Cocktail613

Another question: we are a group of 6 travelling together, would regularly accommodating 6 likely to be an issue on the Koningsdam?

I seem to recall reading that the dedicated OC dining room on the Pinnacle class ships still have a sommelier while the MDR does not. Is this true?

On 4/14/2022 at 12:52 PM, quack2 said:

Perhaps I shouldn't admit that I often position myself on the ship near departure time in order to watch the pier runners.  Shame on me.

We do that too.  We nearly always grab a drink and go watch for the runners.  Great fun. No shame involved.

14 hours ago, zelker said:

They do, for fresh things like locally grown produce and (YUMMM!! 😋) fresh catch ... and a real treat, fresh flower leis for everyone! (at least the two times we've sailed to or through the Hawaiian Islands)

 

 

I wonder if this is still true in COVID times. I suspect not resuppying might we one of the ways Hawaii is restricting contact.

On 1/21/2022 at 7:01 PM, PSR said:

 

I takes 7-8 hours to drive from San Diego to our home. Neither my husband nor I are comfortable driving long distances any longer.

But you are comfortable knowingly exposing people at the airport and in the plane… 

5 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

I'm hearing reports that several Canadians were denied boarding because HAL couldn't transport them to the US, can anyone confirm this information?  Are there only US passengers on-board?

I believe only US citizens and permanent residents (or their spouses)  are on board. My wife and I (Canadians) were booked on this cruise but in mid September HAL cancelled our booking because we are not US citizens or permanent residents. In part the email from HAL stated: "We had hoped that the restrictions on travel to the United States from within the Schengen Area that were first enacted in January 2021 would be relaxed in time for our transatlantic voyages from Europe to the United States. The United States does not currently allow entry to the U.S. for travelers who have been in a Schengen Country within fourteen days of their arrival to the U.S. This does not apply to U.S. citizens and permanent residents or their spouses."  This restriction is still in place and will be for a couple more weeks.

My understanding is that they did this for everyone in that situation but I suppose it is possible that a few people either didn't get the message though I'm not sure how they got through on line check-in or get boarding passes.  

16 hours ago, slewis7 said:

I really like the new itinerary of “Iconic Iceland, Greenland and Canada”!

• From $6,699
•  
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• 15 Days
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• 9 Guided Tours
•  
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• 3 Countries

 

Yes this itinerary looks interesting.  Any thoughts on which direction would be best?

Is there a section of the HAL website where you can confirm what perks (particularly drink package or gratuities) have been included in my booked cruise's fare?  I know that it was included in the Special Services section of the invoice but I can't find it on the web page for the booked cruise (only dinners and excursions).  Am I looking in the wrong spot? Or is this just not captured on HAL's website?

Most jurisdictions seem to be taking the position that in transit means less than 12 hrs.

On 8/30/2021 at 8:19 PM, LuCruise said:

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think they would let you on the plane if you tested positive.  And tbh, I would hope not...as that would mean that anyone sitting next to us could be known covid positive.

Regardless if the airline lets you board I would say that there is a pretty significant moral responsibility not to board a plane if you know you are COVID positive. 

1 minute ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I'm not sure I follow what you are suggesting....?

 

Currently cruise ships do not test passengers at the end of the cruise unless the passenger requires it for onward travel. US passengers returning from an Alaska cruise (where they never "left" the US) are not required to have such a test.  Are you suggesting that they should voluntarily test themselves again prior to flying home? Otherwise there is no way that they would know if they are COVID-positive.

 

I am certainly not suggesting that anyone who knows they are COVID-positive should travel.  But isn't that what would happen if the cruise lines tested people at embarkation?  Think of how many people may be flying across the US to get on board a ship in Florida or Seattle, only to test positive at the port. 

 

 

My point is regarding tests done just prior to embarkation at the port city.  There certainly will be people who test positive at the port and therefore won’t be able to embark onto the cruise (the cruise line is requiring testing precisely to keep them off) or be able to fly home until they test negative.  It is primarily this risk (I have not found any insurance to cover it) that is leading us to decide to cancel our TA from Amsterdam.   

12 hours ago, GOLDENBONNY said:

HAL offers travel insurance and I am 99% sure  Manulife offers it too . I don't care what drama teacher advise or think .

I haven’t heard of any travel insurance that currently covers trip interruption or cancellation due to COVID related issues.  If you find yourself in a foreign city with a positive test you will be denied cruise boarding, won’t be able to get on a plane home until negative so will have to quarantine in a hotel. All at your own cost. Politicizing the issue doesn’t make it go away.

On 8/11/2021 at 2:34 PM, cruisemom42 said:

 

Possibly from other places in the world where you would be required to test negative in order to get back into the US. I don't think they apply to US-based cruising. 

 

HAL is notoriously slow to update their info. Most of that was released when Alaska cruises were still a dream for 2021, I think.

 

If you are COVID positive you can’t just get on a plane and fly home.  It shouldn’t be a question of regulation, it is simply morally wrong to expose other passengers. Who would do that?

18 minutes ago, liamur14 said:

You are correct , we have other insurance for  travel interruption or cancellation.

Does your travel interruption policy cover COVID related events? Our Johnson policy specifically excludes COVID interruption and cancellation. Likely will be cancelling our October TA from Amsterdam because of the risk of interruption (though I think HAL will cancel it anyways due to US entry regulations).

51 minutes ago, atexsix said:

We're going to book our April cruise to Alaska next month, those are the only itineraries we trust not to change too drastically, if PVSA is gone by then or Canadian ship ban is extended, they can easily adapt them to not include Victoria. 

The Canadian cruise ship ban end date was recently changed to November 1, 2021 (from February 28, 2022). Probably done to clear the way for the Canadian Level 4 Travel Advisory against cruising being lifted around the same time. 

25 minutes ago, liamur14 said:

 We are members of Canadian Snowbirds Association, and use their Snowbirds Medipac Travel Insurance ,and YES it does cover  covid and our  cruise, Venice to Athens- Sept 12-24.  I spoke to the Agent his morning and  Canada's travel advisory does not effect  their coverage.

 

https://www.snowbirds.org/travel-insurance/

I believe that Medipac is just medical travel insurance and does not include any travel interruption or cancelation coverage.  The risk is that if you are tested in Venice before boarding and its positive you will be denied boarding and will be stuck with the costs of hotel and meals while you quarantine there waiting for a negative test so you can board a return flight home which will also be at your expense. That risk can be mitigated if you ensure your test is done (and negative results received) before you leave Canada and it’s with 72 hrs of embarkation. Unfortunately that doesn’t leave much time for enjoying Venice.

4 hours ago, dmcfad2 said:

Even if I did want to cancel now, I am assuming that the new change in mask and testing policy does not qualify me to cancel my upcoming September coastal cruise without penalty. I have made final payment and cancellation fees have started. I didn’t buy insurance. Of course, that is a risk I took, I guess. It just didn’t occur to me that testing would be required if vaccinated. They were pushing the cruises saying no masks with 100% vaccinated passengers. The masks are no problem, but I’ve been looking at testing places near me and the rapid antigen test is hard to find. The PCR test is easier to find, but then I have to be concerned about getting the results in time. I wonder if the Covid guarantee about getting future FCC if one tests positive will apply if we get to the pier without being able to get test results beforehand? Just one more thing that needs to be qualified by HAL.

Check if this policy applies to you.  You may get all your fare back in a combination of cash and FCC.  https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/worry-free-promise/flexible-cancellation.html
 

13 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We already pack too darn much when we travel to add more electronic stuff.  Many folks may not be aware that many devices (such as most phones) have "wireless hotspot" capability.  Set up properly you can create a wireless hotspot (for multiple devices) by just using a phone, PC, etc.  What is nice about creating a hotspot is that it can easily travel with you when you leave the cabin.  So, for example, if you have an iPhone and activate the hotspot function you could go elsewhere on the ship carrying that phone and perhaps a PC that is logged onto the hotspot.  This can be useful if you have an Internet package that only allows once device to be logged on to the ship's system.

 

Hank

I don’t think that you can use an iPhone to hotspot forward a Wi-Fi signal, you can only forward a cell signal.

8 hours ago, Coffeeluvr05 said:

The food looks delicious! We don’t have club orange and we have booked the Pinnacle Grill for embarkation evening. As a HAL newcomer is there any reason not to do a specialty restaurant on embarkation night?

We have often done a specialty restaurant the first night since we have found there is sometimes much more disorganization and delay the first night in the MDR. Mind you we also always do open seating, if we did set seating we may be inclined to meet our table mates the first night rather than become the “new kids” the next night.

I have done it for a couple of cruises in the past and it worked well, though as mentioned ultimately the speed is determined by the available ship bandwidth. The reason we used it was so that we could connect multiple devices at the same time using one plan (ship only sees the travel router logged in).  If you do a search you will find some very helpful how-to posts on CC.  Now that multiple wifi plans are “thrown in” for most cruise packages I doubt we will bother again.

8 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

 

13 hours ago, Roz said:

She ordered via the hotel's app.  No talking with someone on the phone and hoping they heard our order correctly.  There was a written record, and she was able to charge the order to her room acct., including the tip.  Nothing to sign when the order arrived.  

 

I liked it, and can see where it would be more efficient than the current system on cruise ships.  We had the option of having the food delivered immediately or choosing a later time.  

 

I think cruises will definitely go that way, particularly for room service orders. In fact I believe I read in the release notes for a recent update to the Navigator app that you can use it to order food and beverages (either room service or to be ready for pickup). I suspect the breakfast door tags will (or have already) become a thing of the past, replaced with Navigator app or choices made on a TV menu. 

7 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Thanks - its been a while since I looked at other options.....Time for another look and see.

Back before COVID I would use prepaid eSIM packages when travelling (like switching your SIM card but you don’t actually have to physically change anything, you just download a package to your phone from a web site or app and tell the phone to change over to using the travel eSIM).  Many (most?) newish smart phones now have the capacity to use a second eSIM along side the regular SIM card.  You can buy the eSIM packages from companies like Airalo (https://www.airalo.com). Much cheaper than the roaming packages available from Canadian Telcos (not sure about US). Easy to install and manage. Works very well in my experience.