Moonlight Beach

I went ahead and requested early ticketing and paid the original fare. I received a message to allow up to 3 business days for the ticket to be issued.

I booked through Flight Ease several months ago for a cruise in September. I check the fare occasionally and in checking this morning I noticed the fare went up $1000 a person. Payment is due on June 19. Should I go ahead and request early ticketing now or will the original fare be honored on final payment?

@DAllenTCY Do you know the numbers for Koningsdam's Saturday, Jan. 14 sailing?

2 hours ago, lais said:

Also, if your are 5 star, 4 star, Pinnacle suite or Orange club then you have front of the line privileges so you can show up anytime after the port opens at  10:30 or so. .  

@DAllenTCY is this a new policy/procedure for San Diego?

We are sailing on May 29. Are the staterooms updated? Wall mount tv's? Specifically, verandas and Signature suites.

1 hour ago, oaktreerb said:

Kaiser will test for travel but I’m not comfortable that we will receive the results before we cruise.  We cruise on a Sunday so we would need to be tested on Friday.

We have tested at Kaiser twice previously for travel. Both times we received our results in less than 48 hours. We've also used UCSD (results in 18 hours) and CVS (results in 15 minutes) for back-up. Now the rapid antigen tests are basically nonexistent in San Diego and surrounding counties. We will use Kaiser again for our cruise in November and look for a facility that does the rapid antigen test.

1 hour ago, lstrong said:

I know what you’re going through. Mcrcruiser!  My second shot was cancelled two weeks ago due to no moderna available. I’ve been checking all sites 10 times a day at least with no luck. I’m now two weeks late getting it and weary of the tedious process to try and book an appointment. Just a thought for you—Try calling 211 for help. Laurie

Did you receive your first dose through UCSD - Petco Park? If so, you should have been automatically rescheduled. I've been rescheduled twice because of shortages. UCSD should have sent you a text and/or an email to check MyUCSDchart.ucsd.edu for your appt. time. If you received through another source, like Cruiser Bruce stated, you should get in contact with the provider. 

@VMax1700

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Cruise ships are scheduled to return to the Port of San Diego this week and through the new year, part of an effort by the cruise lines to reestablish ships in U.S. waters as a prerequisite to resume cruising in a post-COVID-19 world, it was announced Monday.

Five Holland America Line ships and one Princess Cruises ship are scheduled to arrive beginning Wednesday, periodically docking at the B Street Cruise Terminal for fuel, food, supplies and services. At this time, none of the vessels will be carrying passengers or conducting any sailings, according to local port officials.

To resume cruises after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deems it safe in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the ships must reestablish operations in United States waters to meet CDC and U.S. Coast Guard guidelines.

According to port officials, time spent docked in San Diego will be limited. Each ship is scheduled to dock at B Street the morning of their scheduled arrival date and depart that evening.

The Holland America Line ships are scheduled to remain in the San Diego area and may be visible off the coast, with some periodically positioning in the outer anchorage just outside of San Diego Bay off the coast of Coronado. After their initial arrival, each HAL ship plans to periodically return to the B Street Cruise Terminal to refuel and/or to resupply or receive services. The Emerald Princess is scheduled to go to Los Angeles after its Dec. 24 visit, but port officials stressed that vessel schedules may change.

Crew members aboard the vessels will not be allowed off unless as part of crew changes with plans and procedures reviewed and approved by the CDC, Coast Guard, Customs and Border Patrol and county Health and Human Services. All crew members will be regularly tested for COVID-19 and health procedures will be followed in the event of an infection.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had major impacts on San Diego’s tourism industry, including 119 canceled cruises since March, representing a loss of roughly $200 million in regional economic activity, impacting local businesses and government. The Port’s cruise industry supports jobs, including in retail, restaurant and lodging; transportation, trucking and warehousing; ship agents and stevedoring; and security and manpower services.

The current arrival schedule is:

— Dec. 23: Holland America Koningsdam;

— Dec. 24: Princess Cruises Emerald Princess;

— Dec. 28: Holland America Westerdam;

— Jan. 8: Holland America Zuiderdam; and

— Jan. 11: Holland America Noordam.

News article from San Diego news station:

https://fox5sandiego.com/news/local-news/cruise-ships-to-begin-returning-to-san-diego-without-passengers/

And from the Port of San Diego website, dated Dec. 21, 2020:

And I really wanted to check out their private sale...

I'm glad this topic came up (again). We booked very last minute and are in open seating. We leave the hotel service charge in place, but always tip extra -- cabin stewards, dining stewards, wine stewards. However since we will for the first time in 24 cruises, have open seating and will most likely have different dining/wine stewards, I'm not sure how to tip. We will be sailing with DH's DB and SIL. I'm sure they will want to sit at a larger table than 4 top.

Following...We did this itinerary on the Statendam in 2014. 

I enjoyed the Cellar Master dinner on our last cruise. I’ve included the menu below. 

I sailed the Westerdam in November, and I have to agree with others who do not like the changes in the Crow's Nest. The area that used to be the library is totally wasted with the table top electronic reference travel "books". Another waste of space, IMO, is the former Captains Corner, which is now set up with a big screen for presentations and the rows and rows of chairs - not very comfortable looking. Overall, for me, the whole ambiance of the entire space was not very welcoming.

The main deck atrium seemed closed in with the gigantic murals. And the atrium staircase to the decks above were taken out. I guess HAL wanted to make sure guests did not linger.

OTOH, the updates to my stateroom were nice, especially the bathroom.

If you are looking for pottery, plates, etc., I recommend Majolica Antica, located one block off the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta. Address is Corona No. 191. They claim to sell the finest handcrafted pottery products produced in the centuries-old Spanish tradition. I usually buy a piece or two whenever I'm in PV.

Good morning; is it still raining down there?

 

MADM 22 FEB 17:

 

Capt Arno Jutten

HD Bert van Mackelenbergh

CD John Clelford

GRM Julia Pineda

DRM Johanes Noija Ferdinand

 

Always subject to change

Thanks! Rain has stopped for the time being. Lots of ugly clouds though. We feel lucky to have rain. It usually stops north of us. :)

Good morning! Could you please supply the names of key personnel on the Maasdam, sailing 22 Feb 17? Thanks!

I'll also give it more time. I was just wondering if others received their tile. If I haven't received it before the end of the year, I'll call or email in January. It's really not that big of a deal, and it's not like we don't already have tiles, but still... :)

Anyone beside candianbear get their tile yet?

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We've never flown on them but I've heard that Icelandic air has really low prices. I believe the seats are more traditional though (not much legroom).

We flew Icelandair last year one-way from NY to Copenhagen with a several day stopover in Reykjavik. If you have several days to spare, I highly recommend it. The fare was reasonable. We flew premium economy (forgot what Icelandair calls it) and the only difference between it and first class was they served a different meal. The seats are like domestic first class...no pods or fully reclining. I would definitely book them again to fly to Europe and hopefully have enough time for another stopover in Reykjavik. :)

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For two months, I had been at my daughter's who lives near Washington, DC. After helping out with my newborn granddaughter, I needed some "me time". I booked on Monday, flew home on Tuesday, unpacked and laundered clothes on Wednesday, re-packed on Thursday, and boarded the Westerdam on Friday for a quick 7 day cruise to Mexico. It was my first and only solo cruise, and it was heaven!

We got the know the charms of Calexico to get ours - an overnight trip for us. The waiting list at LAX was months long and we wanted it before our next departure.

 

Not sure the required GOES F2F meeting meant anything that could not be accomplished by other scrutiny methods. But we are travelers or else we would not even be interested in this and even a trip to the dusty Calif border town Calexico revealed some hidden charms.

 

I remember the travel advice someone gave once - there are NO uninteresting streets in India --- which can be applied to just about everywhere.

We applied for Global Entry in the spring. It took about 10 days for conditional approval. The closest interview facility to us is San Ysidro border with Tijuana, but the interview appointments were booked far in advance. We needed our approval before a trip so we also enjoyed a little road trip to Calexico for our interview. We had a little trouble finding the office, as our gps took us off course. We also applied for Sentri because we live so close to Mexico. We were also able to use the Nexxus lanes crossing by car into the US from Canada. It sure was nice to just zoom past the long line!

It seems to me that the line should control the space available to assure all customers have access to customarily accessible and popular areas of the ship. Otherwise, most of the pax will patronize a different line, next time. Not good.

You're right. I didn't sail on HAL for about 2 1/2 years after the Card Player cruise on the Oosterdam.

We just booked with Patagonia Shorex for a 5 day/4 night Machu Picchu, Cusco and Sacred Valley.

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