richwmn
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Posts posted by richwmn
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I don't know where these prices came from, but they seem to correspond with the numbers that have been posted. They were provided to the Roll Call for the Recent Voyage of the Vikings. I was told that they would not sell more than 31 days.
Voyage Length Social Surf Premium
1 14.99 24.99 29.99
2 19.99 29.99 39.99
3 29.99 44.99 39.99
4 39.99 59.99 79.99
5 49.99 74.99 99.99
6 59.99 89.99 119.99
7 69.99 99.99 139.99
8 74.99 109.99 159.99
9 79.99 119.99 169.99
10 84.99 129.99 179.99
11 89.99 139.99 189.99
12 99.99 149.99 199.99
13 99.99 159.99 209.99
14 119.99 169.99 219.99
15 119.99 169.99 234.99
16 124.99 179.99 249.99
17 129.99 179.99 264.99
18 134.99 189.99 279.99
19 139.99 189.99 289.99
20 149.99 199.99 299.99
25 149.99 199.99 299.99
31 179.99 259.99 329.99
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Has anyone sailed on the one night Vancouver to Seattle Cruise . Thinking of this option after our Coastal Cruise May 2019 .If you are thinking about a cruise where you start in California, then stay on the ship when it disembarks passengers, and get off the next day in Seattle, you aren't allowed to book that itinerary.
It would be a violation of the PVSA.
If you are thinking of the same itinerary, but coming back on a different ship, that would be all right.
Sorry, I have no experience with the one-nighter. From everything I have read, It tends to be a party-hearty crowd, looking to get the biggest bang for their buck.
Since you are considering a Vancouver to Seattle "one-nighter", you may rest assured that it does not violate the PVSA ... or any other US maritime laws, for that matter. The character of passengers on "one-nighters", however, may not be to your liking, especially if you are a more "typical" HAL cruiser who cruises for the journey and not the party. JMOsorry, avain777 - RuthC is correct. The OP mentioned a one nighter following a Pacific Coastal Cruise. The ones that are available during that time from are Eurodam San Diego => Vancouver, followed by Vancouver => Seattle and Oosterdam with the same itineraries. Linking both cruises together for either ship would be a PSVA violation. However, San Diego = Vancouver on the Eurodam, spend a night in Vancouver, then Vancouver => Seattle on the Oosterdam would work as the sailings are a day apart.
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A quick question about pricing. When I looked at next years VOV, the one way prices Boston to Europe seemed over the top.
Any feedback on this?
If you think the prices are over the top, try looking at the price as a single. Having said that, there were about 15 singles on this years VoV counting Cruise Critic Roll Call Members alone. I watched the prices pretty closely and they didn't go down. For me, it was worth the price.
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I was one of the first to get off, express disembarkation. As above I walked through the Explorers Lounge to one of two officers who were looking at passports and faces then passed you through. A hole was punched in our card and we were free to go. The officers seated to the side were handling Non US guests. There were quite a few to begin with, maybe it tapered off later.
When time to disembark came, they started about 10 minutes before the published time, I walked with my bag straight through the terminal to a shuttle and was off to the airport. In my cabin at 8am, at the airport around 9. Checked in and waiting for my flight.
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We are sailing her on Sept. 22nd. I have looked through FAQ's but still had some questions.
1) Does the ships laundry do a special? Like one bag washed and folded for $ x amount?
2) If not does anyone have a picture of the laundry ticket with costs?
3) Does the dining room still offer lunch upon boarding and is there a cost for it?
4) Do the cabins have refrigerators?
5) Can you still make a reservation for cooking classes upon boarding? Where?
Thank you so much!
The bag of laundry is available every day until 48 hours prior to disembarkation. It is not a special. The cost for the bag is $20 for US cruises.
I can post an image of the ticket tomorrow if no one else does
Lunch is available for most cruises in the dining room upon boarding at no cost. At times there might be restrictions due to other activities.
Inside and Outside Cabins do NOT have coolers, Balcony and above do. If you need one in an inside or outside cabin they are available for a small cost ($2 per day?) upon request. They take up valuable space and are not very cold.
I don't know about the cooking classes.
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In 24 hours or so, I will be home and this fantastic vacation will be over.
Late evening activities:
August 21 - The Best of the Rolling Stone
August 22 - Farewell with the Officers and Crew
August 23 - Elvis Hour
August 24 - Music Trivia Game
Main Stage:
August 21 - reprise of Bud Anderson and Paul Pappas
August 22 - Dance Featuring Rotterdam's Entertainers
August 23 - Julia & Mitchell (Violin-bass duo)
August 24 - Impressionist Robbie Howard
Movie:
August 21 - A Quite Place
August 22 - Life of the Party
August 23 - Maudie
August 24 - All the Money in the Wrold
In general, the early show continued to be SRO for the entire cruise and the entertainment was good. Barry from Boston continued to have large crowds for the first set, and kept the music going until late in the evening. Explorers Lounge and Ocean Bar also had guest each evening.
This morning we received the new Voyage Log. It is a nice recap of the cruise on two sheets of heavy paper. It is very nice and a bit better than the old version.
We have had five gala nights, two during the first half and three during the last half. Many people remainded in their gala outfits but quite a few returned to smart casual after dinner.
The food and service throughout the cruise were very good. The entire crew seemed pleased to be part of the very special cruise.
The weather has mostly co-operated and we have had moderate temperatures while ashore. Tender operations went smoothly where necessary.
Tomorrow morning we will arrive in Boston at 6:30am and we will make our way home. An announcement contained the information that a couple hundred passengers will be continuing on to Montreal (lucky them!)
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I thought HAL had to remove all Taco Bars due to health safety rules re- on deck serve yourself food issues. Does the Maasdam really still have one?
HAL had to remove the on deck BBQ they had one night a week where they set up food along the Lido Pool. The issue had to do with hand wash stations and fire protection not being near enough.
Taco Bars still exist, currently on Rotterdam.
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We've done this a couple of times in the past in Tampa with the old Ryndam when coming back from the Western Caribbean. So, not something new but not often used either.
I wonder if they use it if there is some issue with the terminal building (construction, etc.) or if there is a limited number of ICE personnel.
Thanks, Rich - this is the first time I have experienced it. Should be interesting.
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We received notification of a different procedure this morning for disembarkation in Boston on Saturday. We will be doing the Passport verification in the Explorers Lounge starting at 7:15, with express disembarkation starting at 8:15.
I don't know if this is a test, or a changed - more info later
Rich
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Even if you are only purchasing a one way ticket pre-cruise, you will not be able to see flights until 330 days prior to the end of your cruise.
Check back at that point and you should be able get your flights then.
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We are sailing on a 14 day (back to back ) cruise in November and plan to purchase a wine package. We will go from 3 star to 4 star Mariner at the end of 1st 7 day cruise. When should I purchase the package? Should I wait til we get aboard or purchase it now? How will my star rating affect the cost of the purchase. Thanks for your help. Bud & MarianneI would wait until I got onboard for 2 reasons - first, sometimes when you order ahead of time you have to hassle to get you 25 or 50% discount (never been a problem for me if purchased onboard). Second, the wine stewards always seem to appreciate it when you purchase from them (I suspect they get something extra from your purchase).
Since you have two booking numbers, you might be able to get the 50% discount on the second week, but you likely will have to go to the front desk and ask them to move you to a 4 Star as it will not happen automatically (takes 1-2 weeks normally).
In addition, you will NOT be able to use bonus days for spending. Your actual sea days must be enough to move you from 3 star to 4 star.
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aToday we are in St Anthony's Newfoundland. It is a nice village that looks mostly like a fishing village. Just up from where we tendered into is what looks like a brand new hospital, and a few more new buildings.
Catching up on the entertainment, the last I listed was Aug 14th so a bit to catch up
Late Evening Activities (9:00pm):
August 15, Music Trivia
August 16, Latin Vibes
August 17, Hits of Billy Joel and Elton John
August 18, Call My Bluff (Game)
August 19, Tribute to Aretha Franklin
Main Stage
August 15, Bud Anderson (Comic)
August 16, Voce - 4 international female soloists
August 17, Paul Pappas (Pianoist)
August 18, Midnight Hour - Rotterdam Singers and Dancers
August 19, Kenny Byrd (Ventriloquist)
August 20, Voce - reprise
Movie
August 15, Music of Silence
August 16, Molly's Game
August 17, My Generation
August 18, The Bookshop
August 19, Rampage
August 20, The Grand Seduction
As before, the early main stage productions have been full and the entertainment has been good to very good. The entertainers were rotated several times during the cruise.
Overall, service has still been very good. I have had two problems that have yet to come to a resolution and I have my doubts that they will. I will attend to them when I get home.
Bar and Lido staff have all done their jobs cheerfully and well. The food has been good and, of course, plentiful.
Plenty of lectures have been available about upcoming ports and the speakers have been well received. The tendering operations have gone well, although I did here some grumbling about how the excursions were handled - but you can't please everyone. My tender ride back was about 10 minutes, and was very smooth.
Next stop is St Johns, then Halifax and back to Boston on Saturday. This has been a wonderful Voyage of the Vikings and I am glad I got a chance to do it.
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I am currently on Rotterdam, and ran into the Beverage Manager a few minutes ago. I asked about the beverage limits and it was confirmed that only alcholic beverages are counted.
Just a reminder, Mini Bar purchases are not included.
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We are moving toward the end of our cruise in Boston, still 11 days away.
Catching up on the entertainment:
Aug 12 - Main Stage: A la mode featuring the Rotterdam Singers and Dancers
Aug 12 - Ocean Bar, Pianist Gyuri plays the first set at 4:00pm and last at 7:45pm, while the Ocean Quartet starts at 7:00pm with the last set starting at 10:45pm
Aug 12 - 10:00pm Dance to the Hits with Tino
Aug 12 - Movie: Battle of the Sexes
Aug 13 - Main Stage: Shades of Buble performs a new show of Michael Buble music
Aug 13 - Ocean Bar, Same schedule as last night.
Aug 13 - 10:00pm Dance to the Hits with Tino
Aug 13 - Movie: I Feel Pretty
Aug 14 - Main Stage: Movie on the Big Screen - Planet Earth II, In Concert
Aug 14 - Ocean Bar, again same schedule as Aug 12
Aug 14 - 10:00pm Dance to the Hits with Tino
Aug 14 - Movie: Fahrenheit 451
Adagio has been playing most nights in the Explorers Lounge, but they are off tonignt. Shows in general have had good audiences. Barry from Boston has continued to have the Piano area of the Mix filled for the first set and a good audience for the second.
The service on the ship continues to be very good, most of the trivia contests are well attended with a good selection of questions. The winners have usually been only 1 point ahead of second place and several days have had ties. Today we were docked next to Koningsdam and it was nice to see that ship. Koningsdam left first at around 4pm and exchanged toots on the way out. The weather was very co-operative again and we had another good day in Iceland.
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Taken from Rotterdam
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Since these unlimited plans are brand new, I assume that you are using other cruise lines for this observation?The unlimited plan is not new. It has been on the Westerdam for at least 2 years ;)
IIRC on that ship, (I sailed it twice with this package) you could select unlimited for one day if you wanted but it was pricier per day than taking it for the whole cruise, but, if that's all you need then it's definitely cheaper.
Minute packages were not available other than the last day which was technically a discounted unlimited package for airline/hotel checkin, etc.
The Zuiderdam previewed unlimited WiFi as far back as Sept 20, 2014. At that time there was only one plan and it was $99.99 for 1 week in Alaska. There were no minute packages available on that cruise.
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Does anyone know for the streaming plan what location will appear to the streaming service? I want to be able to stream some football games while we are on our South America cruise on the Zaandam this fall. A lot of the networks that provide streaming coverage of games do not allow streaming to locations outside of the US. I think I read on the forum that the location appears as Miami which would be great. Can anyone confirm this? If not, would I be able to use a VPN to get around this limitation?
I am currently on ms Rotterdam.
here is what I get when I look up ownership of my public ip address:
OrgName: CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES
OrgId: CCL-34
Address: 3655 N.W. 87 Ave
City: Miami
StateProv: FL
PostalCode: 33178
Country: US
I don't know what other information might be provided to streaming services which might indicate that you are outside the US.
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Rotterdam is at Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland UK today!
Portree is a tender port and we arrived at noon. Tickets were supposed to be available at 12:45, but it was reported that they were being handed out earlier.
Once you took the 11 minute tender in, it was a bit of a walk up hill to get to the town. Once you arrived in town it was easy to walk around. Cabs were few and far between and booked for hours so it was impossible to get one to see the area surrounding the city.
Views from the city were worth the tender ride in.
Tonights Entertainment:
Ocean Bar has both The Ocean Quartet and Gyuri, with the piano early followed by the Quartet.
On the Main Stage at 8 and 10 pm Maria Lyn does a second, and new show.
At 10pm we will be able to Dance to the Hits with Tino - I guess they are no longer providing his themes.
Adagio has the night off
Tonights movie in the Wajang theater is Beirut.
Barry from Boston has his normal show from 8:45 until close with a 10 minute break around 10:15 or so.
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Catching up a bit, getting ready to leave Greenock, Scotland.
We are a bit late leaving, we were scheduled to leave at 5pm, but we were held up first by two tours getting back and now because someone has to be evacuated, no information on why.
There has been a bagpipe band playing on the pier and entertaining us prior to sailaway, along with a man inside a balloon Scottish Man in a kilt. They have been very entertaining.
Catching up on entertainment:
10:00 pm activities
Aug 8th - Dance to the Hits with Tino
Aug 9th - Dance to the Hits with Tino
Aug 10th - Dance to the Hits with Tino
Main Stage:
Aug 8th - Celtic Storm
Aug 9th - Shades of Buble
Aug 10th - Luke Burrage - International Entertainer and Juggler
Movie in the Wajang Theater
Aug 8th - The Journey
Aug 9th - The Matchmaker
Aug 10th - Zoo
In general, the early seating of the Main Stage show has been full, with people arriving 10 minutes early having trouble finding a seat, at least on the upper deck. Shades of Buble was a group of three men with good voices doing the hits of Michael Buble. They sounded pretty good.
For other entertainment, Adagio continues to play several times an evening, generally 5:00pm, 6:15pm, 7:15pm, and 9:00pm. They have an audience when I walk by, but not a large one. The same thing goes with the Ocean Bar. On any given night you may see the Ocean Quartet or Pianist Gyuri. Both have a smallish audience with people dancing to the Quartet. In the Mix, Barry from Boston continues to draw a large, enthusiastic, audience, at least for the first set. For the second set the audience is a bit smaller, but still participates.
Dining, as has been discussed here, is subjective. The food, IMO, has been as good if not a little better than most of my cruises. The staff, as always, has been great. We have had three gala nights so far with another one Sunday. For the most part people have been "dressy" but I have seen many people still wearing shorts on into the evening.
Everyone, at each of the ports, has been fantastic. It has been a pleasure to be ashore at these ports.
Tommorrow is Isle of Skye, also in Scotland. It is a tender port and we will have to what happens. As of tomorrow morning, we will have two weeks remaining in this year's Voyage of the Vikings.
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Cool! Any chance you can provide the pricing for a 28 day cruise on the Prinsendam? I've budgeted based on the old plan...
I don't know where these prices came from, but they seem to correspond with the numbers that have been posted. They were provided to the Roll Call for the Current Voyage of the Vikings. I was told that they would not sell more than 31 days.
Voyage Length Social Surf Premium
1 14.99 24.99 29.99
2 19.99 29.99 39.99
3 29.99 44.99 39.99
4 39.99 59.99 79.99
5 49.99 74.99 99.99
6 59.99 89.99 119.99
7 69.99 99.99 139.99
8 74.99 109.99 159.99
9 79.99 119.99 169.99
10 84.99 129.99 179.99
11 89.99 139.99 189.99
12 99.99 149.99 199.99
13 99.99 159.99 209.99
14 119.99 169.99 219.99
15 119.99 169.99 234.99
16 124.99 179.99 249.99
17 129.99 179.99 264.99
18 134.99 189.99 279.99
19 139.99 189.99 289.99
20 149.99 199.99 299.99
25 149.99 199.99 299.99
31 179.99 259.99 329.99
Sorry I couldn't make a better looking table.
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On a sea day between Rotterdam and Dublin. We have had a smooth passage since leaving Rotterdam.
To update on entertainment:
9:00 pm activities:
Aug 4th - Disco Fever with Tino
Aug 4th - Raggae Favorites with Tino
Aug 5th - '50's & '60's Hits with Tino
Aug 6th - The Best of Michael Jackson - with Tino
Aug 7th - Meet the Officers Social (Ocean Bar)
Main Stage:
Aug 4th - Dance Fusion
Aug 4th - Dance featuring Rotterdam Singers and Dancers
Aug 5th - Big Screen Movie - Black Panther
Aug 6th - Maria Lyn - singer from Wales
Aug 7th - Variations featuring Rotterdam Singers and Dancers
Movie in the Wajang Theater
Aug 4th - Wonder Wheel
Aug 4th - The Greatest Showman
Aug 5th - Kidnapping Mr. Heineken
Aug 6th - Book Club
Aug 7th - Infinity War
Now we are beginning the second leg of the Voyage of the Vikings. The first part has been very good. The crew, outstanding! I know this cruise will be on the Zuiderdam next year, a much bigger ship. I hope it retains the feel we have had this year.The entertainment has been above average.
The singer last night on the main stage, Maria Lyn was very good and again played to a full audience. She had a pleasing selection of songs, and a funny group of stories between songs. A very nice evening's entertainment. The Adagio Duo plays well together and has a nice selection as well and the Ocean Bar has a small but nice crowd listening to good music.
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A few days ago I was put into contact with a nice lady who had rented a car and now had no one to ride with her. I said I would and we had a wonderful time around Holland.
We picked up the car at 9:00am, and drover to Kinderdijk to see the windmills. We found a nice parking place which cost 5 euros and walked out to the windmills. I happened to catch a guide talking about the area and it was very interesting.
From Kinderdijk we proceeded to Delph, and managed to find a business that hand painted their goods. It was an interesting prestentation and I enjoyed it.
From Delph we went to Amsterdam and stopped several places and walked around, in addition to the views from the car. Again, a very pretty city.
In order to make sure we took a different way back, I set the GPS to Utrech which was also a very interesting city. We then proceeded back to Rotterdam and the GPS directed us right to the ship.
Each stop we made was busy with people, bicycles, and scooters. It was a beautiful day and everyone was out to enjoy it. We had a little trouble getting around due to other traffic, and the fact that several places had festivals of some type or another going on that affected traffic.
All in all, a very good day!
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We arrive in Rotterdam tomorrow morning, ending the first segment of our Voyage of the Vikings.
Tonight the Ocean Bar alternated between the Pianist Gyuri and the Ocean Quartet, both seem to play good music and draw a bit of a crowd. Adagio played 4 sets in the Explorers Lounge, and Barry from Boston had the night off.
The main stage had Dance - performed by the Rotterdam Singers and Dancers. As I have noted in the past, the early show was full and seemed well received. The movie in the Wajang Theater was The Greatest Showman and the late entertainment was Dance to the Hits with Tino (the assistant cruise director).
The sea day schedule was filled with things to do, and the meals were good. Service, as alwasy, was very good. Part of the sea day today was the presentation of Medals followed by the Mariner Luncheon. Quite a few medals were awarded, and it was announced that of just over 1300 passengers embarked, a little over 1200 of us are Mariners with more than 700 4 and 5 star. I think I mentioned earlier that of the 700, less than 50 are 5 star and we have 1 President's Club on board.
We are still being reminded to wash our hands frequently, and we had another notice about deep cleaning while in port tomorrow. I don't know how many crew and passengers are disembarking tomorrow but talk it is few of each.The only officer I have heard mentioned leaving is the Beverage Manager, but the bar staff is happy with the new Beverage Manager.
I'll be on a car trip tomorrow and may be a bit late getting back. But sunset is late and we will be all right.
Do Port Charges Count Towards Mariner Onboard Spending Bonus?
in Holland America Line
Posted
In this case, Taxes would refer to the state sales tax you pay if you buy something (a drink) within the territorial waters of Florida, Massachuttes, Washington, or other states.That is why we have the suggestion to have on board gifts delivered "at sea" so that those taxes would not be charged.