lillulu

I went there last year. We had a wonderful private tour that I booked. I found Enrique with Huatulco Tours . He has a facebook page. I posted in our roll call and got about 6 other couples to join us. We did the city tour. Everyone said the excursion was great. I'm so glad I had found him and booked with him. He loves his country and his home. He's a wonderful person and very passionate about his home. We can't wait to go back and tour with him again. look him up on TripAdvisor. We did the city tour. We were not in port long enough to do the waterfall tour. What ever you choose you can not go wrong with Enrique. Very sweet and family oriented  man. 

Thank you everyone for getting back to me. This is a 17 day with 4 Gala nights. Wonder how that's going to work. We always like to cruise during Halloween. Unfortunately due to health issues we were unable to take our cruise (which was to Hawaii. 17 day cruise out of San Diego). I had trip insurance  but Holland was kind enough to work with me hence taking this cruise. I personally did not feel up to filing a claim. (My problem, I know). So they would only give me 60 day out to book and it had to be within this year. This was the best choice and 3 ports we have not been too. That's why I wanted to know what they did or if they did anything during Christmas.

Does anyone know if you can give a gift to Santa to give to your child? My daughter would freak. I'd love to see her face. She is already asking me how he is going to find her.  

Thanks,

Lulu

Hello,

Are there any of my fellow CC members who have traveled at Christmas? I am interested in what Holland does Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? What's it going to be like on the ship? What Christmas traditions are followed?  We are in the Caribbean and both days are port days when we will be getting off the ship. Christmas Eve we will be in Falmouth, Jamaica 8:00-5:00. Christmas day we will be in George town, Cayman Islands 8:00-4:00. 

I don't even know if things will be open either day in either port. What are other's experience with this.

Any information would be great.

Another question. What's the norm on giving gifts to the crew?

Thanks!!

On 10/19/2018 at 1:22 PM, phabric said:

Hyatt Place 17th St

Best Western Oceanside

I am curious as to what you used when bidding to get that hotel. I am trying also to stay at the Hyatt Place 17th street for two night pre cruise. I am looking for Dec 9th and Check out on Dec 11th 2019.

Thanks in advance,

Lulu

On 10/18/2019 at 2:36 PM, CurlyQgrL said:

While recently traveling met a lovely gentleman whose wife is from Jamaica. We are doing a land trip and wanted to go to the Blue Hole. His advice was to go to the cruise port and hire a driver and agree in advance on a price of $100 for the day and driver will stay with you for the day. We are going in November so will let you know how that goes.

Just remember to not pay ahead. You pay the driver once they take you back to the port. Just a warning. Also be forewarned. We have had a cab driver smoke gonja aka pot while we were in the cab. He offered us some,  we were not interested. 

On 9/1/2018 at 8:25 AM, JohninDC said:

Please come back after your cruise and let us know how it all works out. 🙂

John,

We all agreed it was the best vacation we have ever had. In December we are going to do a partial Panama Canal. We are looking forward to it as well. 

On 2/23/2019 at 1:38 PM, CarolandNate said:

Book from ship 

Huatulco-  City/Countryside, bay cruises appear to be the highlight here, but there are lots of options.  For this we will chance it.  Any advice from those who have been there would be welcome.  No need to book from the ship unless you feel you need to. My friend, and my daughter with Down Syndrome booked with  Huatulco Tours Enrique. He will set a tour to exactly what you would like. I set this tour up for my family of 3. I then offered it to other shipmates before we cruised. Everyone had a wonderful time. I would book with him again. We did the city tour and Got some great pictures. He is very passionate about his home. And very prideful of his country. He is very reasonable as well. He did not charge more or less no matter how many we had. He would of took just us 3 if no one else was interested. You pay him when you meet up. 

 

 

Cartagena-  It's the city and there a re a lot of options, including some hop on hop off.  I don't anticipate being shut out of all of them.  Again advice welcome . I have a good friend that I met when we had an emergency in Columbia. That's another story for another day hah. Anyways, I posted where you can do the tour yourself. It is very safe. Again my daughter, and friend did this on our own. We hailed a cab and agreed on the price before we ever got into the cab. I will see if I can find the whole letter and post it for you. Enjoy your trip. We are heading out of Fort Lauderdale in Dec to do a partial this time of the Canal. Looking forward to it.

 

 

Found it... Here you go.....

On 2/23/2019 at 1:38 PM, CarolandNate said:

 

14 hours ago, waiting2retire said:

 

I am looking at doing the same thing in Cartagena in January.  Is there anything you can add to your friend's instructions?  Did it all go as planned?

 

Hello waiting to retire. It all went as planned. They did try to steer us toward other taxi's but we were adamant of what we wanted and made sure on the agreed upon price. Now he shows you where he parks so when you get ready to leave, he will be over there waiting for you if you choose to ride back with who took you there. You will be bombarded by people who will actually kling to you to give you a tour. We agreed to a price with one gentleman but, we will never do that again. He just would not listen to what I was telling him and we finally just told him here is your money have a nice day. He was persistant but I was prepared for that. And just told him we enjoyed the tour, thank you and have  wonderful day. Here is your money. We departed ways and went and finished looking around like we wanted to.

Have a wonderful time. Enjoy!

On 2/16/2019 at 9:49 PM, BKLYNPONY said:

Thank you for this.  This type of information is exactly what I was looking for.

You are welcome. Glad it can help people. We enjoyed every bit of it. I actually want to catch a cruise there again.

Thank you for the replies. Are these restaurants in walking distance? When I looked at the google sight, it looks like it would be quite a hike into town. Are there cabs? Or some type of safe transportation we could take? TIA

14 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

 

Did you transfer or assign your booking to a TA?  If you kept it with HAL, you should be getting upsell offers (unless the cruise is fully sold out).

 

No, I didn't transfer it. I book directly with Holland. There are rooms available when I look in all categories. thank you for getting back to me. Maybe I should call and ask?

I have never been offered an up sale. I wonder why. I usually book a balcony. Very rare have I booked just a window. I book with Holland when on board could that have something to do with it? I am 4 days away from a 3 star. I will be doing a 17 day in October.

Thank you in advance.

Are you not in port long enough that you can claim it from customs and then ship it home? I really do not know how that works as I have never done that. So, it would be interesting to find out how you do this. Loved all the pictures and following you on your trip. I myself have never done that. Loved the read. Thank you for sharing.

On 5/3/2019 at 7:35 AM, scottca075 said:

Weird hours, 6-11PM.

 

Where are you from? How often do you get good Mexican food?

 

I think I'd eat a nice meal in the shopping district, pick your nick nacks and call it a night.

 

Ensenada is well covered by Google Street View, you can see what the area is like around the restaurant you choose. Below is an example.

 

Mariscos Bahia de Ensenada

Hello Scottca075,

Yes, about the hours. We thought the same thing. I am from Georgia. Because it is a Hawaiian cruise I think they throw that port in so they stay legal of going out of the United States. We love Mexican food. I was looking on trip advisor and a gentleman was raving about a Mexican street truck. I also saw someone else was talking about it on another thread. I just wasn't sure how far it was to walk there or what was around the port area. Or if it was even worth getting off the ship. I wish we were there for the day. But, were not. Thanks for answering back.

18 hours ago, jkrislc said:

I wish you could use the card towards cans like in the past. That's the only reason I'm hesitating in buying the card as I don't know how good the fountain stuff will taste. 

We did the fountain soda card on the Koningdam. It was great. It was not flat. We are doing in again on the Oosterdam for our next cruise. It worked out perfect for us. We like Soda with dinner. And the cost works out better then by the can. Hope this helps. Enjoy your cruise.

We arrive in Ensenada at 6:00 PM and depart at 11:00 PM. Others that have arrived at that time. What did you do? We do not drink so a wine tour would be out. I just want something fun to do with my daughter. Our ship doesn't really offer much. I guess because we our in port so late and not for long.

Thank you in advance. I appreciate any and all information you can share.

L

1 hour ago, scottca075 said:

 

Shops and restaurants are in walking distance.

 

If I was in the shopping district at 10PM I think I'd take a cab back to the ship. Your two biggest dangers would be a) getting lost trying to get back to the port b) Mexican drivers, who thinks lane lines, stop signs, etc are suggestions.

Yikes!!!!! Not sure if I want to risk it. I would probably only want to get a magnet and shot glass as I collect those. Maybe a shirt for my daughter. And then head on back to the ship. I think I will check the ships excursions again. We are not drinkers so, doing a wine food tasting wouldn't work for us. Thanks for the information. I appreciate it.

We will be there from 6 PM until 11 PM...is there much to do within walking distance of the port? And is it safe as I will have my daughter with me. Thank you in advance.

Question...Do the Menu's stay the same or do they change depending on what region they are sailing from. Example... We will be sailing to the Hawaiian Islands. Thank you in advance.

#Catlover54

If you order room service say, Just coffee. It will come on a tray. Keep the tray and they will remove the coffee cups and carafe that they bring it in. It makes it a lot easier to carry the food back. Nobody ever said a word to us.

I found this when searching to find out what was around pier 11. Hope this helps others.

On 11/29/2018 at 8:33 AM, doublebzz said:

Given the bad experiences that some posters have reported, has anybody ever requested their surcharge refunded?

I have seen post on here where people have adjusted their tip. I myself have never done it. I know that it goes to all and not just that one person who might have not treated me as expected. Maybe they were having a bad day. Or a bad week. Perhaps they are missing home, their child, who knows. So I will not penalize others because of one bad apple. Just my opinion.

Ann,

Yes, I am on the Roll Call.  I looked at Mary Lou's tour, but with her husband passing and them canceling tours I didn't want to stress about it and just went ahead and book something else. We had looked at the Sea Horse farm but I ended up with another tour instead.  We have done ziplining but now it would not be recommended. Plus with my daughter not a good ideal. I am afraid it would scare her.

Honolulu: Polynesian Cultural Center: Booked on my own)

Honolulu: Call to Duty: Pearl Harbor Museums & Memorials

Lahaina: The Hana Highway & Helicopter Flightseeing

Kona: Kohala, Kings & Cowboys

Hilo: Big Island Grand Fire & Falls by Helicopter

Ensenada, Mexico: We are hoping there our places to walk and see. Nothing planned.

On 4/23/2019 at 9:43 AM, DeeniEncinitas said:

7 hours ago, cat shepard said:

@lillulu 

 

I will be doing the same cruise on the Oosterdam in October of this year, so I would appreciate you sharing your thoughts and impressions with us.

 

i hope you have a magical journey.

 

Ann

 

Hello Ann,

We are excited about having the opportunity to be able to take this cruise finally. I would love to share anything that I know. I have to be honest though. I chose to do Holland shore excursions in all ports but the first day in Honolulu. We are doing the Polynesian Cultural Center on our own as I want to do the Super Ambassador Luau Package. Our pick up time is 9:45 at the Pier.

I have a handicapped daughter with Down Syndrome and that is one thing that would be the best for her. I know it will be exciting for her at the same time. To see the dancers, the show, the villages, canoe ride, etc. With the Super Ambassador Package you get, 

Island Villages

9 hours ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

You go GIRL!! 

Glad the hurdle over some major health issue are over. You guys worry about nothing and enjoy the ride.

Take Care

Denise😊

Thank you!