TomBeckCruise

We are booked on Enchanted Princess 9-7-24.  We were originally going to visit Bar Harbor.  Bar Harbor is concerned about the negative impact of large cruise ships, and they are now limiting the number that can visit.  Princess changed to Rockland, and the same thing has happened there.  

So we now have two sea days on a 7 day cruise.

Any chance of receiving any kind of refund of port fees? Any other fees?

I downloaded the App. worked a little.  It would not open so I uninstalled and downloaded again.

Not working.

Stockperks app.  The most frustrating app I've ever used.

I set up an account.

When I try t login it says wrong password. When I change the password it will not accept anything.  No error message.  The app just does not work.

I left a message 2-3 days ago requesting help, and I've heard nothing.

Read reviews of both ships in Alaska. 

Do you have an itinerary you prefer?

We had a similar choice for a Canada/NEcruise and booked HAL, but our relatives will only sail on Princess, and asked us to go with them. So.........

We hope to try a Great Lakes cruise this year.

Any shows, Music, etc. in the main theater?

31 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

Possible, but I checked with my PCC and she told me that she checked my account and it shows that it was sent out and I believe her as we have a good relationship.

 

Thanks for posting. I'll give em a call around July 15, although our cruise is almost sold out.

In 2022 we sailed on Regent and Celebrity.  I'd give Regent a 10. Very good. Nothing that wasn't good. I'd give Celebrity a 3. Everything tasted the same.

We've sailed mostly on Celebrity and HAL.  I've always thought HAL was a little better.  Hopefully it will be significantly betterthis time when we sail on Zuiderdam late August.

We've been cruising since the early 90s.

Things change!

Won't please everyone.

I listen to a classic rock radio station.  15 years ago it was primarily 60s, 70s and 80s music.  Now it's 80s and 90s. Very little 70s and about 2-3% 60s.

Sometimes travel doesn't goes as planned.  If you can't handle things going astray don't travel.

Not you personally.  Just a good rule of thumb.

16 minutes ago, oakridger said:

Also, I just thought about the Club Orange program where you can get a higher-level cabin in the category that you pay for by purchasing Club Orange.  There are many threads on CC describing the process. I will let others here answer questions about that. 

 

Club Orange Program Benefits (hollandamerica.com)

 

 

OP @TomBeckCruise sorry for the thread hijack.  I get sidetracked easily!

 

~Nancy

 

 

How did you choose "oakridger"?  I'm from OR, TN

Sorry if I asked this in the past.

We are trying to book a Volendam cruise to Canada/NE. Balconies and Suites are not available.

We don't want an outside cabin with a window, but might book if there is a chance of an upgrade.

Should we book the outside cabin, and get on a waiting list for a balony/ suite?

Other suggestions? 

On 2/9/2024 at 8:58 AM, newtoinsignia said:

We will be taking the Montreal to Montreal cruise this October, 2024.  I am wondering about the offered daily shore excursions. Does anyone have any recommendations. Or if you planned your own shore excursions, how did you arrange them?

We are looking at that cruise after booking and canceleling a similar Regent cruise.  After booking that cruise I went to the website to book shore excurions(free).  They were about 90% sold out, and the remaining excursions were for things that required 2-3 hours of walking.  Unable to do that,

Since this is a Canada/NE cruise we can do ports on our own. This will be our 6th time.

So now we are looking at Oceania. 

19 hours ago, njhorseman said:

Y/Y positive doesn't mean the financials are good, just better than the same period last year.

If they made a 2 dollar profit last year a 3 dollar profit this year it produces a positive Y/Y, but if they need a $30 million dollar profit to pay down some of their debt that $3 doesn't cut it...and as has already been stated, NCLH has not yet been able to start reducing the additional debt it amassed during the COVID shutdown.

Seems they have found a way to cut cost.

We will be sailing on Polaris in April to Canada and NE.  We dock at NYC and expect to fly home from EWR at 12:30 p.m. if possible.

I can't find an arrival time at NYC, but the other cruise lines we have sailed on want you off the ship fairly early, so is 12:30 safe?

superior veranda suite

LOL, I typically get up at daylight. 

But, DW does not, and I don't want to disturb her by making coffee.

21 minutes ago, canderson said:

If you're getting up so early that you have to turn on a light to be sure you're wearing a matched pair of socks, you're getting up too early! 😁

That said, love your idea.  A cold Americano would definitely do the trick.

 

@TomBeckCruise

Should have asked... what cabin class?  If you're in Silver Suite or above, you will have your own Illy coffee maker in your cabin.  Serious brew, that.

What is offered.  i.e. Dark roast or double Americano?

We sail in about two weeks from Quebec City.

We've sailed on HAL about 12 times, but not since 2019.

We are considering a 7 day Alaska cruise next year. Our friends that might travel with us have some questions which I can't answer mostly because I can't remember.

So:

What is the daily tip per person in a balcony cabin or suite? 

What is the average cost of beer, wine and alc packages? Does HAL typically stock a non alc beer, i.e. Heineken?

What has improved significantly since 2020?  What has deteriorated significantly?  

4 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

(a) women like to dress up more?

(b) I know from packing that women's clothes take up much less room in the suitcase

(c) the tie makes it hard to swallow my food

Excuses, Excuses😀

13 hours ago, RonWL said:

 

If I had known that there would be two formal nights (plus several "informal" men wear jackets nights) on our 11-day cruise, I probably wouldn't have booked it.  One costume party is enough.  I did book the Italian restaurant for the two nights (one night is waitlisted, however, showing there are likely a few others who are not interested in dressing to the nines), so all will work out in the end.  We'll see.  I have only myself to blame for not having researched the topic before booking.  Everything else about Silversea sounds fabulous.  I am still looking forward to it and I'm sure we'll have a great time in Canada.

I don't expect very many people to be "dressed to the nines".  That's based on this thread, and people's description of actual dress on the ship. Not more formal that same people want.

16 hours ago, JSR said:

Thank you we shall if my husband is inclined. He is off camping and fly fishing right now. We did look briefly at Saks, but they were far too stylish and yes the manakins were wearing sneakers with their tuxes....

His fly fishing attire should work.  It's a classic look.

23 minutes ago, spinnaker2 said:

There’s always Brooks Brothers. The classic and iconic.

LOL, they are down to about 135 stores from 450 I believe.  So "always" might be to strong a word.

FWIW, i love their boxer shorts.  Hopefully have enough to last me till the end.

3 hours ago, canderson said:

Am sure I can generate a perfect full Windsor faster than anyone I know can do the same with a bow tie.  The latter always seems to require a bit of tweaking to get real perfection... well, according to my wife, anyway, who insists on doing the tweaking!

Wow, It has been so long since I wore a tie that I need to go practice.  Gulp!

Thanks for posting.

35 minutes ago, Rothko1 said:

At least for me, suits have always been associated with business.  I would never wear a suit to a social event.  It's either black tie, or blazers and tie (or no tie).  

 

So I would never pack a suit to wear on a cruise ship.

 

 

When we wore suits to work we called them the official business man's uniform. 70-85% of us wanted to get rid of them which seemed to happen fairly quickly.

I recall going to LA in the late 80s/early 90s, and we were the only people wearing suits.

22 hours ago, mysty said:

 

Why did you book Silversea?  Just a question.   

We looked at Regent, but didn't find a cruise that was desirable.  The 8-14 Quebec City and return on

Shadow was perfect.

About 10 year ago I told a friend that I now only wear a suit for weddings and funerals.  His reply was,  " My wedding and my funeral".  That seems to be the way most of the US thinks these days. 

I'm not buying a new suit for two night on an 11 night cruise. 

I'll be wearing my blazer with gold buttons and a tie. 

As others have mentioned traveling is a pain these days. Lack of help at airports, etc. Traveling light is desirable.

Our two cruises last year were on Regent and Celebrity. We had a suite on Regent and the Retreat on X.   We are booked on SS for an August cruise.

We were disappointed in the food at the dedicated restaurant and other restaurants on X.  Everywhere seemed crowded on X.

You are correct.  There is more motion in rough seas on a smaller ship, and there is more entertainment on X, but the quality of the entertainment seems to be declining on  X, HAL and others.

We have sailed on X and HAL about 15-20 times each.

I don't see us returning unless it's with others who make the plans.

If you like what the larger ships offer X might be for you.