Koali
-
Posts
201 -
Joined
Content Type
Forums
Store
Blogs
Downloads
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by Koali
-
-
I would love to see more comments on a land/cruise. What did you like most? What did you like least? We'll be going on one in about a month and we're eager for information.
We did a 5 day land followed by week long cruise. First off I would definitely recommend doing the land portion first because it is a bit more active than the cruise. You get shuttled around a lot of the land portion and it’s nice to end your vacation with the cruise. We arrived in anchorage and took the train to Denali for a few days. It was opening week in Denali and had a freak snowstorm so not a lot of things were open. We still enjoyed what we were able to do and would return. A coach bus took us back to Seward to catch our cruise. We had an incident on the bus where it broke down but it was actually pretty perfect. We were able to see Denali mountain in clear skies on a nice day while waiting for them to get the bus working again. Since we were close to a Princess resort, they dropped us off there for a restaurant lunch as opposed to box lunch which is what I heard other coach passengers got. While we were the last ones to get on the cruise ship, they made sure to wait for us! Holland America did a great job accommodating us even in a tight situation.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
We stayed at the McKinley chalet in Denali 5 years ago. I thought the chalet had a really nice log cabin feel. There was a separate living room from the bedroom. It was a super comfortable stay. No meals were included for our stay but we ate at the resort most meals. It was expensive and if I recall very salty!! There are a few restaurants within walking distance (across the Main Street) that we also ate at. We went on one excursion where you go on a 4x4 that included a hot meal. There was only 6 of us and 3 guides and they made sooooo much delicious food on the grill. It was one of the best excursions there.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
Thanks for the input! It is much cheaper for us to rent a car and pay for admission ourselves than going with the ship excursion. I had heard that it is similar to Williamsburg so as long as the buildings are open so we can do a self paced tour, we’ll be happy.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
We are interested in going to For Louisbourg when we are in Sydney on June 13. Does anyone know if costumed actors will be around at this time? Is there anything different that the ship's excursion provides other than transportation if you were to go on your own? I am considering renting a car since it half the cost of the ship's excursion price.
-
I was looking at Ollie's tour. Would you suggest the 2.5 hour or 4 hour tour? We would like some time to explore the town. We will be in port 8am-5pm.
-
First time sailing with HAL just wondering what time you can arrive at port at FLL we sail at 5:00 Pm... also is it true you can stay in your cabin until your disembarkment time? :D
I haven’t cruised in awhile so my memory is a bit foggy. But I believe you can head to the port terminal and start checking in around 11am. If the ship is not ready, they will make you wait in the waiting area. Once you’re onboard, your room will be ready and you can hang out there or around the ship.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
I found the best part of going to the Caribbean is the lack of WiFi and free cell phone coverage at ports. I am really
Able to unplug from home and work. When I cruised in Alaska, I would still check in when we arrived at port so it wasn’t really disconnected.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
We started cruising in the last 5 years when I was in my 20s. Yes we were the youngest people on board, but we typically find that we have more in common with people older than us so having dinner with others was fine. We were more adventurous on the excursions and our dinner mates loved to hear what we did during the day. Now that I am in my 30s, I still like Hal and we are going on another cruise in June.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
I found my answer! We can leave our luggage at the cruise port!
-
Ah never mind! I found my answer!
GradUT,We are looking for luggage storage on the morning of before we embark on our cruise. Do you recall what time you were able to drop your bags off at the luggage storage at the port?
Stephanie
-
GradUT,
We are looking for luggage storage on the morning of before we embark on our cruise. Do you recall what time you were able to drop your bags off at the luggage storage at the port?
Stephanie
-
We’re considering a cruise that leaves from Montreal. We’ll be flying in the night before arriving at 11pm so our only time to explore the city is just a few hours before embarkation. We would typically stay near the cruise port , leave our luggage at the hotel and then pick it up when we head to the port after exploring. Unfortunately it looks like all of the hotels are already sold out and the remaining ones are not in our budget. Any suggestions on what to do with our luggage? We would like to go to Basilique Notre Dame and walk around Old Montreal area. Is the church large enough to maneuver through with luggage?
-
We are looking at an Eastern Caribbean cruise next February and wanted to get thoughts on which may be a better cruise for us. We are interested in going to San Juan, so the only options for the other ports are St Thomas or St Maarten. All things otherwise between the cruises are essentially equivalent to us.
When I browse through excursions provided by HAL at St Thomas and St Maarten, a lot are water based or beach based. My husband and I don't really like those types of excursions. We enjoy sightseeing historical locations and excursions related to seeing wildlife. We are also not opposed to DIY excursions too. Any opinions on which port might be a better option for our interests?
-
On our last cruise in Feb on the Veendam, they had almond milk in the lido at breakfast.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
-
We were on the Veendam on Feb 7-21 from San Diego to Ft lauderdale. We arrived late to some of our ports and left late at most ports. I heard that there were some engine problems and we could not go at max speed. Additionally, the wind was crazy some nights, over 60 knots and we had to go slower for safety. We arrived 4 hours late in Florida and we missed our flight. Luckily we were able to get on the next one for free. Holland America was willing to reimburse any change fees too even though we did not book our flights with them. Glad that we did not go on the cruise after, I would be really disappointed to miss some ports.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
-
I don't recall yoga on our last cruise, but if there were any classes most of them came with an extra cost $12 per class. You have to sign up in advance. At least on my trip, there were never full classes. The morning, evening stretches were free. There was another class for free as well that varied.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
-
During our last 14 day cruise, I thought about purchasing the SBP since my husband was drinking up a storm! When we got our bill, we probably spent ~700. Definitely cheaper than 2 weeks of SBP. If it could only be purchased for a single person in a cabin, we would think about it but I understand why they don't do that.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
-
It seems the issue is preparing food for others. It must be noted that the instructor will not slap your hand if you grab a nibble of what you are preparing.
I had the same experience. The chef said he couldn't allow us to taste our food but when he left at the end mentioned we could sneak some bites before our PG lunch
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
-
Can you share the names of the tour companies you used for this itinerary? We are going on this same trip in February and have been looking for private tours. It looks like a great trip!
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
-
Thanks Scrapnana for doing the screenshot. That is exactly what I saw as well. There must be an error in the system. Anyways, when I went to book with my travel agency, that room was no longer an option so I went with one of the other insides.
-
I am looking to book Veendam room 681 (currently labeled as 683 on the Veendam deck plan) for a cruise next year. The price is listed as an inside room, but it is clearly on the outside. I didn't find any pictures on halfacts. Does this room not have any windows/portholes because it is so close to the end?
Thanks!
-
We were on this cruise last week and it was 2 formal nights. They also changed up the menu a bit. It seems like everything is still there, but they consolidated the apps, soups and salads. Instead of a separate page for the "all the time" menu items, they just added them to the entrée list. My husband suspects they did this so that you would not order as many dishes :)
Formal night seemed really varied (as smart casual was even more so). I saw a few tux and long cocktail dresses. Most men wore dark suits and most women had on dresses that I would consider wearing to weddings.
-
We'll be in Sitka in early September. It's a new port for us so we're interested in getting recommendations on boat tours. I saw a few listed here and compiled against Trip Advisor. I would appreciate any feedback or other recommendations. The rates are relatively similar and we would prefer smaller groups on the boat.
-
Also I would recommend posting this in the Alaska forum, you might get more responses
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
FORT LOUISBOURG - Syndey
in Canada/New England
Posted
I will check out the prices for Enterprise if they meet you at the pier. Was is easy to drive around in Sydney? I was going with Avis since I get a discount with work but we would need to walk 30 minutes to their office or take a taxi. There’s only 2 of us so the cost savings is not as much as a family of 4 but still much less than ship shore excursion!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk