fuzzywuzzy

Exactly. Even including the "European bashing". Really now, the ship is registered in the Netherlands. The ship is cruising in the Med. Did these "two for the price of one" posters (maybe it's a husband and wife team :confused: :rolleyes: :confused:) not think there would be many Europeans on board?

 

We did 21 days on the NA last fall, a Collectors Cruise. The first seven days there were many Europeans...it was lovely to meet people from all over the world. The TA portion was mostly Americans and Canadians. That's the way it rolls.

 

This year we're doing the TA on the Noordam. But, being a "glass is half full" kind of gal, I hope we'll be fine.

My DH and I sailed on the Noordam across the Atlantic. It was excellent. We loved every minute of it. I do like the Eurodam over the Noordam though. But most of it was exactly the same. I missed the Silk Den and the Tamarind restaurant above.

Anyway, as I've said before, we found the TA to be wonderful onboard this ship which was taken last November, not that long ago.

Some may say that this is a bit complicated, but I say that this is the type of innovative thinking that makes Canada a great nation. That, and Tim Horton's.

LOL....eh to that!!

Just a thought that you may want to consider with respect to the SBP - you could stock up on beer as you go through the day(s). There only has to be a five minute delay between purchases on each card. Take both cards to the bar, onder a beer on each card, make sure to order them unopened, and take them back to your cabin. You can order again 5 minutes later. Keep the beer in the fridge until you are ready to enjoy them. You can do this with pop, too. You may want to have the contents of the fridge removed upon embarkation, to make room for your stock.

 

This would give you the flexibility that you desire so, if the "sums" work out, the SBP card could still work for you.

 

For cocktails, well, you might have to go to a bar, get the drinks and take them back to your balcony. Or just stay in the bar, and have a second drink!

All this sounds WAY too complicated!

All wine brought on at ports of call are subject to the corkage.

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Oh I see. Thank you.

I have a question and sorry if this has been asked before but we haven't sailed since the new wine policy came into effect.

I understand that we each can bring on one "free" bottle of wine. Any others we have to pay a corkage fee. My question - is this for the whole cruise? Or can we bring one bottle of wine onboard at each port of call free of corkage fee? If not, how do they know we have already brought on one bottle of wine as we reboard from the ports of call? Thanks of any advice.

I'm sorry to tell the OP that I agree with the previous posters about the ethics involved with swim with the dolphins excursions. This especially true for venues outside the US where animals kept in captivity are more monitored (but still not so great).

Do see Blackfish!!!

I blame HAL for turning a blind eye in situations like this. Years ago we were one of the first ships to return to Columbia and there was an excursion to an island that included a "dolphin show" the itinerary was go to a beach resort, go to show, return to beach resort for lunch. I asked if I could skip the show because I did not believe they were humane. I was laughed at (literally) by the excursion person and told that everyone loves dolphin shows and I had to follow the tour. I didn't book but was angry because I was pretty sure that the dolphins were live captured and not living in humane conditions.

Sorry for the soapbox.

I agree totally. People are becoming more aware of the plight of these defenseless creatures which are being kept in captivity. It is cruel and inhumane. They were meant to be free and swim in the oceans. They are highly intelligent animals and I feel for them. We don't even know the half of what goes on in these places or how many die. I will never attend Sea World or any other live aquarium show. That's my soapbox for the day.

We are jsust about to set sail on our first cruise on Sun 3rd and are Europeans - British / English, whatever. We did not get a cut price cheap cruise and are staying in a verandah cabin. We also have to fly to get to the embarkation port.

Are 'Europeans' inferior to Americans / Canadians / Australians?? Sorry if I am taking this the wrong way but this is how the OP makes it sound!

 

I do hope we wont come across any of this attitude onboard as that would not be nice at all. I believe HAL was born in the Netherlands or am I mistaken?

 

I am really looking forward to meeting people from other countries and visiting some lovely places. I understand if a person is unhappy with service and the ship looking worn etc but the other comments could be construed by some as offensive.

 

I was only looking on here for recent reviews.:eek::)

Oh dear.

Don't worry. That was only one person's comment and I'm sure does not reflect the majority of cruisers. It certainly does NOT reflect my opinion. I love Europe (at least the little I've seen of it). You have such history and uniqueness (is that a word?). Love love love the culture, the landscape/scenery and the climate not to mention the food, wine, OLIVES, etc. Mmmmm....my mouth is watering just thinking of the delicious marinated olives we bought in Spain at an open air market which we ate on our verandah with cheese, crusty rolls and wine. Sigh. Marvelous.....

Well, it is what it is. I was just amazed that HAL allowed us to bring wine onboard as long as they did!!

I have to jump in here. Our last cruise was on the Noordam last Oct-Nov. 2013 which sailed across the Atlantic. We had a wonderful time. We did not have any problems whatsoever with the cabin, a/c, food, carpeting, staff, dining experiences, etc.

The crew were tirelessly cleaning and working hard to keep the ship in order. Upon reflection I really can't recall any part of the ship where I could say it needed cleaning or upgrading. There were always fresh orchids in the washrooms and diningrooms. I did note that they had cut back on their huge live flower arrangements as compared to other HAL cruises we were on but that is a minor issue.

This was my experience anyway. Btw, we had a verandah.

...and that one corkage-free bottle pp can only be brought on at embarkation. Any brought on at ports cost $18 corkage ... unless you just want the ship to hold it for you until cruise-end.

So this is the new policy? How and where does one pay the corkage fee if bringing more than one bottle of wine onboard?

Sorry but I'm a bit behind in the wine policy. Can we still bring wine onboard or has that changed as of this year?

Obviously they must feel that they will gain the smokers from the other cruiselines which have banned smoking altogether. It's a no brainer.

We have sailed many times on HAL. Wr are non smokers. We have never had a problem with smokers on the balcony. But having said that I do wish HAL would ban smoking altogether.

People will still book. We have had a no smoking in public places here in Ontario and the restaurants are still full.

Not to mention that those carrying their "adult drinks" are usually too chatty during the drill, and being crushed together - spills are likely. Not pleasant for others.

I've never seen people with adult drinks at muster drill.

The gorgeous photos you posted tell the whole HMC story for me.

 

For people who love beautiful beaches and aqua blue water, how could one think an hour or two is enough? Sigh.......

 

I keep trying to freeze the color of the water into my brain but when I get home I can never 'pull it back up'. The photos are gorgeous but still not lilke being there. :)

 

So true!! Love love love the gorgeous water and white soft sand. I always wish I could capture it all in a bottle to open later when back home to bring back the sounds, smells, and the views. sigh. It's never long enough there.

In my opinion, one of the most important aspects of the Passenger Emergency Drill is that it is a vital training program for the crew. In an emergency situation, crew need to react from instinct, which a well practised process will become.

 

An actual emergency is no place for crew to try to learn how to direct passengers to their muster station, to organize them within their group to maximize deck space, or to identify them and cross reference to the master list. Also accounting for each passenger, and finding missing ones if needed. Reading what your duties are is totally different than applying them in real time. Practicing your duties in a controlled atmosphere is far more valuable to learn what is expected of you.

 

One of the well documented facts of the Costa Concordia disaster was that the crew were disorganized and did not know what to do. There were also two passengers lost when the Queen of the North sank off British Columbia a few years back. Crew thought all passengers were safe, but did not do a proper safety check, and lost two passengers because of it.

 

I gladly attend the HAL drills, and remain quiet while the crew do their jobs. It gives me a sense of confidence that if there were an emergency, the crew's instincts will kick in and they will be confidant in their familiar and well practised role to keep us all safe.

Well said Davidson Duo!! Whether people like it or not, this is the law and everyone needs to abide by it or don't cruise. I too feel confident knowing that the cruiseline takes this very serious.

YES! Seriously, as per local tourist bureau staff. Also, the $5 taxi ride drop off was at a bunch of beach front souvenir shops operated by Haitian refugees.

Well I guess $5.00 isn't too bad.

Were there few weeks ago and based on previous posts, we went to find a tour ourselves and were told to talk to the ship's excursion rep standing in the courtyard. Then went to the taxi stand to go into town or tour and prices are fixed and posted. We were told that the pricing for anything going out of or into the cruise port are set by the cruise line in association with the tourist bureau. You could walk out of the cruise port and flag a taxi....you might be able to negotiate.

Seriously? I think that is a bit gouging. Obviously the prices are probably high.

I haven't been to GT but wanted to give you some info. I've snorkeled in many places, both ship's tours & private. There is no requirement to snorkel - you can just sit and watch others, relax, whatever. Every watercraft I've snorkeled from has life vests so you could just get into the water & float if you wanted. As for getting from the catamaran to the beach without swimming, I assume you mean could you walk on the sand, ie, is the water shallow enough - I don't know this but I wouldn't think so - still, with a life vest and "dog paddling" I suppose it could be done.

Thank you. Yes that sounds good. Not sure if we will do this trip or do our own thing.

There is a trolly that does a tour of the island for $20 and you could catch it at a parking lot right off the beach near a beach bar close to the pier. It is $5 to take taxi to town and you can walk around and get cold beer there.

Is this the one that is one of the ship's excursions?

This is very true. :rolleyes:

LuLu

Don't need slow or surly. Hmmmm. Might just stroll down to the other beer shack? We have never been to T & C. Looking forward to it. Is it better to take the trolley train or just hire a taxi driver to see some of the sights?

What do the taxi drivers charge? We have been totally hosed by taxi drivers in the past most notably on Antigua.

Hello: Just wondering if anyone has any information with regard to the catamaran excursion on Grand Turk? I would love to sail on the catamaran and experience this but I am not a very good swimmer or snorkeler. Can this trip be done without having to snorkel? Could we get from the catamaran over to the beach without having to swim? Thanks for any hints or tips.

Just another opinion.

 

I sailed Celebrity Constellation (similar in size to HAL Vista ships). I would say everything is pretty comparable on both except the wrap-around Promenade deck on HAL, and the very strict designated SMOKING policy on X.

 

I have absolutely NO INTEREST in Celebrity's (or anyone else for that matter) newer monolith ships. I sailed the Grand Princess at 110,000 GT and that large of a ship has no appeal to me at all. I can't even begin to fathom being on a ship with 5000 other people.

 

BUT everyone has to decide for themselves what is important to them.

I agree with you with regard to the mega ships. Too big for me. I would rather not fight the crowds at the Lido deck for meals, etc. The Eurodam or the Noordam is big enough for me. It must be a pain too when these monster ships dock at the ports for disembarking, etc.

Our, now my, cruises to the Caribbean in recent years are all about the ship and the weather. We sailed to the islands so many times, had so many resort stays in lots of the islands and it isn't about culture and touring or banana plantations at this point. For DH, it was R&R from his hard work and for me it was the ship life and escape from cold New England winters. :)

 

Whoever wrote, as long as it snows, there will be Caribbean cruises, is likely correct. :D

That's correct as far as our cold winters are concerned - me being Canadian. I just love the beautiful scenery, the crystal aqua blue water, the gorgeous soft sandy beaches, the sights, sounds and smells of the Caribbean. There is always something new to see and new people to meet. I think if I sailed it 1000 times, I would still experience something new and exciting.

The movie was very much a work of fiction - but it was very good and I still like Ben Afleck.;)

Yes, it was very "Americanized". Good movie though - kept you on the edge of your seat.