Cheese2525

Noro On Balmoral. From today's news reports it seems pretty bad. Can anyone on board can confirm this? 27 % sounds like a huge amount of people to be sick. What are they doing to combat this? Is the CDC aboard? :(:(:(

Norovirus turned up again on the Canaries and Madeira cruise I was on at the beginning of April. Apparently 14 cabins were effected. This cruise was the one before the long cruise to the US and it seems a lot worse. :(:(:(

I am on the Braemar for the German Waterways cruise in April.

Does anyone know how I can find out exactly where the ship docks when it is in port?

Thanks.

Try http://www.whatsinport.com

Tonic Singer as started a roll call. It looks like we are on the cruise after yours. Canaries and Madeira on the 3rd April:):):)

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tonic singer tonic singer is offline

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Join Date: May 2013

Posts: 34

Default Balmoral - Easter Ireland - March 27th 2016

Hello shipmates. Looks like I get the privilege of starting a thread for this cruise!

Saw it today and booked today Fred's no single supplement offer😃

As our time to cruise gets nearer, and as more people (hopefully) join the thread, it would be great to hear of any suggestions for independent shore trips/excursions.....

See you aboard.

Sid

IMPORTANT INFORMATION – L1507, Cancellation of 3 night mini-cruise, ex Southampton 20 June 2015.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines regret to announce the cancellation of the above 3 night mini-cruise due to depart this Saturday. All guests have been advised in writing and subject to postal delivery will, by now, be aware of the full refund or cruise transfer options available to them. If you were due to travel on this sailing and have any queries please do not hesitate to contact Guest Services on 0800 0355 145, Mon-Fri 0830-1800hrs. Please note this is the only cruise affected and L1508, Around The UK sailing 23 June will operate as scheduled.

Last updated: Wednesday, 17th June 2015 at 09:29.

Have they cancelled this cruise because they still have Norovirus onboard:confused:

We received a letter today confirming there is still a problem with a virus on the ship. They say it is and I quote "A mild gastric illness" brought onto the ship by one or more guests. This is the third cruise they have had this problem. :(:(:(

American here piping in. As a future FO cruiser and past Swan/Voyager, I've also noticed the quiet on most of the British cruise line forums. Even with my past U.K. cruise line cruises, it was primarily the Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians, etc. who participated in the roll calls. I was thinking perhaps it was just not a British thing to join in. Or is there a British-based website that provides similar forums?

http://www.cruise.co.uk is a British site. FO is still quiet on there

Try this site http://www.whatsinport.com. It's an excellent site for information to any port that cruise ships go to. :)

All staterooms, showrooms, dining rooms are non-smoking. However, guests are permitted to smoke cigarettes on their verandas. Electronic cigarettes are allowed in staterooms. Cigars and pipe smoking is not allowed inside the ship, only in the designated outdoor smoking locations. Smoking is permitted in the casino, the Seaview Bar and a few outdoor areas. Guests who violate the policy are charged a US$250 cleaning fee for each day of the violation.

This is not correct. The only outdoor area is the sea view bar.

Some conflicting reviews here:confused:I have just been offered an upgrade to a Neptune Suite. Normally I would be wearing shorts and t-shirt for breakfast in the Lido before going ashore:rolleyes:

What is the dress code for breakfast?

All you need to do is print the Boarding Pass & not the rest of the document.. But you might want to read the document, if you have never read one before..

Thank you for your response. I have printed just one of the e docs and read it :)

The Signature Preferred Boarding Pass is simply the name of all boarding passes with HAL. It is the first page of your express documents. The "Signature" simply refers to your name, which HAL has already written/printed on the boarding pass. You do not need to sign this document at all.

 

You can find more information about it at this link on HAL's website: http://www.hollandamerica.com/cruise-vacation-planning/OnlineCheckIn.action.

 

Wishing you a most enjoyable cruise.

Is printing just the Boarding Pass sufficient or do you have to print the full e doc. I can't see anything relevant in the rest of it?

I actually cancelled a cruise on NCL which was to leave Boston in November to the Southern Caribbean because effective November 1st they changed their smoking policy and you were no longer permitted to smoke on your private balcony. I agree with a previous post - I don't want to get dressed as soon as I get up to go and have my coffee and a cigarette. I will continue to cruise on HAL as long as they keep their smoking policy in place.

We cancelled our cruise on RC after they changed there smoking policy and got a full refund:)

Is there such a thing as a formal night in the Pinnacle Grill? I was under the impression it was smart casual for the full cruise. Can anyone clarify if this is the case? Thank you in advance. :confused:

This is a classic. I love it!

 

I am no cheerleader and will report it as I find it. I am in a Neptune Suite and that is only because I love my space and we really got a good deal when Explore 4 ended and we switched from an SA to an SC, which was originally an SA and saved $6000. It better be worth it.

 

It's a big birthday and I'm celebrating it on this cruise. i want it to be good. I'm not looking for the bad. As a matter of fact, I actually may ignore the bad just to make it a good birthday.

 

Terri

Happy Birthday Terri. See you when we join the cruise on the 25th:)

Given the half-dozen or so current threads on the same topic, I'm not sure why you thought it necessary to start yet another one while adding nothing new to the discussion. I sympathize that you find yourself on a cruise that allows smoking, but it really is your responsibly to do the necessary research before booking.

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Surprise to me!!!!! That did not happen at all to us when we called last year! We wanted to know the formal date so we could juggle with the Pinnicale Grill reservations. I am sorry they could not help you! A lot of customer service has changed I guess. I will be calling them in regards to this. Maybe Kim was being nice to us for some reason. I am scheduled for our Carribean Cruise next March and will call again to find out formal nites!

Have a wonderful Cruise!

I assume you contacted HAL in the US. I emailed HAL in the UK maybe that's the difference

Call HAL ship services , Kim Swenson can let you know exactly what days are formal. Great group of people to help you! On our 24 day cruise from Barcelona to Venice last summer we knew what days were formal with the info from them.

I contacted HAL and got this response

Thank you for taking the time to contact Holland America Line.

We do not have confirmed dates for the formal nights, as they are changable, the ship does not issue the dates until you board the cruise.

We apologise for this.

Just don't show any tattoos and you'll be fine. :)

 

Seriously, I'm positive it won't be an issue. Enjoy your cruise!

Or smoke :):):)

Shampoo/body wash/conditioner is in dispensers in the shower (just a note - we bring our own bath soap and shampoo as we find these extremely drying):

 

Hand soap, shower cap, hand lotion by sink:

 

Sorry, don't have a picture of the hair dryer, but AFAIK there's one in each room.

 

Outlet on the desk:

 

And outlet in bathroom (for razors only):

Hi Shmoo

Is the photo showing one American & one European outlet?

can anyone help with information on getting from train station in Venice to dock and where the Nieuw Amsteram will be docked on July 11, 2014?

Arriving at the main train station St. Lucia Railway station the terminals can be reached by:

- Public water buses (vaporetti) to P.le Roma (1 stop) where you will find the terminal's bus shuttle or you can take a taxi cab or the new people mover.

- Water taxi directly to the cruise terminal.

From Mestre Railway station (10 km far away from Venice) the Port of Venice can be reached by:

- Taxi cab (about a 20 minute ride)

- Public bus arriving in Piazzale Roma, nearby the Port of Venice.

I found this information on http://www.whatsinport.com

Sounds good! We sail Seabourn. We are doing the Adriatic next month, Venice to Venice for 10 nights and are really looking forward to it. Happy planning, and I hope you have a fantastic cruise.

 

Margaret

 

Thank you, happy cruising I have heard Venice is one of the best sails way port there is.

 

Steve :)

Who do you cruise with? Do you regularly set sail?[/quote

 

We have never cruised before and we are going on the Independence of the Seas next June to the as Spanish Med.

We have just retired, and we promised ourselves we would do something special :)

Brilliant - thank you from someone from Walkington!!!!

You are welcome. I took the info from http://www.whatsinport.com

We often have Sunday lunch in the Dog and Duck if we can get in it is very popular