sandiego1

38 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

The bonus will not be refunded . you cant get a refund for something you did not pay for. ..

The other thread stated that trip insurance will not cover the original cost of the gift card if you cancel the cruise. I'm not including the 10% bonus received when purchasing the AARP cards.

Here's an example from one of the policies: "Payments or Deposits means the cash, check, or credit card amounts actually paid for Your Trip. Payments made in the form of a certificate, voucher or discount are not Payments or Deposits as defined herein."

Here's the thread: 

 Even Steve (the trip insurance store guru) stated that it's not refundable.

There was another thread recently about using gift cards. If you use them to purchase a cruise, the cost of the gift card will NOT be refunded by your trip insurance if you need to cancel. 
 

I purchased over $32K worth in gift card to make the final Lyon the 2023 WC. Thankfully we didn’t need to cancel. Going forward, I will only use gift cards for on board purchases.

On the recent WC, I used Navigator all the time. I wrote compliments for various staff and always got a thank you from the staff member within a day or 2. They were informed by their supervisors whenever someone made a comment. They were very appreciative to have the positive feedback.

I also wrote comments about things I noticed around the ship. A small issue was the glass (or Lucite) around the drummer in the Rolling Stone Lounge was dirty with handprints and the stage lights reflected and we couldn’t see the drummer. I got a call from Guest Services thanking me for the comment and they cleaned it the next day.

another time I was in Water Color class and there was a large dead bug on the floor by my chair (I joke with my DH that his job of getting rid of all critters is in our imaginary “marriage contract” so there was no way I was going to pick it up). I sent a note via the app. Less than 15 minutes later, a supervisor and a crew member came up to the room looking for the bug! Luckily they had my name as I didn’t mention the bug to the instructor. She pointed me out and they cleaned up the bug. 
 

So yes, they definitely read the comments submitted via the app.

See attached form to transfer your booking to your TA.

Reservation%20Transfer%20Request%20Form.pdf

The library on the Zuiderdam had its grand opening during the World Cruise. The grand opening was packed with people! HAL converted the screening room to be the library. Movies were shown in The Rolling Stone Lounge or World Stage.
 

Most of the books were gone within a few days. By the end of the cruise, the bookshelves were filled again. Not sure if everyone returned the loaned books or HAL purchased more.

There was no place to sit in the library initially. Eventually they brought in an uncomfortable chairs and a banquet table with a tablecloth on it. It definitely wasn’t a place to hang out like on the old Amsterdam.

the room looked like a bookstore with lit shelves which I thought was nice. 

3 hours ago, gaudi89 said:

We will be on the Noordam on an Alaskan cruise next month and haven't been on HAL before. When we are at dock for a day can we get on and off the ship when we want or are we restricted in some way (so that once you get off you can only come back on once?). There are a few ports we don't want to be on shore all day and wanted to exit the ship around noon or so. is that possible and if so how about coming back on?

The only times you are “forced” off the ship at a specific time is when a country requires “zero count” or everyone to go through immigration before they will let anyone back on the ship.  Since you are traveling to Alaska, this will not be an issue for you.

Very interesting. I purchased over $30K of gift cards and used them do for the world cruise this year. Glad we didn’t have to cancel or use our trip insurance!

How does the travel insurance comp know that you paid for a cruise with a credit card or gift cards? The HAL statement doesn’t differentiate how they received the money. Do you need to submit something else for proof of payment, like your credit card statement?

The Explorations Cafe on the Zuiderdam is in the Crows Nest. They have a few very small cookies/brownie bites on a plate under a glass dome at the bar. It’s disappointing compared to the fabulous cookies and pastries on display on the Koningsdam.

On the recent World Cruise, the shows were at 7:00 and 9:30, not 7:30.

My husband paid around $55 for a haircut, with tip, on our recent HAL WC. While we were wandering around Sydney and Oban, we happened upon barber shops and he went in. Both times the cut was quick and less than half the price of the ship’s cost.

Many of our male friends on the ship got haircuts in port.

Luggage Forward used UPS for the actual shipment for the recent World Cruise.  LF sent us the UPS tags and UPS picked up our suitcases at home. The luggage went to a warehouse in Florida near the cruise terminal. I believe that LF dealt with the luggage storage and delivery to the ship.

And the same in reverse. LF picked up all the luggage, stored it in their warehouse as they sorted it and dealt with the pickup by UPS. I don’t think UPS picked up all the luggage simultaneously as we are all getting deliveries at various times. For example, I shipped 3 pieces. I got 1 yesterday, 1 is scheduled for Mon and the last one on Tue. Others (who live in FL) have already received all of their stuff.
 

Smokers probably stay in the casino BECAUSE they can smoke there AND it’s indoors (on the ships that allow it). On very hot or cold days, why would they want to be outside in the bad weather when they can sit for 20 minutes and slowly play a low cost slot machine to feed their addiction? 
 

I hate how my hair and clothing smells after a short walk through a smoky casino. 
 

I wish HAL would remove all indoor smoking and move the outdoor smoking to a location that the 2nd hand smoke can’t permeate indoors.

I avoid the aft pool and aft part of the Lido buffet because of the allowed smoking area outside. The smell wafts in. I do respect that smokers are allowed there but wish it was moved elsewhere.

I just added to the anti smokers count.

On 5/13/2023 at 9:24 AM, The-Inside-Cabin said:

We used Luggage Forward both ways.  

 

We broke down the four Home Depot boxes and laid them flat under the bed.   There was still room for our suitcases on top.   Two of the boxes were damaged en route TO the ship.   The damage occurred when people tried to lift the box using only one of the built-in handholds.    I recommend tape over those handholds so they can't be used.    They are convenient when YOU move them inside your house - but when the crew grabs boxes, they grasp the handhold and yank - then RIP...

 

We bought two more new boxes from the ship for $10 each.    We repaired the damaged handhold boxes and could have used them again in a pinch, but we didn't have to.

 

 

I taped over the handholds before shipping our box via LF for the WC. It survived but I did add more duct tape for the trip home instead of packing tape. I saw the box on top of one of the pallets as we disembarked. On each side. I wrote “TOP” with arrows but it was still sideways. I hope everything will be ok inside the box.

Suites are charged more because they are considerably larger than other cabins. Therefore, they take longer to clean. Some even have an extra half bath, 2 sinks or a separated tub and shower.

We paid for our luggage shipment for the WC. We saved money by shipping 2  75-lb bags instead of 3  50-lb bags. Same total weight (150 lbs of “stuff”) but lower cost. Of course we ensured that our large bags can support the 75lb weight without falling apart! Just a suggestion for you and possibly others.

The 2 beds aren’t the size of a king when put together. They are slightly larger than a Queen. This is for non Neptune suites. 
 

We have been in Neptune suites, but not on the Koningsdam. The beds in the Neptunes were true kings and couldn’t be separated.

We were in a veranda cabin on the Koningsdam. The 2 beds weren’t king size as I wrote above.

3 hours ago, Cruising Is Bliss said:

 

No. Getting any specific cabin would be pretty unlikely until booking opens because every cabin is subject to the first dibbs rule. Anyone already booked on the previous world cruise (in this case 2024) has their same cabin for the following year (2025) if they want it.

That is true for the World Cruise, but it’s not true for the Pole to Pole. It’s on the Volendam which has a different layout. First dibs go in the order I which the FCD was submitted. According to the future cruise consultant on board the World Cruise, FCDs have been taken as early as Sept 2022. We put in our request at the end of Jan so it’s unlikely we’ll get one of our preferred cabins.

On 4/17/2023 at 9:38 AM, WCB said:

.  In addition, Fan Bay Deep Shelter with underground tunnels is located on these cliffs.  These tunnel were bored through the chalk cliffs and used by the soldiers for speed to get down to the sea level in case of invasion.  A better example of these shafts was at The Grand Shaft  in town, where you could see the spiral staircase that went straight down with 140 steps.  Well if we ever come back here, we will continue our exploration of these famous sights.

 

We did the Fan Bay Deep Shelter tour the other day. According to our guide, Richard, the tunnels were used to house the soldiers that manned the guns located on the cliffs. They were  not used by the soldiers "for speed to get down to the sea level in case of an invasion." They were well above sea level.

It was a fascinating tour that I highly recommend. Definitely well worth £10. Richard was an enthusiastic guide and was one of the volunteers that dug out the old tunnels to open them to the public in 2015. The tour was supposed to be 1 hour and ours lasted about 1:20 due to the group's questions and Richard's delightful commentary. The next tour nearly caught up to us in the tunnels.

We also got to see the World War 1 sound mirrors which were used to detect incoming aircraft before radar.

On 4/3/2023 at 1:01 PM, 0106 said:

I just realized the MDR menu format has changed.  I like that the Vegetable Plate is offered daily because I frequently request extra vegetables.  I am concerned with the fine print comment “complimentary off menu items are no longer available”.  Thoughts?

I’m on the WC. Veggies have always been available. I ordered them from day 1. They just didn’t print it on the menu. Same with the cheese plate.

Also the off menu note has been printed on the menu since day 1 as well. Yet I regularly see people getting various items that aren’t on the menu (crudités, fruit plate…).

8 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Very good! When I was teaching, and kids whined about something, I would say "Don't make me quote Mick."

 

To get back to the smoking issues, I don't smoke and I hate the smell, but I have to accept that people do smoke. I can't think of a better place for the smoking section (from a nonsmoker's POV) than outside on a deck. Maybe the wind doesn't always blow the smoke away, but at least there's a chance that it will. And if it doesn't, I have other places I can go. 

 

Where the smell cannot blow away is the adjacent area of the Lido. On Eurodam this winter, the inner doors between the aft deck and the Lido were usually propped open. Every time someone came in from the bar/smoking side, the outer slider doors opened wide, and a gust of smoke smell blew in. Sometimes worse than others, but it definitely was there. I suppose I should have found a supervisor (don't know that I ever saw one) to complain about the doors, but I just tried to always go to the salad bar on the other side. 

The doors are always kept open on every HAL ship I’ve been on. I was told it is for accessibility issues. People with walkers and scooters can’t open the doors. They aren’t automatic bills the doors between the Lido buffet and the indoor pool.

I too have smelled the smoke inside the Lido and won’t sit in the buffet area on the aft portion of the Starboard side of the ship, nor spend time at the aft pool. While I hate the smell of smoke, it’s their right to smoke in that area. So I avoid that area.

I put the heating pad in my checked luggage and the TENS unit in carryon when I flew to FLL. I was able to bring both on board the ship.

I think you’ll need to suggest to the shore excursion people that people get deregistered before someone actual tries to “go back to their cabin.” You know if will happen as many are devious 😀

31 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

We found this note on our bed tonight.   Apparently, the ship is going to try and crack down on people racing to the pier to get the front seats on shore excursions buses prior to their tour being called.

 

 

I never had an announcement in BIG RED LETTERS before...

 

I am hardly an expert in the finer points of getting the front seats, but it will be interesting to see the new tactics that will come into play - "I forgot my camera and have to go back to my cabin"    

 

 

If someone says something like that or says they have to go to the bathroom, they should be required to remove their sticker and have to reclaim it when they go back to the tour meeting location. Another reason why I dislike big group tours!

I looked at it. The cabins are tiny! Most of them are 130 to 180 sq ft.

I recommend getting a J or K on deck 1. There is a shower only with a wand, no bathtub. It might be easier for your wife than her trying to step over the edge of a bathtub