Cruising Is Bliss

Spending is different for everyone so running your own numbers is the only way to tell. Last cruise we did before the pandemic I took a sale re-fare that actually increased the fare. Newly included beverage package and gratuities which we would have paid out of pocket separately, meant that the increased fare with those two things included ended up in total saving us $500/person on a 14 day cruise.

Yep that's the HAL commercial. This commercial and the Princess commercial both air a lot on the Food Network. ETA: LOL the HAL commercial started airing on the Food Network just as I hit post!

My dad went through the Panama Canal on the old USS Saratoga during WWII and he said the ship actually scrapped the sides. I love Canal transits and am hoping to do another one. One of Panama Canal transits I did was really cool. We were in one of the locks and the lock next to us didn't seem to have a ship approaching and then right in front of that set of lock doors, up popped a really big US sub! They went through surfaced with a bunch of people on top of the sub and then as soon as she cleared the doors on the way out submerged and vanished.

The problem IS with the new locks. K is too wide for the old canal. In the new locks the ship itself does fit but the problem is the life boats hang way out over the water and the Panama Canal Authority decided that's not acceptable. The new locks use tugboats to steer the ships instead of the railroad "mules" used in the old locks. They were apparently concerned about the potential to foul the tugboat Lines.

She never left. The crew only transit in April 2020 was a one-off with special pandemic permission from the Panama Canal, to re-position her to the West Coast market. The transit took the place of the cancelled 40+ days around the Horn voyage. She's been home-ported out of San Diego doing Mexico and Hawaii most of the year, alternating with the Alaska season every year.

Koningsdam's lifeboats hang wayyyy over the sides. Very obvious in this vid showing the Koningsdam transiting, crew only aboard, during the shutdown. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLQykdNkvuM This link is discussion of the lifeboat problem with HAL's bigger ships. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2659045-hal-ten-years-later-nieuw-statendam-review/page/3/ The reference to the under-construction Ryndam is the ship that was completed as the Rotterdam, after HAL sold off the previous Rotterdam.

I did the future cruise deposit for the 2025 GWV.

Pete, thank you for your website and for posting about the various possible 2025 GWV itineraries. Very helpful. I made a future deposit on the 2025 GWC today 🙂 My previous longest cruise was 15 days and I'm looking forward to it so much!

No. Here's the path of totality over land on April 8th 2024. On the ship we'll see approximately four minutes of totality. https://eclipse.aas.org/eclipse-america-2024

I looked at all four possibilities for the 2025 GWV and the Antarctic to Arctic is by far my favorite. If that's not that, and they offer the 94 day Australia & New Zealand again in 2025, I'll probably do that instead. I've never had the time available for a Grand voyage before but sorry to say now I do. So many possibilities. I was booked on the 94 day 2024 Australia & New Zealand for a hot minute until I realized it overlapped with the solar eclipse cruise and cancelled. Maybe I'll end up doing a bunch of back to backs.

Thank you so much for taking us along with you!

Thank you for taking all of us along!

I'm doing it too and really looking forward to this cruise. I love the Zaandam. It still has the Exploration Cafe. It also still has an entire Crows Nest instead of half of it replaced by the new expanded shore excursion department. The Vistas are larger at 297 sq feet.

In the US insurance companies require purchase within a few days of paying the deposit to cover per-existing conditions. And if you didn't buy it then, and later need file a claim, your insurance company will look at your medical records going back years even if you were healthy at the time of deposit. They look back years to find something that could be an indication your claim is for a per-existing condition and therefore not reimbursable.

Looking forward to following along with you. Thank you!

Looking forward to following along!

Looking forward to following along. Thank you for taking us with you!

Looking forward to following along with you. Thank you for all the very helpful work you do!

Hoping you will have an uncomplicated and enjoyable good cruise. Thank you for taking us along!

No. HIIPA (the correct acronym) says that anyone who learns medical information about you as any part of providing, processing, or auditing medical care to you, can't release any details without your permission. HIIPA in no way limits anyone else from asking YOU to provide medical information.

Yes, it has.

I too am interested in how the Zuiderdam works for a long voyage. I was on the Eurodam for 11 days and would not do a cruise on her again for reasons that also apply to the Zuiderdam. The elimination of the Explorations Cafe, and turning half of the Crow's Nest into an increasingly shrill attempt to sell excursions, meant that I was never able to find a place to sit with a coffee and a book and look out the windows.

It happens. Twenty years ago during boarding for the Mercury in Buenos Aires a passenger collapsed ON the gangway with a very serious medical emergency. We were many hours late sailing.

We did it once and it was for us. Never again.

Looking forward to following your travels again! Thank you for taking all of us along.