bluegiraffe

KSC is not in Orlando.  It is just north of Port Canaveral.  I agree with 1025 cruise regarding pricing taxi/ uber vs. Ship excursion.

We were in 1832 earlier this year.  It was incredibly loud in that cabin - a variety of mechanical noises at any and all times of the day and night.  Avoid!

19 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

A terrible situation for her family & friends . So sad  .At least her husband is not a suspect 

After reading this,one wonders why he isn't. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6409941/Woman-died-cruise-didnt-want-trip-husband.html

Very helpful.  Thank you all so much!

So there I am, doing my online check-in for our next HAL cruise that has a stop in Cuba.  I get to the final page where one can print boarding passes, etc. and there is a link to "Important Visa Information."   Which most unhelpfully redirects when clicked on to HAL's FAQ page which has NO visa information.  Is anyone able to tell me what the Important Visa Information is?   And yes, I've tried MS Edge, Firefox, and Safari browers all with the same result.  Thank you.

Yes. The long list also indicates that this is a problem in Alaska and I applaud any state or country taking actions to protect its environment.

Right there with you. I go to Alaska to see its amazing natural beauty. I don't want to be a part of harming its environment.

And, ^^ is a good reason for them to say 'NO'. If they made an exception for that person and they ran to the internet to tell the world. now others in the www also want an. exception. people cannot keep some things to themselves and human nature runs to tell the world. HAL should say NO, IMO

 

If OP gets away wirh it, I hope she keeps it to herrself.. :) JMO Why would HAL say okay again?? ;D

If HAL says yes to the OP, as it apparently has to several others, what exactly is it that the OP is "getting away with"?

Very helpful information, Hot Branch. Thanks for posting.

Robert Burns perhaps said it best:

 

 

The best-laid schemes o' mice an 'men

Gang aft agley...

We've sat many a time on those lovely teak chairs with nothing but our own natural padding, and they really are quite comfortable. The lack of cushions is hardly something to be "really disappointed" about. Just my opinion.

I would be "really disappointed" about it. Also just my opinion. ALL opinions are valid when one is discussing how one feels about something.

That's awful. Sincere condolences to all who knew the crew member. Very sad situation.

There is a lot more that does make sense. Waiting until there was thorough review by Seattle is very appropriate. Be glad they waited. How do you know there was no action taken at the time of the incident - the crew member needed to seek medical attention and how many security forces are present at disembarkation, along with ship card ID checking?

 

There was no reason to assume this was still a "mess" that required passenger review of any corroborating evidence by the time HAL took action. Do accused people lie and exaggerate and play drama queen - answer that only after watching the recent soccer World Cup matches. Do people get falsely accused - yes, that too so care and caution is always in good order before taking anyone's side without consideration of what you also do not know.

 

The throw away line in the final notice was gratuitous and stupid. However, HAL did not invite them back; they just wished they would continue to consider Holland America in any future cruise plans. This has the ring of thoughtless boiler-plate under the circumstances that needs to be better worded. You can be sure HAL legal is agonizing over that throw away line.

 

What makes the most sense is anyone with a history of being on HAL ships knows HAL does not act arbitrarily or capriciously ....without sufficient cause. Plus I am sure they are still badly reverberating from that incident a few years ago when a crew member did assault a passenger on a charter cruise, after that passenger verbally and profanely assaulted a hyper-sensitized crew member.

You seem to be under the impression that I was "taking a side" by asking those questions. **shrugs**

There's a lot here that doesn't make sense. Why would HAL wait two days from the time of the incident before kicking them off the ship? Why wouldn't some type of action have been taken at the time of the incident? Why wouldn't HAL just clear the whole mess up by showing the video, if it existed? Why would HAL invite them back on another cruise?

I've also been in 409. It was a very good deal! We enjoyed the larger than usual balcony very much. Very quiet, too.

We cruised on the Zaandam July 2-16. The port Valet Service in Seattle was great for our Delta flight to Detroit. I will have to say SEATEC was a zoo.

We also found out during our cruise that ms Zaandam will be leaving Holland America. The cruise director didn't give any details.

Wait, what? The Zaandam leaving the fleet? If that's true, then what's happening to HAL's "smaller ship" marketing strategy?

IMHO this thread has once again become "unseemly". Could we please focus on our feelings and concern for those who have been affected?

 

 

My sympathy to all who have been touched by this, family, friends, crew.

Yes, more sympathy and less must-have-the-last-word scoring of points would seem in order. I join you, VennDiagram, in offering sympathy to all affected by this sad situation.

Have a great time, everyone, and please keep us updated. I am green with envy! :-)

I use the Feedback link on the right side of the HAL webpage to register my displeasure, and I do that just about every time I try to research a cruise. I click on the lowest rating for each category and relate the problem I am having. It may not help, but it sure makes me feel better!

I've also done that. There's a box you can check if you want to be contacted. I've checked it every time and I've never once heard back from HAL. Well, if nothing else, it makes a record of the problem. At least I think it does; who knows, it may not actually go anywhere!

I would guess that Princess may wait and see since your cruise is not until October. But I believe most of the excursions from San Juan del Sur go to Granada and Masaya, yes? Those two places have been the scene of a lot of the recent unrest (as well as Leon and Managua, or so the BBC world news tells me). Ortega said no to recent demands for early elections next year, so unfortunately, I don't think the unrest is going to stop immediately.

I think that 'ship happens' much more frequently when cruise lines cut back on standard preventative maintenance practices in order to save money. Or cut back on standard drydock refreshes for the same reason.

 

Sometimes the only people who notice it are the few that on occasion get stuck in non functioning cabins.

Bingo! I will add cut back on well-trained staff, too. You won't necessarily notice that unless you're one of the unlucky who has something go wrong, and staff shows no interest in fixing it. :( We were on the Amsterdam last year and had a very good cruise, but I met a passenger who was in a Neptune suite with no A/C for the entire 3 weeks of the cruise. Hotel Director's solution was to give them a fan. It was their first time on HAL and as she said, absolutely their last.

We live in digital world, notification to all affected parties should have occurred at the same time and before news leaked through social media. The Prinsendam has been for sale for many months. A plan should have been in developed long before the sale was completed on how to notify guests. Why files of email lists of all affected guests and their TAs with the letter explaining the change and options available was not developed is beyond me.

I'm in 100% agreement. Companies can choose to be proactive and keep customers happy or reactive. As you say, this sale has been in the making for months. Proactive, HAL, be proactive.

The Smith Cove cruise terminal has a luggage storage service; check with the Concierge at the terminal. Of course, that means you'd have to come back to the terminal when you are ready to leave for the airport (and I think they close before 4), but it's an option.

Internet Explorer

 

Wanted to chime in and agree with other posters who have said checking in online is best using Internet Explorer. I tried to today with Chrome and it kept spinning and even gave error messages. Had no trouble checking in with Internet Explorer (for today, at least!).

 

Happy Sailing! :)

Interesting. Microsoft hasn't supported any version of Internet Explorer except 11 since 2016. And it doesn't totally support that any longer. Yeah, I'd want my website to work on only that platform. :eek:

Sure, there is a list of "known issues"; are they doing anything about it? Glad you were able to find out what cabin you're in!

Did you book through a TA? If you did, I'd have them find out. If not, call HAL and speak to a supervisor. Tell them you've heard two different stories from them and you need to know which one is correct.

Your hotel is very near the train station and I'd imagine they're picking up people who are staying at the Westmark (owned by HAL and near the Hilton downtown) and transferring them to the train.

I just looked at the deck plan and that is right over the dance floor, isn't it? Hard to imagine that there won't be at least some of the noise from the bass. As a somewhat light sleeper, that would bother me.