Do you have cruise booked?

[Randyk47]

I feel inadequate.....only one cruise booked and that's Galaxy out of Galveston in March for a 12 day Panama Canal cruise. We're giving the "dark side" (aka Celebrity) a try since we can drive to this cruise for a change. :o Would love to see HAL move a ship to Galveston though, that would be fantastic.

[jazzsea]

October 20 - 30, 2004 Rotterdam Canada/New England

January 5 - 15, 2005 Rotterdam Panama Canal

March, 2005 Wind Star (haven't booked it yet)

July 16 - Maasdam Boston - Rotterdam - Boston 35 days

We're also looking at MSC Lirica but haven't chosen a date.

[Lois R]

Hi Randy:) don't feel inadequate...I am going next month..nothing else booked

Carol:) hi to you as well, this is just an FYI...my dad and his lady friend went on the Lirica earlier this year....and they are very easy to please...but it was one of their worst cruises to date.
Of course, we all have different likes and dislikes..but when my dad is unhappy its got to be pretty bad. They are flexible folks LOL
The food was not very good.....the quailty as well as the limited choices on the menu. After the 2nd evening...they stuck with fish...as the beef was not good...

They went to the Panama Canal and I think the avg age of the pax were mid 70s...there was a bit of an uproar about seating......75% wanted main seating... that is really impossible..there some very unhappy pax throughout the week.
Dad had spoken with one of the Restaurant Managers and even he was a bit "flakey"..might be an appropriate word........he asked my father why "so many people want to eat early"...well, if you are a manager, you would think you would know your demographic.....older pax usually like main seating(I know that doesn't apply to EVERYONE) but in general it would probably be true. The Line is European so lots of people eat later but it didn't go over to well on their cruise.
Oh the entertainment and itinerary was good though...they both enjoyed that part of the week....but overall on a 1-10 scale...they probably rated it 4.5 to 5.5....

Anyway....I realize you and I don't know each other but I just thought I would post this...let you know what type of experience some one close to me had on their sailing!

[Navy_Chief]

Rotterdam - MED - August 30th, 04

HAL/CCL/PCL Jun - Dec '06 New Eng/Can or Carrib (window too far out):rolleyes:

[Randyk47]

Wow Lois, you of all people, I would have expected a whole list. :) Truth is my wife about stroked out when I booked our March cruise 4 days after we returned from our Oosterdam cruise. Historically our problem has been that we research and get all excited about possibilities and then get overcome by events and never book and go on the vacation. I decided the only way we'd break this was to book ahead of time and then just make it happen. However, since we both still work it's difficult to plan more than one major vacation a year. Have to sandwich visits to and from family since we're spread all over the map.

[Roboat]

Suzanne and I are booked on the Z 10/16 Western C. along with my brother and his wife. This will be our first veranda cabin.

So nice to have a cruise to look forward to!

[HeatherInFlorida]

KK, I hope you don't think I was being judgemental in any way! I was just envious. I wouldn't want to be away for quite as much time as some of you (I'm a "nester":) ), but I would love to be able to cruise 2 to 3 times a year. So I was just envious of you all having the time and the $$$ to do it, that's all. I hope no one took me wrong on that:D

[quote name='ExaltHim']Maybe June 2005...I think someone asked one time when the best time to go was and June was most favored, have you heard? What did you find when looking into it?Marie[/QUOTE]Marie & Lois: You must go to Bermuda. I've cruised there twice and I've stayed on the island 3 other times for up to 2 weeks. It is a magnificent island unlike any other. You will see no poverty anywhere. You can rent mopeds or bikes and go all over the island. Heavenly. The ship docks both in St. Georges and Hamilton and the wonderful thing about Hamilton is the ship is right on Front Street with all its fabulous stores. Again, unlike any other port in the Caribbean. Just remember it starts to get very hot in June and July. Depending on how hot you want it, I might recommend end of May into June (but check on rainfall). The Fall is nice, too. I was even there in February and November and both were wonderful, but not beach weather. Great for touring.

But it's a must on your schedule. However, no matter how I may rave about it, the next on your list has to be Bora Bora which is absolutely our favorite island in the world. When you come away from Bora Bora you are never really quite the same again:)

[allen.crawford]

Sage,

Thanks, We just added an avatar. This picture was taken on our last cruise. We both had fallen asleep on the top deck and so are a bit on the "burnt" side.

We have had fabulous good fortune with the weather on our previous cruises, so here is hoping it will continue!

[FlorenceItaly]

I am ready for Bermuda...Lois, you pick a date, contact your TA, and just tell me who to call to give my credit card info to :).

Marie

[Southbound]

[font=Tahoma][size=3]CRUZLOVER56 -- Our Oosterdam trip was 2/29-3/7/04. HAL was running a very enticing special for "S" suites and we couldn't resist.[/size][/font]

[MBeamTX]

[quote name='Randyk47']I feel inadequate.....only one cruise booked and that's Galaxy out of Galveston in March for a 12 day Panama Canal cruise. We're giving the "dark side" (aka Celebrity) a try since we can drive to this cruise for a change. :o Would love to see HAL move a ship to Galveston though, that would be fantastic.[/QUOTE]Randy, we thought about trying that intinerary out of Galveston, since I live in Austin and my parents could stay with me either before or after the cruise. But I couldn't get very enthused about the Galaxy for some reason. I didn't like the stateroom options in comparison to Holland America. I'll be interested to hear your impressions on the ship, the port and the intinerary after you've sailed.

We ended up booking a 14-day full Panama Canal cruise, a repositioning intinerary from San Juan to San Diego on Serenade of the Seas next April 23. The rate I was able to find from a specific online agency was just too tempting to pass up. It has the added bonus of departing on my parents' 50th wedding anniversary! I know that RCI tends to attract more families and children than we prefer, but I don't expect that will be so much of an issue for a 14-day cruise.

We are also booked on Westerdam in December, with a group of 9 of us going. It's double the fun having 2 planned! But also double the stress on the credit card. :eek:

Happy cruising,
Susan

[Sage]

Allen.Crawford,

You look great. Isn't that how everyone looks after a cruise? We too are hoping for good weather, and I'm sure that we will all have a great time. I don't know about you, but we are ready to go and are just counting the days.

[BCEagle78]

Volendam - Nov 26 - 10 Days Eastern Caribbean

In the planning stages:
2005 - Europe??? Jun 8... Rotterdam... too early for us to know if we can swing it...

Paul and Debbi

[wild_rose]

Only booked the Westerdam B2B for February 2005.
But, then, we come from Canada, and we can't ever get 2 weeks for less
than $10.000 CAD. It's the truth; we've tried for years, and dare
anyone to do better!

[Randyk47]

MBeam - Celebrity and Galaxy wouldn't be our first choice under normal circumstances but we booked an RS for 12 days...somewhat comparable to an S suite on S class HAL...for $1,800 less than the best price I could get for the Rotterdam for 10 days and that was before the airfare. I just couldn't let that slide by. Do have some concerns about the age of the Galaxy and the fact, at least right now, that she's not gone to refit lately. Oh well....we'll be cruising!!! Next trip in planning is the Med!!! :D

[Sinbad37]

It is interisting to see the future plans of our fellow CC members.

??????Why not a special list for "new sign - ons"

Ship----Dates---Destination ---

ARE YOU ON OUR SHIP? :confused:

lOOKING FOR YOU!

Ginny & Ed

[Sage]

Allen.Crawford,

We are also on the roll call board if you would like to come and join us there. We are planning an informal meeting after lifeboat drill, and we are open to other times as well.

[Bill HaHa]

Ryndam...March 6, 2005. 10 days to Mexican rivierra/Sea of cortez. The only one for now.

[cruisingangel]

We are booked on the Zuiderdam in June 2005. Western Caribbean.:)

[cruisinjudy]

Bill HaHa, see you on board.

[localady]

[font=Comic Sans MS][size=3][color=blue]BillS-[/color][/size][/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS][size=3][color=blue] My DH and I will be on the Prinsendam on July 26th 2005, roundtrip Amsterdam. Maybe you and your DW could consider this one. It's a fabulous itinerary and I have heard that sailing the Kiel Canal is spectacular and I don't think the larger ships transit that Canal. DH and I are quite excited, sure would be great to have some CC'ers join us!!:cool: [/color][/size][/font]

[Cruising Illini]

OCruiser -- Have several booked and especially Jan 15 - Tampa. Are you in the suites by any chance??Would see you in the Neptune if you are. Cruising Illini living in FL.

[MBeamTX]

[quote name='Randyk47']MBeam - Celebrity and Galaxy wouldn't be our first choice under normal circumstances but we booked an RS for 12 days...somewhat comparable to an S suite on S class HAL...for $1,800 less than the best price I could get for the Rotterdam for 10 days and that was before the airfare. I just couldn't let that slide by. Do have some concerns about the age of the Galaxy and the fact, at least right now, that she's not gone to refit lately. Oh well....we'll be cruising!!! Next trip in planning is the Med!!! :D[/QUOTE]Randy, I know what you mean about the Rotterdam pricing! We'd love to have booked her, since all of our cruises have been on HAL, but the Canal prices are very much out of sync with other cruise lines. We booked an owner's suite on Serenade of the Seas, which seems quite comparable to a suite on HAL's S-class ships (and bigger than the suites on the Vista class). It was $1650 less [i]per person[/i] for the 14-day complete Canal transit on RCI than the 10-day partial transit on Rotterdam. And forget about comparisons to HAL's 14-day or longer repositioning cruises.

I also learned that you can use airline miles and award certificates on "open-jaw" itineraries, so our airfare to San Juan and back from San Diego is covered. That made the Serenade cruise a no-brainer, really.

I'd love to see a HAL ship based in Galveston or New Orleans, too. But I'm afraid, based on the evidence of their Panama Canal and New England intineraries, that HAL would price it at sky-high levels because of the relatively limited options out of Texas. It'll be interesting to see what happens, though.

And as you say - you'll be cruising, so Galaxy will do just fine!

Happy cruising,
Susan

[terrascape]

We are booked on the Maasdam 11 day out of Norfolk on Nov. 9. Am also looking at the 9 day, Maasdam Norfolk-Montreal cruise in May 2005. Too far away to commit yet.

[Randyk47]

Susan - Our problem with our air miles has been that we typically cruise in the Spring to celebrate our anniversary and my birthday (21 March) and that falls in the spring break weeks. Most airlines, particularly those flying to Florida, block out those weeks for frequent flyer miles exchange or double the miles required to overcome the black out. The easy answer would be to move our cruise dates but, in addition to the already stated reasons, it also matches with our business cycle so we both can get away from work. Not sure the dream of a Med cruise will work out that way and that's really being planned as my retirement "gift". Whether we go HAL or Celebrity to the Med, or pick a completely different line, might be influenced by our upcoming Galaxy cruise.

As to the Rotterdam pricing....and HAL's Panama Canal pricing in general....it is interesting that they seem to be substantially higher than other lines. I can't say I've spent hours looking at other comparative cruises but your comment confirms at least my analysis for the Panama Canal. Wonder why HAL is so out of sync on their Panama Canal itineraries? Of course, they must be filling the ships or they'd respond accordingly.

I'd think (hope?) that if Galveston or even New Orleans based cruises become popular then HAL would tap into the market. Of course, at least for Galveston, HAL's parent company through Carnival does have an established presence with the Elation sailing out of Galveston on a regular basis.