Just got a nice surprise

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

 

What a wonderful mother you have.

Don't forget that the Westerdam has Eastern and Western (7 day) itineraries.

:)

[Orcrone]

Marc,

 

We are booked on the Westerdam for Easter week (3/27) with 4 teens. We have sailed RCCL, Princess & HAL. HAL had the least amount of kids during breaks, but still quite a few. This was a compromise with the kids. I was surprised at the great prices I got for this cruise. We'll be doing the Western Carib. Email me & I'll give you the particulars, if you like.

 

Whatever is decided I'm sure you'll have a great time. Happy sailing1

lgt,

 

Ths boards don't seem to have their e-mail feature working quite right yet, but if you'd e-mail me at morlick1@cox.net I'd appreciate it.

[Orcrone]

Marc-

 

Please check out the Volendam sailing on 3/20/04 - we are looking closely at that one - and yesterday doone posted they are booked on it as well!

 

What a blast that would be!

Love to join you if you go. That one really sounds great. It includes some ports I've never been to. But the kids are out of school from March 26 through April 3. So neither that one or the following one (leaving March 30) would work. We pretty much have to go with a 7 day leaving 3/26 or 3/27.

 

Marc

[dolphngirl]

Wow- that sounds great!

 

I'm new to the boards and I had to hop on and say hi to a fellow Chesapeake resident. I see you are on the Maasdam in October- we are thinking about booking it for 3/10/05, but we haven't made up our mind yet. Any advice? What made you pick the Maasdam?:)

[Orcrone]

Hi dolphngirl,

 

First let me welcome you to the boards. I live off of Mount Pleasant Road in Great Bridge in Tunbridge Station. Are you near?

 

Anyhow, the thought of cruising out of Norfolk appealed to me; no flights with it's extra expenses and hassles. Carnival has three 6-day cruises each year to the Bahamas. But that was shorter than I wanted and their prices were very high (over $1000 pp for an inside room). Celebrity goes to Bermuda. I'd like to go there sometime, but I didn't like the idea of going across the Atlantic to Bermuda during the end of hurricane season. Radisson 7 Seas is very nice but expensive. The Maasdam had itineraries and lengths I liked and the price was right.

 

People had very good things to say about the food and service and ambience of the ship. I of course realize that on a HAL board people are going to be biased towards HAL. But listening to the objective comments and looking at pictures I found on the web it seemed like a ship to try. And if worst comes to worst and it's not as good as I hope, it beats 10 days at home.:D

[dolphngirl]

Orcone,

 

Thanks for responding to me. We are close by, off Cedar Road in Mill Creek Harbor. :D I noticed you are an engineer- my husband as well!

 

Back to cruising- You know, the thought of getting dropped off at Nauticus and not having to deal with flying to Florida really does appeal to us. Plus I'd rather have 10 days than 7 in paradise.

 

As a novice cruiser ( only 2 under my belt) may I ask for some more help? Many, many questions!!!

 

How soon would you book? Do deals get better or worse? What category did you end up going with? Did you use a local TA?

 

Any other advice would be much appreciated!

[Orcrone]

Orcone,

 

Thanks for responding to me. We are close by, off Cedar Road in Mill Creek Harbor. :D I noticed you are an engineer- my husband as well!

 

Back to cruising- You know, the thought of getting dropped off at Nauticus and not having to deal with flying to Florida really does appeal to us. Plus I'd rather have 10 days than 7 in paradise.

 

As a novice cruiser ( only 2 under my belt) may I ask for some more help? Many, many questions!!!

 

How soon would you book? Do deals get better or worse? What category did you end up going with? Did you use a local TA?

 

Any other advice would be much appreciated!

Actually, I only have two cruises under my belt, but after spending a lot of time on this board I feel like I know a lot more. Maybe I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.:D

 

I would book sooner rather than later. Until final payment (75 days before your cruise with HAL) you can always get your money back in full (although some TAs may charge a cancellation fee). If the price goes down before final payment you can always get a price reduction. If they go up then you've locked in the lower price.

 

Many people on this board go with local TAs. But many of them have sailed umpteen times and have a very solid relationship with their TAs. Being someone who anticipated sailing infrequently I went on the internet and got price quotes from just about every TA and went with the least expensive. It's actually a brick and mortar agency in New Mexico. Once you book on line they transfer it to an agent who you can contact by phone. I've been happy with the service. I think there are some rules about posting TAs names on these boards. If you want to post your e-mail address I'll send you more info. If you don't feel comfortable leaving it on a public board you can e-mail me at morlick1@cox.net.

 

As far as room selection goes I've driven my TA crazy. Originally I booked a category 'M' inside room. Then a little while later the price of the I, J, and K categories dropped to less money than the 'M'. So I rebooked in category K. Then just two hours ago I decided to go for a window and rebooked in category E. Don't tell my wife, it's a surprise. I debated a verandah (category A or B) but it was over $1000 extra for the room, and I couldn't justify that.

 

Can't think of anything else to add. If you have any specific questions you can post them as new topics. People here are great about answering questions. Or you can e-mail me and I'll answer as best I can. Either way, I'll post my impressions of the ship when I return in November.

 

Marc

[HeatherInFlorida]

Marc, isn't that a bit of a trek from Virginia to New Mexico to work with a brick and mortar agent??? Not to stir the pot, but it shouldn't have been quite that much more to go from an "E" to a "B" category. Should be about $350 or so more per person. That's still a lot of money. There are some really good internet agents and the service is really good. I've used the same one for the last 3 years and I'm thrilled with their service.

 

In fact recently I happened to see a special lower price at another site and my agent matched it even though I had booked back in April. So you really should give one of them a try. Once you've cruised with a verandah, though, you're spoiled forever

[janisutx]

My mother has paid for a Christmas cruise for my two adult children and me. Your board has been a big help. I've already booked the pink cabana on Half Moon Cay thanks to the nice photos on this board. I also made reservations on the first night for the Pinnacle Grill for $10 each. The HAL agent did confirm that the $10 bargain would not be around for long. It's a first cruise for all of us even though we have all traveled to Europe and South America.

[Orcrone]

Heather,

 

It was about $160 extra to go from a K to an E, which is what I did today. You hit it on the head with going to the verandah. It was about $350 pp more. I wasn't too clear in my previous post. I meant $1000 extra to go from category K inside to category B.

 

BTW, keep it hush if anyone e-mails me. I'm not telling DW about the outside room. She'll find out when we get there.:D

[iluvcruzin]

BTW, keep it hush if anyone e-mails me. I'm not telling DW about the outside room. She'll find out when we get there.:D

Gotcha! She will be so thrilled. Maybe you will be lucky and they will bump you up to those verandah rooms that are not filled yet. Wishful thinking.:)

[Orcrone]

Gotcha! She will be so thrilled. Maybe you will be lucky and they will bump you up to those verandah rooms that are not filled yet. Wishful thinking.:)

That way we'd both have a surprise!:)

 

Actually, I was thinking about the verandah (who doesn't). But all the 'S' suites are gone. There was one 'B' verandah mid-ship available. But that disappeared and one aft showed up. Someone must have switched. So that made up my mind for sure. DW worries about seasickness, so we're in a good location now (lowest deck, mid-ship).

 

But if we get upgraded I'll buy her some bonine.:D

[HeatherInFlorida]

DW worries about seasickness, so we're in a good location now (lowest deck, mid-ship).

 

But if we get upgraded I'll buy her some bonine.:D

Good choice, then. Midships is the place to be. Also, why don't you get her the seabands. I swear by them. I've only gotten sick once when we passed the outskirts of a hurricane on the Bermuda/NY run which can be a killer. But ever since then, I put on the seabands the minute we start to rock a little and then I take them off after a day and I've gotten my sea legs. They're about $10 and the good news is they work from the moment you put them on. And there's no side effects like from medication.

 

Could be all in my head that they work, but who cares as long as we don't get sick! :)

[Orcrone]

Heather,

 

What are sea bands?:confused:

[sail7seas]

A couple who are among our very best friends cruise alot. She used to always get sea sick. He is an Internist. She and I were on the phone about 6 years ago and I had read about sea bands. I suggested she try them. How could they hurt? They are non-invasive and could do no harm. All of the meds her DH had prescribed for her had not helped.

 

He laughed at the two of us but agreed there could be no harm. She bought them; used them; and had the first cruise of her life with no sea sickness. He told us "it was all mind over matter". We told him if that were the case, why did none of his magic meds work in the past? He decided it wasn't worth the debate. :) She always uses them on cruises now and has never been seasick again.

 

Try them.....they cannot hurt.

 

 

Orcrone....sea bands are elastic bands that look similar to wrist bands one would wear when playing tennis. They are stretchy and have a "button" which is to be placed at a specific spot on your wrist. They work on "accupressure" and many find them very effective. You must wear one on each wrist. One...on only one arm.... does not do any good. You will find those "naysayers" and you will hear from those who think them very effective.

 

 

Orcrone...What a great surprise "she" will have.

[Orcrone]

SAIL7SEAS - Thanks for the explanation of the sea bands. Where do you get them? Drug store?

 

 

Thanks,

Marc

[Orcrone]

Spoke to my mom, trying to nail down itineraries. We think we're going to do a 7 day eastern Caribbean leaving on March 26 or 27. RCI seems to be about $200 more for that week than other weeks.

 

Right now I think we're leaning towards the Zuiderdam leaving March 26. Stops at HMC, St. Thomas, Tortola and Nassau. Her TA gets back into town on Monday and hopefully we'll book by middle of next week.

 

Someone suggested (sorry, I forget who) that I could book on the Maasdam during our fall cruise and get shipboard credits for booking while on the cruise. Is this a good idea, or am I taking too much of a chance of the price going up?

 

Thanks,

Marc

[HeatherInFlorida]

Marc, S7S described them beautifully. Yes you get them in the drugstore. They are usually grey and in a little plastic box about 2"x2". They're with the seasick pills.

[a1moty]

If you can't find the "SEABANDS" on the shelf by the motion sickness pills--ask your pharmacist. For some reason, they keep them under lock and key here.

:confused: