Seacruise

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I just returned last month from the Noordam 39 day TP cruise Because of this policy we bought water days before the cruise to be in the cabin. It was suppose to be in cans but was in glass bottles. The problem came that the bottles had a high salt count which we tried to find out prior to leaving what the contents of the water was they were selling. Having said this the bottled water with the salt was horrible. The water on the ship also tasted "off" even from the water fountain in the Lido. Since the Noordam was last inspected was July 2019 it was interesting when we arrived in Hilo we were due for Coast Guard inspection and the CDC inspection at the same time. The Food and Beverage Manager managed to have the CDC inspection put off until the next day in Honolulu. The Noordam scored it's lowest score ever at 90. While I would not normally be bothered by this score it was what the fails were. They were related to dish-washing and water. What was interesting was going up to the Lido that morning brought a few surprises such as paper plates, paper coffee cups. The reason turned out that the lido dishwasher was not up to the task of dish-washing. All dishes had to be rewashed by another dishwasher. The other thing that was noticed all the water being sold at the gangway when we were in port was in plastic bottles. This wasn't left over water because of the policy change, as we were told that it is very hard to get water in cartons, tins or bottles in some countries. Having said all this a few years back I listened to a presentation here in Canada about bottled water. There is almost no jurisdiction North America that regulates bottled water. There are no rules on how often filters should be changed and what amounts of salt and other minerals can be added to bottled water. What I am saying you are dammed if you do and dammed if you don't try and look after your health bringing water on-board. It is also a simple money grab for some cruise;lines like HAL.

We had the Assistant and the Regular Steward.

Nightly turn down? When, where? Sure didn't happen on my recent 39 day cruise. The answer from the room Steward was this, we went from 21 cabins to 31 cabins to clean.

I am NOT surprised at all with this. I recently booked Emerald Princess and with all the OBC it came to $1285 to spend onboard. How does this make good sense? They are paying me to cruise how do they stay afloat for very long with all the OBC? This is a either or, not all cancelled. May I suggest we all take a deep breathe on this one.

Just had 4164 on the Noordam on the transpacific cruise from Sydney a few weeks back. The Balcony is 11 x 30. The downside for us was the small galley beside the room as we could hear the cabin stewards using the dishwasher first thing and late into the evening daily. The other downside was a drain on the balcony that made a gurgling noise all the time when we sat out all day. We changed cabins from Auckland to Sydney leg to this cabin for the 2nd leg of Sydney to Vancouver. The set-up was totally different from our prior cabin on the same deck with different colour scheme and furniture. Hope this helps a bit

Depends on the week. I just came back on Noordam last week and we backed in. The Captain/Staff Captain decides before hand depending on things like crew drills, cleaning and painting.

Here is something that many don't know about Killer whales. The BC resident whales eat Salmon while the transit (also referred to Biggs Pods) pods eat the likes Seals and Gray Whales. The killer whales of the antarctic eat penguins. Here is a recent video off California of Killer whales trying to kill 2 Grey Whales last month.

Here is the problem. Most Alaska cruises leave Vancouver earlier than in the past ( I have noticed some as early as 3PM last year). The reason is there is a speed restriction in effect for the Salish Sea including Juan de Fuca Straight if you are going to Victoria. This also is why Princess and Carnival are not going to Victoria on their 10/11 Alaska cruises out of California. Victoria was swapped out for Prince Rupert in March when the speed change was announced. A study was done over the period of Covid and the affect to the whale populations. The birth rate went up by about 50% (no this doesn't mean 50% more whales) so this year instead of starting the speed restriction in June, it came into effect this week on May 01. So no more 20 knots to get to Seymour Narrows. Since you are trying to get to Robson Bite it is highly likely it will be after dark despite the long twilight we have. Your best bet if you are on 7 day return is about 5 PM or slightly later on the southbound trip.

@OlsSalt reminded me of the early years 1983 when we got 2 "Guest" passes to have friends onboard for the sail away party who got off 30 minutes before actual sailing.

Lets not forget the free pop/soda. Jackets were required for Dinner, no shorts for Breakfast or Lunch in Dining room. The Big one was No Tipping Required ( I mean by that the staff returned tips). When Officers used to wear White Uniforms for summer. Amazed that many didn't miss the ship despite no way to track those that went ashore.

Here is the problem. The Navy can do this, but almost all cruise lines can not. There is a thing called Liability. Food suppliers such as Airamark, Sysco Foods and GFS Foods to name a few give a guarantee on the food quality. This allows the cruise line to go after the food supplier if something happens. If a passenger gets sick who pays the bills etc.? They will likely sue the cruise line. The Navy has someone get sick on a ship they report to the Hospital and get taken care of and not have any bills to pay. One of the few places outside US/Canada home port I see ships take on local stores is in Alaska. This would be for seafood. Only makes sense. If you are cruising out of Australia lets say the ships will source some items from local suppliers that offer similar guarantees. Things like Kangaroo, Lamb, beef and vegemite to name a few are sourced local because the makeup of the passenger list is from that part of the world. The problem lies in say cruise lines who offer things like USDA Steak on their menu's for their steak houses. This has to be shipped from the USA, hence the containers. Does this help you understand?

I am able to shed some light on how ships are stocked. Having someone who works for one of the companies that supply cruise ships in the family has taught me a lot. The Ship has to submit their food order 88 days before sailing date. So this is a complete guess in some cases on what the passenger makeup will be but is based on past cruises on how many items used. The 88 days is needed to make sure the supply chain can provide the items and shipped to the ship. In many cases right now this even isn't enough time. What you are likely unaware of is cruises not out of North America has the majority of it's supplies shipped via container to a port. This takes time to pack the container and then put it on a ship to arrive in time at the port for the ship. How do you think US wine, USDA Beef etc. gets to the ship in far off places. Some cruise lines when in Europe change to a mainly European Wine list while other don't. In North America right now we have "Bird" flu going through farms. This causes complete farms to be culled. This also creates a problem where some country's won't allow poultry products into their ports. This includes eggs. Have you noticed the shortage of Turkeys? How about the cost of eggs? In North America there is a shortage of vegetables. I am sure we have all noticed that trying to buy things like lettuce is not only a problem but expensive. Think on a large scale of trying to buy lettuce for a ship. Remember it just isn't the ship you are going to go but all ships in the port the day you sail that are trying to get the exact same items. Pork is another one right now that is having a problem because of what California is trying to do to pork producers. Beef production is down this year due to feed costs. What we are seeing I think is the cruise lines trying to do what they need to do so they have enough food onboard and designing menus around what they can get. Just think how much we pay as consumers for food now compared to a year or two ago. Just some things to think about why cruise lines change things we are not happy about.

So I have an interesting perspective of the "Old" vs the "New" Holland America. This years marks 40 years since my very first HAL cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam III on her 2nd voyage when she had the fire. This ship was all the rage at the time with many new features and large at 33,000 tons. I was 25 years old at the time and didn't really fit the demographics of HAL at the time. Still 4 of us went on this cruise and enjoyed very much. Now here are some of the things that HAL required at the time. There was the No Tipping Policy and by this I mean No Tipping. We had it handed back to us and was taken as a insult. Jackets were required by Men at Dinner every night and Ladies in dresses. No Shorts in the dining room at breakfast and lunch. I watched as Captain Hess escorted several Men out if they were in shorts. They would argue and he would say don't want to follow the rules then I will have you removed from the ship at next port. Lifeboat drill was just that. They even lowered the lifeboats to show you what it is like and how to get in them. Lifeboat drill was done every 7 days on 14 day cruises. There was skeet shooting off the stern port-side. Now here is the one that will shock you. Nieuw Amsterdam had liquor cabinets in the staterooms complete with crystal glasses. You could go to the Duty Free store on board buy a bottle of Rum (about $5.00) and take it back to your cabin and ask your Room Steward for the coke which was provided for free. Draft Beer (Heineken) was .65 cents a glass and Rum and coke was $1.25 a drink. If you want to talk entertainment this was not to be missed. They had well known people from Broadway doing music and other acts. I have a HAL Tie which I bought on that cruise. When I wear it today on Formal nights there isn't an Officer that goes by that doesn't comment on it or ask where I got it. Did you know that sewing kits were also provided in your rooms at the time. I have to say I have read the thoughts of those that have sailed Zuiderdam and I have to say I was on here a few months after she was launched and agree she was a disaster. The one thing that was very noticeable was the uneven decks going down the halls. There was the glass compass crown floor in the casino that was broken for a second time because of the ship flexing. The Dolphin tale seats at the rear bar that snapped off within the first few months. The aft pool that was one deck down from the lido restaurant. This was changed for the current Noordam and later the other 3 ships were sent to dry-dock and a new section was set in place. I sailed the Oosterdam a few months after she had her new section in place and what a difference it made. I sailed on the Westerdam II that was bought from Homeric line. That was such a departure from what HAL was at the time. No crows nest bar. Oh and there were no "key" cards of today. It was a long plastic key with holes in it. It was a pain to carry around. There was no way who was onboard the ship and who was not when you sailed from a port. You would find out at dinner who didn't make the ship. If you wanted to make a call home you had to contact the Radio Officer who would place your call. I have sailed Sitmar, Princess, Celebrity, NCL and Royal Caribbean since that first cruise. Each cruise line has differences and the way I look at it is don't compare them against each other. Compare them for what they offer in Itinerary. HAL does a far better job in this department in Europe than most of the others. HAL is also number 1 in Alaska. I have sailed the others and it shows for the most part. HAL bought West Tours many moons ago along with Westmark Hotels, Grayline of Alaska, Evergreen Coach in Washington to name a few. The others have been trying to catch up for years. Funny thing is my best cruise was on NCL Norwegian Wind from Hawaii and my worst was on Norwegian Sky. Yes things have changed and still changing. No idea where HAL is headed but I see no long range plans for HAL at this point. The one positive is I have been to Alaska 14 times and in 2024 that 28 Day Alaska cruise is something different. That is just a few of the things from the "Old" Holland America. I have the 39 day cruise from Auckland back to Vancouver this spring to celebrate 40 years cruising and will have a better idea of the changes when I come back.

We hiked out to Gypsy Cove in the cold wind to see the Penguins out there. A word of warning though is you better stay on the trail as there are possible Land Mines still in place. It is very well signed saying this. We also visited the Cenotaph to pay our respects. We took a car (they don't have taxis) back to town then visited the Church and whale bone then into the Shops and then the pub. We headed back to the tender about 3 PM and boy it was a rough ride back. Very friendly locals and you will see lots of Royal Marines still posted there. Oh and if you like Land Rovers they are the number one car there. Just be warned at this time of year (December) it is breading season and the limit is 200 yards away from penguins or behind the rope if they have one. The photo I have attached was on the trail we were walking on and I was not going around because of the Land Mine situation. Hope this helps.

The problem with this change is this. You are flying to another country and use the passport reader. The passport reader says your ticket doesn't match your ticket so go see an agent. You go see an agent and they may say your name doesn't match your ticket. I had this exact problem last May flying to a cruise. I was refused boarding. I had to get a supervisor to come and explain the situation to her. I was finally allowed to board. There is also a problem with those that have 2 middle names as the second middle name gets cut off. This was another reason why airlines decided to merge names. The surprising thing is it has got worse since 911.

We did the Falklands a few years back and was very aware that the tendering was a problem. Made sure we were on the first tender ashore with the first tour going to the other-side of the island. It was a rough ride. Another tender arrived and that was it for the day. They could not recall the Land Rovers so we had the day ashore. It was sad for those stuck onboard.

I am able to shed some light on how ships are stocked. Having someone who works for one of the companies in the family has taught me a lot. The Ship has to submit their food order 88 days before sailing date. So this is a complete guess in some cases on what the passenger makeup will be but is based on past cruises on how many items used. The 88 days is needed to make sure the supply chain can provide the items and shipped to the ship. In many cases right now this even isn't enough time. What you are likely unaware of is cruises not out of North America has the majority of it's supplies shipped via container to a port. This takes time to pack the container and then put it on a ship to arrive in time at the port for the ship. How do you think US wine, USDA Beef etc. gets to the ship in far off places. Some cruise lines when in Europe change to a mainly European Wine list while other don't. In North America right now we have "Bird" flu going through farms. This causes complete farms to be culled. This also creates a problem where some country's won't allow poultry products into their ports. This includes eggs. Have you noticed the shortage of Turkeys? In North America there is a shortage of vegetables. I am sure we have all noticed that trying to buy things like lettuce is not only a problem but expensive. Think on a large scale of trying to buy lettuce for a ship. Remember it just isn't the ship you are going to go but all ships in the port the day you sail that are trying to get the exact same items. Pork is another one right now that is having a problem because of what California is trying to do to pork producers. Beef production is down this year due to feed costs. What we are seeing I think is the cruise lines trying to do what they need to do so they have enough food onboard and designing menus around what they can get. Just think how much we pay as consumers for food now compared to a year or two ago. Just some things to think about why cruise lines change things we are not happy about.

I was on Princess in May and at that time Princess was only having Room Stewards enter your room once a day. They would then deliver the Activity Paper at night and nothing more. While talking to my Room Steward I asked exactly how much of the tip I give do you get and he said only 60%. He went on to say he had 10 cabins empty this cruise so for those he got nothing. Further he said that many crew were quitting because of the lack of money. So I went up to the Front Office and asked the question about where the "extra" was going and they looked at me and said the Room Steward gets it all. I then talked to a few other Stewards and they all said they only got 60%. I highly doubt that this increase has nothing to do with the crew getting more, what it has to do with is bringing their wages up to what they were getting before Covid. I have seen much talk about reducing the Stewards visits to the cabin to once a day. Pick Morning or Evening and that's it. Things are changing and getting more expensive. Don't forget all cruise lines have to pay off the huge loans they took out to stay afloat.

I did the Caribbean Princess out of dry dock for $1068 CAD plus port as a Solo in a outside cabin. I got 2 credits but only 18 days credits. I have noticed that August 28th Island Princess cruise to Baltic's is going for a good rate. For me it is Air Fare that stops me dead. The price last time I checked was the same for single as it is for double. Don't forget to log into Princess to get the reduced rate.