seattleslew

I came to this forum specifically to see if anyone else is having problems with the website.  I finally had to call the Shore Excursion landline Tuesday to ask if anyone else was having problems and she tiredly said  she'd been hearing lots of complaints.  This makes me so frustrated --- their website has never been great and has always been poor at best.  What exactly is the problem?  Why can't their customers have a great website experience (which would benefit them and us).  To whom should we complain or would it do any good?  Never worked in the past.  Grrrrrrrr.  My world cruise leaves in a few weeks and there are lots of decisions to still be made as far as excursions.  Do you realize there are 47 ports on this WC?

This is a tour I'm organizing ....

My tour:

;ak

Thanks for that.  I keep hearing about using that card and if I were better at math, I could figure out if would benefit me more than using the Holland Barclay card for double points on HAL.  Since I cruise HAL so much, I always redeem points for cash/OBC with them.

Holland tells me that I have zero OBC to apply to my 2024.  Is this normal?  They are telling my TA that I will be entitled to future OBC only after I complete one world cruise.  Basic Cat G cabin.  This just seems weird to me with this huge investment ... and I'm traveling solo!

Thanks for that ---- have you gone yet?  I understand the tolt is wonderful!

The private tours I'll be taking require pickup at hotels.  Is there a ship shuttle to the hotel areas?  When you try to book online they ask for a pickup point so which should I choose (I imagine they're all fairly large hotels) or should I just contact the tour company?  And when the tour returns at 7 or 8pm, how do I get back to the port?  Does Holland always berth at the same port and is it walkable from downtown?  The good news is in August it will be daylight until we depart at 11.

I'll be on the Holland VOV and will be in Iceland two different times in August nearly two weeks apart.  Does anyone have any ideas about where I should ride?  I don't have plans for Isafjordur or Djupivogur but figured I would book Reyk with longer tours.  Perhaps Reyk is my only place for stables?  Ideally the first two ports would be best.  Thanks!

I didn't know what to expect in Halifax so jumped on the HOHO bus right outside the disembark gangway --- maybe 500'?  I enjoyed it so much I hopped off (!) at the end of it, headed back to the ship and it was such a beautiful day that I turned back around to hop right back on for one more go-round.  90 min?  I actually would recommend doing that because I got a different driver and the narration was different. If it's nice, sit up top.  I got chills hearing about the explosion --- I'd never heard about it.  A few people got off at the Titanic cemetery but it was a slight uphill trek (a block?) and didn't look like much.  Just hearing they are buried there and in the Jewish cemetery as well was enough.  If you have the time to go around twice, you can decide where you'd like to get off the second time.  I wished I had time between Stops 4 and 5 to explore the Spring Garden Shopping District.  Jennifer's of Nova Scotia was mentioned by both drivers so I'm sure it's either worth a stop for souvenirs or she pays them!  I was told by a local to treat myself to a Donair, the official food of Halifax which is really a gyro with a twist.  The only one I could find was at Scotia Square (ground floor of an office building) because the "season" wasn't open yet.  I suspect that after May 15th, you might see food carts.  The town was vital, busy and alive on a sunny Mon, April 24, 2023.  Next time, museums!

Appreciate the input.  After numerous calls we found an accessible van service.  Wow, talk about an underserved community!  It's HARD to be handicapped!  If they show up on time, I'll be thankful and amazed ... then off to our B2B2B2B2B on Kdam.  (I would have considered the bus but can't schlep all the luggage by myself).  First world problems.

Thank you all for your input.  Four calls to HAL reps have resulted in four "no, not possible;  too close to sailing" so I'm hopeful we can pull this off with the on-site reps.  Good idea about SAN Information Desk.  Either it's me, or their website is acting up and I can't get anywhere with it right now.  I wonder if SD offers accessible cabs that can service the airport...

Just discovered that we don't have the transfer pkg purchased from SAN to the cruise terminal for tomorrow's sailing.  Can you walk up to the Holland reps who are at the baggage area and pay for the transfer right then?  And we have a big complication:  we need a wheelchair accessible bus or a ramp taxi.  BTW, Vancouver is wonderful about providing ramp taxis.  It's a seamless process and Vancouver should be proud of the way wheelchairs are handled there.

Thanks for taking the time to send the links.  Will check it out.  We are indeed a "special" family that can help each other ... we all know certain stuff so let's combine brainpower and not assume everyone knows!

Thanks for that.  Appreciate you!

I think this is possible but how do I do it?  Disembark Holland at 7am in San Diego and embark Princess in San Pedro at 4pm the same day ... while needing a ramp van to transport two people, luggage and our POWER CHAIR (not a scooter) up there, approx 120 miles away.   We used to use a wonderful private ramp van guy but Covid destroyed his business.   I would prefer not to break the chair down because it requires kneeling on the ground, but it could be done if a van or sedan trunk was large enough.  Remember, there's lots of luggage plus the driver and us.  You guys are great with advice and I'm sure someone has done this --- help!  And yes, we realize that disembarkation won't really happen at 7am.  I have posted this in Disabled Travel as well.

I think this is possible but how do I do it?  Disembark Holland at 7am in San Diego and embark Princess in San Pedro at 4pm the same day ... while needing a ramp van to transport two people, luggage and our POWER CHAIR (not a scooter) up there, approx 120 miles away.   We used to use a wonderful private ramp van guy but Covid destroyed his business.   I would prefer not to break the chair down because it requires kneeling on the ground, but it could be done if a van or sedan trunk was large enough.  Remember, there's lots of luggage, plus the driver and us.  You guys are great with advice and I'm sure someone has done this --- help!  And yes, we realize that disembarkation won't really happen at 7am.

I think the trick to Pub Lunch is to get there 15 min before they close, whether Crown Grill or Horizon Court.  Having it in Horizon Court two weeks ago made for very bad traffic problems for scooters trying to get by.

Oh Craig!  We just got off the Rottie after the Thanksgiving cruise from FLL to SAN and LOVED our room 3437!  I think it was the best room on the ship because of its location.  Yes, it's a handicapped room and plenty big enough, but if you're feeling lazy or if the sun is too hot on 8, you can open your door, go 10 feet to the Promenade set of double doors and you're out on your own private verandah aft area on the Promenade, overlooking the wake.  Some pax did find it and read there all day long, but it was mostly exclusively ours.  About 16 loungers, no tables.  Great for private happy hours!  And so convenient to Lido!  Out your door, left 30 feet and into the aft elevators up one floor to MDR and up to 8 for food and sun.  By the way, there is no swimming pool up there.  It's a very dated kids' pool about 12" deep, and very much in the way of the loungers.  We never saw all the loungers filled, but still the pool is just a 1990's afterthought.  

I figured.  Thanks

I’m buying the premium internet package.  Does that package have unlimited minutes?

Such a great help ---- thanks Kazu.

Thanks for these great responses.  Boring topic, I know, but important for us on this cruise.

We're booked on our first HAL cruise in November after cruising exclusively Princess for over 40 cruises!  We look forward to comparing both lines, but can you tell us about the quality of the internet on the Panama Canal cruise from FLL to San Diego?  DH will need to send emails for business most of the 16 days.  How is the reception and speed during that voyage?  I'm not sure we understand what kind of packages are offered ... he's gotten a couple different answers from HAL customer service.  Is it cheaper to buy a package in advance?  Thanks in advance.  

Thanks, all!  I look forward to meeting him at Most-Traveled.  Does he do a luncheon or the normal cocktail hour?  

Is he on the Star right now?  Can't wait to meet this legendary man!  I just saw an interview on YouTube with him and he's hilarious, so our fingers are crossed he's still on the Star for 2019 Alaska end-of-season runs (before he goes to the Sky this fall).