RMLincoln

Hi,

 

Been on Midnatsol/Trollfjord (they have identical layouts) several times.

 

I've always chosen port side for interest in docking/loading/unloading myself but you're unlikely to be in your cabin most of the time so a limited benefit I'd suggest. In reasonable weather when docking/alongside many of those not going ashore are leaning on outside rail on deck 6 or 8 watching the goings on - & get a much better view than from cabin windows. Likewise in inclement weather the panoramic lounges and bar etc (mainly) on deck 8 provide a wider view.

 

Your cabin location is several cabins sternward of the car/freight doors so shouldn't be too noisy when opening/closing (if you were 4-5 cabins further forward I'd be cautious in saying that). Cabin is above kitchen/galley & wouldn't expect noise from that.

 

Hope this is helpful - happy to try and answer other questions.

 

Fair Winds & Weather,

 

Richard

R- Thank you for the great ship geography insights! Sound like we will be in a good spot.

I have other minor questions, if you can remember...

Electric outlets - What plug type?

Toiletries - Shampoo? Conditioner? Soap?

Coffee - Any decaf coffee? even instant will be ok

We plan to arrive Bergen by train from Oslo the afternoon of embarkation day... OK plan for late October?

We plan to spend the night after disembarkation and fly the next morning to Amsterdam... Any hotel suggestions in Bergen?

Any other tips for late October? Thanks so much for your help!

I'm very excited about this unique opportunity, only slightly terrified of doing to it for 11 days in late October into November :o

m--

Had one on Volendam LA to Sydney in October 2013. It was done in the atrium on all three levels, different but nice. Haven't been on HAL since. m--

SEA BANDS! Excellent, no drugs, no warnings, pay about $7-10 for a pair at your local drugstore or Wal-Mart, they will work for you forever.

I've was very queasy on our first cruise, Alaska out of Vancouver, but as bad as others. The sea sickness bags were out and about. After that I got Sea Bands for each of us and we put them on only if the seas start to feel rough. One time DH started feeling queasy and I suggested he put on his bands... 30 minutes later I asked him how he felt and he said, Fine, why? He'd forgotten all about it. We have seen some rough seas, 75+ mph winds, 20' waves, and the Sea Bands do the trick. YMMV!

Nobody mentioned roulette. I enjoy a turn or two at the wheel. No, the odds are not as good as some other games but the fun is good! It's very social because no customer is betting against another customer, only against the house. Customers usually root for each other.

And because it takes some amount of time for the ball to spin around you might not spend as much money as fast as in a slot machine. And I find it's more exciting and not boring. But still, any ship is a money making operation.

Bets can be split by placing a chip on a line or a corner, thus increasing the chance that one of these numbers will come up, but dividing the winnings by that also (half for a line split or a quarter for a corner split). Etc. You can play rows, columns, reds, blacks, evens, odds..... so it's never boring!

There are fun gaming classes usually offered early in the cruise and as others have said, the staff will happily assist you.

Yes, if you win, it's customary to leave a tip usually a chip or two, depending on their denomination of course :).

Every person at the roulette table has chips of their own color or pattern so the croupier knows to whom to pay the winnings.

Go have fun within your budget. m--

Maureen, I hope you'll post about your experiences after your cruise (I've read your postings on the HAL forum)...I'm cruising Hurtigruten in late Nov.

Thank you for asking. We haven't finished our itinerary yet but the Hurtigruten cruise is late October. I hope I can get something posted soon after even though we may still be traveling. And I hope I will have wonderful things to say! I guess a lot depends on weather but we've planning on have a unique and beautiful experience. m--

Thanks for the insight. I guess we'll stick with the port room and enjoy the "doings". We realize that this a working ship and there will be some activity day and night with accompanying levels of noise. We're on Deck 4 Midnatsol #471 which is over a blank white area of Deck 3, so no telling what's going on down there. I'm looking forward to it and have to wait until late October but lots to plan between now and then. m--

We're booked for a November cruise on Midnatsol, 11 days. Picked an N category, Ocean View on Deck 4 Port side. #471. Is port side noisy due to the activities of loading and unloading... or is it more interesting due to loading and unloading? Could probably change to starboard (under the cafeteria?) in the next few days.

Thanks for any help. m--

So glad to be able to post this amazing experience! Yes, it all worked well.

They took extra good care of us and were always available for questions, all we had to do was ask to speak with Ani, the Lido Chef, who was on duty whenever the Lido was open. It took us a bit of understanding for us to realize they really couldn't make special dishes for her but they did very well guiding her to what was safe, and there was plenty. We took safe condiments and special add-ons from our cabin frig to the dining room in a tote bag. She had said that she wanted to go on the cruise even if she had to live on Rice Krispies for a week... but she found more food for herself than she ever imagined. At 15 or 16 it really opened her eyes to wider world in so many ways. I am very grateful to HAL making this such as success. m--

Gluten free bread yes, hummus, I'd bring my own. It's possible that you could pre-order hummus but I wouldn't be sure it would be there. They will let you check labels if you ask and they really don't want anyone getting sick, so they did it willingly.

You can get a frig for your room for $2/da, order that ahead of time. I brought a granddaughter on Volendam who is allergic to wheat, eggs, soy, dairy, red meats, fish, legumes, some fruits, oh and lethally allergic to peanuts and all peanut derivatives (oil).... we made it work fine with the help of the Lido chef going through the buffet with her. And we previewed MDR menus each day and circled her selections with notes such as , no gravy, no stuffing... etc. We did bring some special foods with us for her that we knew would be safe, thus the frig. What did she eat? Chicken and turkey, she got to try pheasant and quail, lots of French fries, salads, sorbets, fruit... she's healthier than most! The pool grill chef would get a fresh, clean pan to cook her turkey burgers for lunch, they were excellent, which was why we took her on HAL!

m--

We carry an annual plan for travel that covers us whenever we are away from home more than 75 miles. It is basically medical evacuation coverage, repatriation coverage and many kinds of assistance, but not for medical costs (that comes with our regular health care insurance). Our plan is through the RVing Company, Good Sam, and is called Travel Assist, about $110 per couple annually. Plus the Good Sam membership, $35 yr or so, can't remember exactly. m--

PS I'm an EMT with our local volunteer fire department about 90 minutes drive to the major hospitals in downtown Albuquerque, and a medevac flight for a patient that we decide to have helicoptered out now runs about $25,000. I'd recommend having medevac insurance coverage for the whole year. JMHO.

I would love to read anything and everything you have to say about your cruise on Hurtigruten! I have mulled over taking a cruise with them so many times that I can't even count that high. But I've often wondered about the food, and starving on a cruise. :eek:

Please do tell all---on the HAL forum!---when you return.

I hope we get the chance Ruth! Friends of ours did it and found it quite satisfactory with regard to the food but it is not a typical cruise. I think Hurtigruten has given up on the "half board" pricing and all cabin categories are now full board... except maybe for locals getting on and off for short runs. There is an a la cart cafeteria that's sounds very expensive and not for me; they have coffee mugs for about $50 so you can refill as much as you want - I hear the decaf is instant but that's so common abroad, I'll deal with that ok.. I think we'll deal well with the buffet for breakfast and lunch; their dinners are fixed 3-course meals serving a lot of fresh local fish but also deer, reindeer stew, chicken, beef, and pork... one can check out the dinner menu in the morning and ask for an "alternative meal" but I'm not sure if you'd know what you'd get. I figure, if I don't like the food that much I may not gain as much weight:D. And we hope we'll be coupling it up with a river cruise on it's heels where I'm sure we will be more than adequately wined and dined. We loved the glaciers in Alaska, the fjords in Chile and New Zealand so Norway is next - that's the big draw! Fingers crossed! m--

Well thanks all. Today we're working on booking the river cruise on Viking and the Norway coastal cruise on Hurtigruten. I think we'll wait until the dust settles before we book the Maasdam return TA. The prices now look bizarre. At least in the room types we'd consider. Insides and OV both start at $2800 now for a 21 night crossing... one step at a time for us today, but your experiences may sway me over to a PCC this time. m--

Thank you, thank you!! for that info Cruisin... That's what I was wondering about. You actually got some kind of offers after final date. That's worth knowing!! I appreciate your help. m--

The smaller HAL ships have few balcony rooms and they are at premium prices compared to the larger HAL ships, OP said balcony is a must, so a larger ship might be a better price. Have fun planning!

I checked out the "sale" on HALs site showing 2800 for OV H category or 3800 for Lanai or 4600 for verandah... not great prices in my mind but we may go ahead and do it just to get the circuit of our itinerary closed. sigh. Once it's all done it will feel great! But the decision process to get the whole thing together is stressful.

KK I hadn't thought about PCC not being able to give credit for certain benefits... was just thinking that they can make price adjustments, cabin upgrades or OBC after final payment... maybe not true?

We're looking at the Maasdam TA from Rome to Ft Lauderdale in November. Prices are a bit high now so I'm reluctant to book it with our regular TA who can't make adjustments after final payment date. Can a PCC? What can a PCC do for us that a TA can't?

We may just go ahead and book it because we will have a very complex itinerary with 3 cruises and a couple of land stays (Iceland, Norway cruise, Amsterdam, River Cruise, Rome etc...) I was thinking that the fall TA's don't fill up but DH is thinking maybe best not to take the chance and pay the premium prices now, get it locked in so we can continue the big plan. He's probably right ;) but it made me realize that I don't know anything about PCCs. m--

Realize that it will plug into the only electric outlet... so I have used a triple tap (1 outlet makes into 3 outlets) or you can request a power strip from the room steward or the front desk.

Putting it under the desk worked best for us.

Upon arrival we didn't get the frig for all afternoon, even after I told the room stewards that we had ordered it and they said they'd take care of it. Hours later we found out that we needed to go to the front desk and sign some paper about it accepting the charges before it could be delivered to us. We had special foods for highly allergic grand daughter and I was not happy that the foods sat around all day, so jump on it early and often! m--

Also spaghetti. Maybe with meatballs or meat sauce... not sure.

Grand daughter (11 years old at the time) ordered off the children's menu twice on Volendam; then on the third night she saw that it was the same again. She asked if she could order off the regular menu and I said, "Yes, of course.... let's see what you might enjoy... oh they have lasagna tonight!" She replied with, "I'll have the ling cod!!" Maybe she liked the sound of it. :)

Check out the Beverage Events "Menu" at http://www.halfacts.com or here is the link to it directly...

http://halfacts.com/beverage-events-including-wine-tastings/

Click on the image to make it large enough to read.

Looks like the wine tastings vary from $12.50 to $35.

m--

I have been to Jewish services on board (though not Jewish myself) that were simple but lovely. HAL can provide whatever you will need but it is a passenger led service and you must take some initiative. They will print it in the Daily Program. m--

I haven't checked the length of your cruises but if you can book them separately you would be able to get two Stock Holder's Benefits (if you hold 100 shares of CCL stock). Sailings of 14 or more nights is $250, 7-13 nights is $100, so if your Med is 7 nights and your TA is 14 or more you could get $350 instead of just $250 if booked as one cruise. Remember the benefit is per cabin. m--

We love cruising on HAL and have cruised more on HAL than any other line. But having enjoyed many cruises on other lines we find that HAL could learn some things.

For instance:

We were impressed with Celebrity's face recognition kiosks for photo searches. So much easier to find your photos, so much less wasteful and more environmentally conscientious, and so much less crowded, all making for a much more pleasant experience for us.

And not having to stand in line at the Front Desk to get a copy of your statement by using Princess's print out kiosk or Carnival's or Celebrity's interactive TV system.

What comes to your mind? Maybe our suggestions would be noticed;). m--

The floor of the tub is higher than the floor of the bathroom, making it more difficult to step over the edge of the tub, but there is a grab rail IIRC. They are shorter than the standard 60" tub but I do not have a measurement. They do give more "elbow" room for taking a shower compared to most showers. The reason for me to pay extra for an OV is for the couch not the tub, when compared to most of the Inside rooms. m--

For us as well, because we live in Massachusetts. Boston is easily reachable by Amtrak, and there is a parking garage near Black Falcon pier.

 

Now they'll be a choice between NCL and Hal.

That's not much of a "choice" to us! HAL hands down! :D

Just our preference.... m--

I was in OV on deck A, one deck lower and never had any noise issues, category E cabin 765. I'd go for that deck and avoid the noise you will have overhead - especially moving deck chairs and hosing down the deck early in the morning. m--