bettty45

Can you tell me how the wifi is on the ship and what it cost?

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Totally enjoying this!! I love our sense of humor..seems a bit like mine :D

 

 

 

Thank you for taking the time and effort to do this! Looking forward to some more!!

I agree!!!

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The Lido food was fairly good. A few times we opted for breakfast and lunch in Lido. We enjoyed the sandwich station, the chicken fajitas, and the bbq chicken. The wait staff on Lido was very good offering drinks and clearing plates faster than I could blink. Some days we'd give our drink request to one waiter and 2 more will stop by to offer in the few minutes it took for the first waiter to return. The only drawback I'd say of the Lido is the frequency in which several of the more "ethnic" dishes were repeated that I felt could have been traded out for more variety. I'm not sure what Dal is but it was offered Dal the time. Only once or twice did I see more of what I'd call the "kid friendly" options like chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese but that could have been a choice given that we had no kids on this sailing. Dad loves popping up to Lido before we head to bed in search of a snack.

 

 

 

We found that the movies under the stars were played on the stateroom TVs by either the next day or the day after that and thus replayed several times during the day. They did have lecturer on board, Dennis Cheredar and several days of the cruise he held a lecture based on the running theme of money and the "financial monarchs of the world." On Panama Canal day we had narration by Bill Keene and you could hear his words either on the open decks or via the bridge cam channel on your stateroom TV.

 

 

 

Missed the sailaway party due to trying to sleep off a migraine so I can't speak to that. The Patisserie, where the specialty coffees are offered, was frequently busy as there is a decent sized seating area nearby. The wait staff did an amazing job keeping things moving along for those sitting and anyone who walked up to order at the counter. This is where I picked up a couple hot chocolates to go as part of my beverage package. Never did try the coffee but there was a good sampling of flavors plus the usual straight coffee and tea.

 

 

 

The ship was in fairly good shape give or take a few mishaps which I will cover when I get to those days. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!

Thank you so much for that quick reply!!! Yes I will stay tuned for sure. You really should be a travel blogger and get paid for this. [emoji106][emoji41]

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In the embarkation Patter, a great guide can be found on the first inside page. The top of the page features a chart breaking down what dates and times we are in each port plus notations of time changes and whether it's a “Smart Casual” or “Formal” night. Underneath that is the list of scheduled entertainers and expected events as well as the movies (and in our case NFL games) that would be shown on board first under MUTS or the theater and then by the next day available on our cabin TVs.

 

 

 

 

We never have been fond of the production shows or the entertainers who are just singers but make a point of seeing any comedian or magic based shows. Tonight's Welcome Aboard show featured a set by the comedian Darrell Joyce and he really geared his set toward making fun of being in his 40s and having to deal with today's kids and their new technology. This material was certainly relatable to our passengers as Mike announced during his portion of the show that this sailing had no one under the age of 18 on board. Cheers went up from the audience and Mike joked that they had six youth staff who had nothing to do but sun themselves on the top deck. This would be a running joke throughout the cruise as another comic, Andrew Kennedy, joked that they could have listed his Adults Only show in the Patter as “no one under 45” rather than the usual “no one under 18.” On the flipside, the Adults Only Late Night Comedy show for this cruise was held around 9:15PM instead of the 10-12 midnight range we usually see.

 

 

 

On a side note, one of our perks for being in a suite was use of the thermal suite in the spa on board. A lot of people who sail the newer ships get confused because the Enclave on the Royal/Regal is not the same and isn't included. Our ship last year, the Grand Princess, did not have a thermal suite at all. Late in the cruise, I wanted to go check it out just to say we'd used the perk and see what it was like and I was surprised that no one seemed to care that we were in there. On this ship, it's located behind a door just off the waiting room space with chairs and offerings of tea and water. For everyone not in a suite, you're supposed to have to pay for passes to use it but there was no one bothering to check.

 

 

 

Once we got out of the “everyone rush to the aisles at the end of the show and then move two inches at a time” crowd to leave the theater, Dad wanted to check out the casino so I elected to go back to the cabin not finding much other than listening to a musician play for the rest of the evening in the Patter. Dad joined me in the cabin a short while later, disappointed at learning that this ship has no craps table in the casino. Lusioto had turned down our cabin for the evening while we were gone but had yet to leave any Patter for the next day. A couple times we would have to peek back out our door and find the Patter left in our mailbox if we returned to our cabin before 11PM.

 

 

 

I know that Princess has been rolling out new bedding but we still usually request egg crate additions to our mattresses prior to sailing. Our first night in the cabin, I found myself still freezing so I got under the covers in bed. It turns out our bedding consisted of the mattress (sans topper), a sheet that was basically folded over to cover the mattress, and this duvet that was zipped up inside a sheet that was about 2 inches too wide for it on each side. I soon understood why our pillows were always stacked with the second pillow in front of the other rather than on top. You had to choose between sleeping on pillows at the top of the bed or having your feet covered by this duvet. At one point I grabbed the blanket they give you for sitting on the balcony and used it to cover the rest of my body. We asked Lusioto for an extra blanket and he gave us these thin beige army surplus style blankets that he took to making up with our bedding at turndown each night so now we had two layers of too short for my shoulders bedding.

 

 

 

This is how my bed usually looked by morning:

 

 

 

 

Another concern I had was how often I noticed the lights blinking whether in our cabin or throughout the ship. I mentioned it once when I noticed it during breakfast and the waitress assured me that “it's because they're testing the lights.”

Thanks for the great review!! We will be on the full transit too on Dec 5th. I'm wondering about how you liked the Lido food? What about your port excursions? Were the movies under the stars the same as the TV movies? Did they have a lecturer on the canal that spoke? Are you going to add to your review? Did you ever use the specialty coffee service? How was your sail away party? Was the ship in good shape? Sorry for all the questions. Beth

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Hi everyone, I grandchild (30) would like to maybe take my grandfather who is a spry 80 year old who loves people and nature out on a cruise next year and i am having trouble finding something he would enjoy.

 

Long story short is he has been taking care of my grandmother for many years and she is at end stage alsheimers. He has been a shut in for a few years and does not leave her. She is probably going to a long term facility soon and he will need a vacation as I fear he may be severly depressed.

 

He needs this, and I want to find a great itinerary where he can actually do some low impact activities at some of the ports. I was thinking New england cruise but he has seen all of the east coast. I'm thinking maybe a nice river cruise or something. He loves nature, gambling, and horse racing. He can walk but he can't hike long distances and he needs to take breaks fairly often. But he is pretty spry for 80 and does not need assistance with much.

 

Any suggestions? Would really apreciate it. I think we are going to be me, gf, my mom and him. My dad does not like water so he wont go. So 4 seems to be a magic number for cruising anyway.

Have you thought about Alaska since he loves nature? You could tie in the land tour and see Denali too. It seems to attract an older group of folks. We have done it twice. The weather is cooler but sometimes you luck out and get lots of sunshine. We have cruised it on Royal Caribbean and Holland America once cruising up and once down.

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I did this cruise two years ago and celebrated my 70th birthday on Nuku Hiva. Loved all the stops on this cruise.

 

 

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Do you recommend it and did you like the ship?

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What cabin are you in or did I miss that? We just booked on the 80 day Amsterdam Grand Asia cruise for next October and I'm so excited!!! I never thought my husband would agree but he has and now we both are starting to get in the mode :).

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Good one. Made me laugh this morning. Thank you! If only people would just learn to chill out, relax...you are on a cruise. Be thankful and happy you can afford to go on a cruise. Many people would change places with you in a second. My husband had surgery for lung cancer this year and is now cancer free. We are going on this cruise to celebrate his success. So don't sweat the small stuff! Enjoy life and your vacations.

Agree:). Celebrate every day you have together. I have been cancer free for 16 years after all kinds of surgeries and treatment. That's my mantra too :). Hugs to you both.

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We are on a Christmas + New Years cruise on the Navigator (23 Dec - 3 Jan). No specialty dining rez available for Dec 24, 25 or 31 or Jan 1. I'm thinking there will be "special" pricing...meaning EXTRA charge. No thanks. MDR will have to do for us this trip.

 

I love Holiday cruises ! So much fun.

 

Our sailing also has LOTS of non-suites availability....esp balconies !

We too will be on the Navigator for this cruise!! We have been on this ship before and loved it. It will be our 45th anniversary and we have done many holiday sailings because that's when we had time off. Yes it is expensive and more children and families but also festive. We are typically alone for the holidays so we like the family feeling. We don't do the MDR usually because we like to not dress up and do our own thing. We have done 40 cruises so we have had lots of dressing up [emoji3]. It's fun if you haven't experienced it but we enjoy the more casual dining and meeting different folks every night. I think a holiday cruise is great fun but I can see why some wait for less expensive sailings. We are from AZ so hope we meet you on the sailing!!

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See - I never thought of the change in guests - interesting - do I have to do the whole boarding process over - I doubt that - hope not - but the crowd or type of people is not usually a concern for me - I am more to myself - unless people are rude other wise no difference - I left out some questions - as a returning Holland guest do they have that captains brunch gathering a few times - events and shows repeated? - I live in Haiti now and since I am flying to FLL - customs the whole shebang -like to extend my cruising further by booking the Nieuw for the day after my cruise ends - that is another 21 day cruise - are the two ships similar? - has anyone done that off one day and another cruise the next - the idea hit me last night - better then spending time in Florida I feel - thanks for your input everyone

We have done that often going from one ship to another. Sometimes the same day sometimes a few days apart. We feel that if we pay for airfare from the west coast to east we want as much cruise time as possible. We have really enjoyed doing that and have found it quite easy. We pack light and also enjoy meeting folks doing the same thing!!

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This is what we do as we fill the fridge with things we really like at far less cost.

We have had this on RCCL and we had to call for charges to be reversed. Our steward told us no problem using the frig and didn't want to unstock it. Next time we will have it emptied for sure.

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Report # 1 Getting ready to go…..again….. September 24, 2016 Saturday Sunny and warm 88 degrees

 

 

 

Well, here we are, once again, preparing to leave on another special adventure to the South Pacific. Anticipating cooler autumn temperatures here in northern California, we like to escape to the warmer climates for a few weeks. This year has been exceptionally nice, but it will not last long.

 

 

 

Our 53 day itinerary will begin with a flight to Seattle tomorrow, bright and early, with a pick-up at 5am to the San Francisco airport. If all goes according to schedule, we should be arriving to Holland America’s Amsterdam by 1pm or so. Looks like we may be lucky and have a couple of sunny days while in Seattle and Vancouver the following day.

 

 

 

From there, we head south to Catalina and San Diego…..both really fun ports for us. Then we’ll have 5 lazy days at sea on our way to Hawaii, specifically Honolulu, Lahaina, Maui, Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hilo and Kona. Can taste those shaved ice cream treats already…….

 

 

 

Crossing both the Equator and the International dateline, we will visit the primitive island of Fanning in Kiribat. That’s if the tides are right, since we seem to land there only about 50% of the time.

 

 

 

Next will come two stops in Samoa….Pago Pago and Apia, followed by four stops in Fiji. The last stop there being Dravuni Island with the whitest, finest sand you’ll ever see and feel between your toes.

 

 

 

Nuku alofa, Tonga is next, and if we are lucky, we may see the king and queen out and about in their fancy chauffeur-driven car. Vava u, Tonga is close by, and we sure hope the tenderboats will be made more accessible than on our last visit. It was quite a sight to watch the folks sit on the pier, then be slid in the side of the boat. Graceful, it was not.

 

 

 

Wandering over the dateline again, we will stop in Alofi, Niue, belonging to New Zealand. Rarotonga in the Cook Islands should be interesting. On our last visit, one of the tenderboats was washed over the sharp coralbeds, ripping a good-sized hole in the bottom and sides. Can you imagine the officers and crew coming out to help with the stranded guests? Our buddy, Barb, was on that boat and said it was the best “three hour tour” she ever had. Believe this – if it is ever-so-slightly dangerous to tender to shore, this port will be cancelled.

 

 

 

Then we’re off to beautiful French Polynesia…….Bora Bora, Raiatea, Papeete, and Moorea. A little bit of heaven on earth, in our humble opinion. And great pizza too.

 

 

 

Our final stops will be in the Marquesas……Rangiroa, Fakarava, and Nuku Hiva. All are as remote as you can imagine. And they have sharks, as we remember when we witnessed a reef shark circling a picnic table in the water at a shoreline resort in Fakarava. The oblivious diners never knew that while they were munching their burgers, the sharks were considering munching on them. Harmless, they say? You never know……….

 

 

 

We’ll have six days at sea, then will end our journey in San Diego, with a short flight back home on November 17th. Just in time to get ready for the Thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pie!

 

 

 

So, journey with us, and we promise to keep you all entertained.

 

 

 

Bill & Mary Ann

I'm interested in your review of this ship. We are considering the Grand Asia for next fall. Is she pretty old or in good shape and a ship you enjoy? The trip sounds fantastic!! Enjoy

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More cruise to book what would it be?

 

A bit of backtracking: in May 2015 I became very sick with what turned out to be vistibular neuritis, a condition like Menieres, or a bad case of sea sickness that just never ends.

 

I am currently on disability from work but the reassessments with the insurance companies are frequent and stressful. After 4 MRIs, ER visits, a specialist in a city hospital, a neurologist, weekly physio therapy and regular appointments with our family doctor and two cancelled cruises I wonder if life will ever be normal again. I just received a disability sticker from the Ministry of transportation.

 

We are thinking our next cruise will have to be a river cruise, preferably a Christmas market Danube voyage in early December 2017. But if I can only do one more ocean cruise what do we chose? I won't know it is my last cruise until after I disembark and see how, or if, it affects my balance and ability to function.

 

Cruises on my bucket list are:

1. 
   

• 21 day Antarctica
  
• Complete voyage of the Vikings
  
• Circumnavigation of Australia
  
• Japan and SE Asia
  
• A segment of a grand voyage
  
• 21+ Mediterranean
  

 

Any all opinions/suggestions welcome! :)

So sorry to hear of your illness. I haven't done a lot of the ones you listed. For me I hate the air travel. I have a bum knee and hopefully get a partial soon. I have been in pain for almost a year trying all the different shots and pain killers along with braces and wraps. I have felt now what it is like to be hampered with a set back that limits me. I want to do the Grand Asia on HAL for next fall. It's 80 days and my husband says it's too long and expensive but we live on the west coast and it makes the full circle with almost no flights for us. I can see where you need to first try cruising again to see how you do. The river cruise might be best since you don't typically have rough water and it isn't too long. If I only had one cruise left I would go for the longest one I could afford. Let us know what you choose and good luck to you[emoji106]

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How do I find that?

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Was this for 2017? That's what I'm interested in.

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Thanks!!!

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I would like to hear from any other folks who might be booking this cruise.

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I'm looking at this cruise also. I just feel it is so very expensive even for an inside cabin!!! Has anyone found some better pricing? $500 or more per night sounds so high. The best deal I could get was through Cruise Specialist but still it was almost $33,000 per inside cabin. Some perks but to get the best perks I had to book either a window or balcony. I tried Vacations To Go, Costco and all the other websites too. Would appreciate any other ideas. Do world cruises ever drop in price?

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Norris, have you been on other lines like RCCL or Princess or Norwegian? We are considering a Celebrity ship for our family at Thanksgiving. We have a young baby grand daughter. Our kids are in their late 30's and early 40's. Will Celebrity be too much of an "older" age class for our family?????

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Thanks for all the info!!! We appreciate you taking the time to share

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We are considering this cruise and would like to hear from anyone that has input on the ship or ports. We are retired professionals now living in Phoenix. We have sailed on HAL but never to any of these ports or for this long a journey. This looks like a great round trip cruise. Thanks for your comments Beth

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We are booked for this room to Mexico in three weeks. Was it a quiet room? Were you happy with it ? Thanks. Betty45 out of Phoenix :)