jakkojakko

On our way at 9 pm sunday.

52 minutes ago, Lauren and John said:

Hi. We are on the same cruise. We had an Uber take us from Amsterdam at 10:00. We didn’t encounter a protest and were unaware of it.   When we arrived at 11:00 the line was already long, but it moved fast. Step 1 was dropping off luggage and then we had to find the actual entrance to the building (hidden by lines of people). Once inside we were processed very rapidly, under 15 minutes. 

Same here. Arrived in front of the terminal at 11:15. Joined the que and entered our room after exactly one hour.

It seems that after 12ish the line got a lot longer.

There was no protest, but the soccer cup final was on this sunday. 

17 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

It's still there. Something like 25 pages.

Thank you. I did an extensive search going pages back to where I knew I saw it last and it wasn't there. They must have put it back up again.

9 hours ago, Wehwalt said:

There is a rather lengthy discussion on the NCL board that seems to be generating as much heat as light.

And yet that cannot be found anymore! Ncl forcing CC to remove?

25 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

That's not exactly secret or earth-shaking news.  Not only will the Flag State (OVV) investigate, but Class (Lloyd's Registry) as well.  They are required by law to investigate any incident on ships of Dutch registry that result in damage over $20,000 or death or injury.  However, without knowing Dutch freedom of information laws, whether or not the OVV is released, or when, is something else.

They will publish the report when finished.

Following link is the message on the ovv website of the investigation :

https://onderzoeksraad.nl/onderzoek/ongeval-op-cruiseschip-bij-bahamas/

Next is an example of a finished report, ofvan explosion on a large sailing ship:

https://onderzoeksraad.nl/onderzoek/explosie-aan-boord-van-een-tweemastklipper-8-juni-2006/

it is however all in the dutch language.

This is worth a try.  Phone roomservice and ask to bring the coffee to where ever you plan to sit, eg lido. There is a phone on the bar in the crowsnest. Phone from there and enjoy the coffee and the view.

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

It was not that long ago that a Viking Expedition Ship was hit with a rogue wave in the Drake Passage and cabin windows were smashed out and one passenger was killed instantly.

 

The Drake is never safe and the more tourism that is going to Antarctica, the more accidents that are going to happen.  

 

We had 11 metre waves - and those are significant.  One woman fell and broke her hip on our cruise in the Drake and we had to return to port to get her to medical attention.

 

 

True,

The point is that not every ship is equally equiped to handle rough seas. These two ships show that they are vulnerable in these conditions. 

https://nypost.com/2023/12/21/news/norwegian-cruise-ship-carrying-261-passengers-loses-maneuverability/

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/norwegian-cruise-ship-remains-north-sea-following-storm-power-outage-2023-12-22/

A rogue wave shattered the bridge windows and incomming water disabled the navigation system and caused a power outage.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/norwegian-cruise-ship-remains-north-sea-following-storm-power-outage-2023-12-22/

With the Maud disabled on the north sea today due to a rogue wave that shattered the bridge windows and disabled the navigation system, I wouldn't feel comfortable traveling the drake in a storm. 

1. There are no port stops in Antarctica.

2. Temperatures will be just below or even quite a bit above freezing. The only time it will feel cold is when there is a breeze. 

3. Because of 1 and 2 there is no need to pack arctic gear. Just a few layers and a windbreaker, gloves and headgear is enough. And if you feel really cold, indoor warmth is just a few steps away. 

Been there done this. The first time we packed way to much.

Enjoy!

Only if the ships exterior lighting is dimmed/off, which is rarely done.

It is a similar system as the US has for foreign travellers. They call it ESTA. It is simple, answer some online questions and for a fee you have the visa. Only when answers to questions are false or needing further information, you will be directed to an embassy or consulate  for further investigation.

For instance on the US questionair, if you answer yes to, "have you ever been convicted of a crime". No visa is issued.

12 hours ago, Analog187 said:

 

LCS was a dual venue with BBK.  LCS is gone so it is just BBK now.  

 

They said there was nothing they could do.  As I've said, there were a number of things I didn't get into where their attitude was "tough luck".  My guess is that they turn the AC off at night but since a lot of older people like it warm, no one really complaints.  Just a guess.  During the day our room was fine.  Right around midnight, it would feel like a sauna.  That would last until about 8am and then the AC would work again.  

Was on the cruise before you and I can definitely state that they do not shut down the airflow at night. We never had the airco on full cold but the airflow was cold and cabin not hot. Either they changed policy or your particular room airco was faulty.

As for the crew being new. Again same thing, we had no troubles at all . Everything was run smoothly and friendly. I know HAL does change crews, but never everybody at once. 

Same with food in the mdr. We ate there most of the time and really did not have any complaint on quality or taste.

I do not dispute your findings, but it sounds like a totally different ship than I was on.

The rude people, is it predominantly one nationality? And if so, which?

9 hours ago, lissie said:

Why would it not resolve once the cruise had finished and the passengers all got off? 

Because the crew will stay on and they can/will be affected too.

Our last cruise on Nieuw Statendam in may 2023 was the first one where no one asked for good reviews. Maybe on that ship it is policy not to do that.

In the past I wouldn't change a review if asked for a good one, however I was never comfortable with it.

If you received your boarding papers/ checkin is all green, then no health assesment required.

Just finished a european cruise and no health check what so ever. Alaska may be different.

For an antarctic cruise you will be missing a lot if you stay in your room or balcony. The only place to be is outside or crowsnest. So it doesn't matter which room you have.

2 hours ago, cruising sister said:

I found the Lido was very busy at dinner time ( I went up there for a crepe dessert).  From reports the MDR was not very busy which surely helped the speed of the dining room.  The food worker who talked about this with me said there were a lot of long excursions and people did not want to change to eat.  Some nights it was hard to find a place to eat my crepe. So lucky for those in the MDR.

We ate in the mdr also on seadays. The service was the same as on port days.

Just for comparisson. We are/were on the same trip and had fixed dining early. All meals took no longer than 1hr and 15 minutes and average around 1 hour.

So no complaint about mdr.

All roads in Norway, especially around the cruise destination are by necessity curvy and windy. Boat trips in the fjord have normally calm waters, except for coastal stops. 

Also be aware that with interline tickets if the cruise is popular and fully booked with regular passengers you may be refused boarding at the last minute, like with interline flight tickets.

Seas today.

We happened to pass her this morning on the new Statendam. We had many a trip on her when she was still called Rotterdam.