AnnieBelle

I took this trip last summer and it was wonderful. Great sights and great ship!

We enjoy the BB King show and the last show, 10:30/10:45, was always packed on my spring Caribbean cruise. A wide variety of ages and sometimes it was standing room only. That being said, 14 nights might be looking for other things to do. Good luck with your choice!

I was on the NA on an eastern Caribbean cruise this past April. The weather was wonderful. Unfortunately we were not able to leave from the Dominican due to high winds. Since we spent the night tied on to the pier, we had to miss stopping in Key West and had two consecutive sea days instead. Have a great cruise!

I talked to my TA today and she said we should be getting into a suite. She said after talking to three different people at HAL, she finally got something from them. I'm really hoping this works out! I guess of it doesn't, we will still have our balcony and we know it's in a great location because we had a similar balcony cabin in March.

Thank you, everyone, for your replies. I will ask my TA to contact HAL - you don't know of you don't ask. I'll hope for the best but as I told my TA, I've learned my lesson to double check fares before the final payment is made. I may also be looking for a new TA.

Last week our TA made our final payment but according to my invoice, final due date was today, Sept. 6th. I noticed over the weekend that the price of our. Raise dropped about $160. I emailed my TA and her response was that cancellation started today and that we would be upgraded to a guaranteed suite - we are currently in a verandah balcony. Has anyone else experienced this situation? I haven't had this happen before.

We stayed at the Georgian Court Hotel and it was very nice. It was within walking distance to the Yaletown area which had a lot of restaurant choices. Theynalsomhabe a shuttle which took us to the cruise terminal.

I'm also traveling in November - I'll have to check the prices. What dates are you traveling?

We sailed the NA in March and were in room 8082. Very nice balcony, no obstructions. I don't take any chances for seasickness so I get a patch from my doctor. My travel companion doesn't have any problems and has t needed anything. We were under the Lido but never heard noise.

In April, we spent the night at the dock in Amber Cove (Dominican Republic) due to high winds. This meant we missed stopping at Key West on our way back to FLL. Some friends requested 30-minutes of free internet in order to contact family and it was granted. There was no complimentary wine but we were entertained by the workers on the dock who were dancing and singing - apparently not realizing we were watching from our balcony. I was disappointed about missing Key West because I have never been there but I appreciate the captain keeping us safe.

Last week my TA was able to get us a lower fare than the anniversary sale. We lost the pre paid gratuities and $50 beverage card but we saved $60. I kept checking o line but never saw this option. The TA will check again Monday to see if the Explore 4 will be made available and of so, what the price change will be.

I believe ONLY Holiday sailings for 2016 will be included (waiting to confirm this) otherwise only 2017 but not all sailings will be included, let's just say most sailings. I do know that all 2017 Alaska is included.

Would the week of Thanksgiving be considered a holiday cruise or are those just over Christmas and New Years? Our cruise went down but we will lose gratuities and $50 OBC. However, the price is $60 less taking these things into consideration. I would LOVE to have the Explore 4 though.

The black pearl in the bar near Tamarind was my favorite!

I was on The NA in March/April for a Caribbean cruise. After being on the Maasdam last summer, we loved the bigger ship and the private balcony. We enjoyed going to the late stage show and then heading to the BB King Lounge to take in the last set. It was usually pretty full. A lot of couples dancing and just enjoying the music. The casino was busy and the piano bar seemed full. Things were quieter after the BB King set was over.

I think a big deciding point is what sort of temperatures you expect and how you feel about access to a pool. Veendam has only one pool, which is in the center with a sliding roof. The aft area, which ought to have a second pool, was modified to created a lounge area with a few soaking tubs. I think some are hot tubs and some are cooler water. There are loungers in both areas.

 

Maasdam still has the original configuration with both the midships pool and an aft seaview pool. Otherwise, the layouts are pretty much the same.

 

We've had good cruises on both ships. Love the size of these ships and I think the Ocean Bar is better on these ships. (better than the Vistas)

I have to agree about the Ocean Bar. When on the Massdam last summer, we met up there before dinner and had some drinks while playing cards. It was a nice area to visit. The Ocean Bar on the Nieuw Amsterdam was disappointing.

Just been offered free beverage package, as a UK customer on next year's European routes.

Was this offer through email?

I'm interested to see what you find out, Helen! We have some time before the final payment is due.

We have enjoyed having the Explore 4 package on our last two HAL cruises. I have a cruise scheduled for November 2016 and a PCC hinted that Explore 4 may be offered before our final payment is due. However, it seems like the Explore 4 was usually for cruises beginning the following January. Anyone have an idea if this does open if we could apply it towards our fall cruise?

I'm on the same cruise and am hoping that a better offer may come around before our final pay,net is due. I'd love if the Explore 4 package was offered again.

Our travel agent always prints out the docs for us and puts our luggage tags in nice holders. I guess I'm spoiled!

We loved it when HAL had a ship in the Caribbean during the summer months. We were on them every year.

 

And there was also a time when HAL had a ship still doing the Caribbean in May.

 

Now they leave the Caribbean earlier and earlier and return later and later.

We looked into taking a cruise over my spring break in April of 2017 and there are no HAL ships in the Caribbean at that time. Very disappointing but we decided to go over Thanksgiving instead.

We are currently booked under the Anniversary sale for a Caribbean cruise in November. When I talked to a HAL rep, he alluded to the Explore 4 being back before our final payment is due in early September. I'm hoping we can switch promotions. We aren't big drinkers but I agree, it's nice to have a specialty coffee, soda, etc. without thinking about a final bill. I'm hoping Explore 4 isn't only for 2017 cruises.

I also did this cruise on the Maasdam last June. We stayed at the Renaissance (a Marriott hotel) in the Seaport district. A shirt walk to great restaurants on the waterfront. You could walk to the cruise terminal - we took a cab. I hope you enjoy the cruise as much as we did!

I took my goggles and just swam around the swim area. The water was so clear. We never left the beach area. There's a walking path if you want to head to so,e of the other areas. It's a beautiful place!

I brought a sound machine on my first cruise but heeded the advice of others on my most recent trip and downloaded a free app on my phone and iPad. I can set it to stop in an hour and that was plenty of time. Have a great cruise!