David_S29

54 minutes ago, Goldenknight said:

I cruise for an entirely different reason than many other cruisers.  For us, the ship is the destination, an opportunity to relax, and enjoy just being at sea.

 

My suggestions to two posters here on this thread:  perhaps a bit more research into the ports to which you are **briefly** stopping.  For example, having a "real chance to visit the Gambia" is an intriguing statement, me asking, "why?"   My family was fortunate to live in Dakar, Senegal for about four months. IMHO, Gambia (being the finger in Senegal's mouth), is a puzzling stop.  Angola is another puzzling stop  

 

 

Am I detecting a touch of travel snobbery here? Banjul and Luanda are puzzling stops -- to you. Isn't it great that we all have different travel priorities? Cunard offers a cruise with stops just in Walvis Bay and Dakar for those who find NCL's port-of-call list too puzzling. 🙂

I think I've already stated that I'm not looking for a Safari adventure, but there's nothing at all wrong with those who want to do this. 

I'd be quite interested into your insights on this cruise if you've sailed it.

7 hours ago, majmaj4 said:

I would recommend going out early and doing some safari's in South Africa prior to the cruise.  There isn't much wildlife opportunity up the west coast.  For this trip you need to have some patience.  These ports are not frequently visited and sometimes are more industrial than tourist oriented.  That being said it is a fascinating trip.

I am not interested in Safaris. I would, however, love to get a glimpse of Luanda, which I understand is incredibly expensive as the capital of a Petrostate, and Sao Tome, which would otherwise require a flight from Libreville or Lisbon. And this might be my only real chance to visit The Gambia in a reasonable fashion...

I'm looking at a cruise up the western coast of Africa, and this one keeps popping up in my searches. It's particularly attractive to me for its ports-of-call in Walvis Bay, Luanda, Sao Tome, and Banjul. I note that this is on the Sky, which seems to be an older ship. Has anyone taken some version of this itinerary up the African coast -- and do they have any thoughts about it?

2 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

HAL's are very, very sweet!

Well, I'll take a sip and then pass them over to my partner... 🙂

23 hours ago, Mary229 said:

Non-alcoholic drinker here.  I have concocted, with the help of a bartender, what I call the Sassy Mary.  It is a “ bright” version of the Virgin Mary.  Bright means it lights up your mouth. 

Me too! I am going all out on Shirley Temples on my upcoming cruise, as they apparently aren't a done thing for adults in my town. 🙂

28 minutes ago, RileyFox said:

I am the original poster.   I have never been on a cruise and was confused because some folks said they paid $29 for dinner,.  I now understand that they went to the fine dining room and that is extra. 

 

We are going on a HAL cruise next MAY.  I have never been on a cruise and put down Viking and Greece as my favorite because that is a dream.   

 

I promised i was not meaning to cause disruption.  I tried to search this subject before I posted and i kept see where people had paid to eat.

 

I am truly sorry. 

Did you get the "have it all" (HIA) bonus? If so, you may be eligible for at least one free dinner at a specialty restaurant. This is dependent on the package and the length of the cruise. For instance, for my upcoming 13 day cruise on the Noordam, I was given two free dining nights: one at Canaletto, and one at Pinnacle Grill.

At last! A question for the sincere and unapologetic Cruise Fresser. This should have its own sub-forum.

6 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Itineraries is the reason I choose to sail HAL, which is why I found the cruise capacity breakdown for 2024 particularly interesting.

 

Ramped up Caribbean offerings by 15%? Alaska, Caribbean, and the Med are the top three itineraries for the HAL. Makes me wonder just what is 'niche' about those offerings.

 

 

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/08/holland-america-line-2024-cruise-capacity-breakdown/

Some of the HAL ports-of-call are unusual or absent from the other major lines' itineraries. They have one cruise stopping both in Corsica and Morocco this fall, for instance, and I haven't seen elsewhere, although I haven't looked at the luxury lines' offerings. 

HAL also offers -- or offered -- an occasional west African route with many attractive ports of call that are -- again -- unserved or underserved by other major lines. I'm waiting for that one to pop up again.

Just now, atexsix said:

Even a special section in the MDR on ships that don't have room for a suite level restaurant.  I seem to recall suite passengers could sit in the King/Queen's room on the old Amsterdam.  Why not something like that?  It's been a few years since I was even on a HAL ship, do Neptunes still get the free bottle of sparkling wine? In all fairness, the grills probably don't compare to something like the Haven, but there's something special about it I feel, maybe the history of the lines.  

 

That's a really good offer, I would have jumped at it.

I did. 🙂 

1 hour ago, atexsix said:

I don't think the Neptunes are worth it anymore.  I was recently quoted $4,000pp on a 7 day, just a little more and I can get Cunard's grills.  And I agree on the itineraries, although some of them are getting a little stale.  I have at least 3 HAL bookings for next year that I'll probably cancel, including one in a Pinnacle and I just can't get excited about it. 

Perhaps it's just wait for any offers that might come before departure. I was offered an upgrade from a veranda to a Neptune Suite for $1000 CAD per person for my upcoming 13 night cruise.

Well, I'm personally much more interested in vulcanology, botany,  and geology than I am in picturesque strolls, so Teide it is. Thanks for your insight!

• Ride along the spine of the island to the Esperanza Forest, viewing the endemic flora and fauna of the volcanic island, with its pines and eucalyptus trees.

This is from Celebrity's website. Yes, I can't wait to be thrilled by the "endemic" eucalyptus forests of Tenerife! Sometimes I wish that the cruise lines would try. Just a little.

I booked Concierge for my upcoming November 2025 cruise just because it was a cabin that I wanted. The difference between the cost of that and a typical veranda room was negligible for this cruise at the time of booking.

Nothing's coming up for me for my November 2025 cruise. Huh.

EDIT: I just called X Customer Service. No Flash Sale prices for November 2025 Portugal-Argentina Transatlantic today.

Nothing's coming up for me. Do you need status for the flash sale beyond the basic level (first cruise on X here)? Or is this perhaps just on the US site?

Thanks, all! This has all been very helpful. 🙂

It doesn't look like either of the offered tours will allow visitors to ascend beyond Las Canadas. Anyone of the opinion that it's still worth a visit on one of these tours without being able to take the cable car?

It looks like X is offering shore excursions to both Teide and La Laguna (among others) in Tenerife in late November '25. I'd love to visit Teide, but am somewhat concerned that vistas may be obscured by rainy weather at that time of the year. Has anyone been to both locales in November, and have any recommendations as to what might be the better choice?

Any updates, @KC217? Did you end up going it alone, or booking a tour?

I think that it's simpler than that: if a cruise line can make money off of something, it will try to do so. I think a fair number of casual cruisers -- who must be the vast majority of people who go on these ships -- are going to base their purchases based on a sense of FOMO on an element of a dream vacation, instead of engaging in a rational cost/benefit analysis that could save them thousands.

The cost differential between the "All In" and "Cruise Only" options on our upcoming 2025 transatlantic voyage was $4800, or about $1200pp. This is for two adults and two teens; neither of us adults drink, so the "Classic" drinks package really isn't attractive at all. Celebrity quoted me a price of about $1000pp for the "Zero Proof" package and the "Premium" wifi for all four. That's not a huge savings, but still cheaper than the "All In" and with an internet upgrade, as well. It is, as they used to write, truly a situation of YMMV.

6 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

Congrats.  
That would convince me to never book directly through Celebrity again.

I checked my reservation yesterday and found out that, despite all precautions, the Celebrity agent my TA was dealing with misspelled my own last name. Not my kids' hyphenated names (which incorporates mine), but my much simpler one. I called my TA, who was great, and said she'd get it fixed. Sigh.

Thanks again, everyone! I ended up going with a "local" (translation: 200 km away) TA, and managed to secure a reservation $1500 lower than what I could find on Celebrity's website.

All great suggestions. Thanks, guys!

I don't have a TA -- I live in a small town in northern Canada far, far away from any city -- so a phone call may be the best idea.

...then again, I can just imagine the phone call that I'm going to have. They'll probably spell my own last name wrong, and I only have one!

Our children have lengthy hyphenated names. Celebrity won't let us book online using hyphens and some characters are cut off. The rep says this is fine; we've never had a problem traveling on airlines on the past. I've printed off transcripts with chats with the agent -- does anyone have any concerns with making an online booking with that assurance?