Maya_C

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.

On HAL ships for the last couple of years and on Oceania (my only cruise with them was in February), no passengers served themselves at the buffet. Celebrity can easily do the same. Yes, it entails more crew, but the health of passengers is worth the cost. I would be reluctant to go on a Celebrity cruise unless they changed the buffet system.

Thank you so much for the clear explanation, Wrk2cruise! ~Maya_C

1 minute ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

Please read the FAQ in the appropriate section on this link.  Either Cruise with Confidence or Cruising Suspension.  They are quite good and answer many questions including this one.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruise-with-confidence

Thank you for the information. My cruise is next fall, outside the window of Cruise with Confidence and final payment isn't due until June. I want to cancel, even if Celebrity doesn't cancel the cruise. I booked it as nonrefundable deposit. For $100 pp I can apply the deposit to another sailing in the future, but I don't know if there are restrictions for when that cruise can be and if I can make a reservation for that cruise, and then change my mind and move apply the credit to another cruise. I assume I would be able to apply it to a less expensive cruise than the one I originally, but I'm not sure. 

What happens if the future cruise fare costs less the FCC? Do you lose the difference? 

On 2/18/2020 at 12:18 PM, Acrusa said:

The new bathrooms on Sirena I found the shower doors and shower great. But there was no hair dryer so I could not defog the mirror to shave had to leave the door open. Also it was difficult to wash my face without hitting the cabinet mirror. Solution was to open cabinet door, easier to bend over sink.

 

Just off the Sirena. Hairdryer was in the top drawer of the set of drawers in the closet in the two cabins I saw. If you didn't have a dryer, I'm sure the cabin attendant would have supplied one. 

6 minutes ago, kenevenpar said:

 

Yeah, I think I'll keep going a day early.

I've converted to going a day early after that experience with the Summit.

What everyone said about ease of mind is true. I flew from Washington DC to Rome twice and San Juan once, arriving on the day of the cruise all three times, and had no problem. I risked it only because the flight was nonstop and the port for the next day was easy to get to--Naples is a 2-hour train trip from Rome, and San Juan has numerous 45-minute flights to St. Croix.

But airline delays aren't the only possible glitch. The itinerary on the Summit from San Juan changed to avoid over-crowding at ports. So instead of St. Croix, the first port was going to be Curacao after a sea day! Needless to say, we were sweating that one. We made it on time and got to the ship before  1 PM. Here's what happened to one passenger: Flight to San Juan was delayed. Passenger arranged to fly directly to St. Croix because he didn't get the message about the itinerary change. When he landed, he found out the Summit wasn't going there, but to Curacao. So he flew to Curacao from St. C. But at the last minute before departure from San Juan, the Summit had a computer problem that affected navigation, so the ship didn't leave San Juan until 24 hours later than scheduled. The passenger ended up flying from Curacao to San Juan.  I hope he had insurance that covered those flight changes. 

To answer the question about tender tickets, this was our experience last May on the Veendam in Santorini. An announcement notified us when the tender  tickets would be distributed. I don't remember the exact time, maybe 7:30. People who wanted to take the first tender (like us because we were meeting a private tour guide) began lining up half and hour before the distribution time.The ticket indicates which group you are in, and each group is announced by number over the PA system when it is time to board. The tenders were quite large, and we easily got on the first one though we weren't near the front of the line for  tickets. Once on shore, we bought tickets for the cable car and got on with little or no wait. To get down on the cable car in the afternoon, we had to wait 30-40 minutes.   

Go to the following thread and scroll down for pictures of this cabin on the Summit. It should be the same layout.

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/1587582-room-6035-summit/

18 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

 

Very mild for the most part, especially the dishes in the Lido. If you pre-order from the MDR you could specify how hot you want yours.

This year the Westerdam to Alaska was the premier ship for Indian food. 5 - 6 dishes a day at lunch in the Lido, and a separate Indian menu  in the MDR which changed every night. Usually one meat entree and one vegetarian entree plus veggies, appetizers, desserts.   Heaven!!!  

 

I hope there is a repeat of this in 2020!

Thank you for the information. I've enjoyed the Indian dishes in the Lido. It's great to know Indian food can be ordered to a particular spice level in the MDR.  

15 hours ago, old mike said:

We were on the Zaandam from Montreal through to Rio in October and November,  we ate from the Indian Menu several times. We just had to order one day ahead, the server will bring you a copy of the next evenings indian menu and you just tick off what you would like, no more commitment than that, the food was superb and portions were larger than we wanted. Service was as fast or faster than the regular menu. I'm a brit so grew up eating curry and have successfully converted my French ex-fiance to Indian food, we  both love it especially the vegetarian options, which are so much better than boiled to extinction veggies typically served with. western cooking proteins. . 

I love Indian food, but I request mildly spicy when I order at an Indian restaurant, where the food can be fiery hot (at least for my tastes). I know tastes differ, but I'd appreciate comments on the spiciness of the ship's Indian food. Thank you. 

The last two times I was on the Veendam (June 2018 and May 2019), PG Tips tea was also available, not in an envelope like the Bigalow teas, but in a canister with tongs so you could fish out an unwrapped teabag without touching the other teabags. 

If you can't get Bonine where you live, Dramamine All Day Less Drowsy formula contains exactly the same ingredient: Meclizine HCI 25mg. The original Dramamine and its Chewable formula contain Dimenhydrinate 50mg. That drug knocks most people out.

If seas are rough and I want to stay awake, I take half a Bonine, which allows me to eat dinner and keep it down. I don't drink wine after taking Bonine because wine makes me drowsy anyway. I take the other half of the pill right before going to sleep. 

A non-medicinal remedy that works for me in rough seas is to watch the horizon, which helps the brain figure out which way is up.  Of course, you can't do that at night unless there's good moonlight. 

Smooth sailing!

We've never been on the NA, but after going on the Veendam to Bermuda, I immediately checked future cruises on that ship so I could book it again. Our second Veendam cruise, last May to the Greek Islands, was even  more enjoyable than the first. If the elevators are now all functional, that would eliminate my only quibble about the ship. We did not find smoke an issue. With the casino only on the port side of the ship, it was easy to avoid smoke by using the the corridor on the starboard side, which goes by the shops.  I wouldn't hesitate to book again on the Veendam because we prefer smaller, quieter ships. 

Recent experiences with Celebrity flights:

I booked a cruise through a TA and chose flights myself from the Celebrity site. 

A couple of weeks later, I wanted to switch to a different carrier on the outbound flight (the same carrier I was taking for the homebound flight after the cruise). I checked the prices on Choice Air's Quick Flight Search. They were only slightly more than my original booking. I decided to make the change and called the Celebrity Air number. Celebrity had higher prices for the carrier I wanted than shown on Choice Air. When I told the agent this, she said Choice Air's Quick Flight Search often doesn't give accurate pricing. So I decided to stick with flights I had. Then the Celebrity agent told me the price for the flights I'd booked had gone down. Instead of $820 per ticket, the new price was $711. She cancelled the old booking and made a new one at the lower price. The moral is: call the Celebrity Air number for accurate pricing and good customer service.