mikebsxm

Luckily, we were able to enjoy an overnight tour of Israel last June on the Oosterdam. This year we booked the Oosterdam in October, 2024 and it has port calls in Turkey and Alexandria, Egypt. With war escalating in that entire region, I'm hoping that HAL will notify us before final payment date in July if they plan to drop the Egypt port call. They did cancel the Israel and Egypt port calls for the Dave Koz Smooth Jazz full ship charters for April 30 and May 7, 2024 on the Oosterdam.

1980. NCL SS Norway. 7 days eastern Caribbean.

I was on a ship leaving from the port of Miami many years ago. As we were sailing out of port in that narrow pass leading to the Atlantic, I was out on my balcony enjoying the sights. All of a sudden, I was showered with what seemed like gravel and course sand. It landed all over me and my balcony. I leaned out a bit and looked up and a couple in the balcony above and forward of me were shaking a container. I called my room steward and he checked the cabin above. They were scattering ashes of a loved one. They had no idea that the wind would blow it all back onboard. This was not a stern balcony, just on the port side of the ship. The cabin steward showed up later with a vacuum cleaner for my balcony and the ones on either side of me. I don't know if the contents of that vacuum bag was turned over to the family above. Strange way to start a cruise.

Most CPAP machines perform perfectly on any voltage from 100 - 240. So no converter needed, just a very cheap adapter from European round prongs to US flat blades. Been doing that for years on HAL ships, and no extension cord needed.

I was on a 12 day Oosterdam cruise in June, with HIA and the "Surf" internet package. On my first login on embarkation day, I was offered the premium internet for a flat $50 for the full cruise. I also used my laptop as a hotspot for 2 cell phones and it worked great.

Something doesn't add up. You said the Wi-Fi was fantastic, ( but) download speeds were awful. Then you said ......streaming was A-OK. Video streaming requires the best download bandwidth, otherwise you get constant buffering, pausing, and video breakup. Awful download bandwidth and A-OK streaming is an oxymoron.

You cannot access YouTube on the cabin TVs which would be necessary to access your church's livestream. You could access YouTube on a laptop, tablet or phone, providing you have the premium wifi. There are no available HDMI ports on the TVs to plug in your device. And there's no way to "cast" your device to the tv.

Question on Future Cruise Deposit. I remember from prior HAL cruises, that if you placed a FCD while onboard, it was usually $100 P/P and could be used as full deposit on a future cruise. They also gave you (I think) 60 days after disembarking to make that $100 deposit. Is that policy still in effect ?

Taco bar, self-serve, with all the 'fixins was on the Oosterdam in June of this year, and it got plenty of customers. It's on the lido deck, starboard side, next to the Dive-In. Hard corn taco shells, and soft flour tortillas.

Try this. Connect your laptop to the WiFi in your cabin. Then, go into your laptop's internet settings and setup your laptop as a WiFi hotspot, with a password. Then you can connect both of your cell phones to your laptop's hotspot. You will have all 3 devices connected and working without paying for the extra connections. Only downside is when either cell phone leaves your cabin and tries to connect to ship WiFi, it will disconnect your laptop. But is all you are using on your cell away from your cabin is the HAL Navigator, then it doesn't disconnect the laptop.

Another consideration is if you only need a one-way domestic flight. For example, you live in San Diego and are taking a Panama Canal cruise originating in San Diego and ending in Ft. Lauderdale. You only need a one-way fare from FLL to SAN to get back home. Buying the one-way ticket through the cruise line could save some cash and if you find a cheaper fare directly through the airlines, before 75-90 days, you can cancel with no penalty.

For domestic flights, the only big advantage of cruise line air is the ability to cancel or change with no penalty up to 75-90 days before your flight. There's no n big difference in fares on round trip domestic flights.

The hotel close to St. Mark's Square that I got through HAL was Hotel Bonvecchiati, Calle Goldoni 4488, Venice, 30124, Italy. Picture attached.

HAL was offering 2 hotels for pre and post cruise. One was the Hilton, on an island across the lagoon, and another right downtown, only steps away from St. Mark's Square. I'm booked in that one, and yes, they will use a water taxi from the airport to the hotel, then another water taxi back to the bus area near the train station, and a bus ride to Trieste on the morning of the 11th. All transfers to and from the hotel are included in the price. I think I would prefer being downtown and not have to use a vaperetto every time I wanted to walk around Venice, which will be required with the Hilton. Maybe the Hilton has a courtesy water taxi for guests??

Which cruise line, dates, and itinerary ?

One time, I forgot some meds and asked a friend at home to FedEx overnight to the HAL port agent in Barcelona. When the ship arrived, the port agent met the ship and delivered the small package to guest services on the ship. I did inform the front desk that it would be coming, and they called my room when it arrived.

There was a mention that we need pictures of ourselves for check-in. The last HAL cruise I was on, they used the pictures they had on file from previous cruises. Or, they would shoot a new one at check-in. Are we now supposed to have current pictures on our phone for check-in?

We're docking in Haifa on June 16. Still on schedule. I think that the unrest will not affect tourist areas. But if any port changes would happen, it would be only done a few days out.

Somewhere on CC recently, I saw a post about a special phone number for HAL's "Up Sell Desk". Can't find it. Does anyone have it, if it exists.

And amazingly a Weng Weng is included in the regular signature beverage package. I've tried it. Yes, it's strong, but, unlike that famous potato chip, you shouldn't have more than one.

If you like to spend any time out on your balcony, you may not like the deck 10 veranda cabins. The balconies are not very deep, some call them Juliet balconies. They are just deep enough for a single chair. Its really a personal choice depending on how much time and activity you plan to spend on your balcony. Check out Cruise Deck Plans dot com. You will be able to see the size.

With the basic SBP, you can sample all available beers on any HAL ship. None of them are over $11. Actually none are over $8.

My last cruise was pre-Covid in mid-2019 on the Eurodam. On that cruise, and dozens more prior, all on various HAL ships, mostly in Veranda cabins, not suites, I always got room service breakfast on debark day. We were allowed to stay in our cabins and wait for our luggage tag color to be called to disembark. Maybe now, with a smaller staff, they want people out of their cabins, so they can start cleaning earlier ?? I'm on the Oosterdam in June, and I will miss that last breakfast on my balcony.

I'm in a signature suite, SS-6095, (original booking) on the Oosterdam, 4 star mariner, only 57 days out from departure. Checking online, I see 22 Neptune suites still unbooked and available. When up-sells are offered, do the first offers go to signature suite holders first, or is it random ? And when do the offers start ?

Thanks for all the advise and pictures. I will have a walking stick to help with the lack of handrails. I think we'll give it a shot.