It has finally happened...2016 fall schedule open for booking

[EatonDoolittle]

OMG, the stars and planets must have aligned last night as the Fall 2016 Caribbean schedule is online!!!!

 

HAL here we come.

 

Thanks for posting - I had been checking every few days.

 

Booked a great cabin this morning on one of the inaugural Oosterdam trips out of Tampa I have been watching for.

I live about equidistant to FLL or Tampa, but Tampa is such an easy port, plus they have valet parking. It will be a nice change.

 

The price was not great, so I'll still be monitoring it, now for eligible promotions and price drops.

It is almost 2 years away, a lot can happen between now and then, including (don't flame me) maybe a change in the smoking policy.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It took long time. .

[RMS Olympic]

HAL called me today to tell me the early 2017 Oosterdam sailings were available.

So I booked the Feb 17, 2017 sailing out of Tampa. Originally I planned to sail early March but I found the Feb cruise at a lower cost.

So now all I have to do is hope her 2016 refit makes her shine!

[HarR]

I don't see any cruises out of Rotterdam after Aug/16, looking at the website. I don't have access to the cruise atlas.

 

I don't know if that's because those itineraries are not posted or because the Rotterdam is temporarily displaced because HAL is down one ship by then.

 

2nd half of 2016 the Koningsdam is doing the itineraries the MS Rotterdam usually offers. However Koningsdam will do round trips from Amsterdam instead of Rotterdam.

 

Someone mentioned earlier this is just for Koningsdam's 1st season, and MS-Rotterdam would be back in 2017

[4boysnana]

I was so excited when I read that the Fall cruises were posted on HAL. I have been waiting to book a bucket list cruise for next year.

I raced over to the HAL website and..... no Panama Cruises after May 2016.

I cancelled the Celebrity cruise on my signature to try HAL and now I wish I had stayed with it. Many calls to HAL with creeping delay starting in July and then August and now they say they will contact me in September.

I wonder if this has something to do with the new canal opening and maybe a higher cost of the cruise?? I can't figure out what is going on. The cruise I want is listed in the atlas.

Come on HAL. I need an HC cabin and I know the demand will be high.

 

4boysnana

[Crew News]

I was so excited when I read that the Fall cruises were posted on HAL. I have been waiting to book a bucket list cruise for next year.

I raced over to the HAL website and..... no Panama Cruises after May 2016.

I cancelled the Celebrity cruise on my signature to try HAL and now I wish I had stayed with it. Many calls to HAL with creeping delay starting in July and then August and now they say they will contact me in September.

I wonder if this has something to do with the new canal opening and maybe a higher cost of the cruise?? I can't figure out what is going on. The cruise I want is listed in the atlas.

Come on HAL. I need an HC cabin and I know the demand will be high.

 

4boysnana

 

I had the same issue of not seeing the Fall 2016 cruises. Workaround was to leave out the destination. Just enter the date and duration. When the options open, choose the ship that you want for the Panama Canal and you will see the fall schedule.

 

We booked the Zuiderdam for the Panama Canal for Nov 20, 2016 and also got the Explore4 package (SBP, 2 PG, 2 Canaletto) and also two $50 beverage cards. What a surprise!!

[IRL_Joanie]

OMG, the stars and planets must have aligned last night as the Fall 2016 Caribbean schedule is online!!!!

 

HAL here we come.

 

TrolleyGirl I forgot to thank you last night for posting the info!!

 

We were able to book our version of the Penthouse, SB 5190 on our favorite HAL ship for a 10 day partial Panama Canal cruise, November 20th 2016.

 

We have done this cruise in the past and I swore never again. But that cruise was on the Noordam and the aft verandahs have very little coverage from the sun. Zuiderdam not only has the best coverage, but also the largest aft wrap verandahs on the entire fleet. 100% coverage and deep enough to bring a fan out and relax:)

 

BTW, for those booking this cruise (not sure about any others) they have the Explore4 Package which includes:

 

Signature Beverage Package = $100.00 per day each

Beverage Card: $50.00 total each

1 free Pinnacle Grill Dinner each

1 free Canaletto Dinner each

 

I feel happy now:) Only one thing can make me any happier and that is the Pacific Coastal for April 2016....and my cabin to be available, so I do not have to change cabins in Vancouver:)

 

Thank you so much!!

 

EDITED TO MENTION: I see that my excited hubby posted before I did. LOL, Can we say he is also a teeny tiny bit excited?:)

 

Joanie

Edited August 21, 2015 by IRL_Joanie

[ksqueak]

I had the same issue of not seeing the Fall 2016 cruises. Workaround was to leave out the destination. Just enter the date and duration. When the options open, choose the ship that you want for the Panama Canal and you will see the fall schedule.

 

Didn't work for me, I still only got thru April 2016. I did clear my cookies, cache, and all that fun stuff this morning. *sigh*

[DaveOKC]

TrolleyGirl I forgot to thank you last night for posting the info!!

 

We were able to book our version of the Penthouse, SB 5190 on our favorite HAL ship for a 10 day partial Panama Canal cruise, November 20th 2016.

 

We have done this cruise in the past and I swore never again. But that cruise was on the Noordam and the aft verandahs have very little coverage from the sun. Zuiderdam not only has the best coverage, but also the largest aft wrap verandahs on the entire fleet. 100% coverage and deep enough to bring a fan out and relax:)

 

BTW, for those booking this cruise (not sure about any others) they have the Explore4 Package which includes:

 

Signature Beverage Package = $100.00 per day each

Beverage Card: $50.00 total each

1 free Pinnacle Grill Dinner each

1 free Canaletto Dinner each

 

I feel happy now:) Only one thing can make me any happier and that is the Pacific Coastal for April 2016....and my cabin to be available, so I do not have to change cabins in Vancouver:)

 

Thank you so much!!

 

EDITED TO MENTION: I see that my excited hubby posted before I did. LOL, Can we say he is also a teeny tiny bit excited?:)

 

Joanie

 

Joanie - we did this cruise a year ago in the same cabin and LOVED it! Because of the cabin, we decided to stay onboard during the Panama Canal day and sure were glad we did. We enjoyed the passage into the lake by ourselves but on the way out of the canal we had a small party and it was a great time.

[IRL_Joanie]

Joanie - we did this cruise a year ago in the same cabin and LOVED it! Because of the cabin, we decided to stay onboard during the Panama Canal day and sure were glad we did. We enjoyed the passage into the lake by ourselves but on the way out of the canal we had a small party and it was a great time.

 

Thanks Dave for the reassurance:)

 

We've also stayed in 5190 previously, though not the canal cruise. I absolutely fell in love with the Aft Wraps thanks to this stateroom and verandah:)

 

I believe that my misery was due to the sun and high humidity. Both would have been bearable if there had been better coverage than Noordam Deck 6 aft wrap provided. But that is then and I am not only looking forward to this cruise in a better stateroom, but also with a better frame of mind:)

 

Joanie

[Alberta Quilter]

I just booked the Rotterdam Feb/17 cruise and it, too, includes the Explore4 promotion! It doesn't indicate that the promotion is available for the cruise on the website yet.

[TrolleyGirl]

Our PCC called me back today. We are booked on the Eurodam Tropical b2b Nov 2016. So excited, though it only feels like a dream. We've been waiting so long for the schedule to release.

 

Our sailing also included the Explore 4 package. I was quite surprised by that. We don't drink very much. But with the package maybe we will try out more cocktails, smoothies and specialty coffees than we normally would.

 

Anyway, it feels sooooo good to have a cruise booked again!

 

It's a good day.

[Alberta Quilter]

Our PCC called me back today. We are booked on the Eurodam Tropical b2b Nov 2016. So excited, though it only feels like a dream. We've been waiting so long for the schedule to release.

 

Our sailing also included the Explore 4 package. I was quite surprised by that. We don't drink very much. But with the package maybe we will try out more cocktails, smoothies and specialty coffees than we normally would.

 

Anyway, it feels sooooo good to have a cruise booked again!

 

It's a good day.

 

It is a good day (even though it's pouring rain here and going to 3 degrees Celsius overnight)!!

 

Thank you for giving us all the head's up on the itineraries being released. It is much appreciated by those of us who were waiting.

 

Now, if only the remaining 2016 itineraries will be released, like the Holiday and the full transit Panama cruises, then everyone who is still waiting will be as happy as we are!

[DaveOKC]

Thanks Dave for the reassurance:)

 

We've also stayed in 5190 previously, though not the canal cruise. I absolutely fell in love with the Aft Wraps thanks to this stateroom and verandah:)

 

I believe that my misery was due to the sun and high humidity. Both would have been bearable if there had been better coverage than Noordam Deck 6 aft wrap provided. But that is then and I am not only looking forward to this cruise in a better stateroom, but also with a better frame of mind:)

 

Joanie

 

Joanie - keep the drapes closed as much as you can during the day - it will help cool the cabin. 5190 is fully covered as you know and we really did not feel all that hot because of this. When we did get a bit hot, we just went into the cabin for a few minutes to cool off.

 

Dave

[jig]

Even though the Panama Canal cruise is in the atlas it is not up yet. The vend am has it down for jan 4 2007. We are planning that one the next one and the rio,Amazon one for a b to b to b. However we will not book it till we are on the eve dam in May. The PC cruise for jan 2016 has dropped by almost $800 pp since opening. And we want the credits for all 3.

You can reserve now without the explore for more money by asking your TA to have it taken out. It is a promo that can be taken off. We did it for b to b on the vend am in May.