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We are considering sailing on Westerdam next March to Japan. We have only sailed on Holland America once and that was about 10 years ago. We would like to do some ballroom dancing if possible. I am aware of the fact that Westerdam is a small older ship. It seems like the only lounge with a wood dance floor is the Rolling Stones Lounge. We are wondering if they are limited to playing just Rock and Roll music, or would they ever vary the genre of music they play. Some cruise lines we have been sailing with, would offer a pre-recorded ballroom music hour in a lounge, for people who enjoy ballroom dancing. Does the Westerdam offer that? Is there a DJ who plays various types of music in another lounge? Does anyone have any recent daily programs they can post here so I can get an idea what kind of entertainment they offer. How many production shows you would expect on a 14 day sailing? What other guest entertainers are there? How is the food and service. I have heard Holland America is catered to an older age group, we are in our 60's, are we about average for their demographic or are we still on the "younger" side. Any info on the ship is appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Thank you everyone for replying my post. Much appreciated!

We are considering the Sapphire Princess for South America next February. We have sailed on the Diamond Princess recently, it's the same design so we have an idea what to expect with the layout. We would like to know if anyone has sailed on Sapphire Princess recently and might have the daily program they can post here. I would like to know how many production shows they put on during a 14 day cruise. If there is a pre-recorded Ballroom music hour daily. What kind of music the bands play? We were on the Diamond Princess recently, since it was a cruise in Japan, the bands played a lot of music that was conducive to line dancing, which the Japanese passengers love to do. But there was very minimum freestyle dancing. But they did have a daily pre-recorded ballroom hour, which was also well attended. We would like to have a chance to do some ballroom dancing, as well as freestyle dancing. Could you please share the experience you had on the Sapphire Princess, the entertainment, shows, food, music, the demographic of the passengers ..etc. Thank you in advance.

Last time we sailed with NCL was January 2023 with the NCL Sun. We were very disappointed with the entertainment. We went on a back to back cruise. First one was 9 days, the next segment was 10 days. Each segment only had one production show. The rest were filled with a guest entertainer who just appeared over and over again during the same cruise, and game shows that had guest involved that were not very good. I talked to some staff members and they agreed that was part of NCL money saving tactics. They said they were shocked themselves when they were only sent one "real" guest performer during each segment. So they had to "recycle" the same guest performer over and over again during the whole cruise. We are considering sailing on the NCL Sky next January to the Caribbean. It is the same model ship as the NCL Sun. Same small size, layout and same age. We are wondering if NCL is cutting show on their small old ship, would the same thing happens to the NCL Sky. If this is the case, we would rather know ahead of time, and decide if we would still want to go. The entertainment on the ship is a big priority to us, as well as the food. Can any folks who has sailed with NCL Sky recently please share their experience regarding the entertainment onboard, the shows, the bands, what kind of music did they play? Last time on the NCL Sun the "party band" was not that great either. They kept playing the fast paced jumping up and down music over and over again, without playing any other genre of music. How was the food and service onboard? Thank you in advance.

We will be taking a NCL cruise from La Romana in January. We will be flying into Punta Cana the day before the cruise starts. Would it be better to select a hotel in La Romana or Punta Cana? We are also looking for a transfer company who would pick us up from the airport to transfer us from Punta Cana to La Romana. Does anyone have any suggestions regarding the transfer company and hotels in either places? Thank you in advance.

Hi everyone, we are considering booking the NCL Sky sailing in January, 2024. It is a 14 day cruise starting in La Romana. We are researching where to fly into and arranging for transfer...etc. We are from Toronto, Ontario and Westjet offers a direct flight to Punta Cuna. The ship is leaving from la Romana. We would like to fly out the day before the cruise starts, in case there is a snow storm on Feb 29. So we are wondering, would it be better to book a hotel for a night, in Punta Cana or La Romana. Also, what is the best way to book a transfer from Punta Cana to La Romana? At the end of the cruise, we might consider booking the transfer from the ship to the airport with NCL. Could anyone please share their experience with flying into Punta Cana themselves, and how you would book the the hotel and transfer...etc. Thank you very much in advance. Also, we would like to know if the entertainment is decent on NCL Sky? We went on the NCL Sun a few months ago, they have cut down the entertainment in the theater so much that it was pitiful. There were hardly any guest performers and only one production show for 9 days. Anyone who has sailed on the NCL Sky recently please share your experience about the ship. Thanks again.

We are considering sailing on Westerdam next February to Asia. We enjoy doing some ballroom dancing. I watched some ship tour videos on Youtube and it seems to me that there is only one dance venue on the ship with a live band, the Rolling Stones Lounge. I presume the music played there would be mostly rock and roll. I would like to know if there is another lounge somewhere on the ship that offers a different type of music for dancing. If they would offer an hour of pre-recorded ballroom music somewhere if there is a space to accommodate this. Is there a lounge that has a DJ playing a variety of music? We have cruised with Celebrity, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, NCL, MSC and Costa. We enjoy a ship that is mostly catered to adults, and onboard entertainment and food is very important to us. Please share any info on this ship. This being an older and smaller ship, I am seeing mixed reviews on the Cruise Critics forum. Any feedback is welcome. Thank you in advance.

We are considering picking a cabin on the Sapphire Princess. We have a choice of an obstructed ocean view on deck 8, at the aft of the ship, or a cabin at the very front of the ship on deck 10. On the deck plan, we can see the life boats location on deck 8, therefore having an idea how obstructed the view is. But when we look at the cabin location of the obstructed cabins in the very front of deck 10, they look like they are located right before the bow of the ship. We can't see what the obstruction is, and we are guessing there is some railing of some sort, or simply you are looking at the bow of the ship but not a smooth view of the ocean. Has any folks stayed in any of these cabins in the Sapphire Princess or the Diamond Princess? Or any other Princess ship of the same class of design. If you have photos you can post of these cabins, or any obstructed cabins you have stayed in, that would be very helpful. Thank you in advance.

Thank you everyone for your replies. I will keep researching before we make a decision.

We sailed on NCL Sky this past January. They had awful evening entertainment, They had 2 production shows during our 10 day cruise. The rest of the evenings, they had the same couple performing over and over again. The lady was a flamingo dance and the gentleman played the musical instrument. There was no other guest performers at all other than that. We spoke with some people on staff, and they said they were surprised by the cut back as well. We are considering going on either the NCL Sun or the NCL Sky next January. They are the same class ship. Both are old and small. So I wonder if the entertainment is going to be still cut back on these ships. Just want to mentally prepared if this is what we would expect again, so we can make a decision to go with it or sail with another line. Anyone who have recently sailed on either the NCL Sun Sky or the NCL Sun, please share your experience onboard, in turns of entertainment, any dancing venues, music and band onboard, food and service etc. Thank you in advance.

We just returned from Diamond Princess, There was this ballroom couple called Dima (Dimitri) and Anna onboard. They teach the ballroom dance classes as well as performed in the Princess theatre. They were really wonderful to watch. We were going to ask them if they were on any social media, but we got busy packing our luggage on the last evening and did not have a chance to see them in the lounge. Has anyone seen them on any Princess ships before and if you know if they are on any social media? Kind of interested to see if there are any videos of their performances. Thanks.

We have sailed on a Royal Caribbean ship in 2019. We visited certain ports in Vietnam. At that time, Royal Caribbean provided a blanket visa for its passengers and we did not have to apply for a visa prior to sailing. We are considering a cruise to Asia for next February with Celebrity Solstice. It is visiting a few ports in Vietnam. We have Canadian passports and are required to have a visa to Vietnam. Just wondering this time would Celebrity apply a visa for all its passengers or we now need to apply a visa for ourselves prior to sailing. I called Celebrity and the agent I spoke with did not sound too sure. If we need to apply for a visa, what is the best website to do so? Thank you.

Thank you BruceMuzz for your reply. I checked the Limousine bus schedule. From my interpretation, it seems like it is stating that it only stops at the Sunroute Plaza hotel once an hour. Although it is clearly on it's route along with some nearby hotels. And I noticed the bus also only stops at the other nearby hotels once an hour or so as well alternatively. So I wonder why the bus driver would not stop in every one of these 6 hotels on its route on every run? Do you think I could ask the driver to stop at the Sunroute Plaza hotel since it's on it's route, even during a time when it's not scheduled to stop there?

We are flying into the Hanada Airport in July. We have 2 suitcases and 2 carry ons, and after a long international flight, we would like to have an easy transportation option to get from the Airport to the Sunroute Shinjuku hotel. I can see that the Airport bus has a stop there, but it only stops there at certain time, and it might not work out with our estimated arrival time. If we were to take a taxi, would we be able to find one outside of the airport terminal. How much would the cost be for the 2 of us approximately? We would need to go to the cruise terminal in Yokohama 2 days later. Any suggestions what is the best way to get there? Are there any car transfer companies anyone would recommend? Thank you in advance.

Thank you everyone for the quick response. Thank you t&stravel for pointing out the info on the Princess website regarding the transfers are included. I am still amazed why the 3 Princess agents were not able to provide me with the definitive answer. I was on the phone for over an hour with each one of them. In any case, we are pondering if we should go ahead to choose the stress free option of Princes package for the hotel with the transfer included, or book a less expensive hotel and book a taxi for the 2 transfers. I have noticed on the hotel booking websites there are a lot of 4 stars hotels in the Ginza area that are about half of the price of the Keio Plaza Hotel. Would anyone know how much is a taxi in U.S. dollars (we are from Canada, but sometimes when folks quote a price, we are presuming they mean U.S. dollars). from the Haneda Airport to the Ginza area, or anywhere near one of the major subway stations? Thanks again in advance.

I have spoken to 3 Princess agents and no one can give me an answer. We have booked the airfare with Princess to fly from Toronto to Haneda Airport. We would like to stay in a hotel for 2 nights before starting our cruise from Yokohama. Princess is offering the Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo for $359 a night per person. Kind of expensive but if it's including the transfer, it might not be too bad. What I would like to know is, has anyone booked that hotel package with Princess. Does it includes the transfer from Haneda airport to the hotel, and after you check out, the transfer from the hotel to Yokohama cruise terminal. Thank you in advance.

Hi Ken, could you please tell us when you booked the Princess package hotel for $359 a night per person, does it include the transfer from Haneda Airport to the Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo, and after you checked out, the transfer from the hotel to Yokohama cruise terminal? I called Princess and the hotel rate is the same, but the agent could not verify if the rate includes the transfers. I spoke with 2 different agents, they both did not know the answer. So if you can answer that question, would be very helpful. Thanks. I know we are paying a premium to book the hotel with Princess, but if it includes the 2 transfers, it might be worth it. Otherwise I might consider booking a less expensive hotel, and spend some money on a taxi transfer. Still doing our investigation right now.

Thanks everyone for replying my post. It seems like the airport bus offers a direct route to Tokyo without having to transfer. Our flight is supposed to arrive in Haneda around 4pm. So I image we should be able to go through custom and pick up our bags by 5:30pm. But it was mentioned that if you pre-book and they don't offer a refund if the flight is delayed. If we take a chance of just purchasing the ticket without a reservation, if there is a good chance we can get on the bus without having to wait for the next one or the next 2 after that. Also, the International Grand Yokohama Hotel seems to be recommended. If we choose to stay there, how do we get into Tokyo the next day for a visit? We have a full day for sightseeing, as we do not need to start our cruise until the day after. So we were thinking perhaps we should get a hotel in Tokyo as opposed to in Yokohama so at least we are already in Tokyo and can start our sightseeing right the way the next morning. Does anyone have any hotel recommendation in Tokyo that is close to a train station, subway, or bus station from the Haneda airport bus? Thanks in advance.

We are flying into the Haneda Airport a day before our Princess cruise starts in Yokohama in August.. We are staying in a hotel for 1 night. We have not decided what district in Tokyo to stay yet, but we are thinking about the Ginza area. But the priority is the location. We plan to take a train or bus from the Haneda Airport to Tokyo. So it depends on which district has a train station that has a lot of hotels within walking distance or a short taxi ride once we get off the train. Also, it would be great if we don't need to change trains along the way. If anyone has a hotel suggestions, please let us know. We are looking for a clean hotel for 1 night. No need for an expensive fancy hotel. Again, the location is the priority. If it's close to walking distance to some attractions or subway station. It's a bonus if it's near the train station where we get off. Any suggestions on Toyko is welcome. There are two of us travelling. Thank you in advance.

We are flying into the Haneda Airport a day before our Princess cruise starts in Yokohama in August.. We are staying in a hotel for 1 night. We have not decided what district in Tokyo to stay yet, but we are thinking about the Ginza area. But the priority is the location. We plan to take a train or bus from the Haneda Airport to Tokyo. So it depends on which district has a train station that has a lot of hotels within walking distance or a short taxi ride once we get off the train. Also, it would be great if we don't need to change trains along the way. If anyone has a hotel suggestions, please let us know. We are looking for a clean hotel for 1 night. No need for an expensive fancy hotel. Again, the location is the priority. If it's close to walking distance to some attractions or subway station. It's a bonus if it's near the train station where we get off. Any suggestions on Toyko is welcome. There are two of us travelling. Thank you in advance.

Our ship Diamond Princess will have a change over stop in Yokohama. We are on a back to back cruise. We are thinking of instead of going to visit Tokyo, we might just look for something to do in Yokohama. Don't know which pier Princess is docked in. Are there any animal cafe with dogs or cats that are within walking distance from the cruise terminal we can visit? Any other attractions within walking distance of the cruise terminal we can see? We have about 5 hours in Yokohama. Thank you.

We are doing 3 short back to back cruises with Princess in August. There are two change over days in Yokohama. I am wondering if we should spend 3,4 hours doing something in Yokohama. I am doing my math, if we still plan on going to Tokyo, let's say we leave the ship by 9am. Take a train or bus to Tokyo, by the time we get there would be 10am? Then we have about 4 hours to spend. If we take a train or bus from Tokyo back to Yokohama by 2pm. We should get back to the port by 3pm. The ship sails at 5pm. We don't want to cut it too close, in case we miss that particular train or bus, and need to take the next one. So just wonder if 4 hours is worth the journey into Tokyo. We have already seen the Meiji Shrine and the Sensoji Temple before this trip. So We just want to visit the Imperial Palace in Tokyo this time, and whatever something else we haven't seen. So if we do something in Yokohama, where do we take a bus to the Sankeien Garden? We would like to visit China Town as well, it looks like it's walking distance from the Osanbashi Pier? There seems to be some other attractions within walking distance from the pier. There is also some old ship there? Since we do have two change over days from our 3 back to back cruises , perhaps we can spend one day in Yokohama, and one day in Tokyo? Any suggestions are welcome. Just have to keep the time frame in mind, in terms of transportation time and method of getting to Tokyo from Yokohama. We wouldn't mind visiting one of these cats or dogs café where you can pet some animals. We went to one in Tokyo the last time, is there one in Yokohama? Thank you in advance.

We are thinking of arriving 2 days before the cruise starts. But Our flight does not arrive in Hanada until 3:40pm. So I figure that by the time we check through custom, pick up our bags, would be close to 5pm. By the time we arrive in our hotel in Tokyo, would be 6pm? So we will only have time for dinner. Probably won't do much after dinner and would just go to bed, since we just got off a 13 hours flight. So that means we will have 1 full day to see Tokyo the next day. Then the day after we will have maybe 3 hours in the morning after breakfast to see Tokyo a bit more, and then head to Yokohama to board the ship in early afternoon.

Thank you everyone for replying my post. I am preparing for the situation if Princess does not offer any excursions from Yokohama to Tokyo, if we should spend 3,4 hours doing something in Yokohama. I am doing my math, if we still plan on going to Tokyo, let's say we leave the ship by 9am. Take a train or bus to Tokyo, by the time we get there would be 10am? Then we have about 4 hours to spend. If we take a train or bus from Tokyo back to Yokohama by 2pm. We should get back to the port by 3pm. The ship sails at 5pm. We don't want to cut it too close, in case we miss that particular train or bus, and need to take the next one. So just wonder if 4 hours is worth the journey into Tokyo. We have already seen the Meiji Shrine and the Sensoji Temple before this trip. So We just want to visit the Imperial Palace in Tokyo this time, and whatever something else we haven't seen. So if we do something in Yokohama, where do we take a bus to the Sankeien Garden? We would like to visit China Town as well, it looks like it's walking distance from the Osanbashi Pier? There seems to be some other attractions within walking distance from the pier. There is also some old ship there? We do have two change over days from our back to back cruises (we are doing 3). So perhaps we can spend one day in Yokohama, and one day in Tokyo? Any suggestions are welcome. Just have to keep the time frame in mind, in terms of transportation time and method of getting to Tokyo from Yokohama. We wouldn't mind visiting one of these cats or dogs café where you can pet some animals. We went to one in Tokyo the last time, is there one in Yokohama? Thank you in advance.

Thank you everyone for replying my post. Much appreciated.