horseymike

Thanks anyway. 
I guess not many cruisers do this.

Thanks Marybeth,

We are actually boarding her on March 8 .ABC islands, however B was canceled.

Still very much looking forward to it.🚢😎

Very much looking forward to your review !

I stick with the Bingo.

I would choose Ft.Lauderdale , proximity, convenience and variety of hotels and restaurants are all positives.

Hi Everyone,

We are considering using Uber Premium SUV after disembarking our cruise at Port Everglades.

Our destination is Delray Beach. 
We will be a party of 4 with all our luggage.

Has anyone done this lately, and can share their experience with us ?

Thanks in advance.

2 hours ago, RuthC said:

I've been using wheelchair assistance to embark and disembark for many years, on many cruises,  now. 

First, in no embarkation port have I ever found any priority recognized; every port has been first come,  first served, as has already been mentioned. So, do plan that you will be waiting, and be patient. 

Second, in the US, the crew can't come to your drop off area, so in some embarkation ports it's necessary to get to a specific place in the terminal yourself; in others, someone from the port will come to get you. Later, you are transferred to a waiting area to wait for a HAL chair and pusher. 
Outside the US, you are generally picked up as soon as you can find a HAL rep to get a wheelchair and pusher for you. Bring plenty of patience! 

Sometimes, once you are onboard the ship, you are dumped in the arrival area, then have to make your way on your own. Other times (most of the time, actually), you will be wheeled all the way to your cabin. ASK for that service; worst that can happen is they say 'no', but they will likely say 'all right'. 

You will want to confirm disembarkation assistance a few days before the cruise ends. Make sure you are on the list, so that HAL has your disembarkation times, sends the letter to your cabin, and is planning for you. You will have to manage to get to the assembly area yourself! 
DO NOT count on you being wheeled off the ship when your color/number is called! Allow yourself plenty of time to get to the airport, checked in, and to your gate to make the flight! You will have no control over anyone else's schedule, and are totally at the mercy of others. 
Again, have a generous supply of patience with you, and a decent attitude. 

Good luck. 

Thanks Ruth

1 hour ago, FOPMan said:

At least one of the rental companies (SNAS or scootaround, I think)  has historically had on-shore pickup and drop-off for wheelchairs and scooters as an option in Port Everglades. It can make embarking and disembarking much faster/simpler.

 

 

Thanks FOPMan

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

I've been using wheelchair assistance to embark and disembark for many years, on many cruises,  now. 

First, in no embarkation port have I ever found any priority recognized; every port has been first come,  first served, as has already been mentioned. So, do plan that you will be waiting, and be patient. 

Second, in the US, the crew can't come to your drop off area, so in some embarkation ports it's necessary to get to a specific place in the terminal yourself; in others, someone from the port will come to get you. Later, you are transferred to a waiting area to wait for a HAL chair and pusher. 
Outside the US, you are generally picked up as soon as you can find a HAL rep to get a wheelchair and pusher for you. Bring plenty of patience! 

Sometimes, once you are onboard the ship, you are dumped in the arrival area, then have to make your way on your own. Other times (most of the time, actually), you will be wheeled all the way to your cabin. ASK for that service; worst that can happen is they say 'no', but they will likely say 'all right'. 

You will want to confirm disembarkation assistance a few days before the cruise ends. Make sure you are on the list, so that HAL has your disembarkation times, sends the letter to your cabin, and is planning for you. You will have to manage to get to the assembly area yourself! 
DO NOT count on you being wheeled off the ship when your color/number is called! Allow yourself plenty of time to get to the airport, checked in, and to your gate to make the flight! You will have no control over anyone else's schedule, and are totally at the mercy of others. 
Again, have a generous supply of patience with you, and a decent attitude. 

Good luck. 

Hi FOP,

To be clear, we are cruising with friends one of which has become recently disabled.

I believe they are renting a scooter on the ship , and will be bringing a walker.

We will be cruising soon with a friend in need of wheelchair assistance for Embarkation and Disembarkation at Port Everglades

Does anyone know how to secure this assistance when arriving and leaving the cruise terminal.

Hi Everyone ,

We will be cruising with a friend requiring wheel chair assistance for embarkation and disembarkation on the Rotterdam.

Can anyone tell me the procedure to obtain this assistance ?

I know this post will be apple vs. oranges because the principles I will mention are totally different products.

All this talk of complaints about food harkens me to a time when airlines served meals onboard to all passengers. For the most part people complained about the quality of the food served by the airlines , and before you know it ...poof .... no more airline meals for most passengers as they were discontinued.

I think I got what you mean.

Thanks

On 2/17/2024 at 2:23 PM, dobiemom said:

If you have iPhones you can use iMessenger. It works iPhone to iPhone, both on the ship and to folks on land. (You need the inTRAnet for this.) Text only, no pictures. 
 

Always keep your phone in airplane mode while on the ship or you’ll come home to a large $$ phone bill. 

 

Turn on WiFi to access the ship’s (free) inTRAnet to use the Navigator app. To use inTERnet you must log in to the WiFi pkg. If you only have minutes (not an unlimited pkg) you must log out or your minutes will be eaten up quickly. 

What is TRAnet ?

All this technology is great …….when it works.

 I get the feeling that server / browser  issues are coming into play on something like this , some devices are able to get the task accomplished and some do not. I don’t like it .

Hi Everyone,

Getting ready for first HAL cruise since the COVID era  in a few weeks. 
Any recent HAL cruisers ,
Do they still offer a fill the laundry bag special at some point during the cruise ?
 

On 2/17/2024 at 10:04 AM, cruisemom42 said:

 

I always look for posts on lecturers since for me they are a big component of on-ship entertainment.

 

Cruise lines really can't win these days. If they have a snazzy presentation, people say they don't want "performers". If they have a real expert, people complain that the lecture isn't entertaining enough. I'm as guilty as everyone else!

 

I thought the mix on last fall's TA on Nieuw Statendam was pretty good. There were two lectures on most sea days. The first was one of the canned presentations (EXP?) given by the cruise director on various topics. Our topics were about various Mediterranean things (e.g., one about Ferrari), and then as we got closer to the US, about the Caribbean. These made good use of the screens in the World theatre and the content was obviously professionally created. It helped that the CD was an excellent deliverer. They remind me of TED talks.

 

The second set of lectures were given by a professor and were more content-heavy. These were mostly about Old-World/New World connections (discovery and conquest of the NW, slave trade, etc.)

 

Unfortunately the slides were often unreadable, the professor at times seemed bored, and she repeatedly stumbled over many names that -- assuming this was her area of expertise -- she should have known. 

 

While the content of the latter presentations were definitely more in my wheelhouse, the former ones were very entertaining and I enjoyed them.

 

I don't know how they did it, but Voyages to Antiquity used to obtain excellent lecturers. They knew how to engage their audience, even when presenting material that wouldn't have necessarily been familiar. They reminded me of the "good" uni lecturers, the ones whose classes were always full because everyone heard how interesting their lectures were.

 

 

Abraham Lincoln said you can please some of the people some of the time.

On 2/16/2024 at 9:30 PM, Nickelpenny said:

I book HAL because I like  what it offers and doesn’t offer. Everyone has to make up their own mind what they want and expect. After 10 cruises with HAL, the pluses are much more than the minuses for ME. Why would I experiment with other lines?  Because I am satisfied with the product/experience HAL offers and don’t want to waste my hard earned money with a “what if”. That opinion is not for everyone but it works for me. 

I have no desire for the pandemonium on the new floating amusement parks that are disguised as cruise ships. HAL suits me just fine.

Thanks for the advice.

Hi everyone,

Any advice on the most economical way to text onboard with members of your family / group who are also onboard?

$$$$$$

1 hour ago, jenp123 said:

Not holland related but last week at the port of San Pedro(Los Angeles), they confiscated all plastic 1 time use bottles and made us dump our water out from the reusable bottles.  She said it could "short" the security scanner, but it didn't seem to be an issue with all of the liquid going through in wine bottles lol.  I assume it is to prevent people bringing booze onboard hidden in bottles. 

They always put their spin on everything.

Forewarned is Forarmed goes the old adage.

Does anyone know if surface lot “A “ is open at Port Everglades ?