binkey36

They do. Just make sure that he tries it on as soon as you get to the room. A good friend of ours rented one and the pants were too short. They fixed it without a problem, but you don't want to find out that you have a fit issue right before dinner.

 

From one of the HAL information sheets:

 

 

Tuxedo rentals available from Cruise Line Formalwear for $75-$115—call 800-551-5091 or go to http://www.cruiselineformal.com .

THANK YOU! I really appreciate the information. (and SO quickly too!) Love the CC boards!

My husband and I are sailing in April 2015. We are debating whether to bring his tux or rent one onboard. However, I can't find any reference on the HAL site for Tux rentals. Does anyone know if they have this service onboard? Thanks for your insight.

I know that a couple weeks ago the NGS was having a system problem. Earthquakes were showing up on their system when none occurred. (5.0 in Monrovia..never occurred). Hopefully, that is the case with these latest reported quakes. No news about them on our local and national channels.

The Quay West hotel on Albert Street is very close to the waterfront, and has nice large one- and two-bedroom apartments. We stayed there a couple of weeks ago and they were comfortable and quiet.

 

If you can wait, sites like Wotif and Expedia will have good deals a couple of months out from when you need them.

 

The Mercure mentioned earlier is fine, maybe a little noisier. The rooms may be starting to show their age a bit, but they are clean and the beds are comfortable.

 

Sebel Suites and Sofitel in the Viaduct Harbour are great hotels, and a flat walk to the cruise terminals.

Great information. Thank you. We plan to wait until a couple months before sailing to book our rooms. Good deals are always welcome!

Wonderful information! Thank you Glyder!

Thank you torchlight and Eileen for the suggestions! Both are good. My husband and I are up to the 10 minute walk. My Dad will be 91 by the time we take this cruise. I'm not sure he will be up to it. But if it is a 10 minute walk...it will also be a very short taxi ride! Thanks again to everyone for their help and suggestions.

Quay Street is close to the terminal - Copthorne & Hilton.

I have stayed at Sky City a few years ago now though and even though the rooms were smoke free you could smell the smoke (I don't know where it was from). Sky City Grand is nice though.

Langham on Symonds Street is nice but it is a fair way probably at least 20 minutes walk (not that close to the harbour)

City Life Auckland - Heritage Hotel is mid way up Queen Street. I have had friends really recommend that hotel.

If you look on Grabone you might be able to find a deal.

Great info! Thanks nattygee!

I stayed at the Mercure this past December. On the plus side, it was a great location, and great price for my two night stay. They have a lovely breakfast buffet on the top floor with beautiful harbor views. On the down side, despite a modern lobby, the rooms were a bit tired. They were clean, but in need of updating as were the hallways. It was fine for us as we spent little time in the room. Convenient to the harbor, shops, restaurants and the city bus system which is easy to navigate and goes all over. Best of all, on the day our cruise departed, we walked the two blocks to the ship.

Thank you for the information. Sounds like a good possibility for us.

I'm almost embarrassed to have to ask....but here goes. BTW, I'm sailing on the Westerdam, in July if it makes a difference.

 

My wine experience is fairly limited - I'm okay with a glass of house red at a good restaurant. I prefer pinot noir or merlot and will look for berry/chocolate tones if I'm reading a review. I haven't really looked at the number ratings before so thanks for the education in the research thread!!

 

On this cruise - will be taking a bottle of pinot grigio [santa Margherita] and a red for the room. With dinner I'm good with a couple of glasses.

 

If by the glass - do they pour a skimpy glass or a generous glass?

 

If by the bottle - how long will wine be good if kept correctly and will they do that for me? I'm the only wine drinker - and my MO is to open a bottle at home, have a couple of glasses, cork it, forget it and then days later - have yuck in a bottle.

 

I'll probably be picking up wine in Seattle if anyone has a suggestion for a local wine - I'd be glad to taste test on my pre-cruise day!!

As to picking up wine in Seattle. 14 Hands is a local WA winery. The reds are great and very reasonably priced.

oskarNZ and Flipper...thank you so much for your insight and information. My Dad (and husband) will be thrilled to hear about the smoking 'laws'. Excellent recommendations from both of you. We aren't flying in until next April, so we have plenty of time to make a decision.

Thank you Ruth Ann and Elise. I will check out both. I just love planning our trips!

Thank you CW! I appreciate the information.

Looking for recommendations for Auckland hotels. 2 couples flying in a couple days before our South Pacific cruise. My dad will be 91 at that time and can't tolerate cigarette smoke. So non-smoking rooms or hotels are a must. It appears that staying near the harbor could be fun too. Any suggestions or recommendations will be appreciated.

Just booked Premium Economy on Air NZ for April 2015. One way flight was much less expensive on Air NZ versus Qantas for us. 777-300 out of SFO...should be interesting.

You should not have any difficulty purchasing whatever you wish.

 

Keep in mind, you don't have to order all you may wish to have in advance of boarding. You could order half the bottles in advance and perhaps more as the cruise progresses if you wnat additional bottles. Room Service/Bar Department will sell you the same bottles at the same pricing.

Thank you so much for the info! Now, we can plan appropriately. Less then 1 year out...so much to plan...so little time (LOL!). Thanks again.

We are sailing on HAL next year on a 36 day Aus/NZ cruise. My husband and I enjoy a cocktail (s) our balcony. We are planning to order 8 (yes 8!) liters from the gift dept. The prices aren't great...but worth it for the convenience of having it in the room. Has anyone experienced problems with a relatively large order of alcohol?

Old US passports are returned. They may arrive separately.

Our old passports were also returned separately (2009).

Jeff in Torrance, I worked as a summer camp helper at White Point Elementary as well. My Brother did too.

Mr. Boucher was the director during the years I worked there. What was your 'camp' name. I was Mate Salty....my twin sister was Mate Toot!

That would be White's Point Elementary School:

 

http://notebook.lausd.net/portal/page?_pageid=33,54194&_dad=ptl&_schema=ptl_ep&school_code=7767

That is it EXACTLY! Buccanner Camp at White Point Elementary. I was a counselor there from 1969 to 1972! Long time ago, but great memories!

Hi Binkey,

I believe you are talking about Papadakis ( Greek) and Di Orio's ( Italian) Unfortunately both are gone....But the good news is we have Neils on 5th Street and Rafaellos at 4th and Pacific. Both are really good Italian! We have a new Greek restaurant at the old Papadakis location. Its called Limani's. They aren't as fancy as Papadakis was but they are good.

 

We also have a steakhouse called 7th Street Chophouse, The Whale And Ale brittish pub and Baramee Thai, Beach City Grill, and Porkys BBQ and the Happy Diner. All are good! Let me know if you have any more questions, I'm a 51 year SP Local and can help!

Happy sailing!

So sorry to hear that Papdakis and Di Orio's are no more. They were great places! I loved to Greek dance at Papadakis (I am greek...so I know the 'steps'). I was a counselor at two LA City school camps in San Pedro about 40 years ago. One was at Point Fermin, by the lighthouse, and the other was at an elementary school (can't remember the name) near Royal Palms Park. So many good memories of San Pedro! I am anxious to make a few more 'good memories' with our next stay in the area.

will be there next month staying at the CP...from there is there a liquor store nearby? place to get some last minute snaks?

 

it would be helpfull in the begining of your post here to put down stuff like this as this seems to be asked always at the departure ports

 

food

snaks

liquor

cost of taxi to port

hotel recommends

whats nearby the hotels

what to do

etc etc

 

all recommends by the locals...VERY HELPFUL~!!!!!!

 

just some of the stuff i remember reading on the Port Canaveral thread which has a wealth of info for cruisers coming to the area

I remember that years (20) ago, San Pedro had a wonderful GREEK restaurant and Italian restaurant right on the main drag. We will be sailing out of San Pedro in 2014 and will be staying overnight. I would love to eat at one of these places (if they still exist). Anyone know of these places?