ellieanne

3 hours ago, jlawrence01 said:

Personally, I would like to see more stops in Newfoundland and the Maritime and maybe fewer in Maine.

On my last cruise, we were supposed to have 3 stops in Newfoundland -- Corner Brook, St. Anthony, and St. John's, but we missed St. Anthony due to sea conditions. We were really sorry to miss St. Anthony as brother was looking forward to the L'Anse aux Meadows tour.

2 minutes ago, 0106 said:

I do not sign for drinks because I don’t like to use a commonly shared pen. I frequent the same bars and try to develop a relationship with the servers so after the first time, they don’t even offer a slip.  If offered by a new server, I look at the check, explain why I’m not signing and return it.  

Or you could just bring your own pen, like we do.

I know I'm in the minority, but I love stopping at Sydney. I've been on cruises stopping there since 1998 and I have seen all the changes to the port and the little town in that time. One my first cruise, we called on a Sunday and most of the recommended shops & restaurants were closed. But there was a lovely church that offered lobster lunches for $10 and you got dessert! There was a craft fair in the church hall to wander through after the delicious lunch.
Other stops I've done the walking tour of Sydney, which was fantastic, and ended up with tea and oatcakes. I've also attended the music performances at the new port facility. That was greet fun.
But mostly I just walk into town. Usually by Sydney, we realize we need something from the pharmacy or a similar shop, and the shops are close enough to walk to and still see a good bit of the town. On my last stop in Sydney, I happened past a dance wear shop and there was a sale on, so I got myself a new pair of tap shoes! I'm still tapping with those. There is a Tim Horton's we usually stop at before heading back to the ship. It's just a lovely little town.

I know it's not a popular opinion but I really like that Holland America calls at the smaller, not-yet-ready-for-prime-time ports like Sydney, St. Pierre et Miquelon, Baie-Comeau, and Sagenuay. I have never really had a bad port stop or one that I would not like to visit again on the Canada/New England route. And the people in the towns are so nice. Sure the big places like Halifax, Montreal and Quebec are great, but I really like visiting the little places that might be harder for the average tourist to find if not for the cruise stop. Sydney is one of those places. I'm both glad and sorry that it's gotten a bit bigger with more to do in the last 26 years. I do miss the delightful lobster lunch at the church hall.

14 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

I am also considering a cruise on the Zuiderdam.  Having recently sailed on the Koningsdam, and finding it to be crowded (insufficient seating for the World Stage, insufficient seating and competition for service in the Lido, long waits to get into the MDR), I am wondering whether the Zuiderdam will be the same.  I see that it is a smaller ship, but not HAL's smallest. 

Also, can the Zuiderdam dock in-town or is it large enough that it must dock further away or tender at ports where smaller ships can dock in-town?

I have not been on the Konigsdam, but I have been on the Zuiderdam and the Eurodam. Depending on the itinerary and the numbers of passengers, the Zuiderdam can feel crowded. It's a lovely ship, but some of the spaces feel long and narrow, which makes it feel more crowded. Not as crowded as the Oosterdam feels, but still more so than the Zaandam and the Eurodam. Personally, I found it felt more crowded on the Caribbean cruise than on an Eastern Canada/New England repositioning cruise.

Overall, I find the ships post-Covid to be more crowded than pre-Covid cruises, and it was more important to get to popular events (evening shows, movies, trivia contests, etc.) early to ensure a "good" seat (good being different for everyone).

It depends on the port whether the Zuiderdam can dock. When I was on it, it docked everywhere there were docking facilities, but we went to mainly larger ports or were the only ship in port that day. Also, sometimes docking vs. anchoring depends on the port and time of arrival/departure. I know that has been the case in Sydney, Nova Scotia every time I've been there with multiple ships in port.

If you just need a hotel for the night and you're coming in on a late flight, I would suggest a hotel close to the airport. I can second the recommendation for the Marriott actually in the terminal at the airport. Or, if you're looking for something not in the airport, the Sheraton Montreal Airport is a very nice property too.
If you're coming in earlier and want to see a bit of the city before your board the ship, I'd suggest somewhere close to the Gare Centrale.
Last year we stayed at the Marriott Chateau Champlain, just off Boulevard Rene Levesque, behind the Mary, Queen of the World Basilica. It was a great location. The hotel is on top of the Bonaventure Metro Station and walking distance to the Gare Centrale, and the shops & restaurants along Rue Ste. Catherine.
It was also an incredibly easy taxi ride to the port.

Personally I would pick the extended balcony. The one time my parents had an aft balcony, it was so covered in soot that it was unusable for most of the cruise. The only good thing about the experience was the cruise had really rough waters and bad weather (cold, windy, stormy) so they couldn't use the balcony most days anyway.

But I would not pick an aft balcony if I had a choice.

I highly recommend a tour of Cliff Walk and The Breakers in Newport. Also, the Trinity Church in Newport is worth seeing. The wineglass pulpit is amazing.

Halifax is a lovely city. The Hop-on/Hop-Off bus is a great way to see the sights and get off to linger if you want. The Citadel is really interesting and the Maritime Museum has a great exhibit on the Titanic and the Halifax Explosion. It's also really easy to find food along the boardwalk at the waterfront. Cows Ice Cream is touristy, but it's good ice cream too.

I do not recommend the nature trail at Irving Nature Park on a tour. The guide I had on that tour was a competitive walker and thought everyone on the tour was as well. Three people on our tour tripped over the roots because she was walking so fast. We had to send someone running to catch her because she did not notice or pay attention to the people at the back of the group calling for her to stop for a moment. I wish I had seen more of the Nature Park than what was beneath my feet.

2 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

They have been eliminated. A month or so ago.

I am a bit sorry about this. My cruise in September had assigned boarding times and I think it was the best and easiest boarding process I have had since my first cruise in 1998. It was easy and controlled the number of people in line at any time, which meant minimal waiting tp check in or board. And it was easy to find a table in the Lido for a quick lunch once we got on board. I wish they would have kept the timed boarding. It was even easy to get all our boarding party together, all I did was call HAL and have them move one cabin to a later time so we could all board together and my parents could have both mine and my brother's assistance.
(The 1998 cruise ranks as best boarding because they did all the processing in a ballroom at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal with drinks and snack provided and bussed groups to the ship on a schedule -- we had about 90 minutes to check in and wait, and explore the hotel and the Gare Centrale. That was best system, but I can see why they might not do that anymore.)

My brother had no problem using his Keep Cup on our last cruise (in September). They are barista-standard sizes, so no problems fitting under the group heads on most machines.

On my last cruise, my parents & brother had priority boarding; I did not (all separate cabins/bookings). Our assigned check-times were all the same. I was invited by the check-in staff to follow my parents through the priority line, even though my brother was there to assist them and had priority check-in status. I opted to go through the regular people check in and was finished at exactly the same time and boarded at exactly the same time as the others in the group with priority.
I did ask, the check-in staff offered.

So you never know what will happen when you get to the boarding lines. My best suggestion would be to stay as a group as long as possible, and then if you are separated in the process meet up again on the other side or on board. It's not a big deal either way.

10 minutes ago, Will_Dieterich said:

Ever so often it pays off to be sitting at a bar with a view of the port so you can see the pier runners.

This is one reason why I am out on the wrap-around deck at sailaway.

7 hours ago, Mary229 said:

  The world is not a theme park.  There is no lost a found for adult children, there is no one who thinks you are all that special.   I have no mercy on  or sympathy for those that want to hold up thousands of other peoples’ travel plans so they can get one more picture.  Get to the ship on time. 

I agree, mostly. Sometimes even the best plans get a bit waylaid. On one of our stops in Sydney, NS, a group on a tour was held up due to a massive accident that closed part of the road back to the port. Obviously not their fault, and even if they could get to an alternate route, they would be late back, despite having left with plenty of time to make it back before all-aboard time. The group contacted the ship and the ship waited over 45 minutes for them. That's fair, and it didn't have a significant impact on getting to the next port.

There are degrees and there are reasons. In Boston, there is not much leeway, because port operations are controlled by Logan Airport, so the time is tight and the ship leaves. In Sydney, NS, the port is smaller and there is a bit more leeway about coming & going time. However, it would have been perfectly reasonable to assess the late passengers with any over-time fees charged by the port. (For the record, I do not know if that happened, but it would be a reasonable thing for the ship to do.)

It's not always the passengers' fault, but that does not mean it is not always the passengers' responsibility.

12 hours ago, BetsyS. said:

If my memory is correct, I don't think the contact info for port agents was printed on daily program on my cruises in 2022 and 2023.  Years ago on the Veendam, the daily program had the name of the port agent, address and phone number. This would be very helpful.

On my last pre-Covid cruises, port agent information was printed on the maps given out by the Shore Excursions team at the pier.

I don't remember if they were on the maps on my cruise this past September, but I do know the port agent information was not on the daily programs. I picked up the map for Quebec City and found it less than helpful, mostly shops and a strange scale with little information to help navigation, so I didn't bother picking up maps for other ports, instead getting one from the local tourism bureau kiosks once ashore.

4 hours ago, melodyesch said:

Will HAL wait for you if you’re on an independent excursion?  How do they have any idea when/if you’ll return?

No.
On my very first cruise, we left 2 passengers on the dock in Boston. Everyone on the ship was waving to the two late passengers. They were not on a group excursion, but ashore on their own and the ship did not wait for them. There had been pages for the passengers for about 20 minutes prioir to the ship leaving, but they were standing open-mouthed on the dock as the ship was pushing away. (Boston was the last stop before the end of the cruise in New York the next day. I heard later they beat the ship to New York and were able to re-board to pack to leave the ship.)

I was on a ship-sponsored shore excursion in Portland, Maine and that excursion was delayed getting back to the ship. The ship waited for that tour, though everything had been pulled in but the gangway and ship staff were on the dock to hurry the delayed guests aboard.

These two experiences are why I always use ship-sponsored shore excursions to go ashore in new ports, and many times in busy ports.

My experience is they are on the menu, but are not always available, and may "sell out" early in the cruise.

If you want activities, HAL is probably not the line for you. There are things planned, trivia contests, deck games, and beer tastings, etc. but it's not a full schedule. My experience is that HAL is a sedate line, with plenty of time and opportunity for chatting with friends/family, reading, and relaxing. And that's what I want in a vacation...just time in a relatively quiet environment. But I know that's not for everyone.

My husband enjoys the music venues, but there again, what we want is quiet enjoyment of the music, rather than huge productions.

I find the food good. I'm not a foodie by any means. I want well prepared food, but I'm okay with mid-range chain restaurants. I would much rather well prepared basic food than art projects on a plate with trendy ingredients and preparations. Given my choice, I am picking peasant-style dishes over fancy ones every time. (I grew up in New Orleans, with South Louisiana soups, stews, and casseroles...well flavored and prepared food, but not fancy to New York palates.)

Basically, it depends on what you want from the cruise. HAL is perfect for us in ways that Norwegian, Carnival, Princess & Royal Caribbean are not.

There is an ice cream station in the Lido, not out by the pool. On my cruise, the lines for ice cream were always very long, and sometimes flowed into the lines for the other desserts. It also meant if all you wanted were cookies, you had to stand in the ice cream line or cut in to just get the cookies. Poor planning on the layout, but very nice ice cream.

6 hours ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

The only problem with the bread pudding is that there's only one sauce. Love rum or bourbon caramel sauce with it!

I do miss the days when they had liqueurs at the ice cream stations. That made for some really nice afternoon treats.
But I guess, as it goes with all good things, greedy people ruined it for everyone.

Of the Vista class, the Zuiderdam is my favorite. I love the art theme, and like remembering the floors based on the Commedia del Arte statues in the elevator lobbies.
But really, it's a great ship otherwise. My favorite places are either the Lido (when my who travelling party are together -- the large tables make it so easy for groups of 6-8 to gather together -- or the Ocean Bar for drinks & reading during the day. My husband really liked how easy it was on our cruise to find a lounger, especially since he preferred the ones well away from the edge of the pool, and he really enjoyed the music venues. I liked the "secret" path to my Deck 1 stateroom through the Main Show Lounge...so much easier to run up and down through those stairs than wait on an elevator. It was a great ship.
Temperature is subjective, and really dependent on location cruising. We loved our Canada/New England cruise on the Zuiderdam, but it was a bit overcast and chilly, so the dome roof was almost never opened. But on the Panama Canal cruise we had on the Zuiderdam, the roof was always open and it was quite warm. Even the temperature in the Main Dining Room was dependent on the weather outside, probably due to all the windows in the room. If you are chilly a lot of the time, I would suggest dressing in light layers so you can stay comfortable no matter the weather/temperature.

On 1/21/2024 at 10:24 AM, Infi said:

 

 I stayed in this cabin in June on a Canada/NE cruise and unfortunately cannot recommend it. You will not experience any noise from the elevators, as others have mentioned. One thing you will encounter is a LOT of foot traffic and noise from the gangway and long line ups for the tender in front of your cabin door, as the stairs to A deck are right outside your cabin. There were several mornings where I woke up and stepped out of my room to be "greeted" (blocked) by a line of folks anxious to get off the ship. This was a last minute booking and it was one of 3 remaining cabins, which is why I chose it. I would not book it again.

 

I also sailed Zaandam this past Christmas and a friend of mine had cabin 1829. I shared my experiences from 1827 and she confirmed that she also encountered long lines of eager-to-disembark passengers on port days and the noise from the foot traffic. Once, while exiting her cabin in the morning, she was even told to "get to the back of the line" 😮

Ohh, yes the tender lines are awful. I wanted to get back to my cabin just past the entrance to the stairs and I was told by several people, even when I said all I wanted was to get to my cabin "Sucks to be you, the end of the line is way back there."

Zaandam (smaller ship) or Eurodam (larger ship), though I have a spot for the Zuiderdam too.
The S-Class Veendam is still my favorite ship.

2 hours ago, Mary229 said:

I don’t think so.   The Pinnacle is generally pretty good but I have been disappointed in both the Tamarind and Canaletto this cruise on the Koningsdam.  I think the best value and quality is the Pinnacle Grill lunch 

I agree with this. I have not been impressed with the specialty restaurants on the HAL ships. Also, we found on my last cruise, if you do not reserve well ahead of time online, there are not more reservations when you get on board. Sometimes I do not want to plan that far ahead. I find the MDR and Lido to be much better.

One of the problems my group has is that the tables in other areas of the ship are not large enough to allow 6-8 people to sit around them comfortably. The Lido tables are. While it's good to say "ohh, there are tables in the Crow's Nest or Library, or Ocean Bar, or where-ever, they are not suitable to how we need to use the tables. The Lido tables are big enough and useful for our group and use a table when we are all together.

We never occupy the tables for longer than the group is eating during busy times, but will pick a table as a base mid-morning or afternoon. Often we will be using the table as a group when the buffet opens for lunch, so we will have lunch as we finish the game and then vacate the table only to come back later in the day.

Sometimes it looks like we may be hogging the table, but members of our party are taking advantage of the various sections of the Lido and it can take longer to get food from the Dive-In or the Stir-Fry station, so sometimes we wait for them to arrive. Though when it is busy and other people are looking for tables, we will finish our meals and leave as soon as possible.

I find it really depends. Some totally full cruises do not feel crowded, while some that are not nearly full seem like you can never find space.
I find the Zuiderdam-Class ships to feel the most crowded, but that has more to do with the layout and use of space than how many passengers are on the ship. I always feel a bit crowded on those ships.
The use of space & layout issues were corrected on the Eurodam-Class, and I feel there is more space on those ships. It's really a very nice layout, with plenty of space for passengers.
My favorite are the R-Class ships (Zaandam), and I rarely felt crowded on those. The little bit of extra space over the S-Class made them so much better for passenger comfort.

But it really does depend on the ship and the numbers of passengers, and how much what you want to do co-incides with what everyone onboard else wants to do and when they want to do it. That said, I have always been able ti find a favorite spot for each cruise...and it's different for each cruise. This last cruise on the Zaandam, my preferred spot was either a table for 6 on the starboard side of the Lido, or the couches by the bar in the Crow's Nest. Except for the last (unscheduled sea) day, it was always easy to stake out my favorite spot for a while each day.

Depends on the stop.
In the Caribbean, very little -- the cost of the tour & tips for the driver/guide, if I take one, usually a bottled cold drink somewhere, and a couple of postcards. I don't really purchase much in the Caribbean, Curaçao being the exception. I'll usually spend more there.
On Eastern Canada/New England cruises, it's not unusual for me to spend over $200 in port, between souvenirs, tours & tips, and meals ashore.