vms

I had no idea you could apply for it so early. I have a cruise scheduled for January and wondering if I should do it now, so that if there are issues, I'll have more than enough time to resolve them.  OTOH, now that I'm working from home 100% of the time for the foreseeable future, I don't have easy access to a fax machine any more.

Decisions, decisions... 🙂

Since I have a hard time sleeping in, even on vacation, I miss early mornings watching the sea go by with a drink from Café al Bacio, followed by eggs Benedict for breakfast (which I love but only ever get on cruises). I miss exploring new places. I miss Murano. I miss the Martini bar and the Silent Disco. And I miss getting an amazing night's sleep every night as I'm gently rocked to sleep.

I loved your deaf coffee story! I gave up caffeine 11 years ago, but sometimes still want a cup of decaf after a meal, and it's very cool to know that would be how you would ask for it in sign. It's so interesting how languages evolve and clearly ASL is no different. 

My perception is that technology has provided many improvements for deaf & hard of hearing people- do you agree? Your TDD story vs the ability to text, as an example. Not being a computer programmer, it seems like it should be easy to use the cruise line's mobile app technology to have you be able to message to your cabin stewards, or room service. Although I'm sure it's much more difficult than I would think.

The wrap around promenade decks are one of my favorite things about HAL ships compared to other lines I've been on, so I can see why you're so in love with them.

Thanks for continuing your review- it is so interesting! 

What an experience! Cheers to you for being so calm about the whole situation. And how nice of HAL to send a little pick-me-up after your ordeal. 

I have very much enjoyed your review so far, and I'm so glad you've come back to finish "the rest of the story". The Panama Canal is on my cruise bucket-list. 

I booked one for late January 2021 and one for March 2021. Hopefully one will be a go. If I'm really lucky, both will be a go.

1 hour ago, mafig said:

I find it very generous.

 

If you sail Princess or Holland America I don't think you get ANY reciprocol perks.  Perhaps you do.  But I always was happy that I was Diamond on Royal due to being Elite on Celebrity.

You're correct. The CCL brands do not offer any shared loyalty status. Each one runs its loyalty program separately. 

Summit, April 2016

A different view of St. Lucia. 

Infinity Pacific Coastal- September 2017

Got up extra early for the sunrise sail under the Golden Gate bridge. 

I almost missed the ship twice on ship sponsored tours- both on the same cruise! Once when our boat touring Phang Nga Bay scraped into the pier and gashed a hole in the side of the boat at our shopping stop. It was 30-45 minutes while they radioed for a new boat to come and pick us up. That delayed our dinner, which meant we hit traffic going back to Phuket. They rushed us down the pier to the tender and we were the last tender to return to the ship.  

The second time was coming back to the port from Kuala Lumpur. There was some type of festival happening which snarled traffic horribly and our guide kept trying to insist on making all the stops so he wouldn't get in trouble with his company. All of us on the tour had to write a letter and sign it with our names & cabin numbers that we had agreed to have him cut the tour short. It had been hours since we had a bathroom stop and I begged someone from X that I saw in the terminal to be allowed to stop for a bathroom break because I wasn't going to be able to make the long walk out to the ship. They were very kind and said that I could take my time. Turns out there were a couple other ships tours stuck in the same traffic so we weren't the last ones to arrive, but I still jogged my way out to the ship in case anyone was watching.

On a different cruise, in Kona, Hawaii, no one came close to missing the ship, but I ended up on the last tender which turned into the crew tender. The last passenger tender was supposed to be 3:30 pm, and I arrived at 3:08 to discover I was one of about 10 people who hadn't come back to the ship yet. They were checking off everyone's cabin numbers and radioing back and forth to security onboard to confirm the list of the "missing" and who had arrived at the tender. Once the last person arrived about 3:20, they loaded the 10 of us on the tender, then loaded all the crew & materials and we all came back together. 

I don't belive the pandemic will change my cabin-choices. 

I'm a typically solo-cruiser and I won't hesitate to continue to book inside cabins when traveling solo, although I'm always willing to book a higher-level with a great deal or a reduced single-supplement. When traveling with others, I prefer a balcony and will continue to book that. 

James Bond Island, Thailand. Millennium, November 2015. The view was stunning, but more memorable was the adventure trying to get back to the ship. The small boat we were touring Phang Nga Bay with sprang a leak when the pilot did a bad job of coming alongside the dock at a snack stop and ripped a hole in the side. We had an extra 30-45 minute wait for a new one. 

RCL had a big bump also. It was at 35ish at the beginning of the week and now is up to $48.

I love this idea- it combines the comfort and ability to easily hear & see the presentation of the theater-style muster, with the requirement to physically appear in the muster location as in HAL's current process (for the majority of their ships), which is important to know if an abandon ship order is given, but not helpful in other types of emergencies.

I experienced an emergency during my last cruise: we were awoken in the middle of the night to learn that a fire had broken out in one of the kitchens. Less than an hour later we were given the all clear.  I was thrilled not to have to put on warm clothes over my PJ, don my lifejacket, and traipse down to the muster station and be allowed to remain in my cabin while things were sorted out, but I understand if people felt more comfortable heading to their station, especially while the nature of the emergency wasn't immediately apparent. Ultimately, each person has to be responsible for their own safety and decisions, should an emergency occur.

Singapore

Benoa, Bali

Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia

Honolulu

Lahaina, Maui

Corner Brook, Newfoundland

As the OP, I'm glad to hear all feedback, positive and constructive, but I agree that knowing how long ago the sailing was is helpful. I also know that you can have 2 people on the same ship have vastly different experiences. 🙂

Keep the stories/info coming!

My parents took their kids and grandkids on a cruise last summer. My niece (11 years old) stayed in my room with me. Even though on all the paperwork we submitted to the cruise line we were clear that I was her aunt, including all of the information for the kids club, all the crew members kept calling me mommy when I would come pick her up from the club. I finally gave up on correcting them.

The one thing we ran into was one day when leaving the ship, she was ahead of me and her parents were as well. When she scanned her card, they wanted to know where I was and there was a bit of a shuffle as they made me come up and scan off the ship at the same time. Even though her actual legal parents were right behind her. 🙂  No issues scanning back onboard separately.

Enjoy your cruise!

While everyone is anxiously awaiting refunds and information about what will become our new normal, I thought I could start a different kind of discussion.

I'm scheduled to sail on the Veendam in January 2021 (Fingers crossed, but that's not what this thread is about). I've seen on numerous threads where people mention how much they love this ship. So I'm hoping you'd be willing to share why you love it.

For reference, the other Holland America ships I've been on are the Eurodam and the Zuiderdam.

This is wonderful! Thanks for the laughs. Can't wait to hear about your adventures at Porto de Nada

Thank you for a wonderful review! Your food photos were lip-smacking delicious. Glad that you returned home safely.

Looking forward to your final thoughts.

Thank you so much Annie for this delightful review!

I've always wanted to go to Chitzen Itza since I saw it on a TV show once, and your pictures let me know it should stay on my bucket list. And your swimming in the Cenote- how cool! That was a really amazing almost-private tour that you had.

Thank you for bringing some joy into my day with your review.

Does HAL give any "perks" for those on a B2B? I've only done a B2B on Celebrity and they gave a free bag of laundry to all B2B cruisers.

I think HAL is trying to shift focus to a more mid-aged crowd- but time will tell if it works. My last HAL cruise was myself (early 40s) and my mother (early 70s), and the number of people in her age group who complained loudly about Postmodern Jukebox- it felt like everyone we spoke to hated them, while I found them delightful and mom thought they were interesting but she only knew 1 or 2 of the songs they were referencing.

I think HAL's niche is people who are sailing for itinerary- even with 7 and 10 day cruises they have more interesting ports and options. I've been thinking about a Panama Canal transit cruise and HAL has so many options with different combinations of ports, compared to 1 or 2 cruises total on Celebrity, which is my other preferred line.

Another vote for Tamarind- it is not to be missed!

Loved your mani with martini pic- you did a great job showing off your nails!

Very interesting about the incident investigator. I ripped my feet open on some coral and sharp rocks on a private excursion in Indonesia while sailing with Celebrity, and when I went to medical, they said I could have some free band aids & antibacterial ointment, or I could wait and pay for the doctor to look at them, who would probably give me the same thing. So I took the free stuff and left. No one from the ship ever followed up.  I also was one of the dreaded Flip-Flops in the MDR cruisers, because I couldn't get my feet into any other shoes. The staff never said a word to me- and if a fellow cruiser was upset about it, they never mentioned it to me.

Glad to hear you didn't let the injury get you down!