sammiedawg

Fixed dining is the epitome of a banquet experience and I would never recommend it.  I would do open dining, six top maximum.  Encourage the group to mix and match people on various nights.  

Terrace will close 7:30 to 8.  Grab a couple sweet rolls to take along or get a bite in the train station.  Penn station and Grand Central are loaded with eateries.  

Customs, immigration are pretty much a wave through.

11:30 is a very safe train time.  If you are going to Penn Station for Amtrak, it  is not far at all.  Sunday traffic is generally light, with the exception of Special events like Columbus Day, marathon day, etc.  

Taxi line is across the street.  Cross at the light. 

Uber drivers may or may not pull into the terminal drop off area, depending on which direction they are coming from.  They may ask you to walk across the street..  

We are frequent visitors to NYC and absolutely love sailing in or out of there.  If your ship gets in the day before, this is the best port in the world.   Enjoy. 

IMO, you cannot go wrong on either class of ships.  We started on the R ship and were immediately hooked on Oceania.  Our second trip was on an O ship and the extra dining venues blew us away.  Since then we’ve been on both quite a few times and have not found much to complain about.  

If I thought I would only do one Oceania I would choose Marina or Riviera for the extra dining choices.  

We did Norway for the first time on ryndam . The ports were good but there no destination expert or guest lecturer on board. It was 14 days and we were totally turned off  by the lack of cultural enrichment. Not even a single lecture. Only the tour manager hawking ship excursions.  For this reason I do not recommend holland America for Norway.

The Ryndam was fine and was in good enough shape to attract a buyer.

However, neither Rotterdam or veendam works  for me, especially the Veendoom. I would rather stay home than be on that ship. 

I would highly recommend you check Viking.  I’m not a big fan of ship tours but they offer an included, basic tour in every port.  You will find everything in Norway is pricey so the included tour may be of value. 

You need to read trip reports and the Viking board to find out what the included tour is.   Or call Viking to ask. Sometimes they know but the included tour may be unknown when you book. 

Viking also has wonderful ships that are  new and nice. Better food, ambience, service with many more included items.   Less nickle  and diming. .  Great cultural education and immersion on this line. Multiple guest lecturers and historians. 

You will pay more for Viking but well worth the money compared to the oldie ships you are considering. 

Oceania also has great Norway experiences.  

2 hours ago, Classiccruiser777 said:

 

Bingo! I’ve spent a career in quality management and have a very critical eye (just ask my wife). Oceania isn’t perfect but, for us, is as close to perfect a cruise line can be.

Same here.  I have a most critical eye and notice just about everything, good and bad.  Oceania clicked with us immediately and I don’t have any major issues to report after a double digit number of O cruises.  

But once in a while we try another line for variety.  We usually regret we are not on Oceania. 

4 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

 

I have considered Chase Sapphire and for some reason, which I have long forgotten, rejected it.  Refresh my memory, does it provide "cancel for any reason", as HAL's does, or is it for specifically stated situations? 

 

The cancel for any reason is why I always buy HAL's for a long trip.  It is not, however, travel insurance.  Nor should one rely on its med-evac coverage.  We self-insure instead of travel insurance; and our medical coverage covers us world-wide, so HAL's policy plus med-evac insurance fits our needs.  

I doubt it is cancel for any reason, which carries a big premium.  There is definitely emergency medical insurance under Chase  Sapphire Reserve. 

We each have Chase sapphire Reserve  cards, two accounts.  The regular chase sapphire card is less expensive but offers fewer benefits,  The Reserve yearly fee is steep but a portion is credited back as travel expense. 

It it is easy to become insurance poor.  We have bought travel insurance on exotic trips, on regular trips we might not buy it.   If occasionally we take a loss beyond what our credit card covers, we still come out ahead in the long run.  Just like taking a high deductible on homeowner and auto coverage. 

On 1/9/2019 at 4:06 PM, jb008 said:

Check the credit card they booked with... maybe they had travel insurance through that and didn't know about the coverage?

 

For future reference, you can cancel flights prior to travel and get a credit good for a year (minus the change fee) - although sometimes the change fee can be waived for extenuating circumstances (like illness!).  This has to be done before the flight departs or else you're treated as a no-show and the ticket is subject to forfeiture.

 

Sorry to hear about it and hope she's doing better now!

Agree, always check with your credit card company.  

Many people wait to book CT onboard so they can choose a food style they like. I would book Manfredi’s ahead of time for the actual birthday.   

I liked both specialties.  We loved Manfredis and liked CT more than we thought we wood.  We had the West Indies menu, delicious beef.  The food portions were fine and we were not hungry afterward.  

Manfredis served a pistachio cake that was terrific.  Also loved their crispy, thin slices of chicken parm.  

2 hours ago, iancal said:

We have never purchased trip cancellation insurance.  Our first ever claim was last May.  Our premium credit card comes with cancellation insurance.  Fortunately we put our trip on this card.

 

Sent in the claim (medical issues).  It was paid in full within ten business days with not one query by the insurer.  I was surprised how quickly it was paid and I half expected them to ask a bunch of questions with the view of weaseling out of paying.....as insurers often seem to do. The cancellation was not attributable to a pre-existing condition.

 

We do of course buy out of country medical coverage. We buy it direct, never from the travel product provider.

Anyone who can qualify should obtain a premium credit card.  The best ones offer trip cancellation and medical coverage.  They definitely pay off without much hassle.  

We both have had Chase Sapphire Reserve cards since they were released a few years ago. This is the longest we have kept any single card.  Our kids keep us apprised  of the most lucrative cards and so far we haven’t found anything better.  

1 hour ago, Mickb said:

I cannot understand why the OP should be shot down in flames for voicing his opinion. He obviously paid a great deal of money for this cruise and is disappointed. Veendam is an older ship and had problems some years ago that do not seem to have been fixed. 

I cannot understand why people who have obviously had a good experience on a ship cannot accept that just because they enjoyed it everyone else must too. 

Of our 17 cruises, we have sailed 4 times with HAL, 2 were excellent and 2 were not. When I commented on this board ( much like the OP) I was shot down by someone who had sailed on the ship in question and told me I was wrong!

Perception is reality!

Chuck - your opinion is a valid as everyone else’s!

you might like to consider Celebrity, Cunard or Oceana ( the bigger new ships).

Good luck

 

Ditto.  I’m actually embarrassed for a couple blind  loyalists  who felt compelled to research, then cut and paste  previous posts by the OP.  

Chuck, keep on telling it as you see it.  

45 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

Once again I am with you as I tend to be 99% of the time 

I sure hope our paths will cross at some point in the future on Oceania.

We have enjoyed Privee a couple of times - always for OBC. A nice way to invite friends old and new to celebrate the end of a good cruise.

Great minds think alike!  

Would love to meet up some time on an Oceania ship.  

9 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

You were not promised a "mini-suite", because there is no such thing. All  the room categories and floor plans are spelled out up front.  

 

I suspect you conflated the term Vista Suite into something that it was not, nor even promised. 225 sq feet is very generous for a ship's regular cabin. On the Veendam you have a choice between a verandah regular Vista Suite or a Neptune Suite. Lots of us have enjoyed these cabins and no one ever complained they were "sardine cans".

 

Are you going to continue this unfounded diatribe absent facts,  or do as you promised, move on to another cruise line. Your argument is with your travel agent if there was a misrepresentation of what you were booking on this ship. 

I haven’t read anything close to a diatribe from the OP.  He reported factual information about the Veendam/doom previously and subsequently confirmed by other passengers.  

Sympathies to the OP and hope he keeps on posting here. 

23 hours ago, LHT28 said:

it said it was $295. pp

Pretty steep for those of us who don’t care for bubbly. 

The best deal on Oceania is Privee,   $250 and you can invite up to ten guests.   Alcohol not included.  We love this venue.  

My sympathies to the OP.  .  Sadly, you can read cruise critic back at least ten years and find similiar reports about Veendam.  

Cuba is not the destination for creature comforts so a nice cruise ship is essential.  Veendam is not.

There are nicer cruise lines with better itineraries doing Cuba, look around.  

We thought Cuba was fascinating and we would go again. 

I laughed out loud at the OP’s instant analysis of the mariner loyalty program.  Totally agree.  A free bag of laundry after a couple hundred days will not entice me to do anything. 

4 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

BTW, I don't need two cabin clean-ups a day. One would do nicely. 

I strongly disagree with your premise that passengers want to downgrade their experience so they can travel on a “small ship”.  I would bet the majority of travelers want something nicer than their home.  I would rather stay home than experience a downgraded level of accommodations, food, service.  

Heck, there are thousands of threads bemoaning various downgrades on Holland America.  

Over the years we have have had to upgrade our level of cruise lines, hotels, restaurants. We are not snobs and generally live below our means.  But we want nice travel and entertainment experiences and know we must pay a higher price.  

Ship size is vastly over rated IMO.  Quality of food, service and ship mean much more. 

16 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

But, I assume, you went "up close and personal" with the Hubbard Glacier on Oceania- a far different experience and (IMO) far better.

If you prefer Celebrity, why keep trying Oceania? Don't worry, O has plenty of repeat business and will never go wanting.

I said nothing about celebrity as we haven’t been on that line in ages.

I praised the Princess Alaska program.   Also said I missed Glacier Bay when we did the Oceania Alaska cruise.  I am already a repeat Oceania customer but I give credit where credit is due. 

Holland America does not have the reputation to attract a well heeled clientele to fill up an expensive,  new small  ship.  I don’t think they can “drum up” a market segment that other lines already occupy.   They are a value line and offer a nice product within their niche.  

The restaurant was closed for lunch on port days.  World cafe is self serve so we didn’t care much for it.  However,  the carving station meats are sliced by staff.  I think there were a couple other areas where staff cooked something to order.

Pool grill had good food but no seating, this is an opportunity for Viking to improve their product.  I don’t want to go inside for a table and do not want to sit in the poolside sun.  

We take the air credit and book our own.  We’ve used a consolidator for business class.  Premium economy is OK for a day flight but not relaxing for a night flight.

The other option is a daytime flight to London.  There is a premium for a day flight, even in economy but it avoids a red eye.  We’ve done this a couple times.  You arrive at Heathrow 9 or 10pm, we either have a car service booked or we stay at an airport hotel.  

iceland Air was mentioned.  If they have any day flights it would be fine but I hated their red eye.  All flights stop in Iceland, you deplane in the middle of the night, go through immigration and wait for a connection.  Their flights mostly go to Gatwick, which is good.  

On 1/10/2019 at 7:36 PM, Paulchili said:

I feel the same way about Princess. We go for a unique itinerary, get Elite benefits, pay significantly less but most importantly know what to expect and are realistic about it.

That said, O is our favorite by far.

Same here,  we have done Princess Alaska multiple times and every couple of years we do another one.  But we mostly stick to Coral Princess,  which has the best passenger space ratio in the fleet.  Combined with a cruisetour it is a great trip.  Every time I’m in Glacier Bay I feel blessed and totally enjoy the serenity. 

Food in the dining room is fairly good , not great but we don’t expect great for the price paid.  The specialty restaurants for a fee are pretty good.  

We did one Oceania Alaska,  it was fine but we missed Glacier Bay. 

We were booked with Easter Island  Spirit, unfortunately we did not get ashore due to wave action.  Crossing my fingers you get in.  

The I’m so excited for you!!!  You will love Marina and this trip.  We did this itinerary in 2015 or 2016.  

Definitely check your roll call to see if you can join private tours.  

Another vote for Patrick in Bora Bora. Fabulous day.  

Francky Frank gives wonderful tours in Moorea.  He is offbeat, hilarious and fun.  Check with him to see if he can meet your ferry, otherwise rent a car.   

Many cruisers arrive in Papeete a few days early but then ferry to Moorea to one of the resorts there.  We used a company called Tahitian Legends for a great package deal, ferry, transfers, three nights at the Moorea Intercontinental Hotel.  We stayed overnight in Papette on the day we arrived in FP.  

The ferry in Papeete is centrally located in the town and is a few slips away from where Marina will dock.  

The ferry terminal on Moorea is not centrally located, a car or a tour guide picking you up is essential.  

Is your cruise doing Easter Island?  If so, this is a great locale for private tours.  

For Pitcairn, make sure you attend all the lectures.  Residents of the islands will probably come  on board, hawk  some stuff and give  a few talks about life on the island.  The destination expert will present some stunning info the next day.  I won’t spoil it but you will be mesmerized. 

Enjoy

Ship size is overrated.  We like Princess but after experiencing the R ships on premium lines, we had no desire to try their version which, of course comes with  Princess food, service, ambience.  (Princess is good, nothing special).  We had no desire to try Prinsendam for the same reason,  (Holland America food and service is good , nothing special).  Then someone encouraged us to try it, against my better judgement we booked it.  It was as expected, good food and service, standard for the fleet.  

Holland America is widely considered a value product.  Cruise critic even named them “best value line”.  Their customers are not going to pay a big price for a new small ship.  Carnival is like any other corporation, their products are slotted and marketed  to a particular demographic and price point. 

Carnival Corporation understands their product line and customers far better than some posters here.  They have Seaborn if a customer wants to move up yet stay in the Carnival food chain.  

I seriously doubt most Holland America customers can afford or want to pay the price for a brand new small ship.   

O life excursions apply to tours $199 or less.  It can be a good deal if carefully cherry picked.  However,  private tour operators will show you more sites in a day than any cruise bus.  You will also get a better feel for the culture and everyday life.

We did ten days on Sirena late October. Originally I booked O life excursions.   But just like any other destination, we wanted to see the most sites possible so we joined roll call private tours.  O life can be canceled up to final payment date.  

The private tours were not a cost savings compared to O life.   After changing dollars into Euros, then converting Euro to CUC (and getting charged 10% American penalty plus 3% conversion rate) our currency was devalued.  But our multitude of experiences were infinitely better than what a cruise bus will show you. 

I dont think O life with OBC, then booking excursions on board is a good value.  We get free gratuitities and a fair amount of OBC anyway.