Holland sailing from N.Y in 2010?

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

We had our best cruises ever on the Noordam out of NYC..

 

But we are going to give the Miracle a try.. Love not having to fly to get to the port.. We were able to grab one of the aft wraps..:) It's going to be a great location for sea days..

 

The Spirit class and Vista class are very similar in design/size.. Will get to form my own opinion of CCL..

 

Bulldog

 

Bulldog,

 

You will love the Miracle, see the posting I did to review her http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1035771&highlight=. We were very skeptical to sail on Carnival, but like I said, it's not cruise line to cruiseline, but Ship to Ship. The Miracle was outstanding.

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

Things like, pool access, stairs or ladders, really crowded, chair hogs, etc., any adults only pools? Any info on handicapped rooms as 2-3 couples need them. How roomy are OV, verandah's worth it? Saw a pic of a promenade room with door to outside? Any opinions on that? Just general info from past cruisers. We all know Bermuda and love being on a ship that goes into St George and Hamilton and stays overnight. The Dockyard is just so far from everything we feel we miss a lot docking there. Thanks in advance!

 

Sorry, can't help you with the ship since we haven't sailed on her yet. Hopefully, more reviews will be coming in, not too many thus far.

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

Still hoping that the reviews on the Veendam improve, otherwise we'll probably sail on the Miracle as well next summer. We were on the Carnival Legend (sister ship to Miracle) and all was well...

 

We usually sail at least once a year to Bermuda, but this year there weren't any good ships around. Last year we had to settle for NCL Dream, which wasn't too bad since we had a suite. Not going this year -- we are having withdrawal. That's why we were so happy that HAL was doing Bermuda with stops at both ports.

[Work4Cruises]

Can anyone give me advice on NCL Dawn to Bermuda for 7 days compared HAL to Bermuda for 7 days next summer? I am limited (not a fan of flying so I like a cruise from NY and finding a dog sitter limits the number of days and when I can cruise). My husband and I are in our mid-thirties with no children. We travel with my mom who is in her early sixties. DH and I love the piano bars in the evening, nice lounges and shows. That's why we have been going on NCL and not RCI lately. Any suggestions/info on HAL is appreciated. I am new to HAL. I've sailed with NCL, Carnival and RCI. BTW, does Carnival from NY to Caribbean have a lot of children during the summer months? Thanks!

[cruisinbulldog]

Bulldog,

 

You will love the Miracle, see the posting I did to review her http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1035771&highlight=. We were very skeptical to sail on Carnival, but like I said, it's not cruise line to cruiseline, but Ship to Ship. The Miracle was outstanding.

 

Thank you for the positive thoughs..:) I am a firm beleiver that a cruise is what you make it.. Meaning do you want to have a good time or not!! I have recently read a post on the Carnival boards that said the majority of posters that bad mouth CCL have never sailed with them.. Made me think..:rolleyes:

 

Love your Boxer.. Bulldog

[cruisinbulldog]

We usually sail at least once a year to Bermuda, but this year there weren't any good ships around. Last year we had to settle for NCL Dream, which wasn't too bad since we had a suite. Not going this year -- we are having withdrawal. That's why we were so happy that HAL was doing Bermuda with stops at both ports.

 

Hope you will come back and let us know how the Veendam treated you..

 

Hope you have a great cruise.. Bulldog

[Fraydel]

FrankieSue,

I've been told by HAL last winter that they would no longer be sailing from NY. We were on their Caribbean 10 day from Manhgattan and loved it. We are now doing trhe HAL 20 day Mediterranean in Sept. on the Noordam./

 

Good Luck!!

[Protseq]

In these economic times HAL would never consider cruises out of NY to the Caribbean -- high cost of fuel right now -- and it doesn't look as though it will go down any time soon to be cost effective for 2 days at sea at the beginning of the cruise and then 2 more at the end.

 

This theory already explained a couple posts before you.

[bepsf]

I agree that some of my best cruises were aboard Noordam to the Caribbean out of NYC...

...but I don't think there's a snowball's chance in Hades that HAL will return to that itinerary:

 

QM2 is much faster and more powerful, and she easily commands a higher per-diem across her greater number of berths to offset the fuel costs.

 

Carnival Miracle has 6 diesels which are more efficient than HAL's 5 Diesel + GT setup, plus it also has a greater passenger capacity who are most typically new-cruisers who do far more onboard spending to carry the added fuel costs.

 

Noordam and the other Vistas are notorious fuel hogs - When running against the weather, they often must fire up all 5 diesels and the highly-inefficient Gas Turbine (which use more expensive fuel) to make the schedule. The S-Class ships ride terribly in the North Atlantic, the S and R-Class don't have the passenger capacity necessary to offset the fuel costs...

...plus HAL no longer commands the premium pricing necessary to remain profitable on itineraries that are directly comparable with Carnival and NCL, and HAL's frequent repeat-passengers just don't do the onboard spending that the line would like us to.

 

Veendam can easily be profitable for Bermuda because 3 nights are spent idling in port and one night is spent drifting around to the other side of the island rather than burning fuel making a run for the next island on a typical itinerary. HAL can also project appreciably lower food costs since they could reasonably expect that at least half of all passengers will dine ashore on any given port-night - and there is little to no competition fare-wise on the Bermuda run.

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

Can anyone give me advice on NCL Dawn to Bermuda for 7 days compared HAL to Bermuda for 7 days next summer? I am limited (not a fan of flying so I like a cruise from NY and finding a dog sitter limits the number of days and when I can cruise). My husband and I are in our mid-thirties with no children. We travel with my mom who is in her early sixties. DH and I love the piano bars in the evening, nice lounges and shows. That's why we have been going on NCL and not RCI lately. Any suggestions/info on HAL is appreciated. I am new to HAL. I've sailed with NCL, Carnival and RCI. BTW, does Carnival from NY to Caribbean have a lot of children during the summer months? Thanks!

 

The problem with the Dawn is that she spends 1 day less in Bermuda ... she will be sailing two sea days. Also, the experience of sailing through Town Cut is amazing! I'm sure others will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Veendam will be the widest ship to sail throught he Cut, which will be really wild! Veendam will be in St. George AND Hamilton, as opposed to the Dawn only being in Kings Warf. The other down side, is that there will be two NCL ships docked at Kings Warf which makes for a very over-crowded scene. Not having sailed the Veendam yet, I will leave it to others as to the entertainment on board.

[nana nancy]

The problems with the Dawn are it's NCL, the food, the service just not up to par, it's at the Dockyard, and a haven for kids. If we want to spend time in St George and Hamilton it looks like the Veendam is the way to go. Since we've never tried HAL and are always looking for a better cruise it looks like the way to go. We have nothing to compare the redo to, so don't think we will be disappointed. The M iracle is also at King's Wharf I believe, so that's not what we're after either. Thanks for all the input. Keep it coming I'm always looking for more info.

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

The problems with the Dawn are it's NCL ...

 

I agree with you on that. However, when we get "Bermuda withdrawal", we have to lower our standards and go! The only good thing about sailing NCL is less luggage and clothes to pack, since we don't need our garment bags with formal wear! LOL

[innlady1]

I agree that some of my best cruises were aboard Noordam to the Caribbean out of NYC...

...but I don't think there's a snowball's chance in Hades that HAL will return to that itinerary:

 

QM2 is much faster and more powerful, and she easily commands a higher per-diem across her greater number of berths to offset the fuel costs.

 

Carnival Miracle has 6 diesels which are more efficient than HAL's 5 Diesel + GT setup, plus it also has a greater passenger capacity who are most typically new-cruisers who do far more onboard spending to carry the added fuel costs.

 

Noordam and the other Vistas are notorious fuel hogs - When running against the weather, they often must fire up all 5 diesels and the highly-inefficient Gas Turbine (which use more expensive fuel) to make the schedule. The S-Class ships ride terribly in the North Atlantic, the S and R-Class don't have the passenger capacity necessary to offset the fuel costs...

 

...plus HAL no longer commands the premium pricing necessary to remain profitable on itineraries that are directly comparable with Carnival and NCL, and HAL's frequent repeat-passengers just don't do the onboard spending that the line would like us to.

 

Veendam can easily be profitable for Bermuda because 3 nights are spent idling in port and one night is spent drifting around to the other side of the island rather than burning fuel making a run for the next island on a typical itinerary. HAL can also project appreciably lower food costs since they could reasonably expect that at least half of all passengers will dine ashore on any given port-night - and there is little to no competition fare-wise on the Bermuda run.

 

Thanks, Brian! That's a great explanation. BTW, I hope you'll join some of the "Good Nuts" on the Veendam to Bermuda next October!

[sail7seas]

Thanks, Brian! That's a great explanation. BTW, I hope you'll join some of the "Good Nuts" on the Veendam to Bermuda next October!

 

 

I agree Brian's analysis is very logical and add to all he said about Veenda/Bermuda, keep in mind the fares are considerably higher than for the average seven day Caribbean sailing.

 

If Veendam does a good job, the a/c and plumbing cooperate AND if Bermuda actually changes their position about permitting gambling, Veendam has a great chance of making some good money for the company.

 

We are waiting to see how the reports re: Veendam/Bermuda are before we add a Veendam summer sailing to our annual Maasdam Canada/New England sailings. Hope they are fabulous as many people have asked HAL for years to add this itinerary.