Well....I booked my first HAL CRUISE

[Lois R]

:) Hi to all you HAL Cruisers......I booked this morning...1st cruise on HAL....Zuiderdam Sept 11-18th Eastern Caribbean.

I have been a Celebrity Cruiser....(no flames please;) ).....hoping I enjoy my HAL experience too!

Looking forward to meeting the folks on the Roll Call in person!:D

I LOVE TO CRUISE.......I go solo and the value is outstanding...and I must tell you, HAL's prices for a single person are wonderful:) .

Wow...only 2 more months till I am cruising again!!!:)

[doone]

Good for you Lois, I think you'll enjoy your cruise and HAL as well.

[FlorenceItaly]

This is VERY good news!! Lois, if I were not doing a pre-cruise Sept 17, and then sailing on the 19th out of Port Canaveral, with the Hounds, I would be on this sailing. It sounds like a great group on the roll call board. I am sure you will have a FAB time. I am sure it will be different than what you are use too, but isn't every individual cruise a different experience??

I agree, HAL does have great solo rates.

I am so happy for you, Lois :).

I know the Celebrity board is "home" to you, just as the HAL board is to me, but it's good to have you on the HAL board...WELCOME.

Marie

[Lois R]

Hi Doone:) ..thanks...I just found out though, I am being wait-listed for late seating:eek: :confused: . I do hope they can accomodate me.....5:45 is waaayy too early for me. I would try 6:15 If I have to.....but I normally enjoy eating late...8 or 8:30 is good. I like having drinks pre-dinner.....

I hope since I am sailing solo...they would be able to find a spot at one of the late seatings.....any experience with the dining room, maitr'd, etc. on this topic?

[doone]

Oh you should have no trouble at all, Lois, with late seating, it usually the early seatings that are a problem getting, later ones are usually easier.

Have a wonderful cruise, I know you will.

[jhannah]

Good deal, Lois. You will really enjoy HAL. I don't think you'll have anyone express ill-will toward Celebrity. Many on this board have also sailed them. (I haven't, but just might do it some day for comparison.) We sailed the Zuiderdam Eastern Carib and really enjoyed the ship.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Lois, I don't think you'll be disappointed. I think I mentioned on another thread that I think Celebrity and HAL are very comparable. I agree that it's usually early sittings that book out. Hopefully they can accommodate you. HAL has a very similar feel to Celebrity, but I still insist that the burgers and tacos on deck on HAL are out of this world. Nothing like coming back to a yummy snack after touring all day. Do not miss them!!!:D

[Lois R]

Hi Marie, Jim, everyone!:) Thanks for the encouragement and kind words!

So, IF I end up with early sitting....do you suggest I see the Maitr'd after I board the ship? Any help would be greatly appreciated:D

[doone]

Yes, Lois, absolutely.

[Lois R]

thanks Doone.:) ...I couldn't quite understand it either....wait listed on late seating:eek: .

Now, 6:15 would not be the absolute worst thing...but 5:45...just can't eat that early!
But 8:00 is definitely more to my liking!:)

And I hope the Maitr'd is nice too:D

[doone]

Your welcome Lois, I'll bet you'll have no problem at all getting a later seating for dinner. Keep us posted if you find out before you sail.

[Krazy Kruizers]

:) Lois R

Welcome to HAL.

Once you have tried HAL, I don't think you will want to go back to that other line.

When you get to your cabin, check your daily program for the time and place where the maitr'd will be if you don't get the dinner time that you want. And be there early.

:)

[Lois R]

Thanks for the welcome Krazy Kruizers....when you say "get there early"...how early can you board the ship? I have one carry one and one suitcase....can I drop off my carry on even if the cabin isn't finished? and then go explore the ship? I love doing that:)...and this will be a real adventure for me.
I also like to board as early as they allow!

[Tatka]

Congrats Lois!!!

Enjoy Zuiderdam... We are going on her on August 21. I don't think I will be able to write a whole review but if you'll have any questions by that time I will gladly help. :D

I am working on convincing myself not to compare Zuiderdam to Century every day (that's what I did on Splendour of the Sea, takes alot of fun out of vacation).... I am sure you will like some things better on Z. Zuiderdam looks like a really nice and new ship. (Two pools in case of bad weather :) )


I just can't stand a thought I will see Century's sailing away before my eyes! :(

[doone]

On the Rotterdam this past March, we were able to start boarding at 11:30 a.m. No, they ask you not to go to your cabins until the announcement is made that the cabins are now ready, which is around 1 pm. We went to the Lido and had a wonderful lunch, then before we knew it, the announcement was made. We made our way to our cabins, freshened up a bit and explored the ship.

Your going to have such a wonderful cruise, Lois.

[Lois R]

doone...so, what do I do with my carry-on? I don't want to have to keep it with me....is there a place to put it? oh, and speaking of announcements....do they keep them to a minimum during the week?

[doone]

Well, what we did was to put them at a table, get something to eat in the Lido til the announcements were made we could go to our cabin. I know your sailing solo, Lois, but if you take your purse with you and leave your carry-on at a table you can see from the buffet, you should be fine. I have never had a problem with anyone taking anything of mine, but I am sure there are stories other people could tell that weren't as lucky as I have been. But if you leave it at a table that you can see from the buffet, you can sort of keep your eye on it.

If you are going to explore the ship before the cabins are announced, you will have to take your carry on with you. Its pretty fast that the announcement comes up, just have a bite to eat in the Lido and before you know it, there's the announcement saying you can go to your cabins.

Some people complain there are alot of bingo announcements, I haven't been bothered by too many announcements.

[FlorenceItaly]

On the Maasdam a few weeks ago there was a section adjacent to the Lido where staff stored your carry ons.

Marie

[doone]

Marie, good to know, thanks.

[Sage]

Lois,

I'm so excited for you. I think that you should have a wonderful time. And I agree with Doone that you shouldn't have a problem getting late seating. I'm so glad that you decided to come join us here on the HAL board. Now we will look forward to your impressions when you return. I'm a bit envious though, as I don't get to cruise until December.

[HeatherInFlorida]

All this talk about eating in the Lido, carry-ons, dinner times and I'm so envious you're going sooner than me!! I wanna go NOW http://boards2.cruisecritic.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

Pssst...Lois....do you have room for little bitty me in your carry-on???http://boards2.cruisecritic.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif I don't think my husband will mind:eek:

[Danno]

HEY EVERYBODY!!! I found Lois...she's over here on the HAL page!!!

Just kidding...I hope you enjoy having Lois here, I know we'll miss on the X page. Have her explain what XSNOBS is about. I really think a chapter over here, perhaps HALSNOBS, would be worth thinking about.

All the best to my HAL friends, Doone, the Rev and all the gang...see you at sea.

[doone]

Hey Danno, long time no talk. Lois is going to have a wonderful time, hey, she's on vacation, how can it be bad!!!!!

[Lois R]

:) Hi...Danno..I will still be part of X......its in my blood;) .

He is just talking about people who have common sense with things....manners, etc....something to do with being treated nice and treating others nice as well!

Hope everyone is having a good Monday:D

[Jacqueline]

Lois, my first HAL cruise is July 30. I sailed the Connie just this past March.

[Lois R]

Marie:) I am going to ask about the place to put my carry-on then!....I really don't want to have to bring it with me while exploring the ship:D.

Where is a good place for sailaway?....Oh I have heard the buffet on HAL is excellent...from folks who have sailed HAL and X;) .

Thanks for making me feel welcome here!:)

[Tatka]

Lois,

From what I heard here the best sailaway place is an aft pool area on Lido deck.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/57379715/57380432wyeTRf

OT: Can you imagine watching Century sailing away? :confused: (4:30, right?) I probably sound cruel. ;)

[MISSYLOU]

Congrats Lois. I think you will enjoy HAL. I will be anxious to read your review when you return. You sure are going on a big ship for your first HAL cruise.

[azgymgal]

Congratulations!

You are going to have a Wonderful Cruise! I know this is a Great Cruise as I'm going too. We booked this cruise last October and I'm starting to get a little excited.

You should have no problem getting to the late seating - there is always room for one more. By the way you are in the same "boat" as I am. For some reason the 3 of us are on the late seating wait list too! I don't know how this happened either???

Best wishes again for a great cruise, azgymgal

[Lois R]

Good morning:) az...you on this sailing too?:D we have a nice Roll Call going...please come say HELLO!!

MissyLou, this ship is 85,000 tons...yes bigger than Mercury and Century but thankfully NOT a "FLoating City"....for some reason those type of ships don't appeal to me.

Tatka...I would love to know your impressions after you return!

[Nasmas]

I don't think you'll have a problem with the late seating. We're on the 09/04 sailing and when we booked, we were waitlisted for the 8:30 seating. But, now they are all waitlisted except the 8:30, so lots of people changed their minds. We didn't want to have to eat that early either. Probably wouldn't have made dinner in the dining room very often. We're used to being on a smaller ship and are a little concerned about the size of this one, but we've been on 7 HAL cruises and enjoyed them all immensly. I know this one will be just as wonderful. I am sooooo excited. There is nothing quite like a cruise. My husband is usually stretched tight but he unwinds on the cruise so much its almost unbelieveable. I think you will enjoy your HAL cruise, maybe you'll become a convert.

[Danno]

HAL seems to have got LOIS...we at X seem to have obtained JIM MUNTKITRICK(sp...sorry Jim). Looks like both sides win :D . Although we have every intention of getting LOIS back...I wouldn't hold your breath for JIM. Once they've experienced greener pastures......well you know ;) !!

[Lois R]

:) Hi Dan:).....I will be back...I can't deny that fact.

I hope my week on HAL will be fun with the classiness others speak about as well!

[eliz1]

So much useful information on this sit. I am leaving on the Volendam on Dec. 26 for the Eastern Carribean cruise. This is my second cruise and first one solo. Last one was about 20 years ago. Just wondering how much luggage to take and if 2 carryons is too much.

[Spot]

eliz1
Two carry ons is all each of us takes for a seven day cruise. With the nifty packing aids on the market now it makes it very easy. One maximum size carry on and one back pack.

Have a great time on the Volendam.