dmacleod

We will be on the Westerdam in the beginning of June. I’m curious to see what those cocktails are.

Not to derail this post, but we are taking our first HAL cruise in June. My wife and I have separate accounts and different Mariner id numbers. This post makes it sound like you have separate accounts but share a mariner id. If that is the case, is there an advantage to that?

Thanks so much for the detailed response. I’m glad we can put our luggage out and won’t have to worry about hauling it off the ship ourselves.

We are taking our first cruise with HAL at the beginning of June and will be disembarking in Seattle. I'm wondering what the disembarkation process looks like if we are not taking HAL transportation post cruise. We are actually planning on taking the Amtrak to Portland so I am trying to plan for that.

Not really adding to the discussion, I just chuckled at the idea that being younger makes someone more physically active. At 56 I lift heavy stuff 4 days a week, do cardio 3 days, and average 12k steps a day. My 5 kids ranging from 21-32 don't do that combined. Not bragging, just pointing out that age doesn't dictate how active people are. I do agree that the real problem here is people being aware and considerate of those around them. There is not enough of this in the world.

Thanks Gardyloo. I appreciate you doing some research and giving specific suggestions. That's that kind of thing that, as a new cruiser (this is only our second), makes me love this forum. Not knowing Seattle at all, these posts have all been very helpful. I'll check these out.

Thanks for the information everyone. We are going to look around, but hotels further from the area the La Quinta is in are running $3-400 more. For that much money we may be fine there are three nights. And as a bourbon fan, the Luge sounds fantastic.

I assume this is poor information, but I'm checking to make sure. We are staying a few nights at the end of May before a cruise. We will be at the La Quinta in downtown Seattle unless we find something we like better between now and then. (It was the least expensive decently rated hotel I could find when we will be there) One of my wife's coworkers was up there a couple months ago and said everything closed at 4pm and they weren't able to get dinner, due to the homeless issues. This can't be right. Any who lives there or has been there recently have input on this?

Ours just opened up for a cruise four months out.

I'm seeing quite a few drinks over $11 on those new menu's. We might upgrade just for the convenience of not having to sign something every time we go $.50-$1 over the $11.

The excursion technically starting on the ship makes sense. Thanks for the responses.

We are doing a Greek isles cruise in June. We have signed up for our excursions through NCL since it is our first cruise. In Santorini the excursion is scheduled at 1:45, but the schedule says the ship docks at 1:30. I assume, since it is booked through NCL that this works, but I'm not sure how. Can we really get off the ship and to wherever the excursion leaves from that quickly?

We are taking our first cruise in June leaving out of Ravenna Italy. I have a vague idea of how embarkation works from reading posts here, but am wondering about choosing a time for check in at the port. If we are not necessarily worried about getting on the ship as early as possible, is there an advantage to getting the earliest possible check in time or should we have a relaxed morning and go for a later check in? If we want to avoid crowds and waiting, what time frame would we shoot for? Departure is listed as 8 pm if that makes a difference. Thanks for any suggestions. The information I've found here has been great as we prepare to cruise for the first time.

We were going to stay in Ravenna so we would be close to the port on embarkation day.

It is June 9 and shows as Venice (Ravenna) on the itinerary. My understanding is that they don't allow ships to port in Venice anymore so it embarks in Ravenna and then the first stop is Venice.

My wife and I are taking our first cruise in June. We embark in Ravenna Italy and wanted to go in a couple days early. The NCL doesn't have any rooms left in their hotel block and tells me I can book a room myself, but am responsible for getting there and then to the port. My problem is that they can't tell me what airport we will be flying into so I can't get an idea of how much transport would cost or make arrangements for it. If its going to cost hundreds of dollars to get from the airport to the hotel we will just arrive on departure day and let NCL cover the transport cost and make the arrangements. The other issue is that I'm not an experienced world traveler and don't have any idea how to figure out transportation from airport, whichever it ends up being, to hotel. I assume the hotel can help me figure out how to get to the port on departure day. Any ideas or advice?

Thanks for the great information everyone. I will definitely take your advice. This cruise does leave from Revenna, but the first stop the next day is in Venice, so coming in a day early, coupled with the ship day there, should give us a decent amount of time to experience the city.

My wife and I just booked our first ever cruise. We are going to be doing 10 days in the Greek Isles next June. There are a few things I'm wondering about. First, when should we expect to see shore excursions show up for our cruise? The ones that come up now look like they just include ports remaining this year, so a number of our stops show nothing. I'm also wondering how much cash we should plan on bringing? Will we be fine depending on our Visa? We are only planning on doing NCL scheduled excursions. Lastly, when I booked, the gentleman strongly suggested I call back closer to cruise time and book a hotel in Venice with the plan of getting in a day early. How necessary do folks feel like this is? I don't know how much this would add to the price, but I'm definitly not looking to add any expense I don't need to at this point. Any info from more experienced cruisers is appreciated.