DesertPesce7751

My neighbor had this happen on one of her HAL cruises:

Last night, suitcase open on bed, fully packed.

Goes in to shower.

Comes out and..

Her husband has zipped up the bag and put it in the hall for pickup.

The next morning she realizes that she hasn't laid out any clothes for the arrival!

 

Guess what she had to do?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I almost did that a few times.

Evidently, she "bought" the cabin-use robe? Or did she go down to the emporium and find a jogging suit?

I think a lot of HAL employees smoke. We were on the Eurodam on a collectors cruise and the cabin next to us changed passengers for the second part of the cruise. I watched people that I would see working at the front desk go out on that balcony to smoke. It was almost constant. Fortunately another cabin opened up and we were able to move. Believe me, the smoke just lingers and rolls under the divider between balconies and it drifts into the cabin when the door is open.....just as it drifts from the smoking area outside the Lido into the adjoining area of the Lido. The Lido smoking area I can avoid....I don't want to have to avoid the balcony that I paid a heavy premium to enjoy. Cigarette smoke stinks as well as being unhealthy.

 

Have you ever found a cigarette butt on your verandah? I have. It came from the cabin above. Luckily it did not fall on the chair cushion. I'm sure the smoker just thought it would fall into the ocean so didn't bother to extinguish it first.

Worse than finding a butt? Setting your breakfast outside, running in to grab your sunglasses, and coming back to see ashes atop your scrambled eggs and floating in your coffee. It's like, use the ash tray or at least look down to see where your soot is going to land.

There were some posters a while ago in a similar thread who said anyone who used the same chairs all day were chair hogs. Their thinking was there should be a time limit how long one can use the same chair. :rolleyes: Her 'notion ' was shot down but she wanted to come to the pool 12 noon - 1:00 P.M. and have someone vacate their 'prime' location chair as she figured they had been in it long enough. :D :eek:

 

If you sacrifice your chance to sleep in, a hot breakfast at a table, any of the day's entertainment and whatever else might be happening on board, you've earned your prime time seat on a deck chair. Just my humble opinion. That's dedication right there--dedication I'd probably never have on holiday myself!

I'm new to this, so I hope I'm posting in the right place. I'm planning a trip for August 2015 and have narrowed down my choices to two. I've read negative reviews about both ships, so am not sure which to choose.

 

My boyfriend and I are in our late 50's, are laid back, and love the outdoors. I've never been to Alaska, he's fished it, kayaked it, explored it and isn't really a "cruise type" person. I'd love some feedback on Norwegian Pearl versus Holland America Line Westerdam. We don't care to dress up and be "hoity-toity" (although I do enjoy wearing skirts occasionally).From what I've read, the Pearl seems to have more to do, and more restaurants, more entertainment, but is more crowded perhaps and the food not as good? The Westerdam is smaller (perhaps preferable for us) but maybe more upscale with less to do and food choices. The Pearl stops in Skagway, the Westerdam stops in Sitka, which I've heard is really cool and perhaps a "better" stop than Skagway? Both go to Ketchikan, Victoria, Juneau and Glacier Bay, which is why I've narrowed my choices to these two. Also, ideas on where to stay in Seattle? Thanks!

Having been to Skagway and Sitka 3 times each, I'd pick Sitka over Skagway any day, hands down. The raptor rescue center is in Sitka and it (along with the small free trail alongside) is not to be missed. There's also a bear cub rescue where orphaned bears are taken in and cared for--you'll get to see them playing, lounging about and eating snacks as you hear about the project. Take the shuttle up to the raptor center and then walk the rest, going through the forest trail and totem park and then meander along and explore the town. Skip the Russian dancers, though. They're very sweet moms who do it as a hobby but it's not really worth taking the time.

Skagway is much more commercialized and Sitka will be a pleasant reprieve for you. If you do go to Skagway, though, skip the guided history tours and opt for the nature instead--it is absolutely majestic!

So I open the travel section in my paper this moring ( Phila.Inq.) and it has a list of the best ship, family cruise, Alaska cruise and so forth and hear it says the list is from the Travel Channel. WHAT the travel channel a channel that has no shows about cruising (or much travel for that matter)I mean what was the last new show they have had on cruising I think it was 09 in fact almost all shows on T.V. that are on cruse ships are NOT on the T.C. I mean talk about a bogus list maybe you guy's should stick to the best haunted houses ,hamburger the size of hub caps(not that there's anything wrong with that) or the other non travel shows that crowd your channel. Be a travel channel or don't but stick with what you know and it sure is not cruising.

America wants to know...Which were their picks?

I was once the "third" in a non-balcony cabin with two snoring travel companions (not naming names ;) ) and finally got so fed up that I went up to retire on the pool deck in the wee morning hours.

Though not a chair hog myself, I can tell you, it's never wise to accidentally cross one. At, maybe 5:30 AM, I was awakened by the robust voice of a woman screaming to her husband (Alan, evidently) on her walkie-talkie, "AH-LIIIIIN! SOME LADY GRABBED OUR CHAIRS!" Awake and terrified, I began to gather my things to get up to leave. A tired "Alan" was arriving just as I started to walk away. The now elated woman bellowed across the deck to him, "AH-LIN! I GOT THE DECK CHAIRS, AH-LIN!!!". Poor Alan seemed like he wanted to go back to bed...

On the bright side, whenever we see chair hogs now (the mostly absentee kind), we just laugh to ourselves and whisper, "Alan! I got the deck chairs, Alan!"

Guess I am on the wrong ships. No butlers for the Neptune Suites on HAL. Just excellent room stewards.

Aren't those Neptune suites lovely? We truly enjoyed ours in Alaska. The concierge in the private lounge serves a similar function to the butlers on Celebrity. toMAYto, toMAHto. ;)

I've done this ever since I began going abroad a decade ago: ask your banker to set up an extra card for one of your checking accounts or set up a new checking account. Bring the new card with you only for that trip and then cancel it when you get home. Sometimes, a fraud may not occur until months after your vacation and it's nice to prevent that by rendering the card useless upon your return home.

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I have cruised in Suites and regular balcony cabins, and in oceanviews. The cabin service is the same in each. It likely depends on how you treat your cabin steward.:rolleyes:

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

We, too, have been in a variety of cabins: suites, mini-suites, balconies, oceanviews, and insides.

We found that the stewards are more relaxed when some of their rooms are suites because the butlers take some of the burden off--not with cleaning, but with running around fetching things for the needier passengers. For example, some of our best service was on one last-minute cruise when we were in an inside room on the "suite floor." Regardless, I'd hope that any decent human being would treat their cabin steward well (we certainly do)--I'm sorry you don't feel the same way.

We took a Patagonia cruise and learned to follow the locals' lead at foreign airports! All the lovely Argentines on our flight waited in line to plastic-wrap their luggage. We didn't and we were relieved of a favorite handbag, a great bottle of Malbec, and some (thankfully costume) jewels. Lesson learned!

How do you manage your medication when tou travel to a different time zone, not just an hour forward or back, but say 5hrs or more?

 

Sandy in Spain

Of course, it's always best to ask your doctor, especially if it's a serious condition. I'll give you two examples, hypothyroid medication and birth control pills.

Thyroid medication is supposed to be taken, for most people, in the morning and on an empty stomach--an hour before eating or drinking anything (besides water). I continue to do this when I'm on a cruise and when I'm traveling. Every "morning" wherever I am, I take them.

Birth control pills are supposed to be kept consistent throughout the month, so I take them every 24 hours, regardless of time zone. If I take them at 6 pm in Phoenix, I'd take them at 9pm in New York or 10 am in Tokyo. If the time zones were very inconvenient, I'd change it by a few hours, but would take care that, when I arrived home, I wouldn't have missed any.

Medications are tricky because doctors and nurses give you directions based not just on how much should be in your blood stream at a given time, but on whether it's best to take them before bed or when you get up, what time of day you exercise, what other medications you take, and if any can cause side effects that are better managed in one way or another.

Whatever choice you make, it's probably best to ask your doctor before just taking a guess. There are just so many variables…

Good Luck!

It really depends on the ship.

Overhang: HAL's Westerdam/Oosterdam, many of the aft balconies aren't covered from the elements (which is nice for views) while most side balconies are covered (which is nice for privacy and protection from rain). However, some Princess ships, for example, have fully exposed side balconies (I've never been in an aft Princess balcony so don't know).

Views: Aft balconies are great for scenic cruising. You not only get to see the views from both sides of the ship, but you get to see them after everyone else so you've got a better chance of spotting that elusive bear on the shore or pod of orcas in the water.

Smoke: Aft balconies can be a problem if you're on a line that allows verandah smoking because you are setting yourself up for the fresh ocean scent being drowned out by smoke that just seems to "hang" there, even if the ship is moving. Of course, if you're a smoker, and you choose to smoke on the balcony, you'll be hearing your neighbors yell inside to their cabinmates, "we can't go out right now; they're smoking again!" It's a lose-lose. (full disclosure: I don't smoke)

Schlep: On most ships, you'll be just a short elevator trip to the MDR, so you won't be walking too far in your fancy shoes or if you're running late to your dining time. However, if you want to go to the spa, gym or theater, you'll be making a very long trek. Then again, the ends of the ship seem quieter and, really, it's not that much of a walk to just go down the hall.

Cabin Steward Quality: Many aft corner cabins are suites, so if you're in one of those or "just" in a regular balcony room, you'll probably have some of best service.

I am also looking forward to HAL's no smoking on the balcony announcement. That's when I will start to seriously think about booking the Nieuw Amsterdam or Eurodam. Have told the HAL Personal Cruise Consultant who sends me e-mails that I won't book until they change the policy but am looking forward to that day. I'll keep checking this board!

We're always so torn about balconies with HAL. When we go to Alaska, we find that there are fewer smokers (younger crowd, maybe?) so we generally book one. However, on our Panama Canal cruise, we hardly used it because we had somkers below and forward of us (a shame since it was my later Grandfather's last vacation with us before he passed so we'd splurged for the balcony).

We have an oceanview on the LP for our upcoming round trip to Lima from San Diego because it's the one deck where you can go outside and not be around smoke (yay!).

That all said, our brand loyalty keeps us coming back, regardless of the stale smoking policies around tobacco use (pun intended). The service is excellent and the itineraries are superb.

Know that you're allowed to skip the photo sessions but ALWAYS be kind to the crew photographers--don't just ignore.

Bring a waterbottle or reusable cup (those kinds with the straws) because the water cups/glasses around the ship are VERY small and you can easily get dehydrated. (however, DO NOT fill the water bottle right out of the tap--it's not sanitary).

Bring your swimsuit and pool shoes in whatever bag you carry onto the ship. It might be a while until you can get into your room and the lido buffet is very crowded.

Bring a box of zip lock bags for snacks, seashells, or anything else you might need.

What? The jogging and running? Good idea:D

:rolleyes:

Hi. We were in Manta in May. Our friends organized a tour with Metromanabi Tours. We were picked up at the ship, had an excellent English-speaking guide and air conditioned van. He took us down the coast to an area were the fishing boats came in. We got to see and walk through the goings on of the local fishermen. We went to Pacoche Forest for a walking tour of the rainforest, getting to see many birds, monkeys and plants. We had a wonderful lunch at a local restaurant. We went to a museum in town and did some shopping.

 

The price was $130pp, with entrance fees and lunch included. Their address is: http://www.metropolitantouring.com.ec, in case you want to check them out.

Thank you so much! That sounds like EXACTLY what we're looking for. How was your guide's English? I know Italian and some survival Spanish but the rest of our party would really be better off with an English-fluent guide. I didn't see any English versions of their site, so I filled out the form in Spanish. I really hope this works out!

We were in Manta in 2013. We were on a private excursion that went to a rain forest outside of town full of howler monkeys, Granada where they make panama hats and some museum in town. The town itself is not very appealing. I am sorry but I do not have the name of the tour agency that was used. I would google Manta for independent tour operators. Outside of the gates of the cruise terminal, there are taxis that are more than willing to help. They seemed very aggressive to me. We had to wait for the tour bus (twelve person) to arrive. There was a bit of a miscommunication. Lunch was included. If I find the tour agency, I'll post it.

 

Bill

That would be SO great! It would be the perfect birthday adventure. Thank you!

Hi everyone! We've only done shorter cruises in the past: 15 nights at most, but mostly 7-nighters. We'll be on the month-long round trip from San Diego to Lima this November on the Statendam and are curious to know what makes the longer itineraries different, if you have any wisdom on how to pack, and how you space out things like specialty dining and spa treatments.

Thanks!

I put running on vacation,right up there with doing laundry

:D I wish I could too...but if I slack off for a month on vacation, "vacation mode" never turns off! lol

On some ships jogging is permitted on the LP deck - the ones with no cabins underneath.

That makes a lot more sense. Thanks! I didn't realize how different the deck plans were.

If it is the Statendam you will be on, there are passenger cabins beneath the LP deck. I'm sure you would want to be considerate of your fellow passengers.

Absolutely.

That said, I can't imagine it having been a problem on the Westerdam, though, since an official group (registered with the ship) was out there running daily.

Not sure which ship you were on, but I have been on at least 1 ship of each class over the last 18 months and each had a sign next to a door that listed number of laps for a mile and stated "No Jogging".

 

Some ships have only two signs, one on each side. Some had many and also had "No Jogging" painted on the metal on the stern of the ship.

Gotcha :rolleyes: . I guess I'll just power walk then. ;)

Jogging/running is not permitted on the LP deck.

That's interesting...where do they list that rule? We actually just got back from a cruise in which an official running group was running every morning on that deck.

What's the proper protocol for encouraging smokers not to smoke in places where it isn't allowed, like the Promenade outdoor deck? I like to jog/run (or stroll) out there and, since we don't have a balcony for our next cruise, it will be our only way to get outside without going to the Lido.

A decision was made; see above.

 

The single smoking thread is here: This Thread Is To Be Used For All Discussions About HAL's On Board Smoking Policies

 

It was also decided to make it an "unstuck" thread because many people don't even look at "stickys."

Thanks for your help. I'm wondering, though, if my question is appropriate in that thread. The whole thread is an opinion discussion on smoking policy. I'm asking a logistical question about something.

Do I have your permission to post a new thread about it? I'm not asking about policy or opinion--simply qualitative and quantitive data and people's experiences so we can make the best cabin choice for our November cruise. I could perhaps put a disclaimer in my post about it *not* being a policy or debate post? I really need this question answered because it's, in all honesty, a $6,000 question.