edi1140

On 10/7/2019 at 8:49 PM, edgee said:

So far only 5 ships have NS casinos:  Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam. 

That's fantastic. My last cruise on Eurodam in January '17, I'm pretty sure the casino was still smoking. I'm on the NA in January, maybe I will even play a few games in the casino now....I avoided them before because of the smoke. 

Posting late but I will anyway. 

I take a small sample sized bottle of dish detergent with me and a clean cloth, and give my ice buckets a cleaning before I use them. I'm sure HAL does clean them but hey, better safe than sorry.

Sand toys for the beach. A couple of little shovels and pails from the dollar store.

I don't think that's such a "sad" thing. One of the things I like best about HAL is that once I leave my steerage cabin, no-one knows or treats me differently. I am not excluded from anywhere except the Neptune Lounge -- and having been in there, I really don't see the appeal of spending time in a windowless room.

 

 

 

I'm glad HAL is not considering this as of yet. Which is not to say they will not, but I really like being able to go (almost) everywhere and experience (almost) everything on the ship, even though I actually PREFER an ocean-view cabin low down and forward. I don't think HAL ships or the HAL experience would be improved by setting aside dining venues for the "haves" and "have-nots." (And yes, I know they already set aside the Pinnacle Grill for breakfast for the suite passengers.)

Completely agree. The HAL experience is just a bit upscale, enough to feel luxurious, but without any hint of appealing to the horsie set. I like it the way it is and look forward to trying the Konigsdam.

We've cruised Disney, Carnival and HAL. you're going to love Half Moon Cay if you haven't been there before.

Gratuities are $11.50 per day, per person, same as Carnival. HAL doesn't offer the option to prepay the way Carnival does.

Embarkation is fast and easy in my experience. You'll find HAL employees to be friendly and well trained.

On our last two HAL cruises our room was ready before noon when we got on board and yes grab a seat for lunch quick as you can.

We did the Noordam about a year ago. 11 day Caribbean cruise. Wonderful ship. A little bit worn here and there but well cared for. We had one of the aft balconies and loved it.

the more sedate atmosphere was one of the things that originally attracted us to HAL. Of course we are aging into the "normal" demographics :D

Between work and kids both my wife and I rarely get to bed before midnight or 1 am. I travel every week (1trip out, 1 trip back) and so my travel days are particularly long.

So, when we are on vacation we end up going to bed EARLIER than we do at home. We get up, have a nice breakfast, go exploring ashore if in port, eat, and have some cocktails (which we never have time to enjoy at home).

By that time it's 10:30 or 11 and both of us are ready to zonk out and enjoy a full, uninterrupted nights' sleep. Neither of us could care less about carousing until all hours of the morning. It's just so nice to be able to decompress.

That's why I like HAL so much: the atmosphere is very uncrowded and leisurely. We took the kids with us a few years ago on Carnival and (while we had a ton of fun) the best way I could describe it was "culture shock". [emoji1]

So that's what HAL is all about. For people of whatever age who book it and then grumble about the lack of nightlife all I can say is YOU'RE ON THE WRONG CRUISE LINE! Lol

You cradle robber, you. [emoji12]

 

To the OP, DH and I are 32 and 31 and we are going on our third HAL cruise next month. All of our cruises have been 11 days or longer. We have never noticed a geriatric crowd, have always met interesting people, and have made some lifelong friends (Hi, friends!). We sailed during Christmas the first time and February the second time. Obviously, school will have started next month. We are traveling with our girls - 7, 5, and 3.

My wife and I are in our 40s and HAL is our preferred cruise line. It's not just for people who get a senior's discount.

Having said that, as posted earlier, it does tend to be "an early to bed, early to rise" experience. That works fine for us because we have a very busy home life and the last thing either of us wants is to be partying all night. Not everyone's cup of tea though.

Anyone ever do this? Just cruise with NO plans in place? What did you end up doing?

 

We're going to Grand Cayman, Belize, Roatan, and Cozumel -- it will be our first time at GC and on the advice of friends who have been there a few times, we're thinking of renting car...but not planning on anything definite.

 

We've been to Belize, Roatan, and Coz and are happy to wing it in all three places...

Yeah, we generally book the trip and then decide what to do the day of arrival at port.

In GC don't miss Stingray City. Or if you have kids, hit the turtle farm. They'll love it and it's cheap.

You roast bacon?

My wife does this. Much less messy than frying it.

No the 14 year old does not have it right. If any pig product cooked could substitute for crispy bacon at any time and for any meal then OK.

 

 

 

Bacon and eggs, pork chop and eggs, ham and eggs, pork sausage and eggs, ham hocks and eggs, pigs ears and feet and eggs are all piggy yet not the same! Not in taste or how its cooked.

 

 

 

No no no...you cannot substitute piggy and simply call it good.

 

 

 

A BLT cannot have ham or sausage as a piggy substitute.

 

 

 

If your in Canada and order bacon and eggs and they substitute the piggy's snout on the plate would that be the same?

Lol, fair enough, no I would not want pigs snout on my BLT.

I thought the proper term for bacon served in Canada is back bacon. (thank you, Bob and Doug McKenzie)

 

My 14 year old's response? "I don't care what you call it or how you cook it-just give me piggy."

Not 100% sure...the best I can tell you is that as a kid "back bacon" and "Canadian bacon" were mysterious terms to me. "Back bacon" may be a term used in parts of the country, there are regional differences that sometimes pop up.

What I can say is, I've travelled all over Canada on business for 20 years, no matter what part of the country I'm in if I ask for bacon when I'm in a restaurant, for certain what I will get is bacon slices. It's definitely understood by all concerned that that's what is being referred to.

Your 14 year old has it right!

I know this is a bit technical for a philosophical thread, but here is a rough illustration. Please pardon my horrible artistry..

 

As a Canadian, can I ask that "Canadian Bacon" is referred to by its correct name: "ham".

And by the way, to settle the argument, neither you Americans (overcooked) nor you Brits and Europeans (undercooked) do bacon slices right. [emoji1]

We won't cruise with NCL. Reason being, my sister in law and her husband worked for them and the tales I heard about how poorly NCL treats their people are a major turn off.

Nothing is a 100% guaranteed "magic bullet", but doing things the way HAL does it offers the best chance of preventing an outbreak.

In some ways' date=' the Princess kids' program is like Carnival. But Carnival may have more different activities for them. My daughter had been on three Carnival cruise (one she missed being the program by one month) and then her next five cruises were at age 5, 7, 8, 13, and 15 on Princess. She likes arts and crafts, video games, movies, so she was fine for the first three.

 

The teen program she felt was lame, but at that age, most teens are that way. She met some girls her age when she was 13 (that's why it's important for the kids to go the first night) and they pal-ed around on the cruise (it was the two week Hawaiian cruise so lots of sea days). When we told her we were going on that last one, which was the same ship/itinerary, she checked the FB page for their group (an occasional post now and then even a couple of years later) and discovered one of her buddies was going on the same cruise. They made plans to meet up on the ship and were joined by another girl and three boys around the same age. They made their own fun, such as setting up a table tennis tournament, etc.

 

She also enjoyed Movies under the Stars, swimming (no matter the weather), and the various night time entertainment (she likes the production shows).[/quote']

 

Thanks. That's the sort of info I am looking for. I do read the reviews, it's just they're not tremendously helpful in this case because they're all over the place. Really, looking for people who have sailed this particular itinerary and can give me some direct feedback on their experience, especially if they can compare it to other cruise lines.

 

Carnival Miracle (out of Long Beach) is another option for us and yeah, the attraction is that we know the kids' program is really, really good (having experienced it cruising with Carnival previously).

 

The attraction of Grand Princess over Carnival is that we can drive to Vancouver vs having to fly to LA, and with a family of 6 flying from Calgary that probably represents a savings of $3,000 or so.

 

So what I'm hoping is that Grand Princess' kids' program is "close enough" to the Carnival standard that my kids will enjoy it. Otherwise it makes for a long cruise!

Wandering around the city: San Juan

Beach day: St. Thomas (Megan's Bay or St. John)

Tour: photography tour, Barbados.

Catamaran: St. Maarten

S

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What ages are your kids? Also relevant would be the date of your sailing: if there's plenty of kids on board' date='there's a better chance for each of your kids to find companions their age, and there's more things going on for the kids. If you go when there's fewer kids (remember that many school systems will take off a week or less for breaks between early January and the end of the usual Hawaiian cruising season).[/quote']

 

Thinking of doing the April 2015 cruise. Kids would be 14, 9, 9 and 8 at that point. (the 9 year olds, almost 10)

 

I think anytime we are looking at a long cruise like that, there will be a limited number of kids on board. We're OK with that, our kids are good in big groups or small (and love cruising!)

 

But the program itself has to be good. We took a cruise on the Disney Magic in 09, the kids hated the kids' program, were bored to tears with all the dancing and craft-making.

 

Conversely, we did the Carnival Liberty in 2011 and they loved it...and consequently we didn't see them for several hours each day. We had to pretty much drag them off the ship!

 

So on a Hawaii cruise, with all those days at sea, it's pretty much critical that they like the kids' program. Otherwise we (mom and dad) become the kids' entertainment for 2 weeks, and though it might sound terrible to say, it isn't much of a holiday for us when that happens.

We're considering doing a Hawaii cruise on the Grand Princess out of Vancouver in 2015.

For those who have done this cruise or been on this ship, we have a few questions we're hoping you can help us with....

1) What is the overall quality of the food (especially the buffet and main dining rooms). Are there good gluten free offerings? (My wife has dietary issues with gluten, not a lifestyle choice, so GF is a big deal)

2) How good are the kids' programs? We have 4 kids, so it's important they enjoy the kids' club, especially with all those days at sea.

Thanks in advance for any and all info!

Hi. I am looking for some help from those experienced cruisers out there.

 

My wife gets extremely sea sick very easily on what would be considered very calm seas on very calm, virtually non-moving ships. It may be a mistake (due to her sea sickness), but we have booked our 1st ever cruise at the end of this year. My question would be to those out there that like my wife, get very sea sick very easily, have you found an over-the counter or prescription medicine that works for your sea sickness.

 

I appreciate any suggestions or advice.

 

Thank you.

 

John

My wife has extreme vertigo and seasickness issues.

She gets a prescription drug called Serc, it works perfectly with no side effects. Can't drink alcohol but other than that no issues. I definitely recommend going this route.

We're considering doing a Hawaii cruise on the Grand Princess out of Vancouver in 2015.

For those who have done this cruise or been on this ship, we have a few questions we're hoping you can help us with....

1) What is the overall quality of the food (especially the buffet and main dining rooms). Are there good gluten free offerings? (My wife has dietary issues with gluten, not a lifestyle choice, so GF is a big deal)

2) How good are the kids' programs? We have 4 kids, so it's important they enjoy the kids' club, especially with all those days at sea. :)

Thanks in advance for any and all info!