baggal

I've sailed on both and IMO, the Lido "Marketplace" was ALWAYS crowded during the day. People come for breakfast and "set-up" for the morning with books,cards, games, knitting, etc. Then there is the lunch rush, and those people are still there!  After the lunch rush, there are still people using the that venue for socializing, cards, etc.  It was difficult finding a table even as late as 3 p.m.  This happened on both ships.  

Too many non-cruise passengers flying home for the holidays from FLL.  The roads and terminals will be crowded.  8:50 is just too early.

7 hours ago, chrissy51364 said:

We are booked on the Carnival Conquest sailing 2/29/20. We live in Ohio and the weather is iffy that time of year so we were thinking about flying in the day before. I can't believe the price of hotel rooms on that day. I looked and couldn't find anything particular going on in Miami, but an airport room that would normally cost less than $100 is $250 during that time. Any suggestions on hotels to try that may be reasonable but clean? Looking either near the airport or the Port of Miami.  Thanks in advance.

Supply and demand.  Lots of people cruising and vacationing in South Florida at that time of year since its still winter in most of the country.  And yes, I would definitely fly in the day before.  Try checking flights to Ft. Lauderdale.  I find the airfare is usually less and there are many hotel options but you may have to adjust your expectations for how much you will pay for a hotel room in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale.

The cabin stewards have an enormous amount of work to do during their shifts.  As much as you have good intentions, they really won't have the time to have an extended chat with you other than a pleasant "good morning" or "good evening."

I'm often appalled at the behavior of some passengers toward the crew, and, other passengers as well.  The only excuse for them is that they probably are that way at home too.  Its a pity.  

I wish HAL, and other cruise lines, would include a one page letter to passengers with suggestions for ship-board etiquette.  Especially elevator etiquette.  It would go a long way to improving everyone's cruise experience.

Today, we booked a cruise through our PCC.  Not because we have any great allegiance to her but because every on-line TA we looked at (big box and others) showed no cabins available in the category we wanted.  She had no problem finding us a cabin (strange).  The cruise is in 11 months.  Even with Explore 4, we find the fare to be no big deal and would like to wait a few weeks to see if a better deal shows up somewhere else.  

How long do we have to transfer the reservation?

Thanks.

I wish they would relocate some of their very talented IT employees to working on the Celebrity website instead of high tech wizardry which I'm sure only a minority of cruisers will view.  

I received a mailer over the weekend that was clearly personalized with my itinerary and ship, but when I went to the email address they gave in order to book a "discounted" excursion, it was marked as no longer in existence.  Then I spent about 15 minutes trying to locate a direct phone number for a Shore Excursion office.  Finally found a phone number that I thought would work but every time I asked a reasonable question, she put me on hold to find out the answer.  I finally gave up.

14 hours ago, vtcruising said:

 

Did you see this poll?   It may give you some info to help choose one of the 4, if needed.

 

Thanks for the link.  Yes, we plan to board as early as possible. And now for more questions:  is breakfast and lunch served only in 1 MDR or does it change daily?  We're in an IV cabin so I think that would be our only option besides the buffet.

 

Thanks again. 

14 hours ago, vtcruising said:

 

I would bet you are correct about this cruise having a lot of Select diners so that they can better work around any special events. If it were me, I would board early and head right to the MDRs to ask for Select Dining, if you haven't already gotten it before you cruise. Since other people will be doing the same, the earlier you get there the better. It should be a great cruise - I looked at going on that one too because of the Movable Feast. 🙂

4 hours ago, cangelmd said:

Just curious, you said December 2019, is it over the actual holidays or earlier in Dec? I understand if you don’t feel comfortable answering .

I only ask because we Recently booked Edge , requested Select and got it - I was almost certain we would be waitlisted, our cruise is over Valentine’s Day, which just happened, not a deliberate choice... did you use a TA? 

I ask because we have had bad luck on other cruise lines with dining requests, ask for a particular time - get the exact opposite! We have had much better luck with Celebrity, and booking with a TA seems to help in my unscientific survey.

Its December 8th which is the "Special" Movable Feast cruise featuring celebrity chef Marcus Samuelson (and someone else I think).  The promotional materials are publicizing special menus, events, etc. so I expect that many people would prefer Select Dining for this particular cruise.  We chose this week because our anniversary falls within the cruise and I thought it would be fun to have extra activities around the ship.  Actually, I would be happy to stay with Traditional Dining except early seating is a little too early and late seating is a little too late.  Princess switched their late seating to 7:15 but that would mean having to sail on Princess, which I definitely avoid.  

Cruising on Edge is definitely a learning curve.  I have time to read some more to decide which of the 4 MDRs we would prefer if given a choice and Select is closed to us.

Thanks again.

10 hours ago, vtcruising said:

You will receive an assignment in your cabin when you arrive. If you don't like your assignment, you should head to Cosmopolitan (there should be someone there) immediately and see if you can change. It sounds like people have been able to try other MDRs during the cruise (if they have availability).

 

If you prefer Select Dining or Traditional Early Dining, you can call Celebrity or have your TA call, to be put on the wait list and head for the MDRs when you board to see if you got your choice.

 

They have this email listed in the Edge Dining FAQs to contact them about requesting a specific dining room for Traditional Dining. It's worth a try. 🙂  CelebrityDining@celebrity.com

 

Edge Dining FAQs:

EDGE_Culinary_Reveal_FAQS_2_22.pdf 232.4 kB · 1 download

 

VTcruising,

Thanks for the detailed response.  We are already wait-listed for Select Dining, our preference, so we'll see what happens.

The attachment is very helpful.  Thanks again.

A question that is just a little off topic but I'm confident someone on this thread (VTcruising?) can easily answer it:  We booked our December 2019 Edge cruise last week.  We've been assigned Fixed Late Dining.  Can someone tell me how the MDR assignments are made?  Can the MDR be changed if you're unhappy with the assignment?   

Thanks in advance.

20 hours ago, whogo said:

EXC is the oddest program ever. The lecturers are EXC. Maasdam cruise are EXC. Excursions are EXC. Guides are EXC. Part of some crow's nests are EXC. In-Depth™ cruises are EXC. If the goal is to confuse customers, Holland America has succeeded. Add EXC to dining "As You Wish" as a debacle.

I was confused too, but no more.  As a result of the destruction of the entertainment and port enrichment lecture programs on HAL, I canceled my HAL cruise scheduled for December and booked with Celebrity instead.  The new cruise costs a few dollars more, but I believe we'll be getting so much more.

HAL - are you reading this?

Thanks for all your feedback.  Maybe we'll try Dania Beach another time, but for this trip we'll stay with what we know on 17th Street.  

Thanks again.

Doing a search for a pre-cruise hotel in the Ft. Lauderdale area.  We've sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale many times but have never stayed in Dania Beach preferring 17th street or more north in order to visit with friends and family.

I'm not familiar at all with this area but I've noticed that the hotel rates are on average 20% -30% less than the 17th st. area.    I'm wondering why.  Does the area have the same amenities (restaurants, drug stores, Publix) and do you need a car to get to a restaurant?  

Any hotel recommendations would be welcome.

Thanks

6 hours ago, BarbarianPaul said:

The music venues are now really the only entertainment on board. It’s a shame, because the acts now booked in the main theater are usually just low rent and bad. 

 

We love HA anyway, but the lack of anything compelling in the main theatre means we’ve been booking more with Celebrity lately.

 

 

I completely agree and recently canceled my December HAL cruise and booked the brand new Celebrity Edge for the same week.  I'm very happy to book HAL for a port-intensive cruise in Europe, etc., (and we have done multiple European cruises with HAL).  But, when it comes to a winter Caribbean cruise HAL just doesn't have what this aging (?) baby boomer wants on her vacation.  Its good to have choices.

I don't understand the negativity toward people who are looking to share private tours through the roll call.  Isn't that the point - to have the ability to meet fellow passengers on your specific cruise?  "China Shrek," you may not be aware that travel agents and tour guides are prohibited from posting on Cruise Critic. HAL is a mass market cruise line which appeals to passengers with varying interests and budgets.  And even if you're not particularly budget minded, some people just prefer a small group experience over the 40 passenger bus tour.  If you find it distasteful, no one is forcing you to participate.

If I wanted to only eat, read and watch movies (I have Amazon and Netflix along with the usual 600 or so cable channels) I could stay home, order in every meal, and catch up on my binge watching.  But on a Caribbean cruise, which we take during the winter to escape the northeast weather, I want, no I need, more!  And, the "Music Walk" just doesn't do it for me.  I want "entertainers" not "musicians."  They are not the same.

We're currently booked on the Nieuw Amsterdam this winter.  But both the brand new Celebrity Edge and Princess Sky are sailing  in the Caribbean that week as well. While I'm still in the cancel without penalty time period, I'm going to take a better look at those cruises.

Thanks everyone.  We are looking at the Nieuw Amsterdam which doesn't quite have all the musical "bells and whistles" that the Kdam and NS have.  We've been on all 3 previously and know what they offer. 

Celebrity Edge and the brand-new Sky Princess are sailing in the Caribbean the same week as the Nieuw Amsterdam.  I'm going to take a more serious look at those ships and itineraries.  

I'm beginning to think that HAL really wants its passengers to have an early dinner then go back to cabin to watch a movie.  Take notice HAL - I could just as easily stay home, order in meals and binge watch Amazon and Netflix for a week.

Thanks

Given that there are no longer production shows on HAL, what are they substituting instead?  

We're looking at a 7 night Caribbean cruise this winter and I wonder what type of entertainment HAL will provide.  Any recent experience or expectations for the future?

Thanks.

Yes.  If you're going to push me aside when you're going through security to get back on the ship before me or elbow me in the Lido buffet to reach over me to grab an item, you are going to get a not-polite "Really?  The line is behind me."  Which is always surprising to me since I'm a woman that stands 5'6" and I would not consider myself petite.   I have stunned some people by my comments.  I don't like speaking up  but I dislike being pushed around even more.

This is the dumbest move HAL can make.  No evening entertainment besides some questionable musicians in some venues and now this.  Count me out on any future HAL cruises.

How do you handle rough seas?  Yes, the ship may sail and not take a direct hit from a hurricane, but the seas can still be very rough on your itinerary.  No sense going on a cruise if you can't leave your cabin.  I once lost 6 lbs. on a cruise when the captain tried to evade a "rogue" storm in early December in the Caribbean.  Couldn't manage more than a a green apple (great to alleviate motion sickness) and  tea for days.  

I personally avoid cruising  the entire East Coast of the U.S. all the way up to the Canadian Maritimes as well as the Caribbean during hurricane season,  August through November.  But that's me.

8 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Nieuw (no x on the end) Amsterdam will have Tamarind (restaurant) and more entertainment venues. We are booked on Nieuw Amsterdam for 24 days next year in the Med.

 

And United flies from EWR to Venice.  I think that is on the east coast of the US.

 

Wine lists and Promenade Deck should be same, or very close.

Yes, United now does have one non-stop from Newark to Venice.  No need to add the snarky comment.  Its not helpful to anyone.

Just to clear up any confusion:  the Nieux Amsterdam is newer than the Zuiderdam, but its not HAL's newest ship.  That would be the Nieux Statendam.  

I'm a bit surprised that cabins are "super limited" a year in advance - especially in the the Med.  Unless you're looking at a very unique itinerary, we never book this far out and have always been able to book a cabin that meets our needs.  People book and cancel cruises all the time.

Are the fares the same?  Do the ships embark from the same ports?  Is it easier for you to get to one port than another?  (For example you can fly non-stop from the U.S. east coast to Barcelona or Rome but not to Venice.)  These are some additional points to consider.

And finally, if it were me on a 24 day cruise, I would choose a Signature Suite on the Zuiderdam just for the larger cabin and bathroom.

On 5/3/2019 at 1:52 AM, wwcruisers said:

While I agree that the question of 'to wait or not to wait' is entirely up to the Captain, I can tell you that I have been on a tardy ship's tour where the ship DID wait for us. It was on Equinox, several years ago. We had a port day in Tortuga (BVI) and we took the ship's tour over to Jost Van Dyke. There was some sort of time mix-up between the ship and the tour-boat crew, and we ended up returning nearly an hour late. The folks from the Shorex Desk were waiting on the pier, when we docked. They escorted us directly onboard the ship -- pulling the gang-way up, behind us.

 

So yeah -- I do book my own shore excursions, for the most part. But if a tour involves taking a bus into the middle of the jungle, or taking a boat to another island -- I'm definitely going with the ship's tours.

Actually, in most cases, its up to the Harbormaster and not the Captain if  the ship can wait for you, regardless of whether you're on a ship's tour or private excursion.  Especially if the ship is docked at an active commercial port. And then there's the tides and impending weather. 

Over the years I have read a few threads here on CC about ships having to leave the port in a HURRY before the excursions got back to the dock.  One that comes to mind was a ship in the Med which had to leave in hurry  due to high winds, etc. from a storm coming across the Med.  Of course, the ship made arrangements for the passengers to be transferred to the next port to meet the ship.  But yes, it can and does happen. There is no absolute guarantee that the ship will wait for anyone.