bet410

Well, I'm answering my own question...  Our TA contacted the head of the Mariner Society.  It is still 1400 days.   Guess the ship needs to get their facts straight!  

Has anyone heard if/when the number of sailing days needed for Presidents Club went up from 1400 days to 1500 days?  We heard today at a Mariner Appreciation reception that it's now 1500 days.  Not happy when we are closing in the coveted 1400 days!  Would appreciate knowing if anyone else has heard the same thing.   

According to Captain Albert's blog, Captain Robert Schuchmann is on until September 30th.

 

Captain Dag comes on Oct. 1st.

Thanks very much for the information! I really like both of those captains! I assume that Captan Robert Schuchmann is actually Captain Jeroen Schuchmann. We have sailed with him twice on the PRDM. We are sorry, though, that we will miss Captain Dag by just a few days.

Anyone know who the captain and HD will be on the Prinsendam in September?

I kept giving feedback reporting that the last website update was bad. Now they have managed to make it FAR worse! For days, my 979 sea days were MIA, with it telling me I needed to sail one day to achieve 1-star mariner status! I finally called Seattle. They lady said she'd spent the entire morning apologizing to people for the website. It appears that now that has been fixed - finally!

We have five bookings lined up. Trying to move from one to the other is a real pain! Every single time I want to get to a different booking, I have to sign in again! Extremely inefficient and inconvenient! .

HAL needs to find someone who knows how to design a user-friendly website. I agree with the people who say that it will discourage cruisers who may be new to HAL! :loudcry:

MADM

 

Capt Ane Jan Smit

HD Mike Mahn

CD Carlos Mendoza (unconfirmed)

DRM Ida Bagus Sugiantha

Thanks, those are all new personnel to us.

I'm not familiar with the others, but we sailed with DRM Bagus on the Prinsendam in June & July. He transferred from the Prinsendam to the Maasdam shortly after we got off. He is really fantastic! You will like him.

Posted Tues Feb 2nd on their verified account

 

Hi xxxx, thanks for inquiring. Holland America Line is committed to the safety, health and well-being of our guests and crew. We are in close contact with public health officials regarding the recent Zika virus alert that encourages precaution for pregnant women to avoid non-essential travel in impacted areas. We will be providing booked guests with information on the Zika virus prior to their cruise. Pregnant women needing to cancel their cruise will be provided a future cruise credit (for them and their traveling companions) to rebook at a later time. If this applies to you, you or your travel agent can contact our Reservations team at <> As with any trip, whether by land, air or sea, travelers should check with their doctor or public health authorities to be informed regarding health matters at the destinations they will visit, and exercise appropriate precautions. For more information about Zika virus, contact your doctor and/or visit the CDC website at cdc.gov/zika. Thank you for posting.

Just found this thread on a search for Zika. I find the above very interesting! We are scheduled to leave on a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise followed by a 21-day Panama Canal transit on the Westerdam. We have not heard a word from HAL regarding policy!

We are going - with long sleeves and lots of Deet! (Fortunately, mosquitoes don't seem to like me. I virtually never get bitten. That said, I've probably jinxed myself!)

Regarding Credit Cards, we have gotten the Barclay Holland America Card. If you do all your HAL charges on that card, you get double points for anything with HAL, and Shore Excursions booked through HAL provide triple bonus points. If you book Shore Excursions early (if you choose to book through HAL), you still get the Mariner points as long as you take the excursion.

We've charged enough to get back $7500 on the long cruises more than once. We save the money to help pay for the cruise rather than to spend it on a night in the Pinnacle or something.

On a different subject, if you change Mariner status during a Grand Voyages, the perks kick in immediately (which is huge if you roll over into the 4-star Mariner status which provides free laundry). On regular cruises you have to wait until the next cruise to get your Mariner perks.

Thank you so much for taking the time to recount your expenditures. It is a real help in determining the ffeasibility of such a cruise.

 

On another note, does anyone know if the other Grand Voyages (non-world), such as the Amsterdam's Pacific GV, also have the amenities and extraordinary service and food? HAL is resuming this GV in 2017.

Yes, we've done the Grand South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand in 2009 and the Grand Mediterranean in 2014. We are taking the Grand South America and the Grand Mediterranean back-to-back next year as doing the two together provides a substantial discount. These cruises also have exceptional food, extra things to do during the day (I can't begin to list all the activities), gifts, and early booking amenities. As posted earlier, if you pay in full by a certain date, you get a 3% discount.

The only difference between the other Grands and the Grand World is that sometime during the Grand World the Holland America bigwigs (Stein Kruse, CEO of Holland America Group, Orlando Ashford, CEO of Holland America Line) spend about a week on board for what they call Mariner Days. There's always a huge Mariner event during that time. That does NOT happen on the other grands, but other than those Mariner events, there is very little difference.

For people taking a full Grand Voyage, there's always a Pinnacle dinner with the Captain and officers. An officer is assigned to each table. During our voyages, we've been at the Captain's table, the Hotel Manager's, and the Chief Engineer's table, to name a few.

Add to that the fact that the crew is top-notch, and that the cruise is long enough to build up lasting friendships with other guests and crew on the ship, and it is a WONDERFUL experience!

We have done three grand worlds and two other grand voyages, and we're booked for two more grand voyages.

We have filed for an extension for income taxes - easy to do, and we usually have our taxes done in short order by the middle of May.

Here is a list of early booking amenities for the 2017 GWV, and staterooms Category F and up DO include the following:

Select Ocean-view Staterooms (categories C-F only)

• Shipboard Credit
  – US$500 per person, categories C-F only
  
• Prepaid Hotel Service Charges
  
• Luggage Delivery Service (2 pieces per person to/from Ft. Lauderdale only)†
  
• “Welcome On Board” Bottle of Champagne
  

The higher the category, the more early booking amenities there are. For a 111-day cruse (length of the 2017 GWV), the service charges alone would save at least 1200 pp.

We usually do HAL shore excursions (mainly because of my mobility issues - we are "insured" if anything happens). I keep an Excel file of excursions, and in 2012 we paid about $4000 pp. I couldn't find the 2013 list, but in 2015 we spent about $3800, but some of the ports we'd visited before and skipped excursions. Granted, we do a LOT of HAL excursions. This can be scaled down if you book with Cruise Critic groups.

It really depends upon how much you do beyond the basic cruise. We are not drinkers, and we don't buy many souvenirs, etc., so we save in that way. We pretty much average about $5000 pp extra (though we usually book rooms that include the hotel service charge as an early booking amenity).

Grand World Voyages (or any Grand Voyage) are absolutely amazing! They pull out all stops for you - food selection is better (though I do get tired of the fancy food), lots of onboard things to do - you will NOT get bored, periodic special gifts (save room in your suitcase). If you can manage to do it, take the plunge and enjoy!

Maryann, Bill and WJBWJB

Thank you all for the wonderful reports, and now blog. Wow! I really appreciate and enjoy it.

 

Anyone: what is the "light show" referred to in Hong Kong? Is it just lit up buildings or more?

Here's some info on the nightly laser show in Hong Kong:

http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/see-do/highlight-attractions/harbour-view/a-symphony-of-lights.jsp

It can be seen from the ship, but you can't hear the music from there.

In addition to enjoying this blog, I've finally started reading your blog from the 2013 cruise. Since we were on the cruise, we didn't have a chance to read it.

Imagine my surprise when I found myself mentioned (not by name) in your Picton entry. I was the one who asked about the cork forking when we were on the Marlborough High Country shore excursion. I never did get up to your table to see it last year. Maybe next year as we'll be back on board for the 2015 cruise. I am curious!!! ;)

Report 61 is available with photos.

 

Also the email subscription to notify when the page is updated (by email) is working!

 

Enjoy!

 

http://cruisingwithbillandmaryann.blogspot.com/

Thank you WJBWJB! I've already subscribed. I'm pleased that I'll be able to read the blog while I'm away!

I have a question about the laundry - perhaps your friend Shiv may be able to answer this if you don't know. When we receive our beautifully laundered clothing, should we be taking out the tags that they stick in, or is it one less step for them to go through if we leave them in the for next time they are sent out for laundering? We kind of like leaving them in ours; it's fun to pull out a piece of clothing long after the cruise to find the laundry tag in it. ;) We always make sure the tags are removed prior to our next cruise, because we wouldn't want to create more work for the laundry folks.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

I remove the tags. We've done a couple of "dungeon tours". IIRC, they told us that the tags are color-coded based upon when the laundry bag arrive, and the last few digits refer to a bin number.

I may not be correct on this, but I'm pretty sure that the laundry needs to iron in a tag each time.

Hi All

 

With permission of Bill and Mary Ann (my parents) -- please feel free to check out the blog version of their postings if you are also interested in seeing some of the photographs that go along with their cruising documentaries.

 

The blog can be reached at http://cruisingwithbillandmaryann.blogspot.com

 

Thanks!

Thank you so much for doing this! I love reading their descriptive blogs, especially having been on two world cruises myself so I can picture exactly what they're describing. The entries bring back so many wonderful memories, and seeing the pictures really adds to the enjoyment.

Since we use blogspot for our own blogs when we travel, we are on there fairly frequently. Is it possible to add a gadget that would allow people to subscribe to this by email? I'm soon leaving on a cruise (Grand Africa & Mediterranean) and may not have the opportunity to keep up with their blogs through Cruise Critic.

I look forward to further posts. They are a great way to take the Grand World when we can't do it in person!

bet410 --- So good to know you are feeling better and recovering. I, too, had major surgery last August, so I know how difficult it is to adjust to the realities of growing old. I recall so well the 2012 WC on the ms Amsterdam with you and your brother. I can't be on the 2015 WC as I am taking the ms Maasdam 42-day voyage beginning Oct 31, 2014, from FLL to FLL across the Atlantic to the Med. Happy Trails!

 

Don, Lord Kay of Shandon.

Thank you, Don! Glad to know that you're also doing well after your surgery and that you are looking forward to a cruise also. Looks like a nice itinerary! I'm crossing fingers that the doctor will okay our Grand Med!

Bill & Mary Ann, I so thoroughly enjoy your blog, and your descriptions make me feel like I'm back on the Amsterdam for the 2014 cruise! Thanks so much!

With major health issues in January that required extensive hospitalization and rehab, I've now been enjoying catching up on your blog. It's great entertainment since we can't be on this year's world cruise. (We had the privilege of doing the Grand World in 2012 and 2013 and are booked again on the 2015.)

I so thoroughly enjoy traveling along with you this way - best way to go since we aren't there in person this year! (And fortunately we were not booked for it this year!) Looking forward to your future posts! :)

I'm looking forward to reading your blog this year. Why we chose this winter to stay home (with the record cold and so much snow) is beyond me, but we so enjoyed our world cruises in 2012 and 2013 that it will be very nice to follow what's happening through your blog.

Have a wonderful cruise, and say hello to my favorite ship!

This one is even better apparently they've added many songs to the dream :-)

 

Thanks, ariawoman! Those links were absolutely delightful! I had to share them with others who I knew would get a kick out of them also! :)

I LOVE the foghorn! It is my notification tone on my phone now. We were on the Canada/New England tour last September and we had fog quite often, so we heard the fog horn a lot. it was relaxing to me! Here is a short video with the HAL Eurodam foghorn:

Love that sound! Thanks for sharing! :)

Beware of what you wish for !

 

On our 2010 VOV cruise on the Maasdam, the ships horn blew every three (3) minutes day & night when there was fog; which occurred almost every sea day heading east. Many passengers in outside balcony cabins toward the front of the ship complained that they could not sleep due to the ship's horn :eek:

The same was done on the 2011 VoV cruise! Someone asked about this in one of those Q&A sessions with the officers. They explained that they have to blow the fog horn when it's very foggy. Much better that than having a maritime disaster! We had very thick fog for two or three days - sure seemed like we couldn't see more than ten feet. The captain said that they also use crew members on deck with binoculars (just like Titanic) as well as all the electronics that are available.

I also love the sound of the horn signaling its good-bye to a port as we leave and miss it when we don't hear it. Love hearing those horns in Port Everglades to get my fix between cruises!

Sorry - double post!

I thought all pre-cruise purchases counted toward your cruise day credits. :confused:

It does - according to the HAL website. I checked the Mariner FAQs and I wanted to verify that I was interpreting it right, so I called HAL recently about it. The person told me that all pre-purchased items count toward cruise day credits.

Here's what the FAQ says:

Are any onboard charges excluded from the onboard purchases bonus?

All casino charges, cash advances, Future Cruise deposits, and associated fees are excluded. All other onboard purchases including Hotel Service Charge, Beverage Service Charge, taxes, pre-booked shore excursions and all gift items purchased online or through Ship Services count towards bonus cruise day credits.

So does this mean that if you make the mistake of purchasing the card in a port where they charge taxes, and then purchase a drink using the card in a port that also charges taxes, you have to pay tax twice on the same thing? :eek: Or is it just on drinks that aren't charged to your beverage card? Seems very strange to pay tax on something twice!

or when you're on a ship and see a crazy woman stop someone in uniform, saying "Wait! Wait! I have to look you up! Now, where is that list......" while looking in all her pockets..........

 

it's me.

Is there a like button? (LOL!) I know the feeling! :)