P&PNH

Happy Birthday Roy from a closet Daily-ite. I hope you got yourself a nice birthday cake at Wegmans. Easy to chew and fun to eat. P&PNH

Thank you. I just found it myself in the annual report under shareholder benefits. Valid through July 31, 2024 so far.

Hello, I have been viewing this tread and trying to find out more about onboard cruise credits for shareholders. Is there anywhere this program is spelled out on the Carnival website? Does it work on HAL also? Thanks for your help.

Thanks for input, it is always good to hear from someone who has been there done that. The TripAdvisor review were up/down.

Thanks for the response. My guess is your car was safe while you were gone, and the shuttle picked you up after the cruise OK. Just need a clean bed, and towels for a night.

Hello Jacqui, Two cruises to add to you list. May 13 2023 Zaandam 7 day Canada/new England The second one is the same as yours for October 20 2024, 25 day Oosterdam - 20-Oct-24 - 25 day Meditteranean Romance & Spanish Farewell kazu Guess we will finally get to meet you in person.

Looking forward to your review! New Zealand and Australia are on our bucket list also. Hope to be there in 2024. Enjoy your cruise, and keep the pictures coming, we can watch for now!

Thanks to everyone for their responses. We will check them out. Has anyone stayed at the Best Western Conference center on the north side of town? Seems to have mixed reviews.

We stayed at the Movenpick Hotel a few ago and it was very nice. The have a great breakfast buffet, and the bar has the best Heineken drafts I have ever had. There is also a trolley stop just outside the hotel that will take you into the center of town. If you have the option, go to Amsterdam a couple of days early and explore. They have a national art museum that is well worth seeing. https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en?gclid=EAIaIQobChMInPbIg8646QIVmovICh1a1Q_8EAAYASAAEgK8WfD_BwE Enjoy your visit and cruise.

Hello everyone. We are looking for a hotel in the Baltimore area that we could stay at prior to our cruise in October. We would like one where we could leave our car safely, and they supply a shuttle to/from the port. If any one has has a recommendation for a clean safe place, we would appreciate it. Thanks!

Hello Denise, welcome to HAL. You have chosen a great trip and a wonderful ship for your first cruise. We sailed the Nieuw Amsterdam from Whittier to Vancouver ourselves the end of last May and had a wonderful time. The scenery is breathtaking, take a lot of pictures. That was our second cruise on the NA and we really like the ship. I know food quality is a subjective opinion, but I thought the food was good. I never went hungry that's for sure. The ports are small so be sure to check out the excursions. White Pass railway in Skagway is worth the time. Have fun and enjoy!!

We did a Triple Denali land/sea tour on HAL last May. It as a wonderful trip and we enjoyed it. We started in Seattle where we spent a few days exploring the area. The light rail system is a great way to get around the area. HAL flew us to Fairbanks from there. Note of caution here, make sure you get an early flight from Seattle to Fairbanks. Some people did not get into the Westmark hotel in Fairbanks till after midnight, and there is an early start the next day. Two nights in Fairbanks would be better. Call HAL if you need to get the flight fixed if necessary. We did the riverboat cruise the next day which was fun, there was a lunch included. We then bussed up to Denali for 3 nights in the McKinley lodge to explore the area. The Princess lodge is just up the street, and we ate dinner there one night. Many of the evening tours and shows include dinner, so the meal package from HAL is not worth the price. The package includes a Tundra tour into the park with wildlife sightings and history of the area with a park ranger. Note here, this was one of first tours of the season after Covid shutdown. Some people did not wear masks in tight spaces and we were tested for Covid before the next phase of the trip. There was a 20% positive result in people so their trip was cut short. Train ride from Denali to Anchorage was great as stated above. One night in Anchorage seemed short, then train again down to Whittier to board the N. Amsterdam. From there to Vancouver with stops along the way. Others fell ill on the ship and were quarantined in their cabins, so make sure you are up to date on vaccinations, and be safe. The trip was a bucket list item for us, and it was well worth it. HAL did a great job with luggage,and the Westmark hotels were OK Remember it is Alaska and there is not a lot to choose from in some areas. There is an Alaska tour thread on CC somewhere that has a great deal of information. Good luck.

We sailed N. Amsterdam from Whittier to Vancouver last May, and it was a wonderful ship for viewing the sights. You could go the opposite way north. Our friends on board had a handicapped balcony and it worked out great for them. They moved the ship so both sides had viewing of glaciers etc.

We sailed the Pride last Nov. out of Tampa. We have split our crises between Carnival an HAL over the years, it all depends on the itineraries. We had a good time and the ship and crew were fine. The passengers seemed to be an older crowd that short cruises out of Miami. The cruise will be what you make of it. If it fits your time slot, go for it.

HAL is very good about moving luggage around Alaska. They will give you tags to separate luggage that you need for land and that you don't. Everything will end up with you on the last day. At least it did for us last year. Book the cruise, you will love it!

Thanks to all for the information. Guess I will go with the internet plan so the pet sitter can stay in touch.

Greetings to all. Have searched the forums and have not found an answer to my question so here goes. If you are cruising from Montreal to Boston, do you need to purchase the internet plans to get text and email messages? I would think your have coverage traveling up the St. Lawrence till you reach the ocean, but are you far enough off the coast for it to not work after that? We Have T-Mobile that has covers Canada.

Jacqui, We have been following your posts for quite some time and enjoyed all you have written. Sorry to hear about your foot, and now your elbow. Hope you heal quickly. Not sure about how the insurance thing works, did you have trip insurance? I would think that with all that went wrong onboard, the fall, and the misdiagnosis that HAL would pay all expenses and give you trips for life. Best wishes, P&PNH

Key West is another port that has been trying to limit the size of ships and number of guest as well. There are also ports like Tampa that cannot accommodate larger ships, which is fine with us.

I agree with smaller ships. I don't need amusement parks, city blocks or ice skating while on a cruise. More than 3500 people is my limit. Purpose of the cruise is relax and explore new places, or revisit favorites. If that means sailing on older smaller ships that is fine with us. HAL does a good job on maintaining their ships, and offering good service.

Interesting choice to make. Have been on the Horizon and it is a nice ship, unless you loose an engine like we did last November, and have to skip 2 ports. Have not been on the Glory but looks to be nice, and I would choose the smaller ship. Weather in either place will be hot that time of year, and it is also hurricane season. Delay to late November and go out of NO. It has a lot of history and should be safe during the day to explore. Turquoise Bay on the other side of Roatan has some great reefs and coral for snorkeling. Either way enjoy your cruise.

Do you remember what the cab fare was? I find it is sometimes less money and less stressful to just get a cab than wait for a shuttle.

We renewed our vows nine years ago on the Nieuw Amsterdam, and it was a very nice ceremony. We have friends who just did the same thing, on the same ship, heading south from Alaska. The ceremony was very nice, preformed by the Captain in the Tamarind Lounge. They took pictures, provided a wedding cake, Champaign toast, lots of rose petals, and dinner in the Pinnacle Grill. The wife/bride was ecstatic and the husband/groom (who arranged it as a surprise) was very happy with the way it turned out. I would recommend this to any couple who truly love each other. It is a great memory to have a time passes.

We were also aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam on the May 29th sailing from Whittier. Masks were suggested for all indoor functions onboard. Many people completely disregarded the suggestion. There were cases of Covid onboard, not sure how many. I do know that many people staying at McKinley Chalet did not mask up either. When we were tested at the lodge before leaving on the train south, 10% of those tested were positive and could not continue their trip. There were a number of empty seats in our train car. The ship was less than half full, so social distancing was not a problem. Covid is not over, and if you want to complete your trip, wear your mask in confined situations.

We used the transfer last Sunday June 5 from Vancouver to SEATAC. No name on the bus and it didn't have a working bathroom. This created a problem for some ladies on the bus, as they had to run back to the duty free shop while waiting to cross the boarder. Customs station only had 2 unisex stalls which created quite a line. Travel time was over 6 hours. You also had to handle your own luggage through Canadian customs at the port.