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Thanks, everyone! Good insights.

 

 

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Another vote for Island Wide Family Tours, Kea was a great guide, we were there about 10 days before the volcano really came alive! It was such a wonderful day, one of the highlights on our entire Hawaii cruise! I’ve been thinking of Kea and her husband during these days, hoping her business is not struggling too much as we had such fun on our day with her! Good luck!

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But there are so many VB to VF that have no lifeboats below them, and have a 6 ft deep balcony instead the 4.5 ft that you had.

True, and we would probably prefer the cabins you mentioned, but didn’t have those choices this time, next cruise we will look into these cabins, especially because their decks are larger!

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Help me. Our Alaska cruise is less than a month away. We are booked in room V5090 on the Nieuw Amsterdam. I've read some posts that state the verandah rooms on deck 5 are blocked (partially) by the life boats. We upgraded to get a balcony room, and would hate the idea of not having decent views. Can anyone out there put my mind at ease?

 

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We just returned from a Westerdam cruise, V room 5101 which has the same issue of seeing the orange top of the tender when you look down from the veranda. This was our first V room and was an upsell offer. I was worried initially about how the tender would effect our view, but it was no issue at all for us. We loved having a V cabin and viewing the ocean waters from our room was lovely. Unless we travel in cooler climates, we will be hooked on a V cabin next time we sail.

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Any information on how far the bus stop is from pier 2?

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We will be arriving on Holland America to Pier 2 and wish to take the local bus to Pearl Harbor. Have looked at The Bus website, but it doesn’t seem very direct. Would appreciate any information regarding this.

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Yes, US citizen with US phone plan, my cell carrier did say I would be covered, I just wasn’t sure if that coverage extended to being out on the water?

We will be tendering in when we arrive in Lahaina, and the rental car company has instructed us to phone Budget rental when we get on the tender and they will then send a shuttle to bring us to the rental agency. Has anyone else done this? I’m wondering if we will have cell service on the tender? Verizon has told us that we will not have extra charges while we are in HI, but I was planning on keeping my phone in airplane mode until we arrived on shore. Advice appreciated!

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On our HA cruise last year there was plenty of beer, but no hard cider available for purchase. Does anyone know if that has been added on the ships? It’s becoming more popular, so wondered why it wasn’t available last year!

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When we were In Marseille we took a shuttle provided by our cruise line (Holland America) and found our way easily to the train mentioned. It was a nice way to see the city as we made our way up to a beautiful church that had an amazing view of Marseille and the waterfront. We had originally thought about traveling out of Marseille for the day, but were happy with our decision to stay and explore this pretty city a bit.

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We will be driving from the Seattle area for our cruise leaving Vancouver this coming April, 2018. Parking very close to the cruise port is pricey and I have been looking at long term parking at YVR. Is it possible to park at YVR if you are not flying in or out of the airport? It appears that I can get a very good price online for 17 nights parking. It also looks like we can then take the Canada Line SkyTrain from YVR to the cruise port. Just trying to get feedback from anyone on CC who has done this. Thanks, in advance, for any tips!

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Wondering if anyone who recently sailed on the Westerdam can tell me where the BB King band performs. Is it in the new Lincoln Center space or the Queen’s Lounge. On our last cruise, BB King performed in the Queen’s Lounge, but that ship did not have a Lincoln Center venue. I know the Westerdam added a Lincoln Center space in the last dry dock. Thanks!

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My husband and I are booked on a RT cruise from Vancouver to HI and back next April, 2018. We’ve been on several cruises and always have loved sea days, the days seem to fly by! Holland America doesn’t have as many “activities” as some of the other lines, but we love to spend afternoons on the promenade deck, where we grab a lounger and read the afternoon away (well, there may be a little snooze, too)! We usually exercise, enjoy the food (of course), people watch and go to a movie and the shows at night. As some have said, everyone is different, but we are equally looking forward to sea days as well as days in port in HI!

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Yes, there was yoga offered on board!

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We stayed at Meriton, Campbell Street for 5 nights, very clean, close to transit options to go all over, enjoyed our stay very much, reasonably priced, Starbucks right across the street.

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Thanks Essiesmom, didn't quite get the NCL reference, happy to hear you liked the J main deck room, I was more worried about noise from above on deck 2 than anything. I will try the HAL board, good tip!

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We just booked this room while on another cruise. We like inside cabins, but our most recent inside was a bit small. It was located on the 5th floor which was very quiet, but in booking our next cruise we asked for a larger inside. The future cruise consultant recommended the J1059, stating it was "one of the largest and best" inside cabins. I did ask about noise as the Queen's room is above J 1059) our room is actually below the walk way outside the Queen's room), but was assured that noise wouldn't be a problem. We walked past the room several times and asked a few people with rooms on that floor and they all seemed please. Anyone out there in cruise land stay in this room or one nearby? We don't leave for over a year, so we have plenty Of time to reconsider. Thanks!

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I have been on several HA cruises and yoga classes were always available in the fitness center. We are cruising on Noordam this coming February and wonder if yoga is offered on this ship?

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Thanks for the quick replies, appreciate it!

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We've been on several HA ships, always interior cabins. I believe all of our cabins had small fridges and we used them for wine we bring on board. I know there is the one 750ml wine limit per person. I thought I saw on a thread that some inside cabins do not have fridges. Does anyone know if there are fridges on inside Noordam cabins?

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I like the website, What's In Port, it has a wealth of info, but not sure if it has the specific info you are looking for. All in all, a great site for lots of info about individual ports. I looked around the site this morning and there is a busy map with all the ships around the world, but not sure if that is what you are looking for. It will tell you how many "scheduled" ships there are on a particular day, but I know that can change with weather conditions. Happy Hunting!

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Yes, turn it off, we know too many people who've suffered greatly with extensive water damage, such an easy thing to do and can save lots of money and headaches!

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Thanks for all the info.

We've used the laundry bags on previous cruises and were always happy with the results, but $7 a day is a pretty good deal too. Appreciate the nice comments about the ship, we are excited about this journey, counting down the days!

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We've been on several HAL cruises, but only one ship had a laundry. Does the Noordam have one? I looked through the deck plans and could not find one. Also, anything about the Noordam that would be good to know? We will be on the Noordam this coming Feb for a cruise around New Zealand, then on to Australia. I haven't found too many recent reviews about this ship. We have previously cruised on the Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, and the Ryndam. The Ryndam was sold after our cruise with them, it was the only ship that had the laundry facilities. Excuse my ship's spelling, don't believe I got them all right. Thanks for any info!

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We and friends have been on several HA cruises and the gala nights have always been an issue for our husbands. Due to "light packing", we've gone without a sports coats for my husband, but on our European cruise, he was given a jacket to wear because he had a short sleeve dress shirt with a tie. Our friend had a long sleeve dress shirt with tie and that was okay. On other cruises, ties and short sleeve shirts without jackets were okay. In order to defer any issues, our husbands have sports coats and ties for our next cruise, nothing fancy, just the travel Eddie Bauer sports coats. But, after reading this thread, sounds like that might not even be needed. Still, think we will be covered with jacket and tie.

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I have read several CC threads and looked at other sources to learn about the myki card needed for transport around Melbourne. We will be arriving at the port in mid-February with HA, planned arrival at 8, ship leaving at 6. We are looking at getting to the city for the free walking tour that starts near the Victoria State Library. Even after reading the info, I still have some questions. It sounds as if you can get a $14 visitor myki pass, but only $8 of that is for transport. We are arriving on a weekend, so I'm wondering if we can get the card for $6 and then load it for travel that day. How much we would need to put on the card for one day's travel needs? I've seen you can load as little as $5, but would that be enough to get us around the city, especially since there is a free tram in the central city. Also what about the lines some folks talk about in trying to get the card at the port? How long have other folks waited? If we arrive at the port at 8 and need to purchase our card, will we have enough time to get to the library by 1030? Thanks for any information regarding this plan.

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