English_in_Spain

Is there any way of recording the sail away or playing it at a later time?

My friend I will be sailing with in December has to work tonight and will not be home in time to see the sail away.

I will be watching sail away although it will be 10pm here.

The next time Veendam sails from Fort Lauderdale we will be on there.

I think Veendam is due in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow (20th) not today (19th)

Can anyone confirm that there is a European/220v socket in cabins on Veendam?

It is 10.30pm here. I will need to go to bed soon as I have an early start tomorrow.

I really wanted to see this first sailaway of the season.

The big one for me though will Veendam on Friday as I will be on the next one.

Have a look at this lonk on amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Adapters-Converter-International-Penzo-Worldwide/dp/B06Y2SSKCB/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

What is the brand? Amazon has page after page of devices like or close to yours.

Mine is called Penzo-Travel charger reference B06Y2SSKCB but bear in mind I am using Amazon Spain

Got to look for that! Seems like everything we have now, except for camera battery chargers and our wireless noise canceling headphones, are USB. We’ve got iPhones, iPads, and Fitbits that all require USB so that’s six devices at least.

They do a larger one with 6 USB ports. Have a look on Amazon.

For the Veendam cruise on 8th December JimAOk1945 has said on our rollcall that they have cancelled.

Following catl331's advice, this is what I have ordered from Amazon. It has US, UK and European plugs.

This will take care of our phones and kindles. I will bring a couple of adapters for anything else I need to plug in which is dual voltage. Not all of my electrical appliances are dual voltage so, assuming there is a European socket, I will use that.

The power strips would most likely accept either the 2-pin or 3-pin types, but definitely the 2-pin would work.

 

I thought of another possibility: for 10 to 15 Euro or so, order a 110v multi-USB port charger for the phones from Amazon or similar company.

I looked on Amazon and found a multi USB adapter which will work on US, European or UK sockets so I have ordered one. Apart from travelling it will also be useful at home for all our charging.

Thank you so much for your help and advice.

What HAL objects to is power strips with surge suppressors. If you bring a multi-socket simple extension cord in your carry-on baggage I think it would be allowed.

Also, it is likely that the phone, netbook, and kindle chargers are dual-voltage and all you would need with a HAL-furnished 110v power strip are some simple plug adapters. Check the labels on the chargers.

Thanks, I will check my chargers to see if they will work on 110v.

Which of these types of plug would I need?

PS I love the second socket. It looks like an emoticon for surprise - lol

Can anyone tell me what electric sockets are in the cabin - Neptune Suite on Veendam.

We have a lot of things we need to plug in from time to time and, of course, they are European plugs and voltage.

On our last HAL cruise on the Noordam there was one European socket. At that time we did not have so many appliances to charge so we managed. We now have two phones to charge (we will be using these as our cameras), my netbook, two kindles. This is in addition to hair curling tongs.

I know we cannot take a multi socket extension onto the ship and although the ship has them for us to use they will probably all be US sockets.

Any other European/UK people on here who can tell me how they manage.

If you have no intention of sitting in that bar to watch TV, what does it matter to you what they are showing?

Would you rather they show soap operas? :confused:

The difference is that people watching soap operas do not make all the noise that people watching some sports do and that noise carries to other parts of the ship.

Personally, I would prefer no TV in any of the public lounges or bars.

They also need to bear in mind that not everyone on the ship is from North America.

Other people from other countries follow different sports. When sailing in the Med I would at least expect to see some European football or F1 motor racing.

I agree, if they can't do it right then do something else. If people want to watch sport then they should watch it in their cabin.

Reading this and other threads I am becoming concerned.

I am sailing on the Veendam in December with a friend who will be on their first cruise. My late husband and I loved HAL and I have told my friend how great they are. My last HAL cruise was in 2009.

I chose this cruise as Veendam was one of my late husband's favourites back in the 1990s. I will will be scattering his ashes at sea during this cruise.

With flights from Spain to UK and UK to Miami, this whole trip is costing us a lot of money (over $20,000). Have I made a big mistake?

I have also left a cruise early but it was a transatlantic crossing not a closed loop.

We did a B2B Caribbean cruise followed by the TA. The cruise was due to end in Barcelona but the day before the port of call was Alicante - where we live.

HAL had to check with Alicante to make sure it was ok with them. I then received a letter from HAL to say it was agreeable and then once on the ship I also needed to get a form signed by the Captain.

The only way to really find out is to contact HAL.

I tried an inside cabin once and found it very claustrophobic

I ask myself what would happen if, god forbid, there was a Noro virus outbreak and I was quarantined to my cabin.

I would rather cruise less often in a balcony cabin - preferably a suite

The problem for me is that everyone in the cabin has to have the same package.

The person I will be cruising with doesn't really drink much and when he does it would be a glass of beer. I drink wine and the occasional cocktail. We will just have to pay as we go.

Koningsdam - welcome to Alicante. I hope everyone on there enjoys my home city.

I agree with you about the Neptune Lounge.

I think HAL could learn a lot from RCI and NCL about how to run a Suite Lounge.

For a start, I think it should be open 24/7 even if there is no concierge present.

RCI have free drinks early evening, They also have continental breakfast

HAL's lounge is really no more than an extension of the front desk.

You're comparing two different cabin categories. Just because you got an upgrade doesn't mean the price of your SB as a guarantee would have cost less than an SB as an assigned cabin.

There wasn't an option to book an assigned SB. When you ask for a Neptune Suite and say that they allocate the cabin they give you the SB guarantee category. There is no difference between the two.

This is correct. There is no lower price in booking a guarantee over an assigned cabin. The potential for an upgrade without additional charge appears to be greater with a guarantee, however.

Not 100% correct Ruth.

On my upcoming cruise on the Veendam I booked my first guarantee cabin. I wanted a Neptune (SA). My TA said why not book a guaranteed SB. It was quite a bit cheaper than an SA.

There are only two SB suites on the Veendam. Either of these are acceptable to me but with only two of them we stand a good chance of getting an SA.

If that is the case I won't mind where it is but I will have saved quite a bit of money.

Some of the business they lose this season will be solely due to prospective customers not having information. Specifics about itinerary changes, and also guidance on when and how to find that information when it is finally available. They are not doing a good job regarding the latter, IMHO. I find the website statement about the Caribbean lacking, in terms of advising those yet to book.

How can HAL, or any other cruise line, give us information on what is going to happen to future cruises until they can assess the damage to the islands.

I am booked on a cruise at the beginning of December and a lot of our ports of call have been affected. As difficult as it is I understand that, at this stage, HAL cannot say which islands we will call at.

You are most welcome Carol.

 

I hear you on wine prices. When in Spain, I justify my wine since it is usually cheaper than pop/soda/water ;)

 

At least Total Wine has reasonably priced wines (compared to our prices here) and they did have Cava last time we were there.

 

If you look them up on line, you can check out their inventory.

 

If he has to drink water, the dining stewards will put lemon in the glass and there have been lemons in the lido to add to your water if you are so inclined. ;).

Lemons in the water would make him feel at home as we have lemon trees (and orange trees) in our garden.

He is just having a hard time coming to grips with the price of things. He also jokingly calls Veendam a 20 year old rust bucket.

Of course he is just joking and I can't wait to see his face when he first sees the ship and our Neptune suite. I think he is imagining something like the ferry from UK to Spain.