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16 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

We have 2 cruises  booked as B2B  starting April 18th to the Mexican Riviera  followed by a 7 night cruise to coastal California . both cruises are on the royal Princess . 

 We are 80& 81  with under lining medical conditions  which weaken our immune system .Should we bethinking of cancelling  .We are in penalty now ? 

We watch what is going on with this virus  on our daily news . From this point of view it doesn't look promising ;except if warmer spring weather stops the virus from spreading  

 What do you think we should do ?

As noted by others here, no one can decide for you whether or not you should cancel. But knowing who is most at risk from this virus, and why it becomes life-threatening to some people and not others might help you to decide whether or not you should avoid cruising right now. I found the following article to be well written and answered a number of my questions.  A weakened immune system,  and chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure are noted as putting someone at high risk. Hope this helps.   https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/02/19/how-coronavirus-kills/

This is such great news to me. It never occurred to me there might be a vegetarian menu. I've had pretty good luck in Tamarind and in the Lido checking out the "Distant Lands" Asian counter on the Kdam and Statendam, but next time I'm in the main dining room I'll ask for the vegetarian options. Sometimes there would be one on the regular menu which I often chose. Nice to know there are likely many more. Thanks everyone for all this wonderful information!

On 5/19/2019 at 10:15 PM, *Miss G* said:

Here is the Vegetarian Menu from @Crew News‘ site.  Your alternate dining options will depend on which ship you’re on.

Oh my goodness, I had NO idea HAL offered a vegetarian menu.  Thank you Miss G for posting this. Do you, or anyone else, know if this is offered on all HAL ships? It looks wonderful to me

I finally found this on the HAL site in the Transportation section of FAQ. Not sure why I couldn't find it before: Where Do I Meet My Airport Transfer?

7 hours ago, sndral said:

http://www.adr.it/documents/10157/16175834/T3+arrivi_20190306.pdf/5bfce7fa-b982-4de9-93e6-b8495da10f74

I can’t speak to HAL, but if it’s like RCI, it was pretty easy last October. Assuming you have a shared/bus transfer.

Here’s a map of FCO terminal 3 arrivals. On the left you’ll see an icon of a guy w/ a hat holding a passport  that’s were you’ll go through customs/passport control. After you go through passport control you’ll head to the baggage carousels which are the boxes with suitcases numbers 3-11 on the map. After you’ve collected your luggage head to where it says T3 on the map by the little cafe area where there are people holding signs with your ship’s name. You can’t miss them. You check in with them, they check their list to mark you off & you just go where they direct you.

Note, I arrived the day before and stayed at the airport Hilton and just walked back over to the T3 arrivals area, so if you land in one of the other terminals you should be able to find your way over to Terminal 3.

 sndral, we're also coming in a day early and staying at the airport Hilton and planned to walk back to Terminal 3 on Monday to catch the port shuttle.  Thanks for the map!!! I'm feeling better about the possibility of actually finding the HAL reps at the airport at this point!

Thank you all for the info.  I've double checked and there's nothing on our docs about transfers.  Seems strange, especially for a European destination, for HAL not to provide transfer info.  Thank goodness for Cruise Critic and so many helpful fellow travelers! 

We've purchased a Rome airport (FCO) to Port of Civitavecchia transfer from HAL and for the life of me I don't understand why we've received no information from HAL included in our booking on where and when to catch the shuttle. I finally called our HAL cruise consultant who at least gave me a window of 9am to 11am and a meeting place of "downstairs in Terminal 3 outside customs" as a meeting place. But we have no ticket and our only "proof" of having purchased the transfer is on our itinerary. Help! Is this normal? How will the shuttle driver know that we have, indeed,  already purchased the transfer to the port? I've checked the Italy boards and can't find anything on already purchased transfers from HAL. Anyone here actually taken the HAL transfer from FCO to Civitavecchia???? Am I missing something?

Thanks for sharing this.  Looks like the same selection we saw offered on the Nieuw Statendam in March. We're sailing on the Koningsdam in a week and I have to say I was really hoping the wine selection would be better this time around. 

2 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

WARNING!

Food porn ahead!

Tonight was Indonesian Rijsttafel in Tamarind. 

Manager days that the plan is to offer it once during each cruise while in Europe.

Thanks for checking VMax! Really looking forward to this and plan to sign up as soon as we get onboard!

DH and I will be on the April 29 sailing on the Koningsdam out of Civitavecchia and have the Signature Beverage Package as part of the Explore 4.  Just found out the price limit on that package has been upped from $9 max per drink to $11.  Anyone currently on the Koningsdam willing to post pictures of some of the current wine offerings in places like the Ocean Bar and Crow's Nest?  I've heard the list was supposed to be changed this month and I'm really hoping it's an improvement over what I saw on the Nieuw Statendam in March.  Thanks in advance. 

cruisen cracker: Have you tried the Grand Dutch Cafe for coffee?  It's not free but we found it quite good.

4 hours ago, Despegue said:

Please note that the new limit for the Signature Beverage Package is 11 US$. 😀

Despegue, thank you for pointing that out! Hadn't realized that it had changed. Good move on HAL's part.

13 hours ago, sun16 said:

We haven't cruised to Europe before although we have cruised elsewhere many times.    Do you buy your Euros onboard for your shore spending?  We would bring some with us, but wondering if we needed extra, if buying onboard would be advised.  We are on the Koningsdam in May.   

 

Thanks!

sun16, DH and I have traveled extensively in Europe.  Definitely take at least one Debit card to access ATMs during your trip. (And make sure you let your bank know where and when you're traveling so no one thinks your card has been stolen.) ATM machines generally aren't hard to find (you'll see them at the airport when you land) and many many European banks have outside ones that are easily accessed. Expect to pay a small fee to use them. The wonderful thing about European ATMs is that you'll get an assortment of denominations (not all $20 like the US). We usually get about $200 at a time and use it in small cafes rather than trying to use a credit card. As Hawaiidan has mentioned, some credit cards don't charge a foreign transaction fee so those are great if you're planning to charge items. Any paper Euros you have at the end of your trip can be saved for another trip (you'll want to go back!)   We usually unload all the change in the airport buying snacks before we fly home.  On some flights leftover change is collected by flight attendants and given to a charity (Unicef comes to mind but I'm not certain of that.) Have a wonderful cruise!

50 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

 

We had not seen them before our March 27th sailing either!  It was waiting for us in the stateroom with the port guide and tour booking form. On the desk (or on bed) we can't recall which, but there was one there for each segment of our b2b.

This is really great to hear. We'll definitely be on the lookout for those grey flyers! Thanks again!

48 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

We have been on Koningsdam 4 times previously and not seen a Rijsttafel offered previously (only the Collector Indonesian lunch).

When you board there is a flyer printed on grey card titled 'Plan your Voyage'. This lists the special events being held.

I will try to remember to ask Tamarind manager on Wednesday, if it is going to be a regular feature. 

Thanks VMax! Would appreciate it if you would post what you find out about the Rijsttafel at Tamarind. Where do you find the gray "Plan Your Voyage" flyers???? DH and I have never come across them and it's exactly the kind of thing we're always looking for!

On 4/12/2019 at 11:50 AM, VMax1700 said:

Tamarind Rijsttafel menu

I'm feeling a little dumb at the moment. DH and I have been on the Koningsdam twice, LOVE Tamarind and have never seen a Rijsttafel offered. Does anyone know if this is something only offered on a TA or also in the Med? We're going to be on the ship going out of Civitavecchia on April 29. Would really hate to miss this if it's offered on our 11 Day cruise to Greece. 

4 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

I simply don't recognize all but a very few of the wines on the list.  We usually spend at least $20 or $30 on a bottle of wine at a a wine store.  These wines all appear to be less than that.  Have you seen any ratings on any of them?

I can tell you that, in my opinion at least, the $9 wines offered on the Statendam that would have been included in the Signature package were pretty awful.  The Spellbound Cabernet for $12, the Nobilo Sauvignan Blanc for $12 and the Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling for $11 were all enjoyable but of course wouldn't have been included in the Signature package. Even the lowest priced sparkling wine (La Marca Prosecco) was $10.  If what we saw offered on the Statendam two weeks ago is now the wine list across the HAL fleet, then the Signature package is really not going to please many wine drinkers.   It's really a shame because on the list you posted I recognized a number of inexpensive wines both my sister and I have enjoyed on past cruises. When my husband and I cruise on the Koningsdam next month the first thing we'll do once onboard is check out the wine list and upgrade to Elite if it's the same as the list I posted.

Copper, I'm really enjoying your pictures from the Koningsdam cruise.  Would you mind posting some pics of the current wine lists from the Koningsdam? We're taking a cruise on her once she moves to the Mediterranean and have the Signature beverage package included. Just got off the Statendam and the wine list there was pretty sparse.  Wondering if it's the same. Thanks in advance!

On 3/18/2019 at 6:59 PM, RocketMan275 said:

Some have, some haven't.  Most reports indicate it can be done.  Just keep asking until you find someone who will.

Here's a link to the two packages.

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Beverage-Packages.pdf

RocketMan, I would have LOVED the wine list you've attached here on my last cruise.  Unfortunately, this is what was available on the Statendam on our cruise March 3-10. We've got the Explore4 Signature pkg on our upcoming cruise on the Koningsdam (April 29-May10) and I've been pretty unhappy thinking the Statendam list is what we'll have to choose from.  Anyone currently on the Koningsdam willing to share the wine list?  By the way, I called our HAL cruise consultant and he says you absolutely can upgrade to Elite once on the ship. Note: there are only 2 whites and 3 reds at $9, the cut off for the Signature pkg. 

Anyone who thinks this is "entertainment" or exciting needs to be made aware of the risks and damage they can do.

Totally agree. I'm having a lot of trouble with those here trying to justify taking pictures of a medical evacuation. Do you REALLY need an official announcement telling you to stay out of the way? The last thing the crew should be worrying about is shooing away gawkers.

 

Trivia: On the Regal, Princess Live is a terrible venue for trivia - the theater style seating makes it difficult to get into teams to play.

 

 

Totally agree. LOVED the Regal for the most part. But....Our cruise in January was DH's first and I was looking forward to introducing him to trivia on board. What a disappointment! Terrible venue for it. And frankly, the assistant CD who ran it was a twit who seemed determined to take all the fun out of it. Trivia is a small thing in the general scheme of things, I know, but I was really looking forward to it. Sailing on the Royal next January and hoping it isn't a repeat of that experience.

Personally I think it would be a better idea to post them on the TV so anyone can access them at any time and none of the staff wold have to run around getting menus for the cabins.:)

That's brilliant! Have you suggested that to Princess? You really should!

We have sailed many times on another line and know the machinations that brand employs re: pricing. Friends want us to do a Princess Alaska NEXT summer. When looking at pp / per night, the price seems a bit high. Can you give me suggestions to help me lower the price? Does Princess run specials that include a drinks package? grats? can you purchase liquor onboard to put in your stateroom to make your own mixed drinks? Also I assume Princess honors pre- final payment price drops....after final payment can you upgrade if there is a large price drop that is advertised as "new bookings only"? THANKS!

Well, first of all: 1) sign up for the Princess emails so you're notified of sales.

2) Read more posts on this forum using the "search" feature.

3) Get a good travel agent.

Happy cruising!

 

You didn't say what ship you will be on, but if it's the Koningsdam you can not get your key card punched because of the RFID chip inside. :) On that ship you would have to use a pouch on a lanyard.

Really good to know. Hadn't realized that. Thanks for the info!!

I just called the dine line as soon as we boarded. I also saw a table set up on some days outside the buffet, but you have a better chance of getting your preferred time if you book early.

Thanks!! We're definitely going to do this when aboard the Royal in January. Wow, another fun thing to look forward to. January is starting to seem a LONG way away.....