bajae

Accidentally posted twice. Deleted.

I just found out that I'm on the second to last cruise before the Zaandam is dry docked. Which coincidentally was the case with my one and only previous cruise. So while I'll miss out on whatever will be new and pretty, and may have to live with issues that are waiting to be fixed, I'm looking for the silver lining. I am assuming the crew on the ship will have already spent weeks together and have the kinks worked out. Does this sound like a correct assumption? Holland is not likely to do a major crew change just a few weeks before dry dock are they?

As others have noted, you can get one star status with a cruise on another Carnival line. I did this. I emailed the Mariner society and provided the Mariner numbers of my daughter and myself and provided the details of the cruise we took on carnival (ship name, dates sailed, and cruise name (Western Caribbean, in my case)). You coud provide your "loyalty" number instead but I didn't have access to my daughter's, if she ever got one. I don't think I ever got an email response back but the one star status was noted on my HAL account very soon after.

Wow, that is pricey. I think the cost for HAL is around $5,000 per month per ship for Starlink. Pretty good ROI for HAL.

That was the impression I got when I was looking, thus I was anxious to hurry and book. However, for that particular cruise it was listed as available until exactly at the one year mark prior to embarking.

Yikes!! I assume the newer ships have been built to accommodate the increase of all the personnel devices we need to charge but what about the older ships like the Zaandam?

But does WhatsApp work if you don’t have an internet package? I thought only the Navigator app worked on the ship’s WiFi and you need to purchase internet for other apps.

It may depend on the cruise, but the shore excursions were available with my Hawaiian cruise a year out.

I never thought I would ever own 100 shares to get the OBC but back in 2020 it dropped to 8 something a share. I got some then and have slowly built it up to 100 shares. I am quite content with my purchase. I’m not a big player in the stock market. I usually spend $20 per month and just buy what I want, it’s my play money. I’m willing to hold the shares long term. I believe CCL will bounce back but even if they go under I don’t feel like I’ve lost anything with the OBC you get. Edited to add that I looked and my average cost is $10.90 per share.

It doesn’t. Water boils at lower temperatures the higher elevation. I live around 5000 feet above sea level and water boils around 202 degrees F. The 212 degrees is at sea level, which most of Florida is very close to. Having said that, my electric kettle still heats the water to 212 degrees F before it shuts off. The water is just boiling very vigorously the last 30 or so seconds.

It’s been the same for me with a Zaandam booking.

Ahhh, mystery solved.

I think in general, the HIA with early booking bonus (includes crew appreciation, elite drinking package, and premium internet) is available on most cruises booked at least a year out. HAL also runs promotions thought-out the year. These could include some combination of crew appreciation, obc, free cabin upgrades, reduced deposits, etc.

I don’t know when my 12/24 - 1/25 cruise to Hawaii was released but it was available in April 2023.

Please note that OPs complaint is that the airline is willing to refund the money for the flight but that money will go to HAL since HAL booked the flight but HAL is telling the OP they will not return the money paid for the flight back to the OP.

I’m booked on that cruise. Just FYI it is round trip from San Diego. This cruise will be our first on HAL as well. I was first worried about the Zaandam being an older, smaller ship but the more I read about her, the more excited I am. However, I’m looking forward to a having a relaxing cruise and not running from one activity to another.

I noticed excursions were available about 13 months before our cruise, which was much earlier than I expected so it was just pure luck I bothered to check. Not sure when they were actually available.

I was a “zero” star mariner after I booked my first HAL cruise. It was clearly noted every time I logged in. After reading about getting one star status if one had previously cruised on another Carnival line, I shared the info with the Mariner Society and it was only then I got the one star status. From what I understand, the tile is the gift you get with 1+ star status, every cabin gets a tote bag.

I feel like it must be available for cruises at least a year in the future. My cruise, that I book in May, leaves 12/18/24 and currently is still show the early booking is available.

@kazu odd, if I look at the elite package on their website without logging in, I get the unlimited non-alcohol. But, like you, if I look at the package under my booking, it's says 15 drinks total. I do agree 15 drinks in total is plenty but having a limit means I need to keep track just in case. I wasn't planning on doing math on my cruise😥.

That link for me still shows unlimited non-alcoholic.

Thank you. That sounds wonderful, bad smells and all.

We will be stopping in Kahului and I'm looking at an excursion from the ship so I don't know who they work with. We will actually be there Dec. 25, 2024 and since it is Xmas day, I feel like our options may be limited so I've reserved this excursion to make sure we have something. Thank you for your information it helped a lot. I'm more excited now than fearful.

I'm looking at doing a whale watching tour when we stop at Maui in December. I just looked up what a zodiac boat was and find the idea of being on that small of a boat (raft) around whale scary. I know the boat will not get close enough to the whales but what if the whales come close enough to the boat to accidently knock it? Can some share about their experience? Thanks!

I am hopefully you are correct. Ours is the 16 day Hawaiian holiday cruise on the Zaandam 2024/5. While I expect some young ones, I hope most parents are selecting a more kid friendly itinerary.