Cruise NH

One thing we have done is accept some risk. We’re in the US so what we do may or may not be applicable to your situation. Our health insurance covers us internationally and we buy a separate evacuation insurance called GeoBlue, I think plans like Medijet ( right name?) are the same. Where we take a risk is not looking to cover 100% of the trips cost. For example we’re currently on a 35 day cruise and we only have 80% coverage. It saved a lot of money but we would only get 80% back if we cancelled and there is no trip interruption coverage. Its a big decision but we felt it was right for us. The medical coverage is more important to us.

Forgot to say, we’re on the Zuiderdam Voyage of the Vikings. great weather today, chilly of course but the sun came out after the fog lifted. We’ve had good weather at ports but very foggy at sea.

Noon Greenland time. Prince Christian Sound.

Oh no, no more reports? I would love to hear about your trip to Boston. How was Greenland? Did you encounter any icebergs? Did you make it to all the ports? Inquiring minds want to know.

this is the entertainment for the first couple of weeks. exc talks are just the cruise director reading a script. The Step One Dance Company are repeats from voyages we took earlier this year. One speaker we haven’t heard from yet so we have no opinion there. He’s scheduled to talk about ships and such. The only other speaker is a couple who are supposed to be talking about the ports in some way but from their first talk I don’t know what they are trying to accomplish. They are listed as former teachers who started cruising several years ago. What I expected is subject matter experts on Viking history or Canadian history, etc. I also expected to get practical information about the ports we are going to. We did the 2017 WC, so what I’m asking is, was the’23 WC more like what we have here on the VOV or more like the special voyage the ‘17 WC was.

Thanks for all your comments. For us, the lecturers and entertainers are important. We’re not into trivia or crafts, etc but of course everyone is different. My comment about the vov was just about our disappointment in the two areas I mentioned above, I’m sure we’ll have a great time at the ports and we’re happy to be here. We’re just thinking about the same experience for 128 days.

Hmmm how can I put this…I haven’t read the ‘live from’ ones, which can be difficult to get through, but I have read a few blogs from seasoned world cruisers, they tend to be huge fans of hal and maybe just maybe wearing their rose colored glasses at times. I just want to know did they have good guest speakers, knowledgeable about the area being traveled through, did they have a variety of entertainment, things like that.

With so many cuts being made on cruise lines I wondered, from those of you who were on board, how were the world cruises this past year? Did they have the usual selection of great enrichment speakers and good entertainment? We're currently scheduled for a world cruise on another line but I'm concerned about their cutbacks so I wanted to know how Cunard is comparing. Thanks.

We were on the 2017 Hal wc and were impressed by the entertainment, on board speakers , the staff, just everything. We have reservations for the’25 wc but now we’re having second thoughts. We were on two hal cruises earlier this year both over 14 days and we were underwhelmed by the entertainment, onboard speakers and activities. The staff on the other hand were great as usual. We’re currently on the Voyage of the Vikings cruise, which we thought would be much better but it’s not. So now we’re worried about the world cruise, 120+ days with no great entertainment or guest speakers, that would be tough. So, my question for those who were on the ‘23 world cruise, what did you think? Other than the ports, was it special? thanks

This is exactly how we feel...but you just said it way better then I've ever do.

Thanks. Yeah, seat selection is very important to us too.

We’re you able to get miles credit (assuming you belong) for the ticket cost?

That’s surprising I thought Hal was looking to do more ‘longer’ cruises in the future.

I know the 2025 world cruise has been announced (and the pole to pole) but no other grand cruise for ‘25 yet, or did I miss something?. I keep hoping for grand Asia some year! Are there any grand cruises anticipated for ‘25?

Thanks for the replies, it sounds like it’s a ship to ship thing. We’ll be on the Zuiderdam. We’ll only be using ours for coffees and soft drinks so they’ll do well by us!

We’re going with a HIA package on our next cruise. Will we receive some sort of beverage card to show when we order or do you just sign the slip like a normal drink order and just not get charged? thanks.

Thanks!

When would that bus get you to heathrow?

The VOV gets in on a Saturday so traffic should be okay but unless you’re willing to self disembark I wouldn’t chance it.

We were on in January and were amazed by the turnaround. It was always back the next day.

As I mentioned in my initial reply we use Luggage Forward to get our bags to the ship. I can tell you that we’ve never had a problem even when we shipped our bags internationally, they’re a good company. Check with them to see if they’ll ship to your hotel if you want that peace of mind. We do put AirTags in our luggage which helped with my husband’s peace of mind.😁

One thing that we were disappointed with on HAL (we did two voyages earlier this year) was the enrichment speaker program, if you can even call it that. Coming from Cunard where they always seem to have good speakers on a variety of topics we were sad to see most lectures were done by the cruise director, reading a script. Even when we went through the Panama Canal where there is usually a lot of interesting information to impart, it was just the CD reading. They did it in an entertaining way but it's not the same as having a real expert. We've been through the Canal before but had never stopped in Central America so we were expecting some lectures on the history, etc. Nope, none. Just FYI.

After you get through check in there are places to sit and wait until your group letter/number is called. Don't worry about arriving earlier then your appointed time, we do it all the time and have never had a problem. You just join the line when you get to the terminal. We weren't asked when our time was and we were there just this past Fall.

I'm also a Cunarder but have been on HAL several times. I'll try to answer below your questions

I checked out a youtube video of some ATR-72 flights. The engines are pretty loud but the plane looks comfortable.