Machta

On 2/10/2024 at 9:27 AM, briansnel said:

@cruiseaholic78Thank you for being so thoughtful. 

@MachtaWe are on 2 March sailing out of Hong Kong. Also been trying to figure out the Suica card puzzle. We will try buy a Suica, Pasmo or equivalent in our first port of call in Japan - Nagasaki. We cannot use the cellular option as it seems only Apple is connected for this purpose. If we learn more we will keep you posted. Brian and Danie

@briansnel We are on the same cruise!  This will be our first trip to Asia, and we’re really excited.  

I was never able to find a suitable resolution to getting a physical Suica card, but others have reported that the tourist information centers at the ports are extraordinarily helpful.  Do post if you figure something out before heading to Hong Kong . . . love to meet you in person!  

On 2/11/2024 at 5:08 PM, Toad said:

My brother and SIL have always booked a lanai cabin and bring their bikes for easy roll off roll on.  As far as I know, no one has ever argued.

That sounds like such a great idea!  But I think there are only one or two ships left in the fleet that have lanai cabins . . . Is that right?  Maybe the Volendam and the Zaandam?

On 2/11/2024 at 11:29 AM, Hazegrey5 said:

Hi, Can you please post the contact email for HAL?  I tried the guest relations email, but did not get a reply.  

How was your experience in port with the folding bicycles?

Thank you

Yes, the email I heard back from is guestaccessibility@hollandamerica.com.  However, as I noted above, my husband has some accessibility issues so bringing the bikes is really important to us.

As far as the ports, we flew in to Amsterdam and had a BLAST riding all over the city before the cruise departed!  It was awesome!  Then on the cruise we rode in several different ports and had a wonderful time.

In two weeks we fly with our bikes to Hong Kong, where we board the Westerdam for 2 weeks to Tokyo.  Again, HAL guest accessibility was very kind in letting us know that we are fine.  We have a Neptune for this trip with lots of room to store the bikes.  Really looking forward to this trip!

5 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Struggling also with this same issue - getting a Japan smart card before arrival, and we don't want to be tethered to a cell phone.  Thanks for the tips and hope you keep us updated with your success.

 

The eBay Option: I was surprised to see how many Japan smart cards, Suica included, were for sale on eBay - some loaded with small amounts, but most unloaded. Not cheap, but I assume since they are transferable to any user, one could at least buy a blank card ahead of time and then load it once in Japan at the various transportation kiosks. 

 

This is in theory only, so wondering if anyone tried using one of these "eBay" offered empty Japan smart cards - legal, trouble, useless, rip off ???????. 

I have not looked on eBay, but that’s very interesting.  When I did register with Apple Wallet there was an option to transfer an existing card to the Suica in Apple Wallet.  I didn’t/don’t have a card, obviously, so I didn’t select that option, but it might be a way to check and see if a Suica card you buy off of eBay is valid.

Are you on the same sailing from Hong Kong on March 2?  We’d love to get together with folks . . . 

Update:  I was reading the reviews for the Suica app, and one reviewer mentioned that it’s much simpler to go to Apple Wallet, click on the “+” sign in the upper right, scroll down to “Transit Card,” and search for “Suica.”  

I spent 5m scanning the terms and conditions, but they are VERY long.  I chose Y1000 to charge to my Visa card, and it went through a registration process.

The final screen has the Suica “penguin” card image, and says, “Express Transit Card.  Your transit card will work automatically when you hold iPhone near a reader.  No Face ID required.  Your transit card may also be available when iPhone needs to be recharged.”

I clicked “Done” and the Suica card shows up in my wallet!  

Now I need to figure out *how* to use it!

Good morning, all!  We’re headed out on the Westerdam from Hong Kong to Yokohama / Tokyo on March 2.  I’ve been reading about the supply chain issues with buying an actual Suica card at train stations.  The official website says sales are very limited (https://www.jreast.co.jp/multi/en/welcomesuica/welcomesuica.html).

The problem is that only at the end of the cruise do we go anywhere near Haneda or Tokyo.  So I’ve been looking at the Suica app instead, but it looks like the apple version is only in Japanese.  Does anyone have experience using the Suica app as a non-Japanese-speaker/reader?

Thanks in advance!

On 1/26/2024 at 11:05 PM, OlsSalt said:

 

We are also sadly learning the Westerdam is also getting the "big ship" treatment for Japan too - won't get some of the downtown docks. We were on the Volendam (just a little bit smaller?) when we docked in the inner Shanghai harbor - what a shame to miss that splendid opportunity.  Thanks for the warning. 

My husband and I are booked on the March 2 sailing from Hong Kong to Tokyo.  How do you find out where the Westerdam will dock?  I’ve looked all over the HAL website, and even called them, but customer service had no idea . . .

24 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Thanks @Machta for the update, glad you enjoyed it. Guessing you didn't snap a picture of the Chicken Wire Art?

I did not take a picture of it . . . I guess you’ll just have to sail on the Rotterdam and see it for yourself!  Time to plan another cruise?

Good afternoon, all!  We just returned from our cruise, which was FANTASTIC.  The weather held for the most part, and the fjords were spectacular!  The Rotterdam is a beautiful ship.

Right before we left there was a good offer to upgrade to a Neptune, which we did.  Once aboard I asked the concierge in the lounge about the art tour.  She printed out a handout of the art available on board including the title, artist, and where it was located, but no other information.  

There was also a “scavenger hunt” for art that we saw a lot of families with young kids doing on the first sea day.  

All in all, the art was interesting, but it would have been nice if the handout had offered a little more information on the pieces.  The piece we found most interesting was in one of the elevator lobbies (forward elevators, I think), a sculpture of an underwater scene made of bent & cut chicken wire (!) that had been dipped either in brightly colored paint or latex.  We looked at it for a long time from many angles.  I really liked it, and I have so much admiration for the artist who created such an interesting piece from, of all things, chicken wire!

Thank you all for the information!  I figured it was a long shot . . . 

Good day, all!  We're sailing on the Rotterdam in 3 weeks out of Amsterdam.  Since the first sea day is a Sunday, we were thinking we might like to try and stream our church service when they broadcast it live.  Two questions:  is the wifi capable of streaming?  And are the TVs on the Rotterdam capable of showing content from my iPad or iPhone, such as via Apple TV or something similar?

Thanks for your thoughts!

On 6/28/2023 at 7:23 AM, Haljo1935 said:

Would you kindly update here to report your findings? Very curious...🤔

I made a note to myself to report after we cruise.  Thanks for the idea!

Thanks for the replies, everyone.  I’ll go to guest services and ask once we’re on board.  The HAL website still lists it as an option . . . 

Does anyone know about the “self-guided art tour” on the Rotterdam or any other ship?  Is there a podcast, or printout, or ???

Thank you all for your help!

Good morning, all!  We're sailing on the Radiance in a couple of weeks from Seward to Vancouver.  Our flight doesn't leave YVR until early afternoon, so we wanted to try and get a big workout in before we leave the ship.  I can't remember -- are the pools & workout room open the morning of disembarkation?  We've only cruised RCL twice and I just don't remember.  On HAL they are not, on MSC they are.  Does anyone know?  Thanks in advance!

@Hlitner and @cruisemom42 Thanks for your detailed observations and willingness to answer questions.  We've never been anywhere in Asia but I just booked us (me and DH) on a 14-day cruise next March from Hong Kong to Tokyo, also in a Signature Suite on the Westerdam.  

DH has some mobility issues related to a genetic condition in his feet & calves.  We've cruised in Europe, Alaska, and eastern Canada and taken our small Brompton folding bikes to get around the port towns.  We've never had a problem taking them on public transportation since they fold up quite easily.  

You've mentioned that you walk a lot around the towns.  Do you think that it would work to bicycle around instead of walking?  Do you see many people on bicycles?

Thanks for your input.  Your posts are fun to read.

On 3/15/2023 at 9:46 AM, angelsil said:

I  have traveled from Hurghada to Cairo airport many times by bus, plane and night bus. Safaga is about an hour from Hurghada and the closest airport.

 

I highly, highly recommend taking a taxi from Safaga and flying from Hurghada to Cairo. The bus ride is long and bumpy and unless it's a financial reason or you want a real Egyptian experience you're going to waste a lot of time. I've also had buses break down a non-zero number of times, especially the local minibuses that operate as buses on the route. 

 

Alternately, I suppose you could rent a car. But be aware the roads are in rough shape for a lot of the drive and there are frequent checkpoints - or were last time I did the route. I would not drive, take a bus or taxi if you are on a tight schedule.

Thank you for your detailed advice!  I really appreciate it!

Hello friends!  We are considering the cruise in November from Rome to Safaga, Egypt.  We've never been to the Middle East.  Does anyone have any experience getting from Port Safaga to the Cairo airport?

4 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

I think that I may have ironically stumbled on the answer to my question.😀  Saw on MSN an article about someone that lives on a cruiseship half of the year with her husband.  He works on a HAL ship.  She is a former CD. I believe those may be higher rank crew cabins in those shaded areas.  Take a look at the verandah!

 

Very interesting article with a link to her Tik Tok videos featuring her life on the ship and other interesting tips.  I hope it is alright to post this HERE.   I will be busy tonight looking at all of her videos.  LOL

Oh wow, that's so interesting!  Thanks for sharing!

Hello all!  My husband and I have booked Rotterdam vista suite 6001 for a cruise to Norway in August.  Some friends just booked 6002.  In looking at the images out there, it almost looks like it might be possible to open the partitions on each verandah that are towards the bow of the ship.  The deck plans don't show anything there, but there must be *something*.  We were thinking it would be really neat if we could open those two partitions and be able to walk all the way from one cabin to the other on the verandah, but I figure there's crew cabins or something in between.

Thoughts?

Edited:  Never mind.  I just looked more closely at the photos online.  There's a solid steel barrier towards the middle of the ship, and the partition is on the outside edge.  Oh well!

Well, that was quick!

Just after I posted in this thread I sent an email to the HAL accessibility people asking about bringing our folding Brompton bikes.  I would hasten to note that our situation might be a little bit different from that of other folks since my husband does have some mobility issues.

Anyway, about noon today (which, if you're counting, is basically 1/2 of a business day) a representative got back to me with permission so long as we agree to (politely) roll the bikes up/down the gangway and hallways ourselves, store them in our cabin (we have a Vista Suite, so plenty of room), and, most importantly, NOT ride them on the ship (!).  He did ask that we fill out a form so that the ship personnel will know they're on board.

I am unsure if this is now standard policy across the fleet or if they approved our request.  If taking folding bicycles on board is of interest to you I would encourage you to reach out to customer service, your personal cruise consultant, or the accessibility team at HAL.  

Next up:  planning bike rides from the ports in Norway . . . woohoo!

Thanks to all who replied.  I appreciate it!  Please let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer them.

18 hours ago, seychelle said:

Please let us know what you find out. We have Bromptons too!

I certainly shall!  

Good morning, all.  I’m going to respectfully reactivate this thread.  We are 3* mariners but haven’t been on HAL since my husband’s mobility issues flared up.  We have, however, cruised with RCI and MSC with our Brompton folding bicycles.  RCI was fine with us respectfully rolling them down the hallways and keeping them in our cabin.  MSC allowed them aboard, but stored them in a locker near the disembarkation station and pulled them out for us at every port.  Both strategies worked very well and the staff was very helpful.  I’m going to call HAL on Monday to discuss.  I just thought others might like to know how other cruise lines have handled bicycles recently . . . 

On 12/27/2022 at 10:13 AM, voyagerL said:

 

Hey Machta, 

 

I'm also sailing Bellissima in Jan, when are you embarking? 🙂 

Hi voyagerL!  We embark in Barcelona on January 21.  When do you sail?