cruiseguy56
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Posts posted by cruiseguy56
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Hi All,
I've searched the boards and haven't found an answer. Going on a HAL cruise in February and one of the tours says - "Your Estate Pass includes access to the brand new pool and leisure area, the Colonial Village and children's playground." I know there is a very plain, rectangular old pool in a fenced in area, and I know that there is a newer pool area with tiered waterfalls and a waterslide. Trying to find out if this inexpensive tour ACTUALLY includes that new pool area (second image)with the waterfalls and slide or just the old rectangular pool (first image). I've talked with Chukka who says I must deal with HAL. HAL excursion people have answered no and not sure and yes it's included. Has anyone been on this excursion either on HAL or carnival? If so, can you give me a definitive answer? Thanks in advance.
http://chukka.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/chukka-good-hope-estate-11-1024x576.jpg
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So we just finished a spectacular Alaska cruise on the Eurodam however I have learned Holland America is not for us. We are too young and we have children. After many cruises on various lines we were really disappointed with the Holland America format. I don't want to come across too negative because we enjoyed the cruise but I hope this review will help future cruisers decide.
* The HAL Club for Kids.. No GPS tracking bracelet for the child. Also our 10 year old was lumped in with 6 year olds. The big activity for one night was watching a movie. Twice we went to collect our child and there was no attendant at the desk. She was in back doing something. That is very poor security.
* The Lido Buffet.. Lines, Lines and more lines. You have to wait to be served the buffet items and handed your plate at that time. So if you just want to sneak in and get some mashed potatoes... no can do. You must wait in the line with everyone picking and choosing their food. Can take 10 minutes to get an item with this silly system. Seating is limited. When everyone hits the buffet between 5 and 7 good luck finding a table. Some folks "staked out" a table at 4:45pm before the buffet opened. Sad to waste vacation time to get a table to eat. Also the "Canaletto" pay restaurant is just a section of the Lido buffet area that has some glass partitions. No ambiance at all and you can see it is an afterthought. Food was good but atmosphere is the same as Lido buffet.
* Neptune Lounge. No free alcoholic beverages and appetizers straight from the Lido buffet. I am trying to figure out what is the function of the Neptune lounge? On Other cruise lines they have cocktail hours and nice food. Not here. But staff was very helpful when needed.
* On/Off ship at ports" ONE Gangway! Are you kidding? ONE gangway for both departing and boarding guests! Use your imagination how well that system works. Especially near departure time!
* Very limited food after 9pm. You must rely on room service. Almost all bars are closed after 9 pm. The typical demographics of Holland must be in bed at 9pm.
* Specialty Food: Excellent!
* Entertainment: Excellent
* Kids Activities: Little to none.
* Internet: Think 1990's 56k telephone modem speed.
* Staff: No longer Philippine only. Mostly Indonesian and Chinese but very friendly and helpful. A++
Thats about it for now but I am sure I will remember more later. In summary, Holland is a senior cruiser line. They need to just own that and market it and stop with the "we have gotten more family friendly" Let their other Carnaval Corp lines market to the family crowd. If I had no kids and was retired I would love HA!
HAL - The cruise line of the newlyweds and nearly deads (their words, not mine).
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Certainly hope this booking was after final payment date if the accessible features were not needed. Though sounds like grab bars in bathroom could have been handy with balance issue. But if TA was booking just for space to price ratio sounds sort of unethical on their part if it denied being able to cruise at all for someone in a wheelchair or mobility device.
We had no idea until we boarded the boat that the room was accessible. We immediately went to the front desk to see if there was anyone needing the accessibility and if so we'd gladly have changed rooms. They told us there were no other requests for accessibility and no other rooms available. We've felt kind of bad that someone may not have been able to get the room and have discontinued use of that Travel Agent.
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Our TA booked us into a handicapped veranda room on the Noordam several years ago, thinking they were doing us a favor getting us a bigger room for the price. Can say that the rooms aren't that much bigger really. And the room had weird entry at an angle. I suppose to accommodate a wheelchair entry/exit more easily. There were some other things about the room that were off-kilter as well. The DW has some balance issues sometimes and the room just made her nauseated with everything at strange angles. She spent only enough time in the room to bath/dress/change or sleep. Sometimes having to go out on the balcony for a few minutes and sit just so she could come finish dressing. I, on the other hand, had no issues with the room at all. Actually enjoyed the larger shower.
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Cruise line of the newlyweds and nearly deads (their words, not mine, lol). Newlyweds probably like to be left alone to do "newlywed things" and the nearly deads are just hoping to keep breathing through the end of the cruise.:)
Help needed !!!
in Tales from the Caribbean -- Ask A Question / Share Some Info
Posted
For a cheap excursion on your ST. Thomas stop, just go out where the taxis are picking up the folks who booked excursions on board and tell them you need a taxi to Coki Beach. Cost is $9 US per person each way. Go to the left end of the beach and walk out in waist deep water near the rocks. If you take some Mil-bone dog biscuits with you (or a couple rolls from the ship's breakfast), you'll have many fish eating out of your hands (sergeant majors, parrotfish, surgeon fish, etc). Coki is where the paid ship excursion to coral world goes ($49. US per person), but they make you stand inside a dome and watch a diver feed the fish through the glass floor save $40 bucks per person and have the fun of being surrounded by the lovely fish.