iflyrc5

Nancy - I see you are new to Cruise Critic. You really need to look in the Roll Call section under Holland America - then Zuiderdam and see if there is a Roll Call started for your cruise - this would have other people on your cruise looking to tour. You should then post your notice on the Roll Call.

Welcome to Cruise Critic and I hope you enjoy your cruise - we will be in Cartagena in early Feb on the Statendam!

I guess my post was a little miss leading. The policy I was considering included trip cancellation, delay, luggage, medical, etc.... for a 45 day cruise and was in the $900 range. All of the covered amounts were higher for the more expensive policy ($1300 range) but the main difference for our situation was whether to get $250,000 or $500,000 of Med Evac insurance. So what I am really trying to figure out is will $250,000 get one of us from Tahiti back to the states if we need a medical evacuation.

Thanks for all the input so far.

Apologies for my error which you corrected for me. Also I am a newbie on Roll Call and still discovering how to use it.

I have been in contact with Roselyne at Pension Manava email maraud@mail.pf. If you Google Pension Manava you should reach their website (in French).

Your efforts are very much appreciated. If you would prefer to reach me directly I can provide my email address.

Travelnut1938.

Travelnut1938 - yes if you would please email me directly at iflyrc5 at Comcast dot net with the details of the tour.

Thanks and please consider coming over to the roll call and getting on the meet and greet list.

Does anyone have first hand experience with the actual cost of medical evacuations? Trying to determine how much insurance coverage to purchase - we are going to be doing the south pacific (Tahiti, Bora Bora, etc..) in Feb 2015. Of the plans I am considering one offers $250,000 or, for an additional insurance cost of $400 the coverage goes up to $500,000. Would $250,000 get a person back to the USA from Bora Bora?

We are looking for six additional people to make up a group of eight for a tour in Nuku Hiva on Mar 2. I am in contact with a local company which will provide an English speaking guide and include a trip up the Faroo river, a motu, swim etc from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm for 5000 tcp/person (roughly $50 a head). My wife and I are UK expats living in Canada.

Welcome - I see you are new to cruise critic - we have a very active roll call going for this cruise in the roll call section so please check us out. Also, your post mentions Nuku Hiva on Mar 2 however I think you may mean Raiatea. The ship is in Raiatea on Mar 2 and that is also the location of the Faaroa River. All that said I may have several people interested in the tour you have listed - if you have a website for the tour I would be interested in looking at it.

Thanks and hope to see you over on the roll call.

We are on a 14 day B2B on the NA in January 2015 and would like any advice on booking a Clamshell on Half Moon Cay, as we shall visit there twice. Is it worth the money?

Patrick

If you are a person that likes to walk the beach and be in the water most of the time (like my DW) then you don't need one - if you need to be out of the sun and like to watch the crowd walk by then a clamshell is the way to go.

We've just booked a cruise on HAL. On previous Carnival cruises, I could order two appetisers at supper (two of the same if I liked) on those nights where the main meal didn't really tickle my fancy. Just curious, is this possible on HAL? I'm not a picky eater, and it's definitely not a deal breaker, just wondering if it's an option.

You sure can - when they have shrimp cocktail I always get 2.

All cabins have one 110 volt outlet (US standard) and a 220 volt outlet. You can get a power strip from your room steward if you need to charge multiple items at the same time. There is also an outlet in the bathrooms but I have never tried to use it. Suites may have more outlets but this is the standard for the inside, outside and veranda cabins.

Also does the ship staff use one half of the Lido buffet as someone noted?

This is typical of all the HAL ships at dinner time that we have been on over the last 5 years.

Print - fold - clear packing tape - hole punch - pack with paperwork along with some cable ties which I also use on the luggage. When leaving the hotel attach the tags with the cable ties. Just remember to bring something to cut them off once on board.

If you can would you please check and ask if the current Capt, HD and CD will still be on board for the 13 Feb cruise that does this same trip. After reading about your trip makes us really look forward to our cruise. Thanks

Thanks so much for all the great information - we are leaving on Feb 13 on this same cruise.:D

We where at HMC 4 times in Jan-Feb this year and noticed that there was no para-sailing going on during any of the visits.

We were on the Noordam this past Feb for 21 days and 21 days in Feb 2013 - would be on it again this coming winter if it was going to the south pacific - we will be on the Statendam for 45 days instead.

Really enjoying your trip reports. We did this cruise back in 2010 and doing it again in Feb-Mar 2015. I have a question if you don't mind - the entertainment in the showroom in the evening - are they doing 2 shows each night or 3 and what time is the early show?

Thanks again for the great reviews.

Agree with southern - love the snorkeling in Bonaire with the "Woodwind".

On last fall's cruise on the Maasdam they brought flamenco groups on board at 2 different ports (one going each way) don't remember which ports.

You are going to have a wonderful cruise - we loved it last fall.

On HAL when the crew member greets you with "good morning" it is because they really mean it - not because it is the thing they are suppose to do.

Real Teak Decks to walk around:)

Thanks for the review - we will be on board for 45 days starting Jan 29th.:D

Statendam - Panama Canal 15 Day Jan 29-Feb13 2nd time through the canal

B2B with

Statendam - Hawaii and South Pacific - Feb 13-Mar 15 2nd time doing this cruise

I had no problem contacting him last month.

We used him for a few transfers. And his people were punctual every time.

 

The email I used was

carls.cab@mail.pf

Interesting - I have sent 2 emails to this same address over the last 3 weeks and have not gotten a reply. Not in my Spam folder either.

We have been on HAL twice during Thanksgiving - decorations in the Lido and MDR and a very traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings including pumpkin pie. BTW - tomorrow (Oct 13) is the Canadian Thanksgiving day.

My DW has short hair and finds that the ships hair dryer is fine. If it does not seem to work well ask the cabin steward for a different one - some of them may just be worn out and not working correctly.

Has anyone been able to contact Carl's Cab recently? I have emailed him twice in the last month trying to arrange an around the island tour but have not gotten a reply. Wonder if he is still in business?

We feel the quality of the food varies a lot depending on the chef and ship. This past Jan we were on the Maasdam for 21 days and the food was OK. We walked across the pier when returning to FLL and got on the Noordam for 21 days. The food was much better on the Noordam. We have noticed a decline across the board in service because of cuts in staffing.