Altamira

44 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Not a thing.  I'm saying that I prefer to dine with my family.  Is it that hard to understand?

😁

Wow. My eyes are like this emoji’s:😳right now. My husband and I have met amazing people from all over the world in our 42 cruises, in 8 different cruise lines. We’ve kept in touch with several, even visiting with a few of them over the years. Now we’re getting ready to cruise once again, post Covid. Reading here sounds like Norwegian, our 9th cruise line, might have a very different culture. 

It isn’t that my husband and I don’t enjoy each other’s company, but you know, we eat with each other all the rest of the time when we’re not cruising, for 50 years now! 😅We think of a cruise like a party at sea, unlike when we travel not cruising. To date we haven’t had any experiences sharing a dining table with obnoxious people.  
 

There are many, many seafaring traditions to be experienced and hopefully enjoyed while traveling by ship. With all due respect, comparing dining with other passengers on a ship to dining in town with strangers is not applicable.

What are you guys trying to say about NCL’s cruisers? 😁

I sure hope so. It will be a disappointment if not.

39 minutes ago, ShipWalker said:

Google is my friend.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/worry-free-promise/travel-well/covid-guest-protocols.html

 

Masks, Second paragraph, Third line

It’s still there?? Oh goodness. Funny!

I will confess that I (retired HS teacher) was guessing some of you might possibly have a reading difficulty that following the link I provided, and it not being a very long read, that you couldn’t find the paragraphs from it that I had copied and pasted. 

My apologies! 
 

I followed the link again, and went back to the same HAL site which, as before, still indicated having been “Updated November 1, 2021”. And to my surprise those paragraphs were not to be found. I looked for a reference of a more recent update and found none. It doesn’t say that the Nov 1st update was the last update, only that it was a day where an update had been made. 

It has obviously been further updated. 

It may be coincidental that a change occurred after my conversation with the HAL agent on the phone who was accessing the same web page where the contradictory remarks that I was questioning were stated. But she did convey to me the information I shared here regarding the approved CDC ratio for unvaccinated passengers. I had not previously heard of such.

Of course it’s understood that whoever said that to her may have been mistaken. 

Regardless, I am thrilled, (or as my grandkids would say: “Absolutely Geeked” 😂), if HAL is requiring 100% vaccinations from guests and crew, regardless of age or any other factors. We’re avid cruisers and are hopeful that normalcy will soon allow us to cruise as before. Our two longest (and among our favorite) cruises were with HAL. 

But for right now, on our first cruise in two years, Norwegian sounds a LOT safer to us. Their strict, no exceptions, vaccination policy and their test requirement, at their expense, at the dock prior to boarding, plus their recommendation to get a CPR or antigen test before even showing up at the port, all sound great. (NCL will assist with expenses should you test positive and denied embarkation, if you’ve proof of a CPR or antigen test taken within 96 hours of sailing.) Once on board, masks are not required. 

Partying as if it were 2019…🛳🥳😁

(This about the masks doesn’t apply to cruises originating in European ports apparently.) 
 

1 hour ago, VMax1700 said:

I don't find it misleading.

As stated at the top, HAL has 100% vaccination requirement through February 28th, 2022.  However, they are booking cruises out to November 2023 and are accepting bookings from everyone, whether vaxed or not.  To do otherwise would be a poor business decision, at this moment.  However, if they extend the vax requirement (and I sincerely hope that they do) then those who booked and are unvaxed will have to cancel their cruise.

I certainly would not cruise on a line with unvaxed pax, but understand that cruise lines need to book in advance and need the cash flow from booking deposits.

Vax policies will continue to evolve over the coming years. 

All that being said, it would not be the first time that the HAL website had erroneous information on it. 

With all due respect, you are completely missing the point which frankly I clearly made. I am not criticizing HAL for their current policy, nor judging the wisdom of their business decisions present or future. Nor am I denying the obvious need for policies to be adapted as needed for evolving situations.
 

But anybody who reads HAL’s policy as clearly stated, that now and at least until the date stated, that all guests must be vaccinated, and farther down runs across the statements about unvaccinated guests will, if paying attention, notice and question the discrepancy. 

I don’t know that this statement is intentionally misleading, but it is misleading nevertheless, and should be clarified.

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/worry-free-promise/travel-well/frequently-asked-questions/faq-for-cruises-from-usa.html

“Updated November 1, 2021”

“Our cruises through February 28, 2022 are available for guests who have ALL of the following:

• Received their final dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the cruise

• Proof of vaccination

• Proof of a negative, medically observed, viral COVID-19 test (PCR or antigen) taken within 2 days of their embarkation.”

That statement, right at the top, sounded pretty definitive and good to us. We’re veteran cruisers who have sailed with HAL in the past, 49 and 78  nights cruises, and loved both. All together we’ve been on 42 cruises in 8 different cruise lines, the last in late 2019, exactly two years (sadly) ago. 

Eager to cruise again we booked our first Norwegian cruise this fall. We are not familiar with Norwegian but chose it because of its no exceptions to the 100% vaccination and pre-boarding testing requirements. It sounded best to us. 

Then a couple of days ago I’m told that HAL also has a 100% vax requirement. So eagerly I go to HAL’s website and read the statement that I copied and pasted above.

Delighted, I continue reading only to run across these contradictory, unexplained statements. 

“Unvaccinated guests will be required to wear a face mask at all times while indoors, in accordance with health authority requirements.”

And also this:

“Guests who received a vaccination exemption are still required to take a negative PCR test within 2 days prior to embarkation”

I go back to the top and read again that this information was: “Updated November 1, 2021”

I then called HAL and spoke to a representative who assured me that the vaccination policy was 100% enforced, in fact she said she herself was taking a HAL cruise this year and wouldn’t be doing it if it weren’t so. She was unable to explain the discrepancy i had noted.

I asked her to find out who might be able to explain it to both of us and she graciously agreed and put me on hold. When she came back she told me that apparently yes, a small ratio of unvaccinated passengers are allowed to sail, their number in accordance with guidelines set by the CDC. So I thanked her. She added that for even greater safety masks were also mandatory in all indoor places onboard.  Another contradiction to the information on the website, which I didn’t point out to her because by then I had learned what I needed to know.
 

We may like or not like HAL’s policy on this issue. And there may or may not have been intentionality in their choosing to omit such an important and pertinent fact in their policy statement on vaccinations. But that lack of clarity right up front is not doing the HAL brand any favors, and I’m disappointed and sorry for it.

9 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Nope. Towel animals are constructed fresh (or repurposed from the night before) nightly. NCL was trying to be more "green" by discontinuing towel animals which generated tens of thousands of towels in the wash each week. 

Ah, I see, Bird. 

Well, the towel animals have been a sweet cruising tradition, and they were a big hit with our grandchildren when we cruised with them when they were little. But personally I don’t mind dispensing with them now. Efforts to be more “green” seem a worthy goals to pursue.

44 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Why do you think that the mini fridges are being emptied?

Because it has been mentioned by CC cruisers multiple times including on this thread.
 

It’s been two years since our last cruise. We’re learning here.
 

14 minutes ago, luvcruzing said:

From reading your first post, I was wondering if you were aware that your cabin will have a refrigerator you can use to keep your beverages cold.  Some will say that they don’t keep things very cold, but I disagree.

It’s obviously a question of preference, rather than agreement or disagreement. 😁.

So for us the little refrigerators in cruise ships, in resorts, in hotels, are more like coolers rather than true refrigerators.
 

What is that very funny Brazilian expression… “uma cerveja estupidamente gelata”? Definitely not how our dear British friends, would enjoy a beer. 😂😂

2 hours ago, julig22 said:

You can get bottles/cans at the bar and take them back to your stateroom to drink later.

Yeah, that’s what we do.

4 hours ago, phillygwm said:

And towel animals 🙂

I’m surprised they are still bringing the towel animals even as other Covid precautions, like the emptying of the mini fridges, are being implemented. Are the towel animals not rotated among the staterooms? 

2 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

I could be corrected if I'm wrong, but I'm not sure what the advantage of having a mini cooler filled with ice would do since I believe NCL does not allow any beverages of any type to be carried on.

I can buy and bring bottles of water or soda and drink iced drinks in our cabin. I know a lot of people don’t like iced beverages like we do at all times of day or night.  

7 hours ago, FreestyleNovice said:

What's the added value of your own cooler vs the NCL supplied ice bucket? Just curious and, but since you are experienced cruisers, emptying the minibar is an option too to cool some drinks and things. 

Our mini cooler is much better insulated than the ice bucket. The ice melts quickly in the ice bucket. 

Thanks! I’ll bring my mini-cooler then. Appreciate your letting us know. Didn’t want to pack stuff we weren’t going to be able to use.

16 minutes ago, coastcat said:

Just ask your room steward! I’m on Bliss right now and my steward replenishes the ice bucket (at my request) when he does the evening turndown. 

We’re veteran cruisers but first timers on NCL. Always in the past we’ve brought onboard with us a mini-cooler, (capacity of an ice bucket or so) for use in our staterooms. We’re sailing for the first time in two years next month on the Encore.  So excited!! Should we assume that the NCL stewards will also be able to keep us supplied with ice cubes? Might this now be restricted due to Covid protocols?

3 hours ago, ricksurf said:

You gotta love how they sneak these changes into policy; so please read daily so no surprises.

It’s not sneaking. Policies, procedures, requirements are, and always have been, subject to change. It’s your responsibility to keep yourself informed, as ricksurf suggests. 

On 9/29/2021 at 8:27 AM, hallux said:

The touch-screens near the elevator lobbies may be the best option.  The screens face the stairs.  There are two at each elevator bank, one portside, one starboard on each deck...

Thank you, Hallux. I thought I had already posted an acknowledgment of your reply, but I’m not seeing it. The CC functions in my iPad are slightly different now from what I was used to on my desktop, which sadly died.

Less than two months to our sail date! So excited! We have a BA midship deck 15. I’m pretty sure we’re going to be fine there but welcome any advice from y’all NCL veterans.. The expectation of perhaps being able to dispense with masks and social distancing ALONE sounds so wonderful..partying as if it were 1919…🥳🥳🥳

The line from the NCL website that sold us on cruising again was:

“All guests and crew are required to be 100% fully vaccinated.”

Not to belabor the obvious here but it doesn’t get any more “concise” than that. 😁

First time Norwegian cruisers here. (So excited to be cruising again!) For purposes of booking dining reservations, what are the show times on Norwegian Encore? Are they fairly consistent from cruise to cruise? 
 

This question is for a Caribbean sailing, if it would make a difference from one area to another. Thanks!

First time Norwegian cruisers here. (So excited to be cruising again!) For purposes of booking dining reservations, what are the show times on Norwegian Encore? Are they fairly consistent from cruise to cruise? 
 

This question is for a Caribbean sailing, if it would make a difference from one area to another. Thanks!

On 9/27/2021 at 6:59 AM, psac said:

The simple answer is they sued Florida and got an injunction that said they could continue to demand vaccinations for the safety of their guests. Technically (as I understand it) they didn’t win the suit yet, but the judge is so sure they are likely to win that they granted the injunction. 

We’ve cruised 42 times in six different cruise lines and have only just booked our first cruise since the start of the pandemic with Norwegian precisely because of their vaccination policy. We think it’s the best and safest right now.  We have cruise credits with Royal Carib, (from a cancelled cruise with them in May 2020), but we’re not about to get on a cruise ship with unvaccinated people of any age right now.

So very excited about our little sailing on the Encore in Nov. The ship’s entertainment sounds amazing. Welcoming any words of advice about Norwegian.

Following recommendations we’ve read here on CC, we’ve booked Cagney’s, Ocean Blue, and Onda. And also our snorkeling excursions. But sounds like we have to wait to book the shows, (Kinky Boots and Choir of Man), onboard. I imagine that’s likely to be a crush on embarkation day, right? What’s the best place to do that?

Thank you all. We’ve missed cruising so much. 

Check-in was a mess on Feb 4 in terminal 18. No one was monitoring who was getting in which lines and it was as free for all. I never experienced that in terminal 18 before.

Oh, wow, on Feb 4 around noon we walked right through, just a couple minutes stop at the counter to fill out the health forms. We didn't need pictures taken because we had submitted them on line. They already had our credit card information. And our pass/sail cards were waiting for us at the cabin, one inside and one sealed in envelope and taped to the outside of the door. So easy peasy.

We did use the Diamond access line but it didn't look particularly crowded in the other lines.

We had read here that the embarkation times were suggested guidelines. And really, they wouldn't make sense otherwise. We landed at FLL at 11:30am, got our luggage, taxied to the port, gave our bags to the porters, and by noon we were sitting outside the Park Cafe eating a sandwich. We were so impressed.

It was a little convertible, with automatic transmission, thank goodness. The day we were in Rarotonga the temperature was very mild so we had the top down and wouldn't have used the AC. We're not sure noticing that the car had an AC or not.

I know what you mean about shifting with the left hand. Ir's crazy.

To share a funny car related story . . we had parked across the road from Fruits of Rarotonga and we were about to get in our car to go back to Black Rock Beach when we noticed two guys who were trying to climb, monkey-style, some palm trees that were right there in front of both our car and their car, parked right next to ours. We ended up chatting with them and their ladies for a bit when one of them noticed that we had a flat tire. Sure enough, Guy goes and gets the spare out of the trunk, they grab it from him and proceeded to get that tire changed at the speed of a race track pit stop crew. It was an amazing thing to watch. Then they wouldn't even let us buy them a beer. They were two young couples visiting from New Zealand, also on a rented vehicle. You meet so many nice people everywhere you go.

The other two rental cars in Tahiti and in Moorea had AC but standard transmissions. We really liked having the cars in all three islands. The cost savings was an additional perk, but driving everywhere we wanted to go, and at our own pace, was what we wanted to do.

Maria

Shows - We missed several of the shows unfortunately, because after very full port days of sun and activity and evenings of dining and wining we were usually contentedly full and sleepy by 9:30pm. Luckily we did not miss Brazilian Gustavo Vierini's magic shows, nor his appearance one night at the Piano Bar. He is without a doubt the most entertaining magician we've ever seen. Surprising, we thought, that he's working on a cruise ship and not in Vegas or some other more lucrative venue. He is also super cute and so very engaging and amusing. Don't miss his shows if he is on your cruise.

The last show of the cruise, the Polynesian show was very nice as well. I would have been very sorry to have missed that one.

Music - A welcome aboard party was held on the pool deck the evening of the second night of the cruise. Members of the crew and the Gauguines and Gauguins were introduced. On that occasion the ship's Celebration Band played music that got a lot of us up and dancing. It was a lot of fun. (How often after all do most of us go out dancing anymore except when cruising?) The rest of the cruise however, when we saw the band playing, it was to practically empty rooms. The selections of music were not at all conducive to audience active participation. I agree with Becky's assessment. We did not go to any of the late night parties but heard that they were not well attended.

Clothing - This is what I took and it was plenty. Laundry package we did not need, we washed underwear and swimwear when showering. Underwear would dry overnight hanging on the line over the tub in bathroom, swimwear on chairs in balcony. I brought a few clothes pins for this purpose. Everyday, except on our two sea days, all we wore all day from breakfast until we got back to the ship late afternoon to shower and change for evening activities was swimwear, rash guards and pareos. The rash guards and bottoms were so useful, so nice not to have to reapply sun screen all day long. And a better deal for the coral too.

Swimwear (interchangeable quick drying separate tops and shorts) (3 of each)

Pareos (3)

Rash guards tops (3)

Rash guard bottoms (2)

Shorts and tops (2 of each)

Dinner/evening casual wear (4 sets of mix-and-match separates)

Shawl (1)

Sandals to wear with evening clothes

Hats (2)

my Tevas.

We also brought our diving/snorkeling gear: masks, fins, regs, computers, skins, BC's, vests, reef shoes.

A word about the free bag of sports equipment. The ATN agent in PPT asked us to show the PADI card when we were checking in our bags. It was good that we had it on us and not packed away in the suitcase which might have easily been the case. We weren't asked for it at LAX.

We found our little travel cooler, (looks like a smallish quilted beach bag), to be ever so useful when we were exploring on our own in Tahiti, Rarotonga, and Moorea. And it would have been great to have in Aitutaki too!

This is all I can think of to add here. I can't get my photos copied from Photobucket, and Becky's pictures will have already given you an eyeful and plenty to dream about.

If your planning a PG cruise in the near future, gosh, you’re going to LOVE it. We hope to be back. Those Tuamotus are calling us.

Happy cruising!

Maria

Moorea - Day 1 - Following Twin's excellent recommendation once again we rented a car from Albert and went everywhere. Not to the place they call Magic Mountain for which we had heard you had to have special vehicles and a stomach for driving them on the edge of precipices. Becky and Ash and their husbands did it and had a blast. They're younger and we're wiser, :D (Of course kidding!)

We admired the beautiful view of Cook's and Opunohu Bays from Belvedere. We went to Snack Mahana but found it was closed that day, a Monday. We went to the Hilton and looked around their facilities. We may want to stay there pre-cruise on a future trip instead of in Tahiti.

Moorea - Day 2 - The other excursion, besides the dives, that we did with the ship was Dr Poole's whale watch. It was whale season after all, but it was a bust as far as any sightings of whale, dolphin, or any other marine life. Dr Poole is very nice, however, very knowledgeable. We took lots and lots of pictures of Moorea's beautiful coast line and topography from the boat. And the rock 'n' rolly rides through the passes from the lagoon to the open sea and back again were kind of fun on our boat, people whooping and hollering.

Cruise - Our cruise experience on the Paul Gauguin met or exceeded all of our expectations and we understand why so many cruisers are such loyal repeaters.

Our starboard cabin 707 was quite comfortable and quiet with tons of storage space. The day they had the "block party" we met all our neighbors. It was fun.

Not every crew member was equally charming but the vast majority were very pleasant and very good at their jobs. In the interest of brevity I will mention just a couple, our cabin attendant Marian, who was so very nice and professional, and our favorite of our many wonderful servers, Jaypee, who was simply adorable in every way as well as utterly competent. Also Visha, the bartender at the pool bar was super clever and fun.

Food - Deliciousness at every meal. On sea days we had breakfasts at La Veranda, at one of the outside tables in the shade. What a delight. The outside tables on the sides were a bit too windy but at the back it was great. The air conditioning made the inside feel much too cold. In August the weather in Polynesia is like heaven, at least it was everyday during our cruise. Perhaps it would be too hot to eat outside in their summer.

La Veranda didn't open until 7:30am or we would have had our breakfast at that same spot every single day. On port days we ate breakfast at Le Grill because we always had early morning excursions and it opened earlier at 7:00am. But we liked it at La Veranda much better. We never ordered room service. Their cappuccinos were fine, the only coffee we drank. We're not huge coffee drinkers.

I love seafood and had fish every single day for lunch and for dinner. Very, very good. I'm avoiding fish now with belated concerns of mercury poisoning, ha.

We did not think that our dinners at Le Etoile were in any way less delicious than at La Veranda or at Le Grill. We thoroughly enjoyed every single one of our meals on the ship. We frequently asked our servers for their recommendations and they were spot-on with their suggestions.We were never disappointed.

We had dinner twice at La Veranda and twice at Le Grill. We made reservations to both without any difficulties during the cruise. We also changed them on two occasions to allow unanticipated changes to our plans. On our cruise there was no need to make dinner reservations the first day.

At L'Etoile we always requested sitting at large tables because it was a lot of fun sitting with fellow cruisers. A couple of times that didn't work out time-wise at the moment of our arrival and we would then be seated at a table for two. I was always good.

Our second dinner at Le Grill was on the first evening in Moorea. It turned out that all three restaurants were featuring the same Polynesian menu that night. We'd made an early (6:30pm) dinner reservation. There were not many people already there when we arrived and we were able to get a table away from the bright deck lights and pool in the center of the deck and sat instead on the outside by the starboard deck railing where the lighting was much dimmer. Loved it there. The stars were not as bright as we would see them from deck 9 above, but it was nonetheless a heavenly spot to enjoy an al fresco dinner on the ship.

We watched the Moon Fish presentation on the day we visited Huahine, and we had dinner at L'Etoile that night. L'Etoile was the only restaurant where it was served. It was delicious. Don't miss it.

Activities - We attended several lectures. The two given by Leslie of the Oceans Future Society were excellent. All the others were disappointing I'm sorry to say. We played trivia once and made some Polynesian crafts under the tutelage of the Gauguines once.

The star gazing one night with the telescopes set up on deck 9 was great. Mostly we listened to (Oceans Future Society naturalists) Leslie and Nicole' s explanations and looked at all the stars and constellations they were showing us using their laser pointers. I finally understood how it was possible for the ancient mariners in the Southern Hemisphere to calculate the south direction using the Southern Cross so they wouldn't get lost in the ocean at night.

Another of my favorite activities that we participated in was making the leis with the talented Moorea ladies that had come on board to do this for us. We sat on the floor in front of them with this huge, very long blanket of very pretty and fragrant flowers in between us. Even Guy, not normally at all inclined to crafts and such, made a lovely lei for himself. I plan to use a picture of the two of us wearing the beautiful leis and crowns for our Christmas greetings this year. I hate to make all our friends and relatives so jealous but I just have to share the picture of that moment.