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Possibly a stupid question (but it won't stop me from asking!!! LOL) ... where do I look to find out how any ships will be in port on my departure day?

Dh and I are doing the HAL Maasdam cruise from Montreal to Boston in August. Neither of us has been to Montreal before so we are flying in a couple of days early. Does anyone have any hotel suggestions? If we stay near the airport, is there easy transportation to downtown or would we be better off staying downtown? (I did find a tour that is rated well on Trip Advisor, which picks up at downtown hotels). What about shuttles to the cruise port? Or are we better off with taxi/uber, etc.? Lots of questions .... any advice appreciated! Thanks!

Many thanks for the wonderful suggestions! Glad I have a bit of time to map out a schedule!

We've had some really good lectures on this itinerary - one on the Crippen case, another on other shipwrecks long the St. Lawrence. I'm really sorry HAL has by and large discontinued the lectures and local entertainment coming on board during cruises on this itinerary.

Oh, wow! Dh and I would so enjoy that kind of lecture. Should have started cruising years ago!!

That depends a lot on what your interests are. Do you like history? Nature? Active things to do? Getting out on the water in a smaller boat?

If you could narrow it down, there are people here who can give you some great ideas.

An excellent point! History and nature are definitely top on the list. Active is good, too. Smaller boats ... not so much of a priority.

Just booked our second HAL cruise ... Canada/New England in August. So excited! I'll review the destinations board, too, but does anyone here have recommendations for "must sees".

I would like to add my thanks as well. I have enjoyed all of the blogs. Looking forward to reading again next year.

I so appreciate all of the advice. This board is so helpful! We are definitely planning to spend a couple of days pre-cruise, but we've been to Boston a few times, so sounds like Montreal might be a good starting point! We're on the East Coast, so my preliminary airfare check turns up some reasonable fares.

Dh and I were seriously considering a Baltic cruise this summer. We looked at the itineraries and decided that next summer would be better for the Baltics as our schedule will be more flexible then. So .... now we are considering the Montreal to Boston/Boston to Montreal 7 day cruise on either the Veendam or Maasdam. Any major advantages/disadvantages to starting in Montreal rather than Boston. What about advantages/disadvantages of the ships? Thanks so much for your help!

Dh and I are considering the 10 day Baltic cruise on the Zuiderdam in July of this year. Has anyone done this cruise before and did you like it? It looks like many European cruises are already sold out, so I was wondering if there is any reason that this particular cruise is not sold out.

Also, I've looked over the HAL website trying to get an idea of the excursions available. I can find a listing of excursions, but I can't find prices on any of them. Are they listed somewhere that I am just overlooking?

I don't see any way to check the prices of airfare through HAL. How do you find the fares? Reasonable or am I better off booking flights/hotel on my own. If I book the cruise through my big box TA, can I then go back to HAL to purchase airfare and/or precruise tours, etc.

Thanks so much!!

I bought a cruise-long pass before our cruise (by calling HAL). When we boarded, the pass was less than I paid, but they credited my account for the difference.

I called HAL to pre-book a thermal suite pass before our cruise last summer. When I went the first time, they noticed that I had pre-paid and said the current price was lower, so they credited my account.

Looking forward to reading about your adventures. A world cruise sounds amazing!!

Can't wait to read about your adventures!!

We found only one type of tea service on our cruise on the Amsterdam this past summer. Although the food was nice, it was the only time on the whole cruise that I got warm water (rather than hot) for tea! Service was very rushed. We only went once, so perhaps this was unusual.

Hang in there! You are brave to take a trip on your own and I hope that you end up having a fabulous time!

Does Carnival sail to Canada/New England from Baltimore anymore? I can't find any current listings. If not, when did they stop that route?

Wishing you all a great cruise!

Thanks so much for all of the pearls of wisdom! The only port within a reasonable drive is Baltimore. We took a cruise on the Carnival Pride from Baltimore during the summer 2016. It was a nice cruise and we enjoyed it, but we sure liked HAL a lot more. Hopefully, we'll know are schedule before too long. We are limited to cruising during the summer months at this point because of work. I can't wait till we retire and have more flexibility. I'll be diligently checking the website.

This board was so helpful when dh and I took our first HAL cruise this summer, I'm coming back for more advice!! We would love to take another HAL cruise this summer. However, we won't know our summer availability for quite a while. We aren't set on a particular itinerary (a day on a cruise ship is better than a day at home, right? :)). What are the chances that we would be able to book a cruise with only a few weeks notice? Anyway to know what cruises are usually very popular/sell out? Is there a decent chance that we could find a good deal at the last minute? Thanks for any advice you can offer.

If you are leaving the ship in Seattle and use the "Luggage Valet" service, HAL prints your boarding passes for you, along with the appropriate luggage tags. At least that was our experience on the Amsterdam last month.

The Amsterdam had ATK on our 14 day Alaska cruise earlier this month. The chef, Kathleen, was very good! I enjoyed all of the demos and, like others mentioned, it helps to arrive early in order to get a seat. I asked about the ATK classes at the front desk on embarkation day (thanks to the advice given on this board!) and was able to get class on cakes. There was a charge ($39, I think), but it was a fun class and I got an ATK apron.

I have ordered cheese and crackers from room service, not sure it is still an option, I'd have to search the boards for a rooms service menu.... I'll try. m--

 

I found a thread with an image of the room service menu: Available All Day includes a Cheese and Fruit plate with crackers, nuts and chutney. Enjoy, m--

We were on the Amsterdam a few weeks ago. While I did find the cheese on the fruit and cheese plate to be very tasty, the crackers were just saltines. I did have to chuckle to myself when I saw the fruit on the plate ... there were two blueberries halves, a grape cut in half, and a couple of other bites of fruit. Needless to say, it is virtually impossible to starve on a cruise ship and it was a tasty snack, but I was not impressed with saltines!! LOL

We were on this cruise as well. It was our first HAL cruise, but it won't be our last! It was fantastic! Some observations...

The ship seemed to be in great condition, but is a bit outdated. The pink tile in the bathroom looks like what was in my 1950's-built house when I bought it! Storage in the room was more than adequate; we didn't use nearly all the closets/drawers. The make up mirror on the desk/dressing table was scary. Does anyone need to see their face magnified at about 100x early in the morning? LOL

Entertainment...the evening shows were mostly pretty good. The comedian on the first night (I have forgotten her name) was absolutely awful. The Amsterdam singers and dancers were very good!

Food...there were a few things that we didn't care for but overall we found the meals very good. We had a few meals at the Pinnacle Grill ... excellent.

America's Test Kitchen ... fun demonstrations and Chef Kathleen was terrific.

Boarding the ship ... went quickly and smoothly. We kept waiting for the lines, but there were none! We used the Port Valet service when leaving the ship. It was so nice not to deal with luggage. Nice service!

People ... awesome! We met so many nice people on the cruise!

Now, go over to the Alaska board of CC and review the abundant information on the ports and other things of interest on Alaska cruises. I have found great information there and it greatly enhanced our cruise experience.

Yes, indeed, there is a wealth of information on that board as well. Only problem is, we can't possibly do everything that is suggested, so I guess the only solution is to plan ANOTHER cruise!!! :')