peterf

Many thanks for your replies. It’s true that things may be completely different by January, but my inclination at this time is to just cancel and try again for the same cruise in January 2023.
I’m not sure I want to continue with the current frustration of not knowing what’s going to happen. 
happy cruising to all!

Peter

Hello friends,

We’re booked on the Symphony of the Seas mid January along with our kids (in their 40’s) and grandchildren (12 and 9). All of us adults will be fully vaccinated , but the youngsters won’t be.

I know policy will probably change, but as things stand now,  do any of you know what areas of the ship will be closed to the unvaccinated children because of COVID restrictions? 
The cruise should be great fun for the family, but if they’re going to cancel, my wife and I do not want to be stuck something as big as Symphony of the Seas! We usually cruise on Oceania.

Your help would be appreciated.

Peter

Thanks - that’s all I needed to know! 

Hello friends,

Is there any substantial difference between a standard verandah cabin (which of course has a sofa) , and one which has a sofa bed. 
 

My wife and I are booking ourselves a cruise on the new Rotterdam and the sofa bed cabin is all that’s available. Can we still put the two beds together to form a queen size?
 

thanks, 

Peter

Many thanks for your prompt replies! 11 am flight it is! 

Hello friends,

A quick question: I will be disembarking in Fort Laurdale from an Oasis of the Seas cruise on a Sunday next January. Will I have time to comfortably make it to the Fort Lauderdale airport for a flight at approximately 11am, or will I have to hang around until the evening for the next flight?

Your advice would be much appreciated!

Peter

Well I'll be darned! I never imagined that my favourite cabins would already be sold out!

Thank you all for explaining me the brutal facts of life.

Mind you, I'm not giving up....

Peter

Hello friends,

He's the deal: My wife and I are returning to January cruising and Celebrity after what will be a six year absence. We have our eye on a routine 12 day cruise on the Silhouette, and seeing as how I'm very picky about what stateroom I get I thought I'd be very clever and book way in advance - I'm talking about January 2018!

So I instructed our travel agent to book me one of three desirable Aqua class cabins, only to find out they're not available! Puzzled over how all three could be booked over a year in advance I checked another similar cruise for January 2018 to find only five Aqua class staterooms available.

My question is: Is this a new policy, and does Celebrity only release a small block of cabins at a time? Very irritating as one has to be careful particularly when booking those Aqua class cabins.

Can anyone set me straight as to how this system works? I just want my favourite cabin.

Thanks,

Peter

Many thanks to all for taking the trouble to advise me on the merits of a HAL cruise. My wife and I both agree that any cruise line that inspires such loyalty from its clients is good enough for us. Besides, as several of you pointed out, the itinerary is important in choosing a cruise and the thought of returning to the Netherland Antilles after many years is appealing to us.

The bottom line is, we will most likely be booking with HAL for a future cruise. Anyway, as you say, there really isn't that much difference between cruise lines in the same category, and the so called "premium" category fits our needs nicely.

In case anyone was bothered by the title of my thread "HAL: Is it really that bad" I was reacting to the Cruise Critic Members' reviews of the Nieuw Amsterdam. I don't know how many of you have read them, but a number of them are alarmingly negative, and 76% of reviewers love the ship compared with 88% who love the Celebrity Equinox. But never mind!

If my title was a little provocative, I was anxious to get some advice, and wanted to get your attention. The last thing I would want to do is upset anyone!

Happy cruising!

Peter

Hello friends,

A couple of years ago my wife and I decided that we had had it with Caribbean cruising and the same old islands, and we set out to try something different to get away from the cold January days, such as a Sandals resort.

Well, time has passed by and now I've started to think of cruising again. We're both experienced cruisers and usually sailed on Celebrity, which is a good product even if it isn't as good as it used to be. It's just that when we look at an approximately ten day Caribbean cruise with Celebrity at a reasonable price we realize that we've done it all.

But we have taken an interest in the Netherland Antilles, first seeking some Cruise Critic advice on a Grand Princess cruise that includes those islands. The response was very candid, very helpful, and made us realize that Princess, when compared with Celebrity, probably wasn't for us.

So now I need help from all you HAL folks. I have my eye on something like the Southern Seafarer cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam. We cruised on HAL around 15 years ago, (the old Westerdam, Volendam and Rotterdam), before switching to Celebrity. The Nieuw Amsterdam seems to be a nice size, and HAL has those wonderful walk around promenades. I should mention that we're both in our late 60's, but except for the fact that my hair has turned white - make that a sexy silver - we both look younger and are in good shape.

We're looking for a nice quiet ship with good food and service, but would prefer not to feel like we've entered a morgue. We're even willing to overlook the more permissive smoking regulations. After all, while cruising on the QM2 when Cunard still permitted smoking on balconies, we never had a problem, while on the Celebrity Equinox with its tougher regulations, we did have a problem with a balcony cigar smoker next door.

After becoming very enthusiastic I checked the Cruise Critic reviews, and to my consternation discovered that the Nieuw Amsterdam has a FAR lower satisfaction rating than a comparable Celebrity ship. While there was little griping about the tiresome smoking issue, there were strong complaints about poor food and overworked and undertrained dining room staff.

So finally coming to my question - has HAL fallen that far? Is it really that bad?

Please help.

Peter

Thanks again for you input but a dare say we have a difficult decision ahead of us whether or not to try Princess.

Truth be known we've become a bit fussier in our old age in our expectations from a cruise company, exactly when the companies are cutting back somewhat, and service, while often still very good, just isn't what it used to be.

Like everyone I guess we want to feel special when we board a cruise ship, and not just one of the masses. I'm wondering if Princess can do that for us. This is going to be a tough decision.

Most important however is your advice re. maple syrup. I mean, I'm sure that you agree that going down to breakfast and finding out that no maple syrup is available automatically ruins the entire cruise!

Peter

Many thanks for your candid responses, and I am pleased you've been frank with your criticism of Crown Princess when necessary.

Now I have some thinking to do do before deciding. Oh, and if I decide to go ahead with the cruise I still have to persuade my loving wife, who for the moment is less than enthusiastic!

Peter

Hello friends,

This is my first post in years. Following quite a number of cruises, my wife and I finally became bored with it all and moved on to other vacations. But time tends to change attitudes and we're actually considering a return to the cruising fold.

I have a confession: I have never set foot on a Princess ship!

I like to think of myself as a rather seasoned cruiser - from the unparalleled luxury and cuisine of the three great post war French liners, to the cosy smaller Cunard ships that used to dock at Montreal and Quebec City. Also the big Cunarders including a very dowdy QE1, a 1974 crossing on the QE2 which offered terrible food even in first class and only so-so service. (I think they were experiencing labour difficulties at the time), and a slightly disappointing cruise in QM2's Britannia Class (we should have booked one of the grills.)

Our cruises have included the friendly service but smoky atmosphere of Holland America; Celebrity cruises, which, although it isn't what it was, still offers a very good product - it's just that we've done all their Caribbean itineraries; the very friendly atmosphere of Azamara; and Oceania. We then swore we would never cruise again, at least in the Caribbean!

Yet here I am, a few years later, looking for a sunny, warm, not too long or expensive break from the winter cold. We've been to the usual ports such as St Thomas, St. Marten, Dominica, etc. once too often. But then I discovered a Crown Princess eight day cruise in January down to the Netherland Antilles. Now that I might consider.

So at long last coming to the point: How does Crown Princess compare, say, with one of the Solstice class Celebrity ships? The accommodation? (we'd probably book a "mini suite"). What about the service and food in the main dining room and specialty restaurants? I hear it's not as good as Celebrity. Is there sufficient deck space, or does it tend to be overflowing with sun worshipers.

Oh, and most important - do they serve real maple syrup at breakfast time, or is it that breakfast syrup stuff and I'd have to bring my own maple syrup supply from home.

We may only take this cruise in January 2018, but I'd be very interested in the opinions of all you Princess veterans.

Thanks,

Peter

Deck - 11

Cabin # -1550

Class – Aquaclass

Starboard or Port Side - Starbord

Bed near?(balcony or bath) – Bed near bathroom

Quiet Cabin (With comments on problems. Note if connecting. ) – The entrance to the cabin is located next to the steward's locker/closet, resulting in the sound of a door occasionally slamming at all hours, often sounding like someone was actually in the cabin!

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – View was very good - no obstructions.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal size

Was wind a problem? No

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? NA

Any specific problems with this cabin? Not a very good layout. Although it is 194 sq. ft. the cabin felt smaller - long and (close to the balcony) very narrow. "M" class superior. All electrical plugs inconveniently bunched together at the dressing table. Insufficient closet space, poor access to closets, and almost non existent bedside tables.

Any other comments? Next time we will try a "bed near balcony" cabin.