Best Eastern/Western Carribean B2B

[CRUZBUDS]

We fell in love with the Zaandam and HAL after our Hawaii cruise a few weeks ago.

We booked it again for next year and are having second thoughts. We live in San Diego, so Sunday departures waste our precious vacation days and we really are unhappy with the decision to cut the itinerary from 15 to 14. We're still paying a couple of hundred dollars more for the same cabin with one less day. We really like Kona. :mad:

We're think of maybe moving the booking to the spring of 2011 and trying a Caribbean B2B cruise. It's been many years since we've left the comfort of sailing from our home town.

We're looking for recommendations from you experienced HAL folks. We liked the Zaandam, but are open to trying a Vista class.

We appreciate any feed back!

[Krazy Kruizers]

In Feb 2009 we did Nordam's 20 day cruise which is really 2 ten day cruises. We loved it!!

We are doing a similar cruise in 2010 on the Noordam.

Great ports.

[CowPrincess]

If I could drive to a port, or take a cab, I'd be doing only cruises from THAT port :) Consider the cost of hotels and airfare in your decision. And lack of "hassle factor" IMHO has HUGE value.

 

We're doing the Carib this winter, and then after that we are back to cruising from the west coast.... I dislike everything about flying and we'll be doing a marathon day of it to get to Tampa. UGH. I'm only going because DH really wants to go to the Carib. Yes, the cruise fare was cheaper than anything from the west coast, BUT adding in additional airfare, days in hotels, etc, the vacation in total is certainly not cheaper.

 

Depending on when in the "spring" you go, you may be encountering spring break, too.

[CRUZBUDS]

If we book a "fly to" cruise it will definately be a fully refundable deposit. We'll probably do the math and factor in the hassels and wind up back on a San Diego sailing.

 

We are very spoiled being 20 miutes from the cruise terminal.

 

I was looking at websites and the choices are almost overwelming when you include the other lines. We've been sailing from San Diego for so long that we're used to just making either/or choices.

 

What we'd really like would be a short Carribean cruise and stay abroard for a repositoning to San Diego. That would be too long, since we still work.

 

Most canal cruises are heavy on Mexico and at most one Caribbean port. We already have a lot of Mexico experience.

[SwissMyst]

I only discovered HAL because reviewing all the Caribbean cruise lines, the Maasdam had by far the best possible itinerary for the time and the price. What a treat to also learn about HAL and the small ships as well at the same time.

 

Our last trip was on the slightly larger "S" Rotterdam and we missed a number of things we had on the smaller Maasdam "R" class ships.

 

Next trip is on the Vista Ooosterdam and I am already missing in my mind my small HAL ship layout so I agree with our initial affection for your ship too -- love at first sight.

 

We can hardly wait to go back on the Maasdam again, and I think we will stick to all of the smaller "R" ships in the future. Also looking at the Volendam/Ryndam for Alaska.

 

But, gheesh, we have not even been on the Vista Ooosterdam yet ......... will I change? Kind of doubt it. But shall report when I get back. Bottomline: HAL still has the best itineraries no matter which size ship. Look into the Maasdam and see what B2B you might be able to put together with its very interesting Eastern Caribbean routes.

[CRUZBUDS]

Actually - the Maasdam had a killer 14 day that looked very interesting, but tiring.

 

It's been a while since we've been to a new port -- it's kind of nice not feeling a need to go ashore everywhere. "Been there, done that" isn't so bad when the main goal of the vacation is to de-stress from work.

[blazerbob]

If you are looking for a cruise to experience the Caribbean and still want the convenience of disembarking in San Diego, you might consider this.

We just came back from a Panama Canal cruise last saturday on the Oosterdam. We live in San Diego too and all our cruises (so far) were either S.D. to S.D. roundtrip or terminating in S.D. If you haven't cruised the Panama Canal before it is well worth the experience of seeing the canal in operation. What was great about our last cruise is that it was a 19 day trip from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego with three stops in the Caribbean instead of the usual one or two stops on the 14 day cruises. We stopped at Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, and Aruba which gave us lots of time to swim and snorkel in 82 degree clear warm water in the Caribbean. On the Pacific side, our stops in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and southern Mexico provided us with the opportunity to see the Mayan ruins and the Embera Village in Costa Rica which you wouldn't see on the standard Mexican Riviera cruise. Because the vista class ships have more balconies than the R or S class ships, the balcony cabins are generally cheaper on cruises of the same length. We like the vista class just as much as HAL's R and S class ships. Our flight from S.D. to FLL was on Southwest and their one way fares are only about $140 if you book far enough in advance. I hope this helps.

 

Bob

[CowPrincess]

We are very spoiled being 20 miutes from the cruise terminal.

 

Can I come live with you? :D My nearest port is a 12 or 13 hour drive away. Sigh.... :D

 

If you do decide on a B2B, the second trip through you can stay onboard and not feel like you're "missing" something, having already recently experienced the port.

[CRUZBUDS]

When we first started cruising 25 years ago there were vitually no cruises from San Diego. It peaked a couple of years ago and is now in a decline (temporary we hope). We have made the most of it with a dozen or so from here. We feel lucky to live in San Diego for many reasons. :)

 

Bob - The 19 day sounds fantastic - I'll look to see if anything like that is coming up. We stretch our luck at work when we do 15 days, we may not be able to get away with a 19.

[RuthC]

Our last trip was on the slightly larger "S" Rotterdam and we missed a number of things we had on the smaller Maasdam "R" class ships.

You have the letters of the two classes reversed.

The smaller class is the S-class (Statendam, Maasdam, Ryndam, Veendam), and the slightly larger ships are the R-class (Rotterdam, Volendam, Zaandam, Amsterdam).

 

The two classes are very similar in lay-out, with the addition of the mid-ship staircase/elevator bank on the R-class. Some of the public rooms are located in a different area, too. But once you've been on one of these eight ships, you can find your way around any of them.

[SwissMyst]

You have the letters of the two classes reversed.

The smaller class is the S-class (Statendam, Maasdam, Ryndam, Veendam), and the slightly larger ships are the R-class (Rotterdam, Volendam, Zaandam, Amsterdam).

 

The two classes are very similar in lay-out, with the addition of the mid-ship staircase/elevator bank on the R-class. Some of the public rooms are located in a different area, too. But once you've been on one of these eight ships, you can find your way around any of them.

 

What we missed most was the open rail viewing deck on top of the Maasdam. Hated the one on the Rotterdam because you could not get close for photos coming into port due being glassed in up there. Also was not keen about the "glass" cabin balcony panels only because they were so irritatingly dirty all the time. Tried to scrub it myself which helped.

 

Certainly the ceiling decor of the Rotterdam dining room left a lot to be desired compared to the Maasdam. Yes, small but important differences.

 

Thank you for correcting my "R" and "S". That was a material error. I'll stick with the descriptions and names in the future. Love those smallest dam ships.

 

I am expecting to not like at all the location of the CrowsNest Exploration Cafe and away from the Library on the Oosterdam because on both the Maasdam and the Rotterdam that was my favorite indoor space. And I loved the stroll across the ship past these rooms from the upper dining room to the upper theater. Wow, set in my ways after only two trips.