Mtn2Sea

Jacqui, although no words are even remotely adequate, I do want to extend my deepest condolences.  May your faith and memories bring you and your family comfort.

2 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

@Mtn2Sea What is the pink road there?

 

 

I believe it is dedicated for bicycles, but I’m not positive.

In 2019, we stopped for a day in Auckland while aboard the Amsterdam.  With a friend from the ship, we walked around the city some and then took the ride up to the top of the Sky Tower, which has fantastic views.  We’re scheduled to be back in Auckland next year, but we’ll see how that goes.

I purchased two $2000 cards yesterday and in just a few minutes I got the emails from HAL that allowed me to print out my cards.  About an hour later I called my online travel agent to pay my balance on an upcoming cruise.  The TA had set the final payment date as this coming Monday (I’m not sure how far in advance this particular agency sets the final date in relation to HAL’s date.). When she didn’t send me an email yesterday confirming my payment, I began wondering what was up.  
 

I checked my Visa credit card account and it showed two charges of $2000 from HAL for the two gift cards.  Today I got a call from the TA advising me there was an issue.  She had a HAL rep on the phone.  I answered a few questions, but the HAL rep, who couldn’t get the cards to work, finally stated the issue would have to be bumped up to the accounting department.  Of course they aren’t open on the weekend.  The TA said she had adjusted my final payment date by a week and would give me an update next week after making contact with the accounting department.  Fingers crossed this glitch gets resolved soon and I don’t have a problem with the 16 $25 bonus cards that I was planning on using on the ship.

As part of the 2019 world cruise, we did an overnight in Amsterdam while on HAL’s Amsterdam.  On the first day, we took an excursion to the Keukenhof gardens, which was amazing.  It’s really hard to pick just a few photos, but here is a small sample.

After returning to Amsterdam, we’re were able to rest a few hours before going to an evening reception that HAL hosted at the Rijksmuseum.  HAL passengers were the only guests at the museum.  A very memorable evening to say the least!

I started working on this post this morning, but got sidetracked several times.  Bought a couple of HAL gift cards, which included a ten percent bonus, and then used them to make our final payment for our August cruise.  Also went to CVS to get our second booster - so far no problem, but it’s still early.

On our second visit to Egypt, we took an overnight HAL excursion to Cairo and then caught back up with the ship in Alexandria.  Our first morning was spent at the national museum, where no cameras were even allowed into the building.  We later had lunch on a boat slowly sailing down the Nile.

We then went to our hotel, the Four Seasons, and this is the view from our room.

We left our hotel shortly after 6:00 PM to go to the old section of Cairo. Friday night is a very social time for the locals, so traffic was extremely bad. As we were walking down the Grand Street of old Cairo, a few motorcycles and trucks would pass through the mostly pedestrian way. I know they weren't going that fast, but it sure seemed like they were zooming right on through. You certainly have to keep an eye open all the time. It's amazing that there aren't accidents all the time! Our guide was very good in explaining the history of what he called the oldest street in the world. Here are some photos of what we saw.
 

We slowly walked about 45 minutes until we got to our restaurant, where we had a traditional Egyptian dinner. Here's our guide with the restaurant owner.
 

The next morning we went to Memphis where we saw a huge statue of Ramses II.

We next drove a short distance to Sakkara in order to view the step pyramid of King Zoser—the first pyramid ever built and the world’s oldest freestanding stone structure. This pyramid was built around 2800 BC.
 

Our next stop was at the Giza pyramids and, unlike our earlier visit, we went into a small museum that includes the solar boat that was discovered next to one of the pyramids. It's believed this boat carried a Pharaoh on his final trip to his pyramid.

Our last stop was for lunch at a former palace.  This is the view from our table.

We visited the Falkland’s in 2018 while aboard the Zaandam and luckily were able to get ashore.  We took a ship’s excursion to Bluff Cove Lagoon where we were able to see both Gentoo and King penguins.  Prior to boarding a van for the excursion, we had a few minutes to wander around the town.  The van took us about half way to our destination and then we switched to a Range Rover.  We soon learned why we switched vehicles.  The last half of the ride was a bit rough and not suitable for anyone with back issues.  Our driver took it slow, but you still had to hold on!

We’ve been to Cadiz a couple of times. For our first visit in 2014 while aboard the Ryndam, we took a very long excursion into Seville.  Our first stop was to see the Cathedral of Seville.

Christopher Columbus is buried within the Cathedral.

We next walked to the nearby Alcazar.  Although the Moorish architecture is similar to Alhambra, the Alcazar is smaller in size but in better condition. The King stays on the second floor while in Seville.  
 

We next had a quick stop at site of the  Iberian-American Exposition of 1929 before returning to the ship.

While aboard the Ryndam in 2014, we stopped in Marmaris but did not see much of the city.  We instead took an excursion that was entitled Dalyan, Caunos & Iztuzu Beach. After riding in a bus for almost 90 minutes, we arrived at a riverside restaurant in Dalyan where we had a short break prior to boarding a boat. Here's an example of the boats used to transport tourist downriver to a stop near the ancient ruins of Caunos.

 On the way to our first stop, we passed by some tombs carved into a cliff side by some ancient kings during the 4th century BC. You'll notice one tomb was never finished and others are deteriorating. The mountain is limestone, which suffers from water erosion. Of course, I'm sure nothing I've built will be around for another 2500 years.

When we got to the dock for seeing the ruins at Caunos, we faced a 20-25 minute walk. They did have a tractor with a trailer that can take a few people up to the ruins, but most everyone hiked up the hill. A lot of excavation still needs to be done. Basically, we viewed the Roman bathhouse, a church and the theatre. Here're some photos.

When we finished our visit, we had a shorter hike back to a different dock where we rejoined our boat. We then traveled downriver to Iztuzu Beach. We were there only about 15 minutes, since no one wanted to swim and everyone was ready to get to lunch. Here's what the beach looks like.

After leaving the beach, we traveled upriver back to the restaurant. An amazing number of boats like the one we were on lined the riverbank. Our guide indicated the place gets very busy during high season. The tables for our lunch were outside near the dock, but they were under a tree, so we had some nice shade. A buffet had been set up for the salad. Waiters brought our entree to the table. Everyone had a choice of sea bass or chicken/lamb. After finishing our enjoyable lunch, we got back on the bus for our return to the ship.

Looking forward to going with you on your cruise - wish it was for real instead of just reading another one of your great reviews.  Hope you have a great time!!

7 hours ago, Rowsby said:

My husband peacefully passed away yesterday.....after 18 long but well cared for days in the hospital.....

 

Please accept my deepest condolences on the loss of your husband.  May your faith and memories bring you and your family comfort.

I would call HAL and ask some questions.  While I couldn’t find anything under the FAQ’s on HAL’s website, I did find info on Carnival Cruise Line’s website that specifically addresses this issue (I figured Carnival would have to address this issue much more than HAL due to their much younger clientele).  Here’s that info:

It is important that the guest’s full name (first name and last name) on the cruise and airline tickets be the same as the guest’s non-expired government-issued photo I.D. they plan to use for travel identification. In the event of a different name on the cruise/airline ticket and the guest’s photo I.D. as a result of a marriage, divorce or a legal name change, documentation (original or clear, legible copy) supporting this change is required (at embarkation), such as a marriage certificate, marriage license or legal name change court document. Failure to bring documentation bridging the name differences could result in denied boarding.

The new bride should also make sure she won’t have a problem with the airline’s checkin desk if she’s flying to her cruise.

Are they able to open up the bow area on the Koningsdam while viewing the glaciers?

We’ve been to Santorini several times on various HAL ships.  On the first visit, which was on the Rotterdam, we took an extended tour that included a stop at the Akrotiri excavation site.

We returned a year later aboard the Noordam and rented a car for the day.  We were able to have lunch at an out of the way restaurant recommended by the rental car agent (probably owned by her brother 😀).

We were able to see both black and red beaches.

At the end of the road was the Akrotiri lighthouse.

During our cruise stops, the only towns we’ve visited are Fira and Oia.  On our last visit, we just had lunch in Fira and walked around the town.

Looking forward to photos of today’s port.  We’re scheduled to be there for the first time later this year.  For those who’ve been, is St. John’s a walkable port or do we need to find an excursion?

I go by my middle name, which was my maternal grandfather’s preferred name.  I recently learned that my 6 times great grandfather was also a Robert and that the name Robert is scattered throughout generations of that side of my family.  I also learned that my 6 times great grandfather came over from England by way of Barbados before settling in the Carolinas in the late 1600’s.  Learning this history made me appreciate my name even more.

Unless things have changed, you’ll need to have your passport and boarding info readily available when you stop at the entrance gate for the port, so don’t have them packed away.  There are signs showing the terminal number for the various ships in port that day.  Most likely, your ship will be at Terminal 26, 21 or 19.  These terminals all use the mid-port parking garage.  Since this is your first cruise, I recommend you use this garage.  It’ll cost you a little bit more money for the week than off site parking, but it’s a more straightforward process.  You’ll be able to see how things work so you’ll be able to decide if you want to do off site parking for your next cruise.

As Rich indicated, it’s easier to pull up to the terminal building (people will direct you) and drop off your luggage and other passengers before parking.  If there’s more than one HAL ship in port that day, confirm with someone that you’re at the right terminal unless you can see the ship’s name as you drive up.  Agree on a general area where your fellow passengers will wait for you.  Benches are available.  Have some tip money ready as a luggage handler will likely be right there to take your non-carryon luggage.

Hope you have a wonderful cruise on the Rotterdam!!

Sounds like a great plan!!

Hope you have a fantastic cruise!  Looking forward to hearing all about your adventures while on the Zuiderdam.

We’ve been to Naples several times while cruising the Mediterranean.  On one of our recent stops, we took a taxi from the cruise terminal to the National Archaeological Museum, which includes many frescoes from Pompeii.  The museum also has a small Egyptian section.  
 

Hope you have a great time on the Eurodam!!

Bon Voyage!!!

Looking forward to reading your review.  Hope you enjoy HAL as much as we do.

34 minutes ago, nanlaur said:

We chose to cancel partially because of the protocols, not because we "don't want to engage in safe practices", but because three weeks of masking in the tropics would make it a very expensive, non-vacation experience for us. Our choice.

 

As it happens, I am currently waiting out the quarantine time after contracting Covid from the assisted living facility where we sat with my sister last weekend as she died. (They had at least one resident with Covid.) We were to leave on Weds. to drive down to FLL for the cruise, so would have had to cancel anyway. 

So sorry to hear of the loss of your sister.  May your memories bring you and your family comfort.   Hopefully, your recovery from Covid will be quick.

So glad you’ve been releases from your quarantine!  Hopefully you can enjoy your time in Florida before reboarding the ship.

Good morning everyone!  We had planned to go out for dinner last night with our neighbors - something we do at least once a week.  I got a text early afternoon stating they had just received word that a friend who had gone to dinner with them on Tuesday was in bed feeling horrible and did we still want to go out.  Thought about it about five seconds and responded back that, out of an abundance of caution, we would take a raincheck.  Later I received a text stating the friend had just found out that someone he had been in contact with on Sunday had tested positive.  Still waiting to hear whether the friend, who at this point has only taken a home test, is positive.

I will be so glad when our lives get back somewhat to normal!