MS Europa 2 recent

[English Voyager]

4 hours ago, vistaman said:

i am a single

usually the party for singles and the other party for the non german - international guests , both are done at the same time in different bars  - the single in piano bar , the other most of the times in sansibar

Hapag Lloyd does offer the house champagne but no problem to get something else !

Is the separate singles party solely for the German speaking single passengers?

[vistaman]

12 hours ago, English Voyager said:

Is the separate singles party solely for the German speaking single passengers?

i think Hapag Lloyd does verify if there is a single between the international guests as well -

if no one , they can do the parties at the same time

i am always listed as "German speaking"( with some mistakes from time to time )   i do receive the daily program in German and the invitation for the international guests is only printed  in the English one.

[English Voyager]

3 hours ago, vistaman said:

i think Hapag Lloyd does verify if there is a single between the international guests as well -

if no one , they can do the parties at the same time

i am always listed as "German speaking"( with some mistakes from time to time )   i do receive the daily program in German and the invitation for the international guests is only printed  in the English one.

vistaman,

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

I had wondered if HL had changed their arrangements since my last cruise in 2016 as I had never received a notification of a Singles party.

 

I am patiently waiting for March to find out if my registrations for solo occupancy for cruises in the 2020-21 seasons have been successful.

[bahrain_not_dubai!]

On 1/9/2019 at 8:31 PM, vistaman said:

i am a single

usually the party for singles and the other party for the non german - international guests , both are done at the same time in different bars  - the single in piano bar , the other most of the times in sansibar

Hapag Lloyd does offer the house champagne but no problem to get something else !

 

My wife will be joining us so then at least 3 international guests 🙂

 

Speaking of champagne, does anyone have access to the HL wine list? I am picky in that department. 

Also, if not done already I will start a roll-call. 

Edited January 13, 2019 by bahrain_not_dubai!

[vistaman]

20 minutes ago, bahrain_not_dubai! said:

 

My wife will be joining us so then at least 3 international guests 🙂

 

Speaking of champagne, does anyone have access to the HL wine list? I am picky in that department. 

Also, if not done already I will start a roll-call. 

 

the wine list is very fairly priced : esp the Champagnes however i do expect some  increase

Dom P was 145 € , Cristal roederer and non vintage Krug 170 €

some champagnes available from smaller wineries like Agrapart  , Ulysse Colin  

Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 125 and Ruinart Blancs de Blancs 77

There are 5 or 6 champagnes by the glass : Duval Leroy, Duval Rosé , Taiitinger Rose Veuve Clicquot Brut, Ruinart rosé and in the Sansibar Bollinger  Brut   9.5 tot 14.5 €  ( 15cl )

There are some 20 wines by the glass and / or carafe 25 cl  including Cote du Rhône of Guigal and Chablis aside the German wines

The only wines i must describe as expensive are  a Provence  Rosé ( 60€ i believe ) by Ott and some Us wines - however the very popular Cloudy Bay ( New Zealand)   was 47  

very special wines from Germany and Austria of course at decent prices

cervaro della sala is some 60 and Dreams by Jermann 100 €

pouring measures of alcohol are 4 cl  starting at 4 €

 

[vistaman]

of course  the Europa 2 does have  the upper market wines   First , second … growths of Bordeaux are available as well

the only one that was missing was Latour  

i think the most expensive is La Tache by Romanée Conti. some 1000 €

several great red Burgundies and a few good white Burgundies as well Meursault  Corton Charlemagne

the white Bordeaux by Mouton and the Baron de L pouilly Fumé of Ladoucette

there is no service charge ( same as on Crystal SB SS and Seadream )

so a bottle of 100 €  remains 100 and not 118 or 115 as on some other companies 

[English Voyager]

3 hours ago, bahrain_not_dubai! said:

 

My wife will be joining us so then at least 3 international guests 🙂

 

Speaking of champagne, does anyone have access to the HL wine list? I am picky in that department. 

Also, if not done already I will start a roll-call. 

Although it dates from 2015. the following wine list does illustrate not only the breadth of choice available, but from vistaman's quoted prices how reasonable increases have been in the intervening period.

 

file:///C:/Users/Terry%20Maurice/AppData/Local/Packages/Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe/TempState/Downloads/Weinkarte_gross_2014%20(1).pdf

[bahrain_not_dubai!]

13 minutes ago, English Voyager said:

Although it dates from 2015. the following wine list does illustrate not only the breadth of choice available, but from vistaman's quoted prices how reasonable increases have been in the intervening period.

 

file:///C:/Users/Terry%20Maurice/AppData/Local/Packages/Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe/TempState/Downloads/Weinkarte_gross_2014%20(1).pdf

 

Dear sir, 

 

Many thanks, but unfortunately the file is not opening.

[bahrain_not_dubai!]

2 hours ago, vistaman said:

of course  the Europa 2 does have  the upper market wines   First , second … growths of Bordeaux are available as well

the only one that was missing was Latour  

i think the most expensive is La Tache by Romanée Conti. some 1000 €

several great red Burgundies and a few good white Burgundies as well Meursault  Corton Charlemagne

the white Bordeaux by Mouton and the Baron de L pouilly Fumé of Ladoucette

there is no service charge ( same as on Crystal SB SS and Seadream )

so a bottle of 100 €  remains 100 and not 118 or 115 as on some other companies 

Thank you sir. Looks like we will be in good hands. Very excited .

 

(whilst I wont be taking the option) 1000 for La Tache Romanee Conti sounds very reasonable. 

Edited January 13, 2019 by bahrain_not_dubai!

[English Voyager]

21 minutes ago, bahrain_not_dubai! said:

 

Dear sir, 

 

Many thanks, but unfortunately the file is not opening.

One would need to 'Copy' and 'Paste' in one's browser.

 

However if you click on the link in my message 4, and then in the thread scroll down to page 5, message 189 there are links to both a wine list, and bar list.

Message 188 contains links to sample menus of the various restaurants.

 

If you have not already seen it, the following video may be of interest:

 

 

Edited January 13, 2019 by English Voyager

[English Voyager]

A very helpful video has recently been issued by 'Tips For Travellers':

 

 

 

[vistaman]

I am afraid from now on Hapag Lloyd is charging 20 % of the cruise fare as deposit

it  use to be 10 %  and 20% if the cruise was within 6 months , I believe

Also , if you have to ( or want ) to cancel well in advance the fee is 200 € ( was 150€ )

 

I noticed it on a booking for the MS Europa in 2021 ( !  ) , short cruise with the Beste Event . ( gastronomy )

 

 so far no movements on the options chosen  for 2020 and 2021 on  the Ms Europa 2.

 

 

 

 

[English Voyager]

3 hours ago, vistaman said:

I am afraid from now on Hapag Lloyd is charging 20 % of the cruise fare as deposit

it  use to be 10 %  and 20% if the cruise was within 6 months , I believe

Also , if you have to ( or want ) to cancel well in advance the fee is 200 € ( was 150€ )

 

I noticed it on a booking for the MS Europa in 2021 ( !  ) , short cruise with the Beste Event . ( gastronomy )

 

 so far no movements on the options chosen  for 2020 and 2021 on  the Ms Europa 2.

 

 

 

 

The revised minimum penalty for cancellation is still generous compared to those Cruise Lines that impose a minimum loss of deposit of 15% to 20%.

 

Hopefully the full itineraries, and prices, will soon be published.

 

 

[Catlover54]

A few months ago when I started bypassing my American TA for HL bookings, I started using XETransfer to pay HL deposits electronically by bank transfer, as I believe catthana or someone on the first E2 thread had suggested, no fee, is easy once an account is set up, and I can do it from home instead of wasting time going to a bank, but it is very slow.  I barely have more than one or two days from time of receipt of the actual bill with trip confirmation until I have to get organized to send it, as it can take a full ten business days for money to arrive in the HL bank account.

With a higher deposit now ( which I think makes good business sense for HL) you have more money you may need to temporarily duplicate to meet a deadline if there is an unexpected electronic delay.  I am not sure how strict HL is about their written statement that the deposit receipt date is binding, e.g., if they would automatically cancel your booking if a day late.

 

When I sent my confirmed Ocean Sun confirmation ( I decided to fire the TA on that one too, as she was too slow to keep me informed, too slow to act, and distracted with other things and not adding value) I asked HL Germany if I could just pay the deposit now, as I know what 20% will be, and not wait until the tight deadline official deposit due bill comes.

 

[cathaana]

I probably suggested Transferwise, which I have used extensively. They usually come through in 2 days.

[cathaana]

On 2/24/2019 at 6:04 PM, vistaman said:

I am afraid from now on Hapag Lloyd is charging 20 % of the cruise fare as deposit

it  use to be 10 %  and 20% if the cruise was within 6 months , I believe

Also , if you have to ( or want ) to cancel well in advance the fee is 200 € ( was 150€ )

 

I noticed it on a booking for the MS Europa in 2021 ( !  ) , short cruise with the Beste Event . ( gastronomy )

 

 so far no movements on the options chosen  for 2020 and 2021 on  the Ms Europa 2.

 

 

 

 

I have been contacted by HL on Friday for the two Europa 2 cruises that I put options on, so things are happening. But I requested information on two other cruises that I am also interested in for which I received nothing yet.

[English Voyager]

HL has now posted, on their German language website, the 2020-2021 Itineraries and Prices:

 

https://www.hl-cruises.de/reise-finden#template=teaser&sorting=departureDate&filter:ships=9&page=0

 

 

 

 

 

 

[English Voyager]

Since my post of yesterday morning, availability, for both double, and particularly solo, occupancy has been rapidly diminishing.

 

[English Voyager]

HL has posted a video on the Circus Roncalli which will be appearing on the Europa 2.

 

 

 

[English Voyager]

On the 19 September last year, I pre-registered, via my TA, for solo occupancy on back to back cruises in August 2020.

 

On the first cruise I have been offered a place, whereas on the second I am number 3 on a wait list.

 

Are Germans psychic, and booking before itineraries are released??

[Floridiana]

8 hours ago, English Voyager said:

Are Germans psychic, and booking before itineraries are released??

I think some devotees book unseen or have their travel agent book whatever itinerary on this ship at a specific time. In winter, a warm weather destination is guaranteed. I also wonder whether some travel agents book cabins immediately to sell to potential customers later.

 

 

[vistaman]

EV,

sorry to hear you are on waiting list

i took quite some options ( all in Europe ) the same day the itineraries were published ,  i gave back one  as at the time of the previews i could not decide .

TA are  not able to book cabins or suites without a cornfirmation by a passenger , unless it is a group  - so holding cabins for TA is impossible .

 

 

 

[English Voyager]

13 hours ago, vistaman said:

EV,

sorry to hear you are on waiting list

i took quite some options ( all in Europe ) the same day the itineraries were published ,  i gave back one  as at the time of the previews i could not decide .

 

 

 

vistaman,

 

Have you been able to obtain offers on all your options?

[Catlover54]

EV, congrats on finally getting confirmed on at least one upcoming E2 cruise! Did  you get confirmed 

August 2020 on Cannes to Majorca or Majorca to Venice? 

 

The latter looks like a lovely ( though warm) itinerary. 

 

If you are waitlisted as only accepting the lowest category suite, even if third on the list, chances are likely low it will clear. But if you would also accept a veranda or ocean suite a little pricier, ( you can place such a request) chances would be better.

Also, HL Germany told me if you make a binding commitment to accept the cruise ( and pay deposit for it, if offered), you move up the waiting list ahead of others that do not want to commit.

 

[vistaman]

EV,

 

for 2020 my options are confirmed - for 2021 still waiting but i already gave back one

however i am not on "high season " midsummer , and very high demand itineraries like  Norway/ Baltic or South Africa.

what catlover did mention is true : if you take a binding commitment ( i think you even  can discuss the period )  you do have more chance.

i once had a binding option with notice 3 months prior to departure and i got the booking. ( one week before the end of the agreement )

however i refused to go tot cat  3 - 4 - the only difference is :  those suites are located midships on deck 7 or even on deck 8 ( surrounded by some penthouses on deck 8 )

1 or 2 is already expensive enough  for a single