horseymike

Hi FOP,

To be clear, we are cruising with friends one of which has become recently disabled.

I believe they are renting a scooter on the ship , and will be bringing a walker.

We will be cruising soon with a friend in need of wheelchair assistance for Embarkation and Disembarkation at Port Everglades

Does anyone know how to secure this assistance when arriving and leaving the cruise terminal.

Hi Everyone ,

We will be cruising with a friend requiring wheel chair assistance for embarkation and disembarkation on the Rotterdam.

Can anyone tell me the procedure to obtain this assistance ?

I know this post will be apple vs. oranges because the principles I will mention are totally different products.

All this talk of complaints about food harkens me to a time when airlines served meals onboard to all passengers. For the most part people complained about the quality of the food served by the airlines , and before you know it ...poof .... no more airline meals for most passengers as they were discontinued.

I think I got what you mean.

Thanks

On 2/17/2024 at 2:23 PM, dobiemom said:

If you have iPhones you can use iMessenger. It works iPhone to iPhone, both on the ship and to folks on land. (You need the inTRAnet for this.) Text only, no pictures. 
 

Always keep your phone in airplane mode while on the ship or you’ll come home to a large $$ phone bill. 

 

Turn on WiFi to access the ship’s (free) inTRAnet to use the Navigator app. To use inTERnet you must log in to the WiFi pkg. If you only have minutes (not an unlimited pkg) you must log out or your minutes will be eaten up quickly. 

What is TRAnet ?

All this technology is great …….when it works.

 I get the feeling that server / browser  issues are coming into play on something like this , some devices are able to get the task accomplished and some do not. I don’t like it .

Hi Everyone,

Getting ready for first HAL cruise since the COVID era  in a few weeks. 
Any recent HAL cruisers ,
Do they still offer a fill the laundry bag special at some point during the cruise ?
 

On 2/17/2024 at 10:04 AM, cruisemom42 said:

 

I always look for posts on lecturers since for me they are a big component of on-ship entertainment.

 

Cruise lines really can't win these days. If they have a snazzy presentation, people say they don't want "performers". If they have a real expert, people complain that the lecture isn't entertaining enough. I'm as guilty as everyone else!

 

I thought the mix on last fall's TA on Nieuw Statendam was pretty good. There were two lectures on most sea days. The first was one of the canned presentations (EXP?) given by the cruise director on various topics. Our topics were about various Mediterranean things (e.g., one about Ferrari), and then as we got closer to the US, about the Caribbean. These made good use of the screens in the World theatre and the content was obviously professionally created. It helped that the CD was an excellent deliverer. They remind me of TED talks.

 

The second set of lectures were given by a professor and were more content-heavy. These were mostly about Old-World/New World connections (discovery and conquest of the NW, slave trade, etc.)

 

Unfortunately the slides were often unreadable, the professor at times seemed bored, and she repeatedly stumbled over many names that -- assuming this was her area of expertise -- she should have known. 

 

While the content of the latter presentations were definitely more in my wheelhouse, the former ones were very entertaining and I enjoyed them.

 

I don't know how they did it, but Voyages to Antiquity used to obtain excellent lecturers. They knew how to engage their audience, even when presenting material that wouldn't have necessarily been familiar. They reminded me of the "good" uni lecturers, the ones whose classes were always full because everyone heard how interesting their lectures were.

 

 

Abraham Lincoln said you can please some of the people some of the time.

On 2/16/2024 at 9:30 PM, Nickelpenny said:

I book HAL because I like  what it offers and doesn’t offer. Everyone has to make up their own mind what they want and expect. After 10 cruises with HAL, the pluses are much more than the minuses for ME. Why would I experiment with other lines?  Because I am satisfied with the product/experience HAL offers and don’t want to waste my hard earned money with a “what if”. That opinion is not for everyone but it works for me. 

I have no desire for the pandemonium on the new floating amusement parks that are disguised as cruise ships. HAL suits me just fine.

Thanks for the advice.

Hi everyone,

Any advice on the most economical way to text onboard with members of your family / group who are also onboard?

$$$$$$

1 hour ago, jenp123 said:

Not holland related but last week at the port of San Pedro(Los Angeles), they confiscated all plastic 1 time use bottles and made us dump our water out from the reusable bottles.  She said it could "short" the security scanner, but it didn't seem to be an issue with all of the liquid going through in wine bottles lol.  I assume it is to prevent people bringing booze onboard hidden in bottles. 

They always put their spin on everything.

Forewarned is Forarmed goes the old adage.

Does anyone know if surface lot “A “ is open at Port Everglades ?

The Celebrity website still has it listed as a stop. May 27 th, I believe.

Anyone who has recently cruised on the Rotterdam please share your observations.

Thanks.

Anyone had experience with this question regarding the quench package lately ?

Part of the benefit of buying a drink package is not having to sign , check account etc….

Maybe it’s time people closely evaluate their projected beverage consumption pre cruise.

Many may find the drink package is not worth it to them.

I personally believe that bar/ beverage service has seriously declined since the advent of the pre paid drink packages across many of the mainstream cruise lines.

Let’s face it , they already have the money , why be in a hurry to furnish the drinks ?
Pre drink package era , there was a beverage server or bartender every 10 feet on every cruise ship asking if you would like something to drink ? I remember.

Some people will get annoyed/ frustrated and walk away , chalk one up for the cruise line $.

46 minutes ago, Cruise till you drop said:

It was a gal from Oklahoma but can’t remember her name.  She was pretty good

Her name is Crystal.

10 minutes ago, Houli58 said:

We are cruising next week on Ascent.  We pre-paid the gratuities up front.  Do we tip cash to the bartenders when we order drinks or is this part of pre-pay?  Also what about housekeeping.  Do we leave daily cash tip in stateroom?

Any beverage service will have a 20 % gratuity added to the charge. If you have a beverage package you have already paid the gratuity for your beverages ( unless you order a drink that costs more than your package allows ,)  in which case you will be charged the difference plus a 20 % gratuity on the difference only.

With regard to your cabin steward you have already paid for those gratuities, should you choose to pay additional gratuity in cash is totally up to you.

Very interesting thread here. I never gave it much thought.

Cruising with another line at the same port 2 times a few years apart, 

once there was a bus provided to take the ship passengers from the actual dock to the gate into the town ( quite a long walk ) the next time there was no bus provided.

I asked one of the local security officers why , he said the cruise line did not contract the bus service for this cruise. Interesting stuff.

Guess things like this are part of the port charges.

Hello Everyone,

Are the gratuities included when you purchase the Quench Beverage Package ?

Convenient at times , yes.

Essential , no.