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Hi. 

Trying to do some planning for a greener cruise, and I'm trying to confirm something. Is the Brooklyn terminal the only east coast port with electric hookup? 

Hello. I've had a recent bad experience with air pollution on a cruise ship and I think environmental impact - rating of some sort to add to the cruise ship summaries would be helpful. I don't know where to suggest it, but I'd like to find a source of good info for this instead of just finding articles giving generalizations on which cruise lines are better - without explicitly stating details. 

I found this article regarding shipping and pollution - with recommended steps for reducing pollution impact. https://www.transportenvironment.org/what-we-do/shipping-and-environment/shipping’s-impact-air-quality

But again I'd like to see a category included in the individual reviews of ships. 

You could also just stay near the port of Piraeus. I liked walking and shopping in that area. 

Service and included itineraries are excellent. Recommended if you are looking for a more Greek experience. We enjoyed our trip, but next time around we might choose a more mainstream line with better emissions standards.

Included with the free drink package there is an extensive list of drinks, but you can order from an additional menu that has an additional price based on individual order. I believe it's a fair selection and affordable. 

My cruise documents say that gratuities are included, but don't specify how the staff is tipped. I'm used to paying a daily fee for gratuities, but then have also tipped my steward at the end of my cruise. Has anyone had experience with tipping / gratuities on this cruise line? I just want to use the correct protocol and also make sure the staff is tipped.

Thank you. I think I'm going to try and check it in while boarding. Seems good to be straightforward about it, and I don't want to bother paying for storage off the ship.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!

Hello!

I am flying into my cruise destination via Helsinki and want to pickup a bottle (or two) or liqueur that I can't buy in the US. I"m unable to find documentation from the cruise line about bringing bottles on board. But I'm planning on bringing the sealed bottle(s) back to my home country. Will the cruise line have a problem with this? Or maybe I should try to store off the ship and retrieve when the cruise is over? Or ask the cruise line to store for me? 

Am I overthinking this?

I'm so very excited as well. We are cruising August 2019! I am not a world traveler, and I've never been to Greece or Turkey!

How long does it take normally to dine on Holland? I just came back from a 7 day cruise to Alaska on Amsterdam and the service in the dining room seemed like it took way too long. We were usually seated right away with the open dining option, but breakfast took an hour. Lunch took an hour and half. We were basically there when they opened and closed the dining room. Is this normal?

On the cruise, we usually ate at the buffet because we have a child with us and found it difficult to make the assigned times. But to be honest the buffet was really disappointing and monotonous. In the dining room, I didn't find the food to be any much better for breakfast. But lunch was improved over buffet.

Some background: I have only cruised fixed seating on Princess before (hated it). And anytime dining on NCL (loved it).

Also there were problems with the availability of soft serve and cones. I'd never get them at lunch, and by the time I wanted one at 3 PM- they'd be out. I wish they had an ice cream bar you could pay for just so you could get ice cream when you want it.

Perhaps all this issue was with some GI illness warnings that were posted on board. Perhaps this was due to staff being sick or missing from work?

To get straight to the point:

What if one person on my reservation decides not to take a trip I'm going on?

I have paid in full (including port taxes/gov't fees). We have 3 in a cabin. If only 2 people are able to show for the cruise and I don't make any changes to my reservation, would that be fine? I expect I wouldn't have to pay any more fees that the expected daily fees in the fine print.

Has this happened to anyone? I really want everyone to go on the trip, but realistically it might not be possible.

I would suggest (like others) doing your own research and find your best trip through online sites. Then shop through travel agents to get the best deal.

I saved a good amount of money on my recent trip buying through an agent compared to the cruise line site. Shop around before you buy.

Take half the amount of clothes you think you need but twice the amount of money! :D

Trudy

Haha! Love this advice. I plan on packing half my bag space or buy another bag to bring stuff back with me. I love travelling light.

I started feeling overwhelmed and just booked the RT Seattle cruise for HAL. I think it will be fine, plus I really like Seattle. As you said, we will have a lot of chances to cruise Alaska, so this great info to have for next time. Looking forward to cruising!

since you're on the West Coast this probably isn't a one-time opportunity to visit Alaska. I'd look closely at the itineraries out of Seattle AND Vancouver. It's easy enough to fly into Seattle then take the train or bus to Vancouver if you find a superior RT itinerary.

And do the math ... compare all the costs involved in a one-way vs RT cruise (airfare, hotels, transfers, etc)

Wow. Thank you for posting that. I rechecked prices and I was so delusional! About $700 difference for 3 to do a one way. Around $200 more for 3 to get to Vancouver. I'm rethinking this now. Thank you all for the input.

I am going to Seattle airport because I have free miles on Virgin Airlines. Too bad they don't fly direct to Anchorage anymore. But getting to Anchorage from Seattle is cheaper than going to Vancouver. Maybe I'm being too cheap? I have to save money where I can.

Also I looked into the 10 day land and cruise packages, and while they are nice, it seems like less time sailing. I'll be travelling with my 8 year old son, and I'm not sure I want to be locked into options with him on a land tour. I don't want him to be stuck on a bus and unhappy. He's great to travel with, but I just don't know about doing organized tours with others. Perhaps when husband and I have time to tour on our own when we're older, we'll do the organized land tours.

I was wondering if you could give me your opinions on which you would choose considering costs including flights are the same?

We only have time this year to do a 7 day cruise and won't have time for a land tour, only a day before and after the cruise to settle in a hotel. It seems like with a one way route, we would have more time in the glaciers. We're currently planning on a southbound route from Anchorage to Vancouver on Holland America (Glacier Bay). Another option would just be to round trip out of Seattle on HAL, as we will be flying into Seattle anyways for transfers. Would you still bother to do the one way if you didn't book land tour option?

Thanks.