Cruiser_M

10 hours ago, Sarnia 432 said:

Cruisetimetables.com is another good resource

Nice one. Thank you so much! 

9 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

cruiseplum.com has everything you're looking for and more.  In fact, it has so many search options it can be a little clunky to search for and find what you want.

Fabulous. Thank you. I'll go have fun poking around there for a while. Thanks for saving me so much time!

We're looking into repositioning and other one-way cruises as part transportation, part sightseeing. I've not found a good way to search for this type of cruise, though. Are there any known tips and tricks you can share with me to make this simpler, either on an aggregate site or on individual cruise line sites? Many thanks!

12 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 

Have you been following the thread that is going on right now,  from a Vista-class ship passenger who is doing a similar long Japan cruise from the West Coast? He is a very critical observer, so you will get all the high points and low points. 

 

(Zuiderdam is a similar Vista class ship.) 

Not yet, but that sounds like the right thing to do. Thank you.

1 hour ago, OlsSalt said:

 

 

Which 50 day cruise are you looking at?

 

Any Trans-Pacific cruise will have very long at-sea stretches. Though heading north across Alaska to Russia Far East and Japan has fewer vast ocean passages. Trans-Atlantic ones, not as much as Tales of the South Pacific routes where they cannot be avoided.

 

The 53-ish day Majestic Japan, out of Seattle, to upper Alaska, a lot of Japan, Hawaii, and back to Seattle. This assumes, of course, that it stays as a choice after what I believe will be its first run in fall 2024. We're looking at an Asia trip some time in 2026, and a cruise like that would be an excellent way to fulfill that dream. 

2 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Unfortunately you will have very different HAL experiences on all three ships, so doing a trial run before committing to a later 50 day HAL cruise will not be instructional.

 

I assume the 50 day cruise will be on one of the smaller HAL ships, so I would pick the smaller  Zuiderdam to get the best feel of what to expect for a much longer HAL cruise commitment. 

 

We personally will always chose the smaller (older) HAL ships and the longer cruises over the newer ones which often do the shorter runs. We now have over 600 days under HAL's  care, so that is my own bias.

 

But you do give up a lot of more glitzy onboard amenities on the smaller, older ships.  While other quieter charms of the older ships have been taken away on the newer larger ones - missing on the newer ones are the full 360 wide promenade decks, ofter with loungers, the onboard libraries, smaller easier to navigate deck plans, more sense of intimacy and interaction with staff and crew, ability to access more remote ports, more quiet nooks and crannies onboard to explore.

 

Good question, and one that would have been easier to answer in the past, but the range of onboard experiences now on HAL ships is too varied today - from newer and larger ships, to the older more traditional ships - one size no longer fits all within the family of HAL ships. 

Thanks. It does sound that way. Seems like if we like the 10-night ABC cruise, we'll need to find another cruise to test out a smaller ship before committing to a 50+ night. Sounds like a great problem to have. "Oh, no, we have to book another cruise! Darn!" 🙂

2 hours ago, Susanmaz said:

Eurodam. Rotterdam is too big with way too many people. We’ve sailed Zuiderdam twice and encountered bilge orders on deck 2 both times. DH won’t go on her again. Eurodamis one of my favorite ships. Right size, right number of pax.

This is really good to hear. I sounds like it may suit us well. Thank you!

3 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

 

The music walk is a big deal on the Pinnacle ships. Because I dislike noisy, crowded places, I did not like it. But again, I'm in the minority. Sadly, there was little else by way of entertainment. HAL is making changes to their entertainment program, so it's hard to say what will be available late 24/early 25. 

 

I love the Vistas, and Zuiderdam is my favorite. I like the layout and the size. The thermal suite, my one big indulgence, is great. I recently sailed on Eurodam, and while it was a bit larger than I like (aft cabin made it a hike to the spa!), the ship was attractive, rode well, room was comfortable. One thing that Eurodam has that Zuiderdam (and all the Vistas) lack is Tamarind. If you like Asian cuisine, that's a big plus. 

Good point about not knowing what it'll be like in 24-25, so I'll try to keep an open mind as things inevitably change between now and then. 

We do love Asian cuisine. My husband is ethnically Chinese (but from Canada), and he's a foodie. So he guides me (white girl American non-foodie) through it all. 🙂 

4 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

We love the idea of daily Mass as well.  On most ships it is at 8 am on Sea days and 5 PM on Port days.  Very convenient.

That's so great! It's most important to me for Sunday Mass, of course, but daily Mass is such a lovely bonus!

4 minutes ago, Tapi said:

 

 

Have you been to Grand Turk before? I didn’t care too much for it. You arrive at a Welcome Center (built by Carnival). Nice beach and pool area with a surfing simulator, a Margaritaville restaurant, and pool cabanas that you can rent for the day. If the only ship in port is your HAL ship, it will be fairly quiet. But if you’re in port with another ship (specially from one of the other Carnival brands), get ready for the pool area to be packed and the party hopping. 
 

The beaches are indeed beautiful and the water is breathtaking. But the island is fairly small and, outside of the Welcome Center, the choices for sightseeing and exploration are somewhat limited. There’s really not much to see or do. 

 

If you’re NOT the kind of person that enjoys spending the day lounging by the pool or the beach, you may be a bit disappointed. 

That's really helpful info; thank you. We've not been there. I figured since it'd be another nation we can cross off our list as having visited and it would only add one day to the itinerary, we should consider it. I'll pass this along to my husband and see if that changes our minds. 

32 minutes ago, REOVA said:

What cruise line and ships have you sailed and liked? What do you like to do on the ship? We enjoy smaller ships and relaxing on the seas between ports but it depends on how you go into it and your expectations as to what you will get. You'll generally find HAL crew the nicest and friendliest in the business and better service on smaller ship. But you shouldn't compare a Caribbean itinerary with HALs longer voyages (even on same ship). They will have more programs on longer voyages (hopefully, as they used to) and the experience will be different on board. Enjoy Eurodam for this cruise and keep an open mind on the next. We've sailed every class ship (as well as other lines) and there are pluses and minuses to each, depending on personal desires. 

A million years ago I went on a Disney cruise and a few small ships on Royal Caribbean. Together we started with the smallest class of Royal Caribbean ships and worked our way up. So far we've sailed on all classes of their ships except Oasis and Quantum Classes. We've sailed in interior, ocean view, and balcony rooms. We're quite spoiled with the balcony, but for this trip and any longer trips we'll have to settle for probably inside or possibly ocean view if we get a great offer from a travel agent. 

You have a good point about not being able to directly compare a short cruise to a longer cruise. It's still probably at least a glimpse at how HAL does things. One thing that's important to me is that there's a Catholic priest onboard, and I can attend Holy Mass even on sea days. I think right now HAL is the only cruise line in the world that offers that option all year round. That plus some really great itineraries are the two main reasons we're hoping to sail with them.

Thank you for such quick and very helpful replies. In looking more at the 9-night vs 10-night itineraries, we see we get a stop at Grand Turk with the 10-night. That has actually made the decision for us! So now there's only one ship, the Eurodam. 

To the person who suggested taking a cruise on the one the ships that is used for longer voyagers, you have a VERY valid point. Thank you. I think that's reason for us to plan another short cruise in the future to test it out.

Many thanks to you all!

My husband and I hope to book a HAL itinerary for Late 2024 or Early 2025 very soon, going on a 9- or 10- day cruise from Fort Lauderdale to the ABC islands. I see there are three ships sailing that route during that season.

This cruise will serve several purposes for us: celebration of an event that will have taken place at the end of Sep 2024, a chance to try HAL before we commit to one of their 50+ day cruises in the future, and a chance to visit all three of the ABC islands. 

What should we take into consideration about the Rotterdam, Zuiderdam, and Eurodam to help us make our decision?

Thank you!

I researched nightlights for cruise ship bathrooms after our last cruise in January 2020. Somebody somewhere on these boards recommended these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MHVTHQS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We've used them many times since in hotel stays, and they are wonderful!

They charge with a mini USB, and the charge lasts a LONG time. They're motion activated, and they turn themselves back off. (I think there's a constant on mode, too, but I'm not sure.) The light is bright enough to see in the middle of the night but not so bright that it hurts your eyes or wakes you up too much.

I HIGHLY recommend them. Thank you to whomever posted about them here in the past.

Agreed. Check about 11 months before your trip.

39 minutes ago, shirazcruiser said:

AUVON Rechargeable Motion Sensor Night Light, Warm White LED Stick-On Closet Light with Dusk to Dawn Sensor, Adjustable Brightness for Wall, Stairs, Cabinet, Hallway (2 Pack) at AMAZON. 

 

I love these since I don't have to lug extra batteries to change when my old light would begin to dim. The charge lasts for days and it's an easy recharge with the USB cable. It has low and high light settings along with an on/off switch or the option of a motion sensor. 

These look perfect. Thank you.

17 minutes ago, 2chiefs said:

Yes the tea lights have switches on them and we turn them on and off as needed

Thanks so much. 

I'd like a battery-operated light to use in the cabin's bathroom on our future cruises. What have you tried and like? I think I read some of you have battery-operated tea lights. Do they have switches? Do you leave them on 24 hours or just turn them on before you go to bed? Anything else I should take into consideration? I'm buying travel supplies now while I'm thinking about it. Thank you!

Another thought on those luggage tags with the metal straps... In addition to using them as we board the ship, we also use them when we put the luggage outside the room the last night to be taken off the ship. Works out very well. 

The practical part: Husband and I bring two travel coffee mugs. First one awake goes to get coffee and bring it back to the room. We find this less intrusive to the person who is still sleeping than getting a phone call from room service before they bring an order up, and it's much simpler to walk back across the length of the ship navigating stairs or elevators and the room door handle with closed up travel mugs than the coffee mugs supplied on the ship. 

The silly part: we never use these two travel mugs on land. They are only ever our cruise mugs. We're odd, though, so.... 🙂 

11 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

Harmony is great. Don’t pay attention to him. 😄

Thank you. Even before I was reading this thread, we had planned for the Harmony cruise to be our last cruise on Royal for quite a while. I really want it to be a good one. 

53 minutes ago, FireEMT978 said:

Just did Harmony, over last Halloween. And, Oasis right before Christmas. 

Oasis wins my nod, hands down. 

1. Aquatheater show on Oasis was great. Watched it twice. Harmony was pretty lame.

2. Port Side BBQ is my new favorite restaurant. On any ship!

3. Staff on Oasis 10 out of 10! Staff on our Harmony sailing 4 out of 10.

4. Oasis has a new "Solarium" area that extends forward. Very nice.

5. The "Apollo 18" Escape Room, was a great time. Very well run.

6. Windjammer on Oasis was also better.

7. Slides were better on Oasis.

8. Lime and Coconut theme is great. As are, the Non-smoking side bartenders!

 

After our Harmony cruise, I was ready to actually cancel our Oasis cruise. Yep, it was that bad of a first time "Oasis class" experience. I'm really glad, that I gave the Oasis a chance. 

 

Oh, this worries me. Husband and I are booked on our first Oasis-class cruise next January, but it's on Harmony. 

3 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

That is QUICK!!  Good thing you had your stopwatch handy......

 

It was normal for me to check the current time after Mass when I was attending on my lunch break. It helped ensure I would arrive back at place of employment on time.  

8 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

I have seen some QUICK Masses, but never a 15 minute one!

 

Late 1990s, cathedral in Orlando, FL, 12:05pm weekday Mass, 16 minutes. I couldn't believe it. 

On 1/24/2020 at 8:07 PM, Mich3554 said:

We are looking at doing a WC, probably in 2023.  Our next ocean cruise is going to be in Oct-Dec 2021, where we are going to be doing a back to back.  I have not decided whether it will be 37 or 44 days yet, I guess this is going to be dependent upon whether or not DH’s employer squawks about the amount of time.  
 

I figure that if we can handle this, we should be able to handle more days.  We are using Viking for this.

That sounds like a lot of fun. Good luck getting your husband's employer to agree to an arrangement that lets you take the 44 day version!

On 1/23/2020 at 7:49 AM, travelwell said:

I would add to find an experienced, high volume travel agent who can hold your hand through the process. Ours knew we were planning a WC and we were able to book the specific category room we wanted three days before the public. She also helped us with insurance,  not an insignificant challenge. We booked our 2021 WC in July 2018. Many ships fill up fast. 

 

Thank you. Finding a travel agent is my next project now that we're back from three recent short road trips (only one of which was to a cruise <sad trombone> 🙂 ). I'm looking for somebody who sells a lot of world cruises on the line we're considering who also won't mind booking the little 7-night cruises in the meantime. I've done a bit of research and have a few of them on my list to call.