HAL Beach totes

[kazu]

Wow, I've always thought the canvas totes were "for your use", not for pax to keep!

 

I think lots of people don't use them. I carry a large backpack when I go ashore, so I've never had a use for them. In that case, I'd assume there were plenty to go around. I'd ask more than one person if I wanted one.

 

I might bring one home this time. :)

 

They are definitely yours to keep:):)

[DFD1]

From time to time we have seen passengers wearing vests or jackets made from their collection of HAL beach tote bags.

 

They've been around a long long time and our cruise in January was the first time we did not have two of them left on our bed. I expect (hope) that it was just a "misfire" in that particular instance.

 

Didn't really matter. We've accumulated several over the years.

[1pinehurst]

Thanks for the info from everyone. We will continue to monitor the reviews and hopefully there will be no major problems on our cruise. I really want to go on this cruise as it starts and ends in Ft. Lauderdale and no long flight to dread.

[mamaofami]

We got one tote bag on our January cruise on Maasdam. Sometimes we used to each get one, but one was enough this time..

[Avery's Gram]

We received one tote bag on our Rotterdam Hawaii/Tahiti cruise (Jan4-Febr4) but did not get the tiles.......some problem with a supplier, according to a letter from the Guest Relations person which said they would be mailed to us. Still waiting!

[Sea42]

My husband and I each received two, one each at the beginning of both weeks of our collectors cruise. January - Nieuw Amsterdam.

[mightycruisequeen]

We've always gotten the tote bags, but they don't hold much, so we use a tote bag from another cruise line. It's less likely to be accidently picked up by someone else, too.

[serendipity1499]

On every cruise we've received at least one tote bag..

We were on a colllectors cruise on the NA end of Jan..The first week we received the Mariner's tote bag & the second week we received the regular tote bag..

Has anyone every tried washing & ironing these bags?

Cheers..:)Betty

[GeriatricNurse]

On every cruise we've received at least one tote bag..

 

We were on a colllectors cruise on the NA end of Jan..The first week we received the Mariner's tote bag & the second week we received the regular tote bag..

 

Has anyone every tried washing & ironing these bags?

 

Cheers..:)Betty

 

Yes, and my best advice is 'don't do it'! ;) The tote bags will shrink and wrinkle, (badly)! :( Canvas is probably not meant to be washed! :D Best to keep it clean! :)

[DFD1]

They change sizes drastically when washed!!

[RMLincoln]

My husband and I each received two, one each at the beginning of both weeks of our collectors cruise. January - Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

Yikes, that seems like overkill. I think I'd have to give some back in that case rather than pack thm all home:D.

 

A Mariners bag would be nice as I haven't gotten one of those yet. Maybe this time. m--

[sail7seas]

We received one tote bag on our Rotterdam Hawaii/Tahiti cruise (Jan4-Febr4) but did not get the tiles.......some problem with a supplier' date=' according to a letter from the Guest Relations person which said they would be mailed to us. Still waiting![/quote']

 

 

Call Mariners Society and ask for your tile. They are usually very good about sending them out when someone reorts they didn't get one on the ship.

 

800-547-9139

[Cruiser4310]

No, seriously, you don't want them. They are cheap, made in China, shrink, and are terribly inferior. I never understood why people made such a big deal. You are not dealing with a Louie Vuitton bag here, hate to break the news.

[Amuse Bouche]

:D

 

You can buy one on Ebay! Actually, two!

 

Amazing some of the HAL stuff on ebay. There's a little vintage bar of soap, and a cabin charge reciept from 1964. And just about any tile, plate or ashtray you could want.

[EatonDoolittle]

I put about a half dozen in a pile with some nice bags from other cruise lines (could be used for groceries..) at a recent yard sale, and not a one got even a nibble.

Ended up sending them to the thrift shop for donation along with the rest of the "left overs" .

I did keep one, one of the nicer ones with the row of shells across it...remember those? A little better quality canvas, too.

[serendipity1499]

Yes, and my best advice is 'don't do it'! ;) The tote bags will shrink and wrinkle, (badly)! :( Canvas is probably not meant to be washed! :D Best to keep it clean! :)

 

They change sizes drastically when washed!!

 

 

Just wondering..Thanks..

[sail7seas]

Have it dry cleaned???? :shrug:

[GeriatricNurse]

Have it dry cleaned???? :shrug:

 

 

Well, I would think that the cost of having the totes dry cleaned would cost far more than the totes themselves! ;) Wait a minute, that is incorrect, as the cost of the totes would have been 'included' in the cost of the cruise! :p (And can canvas be "dry cleaned")? :confused:

[DFD1]

Actually, I don't think they are canvas in the usual sense that we know it. They are more likely an inexpensive grade of cotton that morphs into something smaller and wrinkled when washed.

 

Anyway, they are fun and handy for use around the pool and ashore.

 

IMO

[sail7seas]

When/if your tote gets badly soiled and needs washing,

 

:D Go on another cruise and get a new one. :p :cool:

[Sea42]

Yikes, that seems like overkill. I think I'd have to give some back in that case rather than pack them all home:D.

 

A Mariners bag would be nice as I haven't gotten one of those yet. Maybe this time. m--

That's what we thought, too! We really didn't have much use for them so we put the small gifts we had picked up for our grandson into them and gave them to him. Now they're my daughters problem.

[GeriatricNurse]

When/if your tote gets badly soiled and needs washing,

 

:D Go on another cruise and get a new one. :p :cool:

 

Apparantly, the totes have been unavailable on some cruises! ;)

[IRL_Joanie]

Part of me is surprised at the variety of responses to what I thought was a simple question... and part of me is not surprised at all that these types of things vary form ship to ship, cruise to cruise, long cruise vs. short cruise, collectors cruise, grand cruise... OY! I guess the best approach is to not expect anything, to bring a back up tote and then be happily surprised if they show up :)

 

It's have a bad day on a cruise ship! Thank you all for sharing your experiences. m--

....IF you have not received one the night before your first port, ask your Head Room Steward about them. He/She will get you one or 2.

 

We'd not received ours and I mentioned it to our Steard and he was very apologetic. He had been distracted by another guest as he was getting ready to get the totes to lay on our stateroom bed and totally forgot about them.

 

Just ask, and you will receive:)

 

These were slightly different in appearance than all previous ones we received. These have a HAL Blue strip horizontally across the bag near the bottom and looked really really nicce!! I'd take a photo but we gave them to our granddaughter.

 

Joanie

[Cruiser4310]

Much ado about nothing at all. They're handy. You can wash them. They're probably, more than likely from China, but they make a great library bag when you get home. They don't shrink THAT much and you can impress the librarians when you throw your intellectual reading matter, like Jackie Collins, into them. No big deal. :)