Btimmer

We're long time 5 star cruisers on HAL and decided to try Princess for a cruise through the UK. I'll be doing one of my Almost Live threads with pictures and commentary about our time on the ship and the itinerary. For the most part we are planning to self explore in the ports we are visiting as we've visited many of them via our motorcycle. We're leaving Seattle on 5/28 and plan to spend a few days in Southampton pre-cruise and after the cruise we've booked 4 nights on a canal boat near the London theater district (we have reservations for 3 musicals in the West End area). Feel free to post questions and I'll try to give an honest answer. We travel in inside cabins, so that'll be our perspective. There are only 2 sea days on this 12 day cruise. Two of my favorite cruise vloggers are on this cruise and I look forward to meeting them.

Yup, it was a fabulous cruise!

We did the Amazon on the Volendam in 2019 & absolutely loved it including getting stuck on a sandbar for 7 hours. We're looking forward to our return this fall and have booked many private excursions like we did last time. My blog has all the details (https://timmerBrazilplus2019.blogspot.com)

We done this multiple times with no problem. All the benefits stayed intact plus we received the new ones from our TA. The 60 day rule is correct and you cannot have paid for the cruise in full.

Below is a link to today's ceremony in Rotterdam commemorating HAL's 150 year anniversary. It's a pretty classy ceremony.

Thank you for a voice of reason. That was our experience in Dec, 2019 when we did the Amazon on the Volendam. We carried the letter and were never asked for it.

The Yellow Fever vaccination was recommended but we didn't get it because of our ages and doctors' advice. It was a non issue on our cruise.

We did the Amazon River in December, 2019 on the Volendam and loved it. We're returning this year on the Zaandam on the Grand South America voyage. Yes, it's worth repeating. In the evenings we usually went to the early Main Stage show and then enjoyed live music. We love the smaller HAL ships.

We had a very enjoyable time. The ship was super clean and had a flat screen TV. For us it was a typical very comfortable HAL inside cabin. For the rest of the ship, it was in fine condition with fresh carpeting throughout. Outside there was typical rust for ships of this age, but that's not a negative for us. I believe it's supposed to get new tenders before it comes to sail in Alaska.

We were in an inside cabin on the Westerdam in the fall of 2022 for 2 months, there were only 110v outlets at the desk. There was a USB outlet on each side of the bed. I always bring a short extension cord for these situations.

We've sailed many days on the Volendam in many environments (Asia, Caribbean, Amazon, etc.), and we have no complaints. It's probably one of our favorite smaller ships remaining in the fleet. Some years ago we sailed on the Zaandam and loved it. We're booked to sail on the Zaandam this coming fall on the GSA and highly anticipating that cruise.

We're looking forward to the port stop as my wife is into Incan and pre-Incan civilizations and we have a terrific shore excursion planned. I'm just looking for current confirmation about a shuttle from the port to Trujillo. I've not found any current information and HAL doesn't yet show a shuttle on the the shore excursions for this day.

We've sailed on all of the current HAL fleet. For the Pinnacle class, we've done multiple week trips on the K & NS, and a shorter 10 day on the Rotterdam. We find the staterooms to be small and we do like the potential of the Main Stage but it is currently very under-utilized in my opinion. We really like the music variety, but find the RS Rock Room to be far too loud for our taste. The Dutch Cafe is a nice touch. And the Tamarind is our favorite restaurant at sea. That being said, we don't choose ships but rather focus on the itinerary. As an example, traveling 3 weeks to Iceland/Greenland on the NS was an absolute joy. But this year the bulk of our HAL cruising will be on two smaller ships: Noordam and Zaandam because of their itineraries.

Can anyone shed light on whether there is a shuttle between the Port of Salaverry and Trujillo and its approximate cost? The HAL shore excursions doesn't show one. We'll be there on the Zaandam this coming October, 2023 and I'm trying to arrange for a shore excursion that currently departs from downtown Trujillo and they want $73/person for a shuttle to / from the port. Thanks in advance for any information.

I just bring a short extension cord with multiple outlets (think Christmas tree extension cord). Also, a 220v adapter is helpful to increase the charging opportunities as most current chargers will accept 110v-220v.

I've successfully used a portable wireless router to share a HAL internet connection between two devices. It was a bit fiddly to set up but worked well when the devises were located near each other. Now, we simply bite the bullet and purchase two internet packages so we don't have to be together for both to use the internet.

We spent 2 months on the Westerdam in the fall of 2022, and there were none of the issue you reported. Tendering went smooth and there was no chaos in the LIDO.

We did a double loop around Japan on the Maasdam a few years ago and it was wonderful to revisit ports on the second loop.

On our two month long Westerdam cruise last fall, after 30 days, we had to participate in the new style muster drill for a second time (first time was embarkation in Seattle). It was no big deal and we really like the new muster drill process.

On our fall 2022 cruise to Australia & NZ, we frequently brought canned soda onboard at various ports. One time we brought on 18 cans, but generally we only brought 12 cans at each stop.

Personally, I'd carry it in my carryon. I don't know of any rules for carrying wine on the land portion (assuming you have no flights). If you have flights, you'll not be able to carry it on.

We spent two months on the Westerdam in the fall of 2022 and really liked the ship. We generally ate most meals in the LIDO but also enjoyed the Canaletto and the Pinnacle Grill once. The only ate in the MDR 4 times and it was okay except for the hostess, Cecelia, who was the best greeter we have ever experienced there. She was also our server on the Zuiderdam in the Canaletto in January, 2022 where she and her compatriates spectacularly enhanced the dining experience so much we ate there 4 times.

We tend to do longer non port intensive cruises. Generally we eat early in the Lido (very rarely in the MDR) in order to take in the early Main Stage show. But given that the Step One, BBC Earth, and the EXC talks are now totally repetitive, we'll skip those and take in the Billboard Onboard. Depending upon the artists there, we may set through 2-3 sets in an evening. We never go to the Rolling Stone Rock Room on the Pinnacle Class ships as it's too loud. The same goes for the now defunct BBKing lounge. If there's a game show, we may take that in. If the weather's nice we'll often walk the promenade and virtually every night, we check out the stars on the LIDO deck aft at around 10:30pm. Sometimes, we'll eat something light or enjoy some tea at the 10:30pm feeding in the LIDO. Rarely will we watch a movie in the stateroom, but it occasionally does happen.

On our Seattle to Sydney cruise last fall 2022 on the Westerdam, we had a crew talent show that was really good. Our CD sang a song from a play she performed in during her time off the ship. It was amazing. But the Filipino and Indonesian shows appear to be a thing of the past. On the final cruise of the old Statendam a few years ago, we were given a uclet Indonesian instrument as they were no longer needed. It's a pleasant memory for us.

I'll second your observation about Captain Wouter van Hoogdalem. He was simply the best. He even treated us like adults and gave the COVID counts every day and was quite open about that whole situation. We also missed a port in NZ and had an overnight in Tauranga which was cool. Plus he was quite approachable!