Jolokia

I cruise with HAL because I can attend daily mass on board. However on the last 3 cruises there was no Priest for daily mass and non for Sunday as well.  I am curious how many others have experienced cruises without a Priest on board? And more importantly does the lack of priests on board affect which cruise line you will use in the future?

This was the first HAL ship we sailed, it was in December of 1998.

I am finishing 14 days on the Noordam. The room key is in the mail box for your room when you get on the ship. This key card is used for everything, even for ship booked shore excursions. No longer do you need tour tickets. You meet the tour operator, they scan your card and you proceed on your tour.

It makes it very easy a nd less paper to deal with. Very easy.

6 minutes ago, IPB4IGO said:

As I said in the original post, that's exactly what I did.

Duh... should have read this when I was more awake.

If you received your vaccinations at a local store like a Walgreens or CVS, you could go back to that same store tell them you lost your card and ask them to fill out a new card for you. I had one that was damaged and Walgreens made a new one for me.

Did you take a picture or scan an image of the original card?

See you on board, John

Dave, the aft verandah is deeper and the room of similar size. I typically booked aft cabins and have not noticed any greater motion than the rest of the ship. I fully enjoy the view while underway, seeing the whitewater mixing with the deep blue of the ocean. Then there is the relaxing sound of the water. The vista is great, being able to see both starboard and port gives an aft cabin extra benefits while doing the inside passage. Enjoy your travels, John

My experience is that the same room stewards covered both the neptune aft and the inside cabins. The concierge even covered both. John  

This holds true for your camera as well. You may see a sight that you want to capture to show to others and take a what you think is a beautiful picture, then when you look at the image, well it is a let down. 

I like to use 10x50 binoculars, they are a little bulky but they magnify well.

2 hours ago, crusinbanjo said:

I didn’t see the definition of “fully vaccinated” so I am assuming is is the two jab?

Yes 2. If you download the ArriveCAN app and fill it out, it only asks for the date of the 2. It also asks for an attachment showing the dates of those 2. You may still need to have a negative covid test prior to boarding the HAL ship, that is unless they do not change their current policy.

11 sick to the NA, 1 well to the Z and 2 well to the R. 

Life boat being lowered on the NA, to get sick crew.

2 hours ago, WCB said:

Working on photos after lunch, we discovered that most all of the pictures taken today were out of focus.  Not sure if the camera setting was just off a tad, or the camera is getting tired, we had to delete them.

Take a look at the manual/auto focus switch on your camera. Sometimes on my camera the switch get a little bump and the auto focus doesn't work. I just switch it to manual, then back to auto and it works fine. I enjoy looking at your pictures they are great. enjoy your time at sea, John

and No passengers

I have been in an aft above the MDR, no noise from there. Enjoy the calming sounds of the water. John

I enjoyed the Carne Asada from  Los Lobos on the Dawn

7 ships in port today. It is good to see the cruise industry back.

7 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

I would like more internet….

I would like faster internet.

Is it possible to get another Pfizer shot? It is now recognized by the FDA and a second shot would fulfill the 2 shot requirement to be fully vaccinated. 

If you are looking at booking a Neptune Suite, your balcony is wide and will most likely have chairs and lounge chairs. Since we have been booking NS, we rarely go to recline at the poolside.

On 8/4/2021 at 9:45 PM, julia said:

Just curious fellow cruisers ... 

 

Regarding today's announcement requiring a negative Covid or antigen test, along with revised onboard mask requirements, are you planning to:

A.  Proceed with your cruise

B.  Cancel your cruise

C.  Undecided at this point

 

Thank you for your input.  We are undecided, and frankly struggling with this.

Without any hesitation, A. Proceed with my 3 cruises.

We have done the partial both times with HAL. It is a good experience that you will never forget. One time we took the train the the Pacific side, the next we took a smaller boat through the canal, going through all of the locks. As you can see by the pictures, you are up close and can even touch the side of the lock. Since you are on a smaller boat, you can share the locks with other boats, sometime they are very large. The Culebra Cut was special for us since my wife's great-grandfather participated in that work by being the train engineer who carried the excavation material to the Pacific side and her grandfather was the secretary to the canal zone governor. Enjoy your trip.

Our Trip on the Zuiderdam with good friends Dale & Kathie. It is the last cruise we were able to take before the last 5 were cancelled.

25 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

 

I can see it now.  😆

 

Excellent! I love it!

1. New Zealand/ Australia

2. Panama Canal

3. Central America

4. Eastern Caribbean with Dominica as a port

5. Caribbean out of San Juan

6. Alaska pending, 4 cruises cancelled because of covid restrictions and sale of ships.

Leigh, thank you for correcting me about the prevailing winds. That will have an impact on the selection of my next cruise to Australia/New Zealand.

I just remember the seas were relatively calm until we got away from New Zealand and then rough for more than 24 hours. Rough seas do not bother me too much, but some people have an issue with motion sickness. The long flights to and from are more of an issue to me.

John.