TJR_0323

6 hours ago, bedrick said:

If anyone would like to be our friend so we can both benefit with $200 onboard credit for a referral please email me at cruiseanywhere@outlook.com.

Regards, Lee

Referral rewards are now in the form of prepaid visa cash cards, but I can refer you, just send me your details in an email.

2 hours ago, Dr H said:

cappucci in a tall glass after adding their hot chocolate mix, then add either ice or ice cream

Purists.... seriously ??? Brand doesn't matter if you're going to obliterate it !

40 minutes ago, crusinbanjo said:

So to be clear, I booked both cruises in March of 2023. Sailing date is January 2024  I am assuming that since I have not hit the final payment date, and have paid only a deposit for each cruise the deposit would be fully refunded.  
 

I have checked to be sure there is plenty of availability on both cruises, and with the difference in price, plus cash back from the TA I could also upgrade to a suite.  

I used the attached form recently to transfer a booking made on the Azamara website to my TA. It states you have 60 days from the date you booked the cruise and are outside of final payment period.

13036520_ACC_Booking_Transfer_Form.pdf

1 hour ago, Chickadee910 said:

So by the looks of things to come we should order the rapid test 6 pack for our October and February cruises.

I would place separate orders for each cruise. I recently ordered and received a 3-pack and they all expire 1/4/2022 !

39 minutes ago, Roz said:

UPDATE:  New article on Cruise Critic says Netherlands is dropping quarantine requirement for vaxxed tourists.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/6473/

Wonderful news..... I think I'll switch my flights back to arriving day before cruise departs!

1 minute ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

We will be  fly on October 18 from Italy.

OK that makes a difference and you may be fine.....

25 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

It might work out for us being on the Eurodam until October 18 and then flying to Amsterdam.

Suggest you don't fly to AMS until day of departure. (I believe Greece is on the same very high risk list as the U.S. is.)

8 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

So which category of exemption applies in your case?

Far easier if you visit the Netherlands web site rather than me quoting chapter and verse....

Below is the section I believe is pertinent:

1 hour ago, kazu said:

 

Boy, you are braver than I.  I wouldn’t have the nerve to arrive the day of.  We have at least 1 or 2 connections to get to Europe.  Too much can happen - even here with fog, etc.

 

I hope it works out well for you.  Good luck 🤞 

Thanks Kazu for the good luck wishes... not the end of the world if I should get delayed enroute. My fallback is to grab a train from Schiphol ..... 4 hour train ride to Zeebrugge (via Antwerp).... and board the Rotterdam there ..... as long as I don't have to chase it down the English Channel port by port! 😁

4 minutes ago, nocl said:

Have you gone through the quarantine declaration form.  It needs to be completed before you fly into that airport.  It should tell you if you fit into an exempt class. My brother and sister in law had to have it completed before they could board their flight today.

Yes, it needs to be completed regardless of your particular situation. I've reviewed it, and there is a selection to choose that meets the reason for my quarantine exemption.

3 hours ago, bigtee907 said:

Has everyone seen this?

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/6448/

Thanks for the link.... good news I hope..... I called HAL this morning and they told me as long as I arrive at Schiphol no more than 12 hours prior to the Rotterdam's time of departure (5:00pm on 20/Oct) I should have no issues related to quarantine. I went ahead and purchased an airport transfer from HAL and was able to change my flights to arrive the day of the ship's departure (7:30am).

3 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

How about if the cruise line has a transfer bus from the airport to the ship? That would keep you off the streets. It seems to me that that is the only way it would work.

That might work if your arriving the same day the ship departs..... not if you're staying the night before at a hotel in the city. 

2 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

If you are allowed to transfer to the ship within 12 hours (a big IF), the new norm might just have to become flying in the day of the cruise.

As Ipeeinthepools kindly pointed out, a point I had forgotten about, the 12 hour stipulation refers to staying in the airport, train station, bus depot. In other words, you can't roam the streets.

18 minutes ago, Roz said:

Over in the river cruising forum we've been discussing this, and you can be in the Netherlands for 12 hrs. before you have to quarantine.  This allows people to transfer planes or trains without quarantining.  

I read that on the NL government site as well.... but 12 hours isn't long enough for passengers coming from the U.S. the day prior to departure which is the norm.

2 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I will keep fingers crossed for you but I think the chances are slim that HAL could obtain such an exemption for what is non-essential travel.

I suspect you may be right.... not sure what this will mean for HAL's plan to get the Rotterdam back to the U.S. for cruises already scheduled out of FLL. The far majority of those booked on this transatlantic are from the U.S. I guess as a last resort, HAL could do the voyage with just crew onboard.

2 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Many airlines have made info available (although it is not infallible). Since you provided your airline and travel date, I went to the AA website and put in the appropriate information for someone traveling from the US to the Netherlands. This is the info that was generated:

 

Travel Restrictions for Netherlands (joinsherpa.com)

 

It looks like travel is still restricted and a quarantine period of 10 days is required -- or you can get a negative test at 5 days and be free to go.

 

I would double check this with the US embassy's requirements for Netherlands travel, but the airlines have been pretty good about keeping info updated. (And it may change again before your travel dates, although the Netherlands has been both hard hit with COVID and also pretty strict regarding entry, quarantine, lockdowns, etc. throughout this whole period.)

cruisemom42..... I do follow the AA and the Netherlands government sites. I'm hoping HAL is working with the appropriate US and NL officials to obtain some sort of exemption for in-transit cruise ship passengers who will be leaving the country within 48 hours of arrival. We shall see !

10 hours ago, Tennessee Titan said:

and if you are leaving the airport (to go to a ship)??

The precise question I'm waiting clarification on..... flying to AMS on AA the day prior to the 20/Oct-2021 Rotterdam sailing.

9 hours ago, RGEDad said:

Look - Just go order the Abbott BinaxNow test 

6 Pack from eMed.com $150 - they FexEx the package to you

or a 1, 2 or 3 pack from https://store.optum.com (Also administered by eMed)

 

Take the test (~30 minutes), get the results via email or via their app in 15 minutes, and be done with it.

At about $25 per test, you can take one 3-4 days in advance to get practice, and and verify you are ,in fact, not infested. and then do the Run for Record 2 days before your embarkation. 

Easy peazy.

But - I still recommend the Lemon Drop Martini- Daily

HAL uses the phrase "medically observed" in reference to the required pre-cruise testing. I'm not sure at home tests meet this requirement. Having said that, the personnel at the check-in counter at the pier are contract employees and may not pay too much attention to the details of where the test was performed. Just a caution it could be an issue. 

12 minutes ago, tring said:

 

Casinos are not popular over here, so not on the UK ships in the way they are in some other country's cruise lines.  As you say there are two gaming tables which are, in fact, little used and tend to be just put in a corner or wide corridor somewhere on all Fred's ships.  One is a roulette table and the other a card game -  I think it is called Black Jack.

 

Do you realise this thread dates back to 2014?  It is good you have obviously searched the boards before posting, but this is perhaps a tad outdated 🙂

 

Thanks Tring for your reply, as always most helpful. I did see this thread was a bit old but the thread's name seem like a good place for my question.

Question about the Balmoral "casino"..... it appears there are two gaming tables, are there any slot machines ?

Thanks in advance,

Tom

On 4/17/2021 at 6:02 AM, comcox said:

I'm a Fred Olsen regular and live in the U.S.  They will happily book direct over the phone for Americans.

Is there a toll-free phone number to call Fred Olsen from the U.S. ? I see a 0-800 number on their web site but I suspect that only works in the UK.

17 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

a "Real ID" will have a red star in the corner

In the case of SC, the Real ID has a gold star in the corner. 

4 minutes ago, groundloop said:

Does anyone have any ideas how she can work through this?

HAL Gift Card number is 855-501-4161

1 hour ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

AC72... could you shoot me an email about how to converse with you outside of CC ?

tjr0323 at gmail.com

15 hours ago, tring said:

You are welcome.  If you do contact Fred, please share any info  you may get.  I am not looking to book as yet, just like to know what may be offered though 🙂

 

You were spot on ! Here was Fred's reply  to my email:

Good afternoon,

Thank you for your email enquiring about our 2023 World Cruise. We are in the process of finalising our cruises for 2022/23, and our brochure is due to be published in March. So, please keep checking back with us, or go to this page on our website, where you can view and/or order a copy of it: https://www.fredolsencruises.com/cruise-brochures

If we can be of any help in the meantime, please do let us know.

Warmest regards,

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines