Gary908

How far in advance of the cruise are the classes posted?  We sail in June 2024.  We are on a 19 day itinerary with NO sea days.  A first for us.

You will need to get a permission letter from HAL before your cruise to debark early.  We got one through our PCC.  Then present it to Guest Relations after you board to be sure they are aware.  Like the previous poster said, in the current reality, itineraries can change after you are on the ship that could upset your plans.

Always book travel insurance, especially when traveling outside the US.  It covers much more than a canceled cruise.  The health coverage is very important as most US health insurance policies do not provide coverage outside the US.  Even if they provide limited coverage it is considered out of network.  Accidents can happen.  Be prepared.  We've known several people who required medical evacuation which is quite pricey without insurance.  We usually use insuremytrip.com to comparison shop for a policy.

When we sailed on the Eurodam, our room steward asked whether we preferred service in the morning, evening or twice daily.  Some people prefer limited contact with crew right now.  They will do whatever you are comfortable with.

We sailed on the Eurodam in August out of Athens and I noticed that everyone was allowed to be tested, check-in and board as they arrived.  There was no checking of boarding times.  We are 4 Star Mariners and were in Group A at 1:00 and arrived on the airport shuttle at 12:30.  There were lots of other people already checking in ahead of us.  No priority given to 4 & 5 Star Mariners at check-in due to the Covid testing process at the pier.  Everyone was treated equally on a first come basis.

HAL doesn't know what will be going on with Covid 3 months from now.  We were on the first 2 weeks of the Eurodam last month.  The policy change about masks onboard happened 4-5 days before we embarked and they had to make an itinerary change at the same time due to a Covid spike at one port stop.  I would plan on things remaining the same.  

7 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

The crew are very happy to be back.

Yes, they definitely are happy to be back!  That was one of the first things every crew member said when you had a conversation with them.

We were on the Eurodam August 15 -29.  Had a great cruise.  Spoiled with just over 700 passengers.  No lines.  No waiting.  No searches for a table at the Lido.  Had one all day excursion with only 10 people on a big bus.  They were really pushing you to use your phone and a QR code on the table to view the menu which 99% of the people were refusing to do even if they did have their phone with them which most did not.  They would not initially offer you a regular menu, but would bring you one.  Menus in the main dining room were not very diverse.  Seemed to be even fewer choices than pre-Covid cruises.  Lots of repeated entrees in the same week and felt like I was eating the same thing or similar too many times.  Lots of beef.  Not much chicken or pasta selections.  Fish choice was prepared exactly the same each night, just a different type of fish.  Menu could have used more imagination.  Usually only 3 dessert choices plus hot fudge sundae and gelato.  No creme brulee except in the Pinnacle Grill.  And then of course all of the menus repeated exactly again the next week of the cruise.  Shrimp cocktails are a surcharge now as are 3-4 other additional entree items.  Main dining room service was hit or miss.  Slow if you were at a table where they seemed to be training people.  The first week the dining room was mostly empty each night.  The second week, more people were eating in the dining room.  Our final cruise night had the worst dining room service - never checked back to see if we need anything, no water re-fills, no offer for coffee/tea/expresso with dessert.  One person at the table basically created a scene just to get someone to refill water glasses.  It was also the most crowded night of the 2 week cruise and I don't think the staff was used to a mostly full dining room.  We had free dinners at Tamarind and Pinnacle Grill.  Also ate at Canaletto one night.  Food and service were flawless at all of the restaurants.  We enjoy sharing a table with others in the dining room as part of the cruise experience, but I will say the food was better in the specialty restaurants.

We were on the first two weeks of the Eurodam in Greece last month.  There were no restrictions in getting off the ship to roam freely or take a private excursion including the stops in Kotor and Cyprus.  You did have to take your vaccination card with you when going ashore just in case.  As it turned out we were asked to show our vaccination card at 3-4 different sites and museums upon entry.  Shops required masks for entry and most restaurants were using outdoor seating only.  HAL excursions required masks to be worn while on the tour buses.  Some museums and shops had capacity restrictions.  The itinerary did change due to surges in different countries.  Nothing HAL can do about that.  Just plan to be flexible and enjoy!

We did evening excursions through HAL to a folklore performance both times we went to SP.  They were both excellent and both were different shows.

We got an upsell offer yesterday for a Signature Suite and took it. The person I spoke with at HAL said it was the last one available and it was right above the Vista Suite we had previously booked. Will make our final voyage on the Prinsendam extra special.

Thanks everyone! We have re-booked to cabin 126-Forward, but not too far, so think we shall be fine. The cruise seems far away, but the ship is certainly booked up! Looking forward to it.

We are booked in cabin 126 for an October 2018 cruise on the Prinsendam. We were in cabin 124 last August for a British Isles cruise and loved the location. Very quiet location and very convenient. Love the smaller size of the Prinsendam. Opted for 126 (next door) this year because it has a shower instead of a tub and for some reason the shower cabins have a different furniture arrangement than the tub cabins - at least in that area of the ship. In cabin 124, the bed is right next to bathroom door which we did not like. Bed is on a different wall away from the bathroom in cabin 126. Thankful that our cabin steward shared that information with us. Enjoy your time on the Prinsendam!

We had a similar situation in Amsterdam last year with a 10:45am return flight. The HA airport transfer was not an option as they told us the transfer would not leave the port early enough to get us to the airport. We were on the Prinsendam and kept our luggage and disembarked as soon as the ship was cleared by the port authorities. There were plenty of taxis in front of the terminal and we had no trouble arriving at the airport in plenty of time even for such an early flight. As long as you can manage handling your luggage yourself to get off the ship, you will be fine.

We are on a cruise in October 2018. The excursions are already available and one that we were very interested in has already booked up and was wait listed by the end of September 2017. We've just joined a private shore excursion to the same place for that port. Never hurts to be checking and researching excursions far in advance.

We are sailing on the Prinsendam next week and are wondering if the Vista suites have binoculars provided?

We are looking at a cruise that ends with an overnight in Lisbon. In looking at the airline schedules, we've discovered that the return flights all leave at either 5:00am or 5:45am in order to make a connection at another European airport. This means we would need to disembark during the night. Is this possible even if we manage our own bags? Has anyone else run into this situation?

We are trying to decide whether to do the HOHO boats. Is there any way to find out if HAL uses the dock where HOHO has a stop. We are on HAL in Stockholm on Sept 2.