Chewbecca

A post on FB from someone on the most recent Oosterdam cruise confirmed BB Kings is replaced by the Rolling Stone lounge.

We are very disloyal cruisers and, as well as HAL, have sailed Celebrity, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Azamara, Oceania, Seabourn, MSC (YC).  I like seeing other ships and comparing but absolutely agree with the ‘old slipper’ sentiment about HAL. We are doing our first longer cruise at the end of the year and it had to be with HAL, the itineraries, price and comfort was a no brainer. We do like Celebrity for a week long cruise and like the luxury lines but would prefer to spend longer on a HAL ship for the same ££.

Many international governments are requiring negative PCR/Antigen test results for re-entry to the country if you are flying out of the U.S. within 72 hours of the end of your sailing. To facilitate any required testing, we ask that you fill out the following survey here, which will give us details about your post-cruise travel plans. 
 

this is an extract from an email received from X yesterday re: returning from our 12DEC cruise

We’ve always paid grats for our son when he sailed with us.

Rightly so I think, more work for the room attendant, waiters, drink staff, everyone.

We’re coming in December too - whoop, whoop!

Received our email today from X. Not too helpful!
 

We’re flying on Friday and boarding on Sunday. Hoping to book a test at Heathrow pre flight that covers both arrival in the US and boarding the ship. Feels a bit close to the wire but makes sense at the same time. 
 

*lovescarborough* if I were you, I would definitely do as you suggest.

Thanks emmasgran.

Given we are allowed to fly from 8 November, I figured people from the UK might be planning their travel soon and want to share their experiences and swap info. They might have been contacted by X for example.

we’re sailing from FL.

There are many places where we can book tests, absolutely, plus we have a relative there to help.
 

I guess I am looking to find out experiences of cruisers who are also planning their trip.

I’ve read some suggestions that X will be in touch with UK cruisers pre-cruise to arrange - perhaps earlier cruisers have experienced this? 

If brits have booked their own test locally - what was your experience booking it (how far in advance was necessary), what was the best price you found? Did you have any other issues not being a US citizen?
 

*rachiem* why the test 2 days before the flight?  The guidance post November isn’t consistent yet but it is looking like no test needed for fully vaccinated flyers? 

Have you worked out the requirements to fly yet?
 

And worked out how where you will get your pre-cruise test? We’re flying in just over 2 days early so won’t be able to do the pre cruise test before departure. 

Or, am I being premature trying to get organised- wait for clearer guidance on flights and for something from X to help with the pre-cruise testing?

(We’re on Edge on 12 Dec btw)

We’re sailing with a teenager on 24th July & I feel your pain keeping fingers crossed they manage to stay clear in the meantime!

In your situation, how about a private PCR? More likely to give an accurate, quick result.

Rob - we were due to sail in the Med in July & are similarly jittery about final payment.

We’ve now decided to move our booking to one of the Virtuosa sailings so we don’t need to worry about whether we will be able to get to the cruise, whether the ports will accept us etc. 
Obviously the itinerary and likely weather are not comparable (!) but we feel good about the decision as the likelihood of a holiday is much higher and with far fewer worries and chances for change between now and then.

Hi - we had an October 2020 cruise cancelled and received the above perk. We used it to book a Med cruise this summer which we think is unlikely to be possible for us (UK) so want to move the booking to one of the UK sailings which is fine.

My query is, is it 25% of the value of the new booking or original booking?
 

So is it possible to improve the cabin grade and get 25% off the new, higher price?
 

Many thanks in advance for any advice!

Thanks!

I was thinking of potential downsides but they’re not being flagged.

Repetitive entertainment, menus, trivia questions for example? Finding a new trivia team?! 

Thanks very much for that link, can’t believe I missed that thread, I was looking out for them too!

Hi, we’re looking booking a B2B or B2B2B for next summer as X has just too many short cruises!

Having never done a B2B before, is there anything we should be aware of? For example, you don’t have to pack up and leave your room do you? (Assuming manage to book same room for all).

thanks in advance.

I didn’t know there was another pizza outlet on bigger ships, will look out for that. Lido pizza on the Maasdam last week was not good. One day I braved a slice of pizza labelled vegetable and it was just a few veg popped on the top of a pepperoni pizza.

(food on the whole was very good though in our opinion).

A chilled banana soup was on the menu on Maasdam a couple of weeks ago.

Really? I’m in my 40s and one reason I cruise with HAL is because of the peace and quiet. If I wanted a lively pool scene, I would cruise with RCL or perhaps Princess. 

Hi, we’re sailing on Maasdam for 14 nights from Tokyo next week. I’ve seen mention of unlimited laundry on HAL at a reasonable price but can’t find many details or the option to add in our booking.

Can anyone advise if it will be available on this ship, what price and how we go about booking it please?

On 7/17/2019 at 3:14 AM, tkwbear said:

ATK is not on the Maasdam. I just did 3 weeks in Alaska out of San Francisco.

 

The guest chef we had was very good. No more cooking classes.

Thanks TKWBear. I like the sound of the guest chef as an alternative so won’t miss ATK too much!

We’ve booked ship tours in Vladivostok and Korsakov (unusual for us) to avoid the visa issue. Some sites say you can just walk off but it seems to be ad hoc and not actually in line with the visa requirements so we decide not to risk not being able to visit those ports.

Thanks for the super fast response!

Ah, thanks for that, we always do Anytime so that’ll be why we missed him.

Following as we are joining for 2 weeks at Tokyo on 31 July. Can’t wait. Love all the things you’ve commented on so far.

Quick question if I may - is America’s Test Kitchen running?

Don’t be too cross with us but we are joining with our 15 year old cruise loving son so would also be great to know if any other teens are spotted. He only needs a couple of nerdy kids to have a great time! 

What’s the yum yum man? Something I have missed!

We like lots about HAL including the dive in by the pool, the ‘crisp’ desserts, the drinks package, the specialty dining, the calm, relaxing atmosphere, America’s Test Kitchen, the trivia. DS likes the sushi in the Lido.

Thanks all.

No, in the UK, we are locked into the price at the time of booking so tracking prices is key! Only option after that time is to totally cancel, lose your deposit and start all over again.

OBC is appreciated we will be up for booking on board if the price improves.

I know, I know, we shouldn’t have waited.

Got a price for a Jul 2020 cruise on Amsterdam which we were happy with. Took a while to book the time off work, finally agreed today. Price has gone up £2k and perks gone!

Please give me hope that they will go down again?!

We are sailing on Maasdam next month and also wondered if we might get a better price booking on board but am never quite sure if this is the case or not - does anyone know?