Lisa63

Thank you for the photos, cayman09 and NYteacher. We were onboard Veendam that day.

:o Sorry, but I would far rather have the beautiful aft pool that used to be on Veendam's stern. :cool: That mess they have now is awful and what's the worst is it even blocks the view.

 

I agree. The aft pool was wonderful and was needed given the small size of the midships pool.

I look forward to your report, shrimp56. Sorry we didn't meet on board. Or, maybe we did and didn't realize!

We loved the Saint John tour to St. Martins and Reversing Falls. I loved how we stopped at the river at both high and low tide. It was a popular tour -- I counted four buses for this excursion.

Our family had a good time and we hope you did, too!

Thank you to everyone for your opinions. ... I like having a good library and I think I read that they have a decent library. I probably will miss the on deck movies, but is there a movie theater? Does anyone see movies on board? Booking late, I got an awesome price for an inside cabin for 14 days. I usually book a balcony or mini-suite on Princess, but I'm trying an inside again just to see how it goes for me. I used to do inside cabins a lot and then got spoiled with balcony cabins. I'd like to cruise more and going with an inside could make that happen. I'll have to wait and see how I like it. I'm glad to hear there are more casual dining options than what I expected. I'm sure I'll be fine. Looking forward to trying HAL again. Thanks!

We just got off Veendam this morning. :(

The library was my favorite room on the ship. It has a wide selection, and was bright enough for me to read without my glasses!

I went to one movie during the cruise. I believe it was a 7:00 pm showing (there were three a day) and the theater was about 2/3 full.

We had an oceanview cabin on Deck 5, and peeked into several of the inside cabins across the hall. They were the same size -- our family of 3 adults was very comfortable and we are even contemplating an inside for our next HAL cruise.

The only negative issues we discovered were service cuts in the main dining room, yet I hear this is a problem on other ships, as well.

Enjoy your cruise planning! Happy to answer other questions.

What a lovely note! Thank you so much!

We did this cruise last year and loved it. We sailed mainly for the itinerary, though. Sorry to hear about the service issues you had on your cruise.

The archipelago is not to be missed.

My son has both a passport and passport card. We applied for the passport card at the time of his most recent passport renewal -- he does not drive, so his passport card serves as his general ID.

I am certain we are in the minority. There isn't really a need for both unless your passport is your only form of government-issued photo ID and you want a back-up.

It's been several months or more but I remember someone posting that Boston was limited to the smaller ships because of the number of people the terminal could handle. Perhaps someone could chime in if the terminal has been improved. Also seem to remember that there were problems with harbor and larger vessels .

 

But I could be totally wrong and if I am just let me know:)

The terminal was upgraded in 2010, to answer your question. I know the port and the harbor can handle large ships, as Queen Mary 2 and Explorer of the Seas are somewhat-regular visitors during the fall -- but they don't embark pax here. I'll see what I can find out.

If there is a Friends of Dorothy gathering, attend to meet other pax who will be very welcoming. One of my friends once told me that straight pax are welcome to attend the FOD gathering -- and I though he was pulling my leg -- until I attended my first one and met lots of great couples. A few times, we joined each other at the Lido when there was limited seating.

I doubt you will run into any issues, however. Enjoy your cruise!

That's right, no pre-booking on N. Sun. If the show Elements is offered, do not miss it. Best show I've ever seen at sea (and I've been doing this cruise thing a long time).

Silly me... I just saw that the topic of your post mentioned the ship name. Sorry about that.

The roll call for our cruise next month just started to pick up. Itinerary can play a role, too. Our European cruises have had busier roll calls as pax were looking to share shore excursions that were less expensive than what the cruise line offered. There's little interest in this on our upcoming cruise, so it's been rather quiet.

Of course, each one is different.

Is it the Nieuw Amsterdam that you are considering?

Many school districts in the northeast U.S. open the first week of September, so it will be possible that you will see other families with kids on an August 16 cruise. It may be tougher given that it's 12 nights (if I have the right ship), yet we've done longer cruises in Europe on which there were plenty of kids.

We enjoyed HAL a great deal with our son when he was younger. He loved the kids' program as it was not too crowded. (We tended toward longer cruises, including a 14-nighter in Europe.) We have found that -- on several lines -- the kids' club would not be open all day. (Actually, that was pretty much the norm in our early days of cruising.) If that's the case, and it's a port you've visited before, perhaps let your daughter decide what you will do that day, either on or off the ship. Remember, with so many people ashore, the pools will not be crowded.

I agree with others that HAL is not as formal as it once was.

Thanks, Melodie. And, I do need to apologize. I assumed the OP did not want to go on HAL, when in fact s/he was asking for advice on ways to make it as close as possible to what they've grown accustomed to on NCL.

I'd agree with others who suggested the Penthouse Suite along with open seating dining.

Sorry for jumping the gun. I wanted to point out the view from the other side.

Back to the OP's original question, I think that traveling with good friends outweighs the difference in accommodations. It's for just seven nights. And sailing in a Neptune Suite does have its perks.

As I mentioned in my first response, I've had several friends refuse to sail with us on our anniversary cruise because they don't want to go on NCL. Many of these friends take multiple cruises a year, so it's not a financial issue, which I would understand. Yes, it does bother us that some of them would use this as an excuse. At least they're telling us the truth, but it still stings.

Again, JMHO.

I just looked at the NCL website and one category of suites -- 3 BR Haven Villa (or something like that) -- is listed as close to 5,000 square feet on some ships and 7,000 square feet on another. That might include the private outdoor area for that cabin only. I checked one out on debarkation day a few years ago and, while the suite is huge, there is also a great deal of outdoor space.

Our 2 BR Family Suite is roughly 575 square feet, and comes with the amenities described in other posts -- butler, concierge, separate DR for breakfast and lunch, reserved show lounge seating, priority tenders, in-cabin meals.

The older ships (Dawn/Star) do not have the Haven, while the Haven on the newer ships is kind of a ship-within-a-ship experience with a pool and sunning deck for Haven pax only, as well as key-card access to the decks on which the suites and Haven are located.

FWIW (which is probably not much), our family of three lives in a home that has 1,300 square feet of living space.

I watched your sailaway today. This itinerary (the full one) is on my bucket list... someday.

I look forward to reading your blog. I've already bookmarked it.

We are in the opposite situation. We have booked a 2 BR suite on NCL to celebrate our 25th anniversary next summer and are trying to convince friends to join us but many do not want to give NCL a shot.

We tend to go back and forth between NCL and HAL and agree with the above Members that HAL's suite amenities do not come close to those of NCL's Haven Suites. But, they are still very good. Breakfast in Pinnacle Grill is great, and we love having the Neptune Lounge available to us.

Most of all -- as they say in the commercials -- sailing with friends... priceless.

JMHO.

Thank you for your review. We just booked Norwegian Dawn from Boston to Bermuda for next summer. We've done the route many times, mainly on the former Norwegian Majesty, and we look forward to returning.

Interesting about the deck chairs. I have read this before and would have hoped it would have been addressed by now.

My husband loved the steaks he's had at Cagney's.

From another perspective, I am a pescetarian (I eat fish but neither red meat nor poultry) and thought the sea bass I had at Cagney's was phenomenal.

Oops. I had a feeling this was an old thread when I saw the $115 pp air fare from Boston to Montreal, one way. We paid much more than that a couple of years ago.

On our first Maasdam cruise out of Montreal, we took HAL's bus from Boston. It left at around 6:00 am on day of sailing and arrived in Montreal around noon with a stop for food around 10:00. The bus boarded near the entrance to the large parking lot across the street from the Boston Design Center.

During our most recent trip (the one for which we flew and stayed in Montreal a couple of nights prior), we saw a bus taking on passengers and their luggage when we arrived at the cruise terminal in Montreal. So, I don't know if it's something HAL still offers, but it may be worth it to ask.

This thread is experiencing a lot of topic drift which is understandable given the nature of the topic. But please stay on topic here. Please start a new thread if you would like to extend discussions on specific matters.

 

Thanks.

Thank you, Walt.

Anybody agree with me on the tea service I mentioned a few pages back?

A serious question to all of those who partake in formal night. Does the quality of the food in the MDR today match the quality of the formal night dress code? From what I read here that does not seem to be the case. Although my wife and I are 4 star mariners we have never once eaten in the MDR and never intend to.

Keeping in mind that this is subjective, I think it does. Somehow, it enhances the ambiance. Yet, I do not really care what others are wearing so long as it appears that some effort was made to be presentable. (And, I doubt the latter comment applies to most of us here.)

Good question.

I'd like to see a return of the afternoon tea service (other than the Indonesian and Dutch High Teas) to Explorers Lounge. On my last few HAL cruises, the regular afternoon teas were held in the MDR, which was less comfortable and far less intimate than the lounge I'd come to enjoy on previous HAL cruises. It was also easier to meet other pax in Explorer's Lounge. Now, this is not a big deal -- I'll still go, although I preferred the more intimate setting. They don't require the space that the Indonesian and Dutch High Teas do, and holding these smaller gatherings in a lounge increases the opportunity to meet other pax.

Again, it's not a make-it-or-break-it preference, but since the question was asked...

In our experience, HAL provides a public room where a passenger-led service can be held. They may do so based on interest, so go to the main desk at the beginning of your cruise to let them know.

I agree with SilvertoGold. Because my husband is a teacher, the only time we can cruise is during school breaks, when prices are higher. Our cruise costs have stayed about the same while the cabins have gotten larger (similar category). Air fare, on the other hand, has increased significantly.