Early Embarkation for Veendam-

[holstang]

Can someone tell me how the early embarkation works? Do I need to have a certain cabin class to qualify (I'm in the bowels), and do you need to make requests ahead of time with the cruise line? I've looked on HAL website, and it doesn't give any info on this, other than it starts at 11:30. Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Hollie

[crossstitcher]

Could you mean Priority Boarding? My husband & I were on the Veendam
last November and stayed in a suite. When you have a suite, you have a
separate line in the curise terminal which cuts your wait time to almost
nothing. if you are booked in a suite, you will just love the ones on this
ship - especially the private veranda - almost the size of an inside state room on its own. Lush bedding and moring coffee only a few steps from
your door. They downside of this ship is that it is one of the older ones in the fleet and you hear its "bones" creeking in the dead of night. We were
about 1 day ahead of the hurricane last november that ripped Belize up (that port, by the way, is not all that great) so we had some very rough
seas. The first time in all of my crusing experience that my husband & I
got sick (as did most of the others on board) The ship literally rolled from
side to side for 48 hours. I slept out of the veranda because being in the
bed made the seasickness worse. If you are really into late night entertainment and a variety of shows and lounge acts, this is NOT the ship to be on - The activities on this ship seemed to be aimed more at the
seniors and not much for anyone else. I did not get my moneys worth as far as the food and shows go.

[Love Cruises]

Can someone tell me how the early embarkation works? Do I need to have a certain cabin class to qualify (I'm in the bowels), and do you need to make requests ahead of time with the cruise line? I've looked on HAL website, and it doesn't give any info on this, other than it starts at 11:30. Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Hollie
Early embarkation on most HAL ships allows you to embark usually after 11:00 am closer to noon no matter what cabin class you have reserved. You are asked to go to the LIDO to enjoy yourself at the buffet lunch. You are allowed to go to any of the public rooms and roam around freely getting to know the ship if you have never been on before. Around 1:30 pm there is an announcement made that you are then able to go into your stateroom. A couple of times our luggage had already been delivered. We love HAL especially for this early embarkation. It makes you feel like you are having almost the whole day on board.

[crossstitcher]

I have only had the pleasure of getting on a ship before noon once. We usually fly the day before and stay in one of the hotels nearby. The buses always seem to arrive after 1 pm and by the time you get thru check in and boarding, it is after 4pm - the whole day is shot.

[Krazy Kruizers]

When you get to the cruise terminal, you will be given a number for boarding.

Once you have turned in your immigration form, completed your charge card for, gotten you picture taken, go through security, then you wait in a lounge until your number is called. Once your number is called, you proceed to the ganagway where the photographers will take your picture. Depending on what time you actually geton the ship also depends on what you will do next. If it is around 1:30 and an annoucement has been made that the cabins are ready, then you can go directly to your cabin. Should you board before 1:30, then you can go to the Lido and have some lunch.

[holstang]

Oh No, I'm so dissappointed you said that you felt you didn't get your money's worth. We're a young group (8 of us) all between the ages of 28-30. But I know my group will have fun no matter what. We will be flying out friday prior to our saturday port departure, and I reserved a room for us, as we will be arriving in Tampa at 7 am. I wanted to know if it was worth it to get a hotel for the couple hours, or if we should chance it and go to the port (killing a couple hours in between). Sorry to say I won't have the luxury of a verandah suite (I'm an inside girl), but one of our friends will be, so I can still enjoy a little taste! Crosstitcher- You said Belize wasn't a good port? What did you guys end up doing out there? Thanks for all the info everyone!

[torpeedo]

Embarkation is really easy at the Tampa port. Not a lot of ship activity there. We were at the terminal and checked in pretty early, say 10:45. They allowed boarding to begin around 11:30. Had lunch at the Lido and toured the ship and rooms were ready at 1:30.
If you are arriving at 7am the day of your cruise you could probably go over to Ybor City ( google it ) and tour/walk around there for a while, maybe catch some breakfast and take a cab to the port after that.
We enjoyed the Veendam very much. Activities are probably a matter of opinion regarding like or dislike. There is a good mix of passengers on the ship and if you are on a 7 day cruise, there will be likely many more young passengers. There are late night activities in the Crows Nest. The younger the crowd, the later the dancing! We enjoy the food on HAL and find it much better than Royal Caribbean, Princess, and NCL.
I hope you and your friends have a blast and enjoy the Veendam! :D

[crossstitcher]

Oh No, I'm so dissappointed you said that you felt you didn't get your money's worth. We're a young group (8 of us) all between the ages of 28-30. But I know my group will have fun no matter what. We will be flying out friday prior to our saturday port departure, and I reserved a room for us, as we will be arriving in Tampa at 7 am. I wanted to know if it was worth it to get a hotel for the couple hours, or if we should chance it and go to the port (killing a couple hours in between). Sorry to say I won't have the luxury of a verandah suite (I'm an inside girl), but one of our friends will be, so I can still enjoy a little taste! Crosstitcher- You said Belize wasn't a good port? What did you guys end up doing out there? Thanks for all the info everyone!

Please don't feel disappointed, everybody has different styles - I have always been used to a variety of entertainment venues on RCL, Princess and Celebrity and HAL/Veendam just did not satisfy me in that area. I did
love the accomodations - top drawer all the way and the service was beyond great. If you are going in a group, I am sure you will find activities to keep you going well into the night. Have a great time.
As to Belize - this port of call is fairly new on the circuit. When you get off of the ship there is a little shopping village and that is about it unless you are taking a tour. Don't go beyond the fence of the shopping complex or you will be bombarded with locals offering tours. I am sure within the next year or two, this port of call will be expanded and much nicer than when we were there.

[jessemon]

Oh No, I'm so dissappointed you said that you felt you didn't get your money's worth. We're a young group (8 of us) all between the ages of 28-30. But I know my group will have fun no matter what. We will be flying out friday prior to our saturday port departure, and I reserved a room for us, as we will be arriving in Tampa at 7 am. I wanted to know if it was worth it to get a hotel for the couple hours, or if we should chance it and go to the port (killing a couple hours in between). Sorry to say I won't have the luxury of a verandah suite (I'm an inside girl), but one of our friends will be, so I can still enjoy a little taste! Crosstitcher- You said Belize wasn't a good port? What did you guys end up doing out there? Thanks for all the info everyone!
holstang,
Hope this helps.
Live in Tampa. If you get in a 7 AM you can go to the port and work from there. Next to where the Veendam docks is the Florida Aquarium. It is not the biggest in the world but it shows all the creatures that are associated with FL.
Well almost. They just brought in some penguins that you can interact with last week.
Ybor that early in the day is not worth it...all bars and restaurants...not open;)
The Channelside complex opens about 10:00 AM. Shops and bars and such. That is a 5 minute walk from where the Veendam ports. Right next tp the aquarium.
We cruise out of Tampa often and on the Veendam 3 times. You should be able to board by 11:30 or 12:00.
Also check out on this site "Hotels pre and Post Cruise". Tons of info on Tampa.

[Aussie Gal]

jessemon,

Seeing you live in Tampa and have been on the Veendam a number of times can you give me an idea of what time we could disembark. We are using A.A. to fly out of Tampa and our flight has been changed from 1.30pm to 11.05am. We are going to Chicago and then on to San Francisco.

Have we a chance of catching this flight? I believe the airport is only 9 miles away and I am thinking that if we can get off by 9am, then we should be at the airport by 9.30am with time to spare for check in etc. Am I thinking correctly or just daydreaming. By the way, the ship is supposed to dock at 8am and the date is the 28th of October.

Thanks.

Jennie

[hugger]

Have picked people up from the cruise terminal a couple of time's - normally it's around 9 -9:30 that I've picked up people. On the weekend's the traffic from there to the airport shouldn't be any problem. I would guess that a taxi would make it in 20 mins. at most.
And, if you are one of the first few groups to depart the ship - you'll most likely be off even earlier. The only problem would be IF custom's or weather makes you late. In that event I would assume that AA will work with you as long as you call them and let them know. If you just don't show up then that can be a problem.

If it's a "normal" disembarkation though you should be fine.

[Aussie Gal]

Hugger,

Thanks for the info. We hope to be one of the first to disembark and are hoping will be on land around 8.30am, (I was allowing an extra 30 minutes for any hiccups) which should give us plenty of time for a domestic flight.

Would you by an chance have the phone number for A.A. at Tampa Airport just in case I need to ring them. As we are from "down under" I do not have this information available.

Thanks.

Jennie

[wgeddings]

If you need to call American Airlines, their 800 number is 1-800-433-7300. That would probably be the best number to call even though it is not at the Tampa airport, it is one you should get an easy answer to and they can communicate with the people at Tampa probably quicker and better than you can.

I know that before the final day, HAL passes out a form to fill out where you are supposed to list flight arrangements and such so they can make rankings about who disembarks when. I think as long as you let them know of your flight, they will try to accomodate you but I just wanted to remind you that "normal" may not always apply. I have been told that Tampa is subject to fog problems that can delay docking. In addition, several times we have had a problem (on different cruise lines so it is not the cruise line's fault) with a few non-US citizens who ignore all the messages and notes and do not show up for the customs inspection. That delays everyone. No way to predict it and if you make special preparations, it will probably not happen (I assume murphy's law works "down under" as well).

I suggest that before you leave, make a continguency plan for what to do if you miss that flight. No need to try to explain it to someone with the airline since it is only likely to make them think you want to already change your arrangements. Just have a nice list of alternate flights (by number and airline) and stuff ready to use if you need it. Hopefully it will be a "normal" disembark and you will never need it but, in case Mr. Murphy decides this is a good time to come aboard, you will be all ready.

[jessemon]

jessemon,

Seeing you live in Tampa and have been on the Veendam a number of times can you give me an idea of what time we could disembark. We are using A.A. to fly out of Tampa and our flight has been changed from 1.30pm to 11.05am. We are going to Chicago and then on to San Francisco.

Have we a chance of catching this flight? I believe the airport is only 9 miles away and I am thinking that if we can get off by 9am, then we should be at the airport by 9.30am with time to spare for check in etc. Am I thinking correctly or just daydreaming. By the way, the ship is supposed to dock at 8am and the date is the 28th of October.

Thanks.

Jennie
Good Day Aussie Gal,
This is one of those questions that is a damned if you do...damned if you don't.
Tampa is a very humid area. It will be the time of year that you could be coming back into port...(the bay is 26 or so miles long to the port)...where fog can set in. If so they will make the ship sit or slow down to a crawl. It has been known because of these conditions that ships do not get to the dock until later....and some times much later.:eek:
It will still also be hurricane season. This means the ship could be delayed because of that...
My suggestion is to back the flight off. Especially if you booked it yourself and not through HAL. Yes the port is only a 15 minute taxi to the airport but, what if the ship is 1 hur late? then it has to clear customs and off load luggage.
I always like to err on the side of caution. I would hate to spend my last day at sea after a nice cruise worrying about if I would make my flight or not...wouldn't you...;)
Jessemon
PS: We have been delayed on 2 out of 7 cruises coming back into Tampa.

[Aussie Gal]

Tommy and Jessemon,

Thanks for all the information. I knew when I originally organized the flight from Tampa last November, that Tampa was prone to fog and that could delay the ship for hours so I booked a 1.30pm flight. Unfortunately, the flight has been completely cancelled, so we had a choice of 11.05am or the 4.45pm. As we are going to San Francisco, I certainly did not want to take the later flight and arrive there around midnight after our cruise.

We are using our Qantas F.F. points, that is why we are flying with A.A. which is certainly not my favourite airline and have found that they are prone to cancelling flights without a lot of notice.

Apparently if we do miss this flight, we can ask to be put on a flight through Houston and that will also connect with a San Francisco flight. It is hard for us as we are not dealing with American Airlines but with Qantas.

I will also see what other flights leave from Tampa and fly to San Francisco. If the worst happens we can always purchase another flight. I do want to get to S.F. as that is going to be one of the highlights for us and I do not want to waste a day hanging around airports.

Jennie

[Aussie Gal]

Since my last posting I had a rethink. I looked at A.A. schedule for 28th October and have now changed our booking to the late departure at 4.45pm to Chicago and then onto San Francisco.

At least we will not be in a panic on our last day. I do have another question. Do you book the transfers on board the ship? Seeing we are having to fill in some hours, it would be good to do a sightseeing tour of Tampa together with a transfer out to the airport.

As we have always been independent travellers we have never used this service before.

Thanks for all your good advice.

Jennie

[RuthC]

Jennie, I frequently purchase my airport transfer while on-board. As a matter of fact, I did just that on my recent Volendam cruise ending in Vancouver.
I will assume that you can do the same thing in Tampa.

HAL usually has a transfer that's part of a tour when your flight leaves later in the afternoon. I'd be willing to bet $$$$$ that you and DH will be able to do that after your cruise.

[senator6]

Aussie Gal, we had the same issue last time we sailed out of Tampa. We used Delta and they had one flight around 11AM and one at 5PM so we booked the one at 5, we did arrive early in Tampa so while on board I called Delta and they were more than willing to put us on the 11AM flight which we made with no problem. You may be able to do the same if all goes well and if you are late you are covered with the later flight.

[Aussie Gal]

Thanks Ruth and to senator 6 for your good advice. This is the wonderful thing about the C.C. Board. You can always find the answers to your questions.

We will go with the later flight, do the transfer and hope there is some sightseeing. If we happen to get out to the airport hours early, we will try for an earlier flight though it will be hard as we are using F.F. points and I couldn't get onto an earlier flight going via Dallas yesterday, no F.F. seats left.

Jennie