English_in_Spain

after 2023 change

(Well depending on that cabin layout,) every cabin we have had on our 27 cruises with them the two single beds are pushed together to form a double, we go the other way and they turn the double into two singles, we have never heard of any cabin that could not have a double.

 

Ask the question when you book as to why this cabin is said to be different.

Thank you for your reply

There are several cabins that have this symbol - two triangles. I have a feeling it is a mistake in the wording and that it should say "2 low beds that CAN BE converted into a double"

As you have cruised with them a lot, do you find there to be a language or culture problem? We live in Spain so we are used to being among non-English speaking people but neither of us speak any Italian.

We are thinking of trying Costa cruise line for the first time later this year.

I have found a cruise that fits what we want on Fascinosa.

We want a balcony cabin on deck 9.

When I look at the cabin options the only one available is 9207 but it has a symbol which the legend says "2 low beds that cannot be converted into a double" but underneath a note says "Please note: Double bed is available in all cabin grades"

Can anyone tell me if we can have a double bed in this cabin or not.

All my HAL cruises apart from one (in a Signature Suite) I have always had a Neptune Suite. I liked the perks that go with it.

Having just got off the Veendam where we had a Neptune Suite I became 4 star Mariner. I will probably not bother with Neptune Suites again. I am not that bothered about the Neptune Lounge on HAL - not like Concierge Lounge on RCI which is great. I will now get free laundry and priority boarding as a 4 star.

I tried an inside cabin on another cruise line a few years ago just to see what it was like. I hated it. I like to have a balcony so a balcony cabin is what I will probably book in future.

On our recent Veendam cruise I bought the 8 bottle lowest price package and they applied my Mariner discount so it was much cheaper than buying by the glass.

When we were in San Juan last week on the Veendam we got speaking to a couple of locals. They said that most of the money that was available was being spent on giving San Juan, particularly the cruise terminal area, a facelift and painting the buildings. They thought it unfair that this was being done but the people living a few miles inland were not receiving anything and were still without water and electricity.

I know that cruise ships visiting is vital to the economy of the island but is it really necessary to repaint everywhere when help is needed elsewhere?

Thank you Jacqui.

Also thank you to Roy for your kind comments.

After all the hundreds of Bon Voyage threads I did at a time when my late husband was too ill to travel, it is wonderful to be able to cruise again and have Cruise Critic wishing me Bon Voyage.

I hope to be able to do a blog of our trip here

IMO Veendam is an awful ship. Showroom gets crowded because of awful seating. On a short cruise, HAL’s entertainment is uninteresting, oh on a long cruise, questionable. I have more factual issues with this ship if you are interested.

We leave home tomorrow to head to Fort Lauderdale and boarding Veendam on Friday.

I would be very interested to hear your 'factual issues'.

I went to check the review to better understand the issue.

Seems it was only the first night as the ping pong table had not been put up as it should have been. Once the occupants raised the issue, it did not happen again.

 

They didn't mention it bothering them during the day. I'm thinking that evening play may have been after passengers had imbibed in some alcohol and perhaps been more enthusiastic than normal? Just a guess. ;)

 

I don't play ping pong much but I do watch the players. Most don't do a lot of jumping. Ping pong doesn't require it generally speaking.

 

And, on some cruises the tables are rarely used. It really depends upon who is onboard ;). Generally speaking, IME, the table is used more on cooler weather cruises and much less on hotter weather cruises. But, again, that's just my experience.

Thanks Jacqui

I hope you are right. Just so much has gone wrong with this trip I have become a bit twitchy.

Fingers crossed

Carol, I haven't been in your cabin, but as to the table tennis - I have seen people playing during day and once in a while, there are even tournaments (formed by passengers and/or ship).

 

I haven't seen people playing in the evening on the cruises we have been on so I don't think it would affect your sleep.

 

I wouldn't have thought that the noise from this activity would have been that disruptive? Noise from the ball dropping on the floor?

I was thinking more about people jumping about and general noise. We are hoping to have some quiet time in our cabin and on our balcony. We are both in need of a complete rest.

I am surprised that no one has replied. Particularly about the use of the table tennis area.

Thank you for all the photos you have posted.

When Veendam returns to Fort Lauderdale we will be getting on so please take good care of her.

We have finally got our cabin assignment for our Veendam cruise next week.

We booked a NS guarantee and have been given 008. I am pleased with the location but I have just read a review from last year that said cabin 008 is directly under the table tennis area and that it was noisy.

Does anyone have any experience of this cabin? Are those table tennis tables used a lot?

No one had to think this one up ;). Many hotels in Europe operate this way to conserve electricity. The idea of using your room key card is to prevent you from leaving lights on when you are not in the room.

Yes, a lot of hotels here in Spain use that system to make sure you switch the lights off. The trouble is sometimes the fridge/mini bar is on the same circuit and that goes off as well :D

On my web page this image is 200 x 129 pixels. Posting it here is much bigger. The above is just copy and paste image. Below is post by using URL link. Both are much bigger than the original. I want it to look more like it is here

http://www.caribbean2017.com/general%20photo%20storage.html

I used to use Photobucket to publish photos on CC. Now they have changed their publishing policy I am trying other ways.

I have my own web domain where I can store my photos for posting the URL. This works ok BUT the photos are coming out too large. No matter what size the photo seems to be it still comes out whole screen on CC.

How do I make them smaller?

Could be exhaust from other ships. Or industrial buildings.

It looked like too much for that. You cannot see it now since the ships docked.

Is anyone else watching the Port Everglades webcam?

There seems to be a lot of smoke behind the buildings in the distance.

Anyone any idea what it is?

Thank you for your review and photos.

We will be visiting many of these places on our Veendam cruise in a couple of weeks and this really whetted my appetite.

Your photos were particularly good. Can I ask what camera you used.

Hi, English_in-Spain. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Orient Bay, as you know it, no longer exists. There's not a restaurant left, no shops open. It will have to be massively rebuilt.

 

Carolyn

Thank you for letting me know.

I am very sad to hear this as my late husband and I went there many times since the mid 1990s and loved it. One of the main reasons for choosing my upcoming cruise was because it called at St Martin. I will probably never have another opportunity to go there now.

I also understand how you feel.

My husband of 46 years died in September 2016. We took 30 cruises together over the years. I am going on a cruise on the Veendam (one of his favourite ships) in a couple of weeks. It will be my first cruise without him.

I have arranged with HAL to scatter his ashes at sea.

I have a friend cruising with me. I don't think I could do it alone.

Show some respect for these hard workers. Staff time is far too precious and their own integrity too high to mess with food. If they lack the integrity for that, they deserve no gratuity at all to start with and should be given a plane ticket home. Show respect for your fellow cruisers by not spreading such garbage theories. Some people take pride in their job and by doing it well they might just earn a far larger direct tip than their meager share of the pool tip; they would not jeopardize that opportunity AND risk their job as well, they are not fools.

What I said was

"I always think it is not a good idea to upset a waiter or a chef.

Bear this in mind if you have removed your HSC and your waiter has been told this. Remember he carries the food you eat - lol"

I think you missed the fact that this was meant as a joke (the 'lol' at the end is the give away). My partner owns a bar/restaurant here in Spain and we always say this as a joke. Sorry if anyone misunderstood this.

I always think it is not a good idea to upset a waiter or a chef.

Bear this in mind if you have removed your HSC and your waiter has been told this. Remember he carries the food you eat - lol

On our upcoming Veendam cruise, part of the promotion was $500 OBC plus pre-paid HSC. Someone said way back that this appears on your cruise documentation. We have received our docs and nowhere is this shown. We queried this with our TA. His comment was "The promotion benefits never appear on any HAL tickets – please don’t ask why as we have been banging on at them for years to do so". He did send us a copy of the booking confirmation from HAL which shows these items so all should be fine.

If you go to Orient Bay I would love to know how they are at Kakao Beach restaurant.

I have been there many times and it was my late husband's favourite.

I hope they will be able to re-open soon.

At least we got toots for our patience.

Yes, 3 good long ones