Was on 10/7 O/azipod cruise - sailing her again 2/17

[chees]

Even though we had the azipod problem on our cruise, and spent a day floating in the Pacific determining what to do, I LOVE to cruise and I love HAL, so my husband and I have booked the Oosterdam for February to celebrate my 50th birthday. If the azipod is fixed by then, we will enjoy the entire time in ports. However, if it is not fixed by then, we will enjoy our $25 credits. I cruise for the experience of being at sea, not the destination, and although we were bummed to have to cancel our ziplining in PV, we had a wonderful time anyway. I'm more worried about too many kids on board than I am about whether the azipod is fully operational.

[CathieM88]

Awesome attitude! We are booked on the 1/20/07 Oosterdam sailing for my 50th!! I shared with our friends the azipod problem and we all are in agreement, if the bars are open and the food is good, how bad can it be if your on a cruise ship??? Glad you had a good time and wishing you a fantastic 50th in February!!!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

That is a great attitude:) I feel the same way. Just get me on the ship. I actually could care less about the ports, I just love being on the ocean. What is funny this last 10 day cruise had 3 ports we had never been to before and they were the first three ports. I was actually more excited to go to PV, Mazatlan and Cabo again because of it feeling more familiar. We know what we want to do in these ports, we feel at home and comfortable. You could tell me that my next 5 cruises will be doing the Mexican Riviera and I would be a happy cruiser:D I guess we are just creatures of habit:o

[scopewest]

We're doing the O again in two weeks and plan to get off the ship, stroll around for five minutes to say been there, set foot there, and get back on board. I can understand the frustration of those who haven't been to these ports before and want to spend as much time as possible, but a shortened port time is not going to bother me. And hey, they even throw in some money to make up for it! It'll pay for my embarkation photo, I couldn't believe the Noordam wanted $19.95 for it, yeow!!!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Love your attitude.

As for the number of children who will be on your cruise -- who knows -- but with your attitude I know you will be able to deal with it.

[cruznon]

Chees,
I'll be on this cruise also. There's a roll call---join us! Hope to meet you on board.
peggy

[San Diego Cruzer]

While I do agree with the other posters that your attitude is wonderful - I have to respectfully disagree regarding the port comments. Many people, including me, choose this exact cruise because of the ports they offer as well as the times in port. Yes, I understand that the unforeseen can happen, including bad weather - but that is why I booked in January and not September (hurricaine season). Yes, mechanical problems are always a concern, but this is not just an isolated incident - this is something that has been ongoing since October and before I booked the cruise. Something HAL did not disclose to us. I expect that there are many people on my cruise who are unaware of the potential problems with the azipod and the potential to dry dock the ship and cancel our sailing. I for one have not been happy with HAL response. I have talked to the HAL reps on more than one occasions and have received various replies - many of which I believe were not entirely accurate. This WILL be a factor for me in determining whether I wish to book future cruises with HAL.
Now - I am hoping that all goes well and our sailing goes as planned.

[chees]

I'm willing to ignore that fact for the pleasure of sailing on the O with my husband for my 50th. We sailed on RCCL for a Mardi Gras cruise out of Galveston and the cruise line did NOT tell us the Mississippi River was CLOSED until after we had sailed. Many people were angry, perhaps rightfully so, but we just accepted it and tried to make the best of it. We ended up docking 2 hours away by bus instead of being able to walk off the ship into the French Quarter. Were we disappointed - YES. Did we demand a refund or compensation - NO. We made the best of it and had a wonderful time having beignets at Cafe Dumond every morning before tackling the day. Oh, and to add insult to injury our bus broke down one day and we had to wait for another one. And, sailing into beautiful Gulfport, where we docked between the Chiquita and Dole containers, we had 90 MPH winds. We were told to literally stay inside and they had crew guarding each exit. Of course we did stick our hands off our balcony 'just to see' what it was like. By then the chairs were launching themselves over the smokestacks. My point is that sh*t happens and we just try to make the best of it. I will add that we would NEVER take a cruise in order to visit a specific port, since something can always come up. Like the weather in Grand Caymans. Sometimes you can go ashore and sometimes not. Bottom line -- I love to cruise and I love HAL so we will try the O again, enjoy the cooking classes, and spend some time together away from the teenagers, even if we are doing speed trials in the Pacific.