mcrcruiser

you might search out a HAL cruise to the southern Caribbean where Aruba ,Curacio & Bonaire are the port stops .when my wife could fly we took Konogsdam for a 9 day Southenr Caribbean cruise with her cousin & husband ,It was a great cruise because those ports are clean ,the water is clear & warm . Although Koningsdam is now out of San Diego ,our home port ,I am sure one of the other HAL ships does that itinerary . Second to the Southern Caribbean imo is the English Virgin islands I would first look at the Rotterdam or Statendam itineraries ,These are Pinnacle class ships & cousins to Koningsdam .These areour favorite with HAL We also are Diamond with RCCL & Elite Plus with Celebrity . Far less juveniles on HAK ships except during Holiday periods especially id HAL offers include children sail free .Avoid those times in my recommendation

It seems to me that HAL has floor supervision at the Lido buffet .Thus ,if people are using the table for card playing etc during peak meal times ,then a person should ask the fllor supervisor to ask those people to vacate ,then there is no interaction with passengers

Might be the day or the ship you were sailing .We sail only on Koningsdam here in San Diego & that might make a difference in the sushi ?

Carnival Corp will not combine Seaborn with HAL , Seaborn is a high end cruise line with a much different focus than HAL . They must have the same VP over both lines & that is all that will ever happen

Every thing looos terrific .The taste must have been as good as it looks in your pictures😄

It has been known for many years that cruise lines are great at sea but horrible on land

"Yes, HAL rolled it out badly. But that's par for the course with HAL." I totally agree with your statement above .Perhaps this & other management mistakes is why Carnival corp is holding back new ships for HAL while they are adding ships to other of their fleets . Maybe HAL will be on the 4 sale block in the future

With cruise bookings at record levels why is HAL bringing this standby program out ? seems to me that there is a reason but cruisers will never know the real reason as we can only guess why the cruise line is using this standby deal . I keep seeing cruise line stocks moving up in value as booking keep setting record levels

You are not alone in dealing on the phone with HAL 's land side of the business . I had a $1600 problem about having it back to my AARP gift card which is the normal policy .After long hours dealing with people in all areas of the world I finally connected to HALs accounting department .what they did was credit my creidt card in stead of sending the $1600 back to the AARP gift card . There is no question in my mind that HAL needs vast improvement in their ability to communicate effectively with customers .

We have done 2 Trans Atlantic cruises . The last one on Celebrity from the port of Rome was in 2009 .It was a fabulous crossing with no bad weather & we had a stern balcony for that wonderful 180 degree views . now backing up we first flew in to Amsterdam to take the Rhine river cruise . These river cruises are so very different than ocean cruises .first ,we have 140 people ,The chef each day bought fresh produce for dinners .wine & beer was included with lunch & dinner .all the tours each day were included .We enjoyed a French Balcony cabin . My DW won a cucko clock onboard , hand made where we visited ine of the tours . After seeing amsterdam & taking the Rhine river cruise from Amsterdam to Basil Switzerland we stayed at the Hilton in Zurick with side trips on their trains . We did a lake cruise to see all the Swiss Chalets .We over looked the alps from a coffee shop . After Zurick we flew to Rome for 6 wonderful days of exploring this eternal city So the moral is see as much as you can ,enjoy the local food & entertainment . Get all the culture you can where ever your travel take you . Life is short & injuries can also change what you once could do . So enjoy it all as you can

Are these people only performing in the Crows Nest ? Also what time do they perform ? TIA

It is just that with all the cut vacks that HAL has made it is a nive touvh to get one of the cuts back , Sort of sentimental to those who have cruised a long time with Holland America lines

for the 3 special restaurants on Pinnacle class ships the disvounts start when a person reaches 3 star mariner & gets a 25 % discount ,4 star gets a higher discount ,the 5 star gets the best discount . We are 3 star mariner going to 4 star shortly . At the price escalations in the special restaurants we need all the discounts we can get lol

The yum yum man is at It is either a man or woman handing out after dinner mints ,This has been done post dinner at the dining room door areas .a nice toiuch brought back

Praters for the evacuated person .

We need a handicap cabin & normally book a VH handicap & use Club Orange to upgrade the cabin to a V or VA category .That is a great deal with using Club Orange plus the other perks that CO gets

For those that scored a great cabin , bravo to you ;however in scouring these pages we see both sides of this standby program . The timing seems tighter than the 7 days in the ad in soe cases 1 or 2 days prior to sailing . Then there is a guarantee of a inside cabin with hopes for a better cabin . Cabin location can not be selected ie . For some this program is a blessing & others a nightmare . It is not some thing we would vie for even though we live 30 miles from the Dan Diego port

Mary we hope for you & others on this long cruise that the noro is contained quickly .

Neat shark pictures & oh that shark cage . wonder of any one ever sees great whites or full grown tiger sharks in that area

Bermuda Bound you got some great photos . Reminds me of the time we spent on the beach there . You certainly are getting your exercises in with all that walking 😄 Cliff

We hope that you all miss that stinky Noro virus you guys have a long cruise ahead .We were 0once on a ship with 200 getting Noro ,we heard the infirmary floor was full of puke . We saw them spray watered down bleach all over the ship ,even inside cabins ,on upholstery etc .It is a very nasty virus . Yes washing ones hands frequently is a good way to prevent Noro virus . Some ships have habd wash basins that every one entering the buffet area must wash their hands .That is a great practice imo to lessen the chances of Noro on any cruise ship

Thanks then the sushi must be California tolls in the Lido Buffet . Next cruise I will look at the Asian food section ,at lunch time . My DW likes Calif rolls .

Where is the sushi station located ?

although we sailed on Koningsdam I never saw a sushi station . Did we miss it ? TIA Cliff

I traveled on business to Las Vegas for 35 years .My business was with the hotels & casinos . I got the occasional free show with drinks . I never got a free room but ,I did enjoy the occasional perk .Over the years we got to see all the major entertainers including Elvis twice , Sinatra ,Sammy Davis ,Dean Martin Joey Bishop at the Sands hotel .no longer there etc etc . The best years in las Vegas were 1965 to 1975 when there was space between the hotels not a concrete wall like today . when you work in a mega gambling city like Las Vegas you soon learn to keep your wallet in your pocket . I never met a gambler who was a winner long term & I did know counters playing Black Jack No free cruise cabin is worth the price of what a person drops in the casino . In fact the only decent odds game in any casino is craps or bacarat . If a person bets correctly you will get true odds on a craps table . The only Fun thing we do on cruises is a Fun Slot Pull & we are about even wins vs losses