since 2008 and actually took my first cruise as a toddler in 1968 in a transatlantic on the Rotterdam as my parent emigrated from Holland where I was born to the US.I I took quite a few cruises with my husband starting in 2008 for our 20th anniversary! But we separated in 2017 so I haven't cruised since. My friend and I are booked on the Zuiderdam for the Canada/New England cruise in September 2024!!! Looking forward to cruising again!

Loved our first experience with the Neptune Lounge in an aft wrap around last February! The hike to the Neptune Lounge was not an issue for us. It was much needed exercise LOL!

Arrived in Fort Lauderdale early this morning for our cruise tomorrow. We took a couple Uber trips to do some shopping and will be trying it tomorrow as well to get us to the port. Our son drives for Uber in the Charlotte area part time and we have used Uber in Europe. I think it's great to have the option....;)

N Amsterdam - 14-Feb-16 - 7 day Eastern Caribbean

My husband, Mark, and I will be cruising and have booked a Neptune Suite for the first time ever....aft corner very excited!:)

Thank you, Ukalady.

 

I knew that it would be either you or Hydrokitty to give me just the right answer! The 110v outlets are 3-prong and you have the artwork to prove it. :D

 

Outlets or not, the new Chromebook is going back to the store and I'll wait for someone to produce a small, inexpensive and lightweight tablet with an SD card reader and a USB port (not holding my breath). Until then, my old "notebook" will just have to do.

 

BTW, do read Ukalady's blog. Not only is it fun to read but it is full of helpful information.

 

 

 

We use Microsoft Surface tablets... they have USB ports and instead of a digital camera use a smart phone that takes high quality photos.... like Lumia

My daughter is currently on the River Beatrice (Uniworld), traveling from Budapest to Passau this week. So far, they have made it from Budapest to Vienna. Fingers crossed that they can continue on to Passau. The crew is telling them that it looks ok. Rain is expected for the next few days, so that will help.

We are currently in Budapest and are expecting to be onboard tomorrow sailing the Viking VAR (a change from the scheduled TOR which couldn't make the trip back in time due to low water levels). IT IS HOT! But we are currently in our hotel room in the Zenit enjoying refreshing air conditioning. We plan to walk around the city tonight when it has cooled down!

I agree. From my first post in preparation for our re introduction to HAL in 2008 for our 20th anniversary cruise aboard the Westerdam - which was coincidentally the 40th anniversary of my initial HAL experience as a baby immigrating to the US aboard the SS Rotterdam - until now this is the place I come every few months when I start planning my next cruise. I introduced friends to cruising and they expect me to do all the planning. What they don't realize is everything I know about cruising I learned right here. Thanks to everyone who has shared their knowledge and experience along the way!:D

One of the perks of cruising ... having my laundry done. Since I can't seem to stay caught up at home between work, kids and husband I look forward to the unlimited laundry option we always order while cruising....:)

I would also appreciate learning what differences you found. (I assume you sailed aboard Celebrity Summit to Bermuda. Please correct me if I am incorrect in my thinking.)

The Summit was a nice cruise ship and we enjoyed the dining options such as QSine and the Creperie. However we missed some of the things that we always enjoyed aboard Holland America. For example, the cooking classes and demonstrations, the varying buffet options in the Lido and walking the full promenade deck. Further the Veendam spends more time in Bermuda than any of the other cruise lines. Another difference is where the ships dock. Being on Front St in Hamilton is tons nicer than being parked at the Dockyards. The Veendam is the only cruise ship that can dock there.

This year we are flying to Bermuda and staying in a beach home rental because we couldn't bring ourselves to cruise again on the Summit. Mainly due to the limited beach time. (we travel as a group of three families)

I am looking forward to cruising to Bermuda on the Veendam in 2015!

There are probably other differences which I am forgetting so I will jump back in and post if I think of anything else. :)

I am thrilled! Went on the Veendam and then had to go on Celebrity last year. It wasn't the same!

Um, the gym and the pool areas would be public areas, wouldn't they? You'd look pretty silly in formal wear in those areas. :D

 

Hoping for some clarification for our Alaska cruise in July. We're looking forward to it, but packing IS a problem for us. Darn shoes!

My guys wore black casual (gym) shoes. Worked great! Had to pack for my husband and two teen boys and to bring 3 pairs of heavy dress shoes wasn't happening. Add khakis and button down shirts and you're good for every evening except formal. A blazer solves the formal attire dilemma. My husband doesn't usually care to eat in the MDR for formal evening so he didn't pack the blazer but that is really all you need for the minimum dress requirement.

I wonder if this is just specific to the NA or whether it is across the board with HAL? I just shared this new tidbit with my DW and she agrees that we will look elsewhere if this is the way HAL wants things right now.

 

Has anyone else experienced this on any other HAL cruise of late? Final payment for our Alaska cruise is just around the corner and I would hate to miss it.

Personally I wouldn't give it a second thought. My husband never brings clothes for formal night and it has not been a problem. Two years ago he and his brother did rent tuxes so the four of us could get some nice photos together and enjoy dinner in the Pinnacle on our anniversary. However as a general rule he doesn't dress up for formal night and eats in the Lido or Canaletto. Sometimes I check out the menu and order those same items for room service and we eat on the balcony. Please don't cancel a cruise to Alaska over formal night "rules". Alaska is amazing and it was our first cruise. I would love to cruise to Alaska again sometime!

We took Celebrity to Bermuda last year for our 25th anniversary. We were disappointed we couldn't sail on the Veendam to Bermuda as we did previously. We did enjoy some things on Celebrity such as the restaurants but the Lido wasn't as good. And not enough beach time! The Veendam stayed in port the longest of all the cruise ships to Bermuda. We really felt the ship was not in port long enough. As a matter of fact we are planning another Bermuda trip this year... by plane.We would sail Celebrity again but only if HAL didn't have a comparable itinerary. So I do hope they sail to Bermuda again!

In 2011 my son and I were booked in a MM gty for our Mediterranean cruise on the Noordam and after final payment noticed the balcony rooms (VH) were now the same price I had paid for our little inside room. I called my travel agent thinking she could get us some onboard credit or something. I was so shocked when she called me back offering us the balcony room for the cost of our original fare. I enjoyed every breakfast of that cruise on my balcony! After almost missing the cruise entirely due to a missed flight connection when our plane malfunctioned before even leaving Charlotte and not having any clothes for the first 3 days as a result I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of that cruise!

We ended up walking down as opposed to the cable car because it had started to rain which meant everyone lined up at once. Rather than wait in the rain we walked. However the stone steps were slippery and I saw a mom slip and fall. My son and I made it down without incident fortunately. Pictures we took in Oia were beautiful. And of course we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise... as usual!

Jacqui,

I am sure this is my fault as I have not removed our previously sailed cruise from our signature -- but our November cruise on the Eurodam in November will not be celebrating our 25th anniversary. Twenty five years has come and gone unfortunately ....and we had a blast last summer... however still celebrating and still married :D

Thanks for maintaining such a fun list!

Back to HAL after cruising to Bermuda on Celebrity for our 25th!

Eurodam 16-November-2014 Eastern Caribbean

After first reading this review almost a year ago I was happy to see the thread resurrected as we leave in less than 2 weeks for this same cruise! Can't wait!

 

 

Tomorrow we are in Copenhagen. We have not signed up for any tours, but we will be paying for the shuttle to get into the city proper (around Triviloi Gardens). We will be geocaching in the area, and if I can prevent us from having to walk another 10 miles I’ll be happy! We figure that we will see a lot of the city while geocaching and many of the caches are placed in “tourist” spots anyway.

OOOH. :D We love geocaching. Our daughter's homeschool group had a geocaching class this year. The teacher even had the class make a travel bug - Guy Smiley. We also have been finding caches as a family since 2005 off and on. We haven't tried one in Europe yet and we will be on a Baltic cruise next year so please let us know the best ports to look for the caches.

Diane

I'm trying to select a cabin on the Veendam. With all the posts about horrible cabins, I was wondering if anyone has posted information on the following K cabins 582, 584, 581, 585, 589 and 593. It appears that the laundry on the deck above is under 584 and 585. And a white space under 581, 585, 589 and 593.

I can recommend K549. It is one of the sideways cabins and is considerably larger than the other K cabins. On our June 5th cruise my friends were in K549 and my kids were in the much smaller K536 around the corner with 4. K548 is another sideways cabin in the same area. They experienced no noise and the room is close to the forward elevators. My friend loved the mattress. It was her first HAL cruise and she admitted to sleeping in late because the room was so dark and quiet and the mattress so comfy. :D

Diane

The problem with a hold is it limits your ability to charge that amount for other purchases on the card,i.e., if you have a $5,000 credit limit on the card and HAL holds $3,000 against it, a $3,000 charge for another purchase will not go through. .. While such holds can't be ignored, a good tactic might be to give them a card to use for the hold other than one you are using otherwise. I sometimes do this with hotels; use one card to reserve the room and sign in and the one I really want to use when it's time to pay.

 

In defense of MTVL, while HAL is not pre-charging him, this type of hold is a real potential inconvenience.

We do use a separate credit card for travel - Capital One - which has the added advantage of avoiding foreign transaction fees. That way the holds don't impact the credit card we generally use for other purchases.

diane

is for shore excursions, specialty restaurants, flowers and pre ordered beverages. The HOLD is easy to handle if you have a good credit history. Just call your credit card company and request an increase to cover it. Unless you plan to max out your card before you sail, you shouldn't have a problem either.

We have never had an issue with the $60 per day hold. We were on a 10 day cruise last year with 5 of us. That would be a $3000 hold, and we had no problems. Our total bill at the end of the cruise was much less and that final bill was the only amount that was actually every charged. ($11 per day per person for automatic tip and also any drinks, shore excursions, etc we purchased).

Diane

The Terrace Houses is amazing. We were there last week on the cruise and for me it was one of the highlights. This is right at Ephesus and definitely worth seeing. Leaving to catch a plane or I would elaborate!

Diane