ExpatBride

I'm just off NS today. Basically, people wear orange. I didn't notice more beyond that. It seemed that people made more of an effort for the Orange Party than the "dressy nights." I wore vintage 1970s evening gown that's gold and orange because it was the only orange nothing I own, but most wore orange dresses, ties, jackets, and trousers. 

2 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

What differentiates a proper pub from a cheap restaurant or bar?  Been to London many times and can't say I've actually been to a proper pub.  Seems something I should do.   

If it's ancient and crooked and the windows are so old that the glass is kind of wavy, you're on the right track.

18 minutes ago, ldubs said:

   I don't follow why a tourist should avoid the underground. In the past we found it to be a very convenient way to move around London.   Has it declined?   

I don't get this, either. I've always found it to be very convenient and efficient.

2 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 

I was telling a Danish friend in the US about our own family Danish traditions, because my mother would also put a little slice of apple in each abelscheiver (sp?).

 

I asked him if this was authentic. He looked at me rather dumbfounded and said...... do you know what "abelscheiver means" )......... Well duh, it means apple slices in Danish!  

 

PS. Do you separate the eggs and beat the egg whites in your family recipe?

I've lived Denmark for 13+ years and I've never had æbleskiver in Denmark that actually have apples in them. Not store-bought, homemade, or at a cafe 🤷‍♀️

30 minutes ago, Mosaic said:

Just off the NS in Copenhagen a couple of days ago.  2 hour wait for Taxi.  And, no joke, that was the short line.... People missed flights...   At the airport, it was 1.5 hours for luggage to show.  5 wide body planes at one time at one carrousel!  

I live in Denmark and I stay home on days cruise ships are in port. Pretty much all of Denmark takes July off. Between the locals, foreign tourists, and cruise ship passengers, my city is zoo. I can hear the ship horns from my balcony... so that's my "all-clear" to go out 😅

26 minutes ago, curmudgeon98 said:

I have zero interest in the "ship within a ship" concept.  Either you keep the whole environment within my expectations or I'll move on to some other line/vacation.  
 

They try to be a line for "traditionalists", but to fill their ships they have to cut prices and degrade the product because their passenger demographic doesn't spend enough on ancillary revenue generators like the casino,       

The "traditional" experience is what endeared me to HAL. I haven't sailed since 2016 because... life.  But I fear what awaits me in a couple weeks' time because it seems like the experience I've been "selling" to my SO no longer exists. We'll have a good time regardless (that's how we roll), but I'm doubtful about whether I'll book with them again.

I also have zero interest in the ship-within-a-ship concept. Offer a luxury experience or don't. This isn't 1910, and people aren't (for the most part) crossing the Atlantic on these ships. My first experience with this nonsense were a group of "Haven" snobs on NCL late at night in a "steerage" bar. They kept demanding XYZ because "we're Haven." If that's what Haven is like, I'd rather sail in hell. They were truly obnoxious... so obnoxious that I remember them now even 8 years later. No thanks!

Offer a decent experience at a fair (for PAX and the cruise line) price and be done with it. NCL wasn't a great fit for me, which is why I moved to HAL. I'm disappointed to read about all of the recent changes to the HAL experience, and I hope there's still enough to keep me interested.

I've just noticed that in the Navigator app, it says, "All guests must be on board one hour prior to the published sailing time." 🤣

Make it make sense 🤦‍♀️ 

Come, on HAL... do better!

1 hour ago, skrufy said:

My question is, does Holland America assign a check in time with the boarding documents? 

Yes. I'm sailing in 12 days and my check-in time appeared only boarding pass yesterday – 13 days out.

26 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

As contracts expire, don't be surprised if the other venues lose their names. BB King's, Rolling Stone etc....the licensing of these names doesn't come cheaply. CCL has HUGE debt. You can still have a blues club without BB's name.

Agreed!

I'm a marketer for a living and I don't understand this over-branding. Just give a genre-appropriate name to each venue and be done with it. Then reallocate that licensing budget to better/more entertainment – or anything besides ridiculous branding. What do BB King, Rolling Stone, or Billboard have to do with any of these venues? Are they planning to raise BB King from the dead to play a set?

It's a ship. They've got a captive audience. It's not like people will or will not go to a venue because it is (or isn't branded). If they NEED "competitive differentiation," they could hire a branding agency on a one-off contract to develop an identity for each venue and make it part of the HAL on-board brand.

I like classical music, but I couldn't tell you what Lincoln Center has to do with that. I just want a place where I can go and hear an hour or so of live classical music. They could call it "HAL Classical Trio" and put it in the corner of the MDR at 3 PM and I'd go.

5 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

You certainly would not have gotten that time if HAL didn't intend for it to work w/the planned departure time as I do believe their goal is to leave with every paid passenger on board!! 🥴

Considering they're in the vacation business, they'd do well to consider the stress factor of asking passengers to check in an hour before departure. It takes time to find the cabin, complete the safety briefing, etc. I'm sure their plan isn't to leave without anyone, but it seems poor form to expect passengers to jump onto the ship as it's pulling away from the dock (hyperbole).

The latest I've seen in my experience is 3 PM for a 5 PM sailaway, which seemed reasonable.

This is old news.

9 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

 

People tend to react to "news" differently than advertising.

Hence why PR is such a thriving industry.

23 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

We were prepared to wait (not in the sun!), but didn't have to.

I'm prepared to wait if it means getting onboard more than an hour before sailaway. I'm sailing out of Copenhagen, so I'll be thrilled if I have the opportunity to wait in the sun. Danes are pretty laid back and averse to confrontation, so I'm hopeful that as long as we show up at a reasonable time, they'll be reasonable in return. 

6 hours ago, iceman93 said:

My complaint is the flip side of yours--the lack of Club HAL (or I guess, as they're calling it now, "Kid's Club") on longer cruises.  Sure, there may be fewer children on longer voyages but there are certainly some, and one could argue those are the cruises when on-board child care would be most appreciated.

If they're cutting classical music because... "expenses," they certainly aren't going to staff up childcare for a handful of kids.

1 minute ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

How far away is your cruise? if it is this weekend I would just show up earlier but if you are a few weeks out then do not worry, you will get several more updates and different times. Definitely not worth wasting you time calling HAL since the Reps will not help.Best to skip that frustration.

I sail in about 2 weeks. I sent them an email and the auto-reply said to expect an answer in 10-14 days 🤣

I'm just going to show up at some time after 2 PM. I think that's reasonable.

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

I would not wait that long.   That sounds like a mistake.  

That's what I was thinking. I was shocked to see it was that late.

HAL just sent my boarding time and this seems to be cutting it a bit close. I know that muster drill is DIY now, but still! One hour before sailaway?

Is this the new normal?

I don't need to be one of the first ones on the ship, but I do like to be unpacked (I don't check a bag) and have a lay of the land before we sail.

16 minutes ago, janmcn said:

Hank…they’ve done an excellent job given the ports we are in and the medical facilities in them. ENT doctors are not as common in remote areas and might require longer treatment than a few hours, so it’s far better for this particular problem to wait to Boston. Easier for us to plan for. Yes, emergencies are well cared for but this is not classified as an emergency…just an inconvenience. Hoping it resolves with current treatments.

Specialists are in short demand in many European countries. I live in Denmark's second largest city, which has a world-renowned hospital. Still, we have 3 ENTs.

I've received excellent healthcare here, but it's very different to what I was used to in the US. Smaller populations and a mostly government-funded system puts an emphasis on GPs. You're keeping the right attitude about it. Pitching an American-style fit about it won't help.

Wishing you a quick recovery...

5 hours ago, iceman93 said:

I know my opinion won't be popular in this thread, but I am not sad in the least to see the LCS go, or classical music completely from the HAL ships.  I do feel for those of you who have a different opinion, but this is one change that I'm perfectly fine with.

 

I guess I'm much more like AtlantaCruiser72, in that I'd rather enjoy a variety of great music that I can enjoy while still having a social time with others.

So people who like classical music shouldn't have the opportunity to enjoy what they like? It doesn't have to be all classical all the time, but it seems like there's nothing even in the ballpark for people who enjoy classical music or even a mellow jazz trio.

On 7/1/2023 at 10:45 PM, Pickalily, Wilts said:

 

 

My garden is plagued with the things!  I'll gladly send you a bucketful.  On a regular basis. 🙂

My SO has always been enterprising. When he was 11 or 12, he got the idea to collect snails in the nearby forest and ask the French restaurant in town if they wanted to buy them. It turned into a pretty lucrative business for a bit. Some of the descendants of his enterprise still live in his parents' garden, or so the story goes. Fortunately, he successfully completed med school and got out of the snail business before I met him. 

I hope they don't make you wear a sticker like I saw on NCL years ago that said "I'm still on my vacation." 

Fortunately, I wasn't on a B2B and inflicted with the kindergartener sticker, but seeing older people wearing them made me question my choice of cruiseline.

This happened to me, but it was just that I had to choose a country for my emergency contact. It looks like others have had the same issue. NBD, it took longer to post this than to pick a country from the dropdown 😅

2 hours ago, Cruising Is Bliss said:

Also I think you're going to be pleasantly surprised by the Icelandic medical system.  Science fiction writer Mary Robinette Kowal was living in Iceland working on a TV production when she found a lump in her breast. She had no idea what to expect and what she got was, no appointment needed, just go to the cancer center without an appointment.

 

In 45 minutes she was in and out, all done. The nurse she first saw was very apologetic that since she was not an Icelandic citizen the appointment would cost her the equivalent of US$3. In those 45 minutes she saw a nurse, a doctor, had a mammogram, had an ultrasound, and got a diagnosis of a cyst that was nothing to worry about.

I've had a similar experience in Denmark regarding a lump in my breast. They take cancer very seriously and have an amazingly efficient infrastructure in that regard.

However, when I've needed to see a specialist for something less serious I've waited between 3 and 5 months from the time my GP referred me until my appointment. From a system perspective, there's huge a difference between how they address possible cancer and how they address a non-life-threatening condition that a GP can't handle.

Just to set expectations...

The European healthcare system is complicated and specialists are usually referral-based and can have long wait times. Additionally in Reykjavik, you'll be dealing with a language issue (I assume).

If the onboard doctor and the insurance companies can't help facilitate an appointment in Reykjavik, I suggest researching now and calling ENTs in Portland, explaining your situation and hoping they can fit you in upon your return. GeoBlue sounds like it would be your best bet for getting assistance. Have you called them?

What an inconvenient situation! I hope you can find some help.

20 hours ago, erdufylla said:

 I know I’m someone in that younger demographic (GenX/Millennial) who *does* want classical music,.

I'm also a young GenXer, and classical music is one of the things that endeared me to HAL. I'm sailing next month for the first time since 2016 and was shocked after I booked to discover how many of the things that separated HAL from other lines have been discontinued. 

I don't expect things to stay the same, but a lot of the cuts were things that set HAL apart for the better. At this point they don't seem to have the competitive differentiation that they used to have, so there might not be much keeping me from sampling other (less expensive) lines. I'm excited to see what I think next month.

Just to close the loop on this (maybe it could help someone else). I received the following message from HAL CS.  

This is amusing considering the salary/working conditions of US physicians in private practice vs. European doctors working the public sector  😅

"The Community Appreciation Cruise Offers are for United States and Canada residents only."