Bill S

I am posting this here only because I only go the HAL-related threads on CC.

Is anyone else getting those 2 irritating, automatic video ads on the HAL pages? The seem to delay the page downloading, start automatically, in sequence! As soon as the page is downloaded the first ad begins. I have actually had both going on at the same time!

I have sent an email to CC asking to either delete them or make then non-automatic. Also, the ads have nothing to do with HAL or cruising, as far as I can tell.

Are these just on the HAL pages or elsewhere on CC?

We have used it twice before, and will be using it again in February. It is one of the best parking deals going, IMO.

We pull into the cruise terminal area first to drop off our checked luggage, then drive to the street behind the Wyndam, show our parking registration to the parking lot attendant and park in the covered parking garage! Easy!

At disembarkation, depending on how many bags we have, we will either wheel them across the street and into the parking garage, or one of us will stay with the bags outside the terminal, and the other will retrieve the car and drive around the block to pick up the bags and the one who stayed with the bag.

So very convenient, without breaking the bank. :D

We are booked on the Amsterdam to Alaska sailing out of Seattle for the 14 day explorer sailing May 28, 2017. I have logged into my account and nothing appears to have changed, I have also not received any emails as of yet. Does that mean our cruise not effected by this change?

Jim & Donna Hannah are booked on the May 28th cruise (us too) and he posted on the roll call that he received an email (I assume from his travel agent) that said the Amsterdam is the ship for May 22. It sounds like that HAL is not changing ships, but only the day of the week on which that each ship will sail. I checked our booking today, as well & it still says the Amsterdam on the 28th. I guess we will just have to wait for HAL to officially clarify the situation. So far, as a passenger on one of the impacted cruises, I am not impressed with how HAL has handled these changes.

Prior to our last cruise (on Maasdam) I read posts about AC issues. For the first time, ever, I packed a small electric fan and was very glad I did. Our cabin was very warm, and the fan helped us manage. It was not confiscated by HAL. Nice to know, though that HAL has fans available, if desired.

On July 18, we mailed (regular 1st class) our passports, applications & checks to the State Dept. for renewals. Our check cleared about days later. When we picked up our mail yesterday, July 30, our new passports were here! 12 day turnaround! Wow! We did not ask for priority processing, either. Well done, State Department! :)

Many years ago we were upgraded at check-in from an outside view cabin to a verandah cabin.

Also, about 5 years ago, on the day before embarkation we received an email upgrading us from a Vista cabin to one of those wonderfully large aft-facing Neptune suites with the wrap-around verandah on the Oosterdam. I almost had to call security to get my DW off the ship on disembarkation day! ;)

Having been to all of those ports like Ruth C, I have to agree with her. You will not regret either one.

However, Stavanger has an excellent petroleum museum which your 7-year old might enjoy. It is very hands-on with interesting displays. It primarily focuses on the how the oil-rig industry developed in the North Sea off the Norwegian coast.

You might want to Google the port/city of each itinerary as far as attractions and try to decide which suits you best.

Hope this helps a bit and that you will have a wonderful cruise!

We have sailed in aft facing cabins 3 times, and really enjoy them. Our ships were the Oosterdam, the Rotterdam and the Nieuw Amsterdam. As others have mentioned those cabins are "deeper/longer" than cabins in the same category.

Underway, unless there is a cross-wind, there is no strong breeze like you would encounter on a side-facing cabin.

Under rough seas you will feel more motion than mid-ships, but we have tolerated that ok.

There is less foot traffic in the passageway for aft cabins than there is for most other cabins. However, it can be a long walk to the show room, forward elevators, and depending on the ship, the Explorer's Lounge. But, those are the tradeoffs we accept, and walking all that distance is good for us.

We have booked aft facing cabins for 2 cruises next year on the Rotterdam & the Westerdam.

I think such things might depend on the Captain, the sea conditions and the schedule. I am sure that there may be other things, too.

Several years ago on our late December Antarctica cruise on the MS Amsterdam during the first of 3 days cruising the Antarctic peninsula, we had superb weather, sea and ice conditions. Late that afternoon, Captain John Peter Harris, announced that we were way ahead of schedule and we would just loiter off Palmer Station for a few hours until we would be on schedule. A short time later, Captain Harris made another announcement: he had checked the sea and ice conditions again, had consulted with Seattle and because we were just a few hours sailing to the Antarctic Circle, and because it was the winter solstice, he decided that we would visit the Antarctic Circle to watch the very brief sunset and sunrise! What an unexpected treat!

A few days later, we received a certificate signed by Captain Harris that we had crossed the Antarctic Circle with a photo of the GPS readout as confirmation. Also, his cover letter stated that the MS Amsterdam was the first HAL ship to cross the Antarctic Circle, and was likely the largest cruise ship to do so up to that time. For us, this was a double treat as we had previously crossed the Arctic Circle on the Amsterdam and had a certificate from that cruise, too.

HH cabins are considered by HAL to be in a lower price category than Outside View cabins, IIRC. If you receive an upgrade, in my opinion it would not be to any HH cabin. It could be to a Cat C on the Lower Promenade, however, which would be nice.

We have booked HH's an number of times because they provide easy access to the outside. They are a good value, in our opinion.

Have a great cruise!

I was stationed in Ankara for a year, 1981-1982. The Turkish military was successful with a coup in early 1981, before I arrived. I was told that the Turkish constitution permits such coups when the military believes that the elected government are not acting in a manner that serves the best interests of the nation. The military installed martial law for a while and we still had nighttime curfews my entire year there. However, the military then, stepped back and allowed elections again, to restore the normal governmental institutions to resume. So, there is precedent for this coup, whether it is successful or not.

In my opinion, having worked with officers at the Turkish General Staff (their equivalent to our Pentagon), that the military really did have the best interests of Turkey in mind. Turkey is a NATO member and I am personally glad that they are, even with the differences we had. In recent years, I have become concerned about the Turkish leadership's trend to minimize the secular role of government.

I hope that this will be a peaceful coup attempt and if successful, I also hope that the Turkish military will do what needs to be done to deal with ISIS. I found the Turkish people to display great warmth toward us both on the job and socially, as well.

Congratulations on your first HAL cruise!

Only Neptune & Pinnacle suite cabin guests have a separate check-in line. Also, 4 & 5 Star Mariners can utilize that line.

I wish you a wonderful cruise on the Konigsdam!

I will others do comparisons with other lines due to the fact we have done only one non-HAL cruise (on Celebrity).

Until this past February, we had sailed on most ships in the HAL fleet but not on the Nieuw Amsterdam. Finally, we did sail on her on 2 back-to-back Caribbean cruises.

Well, we found the Nieuw Amsterdam to be a very, very nice ship. She is big, for a HAL ship, but definitely not a mega-ship. We liked the décor (a subjective topic for sure) and found her to be very comfortable with what we thought were spacious interiors. We had an aft-facing verandah cabin. Those cabins provide a bit more space than the side-facing cabins within the same category. We definitely would enjoy sailing on her again. I hope this helps you bit.

Which is way beyond ridiculous.

 

I would also bet dollars to donuts it would be unconstitutional.

Well, until the US Supreme Court rules that the existing legal standard, specifically: "items placed with USPS are presumed to be delivered", is unconstitutional, you will lose that bet.

It is the presumption, and should you ever have to go before a judge and tell him or her that the presumption is ridiculous, you likely will not like enjoy their response.

Yes, I received it. It was a pretty straightforward and easy survey, IMO. I responded "no" on the "all inclusive" question, as we would be willing pay for alcohol beverages - not because we are anti-alcohol, but we just don't enjoy such items. Looking forward to winning the 7-day cruise, though! ;)

Another great story, John-well earned! Two times! Wow!

We were on a HAL excursion that used a charter bus. After a stop the last lady boarding the bus, paused at the front and yelled something like, "Is anyone on this bus Mr or Mrs Amsterdam?" There was a lot of laughter, but no discovery. Good times!

We were on her for 14 days this past February/March and she was in beautiful condition.

Thank you, Donna for the many, many contributions and services that you have done for all of us here. I wish you and you hubby the best.

We got off the Maasdam on June 6. We were in Cabin 300 the most forward cabin on port side of the Lower Prom deck.

We could not get the temp lower than 72, which for us, was warm.

Luckily, I had read about AC issues on CC prior to leaving, and I brought a small electric fan which made sleeping tolerable.

We have another Maasdam cruise booked for next year in the South Pacific, so I will be following how the AC is doing before the final payment date.

Other than the AC issue, we enjoyed being back on the Maasdam.

Great to see your posts again, Greg!

This happened in 2005 on the Prinsendam: the evening after the CD announced the Mr/Mrs Prinsendam ice breaker game, one of our tablemates asked everyone at the table if any of us was him or her. No one was. The next day, the CD asked if I would be Mr. Prinsendam-I agreed. Our inquisitive tablemate never asked me again. I was "found out" by CC member Localady/Sher 2 days before we disembarked. Well, at the disembarkation briefing, the tablemate who had asked everyone was sitting next to me and you should have seen her expression when in response to the CD's request for Mr. Prinsendam to stand up, I arose from my seat!

But, guess what? The tablemate had found Mrs. Prinsendam! You should have seen the look on my face!

One of the gifts I received was a HAL name tag with "Mr. Prinsendam" on it. Good memories.

I faxed HAL our proof of CCL stock ownership yesterday for our May 23 cruise and received an email confirmation within a couple of hours! Good service! Great benefit!

Agree. I thought that was a nice "touch".

On our most recent (Feb/March) 14-day cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam Caribbean cruise, they offered unlimited internet for $249. Given that both my very dear wife and I brought our iPads, we opted for it. We made good use of it.

Hi Cat! Yes, I remember you and Dave! How are you?

Wow, that is something just missing each other on the 23rd!

We booked it about a month ago and we were surprised that there were still cabins available. You probably can guess that Alaska is our favorite destination.

I hope that your cruise will be wonderful. Is it also a 14-day cruise? Have you been on the Maasdam before? This will be our 4th cruise on her and we have a cruise booked on her next year, as well (but not Alaska).

Cheers!