MayasWay

Getting ready to sail on the Maasdam EXC for 14 days from Sydney to Auckland. A key selling point to us in booking this cruise were the Zodiac tours and EXC educational experiences. But, when we were booked and finally got a look at the excursions offered on our particular cruise, there were only two Zodiac tours offered over 14 days.  And, last night they cancelled at least one of them - the Zodiac tour in Milford Sound. Waiting to hear if they also cancelled the second (in Tauranga).

And, despite asking lots of questions of HAL, we have no idea what to expect from onboard EXC programming. We can not get info on it from HAL.

Given our pre-cruise experiences (which granted, we have a few weeks before we board), we wouldn't book Maasdam for the EXC and Zodiac.

On 10/3/2019 at 10:43 AM, Kiwi_cruiser said:

What ship are you going to Oban (Half Moon Bay) on??

It's on HAL Maasdam in the second half of February. Does the ship make a difference?

Skagway’s pubic library is in the heart of the city ... and the last we visited, they had free wifi and dry comfy spaces.

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Hope you've scheduled some time in Sydney as well. ;)

Absolutely! We'll enjoy both cities before taking that long flight home!

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OzKiwiJJ, you predicted it ... Princess has approved our request and we are looking forward to spending a few days in Melbourne before flying to Sydney! Thanks for the encouragement to pursue this option!

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We are on Princess and have filed a request, but as yet have heard nothing. We'd be coming from New Zealand to Australia on the cruise.

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Apparently the travel agent who told me it would likely be ok was misinformed ... this is not permitted on many cruise lines, except for emergency situations.

I appreciate all the supportive input on the issue!

I have and they said it would likely be ok, but we need to arrange it ahead of time.

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We are on a cruise whose last days include a day in Melbourne, a sea day, then disembarkation in Sydney. We are considering disembarking in Melbourne and staying the two days, then flying to Sydney to stay for a few days, rather than completing the cruise.

Is there a compelling reason, other than the increase in $'s, that we might want to sail from Melbourne to Sydney rather than fly?

Thanks in advance!

Are you game for something different? Have you tried Airbnb? There are a number of Auckland apartment listings with multiple beds and/or bedrooms, most with wifi and kitchenettes. If interested in this type of lodging, look for one with multiple strong reviews, note cancellation policies, house rules and extra cleaning fees.

Thanks for the confirmation!

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Thanks, I should have recognized the shape as the bridge. We are trying to decide whether to use Princess to move us around New Zealand or travel by land. I was disappointed to learn that Emerald was one of the biggest ships ... does anyone know if it can get into the fjords like the Crown?

We cruised Alaska a couple of years ago on Coral and are considering a cruise on Emerald in New Zealand. We loved the somewhat hidden forward access spaces on decks 9&10 (?) on Crown and are wondering if such spaces exist on Emerald.

Looking at the deck plans, it appears that 14 has an additional deck out front ... could someone confirm whether or not it is accessible and open for passengers? Are there any other outdoor forward spots, other than the promenade or the top sports decks, that might provide access?

Many thanks.

We are mid-50's and with the exception of BB King's, found our HAL almost 2 week cruise this summer in Greece to be sorely lacking entertainment, of any kind, that appealed to us. As independent cruisers, we choose the itinerary and time in port first, line second, so have taken many cruise lines and ships, large and small.

We always have plenty of reading material with us, but after dinner it's nice to stroll and enjoy an evening out of the cabin. We tried lots of different activities on our HAL cruise, enjoyed the classical concerts but we're not ready for bed at 9 pm. Tried other 9 pm or later activities but none appealed, and always ended up at BB King's. However night after night of BB King, we grew tired of it. And the ship is practically locked down tight by 11. We decided we weren't old enough for HAL. I'm sure we're not the first to come to that conclusion,

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Apologies for posting twice but the edit function is not working for us today ... Disregard previous in favor of this one. Thanks.

We just finished a 12 night cruise in Europe using unlimited laundry. We paid in advance. It appeared to cost the same on board. Only once were clothing pieces back the same day. (We did not anticipate this fast of a turnaround, but others on the board suggested such a turnaround was common ... It was not. We do not have any standing with HAL, we were first time HAL cruises in a balcony room, maybe those with standing get theirs done first.) The last day we were permitted to send laundry on our 12 day cruise was end of day 9. I mention these items so that the realities of unlimited laundry are understood.

We had to request a laundry bag each day ... It was not 'refreshed' automatically by our steward nor did one come back with the clean laundry. We lost 3 buttons on 3 sifferent shirts and a fourth shirt's button was broken. Two shirts were returned with unremovable stains in places that were clearly visible. The placement of Velcro laundry tags created small tears in the hems of 4 knit shirts.

We've used unlimited laundry on smaller cruise ships (Windstar) with no incidents. We've washed our own clothes in the self serve machines of larger lines with no incidents.

Perhaps the volume of what HAL processes causes extra issues. But based on our experiences, if we cruise on HAL again, we won't do laundry this way.

We just finished a 12 night cruise in Europe using unlimited laundry. We paid in advance. Only once were pieces back the same day. We had to request a laundry back each day ... It was not 'refreshed' automatically by our steward nor did one come back with the laundry. We lost 3 buttons on 3 shirts and a fourth shirt's button was broken. Two shirts were returned with unremovable stains. The placement of Velcro laundry tags created small tears in the hems of 4 knit shirts. We've used unlimited laundry on smaller cruise ships (Windstar) with no incidents. We've washed our own clothes in the self serve machines of larger lines with no incidents.

Perhaps the volume of what HAL processes causes extra issues. But based on our experiences, we won't do laundry this way on HAL again.

Had no problem calling and adding the prepaid laundry at $7/day for our 12 night Med cruise. They did try to get me to add pressing, which I declined. As advised, asked to have receipt emailed.

I have a question ... Has anyone tried to put delicates into a washable laundry bag for laundering on the ship? I have a few washable lace tops that do just fine washed in a machine if separate from item with buttons. If I brought my own bag, would they wash as is?

A couple of laundry questions:

If we chose an unlimited laundry package, could we have laundry done on the last full cruise day? (I do not mean on the day we dock to leave, but the previous day.)

Does the laundry come back same day or next day?

Thanks, we are first time HAL cruisers this summer.

I, too, will look forward to hearing about the new terminal ... we travel in late June and I'm anxious to know if it's in service by then. THANKS!

They must be making lots of changes ... Our June cruise is also changed from Naples to Salerno ... A change I will enjoy!

Thanks for the feedback. I like to have my expectations in check when changing lines, especially since our previous experience was tremendous.

We are considering sailing on the Zandaam in Alaska yet this summer. I have three questions regarding the ship and lines (we are new to HAL but not cruising).

1- Are there *quiet* areas in the ship, outside of one's room, where a passenger could go to read or write and have a view outside? If so, where?

2- Are there any special outside viewing areas for viewing glaciers and scenery? (We sailed Alaska on Princess and there were two additional decks out front that could be used for viewing.)

3- Does HAL have a naturalist aboard their ship that will offer talks and guide viewing?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Would like to add for those who have not used the Sanctuary, that for the ships we sailed recently, Caribbean and Ruby, the Sanctuary is only accessible by stairs ... the nearby pool is the spa pool (down a flight of stairs) and the closet bathroom is in the spa (also down a flight of stairs). Stairs are not an issue for us, but may be for some, especially if you drinks lots of cucumber and orange water.

We were able to reserve/book only our sea days on both ships, just after embarkation. It's a non-refundable reservation, though, and the sanctuary is located in the front of the ships for Ruby and Caribbean, which can mean windy and cold if it's a cloudy sea day. (They have lots of towels and blankets, too, if you get chilled 😉)

Just off the Ruby (1/24-1/31 sailing), and we also had two groups. One larger, I believe in the 600 range ( an Estonian cultural group) and another singles group (240 over 40). We noticed a shift in the evening entertainment but usually found something to do. (As far as entertainment, we were more disappointed in the MUTS selection of so many single genre movies (science fiction), and one night included a movie we had seen on Princess MUTS on an October '14 cruise 😞. )

Admittedly there are some positive, and some negative aspects to groups. For example, during a sunset sail away one evening, singers from the Estonian group came out onto the balcony and sang several beautifully harmonized songs together. The first 3 or 4 seemed to be greatly appreciated and even applauded by those on their balconies, listening was a real treat. However, the singing continued far longer and while it was 'background' since most was in a foreign language, the length of their 'performance' was obtrusive to those of us seeking the peace and serenity of the sunset - a favorite part of the day for us.

We had heard about the singles group before leaving and after paying our final $'s, we hadn't heard about the other. I believe it changed dynamics for us with 2 larger groups aboard. We could have chosen a different week to sail, and would have had we known about it. I know that's why it's not disclosed, but we paid our fare, too.

Thanks for the contact ideas. Was trying to get the B2B acknowledged after the cruise, not before. Hadn't thought about how close we were to changing levels until I booked our upcoming cruise. Will give it another try.