bcummin

I do not think that HAL ever intends to dock ms Westerdam close to the Bund.  Last winter they were already telling us on the Volendam that the Westerdam would be docking far from downtown.

I really enjoyed reading  sailingdutchie’s  account of ms Volendam being ”Shanghaid in Shanghai” last fall with Capt. Turner.  A very similar situation happened to us with Capt. Van Der Hoeven.  We enjoyed March 27, 28, and 29 in Shanghai, docked near the Bund.  March 30 we were still in Shanghai, because a storm out at sea had prevented our leaving.  However, we were allowed to go ashore until 1:30 pm with shuttle service.  The 2 pm departure never happened, but the 3 am tidal window of opportunity  provided water deep enough to turn the Volendam around and depart Shanghai.  On April 30 we were finally out at sea.

Just because Capt. Turner said it could be possible to turn the Westerdam around if docked near the Bund does not make it practical.  There are too many unpredictable problems in that port.  And there is only one Capt. Chris Turner.

Barbara

6 hours ago, Sea girl 23 said:

 

I’ve said this before, but with the older ships, caveat emptor.

Do you speak from personal experience onboard ms Maasdam, as was requested?

Barbara

1 hour ago, DocJohnB said:

The OP immediately attacks the group as a whole with her "creative dissonance" verbiage.  Then she follows it up with unfounded, unverified facts of her own choosing.  Finally, she ends up attacking the veracity/knowledge of posters with personal knowledge of problems she is only guessing at.  .  .  And, BTW, I am not a long time regular of the HAL boards, but have been around the C/C boards for a while.

 

The attacks did not come from the OP, who asked an innocent question.

The rest of your thoughts are valuable, so please keep posting.

Barbara

45 minutes ago, Sea girl 23 said:

Well gee..implying that the majority of passengers are basically too stupid  to not flush the wrong things down the toilet is pretty harsh, no? Especially when there are signs above every bathroom on the ships telling you not to flush anything but toilet paper.

 

It makes me wonder about some of the so-called “experts” who post here.

Your math is wrong.  If 95% of the problems are caused by passengers, that does not say how  many passengers made stupid choices.  It could be that only 2 or 3 % of the passengers caused the problems.

Barbara

On 10/27/2018 at 1:39 PM, bcummin said:

Why must you insist on arguing?

Barbara

Different people appreciate different things.  

Almost everyone here has agreed that ms Maasdam and other smaller, older HAL ships are well worth enjoying.

Only one person insists on arguing and insulting people.

Barbara

Sorry about your disappointment, but this distant dock for the Westerdam was already being mentioned onboard ms Volendam last winter.  HAL should have done a better job of letting you know what to expect.  

We have docked at both the distant dock and in downtown Shanghai.  You can still stroll the Bund.  It will just take a bus ride to get there and back to the ship.  No fun, but well worth the effort.

Even when docked "downtown", a shuttle bus takes you to the Bund area (unless you like long hikes).

You will still love your visit to Shanghai.

Barbara

2 hours ago, Sea girl 23 said:

Not slurring anyone..it was NOT a HAL employee..someone who cruises a LOT-they had been on MANY HAL(and non-HAL cruises)

The such things were that both ships were in need of serious work when they were sold.  Someone mentioned that they were on the last Statendam sailing..have to wonder how long there was between then and when it was handed over.

We stepped off the ship in Singapore as she was handed over to her new owners.

That is what a final voyage means.

Barbara

2 hours ago, Sea girl 23 said:

Do the Statendam and Ryndam not mean anything?They were not in the best condition when they were turned over to P&O....

Why must you insist on arguing?

We sailed on ms Statendam's final voyage, and she was still a lovely lady.

Barbara

Good to hear from you again, OlsSalt.  Glad you are home safe and sound.  Try to concentrate on the good memories.  Hope to hear even more about your cruise.

Barbara

We are thankful that you had such a good and safe visit to Easter Island.

Sorry that the internet is a problem.

Yes, Tim has a good blog for this voyage. Each post has about one photo.

http://timmer2018polynesia.blogspot.com/

Thanks for taking us along on this awesome adventure.

Barbara

You are all in our thoughts and prayers. This is such a special day. Tomorrow too.

Now the Sulawasi, Indonesia people are having to live with a volcanic eruption.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/volcano-erupts-indonesia-s-quake-tsunami-hit-sulawesi-n916131

Barbara

Thank you for these details.

Our Perth to Singapore Maasdam EXC In Depth cruise in January will visit Ujung Padang, Makassar also on the island of Sulawasi. I have read that this port in the far south is far enough away from the earthquake/tsunami area to be a safe haven and a source of relief - which is not going that well yet.

Yes, these good people and the crew members all need to be in our thoughts and prayers.

Barbara

Great plan. Your Captain sounds like a winner.

Hopefully you will soon be delighting in two days on Easter Island. It is always a gamble. God is in charge.

Thanks again to everyone who shares insights on this historic voyage.

Barbara

Your cabin TV is your friend. Turn it on to the ship's bow camera, when you want to see what is happening outside.

If the nightlight does not work in the bathroom, you can leave the bathroom light on all night with the door closed for a hint of light to find your way.

You will always have enough darkness to sleep well.

Enjoy your cruise!

Barbara

Our home library has embraced the internet for years.

The internet was adjoining the ships' libraries, which seemed like a good combination that should have insured the survival of our libraries. I am surprised to see such thoughtless choices (eliminating useful libraries) being made by HAL.

Our grandchildren also love books. :)

Barbara

Thanks to Ols Salt for exposing the situation.

Barbara

OlsSalt, have you mentioned this concern to the Front Office?

Surely someone would love to trade staterooms with you.

Surely HAL will want to make you happy.

Barbara

"Nobody manning the internet cafe or library. Heavy upsell on most things, including premium internet package of about $350 for 31 days."

This was posted on another thread for the current ms Maasdam cruise by a passenger, so their internet does work.

Barbara

Enjoy another great cruise.

You posted the most beautiful photo of Mt. Baker near Bellingham, on your Voyage of the Vikings blog.

Bon Voyage !!!

Barbara

Does anyone know a specific person who did not get their bags or got therm in bad conditon? . . .

In July 2017 in Boston there were bags exposed to rain before they arrived in staterooms. One of our bags was wet and had some wet things inside. Another bag's handle was broken somewhere between the airport and the stateroom. The HAL upholsterer was kind enough to fix the handle for us.

Barbara

Happy 50th Anniversary !

Bon Voyage to all on this historic voyage.

Enjoy your shakedown cruise. :)

Barbara

Yes, we love that food court. Especially the little Greek restaurant. :)

Barbara

Between the front desk and our room stewards, the extension cords worked well for my husband's c pap machine. (He did request the extension cord before we left home.)

Also bring a roll of duct tape to secure the extension cord to the floor. You don't want to trip on the thing.

Barbara

We do not walk as fast as we used to either.

It does pay to speak to the tour guide.

On our last cruise, we were concerned about booking a special shore excursion that ended with a long and strenuous hike. I expressed my concern to the shore excursion manager, who contacted the provider. She then said there would be choices, and we should go ahead and book the shore excursion. It turned out that the choices we had were the long hike or a shorter hike with leaders, or we could do a shorter walk on our own. This shore excursion made us very happy.

Barbara

When we checked into our Hong Kong hotel last March, there was a HAL representative at a table downstairs. That person could tell you the options for luggage and check in times. Good luck !

Barbara