jakkojakko

1 hour ago, baggal said:

 

How can HAL enforce this?  We all know that the former required "health form" did nothing to stop recently or currently ill passengers from boarding.  

Easy. They now added screening in addition to the earlier reporting. The medical team can standby and screen passengers for illness and fever and deny boarding. 100% foolproof?, no, but nothing is.

40 minutes ago, Alphen said:

Indeed an impressive video and action, since this is not a real cruise ship, but a regular passenger and postal service up and down the Norwegian coast, they have to make their stop and are less likely to skip the port. 

Evidently, it is not an unusual situation in Bodo, look on YouTube and you will find almost the same situation, same ship, same port from 2016!

They probably have sufficient practice in the location and type of weather.

 

 Not a regular cruise ship no, although you can book the coastal as a cruise.

It makes you think what HAL would do if it was the turn around port though. My guess is they would delay untill the storm had died down.

Well done!

A fine example of docking in extreme conditions and using the anchor. It is not HAL but ms Nordnorgen in Bodo Norway and it will tell you why HAL sometimes foregoes a portstop.

Aft starboard verandah deck 6229. We stayed there three times. It is a very quiet cabin as it is the last one in a T corridor, thus no thru traffic . Also cabins below and above. Cabin is standard verandah. Balcony is twice as wide with the with narrowing towards starboard. It gives an excellent angle of view. 

4 hours ago, RuthC said:

That totally depends on the ship. The Vista and Signature class ships have an elevator that drops to the tender boarding level. 

If you say so Ruth, I believe you 100 percent. On our voyage though on the Rotterdam there were steps, so I guess the bigger ships we we haven't been on yet have elevators. Good!

HAL does not provide a wheelchair nor a scooter. My wife had to use a wheelchair when waiting for a hip replacement. We rented one at home. HAL stewards and personal will assist you with embarking and disembarking. One note though. In a tender port, the person in question must be able to negotiate about 12 steps to get to the tenderplatform. In that case HAL will get the wheelchair on and off the tender.

Some weather examples and clothing open or shut.

With this I was never really cold. Oh put on at least two pair of socks, I used three, and choose your boot on the ship accordingly.

This eas on the Polar Star , antarctic peninsula, 2009

I went there on another expedition cruise, but the basic's are the same. I used long johns and a longsleeved thermal undershirt. Above  that a sweater. Next layers need a zipper in front, in my case a fleece shirt. On top of that the provided outershell. Make sure you can cover your neck and head either by hoody or scarf and hat. The weather can be calm 5 degrees celcius and sunny, so all zippers open. Or it can be windy cloudy 0 degrees, all zippers closed headgear on. Take thin gloves for photograpy and thicker gloves on top if it gets real windy. Using the zodiacs to go ashore there is a distinct possibillity that you will get splashed, invest in waterproof overgloves, and use a waterproof pant over the long johns.

Once ashore u will be moving around and will overheat quickly, so use the zippers to open up the clothing.

Take along a really waterproof backpack to put camera gear and clothing in during zodiacs crossing to shore. Camera's don't like seawater very much and when the sea is choppy and windy you will get wet somewhat.

Enjoy!

Doesn't look like it will impact any cruise departures/arrivals.

9 hours ago, Paul S said:

That’s your preference, which is fine. However, we are not so young, cruise in suites with balconies, want the same level of comfort and facilities, and will be happy on our 12th Feb 2020 departure to have one landing of 2 hours per day for each of the seven days we will be in Antarctica. If we were offered two landings per day on an expedition ship but had to accept a small cabin with perhaps bunks, a porthole and maybe a shared bathroom we probably wouldn’t go. Don’t forget there are plenty of people who are happy with a sail through and no landings. Horses for courses......

Agreed

9 hours ago, Vicky1126 said:

I ............ This is a bigger ship so there is only one landing per day and it was very well organized. You are assigned a group and they will schedule the landing according to to the groups. It ran like a clock. We only spent 4 days in Antarctica, with 3 landings, one zodiac cruising and one naming ceremony. So nothing to worry about the landings, you’re in good hands. .............

Good that the landings were handled well, but..........

Only three landings in 4 day's! The whole point of an expedition cruise is going ashore, not staying on the ship for a whole day with just two hours on shore. With smaller expedition ships you get up to three landings per day in different locations. Personally I would never choose this ship, new or not, over the smaller and usually older ships. When paying such an expensive fare, I want as many landings as possible and don't really care about all the fabulous stuff on board, that is for regular cruising.

Former "statendam", now called "Vasco da gama" was drifting for quite some time off the coast af australia. A "horror" experience according to passengers.

https://www.2gb.com/absolutely-horrific-passenger-calls-in-from-cruise-ship-stranded-at-sea/

Quote:

Listener Ian called Steve Price from his cabin saying it’s been “absolutely horrific”.

“We’re drifting. We’ve got no power, no water, no toilets, no cooking, nothing!

“They’ve got auxiliary power to light the corridors but that is it. It’s like a ghost ship, mate.”

Unquote

Nice pictures! 

I did both expedition and normal cruises to Antarctica and the polar region. 

In antarctica the rule is no more than 100 passengers ashore at any one time. Also only one ship at the time in the landing bays.

Touring in zodiac's is allowed. Using tenders is definitely not allowed. So the big ships just do drive by cruising. 

For me the best way is to use a ship with maximum 100 passengers. In that way you will get two to three landings each, in different spots per day. 

Did a hurtigruten ms Spitsbergen svalbard expedition with roughly 180 passengers. This meant doing landings in two shifts and that meant only one landing per day.

7 hours ago, clo said:

On Hurtigruten's Midnatsol we didn't have to pay extra for the zodiacs (which are actually a different brand but the same).

Correct. On proper expedition cruise ships zodiac's are always included. HAL's Maasdam however is a normal 1300 pax cruise ship that ,as of recent, has some zodiac's that come under the normal excursion package and have to be payed for. It is more of a gimmick and does not come close to the real expedition cruise.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2751347231596010&id=100001622817586

Holland America ms Volendam has run a ground in the Amazon river about 30 miles east or Santorem she ran aground with two pilot at the helm and at 4 AM we got an announcement saying there was an emergency 20 minutes later we got another emergency saying that we had run a ground we have been run aground since 4 am We currently we have all electricity and the rescue boats have been deployed to look for damage but we have not moved I would think this would be breaking news. We have not been updated on our situation which probably means it’s serious but there are no local authorities sent out so I do not think there’s much diamonds except for us being sunk in the silt

54 minutes ago, SarniaLo said:

I have to say the latest reviews sound a bit like infomercials, particularly the one boasting about the ship's hybrid technology and eco-friendliness. Although it's good that people are aware of this, I'm not sure the desalination of water or waste disposal would be the main source of awe during my first trip in Antarctica.

Also, all the reasons stated for which MS Roald Admundsen is eco-friendly during landings are general rules to which all expedition trips in Antarctica abide (washing boots and not bothering the animals are done on all ships).

I also would be interested to know how the landing rotations are handled in Antarctica with so many people.

I agree. The reviews are way too slick and are probably made by a pr person.

50 minutes ago, HokiePoq said:

We're on Hurtigruten for Antarctica and appreciate the warning about staterooms.   We did not pay for the suite experience.  

However, for Alaska, the Holland America Maasdam has adopted the model with zodiacs and naturalists.  

One can have the comforts of a regular cruise ship while getting up close....or not.    We just came off the Maasdam in Australia.  Loved the lectures....did not participate in the zodiacs but those who did liked them.

Don't forget that on the maasdam zodiac seating is limited and has to be payed for seperately. And it is not cheap. They have a couple of zodiacs versus aproximately 1300 passengers.

With interline tickets you will get whatever is available after normal passenngers have booked. This is up to departure day. If the ship is sold out on departure day, you will not get a cabin and cannot board. This is the rule with interline tickets.

So if you really want a cabin(category) or itinerary, don't book interline rates.

On 11/14/2019 at 5:53 AM, Brandy Girl said:

HI Drowelf...I was wondering if you took any additional photos of the MS Amsterdam Lanai cabin during your recent cruise -or  can share anything about the size of the closets.

I am  trying to decide how many/how large suitcases I can bring. I assume 2 will fit under the bed- but I do have  large 3rd one: a nice garment carrier that is very structured.[I only use it when I travel with long cocktail dresses or gowns, and my husband's tux (which we are doing because we are also doing a cruise with 3 formal nights PLUS we are doing a 25th Anniversary Renewal of Vows)]  I am hoping to hang it in one of the closets, with the clothes still in it.

Take all suitcases you want to bring. Unpack and then ask the cabinsteward to stow your empty suitcase  somewhere else. He wil bring it back the day before debarkation. We have done this before and it is no problem.

25 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Thank you for your input.  I don't know what it is but I never like being lower than promenade.   I booked on the Navigation Deck.  I have sailed on the Navigation deck before but not in the far aft.  I wonder if they are configured differently than the regular verandah cabins.  

We had the aft corner verandah on deck 6 three times, ideal. The verandah's on deck 7 are the same, but some people complain about noise as the aft pool area is directly above.

We booked one of the far aft cabins deck 2 on a long voyage. As we travelled extensively over the years on the rotterdam, the location was familiar and I looked at it during a previous voyage. The reason for booking that cabin was the easy acces to the almost private deck aft. The cabin itself is like every ocean view, with an obstructive view, which is the outside staircase to deck 3. There is one major disadvantage. Being so low and aft, the engine noise is noticable especially when going fast. Also be prepared to wake up when the ship is manoevring to dock in the morning.

In the end we got upgraded to a verandah deck 6 which was marvelous.

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/celebrity-xpedition-refloated-in-the-galapagos/

After running aground Tuesday night in the Galápagos, Celebrity Xpedition is afloat and ‘safely at anchor,’ Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said.

Just now, Mary229 said:

My point is that a mega ship is not getting into those fjords.  

HAL does not have mega ships. As this is a HAL board I thought you meant that only HAL's smaller ships can do this itinerary.

12 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I 
 

VOV and a few other cruises can only be navigated by the smaller ships.  

I have done one VOV on the Eurodam, so HAL's larger ships have no problems in doing them. That said I prefer the smaller ships.