Hapag-LLoyd Europa 2.

[Catlover54]

I am also planning to ask my ta to follow up with hl about the waiting list for this cruise.

I have no idea how the hl "system" works so we shall see.

 

I had my TA aggressively pursue getting more info on the Montreal cruise on the E2 this fall, because whether or not there is a reasonable wait for a committed person would determine whether or not I would book something else. Through the US office rep, she finally got word from Hamburg, indicating the wait list for that particular cruise is huge (and I understand why -- wonder if it has a lot of Americans and Canadians trying to get on), even for the priority committed waitlist English Voyager talked about and that my TA confirmed (and even with a non-discounted single supplement) -- they are just full plus. So I am giving up on that cruise and will do something else.

 

Have to plan things way ahead for the E2 (and even the Europa). We need an Europa 3 to accommodate all the interested people!

[tgh]

thanks for that , I was going to ask my ta to ask a similar question .. won't bother now.. maybe next year

[vistaman]

i am on the ms Europa early October so i think i must plan my 2018:confused: YES during that cruise ??:)

[Catlover54]

i am on the ms Europa early October so i think i must plan my 2018:confused: YES during that cruise ??:)

 

Depends what you want to pay! The on-line website shows some bookings open for 2017, on both E2 and Europa, but not necessarily "deals" for singles.

[English Voyager]

Catlover54,

 

The following may bring back memories of your recent cruise:

 

[Zimbo]

So this thread has inspired me to have a look-see at Europa 2 cruises. The 2017/2018 Christmas and New Year cruise around the southern-most tip of South America has caught the eye...

 

A couple of small questions:

 

1) What is the drinks policy on the Europa 2? Website makes it sound that only the drinks in your room fridge, and coffee and tea, are included. But I have read reviews stating all non-alcoholic around the ship are included. What are drink prices like?

 

2) How good is the internet access on board? Obviously this is highly dependent on sailing location, but I do need to have relatively regular access with workable speeds.

 

3) When do Hapag-Lloyd typically release details on shore excursions?

[vistaman]

in general the drinks are not expensive - there are a few real bargains on the wine list especially in the champagne choice

the only expensive wines are the American wines

champagne is from 8.4 € to 13.5 € by the glass the house champagne is Duval Leroy other champagnes by the glass are Veuve Clicquot , Taittinger Rose and Ruinart Rosé

there are some 20 wines available by the glass or by carafe of 25 cl

ranging from 4 for a glass to some 12 for Chablis by carafe

spirits are starting at 3.5 and a typical long drink is around 6

i think soda's are 3 and mineral water 2.5

there is no service charge on the drinks sigarettes were 3 €

mineral water in the restaurants is not free - the only free drinks are tea and coffee and ice tea and some special flavoured ( like mint tea ) items around the pool.

very special is that there are some 32 different gins ranging from 3.6 to 14

you are welcomed on board by real French champagne , same on the party around the pool

i only use the internet to confirm my flight :D - i heard it is sometimes very slow

some 3 months prior to departure you do receive a booklet with all the possible excursions and those can be booked prior to departure

[vistaman]

i forgot :

the drinks in your cabin - suite - are free soda's and several fruit juices and beer

in a penthouse you do receive 5 different spirits ( i think ) and a full bottle of champagne.

[Catlover54]

So this thread has inspired me to have a look-see at Europa 2 cruises. The 2017/2018 Christmas and New Year cruise around the southern-most tip of South America has caught the eye...

 

A couple of small questions:

 

1) What is the drinks policy on the Europa 2? Website makes it sound that only the drinks in your room fridge, and coffee and tea, are included. But I have read reviews stating all non-alcoholic around the ship are included. What are drink prices like?

 

2) How good is the internet access on board? Obviously this is highly dependent on sailing location, but I do need to have relatively regular access with workable speeds.

 

 

 

3) When do Hapag-Lloyd typically release details on shore excursions?

 

The Internet on my Cape Town to Cape Town cruise a couple months ago was variable, mostly very slow, i.e., it was just like Internet on Silver Sea when I was at the tip of South America. I was on a lot, posting my blog to CC accompanied by DH's pictures. No worse, no better than on SS at north and south ends of earth, worse than SB in the Med last summer and SS the year before in the Med.I do not think you will be able to get great access around the tip of SA on whatever line you are on, though you will have some access at some periods.

[Catlover54]

ZIMBO:

 

1. more on DRINKS

At the buffet breakfast, and the combined buffet/order at table breakfast in Weltmeere the MDR, in addition to coffee and tea, many juices and milk were free. Just no free bloody mary or mimosa i.e., liquor. At lunches and dinners, you order and pay at the table, even for soft drinks, unless in a PH or above.

 

You can also customize your in-room free mini-bar, e.g., ditch the beer and get more soft drinks and water or juices instead.

 

As new customers we also each got a 200 Euro beverage credit for wine and liquor on board.

 

At assorted cocktail receptions ( there were several) and sometimes also on coming back from excursions, crew would hand out the house champagne or hot punch spiked with Schnapps or rum

 

As you are considering a Christmas cruise, note on our holiday cruise we also had unlimited champagne flutes handed out on Xmas eve, Xmas Day, Moet & Chandon on New Years Eve, New Years Day, and Stoli vodka shots with the New Years caviar which flowed freely, also on New Years Day they had Aquavit available at lunch

 

I had been unexpectedly upgraded to PH suite so HL also had the suite pre-stocked with six hard liquor bottles, free, we could swap them out to match your tastes (e.g., I swapped a Scotch bottle for Bailey's, and a Grappa bottle for another Bailey's; DH drank all the cognac:). Whatever is not drunk cannot be given to crew, must go back to the kitchen at end of cruise. PH suite pax get free waters and sodas everywhere they eat, too ( sometimes the waitresses inadvertently charged but then the charge was removed automatically)

 

2. EXCURSIONS: make sure you jump on them early, i.e., have your TA hawk through Hamburg when they are available to Germans so you get early access to them too and have first crack just like the Germans do, as they are really organized. I booked just as soon as

my TA said she had the excursion info ( three months or so) and some excursions were already gone then, nothing critical for me, but may have been for others, though they added more. Not all places have official English options, but they can make arrangements for a crew to translate if you need it.

 

3. That cruise you are considering is selling out very quickly, so jump and book if you want it, you can cancel up to 7 months before with minimal penalty if you change your mind ( full payment is not until 1 minth before departure but cancellation penalties start kicking in at 7 months, see my quotes up-post).

 

Beware there will likely be 40-60 well-behaved and mostly separately entertained minors on a ship that carries about 500 pax, as there were on my Xmas cruise recently ( see my CC review under my username, and my Cape Town to Cape Town blog on this forum), and I saw many families signing up for it, and for the 2016 Australia Xmas cruise, Xmas is a very popular travel time for going far away for affluent Germans with families,

 

4. Note English Voyager is also booked on that cruise! English invasion if you go! DH and I would also join but for our having done the same route in 2013 on SS at Xmas, and the seas can be rough there on any ship, so we are looking

for another trip late 2017.

 

5. You pay 20 cents per minute for slow internet with full service, e.g., uploads and downloads etc., but they also have free basic email and text services on board, your own account, for just keeping in touch with family, and you can order paper newspapers separately. Tablets are in the suites. I am not sure what your internet needs will be but that part or the world, on any cruise ship, is not the place to be trying to download complicated engineering schematics, have a long uninterrupted conference call, or stream movies.

[English Voyager]

Zimbo,

 

You may already have read Page 10 of this thread.

 

If not, machotspur's messages 184 and 188 provide links to pdf copies of the menus in the various restaurants on the Europa 2.

 

His message 189 provides links to pdf copies of the Bar List, and Wine List which, although the prices probably have increased, do indicate the breadth of drinks, and wines typically on offer.

 

With regard to drinks prices, Hapag-Lloyd's policy is to set them 30% to 40% lower than one would expect to pay in a 5* Hotel.

 

I would echo Catlover54's advice not to delay in booking the South American Christmas/ New Year cruise.

 

I, as a solo traveller, have been placed on a wait list for that cruise, although, given the comments from Hapag-Lloyd to my TA, I don't hold much hope of getting a booking.

Edited March 16, 2016 by English Voyager

[vistaman]

some of the champagnes on board are cheaper as in Brussels Airport ...

it seems Europa 2 becomes more and more popular outside the German speaking countries.

in Belgium the comments are mixed : most of the other guests were loyal SB passengers and some of them complained about the non complimentary drinks , the absence of a casino and the entertainment

i prefer to pay for a decent mineral water as well

i hope Hapag Lloyd will maintain the high standards as on other five starred rated cruise companies the standards are slipping away

[Zimbo]

Thanks Vistaman, Catlover, English Voyager for all the very informative and insightful responses - they have really cleared up many of my "unknowns".

 

My wife and I are not heavy drinkers, so we would probably prefer the HL drinks policy of not having some passengers subsidise the habits of others! :D

 

Catlover - your comments about the rough seas in that area do concern me slightly. I had, perhaps optimistically, assumed that a lot of the cruising (except for the stint to the Falklands and back) would be close to the shoreline or amongst the fjords and inbetween islands, in other words upon calmer waters. Perhaps this was a dangerous assumption!

[ededmd]

ZIMBO:

 

1. more on DRINKS

At the buffet breakfast, and the combined buffet/order at table breakfast in Weltmeere the MDR, in addition to coffee and tea, many juices and milk were free. Just no free bloody mary or mimosa i.e., liquor. At lunches and dinners, you order and pay at the table, even for soft drinks, unless in a PH or above.

 

You can also customize your in-room free mini-bar, e.g., ditch the beer and get more soft drinks and water or juices instead.

 

As new customers we also each got a 200 Euro beverage credit for wine and liquor on board.

 

.

 

Great summary Catlover54. Agree on all points.

 

I did want to add on the "pay at the table" comment, this is not at all intrusive or déclassé.

It is as simple as the server inquiring "may I have your room number?"

You verbally tell them and that is it.

 

No showing of room cards or 'signing' like a mass market cruise.

I do not believe this in any way detracts from the 'luxury experience'.

 

Agree the pricing on wine and liquor is very, very fair.

 

The 200€ pp beverage credit was very adequate for our needs including several bottles of wine, many Gin and other spirit beverages in Herrenzimmer and bottled water (flat and still) at every meal.

The wine list was varied and fun to explore offering many bottles not widely accessible in the US - including some delightful German reds which never seem to penetrate the US market.

The sommelier in Weltmeere was informed and helpful and made several enjoyable recommendations.

 

The included fresh juices at breakfast are a delight!

 

One of my favorite breakfast beverages was a cafe latte in a tall (glass) glass with a insulated wrap. So very civilized!

 

If you don't see the 200€ beverage credit on your invoice, be certain to ask about your eligibility.

[ededmd]

 

My wife and I are not heavy drinkers, so we would probably prefer the HL drinks policy of not having some passengers subsidise the habits of others! :D

 

 

I agree. As per my prior post, we certainly are not teetotalers and did just fine the beverage credit amount.

 

Best in your decison. I have my next cruise booked and very much look forward to sailing E2 again.

[English Voyager]

Catlover - your comments about the rough seas in that area do concern me slightly. I had, perhaps optimistically, assumed that a lot of the cruising (except for the stint to the Falklands and back) would be close to the shoreline or amongst the fjords and inbetween islands, in other words upon calmer waters. Perhaps this was a dangerous assumption!

 

Whether, or not, one experiences rough weather is, to my mind, the luck of the draw.

 

In January, cruising, on the Queen Victoria, from Southampton to Copenhagen we experienced Force 10 winds, and 23ft. high waves, and from Copenhagen to Hamburg Force 8 winds.

 

I have found the Europa 2 to be stable in rough conditions although, admittedly, they were less severe than those experienced on the Queen Victoria in January.

[vistaman]

i had rough seas in the Biscaia on Europa 2 - from Bordeaux to La Coruna -

and she behaved very good - and stable ...

however it was some force 8 ( not 10 )

[Zimbo]

Thanks for the additional info ededmd.

 

So we have now booked for this voyage (EX1800), verandah suite 674. I hope this is a good choice - providing stern views. Was tempted to go with one of the corner verandah suites on deck 7, however their location just below Sansibar was a concern wrt. noise.

[English Voyager]

Thanks for the additional info ededmd.

 

So we have now booked for this voyage (EX1800), verandah suite 674. I hope this is a good choice - providing stern views. Was tempted to go with one of the corner verandah suites on deck 7, however their location just below Sansibar was a concern wrt. noise.

 

Congratulations on your choice of itinerary.

 

With regard to stateroom location, I have always been guided by the advice of an ex-Royal Navy man we met on our very first cruise, viz be mid-ships, and as low down as possible.

 

Advice that has proved invaluable whenever we have encountered very rough weather.

 

 

I don't know if you have considered it, but I always opt for Hapag-Lloyd to arrange my overseas transfers.

They have always proved to be first class.

[vistaman]

i wish i could join you but the itinerary is too "adventurous"

concerning flights : i arrange those myself

if done by HL i must fly to Frankfurt or Munich first

 

and to Capetown the Emirates flight over Dubai seems to be very easy and not expensive

Emirates is only expensive to Dubai

next year i do the Dubai to Limassol without any port ( only technical stop in Suez )

that cruise is on offer for 125 years promotion

[scandun]

Great summary Catlover54.

 

If you don't see the 200€ beverage credit on your invoice, be certain to ask about your eligibility.

 

 

I have also booked our first E2 cruise. I have been informed the beverage credit is determined by the length of the cruise: 2-6 night, 100 euro pp. 7-9 night, 150 euro pp. 10+ night, 200 euro pp. Valid for all residents outside of

Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

[English Voyager]

I have also booked our first E2 cruise. I have been informed the beverage credit is determined by the length of the cruise: 2-6 night, 100 euro pp. 7-9 night, 150 euro pp. 10+ night, 200 euro pp. Valid for all residents outside of

Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

 

With back to back cruises, each cruise will attract the relevant beverage credit.

 

So a 7 night cruise followed by a 10 night cruise will attract a total beverage credit of 350 Euros.

[English Voyager]

Re my 3 July cruise,I received today from Hapag-Lloyd preliminary documentation which included an illustrated pocket guide book to Norway, a guide to Hamburg, and a booklet on the available excursions.

 

I do like the fact that one can book excursions well in advance of a cruise without being asked for pre-payment.

[Catlover54]

Re my 3 July cruise,I received today from Hapag-Lloyd preliminary documentation which included an illustrated pocket guide book to Norway, a guide to Hamburg, and a booklet on the available excursions.

 

I do like the fact that one can book excursions well in advance of a cruise without being asked for pre-payment.

 

Yes, that is so nice. DH and I will be in Norway on SB Quest three weeks later ( booked long before we found out we liked the E2, and then it was too late to get on your itinerary) and had to pre-pay for excursions now. Same thing for my one-week November group HA cruise in the Caribbean, a bit annoying.

 

On SB I will have to track if the excursions actually happen, and if I get refunds correctly credited, which is not ideal. One advantage of prepay, which some people oddly prefer, is you are not then stuck with a big post-cruise bill, it helps keep people's budgets more disciplined :)

 

You already know to book now just in case, "because Germans are very organized" especially on the popular excursions like Flam railway.

 

Also, be careful in Hamburg. I have friends there who used to work in California with DH and I have visited them. The touristy downtown and the waterway cruise past beautiful neighborhoods is very nice, but not far away is an area where Mohammed Atta et al hatched their 911 plans. My friends made a point of steering my walking and wandering away from there. Might also be best to avoid the main train station, Hauptbahnhof. Easy to avoid potential problem areas if you plan.

[ededmd]

Thanks for the additional info ededmd.

 

So we have now booked for this voyage (EX1800), verandah suite 674. I hope this is a good choice - providing stern views. Was tempted to go with one of the corner verandah suites on deck 7, however their location just below Sansibar was a concern wrt. noise.

 

Congratulations!

I have been in that suite - and have booked it again.

 

In addition to the lovely aft views you may also have a view of nude sunbathers on the terrace of the Spa below.

Perhaps less likely in distal South America?

Just beware if you have any non-Germanic prudishness regarding full frontal nudity, you may not want to glance downward.

 

Similarly the persons in the decks above you (suites on 7, Sansibar outdoor deck) can look down upon you unless you hew tightly to the sliding door part of the verandah.

 

While my comparison was the relatively calm Mediterranean, I didn't find the movement too "rough".