SharonN

16 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

The Piano Players are Nick and Nathan

But I think they're leaving us in Hawaii. Hopefully the replacements are just as good as they are.

Well it's really not working this morning. Wanted to check on the excursions for a future cruise and it tells me I have no mariner credits, no future cruises (there should be 5) and no past cruises (there are many). Frustrating for sure.

1 hour ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Working fine for me 

It's working fine today but was out most of yesterday afternoon and then you had to go thru a specific logout/login sequence to reconnect. But over all it has been great and so much better than previous years. Bound to be an outage here and there.

On 1/13/2024 at 5:48 PM, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Even on a sea day.

Not too good today though 🙂  Went out just before lunch and just came back up now for me.

8 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Friends of ours, who did not have flights through HAL had to arrange their own flights home from Freemantle.

We had to make our own flight arrangements but got much better flights than if we'd waited for them to have time to do them. But they did pay us back for them. 

2 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Sadly, HAL didn't provide that level of offer to their WC pax at that time either.

HAL did provide compensation for the 2020 WC passengers when we had to get off the ship in Perth just over 1/2 way into the trip. They paid us back for our flights home and offered us a 125% credit of the entire cruise fare or 50% credit and 50% cash back. We thought it was more than generous since we'd had 1/2 the cruise and it was great until we got to Australia. 

They've also dropped the 2 Israel Ports from the 2024 World Cruise and replaced them with Rhodes, Greece and Bodrum, Turkey. Somewhat Surprising they didn't change the ports of Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt or Aqaba, Jordan.

14 hours ago, Crew News said:

My February Eurodam roll call just added Father Weselka (well-traveled HAL chaplain), moving to Nieuw Amsterdam in March, and then joining the Noordam in May for Alaska.

You'll be very lucky to have him aboard. We had him on the Voyage of the Vikings in 2018. Hopefully he'll do his sermon that uses balloons which is very good.

2 hours ago, WriterOnDeck said:

 

I can’t say that missing the Falkland Islands on Sunday was unexpected. Capt. Smit warned us Saturday that the weather conditions weren’t looking good. My unofficial survey of well-traveled passengers indicates that the Falklands are missed about two-out-of-three cruises. That means, having missed this port twice now, I am due next time.

 

 

 

 

That's what I thought on the 2020 WC but missed it for my 3rd time then (first try in 2008 and 2nd in 2013) so still haven't made it there. Hopefully someday I'll figure out another way to get there from land/air 🙂

1 hour ago, WCB said:

Yesterday we were advised that there was a problem with the ship’s Navigator sight, blaming the misinformation it contained on a routine maintenance that was done.  Their suggestion was to log out, then log in again.  However, this morning the Captain announced early on that everything was off, especially the correct time. The app did not recognize the ½ hour increment.  Even the TV in our rooms had the wrong time.  People riding the elevator with us asked what time it was.  Of course, one of us sets the clocks before doing anything else after dinner.  Since we were on time for breakfast, we knew the time was 8am.  Sure hope someone figures the app out and fixes it.

I don't think the problem was with the App it's that they were asked to change to a time that has no time zone associated with it. Manually changing the time to not match other systems in the world would cause other problems. They should have had us change it 1 hr (Alaska timezone) and then to the 1/2 hr which is Marquesas Time. 

4 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

I expect the Explorer Lounge will be renovated with an added bar. Given its size it would be better than the Pinnacle Lounge as a pre-dinner lounge.

There is a Classical Duo scheduled most days on the Zuiderdam right now in the Explorer's Lounge so probably similar to what they used to have. Haven't been by there when they're playing so don't know any more than that.

9 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

I'm waiting for Lincoln Center - they start in five minutes.  20 people in the theatre.     9:30

show.    
 

Down the hall in Rolling Stone Lounge Comedian Steven Scott is playing to a standing room only house.    
 

People are voting......

 

maybe 7:30 show was better attended.  Probably. 

The 7:30 show was almost full at least downstairs I couldn't see the balcony. 

2 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Main seating is now at 7:30 PM.  For some reason they scheduled the only introduction of the Cruise Director and his staff and a review of the ports at 7:30.   We'll see if there will be a replay.  I am not counting on it based on past practice. 

He said it (and his later talks this cruise) would be available on TV tomorrow. 

They scheduled main seating at 5 which means we'll be late on port days since mass is also at 5.

3 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

. Finally, we LOVED Billboard On aboard -the piano bar. For the Alaska cruise we only had one player. Due to a visa issue with her scheduled partner, Tammy Ying was on her own and was great. If she repeated a song it was usually because someone in the audience requested it. On the Hawaii cruise, she had a new partner and together they were also enjoyable.  If you’re going on K’dam anytime soon, Tammy should still be aboard.  I think she told me her contract was through February. If so, tell her one of her NC “Dads” says hey! 😊

IMG_3388.MOV

She must have moved on because whoever, the Billboard Duo was last week on the Koningsdam, they were the worst ever. Everyone we talked to said how bad they were. I tried to listen to their "Country" set one night and walked out after 3 songs it was so bad. She was mumbling and skipping words and the 2 acted as if they'd never met each other before that night. 

44 minutes ago, Damcruiser said:

That's her.  I finally guessed one right A group of starfish is called a galaxy.  (According to one source.)

Absolutely fantastic.  I hope she makes it to Cruise Director or whatever the position is called on HAL.

You could tell she spent time getting ready for her turns. I hope she's on the World Cruise 🙂

19 hours ago, Damcruiser said:

We were on N Statendam in September and we had a lovely young woman hosting the daily trivias.  She was one of the best ever in handling the passengers and asking intelligent questions.  We were hoping to see her again this November on NS but she told us she was transferring to the African cruise.  She might not remember us but please say hello from an avid trivia couple on the Quebec to Boston cruise and back.

 

Was her name Ericka? We were on the N Statendam in Aug and really enjoyed the days Ericka did the trivia. she was one so the best we ever had. She almost always as a "group of animals" question as her final one. 

1 hour ago, Scrapnana said:

I feel fine except for the cabin fever.😉

So sorry you're having to deal with this but glad you're feeling ok. At least your more than 1/2 way thru it and will hopefully be out and about in a couple of days. 

47 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

They ran out of diet coke - They will allow people to bring on 6 per person in Halifax.   Apparently the vendor responsible for resupply at the last port failed to deliver.

I wonder if that's why they're out of Perrier too? The only place that had it the past few days was the Explorations Cafe but as of this morning they're out too.

3 hours ago, REOVA said:

Pete, Great photos as usual. We just did VoV so good to relive some of those ports (85' here and no fog, back to summer). Our FC Consultant recommended Neptune suite on NS for 3 adults based on the website advertised layout which shows a separate WC/sink (similar to Prinsendam suites) but I didn't think HAL's Pinnacle ships have this layout. Is there someone in the Neptune Concierge Lounge that you can confirm they have this layout in Neptune Suites?

We're on the ship now and have a Neptune Suite. The bathroom layout in the diagram is wrong. The bathroom is all one room with a very nice large shower at the back. 

1 hour ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

 

 

Internet is the fastest I have EVER experienced on a HAL ship -so far so good.   We have the premium package

 

The internet has been very good except for an hour or so very early yesterday morning when I couldn't connect. It was also good on the Nieuw Amsterdam in June. I'm hoping this means they've switched to a new provider and it will be as good on the World Cruise in Jan. 

We were on the Nieuw Amsterdam for 2 weeks earlier this month June 5-19. We were very disappointed that there was no priest on board the first week. That really is one of the reasons we sail HAL. Luckily, we had gone to mass Sat evening at the Cathedral in Vancouver.  Nothing was said but the Daily program just listed a "Catholic Prayer Led by Congregation" item each day. They did leave out the books and a cross but no one came by to tell us what was going on or how to turn down the loud music in the room. One of the men in the group stepped up and we did a modified Liturgy of the Word most days or a rosary some mornings. I asked the Concierge if she knew if there'd be a priest on the next week but she had trouble finding anything out. Since we'd be in Whittier that Sunday and there is no church in Whittier that was an issue. I finally got someone at the Front Desk to make some calls and was told that one would be boarding in Whittier. Unfortunately, he had a late flight and didn't get to the ship until 7:30 so no mass that weekend. However, he was wonderful and we had mass daily after that including a Vigil mass on Sat since everyone would be traveling on Sun. The crowd was too big for the room provided even though they kept brining in more chairs there were still people standing outside the door. The really sad part is that he said he always enjoyed saying mass with the Filipino Crew on board but found out when he boarded that they are not currently allowing that due to the Covid protocols. It's really sad that the crew is not allowed to attend mass. Hopefully things will improve soon and they will be able to worship again. 

12 minutes ago, CafeBruno said:

Thanks for your concern Sumo Citrus! Like I said, I was writing to try and inform others that might be expecting HAL to help them once they test positive. Those that are might not be comfortable changing their own travel arrangements on the fly, like I did.

 

Sorry if I can off as whiny....but it is disappointing to me when HAL makes promises but does not keep them. 

You have every right to be disappointed in HAL not supporting you as they should have. It's hard to believe they didn't contact you at all. They were so good supporting us on the ship and you should have had the same treatment. Wish I knew who you could contact to share your concerns. 

28 minutes ago, CafeBruno said:

Wow Gray Lady, HAL must have just changed the policy to make masks mandatory rather than optional, surely in response to high covid rates on the preceding trip (mine). I wish you safe travels, but I would not assume HAL will take care of you...they sure didn't take care of us. Better to prepare for taking care of yourself in case HAL ignores you like they did us 

I'm so sorry you got sick and that they didn't take care of things as they should have. As I said in my earlier post they were very helpful on the ship with our situation. Hope you're both feeling better and getting ready to go home. 

I should have added that the 2nd week on the cruise Masks were required when outside your cabin (and not eating or drinking) or on any HAL tours. They were trying to enforce it and most people did seem to be complying. I did seem them send some people back to their cabin to get their mask and the crew member at the entry to the Lido went to get masks for a few people that said they forgot theirs. We were told they were required on the train in Skagway but there were a couple of women who said they left them on the ship (though I know they were checking as you exited the ship) and one was coughing the whole way and the guides who came thru the cars a couple of times didn't check anything. 

I can give you a few details about how it was handled on the ship. We were also on the Nieuw Amsterdam June 6 Vancouver to Whittier and stayed on for the 2nd week from Whittier back to Vancouver. My husband woke up with symptoms on the 16th so we reported it and they came to our door to test both of us. He was positive and I was negative so they moved him to a cabin on deck 6. We also took the 26 Glaciers tour as an in-transit guests on the day in Whittier and are pretty sure that's where he caught it since it was quite a crowd and most were not wearing masks and most were not from the ship. Since I tested negative I was allowed to be out of my cabin and go to shore if I wanted (I didn't) as long as I didn't show any symptoms. I wasn't required to order room service  but did go to the Lido and either brought it back to eat on my balcony or ate by the Lido Pool area where there were very few people just because I thought that was better. The concierge was very helpful in setting up our arrangements and letting me know what was going on. Things changed a few times but she kept me up to date. Since the quarantine requirement in Canada is 10 days vs the 5 in the US they arranged a shuttle bus from Vancouver to Seattle for about 28 people (about 16 positives and we negative companions), arranged the hotel in Seattle, and changed our flights (which we had booked thru them). So I'm writing this from our hotel in Seattle and we fly home tomorrow night. They put us up in the Embassy Suites so we have some room but we haven't been allowed to leave the room since we got here Sun afternoon. The information we were provided is that they'll reimburse us up to $100 per day for food. The hotel delivers breakfast each morning and has room service we've used for dinner one night. We ordered from Door Dash one night and had groceries for lunches and snacks delivered by InstaCart. I think we will be charged for the room etc but can submit it to HAL (we have their premium insurance) for reimbursement which we'll take care of when we get home. The hotel is about an hour away from the airport so they gave us the information to order a shuttle/car for tomorrow. So other than being bored and stuck in a hotel room we have not complaints. We too knew this was a possibility when traveling these days. Luckily we got 1 1/2 weeks of the cruise in before he got sick. But we are definitely ready to go home tomorrow!