waiting2retire

Always blame it on the “family member” 😁. Hope you get your bag soon!

Lucky you! The Zaandam was my first HAL ship, so she remains special to me. I love the smaller ships. Feels more like a ship than a floating hotel. would the August 23 Zaandam cruise be an option for you? It’s a few days longer, and therefore more expensive, but there shouldn’t be many kids on it since they should be getting ready to go back to school. otherwise, I would suggest doing the June 10 cruise and being as prepared as poissible before you head out to the graduations. whatever you choose, enjoy your Christmas present cruise!

I bought this before my last cruise and love it! It’s small but holds my phone, my e-reader, my medallion and a couple other small items. If I want more than that (sunscreen, iPad, etc) I use a beach bag. https://www.amazon.ca/Vera-Bradley-Microfiber-Crossbody-Protection/dp/B0883DZ419/ref=sr_1_48?keywords=Vera+Bradley&qid=1669233306&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI5LjE0IiwicXNhIjoiOC43MiIsInFzcCI6IjYuNzgifQ%3D%3D&s=fashion&sr=1-48

I do hope anyone choosing the self-isolation route tells their stewards and room service not to enter their cabin. Otherwise, there is the risk of them contracting it and spreading it around the ship. I feel that reporting Covid symptoms to medical as requested will kick in the ship’s protocols that are designed to keep their staff and customers as safe as possible.

since your cruise is 15 days, the cost of Club Orange should be $15/day. You can only be upgraded within the Vista Suite category so it would depend on where your current suite is located. Sometimes the $ of a cabin depends on the deck location. On the Nieuw Statendam, the aft-facing vista suites are more expensive, but there are none available on your cruise. There does not appear to be any cabin upgrade available to you, so you would need to determine whether the other benefits of CO are worth $225 to you.

I think it is important to point out, once again, that the cabin upgrade included with CO is not random if done properly. For example, I love aft-facing balconies but they are among the most expensive balcony cabins. On a 14 day cruise, I can book an obstructed balcony for several hundreds of $$ less than the aft-facing balcony, then purchase CO for an additional $210 pp and upgrade to the aft balcony I really want, which I have identified prior to booking. I not only get my preferred cabin for less money, I get the additional CO benefits such as priority tendering and separate line at guest services, which worked very well for me on a recent cruise. I loved the separate dining room on the Rotterdam! I am hard of hearing and the MDR acoustics are a nightmare for me. Also, the service was outstanding. to each their own of course. The benefits will be worth it to some and not to others.

They glanced at to make sure I was Canadian, that’s all.

Just got off a ship in Brooklyn yesterday morning. Special line for Canadians in the cruise terminal. There were 2 of us 😁. Asked to pull down mask, stood in front of a camera (facial recognition I presume). Have a nice day. Didn’t ask to see anything. Easiest disembark ever!

The captain is going to dodge as much of the bad weather as he can and slowly meander back to New York, arriving on Saturday as scheduled. Starting to feel the motion of the ocean!

Enchanted is actually in Saint John today, Halifax tomorrow hopefully.

Can anyone tell me whether it is clear where to get a taxi when disembarking in Brooklyn? I will be walking off as early as possible and plan to catch a cab to LGA. Are there lots of cabs available?

I do believe HAL needs to be taken to task for its treatment of these passengers. On a Spring TA on the Rotterdam, my daughter had a serious gallbladder attack. She was hospitalized in Cherbourg, France, and I needed to pack up our belongings and leave the ship prior to the end of our cruise. The onboard staff provided assistance with packing and escorting me and our belongings to the medical centre for paperwork and then to awaiting taxi. They also booked a hotel for me (at my cost of course) and supplied contact numbers for the Family Emergency Services office in HQ and the local port agent. Why can’t they do the same for Covid patients and their travelling companions who need to quarantine in foreign cities prior to returning to their homes? Why are they treating Covid patients any differently than they would any other medical situation?

I also have booked the lowest category obstructed verandah and upgraded to a VS aft-facing balcony when purchasing Club Orange. I usually go through the booking process on the HAL website until it asks what cabin I want to book. I choose the aft cabin I prefer, note the cabin number and specifically ask to be upgraded to that number when I call my consultant at HAL.

I think b2b is considered two separate cruises for Club Orange. I booked a 14 day TA and the 7 day immediately following at the same time and was charged $15 for the 14 day and $25 for the 7 day.

I believe it is usually $25 pp/pd on cruises under 14 days and $15 pp/pd on cruises 14 days and over. As with everything, I’m sure there are exceptions, but this is what I have found to be the case.

I do the same and so far it has cost me less than if I had booked the higher cabin initially and I get the bonus of the Club Orange dining room, priority embark and tenders and separate guest services line. I have heard that some people have received some OBC when booking CO and staying in their cabin. Won’t know if you don’t ask.

Note that some shorter itineraries still require pre boarding Covid testing, eg any cruises that stop in Canada, so it does still depend on where you are planning to travel. Enjoy your return to cruising!

From the HAL FAQ page: Updated) Am I still considered fully vaccinated if I did not get a booster shot? Yes – guests are still considered fully vaccinated with completion of a primary vaccination series at least 14 days before embarkation.

Exactly what I do.

Easy one for me. I love tenders (crazy, I know) and I love the water/beach in Half Moon Cay. Also nice to have a free light lunch onshore if desired.

I have used Airline Limousine (416 675-3638) for many years. I find it worth the cost to know that my ride will be at my door on time and I will have a smooth relaxing trip to the airport. Travel is stressful enough these days!

Not happy about this at all. We had originally booked the 14 day TA and the following 7 day Norwegian fjords cruise separately as it was much more cost effective to do so. @Overhead Fred, where does your new itinerary go after the TA portion ends in Rotterdam on April 19? The second leg of our b2b is booked from Amsterdam on April 29. That’s 10 days between the cruises now and we didn’t budget time or $$ for that. This change messes everything up and I’m not at all sure I want to travel that far north for the majority of the TA portion. At least leaving from Ft Lauderdale going to the Azores, in mid-April, the weather was likely to be much warmer. And if we decide we don’t like the new 16 day itinerary and want to cancel, will HAL refund the 50% non-refundable portion of my deposit? It’s really not nice of them to mess with booked itineraries like this 😡

There doesn’t appear to be a lot of rhyme nor reason to the “special pricing”. My daughter and I are both 3 star Mariners and the last cruise we booked together, her pricing was cheaper than mine 🤷‍♀️ Sometimes they are the same price, either “special” or with no Mariner discount at all.

Yes, to fly into the USA a Covid test is required.

But July 1 is a holiday in Canada, so if you are in Montreal a day early you should see some.