FredT

Been around the world a few times, loved Antarctica, but the absolute highlight was Volunteer Point in the Falklands. (hands down)

I think you're way off. (At least on the food and world itineraries) I know the reason I keep booking HAL IS the itineraries. Take away that "niche" and you loose a huge part of their repeat clientele. And there is NO way any of the mass market lines would ever be able to cut the MDR... Cut and trim elsewhere, sure. But nothing as drastic as that.

PS: JUST booked an Australia/New Zealand trip today on HAL. Why? 100% because of the itinerary. (An "A to B" trip with 8 ports in between. NO ONE else offered as much at even double the cost... NO ONE.

Sail Seven seas wrote:

That is so unusual that he wasn't in International Terminal.

 

Actually, I think I have a vague memory of much of the crew being escorted until they board their flights.... Something to do with Immigration and exiting the U.S.

 

Of course, I can't speak what happens if crew leaves for their vacation from a country other than U.S.

Cruise ended in Hong Kong....

Ruth C wrote:

The service charge applied in the lounges is distributed among the various bar/lounge staff. Any cash given can be kept by the individual.

I am sure you are correct about the daily hotel service charge. (You simply articulate if better than me!)

But as far as "any cash given can be kept by the individual" goes, I beg to differ. As recently as February of this month (On the Volendam) we were told bluntly by two different bar wait staff that the company policy was they HAD to put all additional tips into the communal "tip jar" which was shared with everyone who had anything to do with bar service. (Front and back room)

The second waiter to tell us this was at the airport with us on his way home at the end of his current contract. Amazing how they open up when away from "Mother HAL"... And how bitter this long time HAL employee was about the changes in the "tipping rules". (Interesting hour long conversation)

Fred

What most of you may not be considering is "who " is getting that 15% tip. I may be mistaken but I think that "all" the automatic tips are "pooled" with ALL the customer service crew and split up. So that 15% you give for the drink gets distributed to the waiters/busboys/kitchen staff/housekeeping/guys polishing the britework/laundry staff/etc etc etc. AND if you add "a little something more" to a check, that $$ just falls into the pool and does NOT go to the particular waiter/bartender you like.

The only way he (she) will ever profit from an extra tip is if it is slipped to him (in cash) discreetly. (Hand them an envelope and they are "supposed" to turn it into the "kitty".)

As an aside, our nieces husband is a restaurateur who makes it a point of seeking our waiters/bartenders at the BEGINNING of a cruise, slipping them a bit and letting them know more is to come at the end if things are "exceptional". DAMN if it does not work REALLY well!

We sail HAL due to their itineraries, pricing, and small(er) ships. Once we decide where we want to go, we check EVERYONE. (And more often than not end up on HAL.)

Smoking? Who cares. You have an entire ship, and numerous decks to wander if (And I do mean IF) you happen to get an inconsiderate smoker who "happens" to be on the next balcony that ""happens"" upwind from you. It could be a crying baby or screaming kid, could be a loud obnoxious drunk, could be someone who plays the TV or radio loud all day. (Every one of those has happened to me FAR more often than a chain smoker next door (upwind)).

HALS service is as good as their (equal priced) competitors, their food (ditto) and their itineraries (and time in port) better. I'll smile every time my research tells me "HAL" next time.

Well, IMHO:

The more safety "drills" (for passengers and crew) The better. Just read articles by Concordia passengers OR the book "Burning Cold" on the Prinsendam sinking and you will not be as complacent about a real emergency.

As far as the "singing" goes, this is one of my pet peeves. The wait staff always seem to depart for their big number BEFORE we get our main course. So you sit... and sit... and sit.. then get your food cold. (Or conversely, it's just before you get your dessert... then the ice cream is melted! :confused: )

DW thinks it's funny, but it just irritates the heck out of me...

Facts:

1) HAL CLEARLY states that they have a $100.00 limit on lost luggage

2) HAL asked for a detailed list of the contents (and their worth) so that they could make sure that they were liable for the full $100.00. NOTHING MORE.

3) Neither HAL, or any other cruise line, (Or any airline for that matter) would EVER give more than their stated limit. "Good customer relations" or not, if they ever DID give a customer more than the contracted limit, they would be opening themselves up for any number of FUTURE claims. It just aint gonna happen.

I know these to be facts as I worked in the airline industry for a number of years and this subject REPEATEDLY came up.

Sorry you lost your luggage, time to go forward and stop dwelling on something that no amount of bitching or complaining will do something about.

Just remember that if you are in a "Christian" port on the holiday, many (Perhaps most) of the stores will be closed on both Christmas eve and Christmas day. (Picture Old San Juan and Montevideo as deserted.)

Also (Not sure of this with HAL, but I can attest to Princess) Where you cruise out of makes a difference. A Princess cruise out of San Juan was "Christmas" to the extreme, while a Princess trip out of Miami two years later minimized the holiday. When I asked the hotel manager why he shrugged and said that out of Miami they had a much higher percentage of "non christian" passengers.....

Sorry about not being more specific. IDEALLY we would like a basic ocean view, (DW does not like insides) but if going up a step or two would get us a better cabin (for three) I'd spend the money. (And cry all day, our standard cabin has always been "Obstructed view" and we've always been happy with them.)

Asking another basic question, are all the sofa's "sofa beds"? (Never done anything with them except to park my fat a** ..)

Well, we've done three HAL cruises, (And 23 others) but always as a simple DH/DW pair. Now we're contemplating a 2 week Australia cruise adding our adult daughter. So...... Are any staterooms/classes of staterooms better/more comfortable than others (for three in the room) on the Noordam?

(And dont say the Neptune suites.... that's above our pay grade!) :(

Like the past poster said, the longer the cruise the older the demographic... Also, TA's are generally older. Having Said THAT, our last TA (Last September on HAL) was a pretty good mix. Few kids, abut LOTS of 50/60's who are experienced travelers, and more adventurous than the vast majority of passengers on most mainstream cruise lines...

PS: We are mid 50's, and have 26 cruises under our belts....

Three years ago we did a HAL antarctic trip, and a number of passengers booked the flight from Punta Arenas. it was canceled at the last minute, and when one of the passengers complained vigorously, was told by the tour operator that it "canceled 70% of the time".

I agree with the poster above. If "touching feet" is that important, choose one of the expedition cruises. (Having said THAT, we were very happy on HAL, who took us within "throwing distance" of the shore at least 5-6 times, and spent MUCH more time cruising the Continent than did NG. (PLUS we got Port Stanley and Volunteer Point which turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip!)

Under the kitchen = Unhappy

I realize that this is an oversight on my part. I would simply check out the cruise itinerary, check out the number of sea days and then check out the ports. I never really paid much attention to the actual time in port. I will be paying much more attention from this point onward. I hardly consider a stop in a port from 8:00 - 3:00 as a port "day".

On our last two cruises, (Antarctica and far east) the driving factors in deciding on a cruise line was the NUMBER of port stops, and the LENGTH of those stops.

In both cases HAL won out.

Now you all may be right in that port times are getting shorter, but in my experience it's happening across the board, from the biggest mass market ships to the fanciest upscale lines, and HAL still seems to be in port longer than their competitors.

On another (related) front, has anyone noticed the trend to market "longer" cruises when the ship stays tied up to the departure dock for a day and a half after boarding... and docked for another night at the 'destination" before disembarking?

Our favorite HH is forward, but not ALL the way forward (They are under the theatre.) No real noise, no issues, just enough of a view to still feel like you are "outside", and only steps away from the door outside. (I'm a fanatical walker... cant you tell? :D ) Price is right too...

OK... A couple of comments here. First, there are many itineraries where the ship collects your passport when you board, and keeps them until you disembark. Sooooo.... If you were to miss your ship they DONT have to go into your safe, and you can be guaranteed that the ships agent will have it to give it to you on the dock. He will also have the way to get to the next port all printed up and ready to hand to you, and he will assist you in booking your hotel and airline tkt (if necessary)

The only reason I know this is that we had a very nice lunch with the port agent in Puerto Arenas a few years ago and discussed this. HAL has VERY strict guidelines (A big book in fact) that details WHAT they will do, HOW they will do it, and paperwork on each step to document it.

Having aid THAT, in 25 (and counting) cruises we NEVER book ships excursions, and have never had an issue. But like others here, we make sure to schedule our excursions to return no later than 2 hrs before departure.

But the change price is not usually that high. $50.00 maybe but $339.00 That is outrageous!

Huh???? I know of NO airline that lets you "gift" your airline tkt to another person, and most airlines allow NO changes if you buy a discounted (Read "not premium") priced ticket.

So..... No one seems to bitch when the airlines "simply say NO" when you ask THEM to change the persons name on a ticket... Yet you expect the cruise line to simply say "sure, why not?"

If you are not within the final payment period, cancel and re book... If you ARE, smile and bite the bullet. (You agreed to all the fine print when you originally booked...)

Or, just jump over to the travel insurance section of this message board. A little bit of reading and ALL questions are answered!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=635

We always talk to:

 

Rachel Savino

Cruise Consultant

Star Clippers America

760 NW 107 Avenue, Suite, 100

Miami, Florida 33172

Rachel.Savino@starclippers.com

Res: 800-442-0551 Ext. 3008 Fax: 305-442-1611

Adm: 305-442-0550 or 800-442-0553

http://www.starclippers.com

Thanks. Still have not pulled the trigger... Now looking at either a Star Clipper cruise or it's "polar opposite", a Hurtigruten trip up the coast of Norway in January. While SC looks much warmer and relaxing, we are just Soooo tired of the Caribbean. (WAY too many Caribbean cruises over the years.) Thats why the west coast of CR looked so interesting.

Go to HAL's Roll Call, then go back a page or so to find the roll calls for the same trips in January 2013. From there you can get an idea of what is going on. To try to list every HAL shore excursion for 7 ports woould take forever.

Having said THAT, we ended up going on excursions found on the roll call for every port... HAL's were overpriced and REALLY bland.

BTW you may have people say that you are crazy to consider Costa, but we enjoyed it,

Pencil me in that crowd. Three HAL cruises, two Costa... Costa ships are bigger, louder, more brash, and the foods not nearly as good. PLUS, the two times we had "issues" on board the Costa ships, the front desk/shore excursion desk was not only not helpful, but down right rude. (The two problems on HAL were both handled very low key and well.) Amazing they are the same company....

PS: Early 60's and with 25 cruises under our belt.

Our Volendam far east roll call for this February was pretty quiet UNTIL about a month out. Then it took off. Same happened with our Antarctica cruise a few years ago.

I do agree with the comments concerning the "exoticness" (If that's a word) of the cruise. With the "vanilla" cruises there are so many experienced travelers that there are fewer questions or desire for shore excursions...

Just got off the Volendam far east cruise. Had a LP cabin next to the forward exits. Never heard a thing, doors OR walkers. This is our favorite location as we are walkers ourselves so we've booked this location a lot.

Enjoy!