Wehwalt

I don't know if you are limiting yourself to HAL but Princess's Island Princess is doing LA-Australia round trip beginning in March 2026.

The beverage package was available at a discounted rate if you were on for the full grand voyage or a segment of at least 50 days.

On our recent back to back on Oosterdam, we received the Vista class tile on the first segment and the 150th on the second. One for each of us. We did not take them with us. The only ones I think we would keep if it was voyage specific, like the one we have from the final voyage of the old Statendam.

3 hours ago, Mary229 said:

I was wondering if HAL was proposing to build  a Starship Rotterdam 😉

The Rotterdam XL.

Thanks for posting it. Very generous of HAL.

I'd also like to see a copy of the letter. But it seems like exceptionally generous compensation, given no ports were missed and the weather there is always chancy, you might wind up seeing little but fog.

On 5/11/2024 at 3:03 PM, ragdoll39 said:

That's a hell of an idea! I definitely have a couple of flasks that I can take along or just an empty water bottle would do. Might go that way. Thank you!

Amazon sells "inflatable" bottles but we have found that an empty water bottle works just fine. We also bring along a small kitchen funnel. Keep the bottle in the cabin cooler, and throw out at the end of the cruise. 

15 minutes ago, Liao said:

I am ohsoclose to booking my first Cruise on HAL Oosterdam 15 day TA.  I was super excited when I heard about their music walk and especially the Lincoln Center venue, so that’s a bummer.  It’s a long TA so Im thinking won’t be very many kids, there were VERY few on my Celebrity TA.  What say you HAL veterans?  

We were on the eastbound transatlantic on the Oosterdam last month. There were very few kids. 

Of course, there's always the Duc de Valmer sparkling wine that typically is given out as prizes, or, as we laughingly call it, "Duke de Puke".

Our experience was with a Neptune on the Zuiderdam in January was that the Neptune Lounge attendant, after we told him we wanted to switch the sparkling wine for a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc said he would consult with the cellar master. It happened in about a day and there was no problem. 

On 5/6/2024 at 5:10 AM, WCB said:

 

 

We’re not sure if we mentioned this, but we had another hour back on the clock last night.  One more hour, and we will be on Eastern Standard Time, also correct for San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

 

I think you mean Eastern Daylight Time, the same time as Atlantic Standard Time. Puerto Rico, in the Atlantic Time Zone, does not observe Daylight Savings Time.

On 4/30/2024 at 1:04 PM, SeaMatesNYC said:

Meaning you got Mariner points for the land portion?  Yes, that’s correct. 🤙

Well, I really meant days because DW and I are both five star ... I doubt if we will ever be President's Club but the days are what we count now. Points are now meaningless.

3 hours ago, ghstudio said:

That’s the fear that caused me to cancel a booked cruise on HAL ($17000)

Whatever floats your boat. We booked on board two cruises totaling 36 days.

4 minutes ago, Real NHDOC said:

Again, this is your perception of things...from what I read it was only after 5 days of use (out of the first 6 days) of the Crow's Nest did HAL relocate the special events - not exactly what I would call quick.  Guests do like to use the area in the evenings for playing card, puzzles, etc and had an expectation that it would be available. 

 

I'm still not clear on the exact sequence of events. On April 23, I went through the Navigator and found that it stated the Crow's Nest would be closed on four nights, the last of which was the 26th. Another individual stated that it had already closed two additional nights, which makes six. When the paper daily program for the 26th came out, there was no mention of a closure (which was supposed to be 4 to 8:30). So I'm guessing five took place. But at least from what I could tell, there were never any more scheduled except for the shortened one on the 26th. 

36 minutes ago, ricka47 said:

We're on a Thanksgiving cruise and Key West in our last port. I'm wondering how that works for immigration. Do we do it there since we are returning to the U.S., or when are we back in Fort Lauderdale?

You'll do it in Key West. They'll set up for it in a lounge and you'll be paraded through by deck, at the end of which you'll get a sticker for your card or a hole punched which will allow you to get off the ship. It's a very minimal procedure. They know who the passengers are already. 

Here are the relevant instructions we received from the travel agent last July. I should note this was a HAL cruise tour off the Noordam and we received six nights credit for the land tour on our HAL accounts.:

TRAIN FROM ANCHORAGE TO DENALI: A highlight of the trip! You will be riding on the McKinley Explorer Rail Cars, specially designed for sightseeing. All passenger seating is on the upper deck, which has glass windows that go all the way up and curve to make a glass dome. Each rail car will have its own tour guide to point out sights and tell you about some history along the way. Each car will also have a bartender, who can serve you anything from coffee and sodas to specialty cocktails at your seat. The bartender will run a tab for you and then collect at the end of the trip. Credit and debit cards only are accepted for all beverage purchases. The confirmation sheet that you receive in Anchorage, with your hotel key packet, will show you your rail car name and number. When the train comes into the station, look for that car. They will mark off your name and you can then board. All seats are pre-reserved.

2 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

That is different and I think there should be compensation if one is driven from the cabin which is an integral part of the contract.  

Fortunately, we were not driven out. It may not be good to be near the end of the end of the hall on an older ship that seems to have trouble maintaining the vacuum for the toilets, but sooner or later we heard that woosh. 

We got a plate of chocolate covered strawberries. But we had considerable plumbing problems, which affected us specifically. That may be different than the situation complained of regarding the Crow's Nest

Catching up a bit. As we discussed earlier, the Crow's Nest was to be closed six of the eleven nights. So what did it wind up being? I'm gathering five? Sorry, but we generally only went up there for coffee in the morning. We'd happily take any compensation that's going around to defray our bill of fifty-eight cents, but, like Mary229, don't see why it would be necessary.

Princess knows as well as we do that at certain ports, especially in Europe, there is duty free after security in the cruise terminal. Last fall in Lisbon on the Regal westbound transatlantic, there was a line twenty people long to check out. My conclusion is that Princess is content to regulate what is consumed in the MDR and prefers not to go overboard trying to regulate what you may consume in your cabin.

We were on the McKinley Explorer last year on a HAL cruisetour through the travel agent who offers so many of HAL's northbound cruisetours`the last couple of years. On the train, all seats were assigned.

1 hour ago, Bolt. said:

I particularly enjoyed the one that had churros -- a Mexican fried doughnut-stick dessert.

They had that on the Oosterdam a couple of weeks ago on a day when we had enjoyed real churros in Spain. We nibbled one each and sighed.

On 4/25/2024 at 11:37 AM, WCB said:

Report #116  Wednesday  April 24, 2024  Sea Day #2 Of 4  Enroute To Takoradi, Ghana    Clouds With Some Sun   75 Degrees  80% Humidity 16 mph Winds  Part #1 Of 1......No Pictures---Dressy Night

 

What a difference a day makes, as the song goes.  The temperature was at least 10 degrees warmer as we sail north towards the Equator once again.   We were wishing for it to warm up a little, but perhaps we wished too hard.   In the days to come, we will be missing some of those cooler days in Cape Town and Namibia.  

 

After breakfast, we stopped by our room to find 2 gifts had been left on the bed.  They were two duffel bags ( folded and zipped in an attached pouch) with a card saying a grand farewell gift for you.  The Captain and crew wish you many happy returns.   These are similar to the one gifted last year, but these are better because they have wheels.  They are too large for a carry-on piece of luggage for the airplane, but would work for a medium size suitcase.  Shiv mentioned that besides the duffels, we would be receiving the commemorative plates next week.  It will be interesting to see the ports written on them since the itinerary had changed so much. 

We received both duffels and plates before leaving in Honolulu. They are smaller than in recent years. If they're the same as the ones you are getting. Round, about six inches in diameter.

We, first segment guests, got those bags before we disembarked in HNL. Came in handy at the airport when we had a bag over fifty pounds and had to use it. We also got the plate, don't know if you've seen those yet. Smaller than in recent years and without the route map. Just as well, considering.

2 hours ago, ghstudio said:

Per a meeting with the hotel director, HAL has decided that there will be no compensation for the Park West private use of the crows nest for 6 nights of our 11 night cruise….and he told me that the CEO is aware of the situation and agrees that no compensation of any kind is necessary.  I guess those of us involved (over 100 complaints, per a post on another forum) will see the reaction to our final comments on the cruise as well as letters sent directly to the HAL executives which may include future booked cruises cancelled as a result of this business decision that impacted our cruise. We always felt that HAL valued us as repeat and loyal customers….now we feel more like just a number on a spreadsheet.

Our regrets that you seem so focused on this one thing. It's a great cruise. Everyone we speak to is having a wonderful time, and the main regret seems to be that everyone has to get off in Athens because of the charter. We'd stay longer if we could. 25 days is not enough.