Oldies123

Thank you and yes I will look around definitely 👍

Thank you yorkshirephil, I did think about Staysure but was told by my sister in law that they don't cover cruises (despite the fact she doesn't do them)  so is this correct or have they maybe changed their policies ?

Thank you

Hi all, it's been a while since I posted on here, my last cruise was May last year (2022) which we managed to get in before I was then diagnosed weeks later with serious grade cancer.  I have had my chemo, surgery etc.  I'm hoping my scan in April will show I am in the clear and able to at last book another cruise.   I'm hoping to get a FIT TO TRAVEL letter from my consultant which will confirm I am on maintenance therapy and not chemo, and that I am clear of the cancer .   Does anyone have any recommendations re insurance  ?  We usually insure through the bank, but are fully expecting them to load us this time (they've already done that due to hubby having a stroke in 2020) and realise that now it will be very expensive so need another option.  I can only consider maybe a 10 day cruise as my treatment is every 3 weeks, so it will be Europe and not beyond.  We are both so desperate to get away now and are hoping the insurance cost is something we can accept and afford.   Any recommendations would be gratefully received.  Our ages are 74 (hubby) and 69 (myself).  Thanks everyone.

18 hours ago, Boatdrill said:

What does "giving over the tanoy" mean ?

Loudspeaker, sorry, we refer to it as tannoy.

4 hours ago, MAVIP said:

Did you call room service? 

We were not told that was an option until much later, but after being cooped up on 2 planes, coaches and transfers etc, we wanted a nice meal in the ambience of the ship to help us relax, not to have to sit in a cabin with a restricted meal of some sorts balanced on our knee and waiting for our luggage.  HAL knew what time we were getting on board, there were quite a few of us, it wouldn't have been too difficult to set aside some part of the Lido or dining room even with a limited meal and a drink of some sorts.  After all it was down to them we were so late.  We all got the impression they just wanted us to get on board so they could set sail and deal with any issues the following day - of which there were plenty.  Sorry, but this is not the service we have come to expect from HAL, no consideration at all for us latecomers, through no fault of our own.

1 minute ago, Seasick Sailor said:

A friend and fellow poster has been onboard Oosterdam and in the Daily and Bon Voyage threads say the ship is in tip top shape and food is great. They are in a Neptune suite. 

The ship itself wasn't bad at all, public areas were lovely and clean and in good condition if you don't count the crows nest windows which were dirty throughout the trip despite mentioning this to a number of officers wandering around throughout, and as a previous comment said, there were a number of the toilets in a couple of restrooms that were out of order for most of the trip.  Maybe the suites are all in tip top condition, we were not that fortunate to be in one, we had a balcony cabin, as did others we came into contact with who had maintenance issues.  As for the food,  I did say it was good, but lacking in imagination and choice of menu in the dining room compared with other cruises. Others felt the same.   Sorry, but we can't all be wrong.  One couple we met have done over 300 cruises, spending more than 7 months away from home throughout the year (yes very lucky) and they said they would probably not sail HAL again after this trip.  After 2 years in dry dock there should not have been issues with cracked sinks, leaking showers and faulty taps with no hot water.  These as I have said before should have been checked and rectified before the ship sailed. 

22 hours ago, WaterSky said:

We were on this cruise as well.   I have to agree with everything Oldies123 reported.   Many of the public restroom facilities were broken.   In my opinion the food options in the main dinning room were poor.   In as much as the crew on the Oosterdam were exceptional, overall HAL did a very poor job with communications before and during the cruise.  One big complaint from me was shore excursions.  There was a gross lack if information presented.   One example was the trip to the Leaning Tower of Pizza.  The bus was parked a mile away and we had to walk in 80 degree plus heat!  This was particularly difficult for more elderly passengers.  As to the Venice docking issue, HAL di know year ago that they wouldn't be able to dock in Venice.   However I noticed that MSC, Viking and Norwegian wee able to dock in the Mestre commercial port.   Why not HAL?   Overall this cruise was substandard to what I expect from HAL.   Yes, they are starting up in the Med and are short handed but this was not anywhere up to speed.

So there's my 10 cents!!!!!

Thank you, glad we are not the only ones to voice the problems with this cruise.  My TA has said this is basis for an official complaint.  I am providing her with details of all that was wrong with this cruise.

22 hours ago, Torquer said:

Question on transfers from Trieste back to Venice

 

Wow!  Hope things improve for our cruise on Oosterdam later this summer.

 

Can you tell us about the transfers from Trieste back to Venice when disembarking.  What time did the buses leave Trieste?  HAL has refused to tell us what time they will leave, and specifically if they will be early enough to catch flights out of VCE around noon.

We disembarked in Barcelona so flew back from there. Sorry can't help here on this one.

21 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Curious what your solution is? Most fly into Venice, but Venice is only open to small cruise ships. What do you suggest they do?

Well for a start we could have flown into Trieste and cut out the 2 hour coach journey from Venice.  HAL should and would have been aware of the Venice problem long ago so should have adjusted the flights accordingly.  And as to the late embarkation - this was no fault of ours and the least they could have done was to provide us with a meal of some sorts on arrival on board, embarkation should have been able to advise the ship that there was no need for antigen tests as all proof had been provided in Trieste, there were many many angry and disgruntled guests to say the least.

1 minute ago, Unlvswezel said:

I think I’m on the same sailing. I’ve been concerned about our trip and this report doesn’t give me any confidence. It seems like HAL has completely written off those of us on these Med sailings. Continuing to promote Venice despite knowing ships weren’t  allowed, this terrible approach to transporting people, filthy ships, and limited offerings all seem so contrary to the HAL brand. I’ve been on 5 HAL sailings and it’s likely IF I do this sailing it will be my last with HAL.

such a shame and so easily avoided and rectified.  Crew were brilliant, it's the management that needs sorting.

2 hours ago, puppycanducruise said:

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Hope your next cruise is better.

thank you - but we WILL be looking at other cruise lines 

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

What was the rationale given for asking passengers who already had a test within their guidelines for boarding to take another one??

 

 

there was no other reason than lack of communication from Trieste to the people on board, it soon became obvious that no one really knew what was going on and they soon backtracked as everyone was up in arms. Apparently they had never had such a late embarkation before and I think it gave them problems - which they incidentally created by coaching us all to Trieste.

Just returned from HAL Med cruise on the Oosterdam - so many issues - mainly on embarkation and debarkation, and these thoughts are shared by other people on the cruise who all had the same feelings and complaints so it isn't just us.  Moving embarkation from Venice to Trieste was a big mistake - I never ever want to experience this again. Apart from the 2 hour coach journey which wasn't the best, the actual embarkation process was totally shambolic.  Not going into too much detail as it would probably be very boring to some folk and seem like just a moan to others, I will never ever want to do this again.  HAL totally failed us on a lot of issues.  By the time we eventually got on board and were then told we needed an antigen test - despite having just produced the results of the previous day's tests (which we had to pay for) - there was mutiny. There were about 25 of us and we refused point blank to comply as it was totally unnecessary, we were then just herded on to our staterooms and left to 'get on with it'.   Lido was shut, it is no longer open all the time, so we were hungry and had nowhere to eat, had to get the beverage and food managers involved. Finally got something to eat,  waited until midnight for our luggage despite the fact it came on the coach with us !  The actual ports of call - well a couple of them were really just bases from which to do excursions, nothing much there to see in the actual stop, shuttles were either unprovided or had to be paid for, and HAL seemed to have a habit of dropping anchor in the further away commercial port rather than one which made it easy to get into town. We did feel that they were trying to cut costs.  Had to call maintenance to our cabin twice for the shower and bathroom sink tap, we weren't the only ones either, and the windows in the Crows Nest were filthy obscuring what should have been a nice view.  After a couple of years not in service you would have thought that these issues would have been checked and dealt with before sailing, they had plenty of time.   The food was good, but limited menu compared with previous cruises we felt. Out of around 4 or 5 choices in the dining room, at least 2 were the same every night.   They cancelled our Pinnacle and Canelletto dining experiences due to lack of spaces, yes they credited us for this, but ironically then were giving over the tanoy they had lots of availability if anyone wanted to book !  Crew were wonderful as usual, really they made the trip really pleasant for us they couldn't do enough.  Entertainment wasn't brilliant, and there was nothing really that appealed to us for daytime activities.   No information provided about the next port of call as there used to be,  we had to ask guest services for information many times.  So many of the guests we spoke to said HAL seemed to have lost their way at least on this particular cruise.   Disembarking was a mess too, no coaches were labelled as to who was on what coach, people were herded on, then off again, it was total confusion at times.  I can't say we didn't enjoy the cruise, but it wasn't what we were hoping for, it was booked 3 years ago before Covid struck, and since then HAL have changed the itinerary and the ship twice, .  I know they are still finding their feet after opening up again, but really they need to get themselves sorted at Head Office if they want people to continue cruising with them and maintain the reputation which they have earned in previous years.

19 hours ago, WaterSky said:

Can someone confirm that I am correct that HAL has significantly changed the COVID policy and testing for this sailing?   In the beginning of April the information on their web page indicated that there was a one day prior requirement and complimentary testing at the embarkation terminal.  I just noticed that the testing requirement is now three day prior and no testing at the terminal.   That being the case and as we are arriving in Venice 4 days earlier, will we have to hunt for a COVID testing location in Venice?  HAL has also indicated that there is a complimentary test at the end of the cruise in Barcelona.  Has that changed?   Any comments are welcome.  Thanks.

We are sailing from Trieste on 20th May, our email received last week told us we needed a test either PCR 72 hours before, or an Antigen test the day before embarkation so we have booked tests for the day before (19th) in the afternoon.  The email also said for those who couldn't do that there would be some testing available at the pier before embarkation.  We fly from Manchester on the 20th and our flights are booked through HAL, so we will be going straight to Trieste from Venice.

19 hours ago, terrydtx said:

The 11:00am makes no sense, a lot of people will be on later morning flights and will not be able to make that time, more poor planning on HAL's part. It would make more sense to have staggered timed shuttles all morning into early afternoon.

Spoke to our TA, she thinks the actual email is bound to be generic for those that haven't booked flights through HAL.  She is sure that as we have HAL flights and they have said complimentary transfer, there will definitely be one regardless of the time. We are going in to see the TA next week so hopefully will clear things up properly.  Our flight lands 4.30, the sailing from Trieste has been put back to 11pm so no need for flight changes.  To be continued ........

Our flights were booked through HAL so they have sorted these times out, and so far there is no change and we sail on 20th May.  Hopefully I am thinking that the transfer should be waiting at Venice Airport as they realise this.... after all it is due to them we have to go from Trieste and put a couple of hours on our journey ..... poor hubby will be shattered, since his stroke his fatigue level isn't brilliant anyway, luckily we have our first day at sea so time to rest.    .....    still waiting for the TA to get back to me

OK, now I'm confused or panicking or possibly both !

Have received an email this morning confirming we will get complimentary transfers from Venice to Trieste .... it then asks me to complete a a web form to advise them of our transfer option preference (either airport or city centre) When I go to the form, the only time options it gives me is 9am or 11am.  As we don't get into Venice until 4.30pm, I'm wondering where do I stand on this ?  They also attached a new itinerary schedule which clearly states ...Transfer Airport to ship complimentary....  Anyone else got a similar email, if so what are they doing ?  I'm waiting for my TA to call me back hopefully able to clear it up.

We had an email today from HAL, our cruise is on May 20 (originally from Venice now from Trieste) we booked our flights through HAL.... A complimentary motor coach is being provided by HAL for the transfer from Venice to Trieste, it will all be a bit of a rush I guess as we don't get into Venice until late afternoon then it's 90 miles by motorcoach.  And it's assuming all flights will be on time, I am having a few jitters as we are flying originally from Manchester where the reports are horrendous of queues and people missing their flights .. not enough staff apparently .... with connecting flights as well to contend with and needing assistance for hubby through the airports I'm really not looking forwards to this journey.

Thank you very much for all your comments, all good advice, I will ask steward for help should we need anything, and leave the bulky stuff at home 👍

That's great, very helpful, thank you so much.  So much more to consider now than a couple of years ago !  Just can't wait to get onboard and have a good time it seems so long.

Thank you

Does anyone know whether the bathrooms in a balcony cabin on the Oosterdam have bath mats or a hand rail for stability , and also are the shampoo etc in dispensers on the wall in the shower ?

Reason for asking is when we originally booked our cruise a couple of years ago all was well, but having now had 3 cancellations, time has passed and hubby had a stroke which left him with balance issues and unable to use one arm.  He isn't bad enough to want a disabled cabin, and I have a bathmat and portable gripper handle , plus plastic shampoo dispenser ready to pack, but they are cumbersome so if I can get away without taking them it would help.  Many thanks

Thank you LAFFNVEGAS ... one of the things we are finding a little confusing is the different validity dates of vaccinations, as hubby and I both had our 2 doses plus booster well over the 180 days, in fact over the 270 days which some countries are mentioning, I presume that makes our vaccination certs invalid so we will have to take a test.  a bit unfair if that's the case as no one was booking holidays or going abroad at the time the first vaccinations were being given, so we feel a bit disappointed having done everything right that now it doesn't seem to be an advantage when travelling to some places.

Thank you very much for this info, the website is very helpful and clarifies my question, I will keep this for future info, once again thank you very much 

Hi all, have tried to find answers on the forum but nothing seems to fit what I need to know !  We are sailing on Oosterdam in May on a Med Cruise (can't wait - third time lucky after cancellations) We are flying from the UK to Venice via Munich, then back into the UK from Barcelona via Frankfurt.  Does anyone know what the requirements for Covid Testing are in cases like this ?  We are getting so confused with all the info out there, nothing seems crystal clear (and I appreciate that things are changing from day to day) As we are only passing through the airports and not actually visiting the countries, are we still required to do a test ?  We have both been vaccinated and boosted, but over 270 days ago, so not sure of the validity of our NHS passes in Europe. We are quite willing to do a test if required but not sure when we should do so if it is necessary.  Anyone else had this issue and can advise  please  ?

Many thanks