REOVA

Just off the VoV a few weeks ago so its really a T/A both ways. Masks were not required initially but many people still wore them (Crew required) and then COVID cases with about 200 out of 1100 passengers so masks were required most of the trip until cases went down about a week at the end (many people don't get tested, just like to cough, for fear of quarantine, We ended up in quarantine for 6 days. The decision to mask supposedly is Captain and Medical but Captain said it was CCL Corp directive in this case. We were about 80% capacity so they ran out of quarantine rooms and people quarantined in their cabins, but VoV is a popular cruise. Ship had many crew down with COVID as well and were moving crew around to cover open positions (and training).

We had a 10:55 flight a few weeks ago and went with the HAL airport shuttle. It was about $35/pp but was very smooth and got to Airport 2 hours early with 4 bags to check plus carry on. No hassle or worry about timing or construction in the tunnel on weekends.

Was just on VoV for 35 days and cost pre board was quoted at $319.99 for premium wifi and went up to $399.99 onboard.

Had the same issue with VeriFly. Called and they said to delete the app and download it again. Same thing happened and they said they could not help me since it was so close to departure (2 days) and to bring hard copies to embarkation. So we ended up doing the slow line in Boston to get on board while Verifly passengers whizzed through. Good luck as it does speed up boarding process if it works.

So price for CO would be the same for an ocean view as for a V category for same #days of sailing and your upgrade cabin would just be in the same meta category? (Unless you wanted to pay upgrade to next cabin category which I believe would be discounted if you already paid for CO...so OP might ask for a discount if staying in booked cabin). We've never needed to use the CO program but it's interesting to see how they price it.

Club Orange is just an add on pricewise so you can keep your cabin but I think the price is different depending on your cabin, unless someone can correct me.

If not you can always go to excursion desk once on board and cancel excursions and rebook. They will credit back to pre-board card (or how you prepaid for them) and deduct from onboard credit. Just make sure they are not waitlisted so you don't lose them and check that prices onboard haven't increased from prepaid price.

Depends on ship and balcony. The newer ships Neptune, Signature and Vista balconies have smaller end openings which leaves a little privacy still but the older ships open in center, closer to the cabin wall. Was just on Zaandam and the door wasn't locked and started banging the chairs into the wall in the middle of the night until they locked it the next morning. Depends on how open/connected you want to be to decide which ship and balcony to choose. Once @reposado gets confirmation HAL will still allow it, its easy to see photos and videos of different cabin balconies to see how the layout is.

They did before COVID and I believe someone asked on this board and its was yes. However not sure how that would work if you have to Quarantine in the room. We had to for 6 days together last month even though I tested negative because of "close contact". Depending on the ship and cabin size it may be just 1 small panel opened at the railing. You can either contact your TA or HAL to get confirmation.

Thanks Sharon. That's what I see but I wonder if they have specific rooms/locations for the other layouts like on Koningsdam. I know Aft and Forward and Accessible cabins are slightly different. Who is in the Concierge Lounge, maybe they know if any cabins have the 3 sinks. I cannot get any answers from HAL or online and the FC Consultant is new and is going by the diagram so a bit hesitant.

I pulled it from NS on the HAL website. Is your cabin going to have the third sink area? Thanks.

Yeah all I have found so far are the standard layout in the videos. Not sure why HAL advertises the 3rd sink layout. Thanks Pete.

Pete, Great photos as usual. We just did VoV so good to relive some of those ports (85' here and no fog, back to summer). Our FC Consultant recommended Neptune suite on NS for 3 adults based on the website advertised layout which shows a separate WC/sink (similar to Prinsendam suites) but I didn't think HAL's Pinnacle ships have this layout. Is there someone in the Neptune Concierge Lounge that you can confirm they have this layout in Neptune Suites?

You should make that request now on the website so they will be ready and remind the concierge when onboard .

Depending on where you are cruising, it may not be worth it due to lack of service at sea. You might be cheaper to use your cell phone data at port for any higher speed needed. The length of cruise also determines upgrade cost. I would call HAL to find out the cost (if you are longer than 3 days from departing). I know our last HIA did not include wifi and the price booking pre board to after onboard increased so it was cheaper booking 3 days before embarking.

We both would get 4 cans of water (all I could carry lol at a time) but I am not sure if they limit each time, just per day. I would order a double of any alcohol (wine) each time.

Cheers to the Cap't and crew.... Just returned from the VoV where we had 2 helicopter medevac'uees on our cruise. They have performed well, thanks and prayers to those involved. Glad you are enjoying Zaandam and congrats on another year together.

Pre cruise, I did mostly private tours. Post COVID, we booked all excursions online prior to boarding just in case Ports didn't allow getting off unless excursion booked. (not likely now with cases down). So we knew we had a tour once we got on the ship that wasn't sold out. Once on the ship we noticed the prices they were charging on some tours increased so we got the lower price booking prior. There really are 2 accounts in your statement 1 - onboard credits 2 - credit card. If you do not use your onboard credits, you lose them. Pre-booked tours are not deducted from onboard credit so once on board, we checked with excursion desk to see which tours had no price increases and were not waitlisted. We cancelled those tours (credited back to credit card) and rebooked them (deducted from onboard credit) since we had to use our onboard credit. We also had cancelled (pre booked) tours on board due to quarantine that went back to credit card.

We used our SBP on last cruise this month and it included 15 per day of any drink under $11 which includes, hot chocolate (were were in Arctic), coffee, cans of water, soda, milk shakes (at the pool bar), and alcohol. Not sure if its the same on all ships but this worked for us even though DW is not much of an alcohol drinker.

Was also on VoV just got off last week. When in that area of the world, reception is poor so bringing your own is advised. The hotel manager said the ship is wired for the new system but due to "supply chain" issues new TV/components won't be in until September. I know people have downloaded/streamed shows to their devices and watched during the cruise and our TV did have a USB port visible on the side but not sure if its usable as we did not try it.

The Rule was only from Dun Laoghaire authorities requiring 11 days from when first tested positive. Tender was easy and not too long today. Walked around Dun Laoghaire before Taste of Dublin afternoon tour which was excellent. The Royals are at Castle Mey which is cancelled but Dunrobin castle tour was still available when Castle of Mey cancelled. Much further.

Captain says more people coming out of Q than going in. However 70 new passengers boarded in Rotterdam and we just received this letter the day before Ireland. So even those that are out of quarantine may not go ashore in this port.

I personally counted red dots a few days ago (except for the few cabins originally restricted and closed off) and there are about 60 cabins in quarantine, including mine now. I am negative but wife positive so both need to stay in until she is negative so might be 1 per cabin infected. I doubt that 200 people are infected unless possibly counting crew or those already negative and released. Not everyone is wearing masks ("I forgot it in my room") nor washing hands even though the Purell machines now have staff reminding passengers. Not all passengers are calling if symptomatic as they dont want to get tested, even those who are hacking on tour busses or in World Stage. Unfortunately the crew cannot force people to follow the rules which is probably why those of us who wear mask and wash hands consistently are not allowed out of cabin if mate is positive. They are doing what they can but short staffed means many are working long hours and trying to get things under control. Today (Sunday) Captain said we are still moving in right direction but would not give numbers in and out.

Some notes on board... Internet for premium is $319.99 before cruise and $399.99 on board. Spotty when at sea but nice when no one is on it. Weather has been spectacular for the first few ports...fog, clouds, sun...perfect for beautiful scenery. Don't need down coats. (My DW who thinks below 80' is cold was sweating). Lots of layers, thermal base but Outer layer should be wind and water PROOF. It's windy so umbrella won't do you good in Iceland per the locals. Gloves, scarf, hat just in case. Geology is amazing and scenery beautiful so far... Bar Harbor - kayaking was cancelled due to lack of interest (should have known) so did a bike excursion in Acadia National Forest (old carriage trails). Red Bay, Canada - early sun allowed us to take the boat (only 1 boat taking 5 passengers at a time) to Saddle Island. Nice walking trail around part of island. Wind and rain came and they stopped taking passengers to island and focused in getting everyone off and back to mainland. Had the World famous fish and chips at the local restaurant. Qaqortoq, Greenland- there is a road to right of port that ends and can hike up to mountain top. (Both road and hike are steep) I did a morning hike to top and then had tour of town with tastng of local food and beer. Afterwards walked about 2 miles around Lake (its a 3-4 hour walk complete but my phone died and ship departs in an hour so headed back). Prins Christian Sund - early morning fog broke to party cloudy skies. For those that have been, it's a mixture of Alaska and Antarctica, with twisted geology added for good measure. Reykjavik - being a few miles from City Center, the town provides free shuttle to a gift shop/ticket office about 1/2 mile away so you can buy transport tickets to City $20 round trip or you can get taxi there (or taxi at Port if one shows up). Did the Snorkle excursion in the fissure between the European and NA plates in 34' water. Wonderfully organized and "refreshing". Did a small hike to ridge afterwards. Djúpivogur - Did the 4x4 Canyons and Waterfall excursion. The 4x4 were monster raised Mercedes vans crossing wonderland of southern Iceland. Hopefully pictures will follow.

This is the current FAQ in their website. Not liking the "at (their) discretion" part... Guests who have recovered from COVID-19 within three months of their embarkation, do not need to get a viral test before embarkation if they are at least 10 days past their COVID-19 infection, have no symptoms and produce documentation of recovery from COVID-19 infection. Documentation of Recovery consists of the following: Paper or electronic copies of the positive viral test result from a certified laboratory (dated no more than 90 days ago), or A valid digital COVID-19 certificate (DCC) or a document issued by an official health or government authority showing confirmed previous infection. Guests who present these documents will need to go through a secondary screening at the terminal and boarding will be approved at the medical staff’s discretion. If guests are not able to obtain documentation of recovery that fulfills the above requirements, they will need to take the required COVID-19 viral test and show a negative result.