Robin7
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Posts posted by Robin7
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We are doing Yokohama to Vancouver NEXT MONTH. (Yay!) I am wildly curious as to how rough it will be.
~Robin
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Better to have than not have. The converter was only $14 on Amazon:
He thinks he has one...somewhere. If he can find the box it's packed in. If not, I will order one. I'm kind of hoping our stateroom was not updated because I was looking forward to the tub. I was disappointed (a not-popular opinion, I guess) when I heard they were taking them out.
~Robin
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Thanks for asking this. DH and I were just talking about this subject. I was wondering if this will have been changed in the drydock in December, though.
~Robin
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I've never seen anything like that on HAL, but I have seen some fairly bad behavior:
<snip>
3. On a Caribbean cruise, a man who screamed at severs and food prep staff in the Lido. "Don't you know how to do anything right, you idiot?" type remarks and derogatory remarks about the countries they came. from. Double ugh.
Fortunately, I've come across much more in the way of pleasant, decent, kind behavior. And thankfully, never a drunken brawl!
We've been on HAL, Princess, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean. I've seen drunken behavior on all of them, including vomiting in various places. A number of years ago, in the Queen's Lounge on the Oosterdam during the then-popular karaoke competition thing, a male passenger was very happily and publicly loving on his wife during her time on stage. Ahahahahaha. His family members corralled him and made him sit down where he continued to bellow drunken encouragement the entire time she was up there. Very entertaining! (And his wife was an AWESOME singer!)
But the worst thing I have ever seen was on a HAL ship. A 'gentleman' at a nearby table berated our dining room steward and his wife every.single.night. Very loudly. EVERY NIGHT at dinner. I wanted to go over there and just smack him.
Our poor steward was so apologetic. We told him to not worry about us, and to please make certain that man's table was served first every time, no matter what order we appeared in. I just hated hearing that man do that. It was a 14-night cruise. My brother-in-law, bless his heart, triple tipped the stewards because we all figured there was no way that guy was tipping.
That behavior still gets me hot under my collar when I think about it.
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Now I am disappointed if this is true that the ocean view rooms no longer have bath tub. I chose this type of room specifically for the tub. I was looking forward to my 14 days next month. Soaking in it every night and not having to clean it up myself. Sad!
I totally agree!!!! I am sad. I loved the tub, and we have been on other cruiselines recently with no tub even in ocean views or verandahs! (Only suites, I think.)
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We're boarding on Sunday. Following this!
Robin
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Thank you! I appreciate the feedback.
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We are on Liberty in May. We booked an E2 on Deck 6 (6346) but I've been kind of worried about the noise. We've never been on an RCI ship with a Royal Promenade (we've only been on Serenade on RCI but on many other HAL, Princess and Carnival ships). I'm a very light sleeper so I called to ask if it was possible to move within our category to a quieter location.
She offered us 1838 on Deck 12. I can't find much info on that stateroom except it is one of the rooms added on during the drydock, but that's all I know.
Does anyone else have any other information? Do you think it will be quieter than the room on Deck 6?
Thanks!
Robin
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I've been using the following method for a few years now, and I love it!!! I use a thin, microfiber towel so it's not so bulky. That was suggested by someone on the thread, and it's genius!
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I absolutely agree with Xunantunich. We've done Tulum and Altun Ha. While I like them, we just did Xunantunich this month, and it was INCREDIBLE. You can still climb the ruins there, but they will be making them off-limits in 2015. Do it while you can!!!
Be aware, the area around the port in Belize is very poor. It was eye-opening for our teenagers. But out of the port area, the country is beautiful!!! It was about a 2-hour bus ride to the ruins but was worth every minute. And lunch was included in our excursion (ship).
We also booked the ship excursion to Coba for Cozumel, and it was canceled due to lack of interest. We were very disappointed.
Robin
I am not in great shape and am scared of heights, but I figured it was an "only-time" in a lifetime chance, so I went up. (I am in the brown hat. My daughter is encouraging me.)
Going down is always harder for me than going up. Here my 18-year-old is holding my hand. He was my 'walking stick'! :D
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A while ago someone on our roll call mentioned on the Carnival cruise forum that Carnival was going start having a Pirate Night on their ships starting in September. I have not seen or heard anything since. Has anyone heard about it?
From John Heald's blog on 15 July:
Barbara Thompson asks:
Dear John: I have heard that Carnival is starting a pirate night on cruises in September. My question is will it be on our Carnival Dream cruise. We cruise Aug 31, so I am not sure if we would have this event. I just wanted to know so I can plan accordingly. Love Carnival!
John says:
Hello Barbara Thompson
Yes, indeed, we are going to be having a pirate night and details and dates will be released soon. It should be lots of fun and I hope you get to do it on your cruise. I will of course keep you informed. Have a brilliant cruise and please let me know if you need anything. Best wishes.
John
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Awww. We've seen him a couple of times over the years, last time on the Volendam in 2008. We were in the Tasman Sea, and the waves were so high, the Singers/Dancers were canceled, and Barnaby did a second, bonus show for us that night instead. I will never forget him juggling as the ship was pitching and rolling! (12- to 15- foot seas 'with an occasional larger one in the sequence', according to Captain Peter Bos.) He was so funny! I am sorry for your loss.
Robin
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I have to call foul on the talk of fire safety due to smoking on balconies. How many incidents have actually happened.
One that I know of, and a man died. The report is quite sobering.
http://www.shipdetective.com/advice/safety/pdf/Star%20Princess89.pdf
We had been on that ship a few months previously and were in one of the staterooms that burned, so it has always stuck in my mind.
Robin
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Our next cruise is on Carnival; our last cruise was on HAL.
And.........this thread degenerated just like all smoking threads on every forum for every line do.
I was one who voted with our dollars after a particularly bad cruise in 2007 on the Volendam. Our next-door neighbor (we were in an HH) must have spent their entire cruise sitting in their stateroom smoking. Our room smelled like an ashtray! And the hallway was worse. So we branched out to other lines.
Then HAL changed its policy so we just did the Veendam repositioning cruise from FLL to Quebec City in May. It was WONDERFUL! It felt like coming home. I am so thankful HAL banned stateroom smoking.
We've had balconies on Carnival and RCI. We will not book a balcony on a line that allows balcony smoking after that Carnival balcony (2009) so I am glad Carnival has banned smoking on their balconies.
We are looking to do a TA next, but won't be booking on NCL or HAL. We want a balcony. So we will again be voting with our dollars. Shrug. Maybe HAL will change its policy before we book the TA! We certainly hope so.
Robin
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Our criteria are itinerary and price plus cost of airfare (since we live in a flyover state). Our travel budget has gotten extremely lean in the last few years, so we are definitely not looking at luxury lines, but we have gone to other lines, notably RCI and Carnival.
However, our cruise in May with my in-laws on the Veendam felt like coming 'home'. It was nice to be back! Nothing beats the HAL staff--NOTHING. From the little girl working at the pizza to the guys at the grill to the Lido personnel, the dining room stewards, our room stewards, the guys helping you on and off the tenders. ALL of them were fabulous. We have missed that level of friendliness on other lines.
That being said, our next cruise is on Carnival. We are taking four of our seven 'kids' with us on their first cruise. (Ages 26, 24, 17, and 14) HAL was not even an option for us, no matter the price, because we need a ship with more on it for the younger set.
My brother is leaving tomorrow for a Princess cruise. We cruised together for many years on HAL, and we have both now branched out to other lines. I'm not sure we'll ever settle on just one line ever again.
Robin
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We sailed Glory for Spring Break 2013. Cuh-raaaaaaaaaaaaazy! But we had a great time.
We just booked a cruise over Labor Day on the Glory again, and I came to ask the same question! Those reviews are tough. I wondered if it had changed that much in 18 months!?!?!
We really liked the comedians and Guys Burgers. We never went to Serenity (we had 17yos with us). We didn't care for the cast shows, but only because the music was not to our taste and not because they were bad. And our dining room staff was AMAZING! So friendly. And they loved the boys who ate nearly one of everything from the menu every night. :eek: (Because why not when you're 17 and on your first cruise???? :D)
Looking forward to going again and taking two of our older children (26 and 24) and our two teens (17 and 14) on their first cruise.
Robin
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We just got back last Sunday. 13 days gone, including a 9-night cruise. I don't do laundry and prefer not to send it out. Our two older suitcases (24") weigh 13 pounds each UNPACKED. (Someday we will get new.) We dress for dinner so had tux and formal wear. Dress shoes, etc. (We love to dress up as it doesn't happen much in our day-to-day lives.) So...
Two 24" suitcases weighed 48 pounds each. One Extra Large LLBean rolling duffel weighed 66 pounds.
Caribbean cruises weigh less than that. This was the FLL to Quebec City reposition of the Veendam, and it was COLD. I was glad I had all those layers.
We carefully crosspack on the way there but when we head home, we pack any old how. We had to do some repacking after we got to our hotel in Montreal before we could go on the plane, because one of our suitcases had ended up with all the heavy stuff and was WAY over 50 lbs.
My husband is a Delta frequent flier so he is allowed one case up to 70 lbs and another (under 50 lbs) free. Everyone on his itinerary is also allowed two free suitcases, so I *could* have taken another but didn't. His parents were on our itinerary so also had free luggage. A very nice perk of DH's frequent flying!
Robin
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We were on the repositioning cruise too. (Sorry I had to miss the Meet and Greet!)
We were in an outside on Deck 5. Our stateroom was a little warmish the first night but I marked that down to embarkation being on our deck and the open doors. It did cool down just fine. And then it heated up just fine when we were in the frozen North!
We never had any plumbing issues.
We did experience elevator issues, but since the ship was just over half full, three aft elevators seemed PLENTY. We hardly ever had to wait. (My husband is on a fitness kick and would run up the stairs to the Lido while I rode. He would often beat me if the elevator stopped on another deck or two.)
The only real 'tragedy' was the next-to-last night. Our dining room steward gave us the dessert menu, and we noticed no sorbet or ice cream or anything that contained ice cream (including Baked Alaska as it was formal night) were on the menu. Our poor guy was actually sweating when he came to take our orders and had to tell us that the freezer in which the ice cream was stored was broken, and all the ice cream had melted. :eek: While several of us were disappointed (my SIL had special-ordered some watermelon sorbet), it really had no effect on our enjoyment of our cruise.
We are travelers, not tourists. We know that ship happens.
It was a MAGNIFICENT cruise! I am working on a (really, really long) review. And it will have pictures. It might take me a month to finish though, because I have computer issues. (I am married to a computer guy and just as a contractor's home is the last one to be finished, my computer is the last one to be fixed!)
The Veendam is just a lovely ship, and her crew is the finest we have ever experienced. I have not been on a small ship in years, and this cruise reminded me why we used to like them A LOT.
Robin
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I love it! Where did you get those tiny baggies? I want those for my next "just in case" bag on 5/31!
Walmart in the pharmacy section. By the daily pill keepers and such.
My DH spied them last night and decided he wants to use them for his rxs. I wondered about that too. But some are controlled substances so I think it would be better to keep them in their original containers. Unless the pharmacy would print stickers for me to put on the bags. Hmmm. Still mulling.
Robin
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I just wanted to comment that I LOVE those shoes!
And I am definitely a just in case packer. That's why I need 10 pairs of shoes... Just in case. :D
I love them too!!! I haven't counted my shoes yet. 12 days of travel. Two formal nights. Rain expected in most of our ports. Yeah. I bet I have at least six or seven pairs by the time I'm done gathering. (We leave on Wednesday morning!)
I subscribe to Smart Women Travelers newsletter and here is an idea I learned on what to do if I need a link brush. While I am not a woman Carol has some nifty ideas for everyone.http://smartwomentravelers.com/2013/06/travel-tip-ditch-the-lint-next-time-you-travel-video/
Shak
That's funny! Thanks for the web site. I will probably subscribe because I'm a junkie for travel tips (even if I don't use them).
Robin
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I think what you're packing as "just in case" is pretty reasonable. My details differ a bit, but my "just in case" is about the same size as yours, and I consider myself a light packer.
- I don't pack a lint brush.
- I pack my OTC meds in a SMTuWThFSa case instead of small ziplocks, and I write 2 pills every 4 hours (or whatever) in Sharpie on the case, but I think I like your plan better.
- Vaporub wouldn't make my emergency needs.
- I wouldn't bother with the laundry stuff; rather, I use the shampoo that's in the bathroom . . . and I use my own good stuff for my hair.
I am extremely sensitive to scents. So I bring the Tide for emergencies just in case (heh) I have to wash something out.
The Vaporub is also for the stupid allergies. It helps if there's a scent in the room I can't bear (often something the steward has cleaned with); I put it under my nose like my cop-father did when he had to go to an autopsy. (Ick.) But it does help.
The lint brush is for DH's tuxedo. It seems he always ends up with bits on it.
Robin
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I love reading about how everyone else packs. Even if I don't pack the same way, I still have learned things from reading posts from others about how they pack. In fact, a few years ago I read the idea about the over-the-door shoe thingy, and while I don't use one for cruising, I did attach one to the bathroom door in our motorhome. My husband and teenagers thought I was a genius! Heh.
I also use the small bags method.
Robin
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<snip>We have learned that when traveling our bodies might not adjust to the foods which are different than what we eat at home. Most times it's a few days until our bowels find their rhythm, but once in a while a new food will cause loose bowels that are most definitely NOT Norovirus. If you go to medical for something, they will immediately quarantine you, as they should, so for the occasional belly ache, I always pack Immodium.
That's why I bring the Immodium too. We don't eat very high in fat here at home, and it seems the first few days of a trip, one of us will react to the change in diet. It's definitely diet-related and not sick. So I take both fiber pills and Immodium, depending on what 'traveler's complaint' we are having. :D
Robin
Vancouver to Yokohama
in Holland America Line
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WHALES! That would be awesome. I can never see enough whales. We've also been on a ship that had to sound the horn A LOT. It didn't bother us. Thanks for the info.
I plan to do a review when we get back.
I don't get seasick except on small excursion boats, but I think I'm gonna throw some Bonine in the medicine bag just in case.
We had 12-15 foot seas crossing the Tasman on the Volendam, and I never got sick. The show lounge was EMPTY. They canceled the singers/dancers and had the juggler/comedian do a second show instead. Our dining room steward said he'd never been in such rough seas. My husband LOVED it and hopes for a repeat. He's crazy.
~Robin