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Hapag-Lloyd Cruises Preview of 2020-2021 Itineraries.


English Voyager
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Thanks for the link. (y)

 

Crazy, the family cabins on the Christmas 2020 cruise on Europa 2 are already gone...

 

At the present time one is pre-registering at no cost, so presumably one could enquire if there is a wait list to pre-register for a particular type of state room.

 

I have pre-registered for two Europa 2 cruises in 2020, and my TA has been informed by HL that prices will be notified in March 2019.

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At the present time one is pre-registering at no cost, so presumably one could enquire if there is a wait list to pre-register for a particular type of state room.

 

I have pre-registered for two Europa 2 cruises in 2020, and my TA has been informed by HL that prices will be notified in March 2019.

 

maybe we can try some "advent" offers - on board credits ….

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i did several options for both years

 

i cannot risk "sold out" for singles :rolleyes:

 

I have enquired which of the Europa's listed 2020 cruises will be hosting the Ocean Sun Music Festival, and HL's reply was to the effect that it will not be known until the brochure is published next spring.

 

I have queried this, and am awaiting a reply.

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i really like Baltic cruises but i do not intend to go to St Petersburg again so i always book those short cruises

i also noticed the "Sansibar" cruise is not due to happen ?

and a full Norway cruise is beautiful but too expensive

 

My last cruise into St Petersburg was on the Seabourn Pride, and docked in front of it was the Europa.

 

I never tire of visiting the city.

 

My favourite country to visit is Norway, which even in bad weather, as it was on my 2016 cruise on the Europa 2, still looks beautiful/

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I was on jury duty, saw this now.

I put requests in for options on two cruises using the non-binding “vormerken” forms on the German website ( there are, as noted,no prices but you can see open suites), one is INS2020 Hamburg to Porto along west coast of France, Oct 6 to Oct 17 2020,

because it said “Musik” is a theme, no details of what kind of music, worked fine, this one was for DH and me in a bigger suite which on INS is the only one with a bathtub.

 

Then after EV’s post about EUR2010 possibly being the Ocean Sun Festival, I tried to do the same for that cruise, but it is missing from the online place where you click on “vormerken” options, the list jumps from cruise 2009 to 2011, though that cruise comes up on the main list so we know it exists. I can try and option into other cruises and availability but luck is bad that this one is just missing, tech glitch

 

I emailed Germany HL, no response.

So I just texted my TA, who had been told by HL NY he would contact her asap a few days ago when list was out and options available but did not, to see if she can get me an option for EUR2010, even though I am not keen on going to St Petersburg again.

Between my TA and a sluggish NY new HL agent, David Kartagener, this will not likely work out well until people start dropping out when it gets close to actual booking, sigh.

Hard to plan other things with such lack of clarity.

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Catlover54,

 

I am surprised at the difficulty you have encountered with regard to Cruise EUR2010.

 

The person in HL Germany who advised me re the cruise also offered to make a reservation for me.

 

I advised that I would pre-register via my TA who confirmed this morning that HL had confirmed it for me.

 

 

Unfortunately, Cruise Critic's usual block on a link to HL's English language website is operative.

 

The e-mail address is salesteam@ HL's English language website URL

 

Or use, as I did initially, the Contact Form:

 

https://www.hl-cruises.de/kontakt/kontaktformular

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Thanks EV, for confirming you had success and for the links, which I am saving!

 

My TA contacted David at HL in NY this PM and she said David was stumped, three days after release of cruise preliminary booking info online he claimed still not to know about it, and said he had an email from HL Germany early this week saying nothing was prereleased yet. TA said he sounded unconcerned that I learned of the pre-release link from CC online! I think he simply did not try very hard, did not track things well. He is in charge of all U.S. HL bookings and is new ( the third rep since I started traveling on HL less than three years ago, and there is only one at a time), so this is not a good sign for reliable info here. Said to TA he would check again Monday, but now I do not need him ( or likely not the TA either).

 

I went back online to your preview link one last try and suddenly EUR2010 was bookable as an option like all the others! All levels were available, though limited number of suites.

The glitch is fixed, so I option-booked one of the last four remaining Veranda IV ( lowest suite level with veranda) solo. Hopefully,

1. this is indeed the Ocean Sun Festival, and

2. It will go through in spring when real sales with contracts and deposits start, and with a reasonable price ( to me, reasonable is a 50% markup for a solo), and

3. Yours will also go through with no cancellation needs for either of us, so you will finally see an Ocean Sun Festival!

 

If it turns out it is not Ocean Sun after all, I will likely just cancel the option in spring unless my other cruise options do not go through ( all this assumes remaining healthy enough to go, so far so good).

 

EV, are you perhaps also on the wait list for the 2019 Ocean Sun Festival ( which I cannot go to)? The seven month cancellation penalty kicks in in a few weeks, so things may open up a bit then, if you have flexibility.

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EV, it might be worth waitlisting for Ocean Sun 2019, if you do not already have fixed plans for that time period.

When I booked Ocean Sun in 2016 it was seven months before the cruise ( suites had become available to solos with 50% markup) and there were 44 solos, many of whom I talked to had booked just a few months before with ok prices, some even less markup.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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  • 3 weeks later...

I’m in NY and booked my Antartic trip of last February directly through the the German office and just put a deposit down on a 2020 Amazon river cruise.

I have a had a good experiences emailing with them.

They have promptly gotten back to me, even with some interesting questions. I really hate the heat and like to sleep in a cool room. One reason the Amazon is a bit tricky, but I love nature more. When looking through the A to Z FAQ on the website, I see that even on the new ships that they do not guarantee a cool bedroom. The team in Germany told me that while the air conditioning will be state of the art, after weeks in a hot climate, the temp could reach 75.

Then I went back and asked them if I could bring a fan with me on the ships as that was just too warm. They got back to me that they had contacted the captain (or a captain) and related that it was ok, but that it would need to be registered before flying out of Iquitos...

So I guess I will stick to my German HL booking team !

Since these are new ships there are a lot of unknowns.

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If the air conditioned interior temperature may reach 75, out of interest what is the exterior temperature likely to be, and, probably more importantly, the humidity?

 

I think you can guess :(

This is one of several reasons I have avoided the Amazon.

I also know better than to go anywhere superhot and humid on HL because most of the public areas run hotter than I care for most of the time, e.g., in Yacht Club on E2 or Lido on Europa, the crew tend to prop the door open to the outside eating area, defeating the purpose of AC inside, and pax greatly fear cold AC so they like it that way. For the dining rooms, I take with me a small very quiet mini-fan operated on batteries I set on my table so I can be cool enough to enjoy all the wonderful proteins they serve as they exert their specific dynamic action generating even more heat in my body. Much as I love cold herring, I don’t want to eat it the whole trip!

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I had not thought of a mini fan! Good idea. I don’t know how hot or humid the Amazon is but it is in a rainforest and it’s rainy season, so enough said!

 

I agree that the Germans like it warm. I was overheated most of the time in Antartica. There are photos of me with my parka open. My chance to cool down! In fairness, we did exercise classes out on the open decks. The difference was how bundled up the Germans were!

 

Still I am intrigued by this itinerary, and will just travel prepared. Start by getting a good keratin treatment for my hair!

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  • 4 months later...
On 9/20/2018 at 11:09 AM, English Voyager said:

I have now received a 'hedged' reply from Hapag-Lloyd Cruises re the 2020 Ocean Sun Music Festival on the Europa.

 

It will probably be Cruise EUR 2010.

 

Baltic Sea Coast, 13 days 27.05.2020- 09.06.2020.

 

We JUST found out about this "Sun Music Festival" on Hapag-Lloyd.

I don't know why we didn't stumble across it long ago.  (We *have* been searching for "classical music cruises", but didn't know enough to enter "Sun Music Festival" into search, alas.)

 

I think I found info about the program for 2018, however.  And it seemed to emphasize contemporary music.

Is that always the case?


We are real aficionados of pre-1900 music, but as far as more contemporary, "not so much"...

Do they ever have programs that "emphasize" pre-1900 music?

 

Also, does the crew tend to speak English?

DH did a post-doc in Germany, but that was many years ago...

Any chance ship announcements are also in English?

 

Many thanks!

 

GC

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GeezerCouple,

 

The Europa now offers solely German language cruises,

 

Catlover54 has written a detailed review of her 2018 cruise:

 

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=623167

 

She also published a detailed daily thread:

 

 

 

 

 

The following video is from 2014, and provides an indication of the music offered:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by English Voyager
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1 hour ago, English Voyager said:

GeezerCouple,

 

The Europa now offers solely German language cruises,

 

Catlover54 has written a detailed review of her 2018 cruise:

 

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=623167

 

She also published a detailed daily thread:

 

 

 

 

 

The following video is from 2014, and provides an indication of the music offered:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much.

I've just read her review, and have the daily reports ready to go :classic_smile:

 

Although the *very* limited English is a bit disappointing, the way she described it, we "meet her qualifications" for possibly making it work.  (That is, we love to dine together, and although it's great to meet others, we are more than happy to spend most or all of our time "alone together".  Until recently, we almost always took totally private tours, although that's partly dependent upon the destination.  Etc...  Not being able to understand announcements... that would be tricky, not knowing how important something is.)

If most of the staff can basically understand us, that would be good.

 

But it really does sound very special!
Our TA speaks fluent German (grew up there in part), so that should help at least with figuring out reservations or future itineraries, etc.

He's "on the case", so thank you and thanks to CatLover54 for the posts.  Very helpful!

 

Thanks again!

 

GC

 

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I just found out in a buried email on my iPAD I am now assured a spot on the Ocean Sun Festival 2020 voyage EUR 2010, and am accepting, a Veranda IV, though am not sure how much I will use the veranda. Will be paying in Euros.

 

I am currently booked solo for that and the subsequent EUR 2011 ( same cabin)to the northern ice areas ( though no music festival on that one).  So  I will be cruising on two back to back cruises for a month, busy spending part of my retirement nest egg in my first year of retirement ( while I still can). Will be working on getting DH to join me, though it is unlikely he will, but possible as I know he would love taking pictures in the North.

 

English Voyager, did you book Ocean Sun? 

 

GeezerCouple:

 I almost always heard pre-1900 music on Europa classical programs, though sometimes a musician would play a post-1900 piece.  Ocean Sun is extremely well-done, very civilised,  and I highly recommend it if you like classical music. Book soon in English if you want to do it .  They  will send you or your TA all pre- cruise info and details in English. The HL office personnel speak and write emails in  English. 

The cruise will be to Russia Russia Russia ( St. Petersburg) on part of the cruise, where I believe they require visas for Americans, so I will use my TA for this cruise just in case.

 

Any very important or safety announcements are in German and the international ship language English, as some entertainers and back of the house crew speak no or very little German.  There are usually only two addresses per day, very short, by the captain, but those are in German only ( he rarely said anything important, mostly about latitude and longitude and anticipated swells).

The lack of English menus or programs, and having to get someone to translate would be  a bit of a hassle   but the front of house staff, the 24/7 reception, officers, table waiters, and stewardesses do speak English, as do Filipino crew who dish out food in the buffet venue. I suspect Mr. Geezer will also remember more German than he thinks he will 🙂

 

I reviewed the “news” about the ship since I wrote my 2018 reviews, and other than some worry about the new open dining starting 

in MDR in October of this year  ( which is better for foreigners coming in twos or groups)  I am ok with it, They will still have bathtubs and not just showers. Dining hours will be extended, which increases odds of getting a table. And — drumroll— there will now be espesso machines even in the base cabins! No more bleary-eyed room service just to get caffeine. For late risers, one will still be able to eat breakfast in the new Kevin Fehling venue. “Elegant casual” dress code even for dinner, no tie, just like on Europa 2, to appeal to the moderns, other than on the welcome and goodbye dinners.  I bet many men will still put on a tie, however.

 

 

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Thank you very much, Catlover54 and English Voyager!

 

Do you happen to remember the deposit and cancellation/refund schedule/policy?

 

There are concerts or individual performances each day (or almost so)? 

We had just found a so-called classical music cruise, but it turned out to have *one* (!?) performance, and the rest involved a daily lecture... not quite the same...

Is there an online link to this year's performances yet, so we could get a sense of what is offered?

 

It looks like there might be "open seating" for dinners in the future voyages after 2019, rather than the possibility of a [hopefully] reserved table for 2 - is that correct?  (I'm using Google translation, and will ask our TA for more info about this.)  From everything you've posted, plus our previous cruise preferences most of the time, we'd really be happier with a table for two anyway, and all the more so with the likely language issues.

And are "full meals" available by room service, or just a limited room service menu?  (We would not be getting a suite with Butler service for this cruise, although we've always had it before, except on Hurtigruten last year. There, OS or not, there wasn't even room service.  We thought that might be a bit of a concern, but it never bothered us in the least.)

 

This looks extremely interesting. Thank you both again!

Any other hints/suggestions?

 

(We are also trying to find out if the QM2 will have another sailing with the National Symphony Orchestra in 2020, but that is much shorter.  But it would be much more relaxing than flying across the pond, adding some time over there.  But it's not clear whether there are many performances.  Aside from the fact that by the time we learned about the 2019 sailing, the Grills were all booked, we already had promised dear Italian friends that we'd spend some time with them after our Oceania cruise ended in Rome.)

 

GC

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