fellswoop

We booked Beyond and "anytime dining" was full and only available was fixed at 8:30p. So it seems they do have fixed dining on this particular Edge class ship.

Going onboard next week. Was trying to book lunch at Sushi on 5 for sea day but only shows dinner hours. Do you have to reserve for lunch once onboard?

On 3/16/2023 at 9:29 AM, marazul said:

The taxi fare is around 10 euros.  The square in front of the SF entrance is surrounded by a number of cafes where you can have a quick coffee.  There are many taxis around. I would suggest taking a taxi to the Casa Batllo on the Passeig de Gracia after you visit the SF.  You don't have to go in Casa Batllo, but just admire it and all the other beautiful buildings from outside.  This is a much nicer street for cafes and restaurants and far better for sightseeing than the area around SF.  In fact, right across the street from Casa Batllo there is a very nice and relatively inexpensive tapas restaurant called TapaTapa with sidewalk tables. There are millions of taxis around to get you back to the ship.

 

Don't bother with public transport on your limited time.  The traffic will be busy, but not more than any other day.

We'll be there in a few days. Thx for info. Do taxi drivers have credit card machines?

How much for tipping taxi driver?

Currently on Nieuw Statendam.  Agree...some movies say cc English. Others not. The TV channels do not seem to have it.

9 hours ago, fellswoop said:

On Nieuw Statendam TA right now.  Dinner portions smaller and some food just mediocre. Tonight there is not even a salad on the menu. In Orange club last night after sitting at large hightop table for just the two of us we politely asked maitre d not to be seated at a high top next time  as I wear a partner mic for my husband's hearing aids and table seating too far apart to hear on wider high top. His response was "I can't say if that can be the case".  😲 We are in a Neptune and did not think that was too big an ask. When we walked in, there were two  2 top tables available. 

Another surprise is that ordering a Cosmo is now $12 so if you have the package it is $1 extra when it was just $11 on K- dam in Feb. I will say they have more bar waiters in Ocean bar now. That's a positive. 

Quoting myself here. Despite getting a lukewarm response after asking last night not to sit at a hightop table they couldn't have been nicer tonight in accommodating us. Maybe it was a misunderstanding yesterday because tonight everything perfect. 

On Nieuw Statendam TA right now.  Dinner portions smaller and some food just mediocre. Tonight there is not even a salad on the menu. In Orange club last night after sitting at large hightop table for just the two of us we politely asked maitre d not to be seated at a high top next time  as I wear a partner mic for my husband's hearing aids and table seating too far apart to hear on wider high top. His response was "I can't say if that can be the case".  😲 We are in a Neptune and did not think that was too big an ask. When we walked in, there were two  2 top tables available. 

Another surprise is that ordering a Cosmo is now $12 so if you have the package it is $1 extra when it was just $11 on K- dam in Feb. I will say they have more bar waiters in Ocean bar now. That's a positive. 

Oct 2nd on  Summit for leaf peeping up into NE and Canada. Have excursions booked for all stops but Celebrity lists no excursions for Portland.  Does this mean that port might be cancelled? Couldn't remember if this was a city not enamored with cruise ships. 

When my husband tested positive last month on Kdam and I was negative, I asked if I could move to another room and was told "we no longer do that". I had a total of 8 negative tests.

10 minutes ago, lissie said:

If the daily laundry has just gone from $7 to $8.50 I think the $20 bag will be going up to at least $25 

Some ships are already at $30!

My husband got covid last month on Kdam. We both self tested and I did the proper and correct thing and reported it. I was negative so had to test 2 consecutive days then every other day. I remained negative and could leave the room with a mask. They came to room and retested him on day 6 and he was negative. Luckily his quarantine was during 5 sea days on our return from Hawaii. For those of you saying you won't report please consider your room steward  and all the other older people on the cruise that you will infect. Just because you don't have symptoms does not mean you aren't spreading it. They were very kind to us and the upgraded food menus were great. Also bring lots of OTC meds just in case....Advil,tylenol, mucinex, cough meds . I'm an RN and was prepared for "just in case. I did a thread on CC on our experience experience if you goggle Navigating Covid on Koningsam.

On Kdam last month it was fill the laundry bag up for $20. We rolled each item tightly and fit A LOT in their laundry bag!

We were on Koningsdam last month. First I will say the portion sizes now are smaller all around....even in Pinnacle. We ordered an appetizer and salad in Pinnacle and were told about the upcharge. But there are soooo many new people and even subbing into specialty dining so I can see if someone overlooked explaining the up charge in Pinnacle for 2nd app. They also had the same steak and lobster upcharge items in Club Orange as is available in MDR. They have a hole to climb out of post covid and it has to be spread out fleetwide. Reading a CC thread from someone currently on a HAL world cruise the hotel manager told him frankly it will be 2 yrs for supply chains for food and staff shortages to have a turn around. They are definitely trying to prevent food waste due to cost and insecure food supply chains in some areas. So we will have the right expectations to avoid disappointment and know we will still never leave hungry from any dining room.

5 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

 

I'd ask my TA for how to handle......Hotel airport shuttle perhaps?

But our hotel thru HAL includes transfer from airport to their hotel. I'm sure it will be clarified as it gets closer.

On 2/6/2023 at 6:35 AM, FlorenceItaly said:

For Business Class(Polaris) I do not think it can be beat.  We booked a one way June Polaris BC ticket from Amsterdam via Newark onto to GSP for under $1400 per person.  This was booked and ticketed in November.  The May TA cruise is a complimentary casino cruise so flight required payment at booking.  For this reason I also requested ticketing.  This is a regular United flight so felt comfortable with this.  

So we booked and paid for our air and we thought by doing that we locked in price.. What do you mean ticketed? Was there something else we needed to do to lock in price cuz we got a great deal for international. 

So we have Hal flights and hotel for FLL in April. Our flight doesn't get in till midnight. How does that work? Private driver meeting us? 

I did want to say that on other threads I have read (and I did read that NCL thread above linked by @rubytue) people say if they were positive they would not report. I think our cruise and timing was unique in that we had already completed all our port stops on the evening he began to feel sick and we only had 6 sea days ahead. But people who don't want to report need to check their moral compass. You have 2 room attendants coming in to clean and any room service people Plus if you are mingling with others you are spreading.  Covid is so much more contagious than a cold. The amount of viral load exposure seems important. Example you might be in an elevator with someone with a low viral load and be fine....but if someone has a high viral load, 1 cough or sneeze could impact others in an elevator. There were many elevator coughers! @3rdGenCunarder hit the nail when he said being in a loud music venue drinking makes you more likely to shout or talk louder thus potentially spraying more particles. At this point cruiselines are not going to tell us what is happening behind the scenes as it will affect the bottom dollar as many people are still on the fence about cruising. We won't stop cruising but we will make even more changes. Controversial opinion ahead.... I wish they would implement self testing (with your own home kit)  prior to the cruise again. Yes there will always be some narcissists who might be positive and go anyway...but most people will do the right thing.

4 hours ago, syesmar said:

@fellswoop Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experiences! These details are very helpful as I try to decide on the right time for me to sail again.

As far as testing negative, then positive, I have read from testing experts that this is common as  the load begins to wane. For some it just takes more time to clear completely. FDA even recommended 2 negatives 48 hours apart to end isolation or quarantine rather than a once-size-fits-all number of days.

I understand with their updated protocols you weren’t required to quarantine or go to a separate cabin, but did HAL offer you any FCC, or only him? (I would imagine their new guidelines in this regard are related to cost-saving measures. Their statement under “What if a guest tests positive?” could be interpreted in a couple of different ways https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/worry-free-promise/travel-well/frequently-asked-questions.html#boarding )

Prayers for your husband and also that you continue to stay healthy. All the Best!

No FCC offered to me and wasn't expected.  Don't know if they figure in cost of room, hia, or Club Orange when they figure out FCC.

 .

1 hour ago, soprano said:

fellswoop, If you don't mind answering, when was your most recent COVID booster? We're thinking of getting an additional covalent booster 2 weeks before our cruise to increase the circulating antibodies in our system...not sure if that would help or not!  Thanks!!

We had the bivalent in October two weeks before a cruise then.

Agree the trays outside of door accumulating are a giveaway but they did knock on our door each night to personally hand us the menu. 

13 minutes ago, Ingnacious said:

I was on a Viking cruise in November. Because of port requirements, wad to test everyday.I really believed the testing helped keep the numbers to under 14 (only know this number since 2 ports refused us even though we had less than 1% infection rate of all souls aboard per the captain). Very few masked. My friend and I did mask on elevators and when on excursions or in other closed areas. Never got Covid. The tell tale sign of those who had it were the trays and menus on the outside of the cabin,

 

I know the bigger ships can’t afford the testing, but it really helped stop the spread

16 minutes ago, Ingnacious said:

I was on a Viking cruise in November. Because of port requirements, we had to test everyday.I really believed the testing helped keep the numbers to under 14 (only know this number since 2 ports refused us even though we had less than 1% infection rate of all souls aboard per the captain). Very few masked. My friend and I did mask on elevators and when on excursions or in other closed areas. Never got Covid. The tell tale sign of those who had it were the trays and menus on the outside of the cabin,

 

I know the bigger ships can’t afford the testing, but it really helped stop the spread.

.

33 minutes ago, seaoma said:

@fellswoop Thanks for your comprehensive post. I also appreciate you following protocol by calling about your husband's positive test. It seems to me that having one person in a cabin that isn't positive makes some of the quarantine a little better, if for no other reason, than a drink runner. 😄 

 

 Hope your husband is doing well.

 

Do you mind answering some of my questions? Where did you dine most often? Did you see the shows or spend time in the clubs? Did you spend much time in the casino or the Crows Nest? Do you have any idea where you think people are the most vulnerable on the ship?

We were Club Orange so ate there except for a dinner and lunch at Pinnacle. Orange Club dining is more closed in than MDR but we seemed mostly distanced.  We had not eaten in the buffet at all however we had walked thru several times. Breakfast in our room daily. Lunch on all those sea days was pizza and burgers or Dutch Cafe and once in MDR. The riskiest venue that we attended was twice at the Rollin Rock. That is a very crowded low ceiling packed in venue. We wore our masks to our table but then took them off for drinks. Who knows? 🤷‍♀️  Also it could have been in Waikiki though even there we masked whenever going in shops and in Uber. We went to one show at World Stage and wore masks plus our 3 excursions met at World Stage and we wore masks while waiting in there. Walked thru casino but never stopped. Up in Crows Nest and had mask off for a drink but when I went there alone (before he tested pos)and  I wore mask the whole time. I know someone mentioned some people looked at them funny for wearing a mask but being an RN, I didn't care about that. I'm a firm believer in you do you. However  you would not catch me in a packed elevator without a mask. And we go on Niew Statendam for a TA to Barcelona in April and we decided we will not be going to any music venues. 😥

One nice thing was during isolation we had a scheduled dinner at Tamarind which was part of the Have It All package and we had to go thru Room Service but ordered off Tamarind menu (and 3 appetizers) and it was all delivered still fairly warm. They did tell us we could order from any restaurant but charges applied when applicable. 

Most vulnerable  places in my opinion....crowded music venues, theater, elevators, sitiing next to others directly at a bar counter. Ocean Bar and Tamarind Bar seem more social distanced. PS... Tamarind bar is a beautiful secret and not crowded but is out of the way.

1 minute ago, DoorCounty said:

COVID cabins have a red dot on the plaque next to door. Our VOV cruise had over 200 cases & we were masked except outside. Never got COVID, not even at home.

We had no designations whatsoever on our door nor should we. Everyone who came to our door were ship staff and they were aware and wearing masks.

25 minutes ago, Josie201 said:

Were you by any chance on deck 5 aft ….?   We had someone across the hall we assumed was positive because of the trays, the blue napkins and all the menus in the mail box.  

We were 5 mid in a Vista Suite. No one across from us. Wished we could know how many were testing positive but they were tight lipped. I asked twice. I can say on our last evening meal before getting out of isolation we had ordered 8p delivery for our dinner and it arrived at 7:25p with an apology from the isolation tray delivery person that he had to come early as he had too many trays to deliver. 🤔

15 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Sounds like you did the best you could do to avoid catching it. But sometimes COVID happens and you don't really know when/where you caught it. I find it interesting that two people sharing a rather small space can end up with only one getting sick. But there are a lot of those stories, so it shows that different people have different susceptibilities or resistances. 

 

I also travel with tests and a med kit for alleviating symptoms. Not as extensive as yours, but enough for my usual "caught a cold" needs. I also travel with saline nasal spray because dry air makes me more susceptible to respiratory infections. 

 

I got COVID toward the end of a cruise in September. I wore a mask in elevators, shows, most of the time except meals. But it got me. Slight scratchy throat on a Monday, chills Monday night, was a zombie and slept all day Tuesday, but no other symptoms. I tested Tuesday, and it was negative, so I didn't ask about Paxlovid. And by Wednesday, I was out and about in port. I thought it was the flu because I hadn't got my flu shot yet and I "wasn't sick enough" for it to be COVID. I tested on the Friday, after I got home, mainly out of curiosity, and I was positive although I felt fine. 

 

I suspect the sinus infection was the result of flying home. Those changes in air pressure can drive even a light resp infection way into the sinuses, where they're hard to get rid of. 

 

I do have a question about the tray pickup. Since you weren't moved, you were in a hallway with nonquarantined passengers. Did they give you any kind of cover to put over the tray? Not that I expect anyone to poke around in someone's leftovers, but if they're quarantining a passenger and not letting your steward take your trays, they should be more attentive to pickups. I also think you should have been given a bottle of water every day. 

We probably could have gotten more water had we asked.  But we did have the drink package so I asked if we could drink the  mini bar refrigerator contents for no charge and was told no by Guest Services. So I asked our room steward if he throws away mini bar after we leave and he said they sanitize the bottles. 

Luckily because I could still leave with a mask, I was bringing drinks back from the bar. 

Regarding the trays....they all came with the covered metal tops on most things so when we put them in the hall we made a point of not having any food visible. Plus they were identified with blue napkins which we then spread out over the trays to cover everything. I'm guessing our hallway neighbors could figure out we were in isolation. Only once that I noticed did someone put a bunch of their trash on our trays in hall. Also food delivery people could not come in room so we had to hold door and bring in food items one at a time till tray was light enough to carry it in.

Also wanted to add I was allowed to leave room but only with a mask.