Guinness1000

I was with a group of five on Harmony of the Seas in June, and everyone but me tested positive as soon as we got home. One person was pretty sick.

IMHO, if your options are a WC with Princess or none at all, I would say go on the WC! We have never been on a WC yet, but it's getting near. We've been on many cruises on different lines. We are half-glass-full people and take every little mishap - and they happen on all of them -- with a positive attitude. We've never been on a bad cruise. If you're like us, I'm sure you will have a great time. 🙂

I watched a YT video by Gary Bembridge about repositioning cruises. He said most people don't realize that they are inexpensive because the purpose of them is to move the ship to a new area. Their aim is not to give guests the best time ever. Port stops are mostly for replenishing supplies and such. I have never been on one myself, but it made sense when I watched it. I want to do a transoceanic cruise, but my expectations will be lower than a regular cruise. Hope you still managed to enjoy yourself. 🙂

Different cruise lines appeal to different people. Research is important. HAL is our go-to cruise line. I go on RCCL when I go with my kids and grandkids because they love all the things to do. We have a long cruise booked in 2025 on the Volendam. Can't wait! I also just got off Harmony of Thr Seas last Sunday, and although we had an awesome trip - three generations - we also tested positive for Covid when we got back. Not RCCL's fault, but I have a sneaky suspicion we caught it in one of the elevators where people packed in tight. On HAL, people tend to be a little more courteous and politely say they'll catch the next one if it's already "full". When it comes to Alaska, I believe HAL and Princess have the longest history there, and the most experience, along with being allowed to go to certain areas other cruise lines are not. Sorry you had an awful trip. I believe most cruise lines are pretty good. You just have to find the right fit for you. HAL is that line for us. Maybe RCCL will be the one for you. 🙂

The HAL WC prices came out yesterday, but since it's going to be on the Volendam you have to book a Vista Suite if you want a real balcony and those start at $52K/pp. That's too much for us, at least right now.

Book the half day at Atlantis. No one checks when you leave and the shuttles back to the ship run constantly.

My husband had a "cardio event" on the NA a few months back with afib, irregular heartbeat and 170bpm. He ended up at the medical center. I have no idea what their equipment is called, but they were well-equipped to handle the situation. His cardiologist at home was impressed when he read the files. We were bracing ourselves for the bill, but amazingly it was only $696!!! If that had been at an ER in the US it would've been in the thousands.

We are considering the 2026 WC. I was not real thrilled to find out it would be on the Volendam. I was thinking it's small and old. We are doing 27 days on Zaandam in 2025, and I think they are sister ships, so similar in size and such. We'll see how that works out. I did ask my TA, though, and mentioned my disappointment with the Volendam for the WC. She told me that it would be a better fit for a WC because the Zuiderdam was really too big to get that WC feel. She also said the Volendam has a lot more storage and better venues for dancing. Not sure that helps your question, just giving you the little info I have. She's supposed to get back with me when they post the fares. 🙂

We are going on a 27 day Amazon cruise Feb 8 on the Zaandam and I believe it's in drydock the week before that. 🙂

I hope the Zaandam is finished before Feb 8 since we're supposed to leave out of Miami that day. Do you, by any chance, know where the drydock takes place? 🙂

I've never sailed with Cunard, but I have looked at their WC mostly since they seem inexpensive. They seem to have a pretty low port/sea day ratio. For us, the fewer sea days, the better.

For me, it would first be with a cruise line I've had experience with and like. For us, that would be HAL, Celebrity, and Princess. There are, of course, many other cruise lines, but for us, these lines we know and trust. On a WC, however, Celebrity doesn't do them, and I've heard some less-than-great things about Princess WCs. Second, we look at the itinerary. Has to have a minimum of 50/50 port/sea day ratio, or close to. Having said that, HAL's 2026 WC is on the Volendam. We are booked on the Zaandam for Amazon in 2025, it's 27 days. I believe the Volendam and Zaandam are sister ships? I worry that the Zaandam might be a bit small for the Amazon trip with a lot of sea days, but it's shorter than a WC, so it'll be fine. I'm not sure we would enjoy 4.5 months on that size ship, though. And then we, of course, consider cost as well. Those are our main things. 🙂

I noticed HAL is doing their 2026 WC on the Volendam. Does anyone have any thoughts on that? We've been waiting to see what the itinerary would be, but I'm not sure my hubby would like 130 days on that ship. Zuiderdam too big to fill?

Lots of back and forth about which cruise line's WC is best. I've never been on a Viking cruise, but I'm pretty sure I would love it. However, looking at their 2026 WC it seems it starts in Los Angeles and ends in London. IMHO, that's not really an around the world cruise, so I would take that in consideration as well. I want to start and end in the same port, ideally. 🙂

That is a great question! I have no idea how that would work, but sort of on a related topic, we were on The Nieuw Amsterdam over Christmas. Already at lunch, my husband 69, started feeling weird with some chest pains. It didn't get better and around 6pm we decided to go down to the medical center. Turns out he had AFib with a bpm of 170. They thought he was going to have a heart attack at any second. They ran all kinds of tests, including a blood test. They gave him some IV thing and put him on medication. We were there about 2 1/2 hours before we went back to our room. Now, having been to ERs in the US and also know that cruise lines tend to make things extra costly sometimes, I was bracing myself for the bill. I was floored to find out that the bill was only $596!!! Had that been here in the US at a hospital ER it would have been in the thousands. The doctor and the nurse were also extremely nice and knowledgeable. Another reason HAL is our favorite. 🙂

To be honest with you, I had to look up on the app where that was on the ship and it seems it was one of those places we just walked by. In other words, it was one of those places we didn't really notice, so maybe it is the most underutilized venue. 😕

There was the Billboard Onboard and the Rolling Stone Lounge. They played various music and people seemed to like dancing to it. 🙂

There was no BB King on our cruise on The Nieuw Amsterdam.

We just got off the ship today. It seemed very nice and fresh. The carpet in our stateroom was new. Elevators were always empty, but I guess that doesn't have anything to do with the drydock. 🙂 Everything was great! The only thing that could have been better was warmer temps, but that didn't have anything to do with the dry dock either. As far as the music goes, we were not huge fans of the female half of the dueling pianos. She played and sang everything too fast and very choppy.

Perfect! That's what I was looking for. Thank you! 😎

Thank you! 🙂

Ok, so she has to call? Can't do it online on their website?

We are leaving on the 23rd for the Caribbean. Our daughter would like to have a few gifts from the HAL website/store waiting for us when we arrive. I know how to order things myself, but I can't figure out how she should go about it. She has never cruised with HAL, nor does she have an account with them. Anyone know? Thanks. 🙂

I love learning new things, so I'd take any onboard class. I'm also a writer, so much of my day is spent inside my head. I watch people. I write down ideas. My mind starts to run and sometimes I have a hard time to keep up with everything I want to write and do, and research can keep me busy for hours.

What a great idea! I'm going to do the same. 🙂 I also think of the money we will not be spending at home. I figure by not being home and not buying food, not driving cars, not using any utilities, and so on, we would be saving about $4k/month so on a four-month cruise that would be $16k not spent at home but on the cruise instead.