cruzingnut

8 hours ago, POA1 said:

 

I checked with Michelle. We did not receive an invitation to a Mariner's Lunch,  I don't know if there was none, or if they held one and shunned us.

There was no Mariner Lunch on this cruise,  nor the 12 day cruise prior.  Seems they are not doing that any longer on the "shorter" cruises.  I'm not sure about the longer ones (Legendary, Grands, WC).  I don't remember if we had one on the WC last year.

Linda R,

Ok, after a comedy of errors, mainly on my part, I managed to make an account for myself.  Thanks for the help from everyone!

Linda R.

Just now, TiogaCruiser said:

Do you need to sign out first before making a new account?

I wasn't signed in, I made sure of that.

Just now, KruisinKath said:

If the sign in email and password boxes are already filled in when you get to that box, it’s just auto-filling. You should be able to delete the info in each box and proceed. 

I tried that and it said wrong email/password, lol.  Thing is, I can't get to the actual page where you create an account.  You know, where you put in the password you want and then have to re enter it just to be sure?  Still need to try it on a different computer....then if that doesn't work, I'll call the Mariner Society for help. 

Linda R.

19 minutes ago, nw gardener said:

@cruzingnut, I believe you will need separate emails as that is what fouled us up when DH did his own account. DH and I in the past for HAL used our shared email.  Did  the create account with his email,  however it also assigned him a new mariner number 😔...Luckily a quick call to the mariners society fixed that problem.

I actually clicked on "create account" and then started filling it out.  I wasn't signed in when I did this....maybe I'll try it on a different computer.  If that doesn't work, I'll give mariners a call.  Thanks!

I've had an account with HAL for years but it's under my husbands name.  I'd like to create one for myself but I can't.  I click to Create Account but when I put in my name, DOB and zip code, the sign in email and password spots are already populated by my sign in for my husband.  Does anyone have a separate account from their other family members?  I've got FCC that I'd like to check on but can't without my own account.

Thanks,

Linda R.

39 minutes ago, Ready2go11 said:

 

cooking demonstration in Rolling Stone Lounge

 

Stowaway who came out last night.  I read is some prior post how grasshoppers boarded in South American and the Amazon.  Since our ship just came from the south perhaps this one has survivied so far. 

 

 

Does anyone one know the function of this just inside our cabin door?  We are thinking it is a motion detector???

It's a flashlight of sorts.  If you can pry it out of the wall, that is.

Linda R.

@richwmn, I've been following the blogs of people on this cruise.  We were going on but had to cancel it but i do have some friends onboard.  One is coming with us on the Japan cruise so I gave her a heads up.  I'm hoping she was able to attend; nice idea to have that get together!

Linda R.

They have indeed closed the DR on embarkation day this Sunday.  I checked the Navigator app and in capital letters, it says DR closed.  We always go there to avoid the madhouse up in the Lido..... 

Linda R.

9 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

People are still talking about 2015.  Must have been spectacular 

It WAS amazing!  https://lindavesadventures.com/2015/04/30/april-8-2015-mariner-event-at-ephesus-turkey/

5 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

I may have that backwards.    I think 2019 was Amsterdam and 2017 was Turkey?   Maybe it was 2015??

Amsterdam was 2019 WC.

2 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Off ship events were always the exception.   I think the last one was 2019.   All parties from 2016 and 2018 and 2023 were on the ship.    I think they had off ship events in 2017 (Amsterdam) and 2019 (Turkey).  I was never aware of what was planned for 2020. 
 

This was a very nice party, lots of participation- everyone who attended had a great time from my POV.    It's always about the people and participation for me - the venue is secondary.  
 

I always treat every cruise as if it's my first and last.  

I had "inside" info into what the plan was for the 2020 WC party so that would have been a big "do" off the ship.   I guess I got spoiled with Kusadasi and Ephesus in 2015 and then the Rijks Museum on 2019.  The big party in Bali (2013) was on the ship and that was pretty awesome.  And, I think the 2010 WC had a big South African Braai onboard the ship.  So, you're right, there are plenty of times that the celebration is held on the ship.

Linda R.

5 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Party in progress.   Great time.  Lots of food 

 

Gus is here 

 

Is this fair the "big shindig" that happens on the WC?   I'm still bummed over the fact that 2020 was going to be on top of the "surfboard" hotel in Singapore.  I would hope there would me more to it than this.... 

Linda R.

@jimdee3636, @OlsSalt, @DCThunder, @cruisemom42

The 2010 WC went east....we dubbed it "The Wrong Way Cruise".  The time changed on sea days for the most part and was done midday.  2PM came along and it was immediately changed to 3PM.  It made it a bit easier during the day, rather than at night but it was still pretty brutal overall.  It was nice not to loose an hour at night but it was still hard.  Plus, (not us) a lot of people were pretty peeved at NOT having their chosen activities happening due to the lost hour.

The bonus of this direction was that we went to Asia area in the spring.  Cebu Island had all the cherry Trees in blossom; that was amazing!  We also went to Petropavlovsk before crossing back to the US and had a great experience there.  I don't think Russia will be on any cruise anymore though...

The other thing about this cruise was that it was NOT a true circumnavigation.  It began in Ft. Lauderdale and ended in San Diego.  Despite the direction of travel and not going all the way around the world, we loved the trip (of course, it was our first WC) and felt it was worth it overall.  More "jaded" now, I'd prefer not to travel that way at this point.

Linda R.

7 hours ago, Cruising Is Bliss said:

 

Agreed. Interesting that the survey asked about ship preference. I would love to do a world cruise on Zaandam or Volendam.

I know exactly why they were asking about ship preference.  Last year was the first year they did it on a larger ship.  The smaller ships are set up for long cruises in that they have more storage below for supplies.  They also have more storage in the cabins for passengers.  You usually need different clothing for where you are going to be around the world.  The larger ships were designed more for short trips and we heard stories of toilet paper and other supplies being stored in unsold cabins!  On prior world cruises (I've taken several starting back in 2010) they had several Balls that were held in the showroom.  There is a dance floor in that venue so it worked well for as many people that wanted to, to gather there.  On the Zuiderdam last year, we had one "ball" and it was split up between 3 venues; Rolling Rock, Ocean Bar and Billboard Online.  Each venue had music that represented those venues.  For us, we wanted to go to Ocean Bar since that music suits us more than the others.  We couldn't get near it so went to Billboard and at least found a couple places to sit.  Rolling Rock was busy, but too loud and not really what we wanted.  Not that we wanted Billboard, we just wanted to be part of the celebration SOMEwhere.  We stayed a short while and then went to our cabin. 

All of the world cruises we did (4 1/2) were on the Amsterdam.  I LOVED that ship.  Just like coming home any time we boarded her.  I tried, I really did, to transfer that over to the Zuiderdam.  I even went around saying "Different home, same family".  Meaning that the crew, who we consider extended family, was the same.  They worked hard, really hard and did the best they could.  Henk and his staff worked their butts off to adapt the world cruise to that ship.  For us, it didn't really work, much as I wanted it to.  Although, there were lots of issues along the way that didn't help the situation.  Supply issues; one country wouldn't give us 8 whole containers of supplies that we were counting on, etc. 

I'll admit that I'm very biased towards the smaller ships and I'm not saying I won't go on a WC on one of the larger ones (we aren't on this years).  We had over 900 days on the Amsterdam so it's quite understandable that she is/was our all time favorite ship. 

One last thing to consider with smaller ships is the places you can go!  Over the years, we visited some very out of the way places and docked places that the larger ships will never be able to.  And, considering some small ports around the world are beginning to limit the size of the ships they let in...I think it's wise to stick to smaller ships.  Otherwise it will be the same old, same old for every world cruise.

Wow, I didn't plan on writing all that but there ya go!

Linda R.

7 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Additional factor: can remains be cremated at a particular foreign port? If that is the decedent's wishes. 

Yes, I've seen this twice on 2 different HAL World Cruises.  Ashes were delivered to the ship at a subsequent port and the family or partner continued on.  It's what I've told my DH to do and also, probably what I would do with him. 

Linda R.

14 minutes ago, sandiego1 said:

What do you mean they discontinued the other Grands? HAL had 2 Grand Africa cruises in back to back years and the Grand South America was recently completed. 
 

Friends are on the Grand Australia/New Zealand right now.
 

There’s a rumor there will be a Grand Asia in Sep/Oct 2026. We put a deposit on it as a future cruise request.

 

i think the only one that is missing is the Grand Med. But I believe HAL has only done that one a few times over the year (not sure how frequently or total # of times it’s been offered).

I guess I should have specified which Grands I meant.  For years they used to have the Grand Asia (or some combination thereof) and the Grand Med.  They stopped those and have added in the Grand Africa and now the Grand Au/NZ.  So yes, they haven't really discontinued the Grands; they've just mixed them up.  If they do have a Grand Asia in 2026, we would be VERY interested!

Linda R.

Just now, DCThunder said:

I was just in the Med in November/December and the weather was very nice.  Cool days (60s) but mostly dry.  We did the Greek Islands, Italy, then southern Spain, Morocco, and TA.

Really!  Well, that's not too bad!

Linda R.

5 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

Then move it to another date!  It seems to be ok to travel to Europe in October/November (see Volendam 45 day Ultimate Med and Atlantic Passage Oct 7 - Nov 21, 2025 visiting Greece, Malta, Cadiz and Gibraltar in November), but not travel to Japan in February/March?

This is more to do with maximising revenue from ship location than providing a 'World Cruise' experience.

I've been noticing how they have been extending the season on the Med!  I don't think that would be great weather wise.  Not sure I'd want to be there either at that time of year.  October possibly but I think November is stretching it a bit.

Linda R.

1 hour ago, Bookited said:

Yes, but that was back in the day that we, as polywog passengers, actually got to partake in the festivities, swimming across the pool and kissing the fish.  A fond memory. I think it is only crew now in the brink.

How far back WAS that?  On our first Grand (and first Equator crossing), early 2000's we thought we'd get slimed so we dressed in our bathing suits and sat in the front row of chairs.  Nope, no dice BUT, we did kiss the fish.  To this day, you can still do that at least.

Linda R.

11 minutes ago, SUESEABE said:

 

Which is why I would like to see an alternative month other than January for a World Cruise...

That would be a great idea since they've discontinued the other Grands!

Linda R.

@cruisemom42, @VMax1700, @AtlantaCruiser72, @SUESEABE

As @WriterOnDeck stated, northern countries such as Japan and China are really not the best places to be in winter so that would be the main reason the world cruise doesn't go there.  Just do a google search for various cities and you can see what the averages are in January and February. 

As far as not wanting to places when it's hot, you wouldn't want to go anywhere near the equator then since it's always hot in those areas.  Cartagena?  Hot.....always hot, no getting around it.  Anywhere in Indonesia, Singapore, etc. are hot too.  But, the world cruises go to southern Australia and New Zealand too most times.  But, again, it's summer then.  I know I wouldn't want to go to Australia or NZ in winter (our summer). 

As far as the Caribbean and the Panama Canal, the couple stops there are so that you don't get on the ship and sail for days.  Never mind that the Caribbean is part of the world.  Not everyone that cruises on the world cruises have been in the Caribbean very much.  For the Panama Canal?  I've been through there many times and each time I enjoy it.  It's also the easier way to get to the Pacific rather than having to go all the way around S. America (which not everyone wants to do).  If you want that, HAL has the Grand S. America every year.

@whogo  We have people on the world cruises that are yes, mainly North America, but also from all over the world.  Usually a fair amount of British, Dutch and other assorted Europeans and even people from Australia.  As far as "seniors" wanting to go places "safe and familiar places", you couldn't have that more wrong.  There are a LOT of people that go every year.  Some go less often and we've gone on a number of them since 2010.  I can tell you we would LOVE to get to new places.  When they had the Grand in the fall, they used to go to Asia at that time.  Fall was the perfect time for it weather wise.  In 2013 HAL had probably one of the best fall Grands we've ever been on.  Chock full of WWII islands, and other destinations you would have loved.  Check here for the itinerary that we did. https://lindavesadventures.com/2013/09/12/itinerary-for-our-cruise/

@OlsSalt  This past year on the 2023 we went to Reunion, Mauritius and were supposed to go to Madagascar but weather cancelled that out for us.  As far as the Black Sea, that was done occasionally when HAL was running the Grand Med.  Another Grand that we really wish they would bring back!

With any luck, we can get Gus Antorcha to bring the other Grands back.  They would be a guaranteed sell out, especially the Asia, etc.

Please, I don't want anyone to feel like I'm "lambasting" them; I'm just trying to set out the facts from my experiences on a number of Grands and World Cruises.  😎

Linda R.

13 hours ago, WriterOnDeck said:

My main response is why not more new ports. I guess one of the disadvantages of taking multiple grand cruises is that soon they repeat. If you start in January, you won't go north. Only so many ways to circle the globe. But still -- can't we have more new ports even on similar routes?

 

Three head south to Antarctica and Santiago, Chili, before heading west. One goes south around Australia, two north. Two south around Africa, two through Suez to Med. One goes to northern Europe. And one is eastbound, ending in San Diego.

I just completed my survey.  First I'll say the east sailing one is no way.  We did that on our first WC way back in 2010.  While it was awesome and we did have really great stops, it was pretty rough going in that direction.

Too many of the others have Antarctica.  I know this will sound crazy, but we've been there 3 times and we really don't need to go again, never mind I don't want to tempt the fates of the Drake Passage. 😱  One of the choices was pretty much a repeat of last year, 2023.  I liked the last one (D, I think) the best. 

I agree with you on the ports, but unfortunately, some of the "big" ports we go to are restock stops so are necessary. 

With the 2 smaller ships we have left, we could most definitely get to some "rarer" ports that the larger ones can't.  That would help if the WC could go back to that size ship.  Plus, some places are starting to limit the size of ships and not allowing them in (Major case in point for us is Bora Bora!).

Linda R.

19 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Funny thing is all the restaurants here feature Stella...all of them.  For some reason it is their beer of choice. If you ask for a large Stella...they bring you this huge bottle (quart size) of it.  😮 

I've been lurking here and wanted to comment on the beer....if you can, please try Patagonia beer!  I'm not a beer drinking at all but I love that stuff!!!  Patagonia and a slab of Argentine beef = heaven!  Back to lurking I go.....😎

Linda R.

7 hours ago, keeponcruising said:

I got off the Rotterdam last Friday and as promised, I am coming back to report that my travel diffuser works perfectly on the supplied blow dryer in the cabin.

Oh, thank you so much for reporting back!  Great info and now I'll order one from Amazon (I've had it on my "shopping list on there since you mentioned it).  I really appreciate you report on it; will save me from dragging my own hairdryer onboard.  Yay!  Hope you had a great cruise; we'll be on her for 21 days starting mid March.

Linda R.