cabinluvn

We just returned from an entire canal transit, Ft Lauderdale to San Diego. Our first Panama Canal cruise was a partial, like you are doing, on the Zuiderdam. We initially booked that same excursion, but then thought about what we would miss. If you go ashore, you meet the ship on the other side of the locks, so you miss going back through the locks. We also had an aft facing cabin(as we did this time for the full transit).  We were so glad we stayed on the ship. Yes, we were anchored in the lake, but we watched huge ships come and go and just enjoyed being on the veranda in a near empty ship. It was hot and humid and we were glad to be able to go where it was cool when we needed to.  Also had access to the kind of food we wanted, etc. The bow of the ship will be open early in the morning for viewing of the opening of the locks and you can go and take pictures, enjoy coffee and Panama buns. Then go back to your aft cabin, apply sunscreen, don a good hat, dress for the heat and enjoy the views. Then enjoy going back through the locks. Too, too amazing to just go through once. We never regretted our decision

We were able to do this with our Delta Amex before final payment. We each put it on our cards and paid $1000 total and got $200 credit. It appeared again on our Amex Blue after final payment, so we each put $500 on our cards for OBC and got $200 credit again. If we don’t use it, we will get that refunded by HAL, but think we will probably find a way to spend it onboard!

When you come back on the ship, you will have to go through security. If you are bringing a bottle of wine with you, they will confiscate it. The free bottle must be brought in your carry on luggage. Not only is it dishonest, it has the potential of ruining this freebie for everyone else if the cruise line decides not to allow one free bottle per person any further. 

We did the partial transit a few years ago on the Zuiderdam and loved it. We had an aft corner Neptune suite and the experience was fabulous. Did not do an excursion while in Lake Gaugon(sp), but stayed on the ship and watched all the freighters come and go through the locks. Weather is VERY hot, so make sure you have plenty of sunscreen and a hat!  We loved it so much we are doing the full transit this January with another aft cabin. 

6 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

It may say that it cannot be used for gratuities, but in reality it seems that it can. At least we have never found this to be true.

 

Is the stock also in your wife's name? If it is and you each have an Amex card with a separate login and both have the offer, you can use it by having the two of you in different cabins. Then when you get to the ship, switch who is in which cabin so you and your spouse can be in one cabin while the daughter and granddaughter are in the other.

I don’t believe that will work. We wanted to try it when we took our adult children and grandchildren. They said no. No way to accrue more mariner points either. I think people who try and play the system will ultimately mean the OBC from the stock will stop

Nope. Booked a separate cabin for daughter and granddaughter. Doesn’t matter who pays for the second cabin, you only get OBC for your booking


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We did the partial transit 4 years ago and are doing the full transit this January. We took the cruise specifically to go through the canal and stayed on the ship to enjoy every minute. Even sitting in Lake Gatun was wonderful. If you are going for the canal experience, you will miss it if you get off the ship for a tour. We will be staying on the ship this time to. The experience is awesome. And we live along the Mississippi where we have gone through the locks and dams many times in boats. This was totally different. To each their own, I guess


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We enrolled in GE four plus years ago and just a week or so ago started the renewal process.   Love it, especially love it with our International travel of the past few years and it’s only $15 more than TSA PreCheck alone.  Like Cat Shepard one trip through in our case PHL more than made it worthwhile though we’ve had four or five other equally easy reentries.   Luckily San Antonio International Airport, 9 miles from our house,  has a GE enrollment interview office.   Some people are reporting they’re getting renewed without an interview so we’ll see if we get lucky.   

 
I would be careful about following this advice.  Just sayin'.

They have been sending this email to people for quite some time. We ignore it and board early, as do most people, I believe. They do not check to see if you came early, so just show up when you want to board, no problem


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With HAL it shows up online if you had the booking directly with HAL.
 
But if you used a TA, you must call HAL or the TA to find out if it has been applied to your account.
 
 

Just wanted to know if they would confiscate a travel iron if I bring one....

We were just on the Rotterdam last month for a Baltics cruise, and had a great time. It was our 1st time on the Rotterdam (been on the Vista class ships mostly), and we really enjoyed her (even) smaller size. The latest upgrade HAL has made is the Lincoln Center Stage, which we found we really liked - maybe bc the talented musicians did not just classical music but also modern/pop/rock/jazz songs, so it was lovely see that live. They had an almost-full house for most of their performances. There is also still a full library on this ship, which was nice to have on the sea days especially.
The only place we noticed any "wear and tear" was in our inside cabin - specifically we had a water leakage issue. We woke up one morning to wet carpets along the edges of the cabin! HAL couldn't figure what was causing the issue, but they had a full team of people trying to fix it. They handled the situation very well and thankfully it was near the end of the trip so it only affected the last 2 days for us. 
We had an excellent trip overall, and would definitely sail on the smaller HAL ships again.
 
(Edit: forgot to mention the Caneletto restaurant onboard! this was our 1st time trying it after the recent menu change, and we thought it was really excellent. chicken parm sunday night special was delicious, as was the lobster ravioli! not sure if the food is consistently delicious in all the canelettos aboard the other HAL ships, but we loved it on the Rotterdam)
 

My family will be going on a 14 day cruise back to back on the Nieuw Statendam. What is the procedure of the back to back cruise? Will my family be required to get off the ship and wait in the cruise terminal as the initial embarkation??
 
Your feedback is much appreciated.
 
Leeson112

 
I agree.
 
I think there are 6 other ships in port when my cruise leaves in Feb. A few months ago I discovered that most of my choices were fully booked. 

Sorry your cruise was not what you expected. We haven’t done the drink packages, but there have been lists of what each kind of wine costs per glass posted here so people can check ahead of time. We avoid the Lido like the plague, especially for dinner. There are people who have gone through the line for appetizers, salad, etc., and are returning just for the main course. That is why there are stations. There is no requirement to start out at the appetizer station and wait your turn for the whole course to be served to the end of the food lines. I don’t see going to just the station where you need the food as butting in line or being rude. Just me, I guess. Addressing the scooters and the ages of the other passengers....isn’t it wonderful that HAL caters to the people who have mobility problems, along with those of us who might be of advanced age. Just because we have some difficulty moving or have become a certain age does not mean we have to give up cruising. Someday you will be them and won’t you be glad if there is a way for you to continue to travel?????  Maybe not. At any rate, I am sorry you did not enjoy your cruise. There are always things not perfect when traveling with 1000+ people in an enclosed place

We had an aft corner NS for a Panama Canal cruise and absolutely loved it. Deck 6. No smokestack fumes. Some vibration, but not enough to bother us while sleeping. Husband has motion sickness issues and the motion did not bother him. One nice thing about aft cabins is that you can sit out on the veranda while the ship is sailing with little to no wind. And you have incredible views. We try and get one when we can. Will be sailing in our 4th aft cabin in January

7 minutes ago, Ellen495 said:

ME TOO. So we can bring whatever so long as we know we have to pay 18? How do we let them know we know and aren't trying to do something sneaky? I would hate that!

My question exactly!  We are doing a 16 day cruise. We would pay corkage fee for the “free” ones we bring to drink in the room, but would bring at least 6 other bottles to enjoy in the dining room. But we would need to

1 minute ago, kazu said:

 

Just carry it on, pay the corkage and the deal is done.  Easy 😄 

You can drink that wine in any public area on the ship (including the MDR) unlike the ‘free’ bottle which is only for in room consumption.

My question was how do we bring in the extra bottles?  Do we have to have them at check in.or can we keep them in our luggage we give to the porter?  I would assume if we did that, they would keep our luggage and have us come to the “naughty room”. Can we let them know ahead of time at the check in desk that we have extra wine in our luggage we gave to the porter and avoid the “naughty room” and late arrival of our luggage?

1 hour ago, Ellen495 said:

That's a great question - we would buy wine in Anchorage to bring on board other than the one each if that's allowed. I don't mind paying the 18 rather than awful wine.

 

OR - do they have a "liquor store," on board with better liquor one is allowed to purchase and use without corkage? I'm sure it would be more than in a liquor store off board ,but if it's just a few dollars more, that would be convenient. 

We have found their “better” wines can be upwards of $100/bottle. They charge around $40/bottle for mediocre wines we could get at home for around $9.99. Would rather bring our really good wines from home and add on the $18 corkage and know we are getting good wine

We find HAL to be pretty sedate on the smaller ships. The Zuiderdam should have the BB King show and that is pretty lively. Nothing much going on after 10 PM

We are sailing in January. We always bring the one bottle of wine apiece to drink in the room. We are more than disappointed with the selections of wines in the packages and are thinking for bringing more wine and paying corkage. We would like to bring them from our wine cellar from home. If we pack them in our checked luggage do we need to bring that through security or can we give it to the porter and then wait to be called to the “naughty room” to pay the corkage fee and have them tagged?  I have seen people bring a case of wine through security, but they have it on wheels, which we wouldn’t have

We had them take our portraits in 2013 on our 25th anniversary. They were the best pictures of us EVER taken. Worth every penny, and they were not cheap. I have heard bad things about this photography service on HAL cruises, but we had nothing but a great experience

Don’t know if you are into essential oils, but since we started using them, we never get sick when we travel. Like you, we travel with Clorox wipes and wipe down our surroundings on the plane and ask our seat mates if they would like to do the same...they always do. We also put a tiny bit of bacitracin under our nose when flying...we think it traps germs...maybe does, maybe doesn’t. We start putting Purify essential oil from Ananda Apothecary on the bottoms of our feet one week before we leave and continue the practice until we get home(also do it all winter long..haven’t gotten sick since we started doing this, maybe 5 years). Also never, and I mean never, get use the elevator with other people. I usually walk the stairs, but husband will occasionally use the elevator, but not if someone else is in there...elbows for buttons are a must. I also do not use handrails...use my elbow to steady myself. Travel with hand sanitizer in my purse/pocket. We are in our 70’s, so we have tried our best to keep flu and cold germs at bay and I think we do pretty good. I wouldn’t classify us as germaphobes. I am a retired OR nurse, so infection control is always in the back of my mind

Contacted my TA...we had the package that included free airfare and $800 OBC. Last month refared when the price dropped, but lost the OBC except for the OBC that came with our FCC. Saved $1600 so it was worth it. We would lose the free airfare if we refared to get the free gratuities, so not worth it for us. Sailing January 16 day Panama Canal

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g188590-d230114-Reviews-Mercure_Hotel_Amsterdam_City-Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province.html?m=19905

We stayed here pre cruise a couple years ago. They have a shuttle to and from the airport. They are a short walk from the bus line that takes you to city center. You can buy a bus pass at the airport before you catch the hotel shuttle. Breakfast is included. Rooms are roomy and clean. Staff very friendly and helpful. Would stay here again. Very reasonable