HalFan

While many will say that Glacier Bay is a “must see,” I think the Hubbard Glacier is a close second.  We visited Glacier Bay many years ago on one of our HAL cruises and it is impressive.  However, after our last cruise on HAL in 2019, we decided the ships were too big for us.  After 18 cruises on HAL, we are no longer Halfans (see our cruise critic nickname).

Last summer we booked an Alaska cruise on the Silver Muse and loved it so much that we booked a three week cruise on the Silver Dawn in the Caribbean which we took last month.  I was afraid that I might be disappointed by not going to Glacier Bay on the Alaska cruise, but Hubbard Glacier is quite a sight.  The ship sails up a smaller bay and circles around in front of the glacier for an hour or so – similar to what they do in Glacier Bay but for a shorter time frame.

Given that you enjoy luxury cruising, I would recommend taking the Silver Nova especially after you mentioned that HAL would cost more.  Although it’s been several years since we were on HAL, the food, service and amenities were never at a level with Silversea.  We were in a Neptune Suite once, and while there is a concierge in the Neptune Lounge, they never provided the level of service that you receive from your butler on Silversea.

If you do take a cruise to or from Seward, I would recommend staying there an extra day and taking the Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise.  The one we took was about 6 hours and we saw glaciers, whales, puffins and lots of other amazing scenery and wildlife.

According to the Marine Traffic website, the Silver Dawn has been moored in Lisbon for several days.  I thought it odd that it was there before the previous cruise was scheduled to end.  According to Cruise Timetables, it should have left yesterday (November 4) for a Lisbon to Barcelona cruise.  Does anyone know if there is a problem with the Dawn or maybe it's a problem with the Marine Traffic website?

We're curious since we're booked to be on the Dawn in January.

8 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

We had a fabulous private guide for Venice if you're interested, did St.Marks and Doge Palace. He scored us last minute skip the line tickets. Big help. Venice is a zoo. The Maritime museum is a short stroll from St. Marks. Empty, and highly recommend. You don't need a guide.  

Thanks for the offer of your private guide.  If we go, and that's still a big "IF" right now, we would probably just walk around on our own.  We've been to Venice several times before, although the last time was 20 years ago.

On 10/29/2023 at 12:53 PM, caviarforme said:

 

We joined Encore in Venice in July and this was the "shuttle boat" schedule they used for guests remaining on board.  Coach on embarkation from Maritima terminal to Fusina took about 30 - 40 minutes

Thanks so much!  Very helpful.

Another Venice/Mirittima/Fusina question.  We were scheduled to be on this cruise and continue on the next one as well, but we cancelled because of my husband's back issues.  We are now considering rescheduling for almost the same itinerary next year.  We are wondering if anyone can share what arrangements Seabourn made to go into Venice for continuing passengers.  Also wondering how long the bus took from Marittima to the dock in Fusina so we could judge how much time we might have to tour Venice (on our own).

Thanks for your suggestions!  We had originally thought about going straight to Santorini to get over our jet lag, but then were concerned that the air routing might be too complicated (and too lengthy) from the west coast.

It looks like a day trip might still work, and we could stay there for sunset if we took that last flight back to Athens.  There are two flights between 9 and 10 PM which would allow us to view the sunset but maybe not enough time for a leisurely Greek dinner.  Wine and snacks might be in order.

We are booked on the Encore from October 22 to November 12, 2023 for the Treasures of the Adriatic and Aegean Allure.  This is our first cruise on Seabourn, but the third time we have booked a similar itinerary after cancelling two previous bookings.  One of the ports that we really had wanted to visit is Santorini, but unfortunately, it is not included on this itinerary.

Since the cruise begins in Pireaus, we researched whether we could go to Santorini for the day while we get over our jet lag in Athens.  There are many flights both ways each day, so it is possible.  The cost of the round trip flight is about $180, which turns out to be similar in cost to a ship excursion.

My question to Seabourn cruisers is whether it’s really worth it.  The photos look beautiful, but many of the comments recently have been about the excessive crowds, the wait times for tendering  and/or the cable car.  If we flew over for the day, we would avoid the tendering and cable car issues, but not the crowds.  For those of you that have been to Santorini, would you say the day trip from Athens is “vaux le voyage” as they say in Michelin Guides?  Given all the other wonderful ports we will be visiting, is Santorini that unique and/or a place that we should not miss?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

I don't think ALL Seabourn cruises that were scheduled to leave from Venice are now leaving from Ravenna.  I posted this information on another thread about Venice yesterday.

According to the email we received from Seabourn on March 28, we will be docking in Marghera.

"Please be advised that due to new Italian travel restrictions, in Venice we will now dock at the Marghera shipyard rather than the Venezia Terminal Passeggeri on Sunday, October 9, 2022. Guests with Seabourn tours will be transported directly from and to the ship. For guests with independent arrangements in Venice, we will offer complimentary transfers to and from the Venice Cruise Terminal. As the Marghera shipyard is an industrial port, independent transportation from and to the port will not be permitted."

We are booked on the Encore in September-October.  Last night we received an email from Seabourn with the following information:

"Please be advised that due to new Italian travel restrictions, in Venice we will now dock at the Marghera shipyard rather than the Venezia Terminal Passeggeri on Sunday, October 9, 2022. Guests with Seabourn tours will be transported directly from and to the ship. For guests with independent arrangements in Venice, we will offer complimentary transfers to and from the Venice Cruise Terminal. As the Marghera shipyard is an industrial port, independent transportation from and to the port will not be permitted."

October 9 is a disembarkation and embarkation day, but we are continuing on the next cruise.  Those who are getting off or on will probably get a different message, but at least we know that we are docking in Marghera and not some other more distant port.

Many thanks to Tips from the Trenches for posting these menus.  We have booked Seabourn for the first time for September-October, 2022 and were wondering about opening times and was served in each venue.  Another question:  we will be on 3 B2B cruises of one week each.  Does Seabourn rotate the same menus every 7 days or do they make additional changes from week to week?  Just curious.  We're not that worried since it seems like there are many, many choices each night.

We would be flying to Rome tonight for a visit prior to boarding the Nieuw Amsterdam for a 24-day B2B to the Greek Islands, Adriatic, and Istanbul, finishing in Venice. Disappointing, but they'll always be there when it's safe to travel again!

For those who are interested, I just noticed that the Prinsendam is about to go through the locks.  Here's the link for the webcam:

http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html?cam=MirafloresHi

In looking at the Marine Traffic website today (Saturday, Dec. 1), I noticed that the Prinsendam is at anchor at Charlotteville instead of docking at Scarborough.  Does anybody know why?

I'm curious because we are on the Prinsendam at the end of the month and are scheduled to dock at Scarborough on Dec. 27.  I'm wondering if this is a frequent occurrence and whether we need to develop a plan B for that day in port.

Thanks so much for all of your suggestions! We will be staying a bit north of Ft. Lauderdale and were planning to just drive there for the day, so the parking info is very helpful. And, the Google maps data was very useful too. Now I see the difference between Ocean Drive and Ocean Lane!

We've often watched the sailaway webcasts from Fort Lauderdale and are wondering how to watch them in person. We will be in Florida later this month but will not be cruising this trip unfortunately.

On the north side of the inlet, it looks like private residences, many with gates. Is there a way to get to the grassy area along the edge? I've seen people and benches there like a park but wonder if it is private property. It also doesn't look like there is any parking nearby.

On the south side of the inlet, it looks like there might be a park as well as some sort of naval station. Can you walk anywhere close to the inlet?

Your thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Koningsdam - 08-Jul-18 - 14 day Voyage of the Midnight Sun

HalFan First cruise on the Koningsdam

Just discovered this webcam:

https://www.portofamsterdam.com/en/webcam-sealock

Koningsdam is getting very close right now to going through the locks before entering the sea on its way to Norway.

We had a Vista Suite on the Volendam in January, and there were no USB or HDMI ports in the desk like we've seen in some hotels. There was a DVD player. We did not examine it (or the TV) to see if there was an HDMI port. If I remember correctly, there were two outlets at the desk: a US outlet and a European outlet. The HAL hair dryer used the European outlet. Hope this helps. Have a great trip! We did.

Thanks for filming and posting this great video! We were on this cruise with you, but I don't believe that we met. We did spot ourselves in one of your shots. Had to smile when you included the waterfalls in the showroom. Also smiled when you enjoyed a couple of the same menu items as we did.

Happy future travels!

Thanks for all your expert responses, suggestions and humor! I think I'll take a small Brita and see how that works.

I seem to remember a thread a while ago about the desalinized water on HAL ships and how it causes swollen ankles, etc. among some passengers. I will be on the Volendam for 28 days shortly and I normally drink a lot of water. I don't really want to buy bottled water all the time because of the expense and plastic waste. Does anyone have any recommendations? Do Brita type filters help with desalinized water or are they mainly helpful for removing chemicals?

Volendam - Dec 20, 2016 - 28 day Indonesian & Far East Discovery Collector

HalFan first trip to Asia

We are trying to decide on the location to book for a Vista Suite on the Volendam Indonesian & Far East Discovery cruises this coming December. Has anyone encountered smoke or noise coming up from the casino to the Verandah Deck cabins or down from the Lido to the Navigation Deck cabins?

Would appreciate any feedback!

Thanks for your responses and suggestions. We're leaving tonight for Munich and are looking forward to boarding on Monday.

We will be taking Viking's September 7 Romantic Danube cruise that leaves from Erlangen (near Nuremburg). We'll be staying in Munich for a few days before embarking.

We are planning to take the train from Munich to either Nuremburg or Erlangen, and then take a taxi to the boat. Does anyone have any tips that they can share for us independent travelers to help us decide which route to take?

Thanks.