JimnKaren

Will you be driving from Virginia? Or, will you fly?

Jim

Just to make a good comparison, you should determine the number of cruise ships in service during those years.

Jim

And, then there is this. For those of us who cruised on a specific ship prior to February, 2020 - we are excused from muster if on that same ship. Listening to announcement is one thing, know how to do the stairs and then locate the appropriate muster station is another. If I were on cruise liner X and attended muster last summer, then I know how to get to the muster station. Where to go is on the back of the door and on your cruise card. If my muster station was "D" and it is now "E", I believe that I am smart enough to know the difference and get there when the time comes to actually prepare to abandon ship.

Jim

Maybe book a cruise from Boston, then if you are denied boarding, you just drive back home!

Jim

Sure. A lot depends on how full HAL allows the ship to be. Cruise at capacity? Or half-full? Makes a big difference in the exposure. My biggest concern would be the tendering operation in Cabo - really tough trying to keep things sanitary and get folks back and forth in a timely manner.

Jim

The article advocates the elimination of interior rooms. OK, but what about those "ocean view" rooms, the only difference is the window! Ain't gonna happen. There are all balcony ships, but the average cruise cannot afford that on a regular basis AND right now, it is the repeat cruisers who help the bottom line of the cruise line companies, not the once and one party-all-night crowd.

My biggest concern for the restart is how the cruise lines intend to handle the emergency lifeboat drill. Whether in public rooms or on an open deck (promenade-style), generally it is too close for too long. Along that same line of thinking, tendering could be a huge problem for sanitation requirements.

Jim

I believe (have not looked recently, but it was this a year or two ago) that the Sea Princess itinerary previously mentioned is part of their world cruise that begins in the spring (autumn in Australia).

One of the greatest things about being loyal to HAL and Princess are the crew members who remember.

One young lady, who has retired from the business to stay with her family, was on three separate cruises with us. On the third one, we approached her and said something like...I don't know if you remember us...OH YEAH! Before I was done, she told us which ship and what the itinerary was. We have photos of the three of us, Karen, Jim and Rowena. Wow!

Jim

I'm curious (and don't call me Shirley)...are any of you discussing this at home at the dinner table or over drinks? Or are you just stating stuff here and no where else? Not trying to challenge, but our discussions at home have been involved as to what to do and when to do and why do it.

Jim

Rich...

When the smoke clears (as it were), what will you do? Will you have the spare time to do this? I wanna come to your house to commiserate with you when it happens!

Jim

During muster drill, I always cringe when they state that we should not take any luggage with us in case of emergency. Wait a sec! If I take my meds with me, I will need luggage! This getting old stuff sux!

Jim

Being in my mid 70s, not much changes from one week to the next. Yard work in central Florida has been happening for months. However, it did a chore that I have put off for a long time. Washing screens! What a mess. Blowing sand and stuff all the time has them dirty most of the time. If I don't do it however, no one else in the house will.

Jim

Based on some of the questionable statements, I guess the author has never been on a cruise (much less a "vacation cruise"). Too many things are wrong with her statements. Everyone from CC should write to her and offer some thoughts. Unfortunately, she does not include information on how to email her, only her Twitter thing.

Jim

I miss Happy Hour!

Ya wanna beach? I am less than three miles from the Gulf of Mexico. I'll charge you less than a balcony/verandah and feed you just as good. I'll even throw in my cat (Tony the Tiger), he likes to hear cruising stories.

Into the 80s most days recently and the forecast low tonight is 68. Almost like being there.

Let me know, I'll clean the sheets!

Jim

We cruised with her one time...it was memorable. She would sit in the piano bar with her 'beverage' and smile like no one else was smiling. Time to go anywhere? A staff person was there! I once saw her try on her own and so many crew members ran to her, it was amazing that she could still stand!

AMAZING!!

I have a hearing deficit and wear hearing aids; yet, I find myself reading lips more often than not. Just returned from a trip to restock wine and the clerk (wearing a mask), kept saying something and I did not know what she was saying. Add that big plastic barrier and I had zero idea what was happening. If they were to try to do that on a cruise, then I would probably just stay in my cabin.

Jim

Looking forward to Veendam from Venice to Turkey and Greece, Sicily, Malaga and Alicante and back to Tampa in October.

I hope it happens. Need a push pin in the map for Turkey!

Jim

I had to look up stuff: Ryndam - 31 nights; Statendam - 28 nights; Maasdam - 70 nights; Veendam - 29 nights.

Love them all, miss the old Ryndam and Statendam.

As someone mentioned, one can walk from one end of the ship to the other inside of a few minutes. Cannot do that on those bigger ones.

I wonder...if any passenger might have cruised previously on any given ship...could they be excused from a 'new' muster? We have lots of time on Veendam, nothing changes other than the location of our life boat. However, we have done the drill before. To help reduce the sheer number of passengers needing to be on the open deck, only those who have never cruised with HAL or possibly never cruised on that specific vessel would be required to attend that outdoor (elbow to elbow and butt to belly) indoctrination. Electronics would know who has been and who hasn't.

Jim

Times are changing, but typically final payment is due about 90 days prior to embarkation. Contact a local travel agent (keep the money in your community) and ask more questions.

Jim

For both of you (gift wrap for him, but he should share), James A. Michener's book Alaska. It will mean more to you once you have read that book. Likewise, if you get into the Caribbean, James A. Michener's Caribbean is the one to read.

Jim

Where does the cruise go? Why did you select that cruise? What are you looking to accomplish on this cruise? Can I go along?

Jim

We were on Pacific Princess off the coast of central America. Someone on board got quite ill and we were not in a position (weather and location) to get that person airlifted. An announcement was made and I asked several of the bar personnel how fast we might go to get to where we needed to be. None of them thought it would be more than 22 knots. Yet, in the morning, an announcement came across that we had, in fact, approached 26 knots. Waters were calm and Pacific Princess, although older, is a small ship and we cranked it out. It was neat to see how the captain and his crew reacted to that situation. Really enjoy our times on Pacific Princess.

Jim

Among the reasons we cruise HAL is the selection of itineraries. Very few 7 or 10 day trips. Those are the type that will draw younger folks. Older folks have the time to travel longer cruises, thus fewer people under 30 (and their kids).

We rarely cruise less than 21 days, that eliminates most of the folks who have kids who might want to climb a wall. Those families just don't have that number of days of vacation.

As to entertainment...we don't cruise to smile in a showroom. We cruise for the experience of getting to new places without flying too often. We listen to music in different venues. Comedy late night? Catch that on the boob tube! Dancing and singing can be found at our local amateur theatres.

Jim