Destiny0315

Yes I would say that 99%+ of this cruise has been sold out for more than a month now with just a few cabins(mostly insides)showing up in inventory off and on since then. CCL should learn from this and continue with longer (10,12,15 day) cruises out of NYC to the Caribbean even in the summer months. Sure you might lose some of the young families but then you will also likely get less people on the longer cruises interested in disrupting things as like what happened back in June/July on the week or less ones, imho.

The remodeled bathrooms with the glass enclosed showers in the Cat. D Lower Promenade deck OV cabins on the Zaandam also have the foot bars.

Remember that you may have to define clockwise and counter clockwise to some members here.😃

What we need are seat fillers like they have at the awards shows.😀

Yes that looks like a good island tour as would be any island tour of Barbados that includes the beautiful beach and rocks at Bathsheba. One of the most picturesque beaches that I've ever visited.

Agreed! I have been there once 20 years ago on a Carnival ship in 2003 and want to get back. Enjoying French culture on a Caribbean island was/is wonderful but it seems that more of the main cruise lines tend to stop at Dominica now. Then of course there's St. Barts where the high rollers play.🙂

You might be right as there are no ships docking at Bridgetown throughout August/Sept of '23 and only two during October with Carnival Venezia being the first on October 7. As a comparison in '24 there are 15 days of ships in port from August to October. Not sure as to the reason as I see no evidence of new port construction projects although just this past week they announced a $147 million dollar airport upgrade project. Bonaire is a fairly regular port stop for Carnival so I would suspect we might see it replace Barbados with a stop added there on the 6th after leaving Curacao on the 5th and than a sea day on the 7th before arriving in St. Lucia on the 8th.

Yes it is a very special day John! I hope you and Myriam enjoy it to the fullest!💖

It looks like deck 4 or the Mezzanine deck which has an outdoor promenade that covers around 3/4 of the deck. https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/deckbydeck.php?ship=Carnival-Venezia&deck=4

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/08/massport-and-holland-america-announce-winner-of-wave-season-campaign/

Here is a news story and video from today's inaugural visit by the HAL Zaandam to Corner Brook, Newfoundland. https://ntv.ca/zaandam-cruise-ship-makes-inaugural-visit-to-corner-brook/

The biggest surprise is the lack of chocolate offered.🤔

Agreed! A WHATEVER of the Seas RCCL ship in the same spot would have blocked the natural beauty in the background of the photos with waterslides etc...!

I agree, a little too messy for first thing in the morning!😉

Did HAL go too far with Alaska, or did everyone else just catch up? HAL and Princess owned the lucrative market for many years but now every major line and many minors have at least a ship or two up there. One of the reasons I see for the increased interest in cruising the cold weather regions(Alaska, Norway, Iceland/Greenland)is the climate situation as more people read, see and hear about the changes occurring in them whether they be natural and/or man made. HAL has also owned the summer market to the Canadian Maritimes for decades. They were looking to expand about a decade ago with extended cruises into Newfoundland but then they, and everyone else, were sidetracked by the opening up of Cuba to ships in 2014. They have returned to that idea and now do go to Newfoundland albeit through the Boston-Montreal route. Maybe dedicate a full circumnavigation Newfoundland/Labrador cruise with also a stop in St. Pierre et Miquelon r/t from Boston and/or Montreal would sell. Yes Portugal's islands, the Azores and Madeira, are fertile properties for the cruise market from both the Northeast USA and Europe. They are usually visited on TA voyages by some lines but I don't think any of them really make them a destination cruise area mainly because of where they sit in the Atlantic. There are upwards of 125,000 people born in Portugal and over a half a million people of Portuguese descent in the Boston/New York metropolitan area alone which is the largest in the country and could be marketed too for such a cruise.

Here is a not so out of the box idea for HAL to create some extra revenue using their established presence in Boston and their success in running for years now the themed VOV cruise from here. With the USA's 250th anniversary of the American Revolution coming up and being celebrated on July 4, 2026, how about building an itinerary that would sail from Boston to the UK and back and also one from the UK to the US and back, maybe starting a couple of times during '25 and then again in '26. All the while keying on the history of the events with maybe some special programs/speakers onboard. With the 250th anniversary coming up in just five months on December 16 of the Boston Tea Party it would be a perfect time to introduce and promote these special sailings.

What used to be considered super hot is now a relief day in some world locations.🙂 https://travel.usnews.com/The_Azores_Portugal/When_To_Visit/#:~:text=The%20best%20time,kind%20of%20destination.

I am well aware that it is considered hurricane season during those five months. That certainly doesn't stop CCL, RCCL, NCL, etc...from running weekly cruises from NYC/NJ and Baltimore(or even Galveston)during those months. In fact every year HAL already runs two transitioning cruises from Montreal and Quebec City down the US coastal hurricane route to FLL in late September. At least in '24 they are keeping the Volendam up here until the first week of October and the Zuiderdam until the second week of November.

I'm talking June, July, and August, maybe early Sept. Right now anybody in New England and the Maritime provinces has to travel at a minimum to NYC/NJ or Baltimore to jump on a ship to the Caribbean. The new cruises being offered by HAL for next Oct/Nov '24 from Boston to the Caribbean/Panama Canal are at least an indication of some new thinking.

Bring a third ship up to Boston for the summer and run a few 10-14 day r/t itineraries to the Caribbean which is currently a totally untapped market from here. Gear it towards the adult market and maybe even develop a 14 day r/t cruise to the Azores.

😉

Remember the words of a new fellow octogenarian Cliff...

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/cruise-deals/community-appreciation-cruise-offers/aarp-member-benefit-offer#

Here you go Cliff, looks like you need to renew though.😉

And don't forget the 15% off at Denny's! 🤣