clarkie02360

My wife and I are booked on an upcoming Majesty of the Seas cruise with an overnight in Havana.  The RCI website says the ship leaves port at 5:30 am however the Havana Cruise port schedule has the boat leaving at 1pm and the next cruise ship Marella Fusion arriving at 2pm.   So I'm wondering if the 5:30 departure is to make sure all passengers are on the ship and not left behind?   I'd be interested in hearing from cruisers who have been on this itinerary and what time the ship did actually leave port.   I did see an earlier response of 11:30am, but would like to hear from others.  

We would love to be able to walk around Old Havana for a few hours on the second day.

Just received a Royal Up.  I booked last minute (on Tuesday) for 5 night to Cuba/Key West where there are only inside cabins available.  Suites, Ocean view Sold Out.   However the Royal up offer included Jr. Suite, Grand Suite and Owners Suite.  Very interesting with these categories Sold Out.   The cruise is 45 days out so my uneducated guess is the Royal Up program in some regards is to cover RCC in case of cancellations or are they holding rooms back for a bidding war to increase revenue?   In any case I put fair bids in for the Jr. Suite and Grand Suite category.  Pretty close to what the original cost of the cabins would have been.  We'll see what happens.  

I'm afraid you're a little late to the party... it's already been resolved positively and there are many posts regarding this incident.

 

 

 

Here's the most recent info: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2591717&page=6

Thanks, very glad there’s a resolution!

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This from today’s Boston Globe, an awful situation that needs immediate attention. If this isn’t made right my family and I will never book with NCL again.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/01/27/left-dock-and-looking-for-refund-and-some-compassion-from-cruise-line/mszHE2cq2Po5k9ZY9EnPvL/story.html?et_rid=1841313658&s_campaign=todaysheadlines:newsletter

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Caribe Hilton Awesome!

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Tobacco Bay beach bar in St. George

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I agree! The group on the Westerdam in December was fantastic and played to full houses. All ages were dancing and having a blast. The volume was at a nice level too.

I was on the Nieuw Amsterdam in December and it was the same. Packed house all dancing! This particular group was so professional I couldn't believe what I was hearing and seeing. I thought I was at a NYC or Vegas nightclub.

Hi- We are considering a 2019 cruise on either the Veendam or the Koningsdam- to the Caribbean.

 

We have been on the Westerdam and Noordam and will be on the Nieuw Amsterdam in March.

 

Which ship would you choose for 2019? Thanks in advance for your advice.

I would not sail on Veendam in a tropical climate. With just one pool and the Sea View/Retreat area filled with Hot Tubs (which are too Hot to sit in..in the tropics) The Koningsdam would be my choice.

Absolutely the best entertainment in the cruise industry. What a coup for HAL.

Is the such thing as a blanket license? Or is there a requirement for accurately logging each performance?

Yes there is a blanket license, called a repertory license. It's used in bars restaurants, Broadcast TV outlets etc. And I'm sure the cruise industry. For one its cheaper than pay as you go, plus you don't have to log every song cut that's played on a ship whether it's a Live performance in the showroom or Piano bar or even music cuts played over the PA at the Lido/Aft Pools.

Dramamine has a new Non-Drowsey natural supplement with Ginger. It worked flawlessly for me on my recent trip. It has zero side effects.

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Or Memphis as noted. I wonder if the master set selection is related to ASCAP (or similar) fees? Sort of a blanket license. Having a shorter list could mean lower fees.

 

Darned. No piano bar? We have really enjoyed some very late evenings at the piano bars on RCCL ships. The kind there there really is a counter top/bar running around the piano and everyone sits and sings along.

My Nieuw Amsterdam trip last week had a great Piano Bar/Player..everyone on bar stools around the piano singing along until well after Midnight.

Just off Nieuw Amsterdam (review forth coming) and the BB King blues club band was the BEST entertainment I've seen or heard on any cruise line Ever! Period. I went every night for multiple sets and did not hear a song repeat. I'm a musician with over 50 years of playing and this particular band was as good as it gets. I think the guests thought so as well. Every set I saw was played to an over flow standing room crowd.

The piano bar player (did not get his name) was quite good as well. He played late into the night with a lively crowd. Several of the nights he played the catalogue of Billy Joel, Frank Sinatra and the Beatles. He would take requests on the spot and had fun banter with the crowd.

All in all the entertainment was well done, a far cry from my last cruise with HAL on the Veendam which was down right awful.

Just booked them this afternoon for a stay prior to our cruise in December. Their web page, (below), appears quite explicit about shuttle service.

 

From Hampton Inn - Plantation web site: "We're conveniently located near I-595, I-75 and I-95, and less than 10 miles from the Fort Lauderdale Airport with a free airport shuttle daily from our hotel in Plantation, FL. Our cruising guests will appreciate our free one-way shuttle to Port Everglades."

I just spoke with the Hotel..Yes on Airport and Cruise shuttle. The Airport Shuttle is on the hour up and until 11p, You need to call the Hotel however once you land to set up pickup location.

Are the Aft veranda cabin room size on Deck 4 any larger than the other Veranda staterooms? I'm just talkin about the room and not the balcony combined square footage.

Since you did state you Do have Insurance, you should be all set except for any fees associated with canceling.

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No, the trip is in two weeks. It was a spur of the moment trip and when I booked all suites were sold out.

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I'm wait listed for a signature suite, has anyone ever been contacted to move into one? Just checking to see what the odds might be.

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Hey CC thanks for the insight. Looks like the balcony will work out just fine. Thanks!

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I'm booked in cabin 4132 on Nieuw Amsterdam. It's one of the 4 long/ bigger balcony's on deck 4. I'm wondering if anyone has experience on how bad the view is? I've seen the pic's on Hal Facts but it doesn't portray the view in relationship to the Lifeboats. Any insight CC members?

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How does an upsell work? I thought you just had to wait for them to call you. If I were to call them, would they still give me a reasonable price or would they just offer the suite at the going rate? I am on the NA 12/18 sailing and according to various cruise websites, when you do a mock booking, there are still lots of neptune suites available. I would love an upsell but just assumed if I called them, they would only offer it to me for the going rate. Am I wrong?

No, you are not wrong. If there are many Neptunes still available there's a good chance you'll be contacted. On my last HAL cruise there were many Neptunes available through Mock bookings..I was offered two rounds of Upsells, The first 22 days prior to cruise, which I declined. Then 5 days later was offered another upsell that I accepted. In my case for the 12/11 sailing I'm on, I thought there were a few Sig. Suites left, however they all went today. There must have been many Guarantee's on that cabin, hence no upsell & a sell out. So I called to see what the availability of Neptunes were, and was told there is only one left at the going rate. Doing a mock booking on the Neptunes show Guarantee only. My guess it will be a sellout shortly too. It's a crap shoot with upsells. My advice if there's a cabin you really want and it's in your price range go for it.

I called earlier today, all the signature suites are gone (which I was gambling on) and only one Neptune left. I rolled the dice and lost on this one. The question is do I bite the bullet and go with the neptune if its still available? I had an amazing upsell to a neptune a few years ago, so I know first hand what an awesome cabin it is.

I'm booked on Nieuw-Dam for 12/11 with Guarantee Balcony, wondering if anyone has received an upset offer yet? My last HAL cruise I received one 3 weeks out.

LOL. You mean the ship was actually alive? We have been on some RCI cruises out of San Juan and really enjoyed the late night fun where more then 10 passengers were actually awake after 10pm! Attending a packed midnight adult comedy show is a nice alternative to sitting in an empty Crows Nest (with a few senior officers). And I would add that we are typical HAL cruisers (seniors), but unlike many on HAL we do enjoy staying awake until at least midnight and appreciate some lively fun.

 

Hank

LOL..I loved cruising HAL except for the nightlife. HAL is the Dance of the Living Dead.

For me it has to be a case by case situation depending on the level of service. On a recent HAL cruise Veendam to Bermuda our cabin stewards went over and above what I consider good service. It was so good I gave them an additional $100 to split and told them to put it in their pocket. They were brought to tears, which totally broke me up.