JeffElizabeth

On 6/24/2022 at 8:59 AM, ewildcat7 said:

Is this a new rule?  We did a cruise on HAL in 2019 and were allowed to bring 12 cans of unopened soda on board at the beginning of the cruise.  I also bought additional sodas from a grocery store during a port call and they had no problem with bringing them on board.

They let us do the same in Honolulu.  We brought Mountain Dew Zero aboard the ship. They were going to make us give it up, but I told them we already had the Coke beverage package so they aren't missing out on drink sales.

25 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Thanks; but that doesn't address my main question, which is: how to tell whether a cruise, e.g., a 28-day Med cruise, is a cruise unto itself or is made up of 2 also-marketed 14-day cruises.

 

 

IMO, most long cruises are short cruises cobbled together. Our Voyage of the Vikings can be split into two cruises. It normally isn't a big deal, but it is nice to stay in our cabins when half the passengers are scrambling to leave the boat that morning. 

On 5/10/2023 at 7:50 AM, CruiserBruce said:

I don't think it's surprising that a person might be ready to get off after 31 days, and that it shouldn't be a surprise that menus and entertainment repeat over that period. 

 

Some would be happy to stay on. But I suspect the vast majority would be ready to get off.

Agree. We find 21 days to be the perfect cruise time frame. Cruise lines tend to repeat with menus and entertainment after 10-14 days. We usually skip the nightly shows. We did 18 days to Hawaii on HAL last October and 18 days with Princess around the British Isles in September.  Princess had better designed suites, but since the ship didn't have enough crew and passengers,  a couple of the specialty restaurants were closed. Holland? The excursions were sold out immediately and they were unable to add more trips. 

On 4/27/2023 at 6:54 PM, Camden lady said:

Thank you for the information.  Will leave my euros at home and get some Norwegian Krone through my bank.  

Some cruise lines front desks will sell you local currency.  

A lot depends on the nation. In Morocco,  they much prefer Euros to US dollars. Same in the Scandinavian nations, Euros were fine. Many of the guides travel to Euro nations at the end of tourist season.  

Thanks, saw the same thing on Oceania's private island.  The crew went ashore to man the food stands and bars. 

On 4/16/2022 at 5:58 PM, Florida_gal_50 said:

I’d like to think they’d bring back the many things that are disappearing at an alarming rate but I don’t think they will.  Death by a thousand cuts.

We are booked on Voyage of the Vikings this July and August,  this might just be our last cruise with HA. Don't want to cruise on a discount line. Will we get paper napkins in the MDR next? 

So cute! 

Agree. One cruise the locks weren't working properly and we missed our flight. 

Last year on Riviera,  we anchored off the Amalfi coast and we took a boat ride up the coast. 

The last cruise of the Prinsendam.  We went up to Norway and the Arctic Circle.  Nothing like watching whales at 2AM in the morning from the Crow's Nest. Many of the older captains were also on the cruise with us so we got some great lectures about Holland America's history.  

19 hours ago, Mary229 said:

If I am getting a balcony, it is aft.  I have never smelled fumes.  I think it may be a problem on certain ships so once you decide on the ship perhaps ask your question again. 

We had the fumes issue on a Princess ship many years, but really only was bad on days we were docked and we were always off the ship then. The balcony space was huge! Had more issues with our next door neighbor who spent 50% of the cruise on the balcony conducting business on his phone. What a vacation for him! 

We took a cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii years ago and the Canadians on our ship said one of their big travel agents there had pre-bought a whole deck for their customers.  Maybe something like that happened.  

3 hours ago, Colorado Klutch said:

Have you done a Christmas cruise before? I ask because based on everything I've read and seen, any Christmas cruise will be:

1. Expensive
2. Absolutely packed with long lines everywhere

3. A lot those passengers will be kids

 

Now I've never been on a Christmas cruise, but I liken it to visiting Walt Disney World. I'm very familiar with that place, but I've never been there around Christmas and I would never go there around Christmas for the same reason; absolutely PACKED with long lines EVERYWHERE!

If you are aware of this and you are fine with this, cool. Just make sure you know what you are getting into.  

Agree. One of our worst cruises was a Christmas cruise on Princess about a decade ago. Packs of roving kids disrupting everything.  

13 hours ago, Tapi said:

I’m leaning towards the Panama Canal itinerary. More countries, and port and cultural diversity than the Mexico itinerary. 
 

We did the Mexican Riviera on Celebrity a few months ago. It was an absolutely wonderful cruise, but being an “all Mexico” itinerary, the ports started feeling a bit repetitive after a bit. 
 

With that said, I’d be happy with either one, 

Agree. We have done both but found the Canal cruise was more interesting.  More countries and I love going through the locks. Still fascinates me to see huge ships moved up and down. 

We are taking the Boston to Boston cruise this Summer and am glad to hear that these older, smaller ships have nice amenities that the modern mega ships don't.  

On 4/2/2023 at 7:12 PM, pinotlover said:

Absolutely people understand that.

 

You also understand that people don’t disappear into quarantine for a common cold, and a 100% mask mandate for the crew isn’t issued because of just coughing.

 

If one wants to know what’s happening aboard, try politely talking to your room steward instead of the front desk. Other good sources, for those of us that have sailed frequently, is talking with the waiters and bartenders that you know from previous cruises.

Actually my BIL got quarantined on an Asian cruise for a bad cold. This was a few years before Covid-19.  He spent 75% of the trip in quarantine.  He hasn't cruised since. 

23 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Not everyone gets those.  Hopefully there will be less freebies so they don’t have to up charge the rest of the prices.

Cruising has always been interesting because two customers with adjoining cabins most likely paid very different prices for their vacations depending on when they booked and other differences.  

We love this thread! We started cruising in 1997 and it has changed so much in that limited of time. Very true that cruises used to be much more expensive.  We miss most the piano bar in the Crows Nest, my wife misses the cold soups at dinner. 

We don't miss the Baked Alaska nights, and we don't mind many of the other cutbacks.

I do miss the bound book with the vouchers in it. They must have stopped that in the early 2000's. 

On 3/14/2023 at 11:45 AM, RICHARD@SEA said:

I sailed in Prinsendam for 16 days - a wonderful ship that more like a private club.... it was very classy & the officers & crew so gracious & accommodating.  It  was one of the last cruises that passengers & officers could mix & mingle.

The ship was built to sail the 7 seas & she did it gracefully. Royal Ving Line was the best of its time & the ships reflected that in every way.  HAL w smart to buy the ship - but Carnivore wasn't so smart in not building similar ships!!!

My uncle had given up on Holland America a long time ago for various reasons but when we told him we were on the last voyage of the Prinsendam,  he had to join us. It was a great trip, many of the retired HA captains were on the vessel too with their families one last time. 

The Prinsendam was our favorite HA ship and about half our voyages on the line were trips aboard here. A couple highlights for us, cruising the Kiel Canal. Modern boats are too big. And also docking in the center of town in Antwerp.  You had to pay a premium to cruise on her, but so glad we we aboard on her last cruise for Holland. We were so tempted to steal "souvenirs" from her but just couldn't harm her in any way. 

If it was really dangerous there, the cruise line would eliminate it from their ports. Acapulco was eliminated a few years ago for this reason.  Don't know if ships have returned to docking there yet.

We have been going to Mexico yearly since the 1980's.  We have never had an issue with crime, most of our visits have been to La Zona Romantica in Puerto Vallarta. There is crime everywhere,  just try to stay alert and travel with others. 

My wife will do that as soon as we board with our formal wear. 

I do think Holland America does have a much better buffet than Princess.  Very disappointed by the Emerald Princess buffet in September.  Not a lot of choices and the food was cheaper quality.