Maya_C

18 minutes ago, susiesan said:

 

 

The small bathrooms on the R class ships don't affect us, we are small people. I looked at AZ Quest in Dec. But it is more per day than Sirena was. 

The higher cost of Azamara may seem like less if you consider that alcoholic drinks and gratuities are included in their pricing but not in Oceania's.   

I just found updated itineraries for the Eurodam, which differ from the original Westerdam's itineraries. This info appears in prnewswire dot come, which lists the source as Holland America.

Mediterranean Cruise Itineraries (all cruises are 12 days):

• Sept. 12: Venice; Zadar and Hvar, Croatia; Kotor, Montenegro; Argostólion, Crete, Rhodes (overnight), Mykonos and Piraeus (overnight), Greece.
• Sept. 24: Piraeus; Istanbul (overnight) and Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey; Sarandë, Albania; Dubrovnik, Korcula and Rijeka, Croatia; Koper, Slovenia; Venice (overnight).
• Oct. 6: Venice; Katakolon (Olympia), Piraeus, Rhodes (overnight), Santorini and Crete, Greece; Kotor; Korcula; Venice (overnight).
• Oct. 18: Venice (overnight); Dubrovnik; Kotor; Corfu and Katakolon, Greece; Naples, Civitavecchia (Rome), and Livorno (Pisa/Florence), Italy; Cannes and Marseille (Provence), France; Barcelona.
• Oct. 30: Barcelona, Cartagena, Malaga (Granada) and Cadiz (Seville), Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; Funchal, Madeira; Ponta Delgada, Azores; Fort Lauderdale.

With COVID putting the world in flux,  I assume some changes may occur in the ports. 

~Maya

We've had rooms on the Main deck and the LP.  In the room on the Main deck, aft of the aft elevators, we had little traffic and no noise from above. We did hear some morning noises from above on the LP deck. We were near the midship elevators starboard. I think the noise would be greater between the midship and aft elevators because the galley is above it.

We were not bothered by light from outside on the LP.  The cabins on the LP are not as long as the ones on the Main deck. Basically, instead of having 2 sets of 3 drawers in the dresser, you have one set, and the space between the bed and sofa was less. We didn't mind the smaller cabin or even the occasional noise from above because we could walk out of room onto the biggest "balcony" on the ship. We wouldn't hesitate to book a cabin on that deck again. 

49 minutes ago, ColoradoMom!! said:

Sorry to resurrect an older thread, but we are looking into these cabins.  Any more input?

Sadly, no higher categories are currently available, and OV availability on the Summit 2022 New England cruise is getting to be slim pickings.

Perhaps we should move up a few doorstop 3120.  They are marked as having adjoining room doors, but may be better.  I would love to have these larger windows left over from the conference center!

We had an adjoining cabin in this area (maybe 3126) and did not hear any noise from our neighbors or from the corridor, which was seldom used.  

13 hours ago, mexicobob said:

Have always found the "drink enough" solution applies to many problems. As far as motion sickness goes would always prefer a balcony cabin. Fresh air seems to help. 

The other advantage of a balcony or ocean view cabin is watching the horizon, which helps your brain know which way is up. I was always prone to motion sickness until I found out that key piece of information. It's similar to motion sickness in a car. Passengers can suffer from it, but seldom does the driver because her eyes are on the stable thing, the road, not focusing on words on a page or a screen. Even so, when the seas are rough, I still take half a Bonine, not enough to put me to sleep but enough  to eat a meal without incident.

Three months before an October Spain cruise ((i.e., after final payment was due), I got a good deal on an Azamara cruise that I'd previously booked and then decided to cancel, paying a $100 penalty for cancellation. The last-minute deal was for a guaranteed oceanview cabin. We ended up with a cabin two grades higher than we'd originally booked and a savings of about $500. Interior cabins were also available at a great price, but balcony cabins were fully booked by then. 

We have seen a place to sign up for bridge or a time in the planner for bridge players to meet during  cruises on  Holland America, Azamara, and Oceania. We've not seen it lately on Celebrity, but we have found potential bridge players on roll calls.

10 minutes ago, Suslor said:

Thanks for the link we are on the Volendam for this -

The Volendam will offer “boutique” 14-day sailings including the new “Capitals” cruise offering access to Dublin, London, Paris and Antwerp with two overnights. 

“Because of the ship’s smaller size, we are able to sail up the Seine River all the way to Rouen.  We also call at Bristol (Bath), England and highly rated Bordeaux,” Grigsby explained.

These itineraries sound great to us too. Currently, the lines that sail up the river to Bordeaux, instead of docking 90 minutes away (and also dock in Rouen) are Azamara and Oceania. I'd really like to save a little money by cruising with HAL. We've enjoyed our cruises on the Zaandam and the Veendam (sadly sold), and would be happy if HAL would hang onto Z and Volendam for the small ports that the other ships in the fleet can't visit. And HAL, if you're listening, please have lecturers who know the itinerary's ports and countries, which Azamara and Oceania offer. 

14 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Celebrity is not marketing as all inclusive, rather always included, big difference.  Always included is wifi, tips, drinks, other than specialty restaurants, all the wonderful food we can eat in Luminae or MDR.  Expensive, yes and IMO it is worth it.  They have suffered massive losses in the past 15 months, they are trying to stay in business.

The way to stay in business is to offer options to guests that suit their needs. One size does not fit all. As people who drink little alcohol and no sodas or specialty coffees, we can't see paying for the drinking habits of others. OBC should be offered to those who choose not to have drinks included. 

You may have vibration and engine noise in 1962. We had a Zaandam aft cabin on the Navigation deck in 2009. The vibration was constant, noted also by occupants of other cabins between the aft elevators and the stern. I wandered around the ship to check whether I'd like cabins in other locations for a future cruise. I noticed engine noise in addition to vibration aft on the lower decks. Maybe the vibration has been fixed in drydock since then. 

Here is a review with photos of 6102 on the Amsterdam, an R class ship like Zaandam, and I believe this cabin location is the same as what you would have on the Zaandam: 

https://halfacts.com/r-class/6102-amsterdam/

On 4/19/2021 at 2:46 PM, Mary229 said:

  Give me more high quality lectures and a decent wifi connection and I am happy.  

I second the request for good lecturers. This can't be a huge expense to a cruise line, and it's a draw for a line that attracts an older crowd. 

At the Oceanview cafe:

Breakfast blintzes

Frozen yogurt 

Fish at the grill

At the MDR

Duck

Rack of Colorado lamb (can be the best or just so-so, depending on the chef)

Never ate in any of the specialty restaurants.

On 4/7/2021 at 6:56 PM, cruisemom42 said:

 

If they are limited to a 7-day cruise I could easily see a NE Greece trip without Istanbul -- for example:

 

Piraeus -- At Sea -- Thessaloniki -- Cruising Mt. Athos/Kavala -- Volos (for Meteora)-- At Sea -- Nauplion (for Mycenae/Epidauros) -- Piraeus

I love that itinerary and was looking at Oceania and Azamara cruises visiting those ports in 2022. I'd be happy with Eurodam as a possibly less expensive way to visit those places.  

Whether you can book seats before final payment seems to be airline dependent. For a cruise from Lisbon to Barcelona, we booked through Celebrity Air, a Tap Air flight going and a United flight returning. We couldn't choose seats on the Portuguese carrier until payment but could on United, where we also paid a supplement for seats with more leg room. We never got as far as final payment because of COVID.

On a similar sailing, we took a train from Malaga to Cordoba, where we toured the cathedral/mosque (it's been one or the other over the centuries). It's unique and impressive building with a long history, well worth seeing. We also had a wonderful lunch in a small restaurant there and walked around the picturesque town. We took cab rides between the port and the train station in Malaga, and between the train station and the historic center of Cordoba. The transportation was inexpensive. The next time I'm in Malaga, though, I plan to tour that city which has ruins and an art museum worth visiting. Enjoy your trip.

I liked Onward better than Forth or Discovery, but it will be odd to say "I'm on the Onward."

Thanks for the tip to eat in the MDR on white night or whatever replaces it. For our white night off Spain in October, the chill in the air meant hot/warm dishes were cold. The deck was crowded to the point that we could barely find two seats together. But I'd go up there for the Crepes Suzette dessert again. 

We stayed in the OV rooms starboard aft on Deck 3 on the Summit. The cabins with the large round windows are 3112-3144. Quiet area, convenient location. 

11 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

I’d personally love to see the Pinnacle Bar area on the Vista/Signature class vessels gutted and refurbished as the Grand Dutch Cafe.
 

You could do something similar on the Volendam/Zaandam and potentially put a smaller version in the space adjacent to guest services/Wajang theater/Pinnacle grill, or convert the Explorations coffee bar into the Grand Dutch Cafe concept. 
 

My point is this - I think taking it fleetwide would be a winner!

I agree!  Every cruise line offers pizza and deli. The Dutch Cafe is a way to set HAL apart from the competition.

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Being able to leave the ship at the ports without having to do the cruise line bubble excursions would be a requirement for me. 

 

I agree. I'd go on a cruise even if masks and social distancing are required, but not being able to get off the ship to walk around or take a private tour is a deal breaker.

Thank you to everyone for clarifying what Club Orange is. I still have a couple of questions. Is it available only on the newer ships like Kdam and NS? If $15/day is a discounted price, what is the usual price, and does it vary by ship/type of stateroom/number of people already signed up, or any other factor?  Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge.

Thank you for taking the time to post your photos and give us hope that cruises can resume again. As long as they're not filled to capacity, there are many safe, open spaces on them. The ship is a beauty. Have a wonderful cruise.

3 hours ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

Hi Maya.  Nice to se your pics and comments.  We were also looking at the Veendam's up coming itineraries and like many of them.  HAL had scheduled her for some rather unique places, partly as they had lost those of the Prinsendam.  I am as sad about loosing the S and R class ships as I am loosing those special itineraries.  

 Hi St. Pete Cruiser,. I'm also sad about losing those ships. The only other HAL ship I've been on is the Zaandam and that fortunately is still around. I much prefer those smaller ships and wish I'd had the chance to go on the Prinsendam.

We were on the Veendam, Boston to Bermuda, in June 2018 and appreciated docking in Hamilton. I loved the ship and the crew so much I immediately checked where she was going in the future. We took a Greek island cruise on her in May 2019. On the Bermuda cruise, I asked Mike at the Martini bar to make a drink based on one served during the last dinner on the Titanic. My murder mystery centering on a Titanic re-creation dinner had just come out and I'd been asked to blog about drinks on that ship.  Mike not only whipped up a cocktail from my recipe but also hummed the Titanic movie theme while he did it. A unique memory.

On 7/18/2020 at 2:21 PM, LHT28 said:

The  ships  are more quiet than  some   & you can do as much or as little as you like

 We will make our own sea day  on  busy itineraries

I agree with ORV  we often do oceanview on deck 4 or one of the A or B cabins

it is fine for us  but if you think it will be cramped  maybe  a PH is for you

 

Roll Call

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2747486-sirena-may-12-2021/

We've always been happy with oceanview on HAL, Celebrity, and Azamara. The OV on Sirena was the size we expected, but our cabin, 4041, had engine noise that was really hard to take. It was an intermittent hum (on two seconds, off two seconds) for 10 or 15 minutes at a stretch. Then it would stop, and two minutes later it would start again. I don't mind a steady hum from the engine. That's like white noise. It was impossible to get used to the on-and-then-off noise. I don't think it was a general problem in that part of the deck. We couldn't hear it in the hall, only the cabin. To Oceania's credit, they did move us to a different cabin after I took the issue up the chain. Avoid cabin 4041.