cathaana

Well, the Hanseatic would probably fit your bill (had a very good experience as a solo) but as it is a German speaking boat, it is probably not what you are looking for.

The itineraries, and prices, up to 09/04/2019 are available on the German language website.

 

http://www.hl-cruises.de/reise-finden#template=teaser&sorting=departureDate&filter:ships=9&page=0&scrollToList=1

 

 

Solo occupancy on the Norway cruise in which I was interested has already sold out, so I wait with interest to see if my pre-registration has been successful.

Thanks for the heads-up. I've been checking every few days waiting for the prices to come up. The family apartments sell out pretty fast, too. Too bad HL insists on a two-year minimum age.

They'll probably have this one again. The 200 Euro credit for the Europas and the 150 for all ships usually show up several times.

Probably because they actually own the Bremen.

According to this interview (sorry, in German), they'll keep the Bremen but also might try to re-charter the Hanseatic.

 

It would appear that one of the existing expedition ships will be retained.

 

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/articles/62884/hapag-lloyd-cruises-to-build-two-expedition-ships

Looks like it if they are looking for 5 total. I wonder whether they'll keep the Hanseatic or the Bremen. Maybe the Bremen to offer slightly less expensive expeditions in comparison to the two new ones?

But I have to wait until I am on board for Lido reservations, or Dieter Mueller, right? No advance booking.

Correct.

2. On the cabin balcony, are the chairs upright patio chairs, or does at least one of them recline a bit, or is there one chaise?

They do recline. We have also asked for additional furniture which was no problem (but the cruise was not fully booked).

3. Is Lido open seating, where you look around trying to find a place to sit ( like on E2 Yacht Club), or do hostesses help you find a spot? If a free for all, is it crowded and hard to find a spot?

It's always open seating but on some of the specialty nights it might be hard to find a non-reserved table. You can look around yourself but there is usually also a host around to help you find a spot. As to the crowds, it really depends as vistaman said. If you have a favourite spot, be early and make reservations for the evening. We actually started having breakfast at the main restaurant because it was much quieter and seating was no problem at all.

4. are you allowed to bring in a plate of food from Lido to your suite if Lido is crowded, or just allowed room service offerings?

We often brought back food from the Lido to our room, usually ice cream or some pralines. I would assume you could to it with a main as well though.

5. Are the hot tub jacuzzis hot, meaning above body temperature, or just lukewarm? Definitely not 37 degrees ©. I would say a bit better than lukewarm.

The preliminary documents indicate there will be two "gala" evenings on this length of a cruise, and I have no "gala" clothing as the kind of clothing I could acceptably wear for a gala night without looking ridiculous would be too warm to tolerate (I just have the kind of clothing that passes for formal nights on SB and SS which isn't bad but is definitely not an evening gown). Apparently the Lido is casual every night, however, so that could be my escape (reservations allowed) if it looks like people expect evening gowns in the MDR on those nights.

I always need to bring an extra jacket when dining as the temperature is generally too cold for me on the Europa. :D

There is no need for evening gowns on gala nights. Yes, quite a few women do wear formal gowns but there are also always more than a few who just wear a nice combination (observed on four Europa cruises in the last few years).

My parents have been on the Mein Schiff 2 a few times with one cruise upcoming. They were quite happy with it but we might have spoilt them by dragging them on the Europa last year. ;)

So will we this summer if my husband's health permits. Baltic cruise is booked, insurance in place. I will write a review here.

My parents might be on the same cruise. Sometime in August? Even though not as exciting as our Baltic cruise on the Europa, I am still quite envious, especially since we had to cancel our Christmas cruise on the Europa 2. :(

Cathaana,

Just wanted to thank you for posting this suggestion.

Used TransferWise to make 3 recent deposits.

Compared to xe.com it was cheaper by $50 to $200.

And the ability to do an ACH draft same day directly from my iPad was great!

I did the entire transaction for each deposit in about 5 minutes.

Easy peasy.

 

Regards,

ededmd

You're welcome. :)

I don't remember any Nespresso machines but then we don't drink coffee. ;)

I have found the best and cheapest way to transfer money internationally is via transferwise.

You can always ask for you own table. If it isn't completely full, they will most likely accommodate you on a night by night basis.

At least for travellers who live in the EU, HL includes travel insurance. In same circumstances they also allow you to book a more expensive cruise and credit what you have paid so far towards the new cruise.

I thought the food on Hanseatic was just as good as on Europa but of course with less choices.

There is absolutely no tipping required (or expected). But if you want to give something, they are not going to decline.

1. HOW MANY?

 

Of those here who have traveled solo on HL, either Europa 2 or MS Europa, did any of you go to a solo traveler get-together at the start of your cruise, and if so, how many people showed up? I tried to find out how many solo travelers there were on my recent sold-out Cape Town trip on the E2 with DH, to get a rough idea, but the front desk did not know each time I asked.

 

I realize not everyone traveling solo on a cruise will want to show up to an initial get-together as some have other things to do or do not want to mingle, just as only half the English speakers (5 of 10) showed up at the English-language get-together early in the cruise on DH's and my E2 cruise recently, but it might provide some estimate of sociable solos.

 

2. DINING issues

 

On the E2 we know seating is open in the MDR and Yacht Club at dinner. Is it also open on the MS Europa or do you have an assigned spot?

 

Towards the end of our cruise DH and I went very early to dinner in the MDR to try and get a good table for a change, and we did (right at the window). Almost immediately thereafter an elderly lady, solo, came in and was greeted by the waitress by name (this was surprising, as DH and I were never greeted by name in any dining venue -- although I don't personally care if I am greeted by name or not as long as the food and service are good, I thought perhaps with solos, HL may make an extra effort). Personnel sat her down quite close to us, and she appeared a bit uncomfortable. Then a few minutes later another similar lady was ushered in, also greeted by name, and was seated kitty-corner to the first lady (thus leaving them the option to talk, or ignore each other). Other than a perfunctory "Guten Abend" at the beginning, and two minutes of small talk later, the two ladies pretty much ignored each other the whole evening, looking uncomfortable, though they each stayed for two hours, and three courses, cleaning their plates.

 

Did any of you ever try to get MDR or Yacht Club food (not from the room service many) delivered to your suite on a tray?

 

Were any of you invited to join a table for dinner with a CD, or officer, or other personnel as a solo, like they do on SB?

 

3. PRICING AND AVAILABILITY: I ran a few online mock searches on the HL websites to check pricing differentials for solos, as I am considering doing a solo trip on HL without DH a while after we finish our SB trip to Norway in the summer. Currently there are only 4 future cruises officially marked as discounted for solos. But on some others, it still looked like the markups were still reasonable i.e., you don't pay 100% surcharge for being solo most of the time. But what was very odd is I ran a search as 1 adult with 0 children and found "not available" messages, but when I ran the same cruise pricing and suite selection search as 1 adult with 2 children under 10 (who are not charged) suddenly there were some suites available (and they were not family apartments). Same result if I changed the search to German. I wonder if that is just a bug on-line, or if they hold back suites if you are a lone adult, but not if a lone adult and with kids

I don't remember a meet-up for solo travellers on any of my Europa cruises.

Tables are assigned on Europa in the MDR. If you put down a larger-sized table as your preference on the booking form, chances are quite good you will be paired with other solo travellers or couples who enjoy meeting others. Whether they are willing/able to converse in English is another matter though.

I have tried to get food from the Italian place delivered to my suite but they didn't want to do that. I have taken a plate of food from the Yacht Club to my suite myself though one day when I was not feeling well. Dessert actually a couple of times. Nobody seemed to mind.

They regularly had dinner events where guests were invited to dine with some of the officers. This was not specific to solo travellers though and not everybody got invited. Supposedly its mostly for first time cruisers.

I have found that HL nearly never charges 100% extra for solo travellers. Mostly its between 40 and 75%. And I have also noticed funny availability regarding solo/children. I have found the website from Kreuzfahrtberater much easier to navigate to find pricings for HL cruises.

I'll be on this year's Christmas cruise so you can all come and chat with me. ;)

The itineraries are very attractive, but I am not willing to sail in remote locations with passengers who love formal attire. The language is not an issue for me. On American ships, I have avoided the few formal nights which was easy to do because many fellow passengers didn't care for tuxedos and gowns either. Sailing along the coast of Africa is simply not the same as going to the opera ball in Vienna.

You can avoid the formal nights by going to the buffet restaurant or using room service. But even on formal nights there is no need for a tux - a suit and tie is enough.

Sooo envious! We are booked for next year's Christmas cruise but obviously that is still one year to go. :mad:

I had to put in my full name the first time but not since.

Every few days they have 150 Euro drinks voucher that's valid on all ships/cruises.

Hapag Lloyd usually has a cruise that includes a few stops in Cuba. Next year it will be the Europa 2 (EUX1632).

The mattresses on the Europa are 'normal', I would say. Haven't sailed on the Europa 2 but I assume they would use similar ones.

I have been a club member for a few years. We've been saving our miles and just used 15,000 of them for a 1,500 Euro discount on our upcoming cruise. So it's definitely been worth it for us.

They also offer quite interesting short cultural/event trips (but mostly within Germany).

True (we usually don't).

If you don't mind booking through a German TA though (they speak English), you can use Kreuzfahrtberater.de which will give you a nice on-board credit. Sometimes they even have a 'double' promotion which can easily give you more than 400 Euros in credits.

Also, Hapag Lloyd has an Adventskalender every December on their website, which often gives on-board credits to use on any cruise (you have to book in the following few months though). You can even use the Adventskalender vouchers when booking through a TA instead of HL.

My impression of the Europa (after 4 cruises) is pretty much the same.

A few notes though:

- Wearing jeans is no problem in the Lido since the dress code doesn't apply there.

- Ice tea is free all the time. And with the free water in the fitness center, the included mini bar, all the events that include alcohol as well as the the afternoon tea, we have had a $0 beverage bill without going 'without' (hubby loves expensive dessert wines though, so we usually don't manage :D).

- I haven't noticed the 'not-my-job'-attitude but I can see it happening - it is a German ship after all ;)