islandercruiser

On 2/28/2022 at 5:37 PM, flamingos said:

Same.  I really love having the same waitstaff every night.

We are the same.  To me it’s all part of the cruise experience.

We dress up, its a great opportunity to get that family picture too!  We will skip all but one formal night, if there are more than one that is, we don't have room in our suitcases for two formal outfits.  When we don't feel like dressing up or getting out of our shorts we hit the buffet

On ‎3‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 5:42 AM, browniegirl said:

haha, oh goodness, the Island is so funny for that, one single snow flake and people are in full out panic mode!  We have had a very cold with lots of snow the past 1.5 months, unusual for here.. I love it but others not so much!!!  I do miss the snow from up north....  Still on the fence about what to do with this cruise.... it is a tough call!!

Take the cruise from NYC and see the city as well.  you just have to plan for flight delays which do happen coming from the island.

As for the snow this year - we owned two yes two snowblowers when we lived there.  they do get snow, they do panic and they do flaunt that they don't lol  it just comes and quickly goes but we have videos of a F350 pullng into our driveway where the snowbanks are higher than the truck.  No exaggeration and we lived in the southern region of the island :) 

We get travel insurance through blue cross.  Use their travel and medical package.  I also verified that it covered ship medieval if needed.  Enjoy the island and don’t get caught in a snow storm on your way to the ship.  We did on our way to NYC end of November one year... oh and try not to laugh too hard when it snows 2 cm and the towns shut down lol

9 minutes ago, browniegirl said:

Oh gosh, so glad I saw this question!  I just booked a 10 day out of New York in January 2021!!!  Yikes.  Being from the west coast of Canada, it didn't dawn on me that getting to New York at that time might be a huge problem or the fact it is cold on cruise for first 2 days.... I have never cruised out of there before, only florida and California (ncl platinum member).

 

So... the suggestion is to either come in a few days early to ensure I get there?  or move to a different port and cruise?  I have never been to new York and it looks breathtaking at Christmas time, had though to spend maybe 2-3 days there prior to the cruise but now I am unsure after reading this, especially the insurance part, yikes!!! 

 

Leah

I was from the Wet Coast of Canada, we now live in the beautiful north, we did a cruise out of NJ December 1st 2014?  Your travel concerns ie. getting there are the same as they are getting to Florida.  Insurance same no differences.  Should you spend a few days in NYC - yup its a wonderful city to explore.  For that matter, every time we cruise and have to travel east we have always added a day or two to get there just in case and we have always bought the travel insurance including health insurance just in case.  Got caught in snow storms in western Canada, the few extra just in case days were the reason why we were able to be on the ship when she sailed out and if we were to have missed the ship, that just in case insurance would have gotten us to the first port.  Sure makes the stress of travel to get to the port a lot less stressful.

As a spouse of an injured Vet who now only earned his stripes, he paid for it by becoming permanently disabled.

Shame on you for even thinking that it would be "cool" to wear a fake unearned uniform.

We have been using a TA for our last few cruises. The TA is great for sourcing car services etc... we have been caught a few times in bad weather, delayed flights with no TA to help us. Now we can travel worry free as we know our TA is on it and will get us there. And before anyone says anything, yes we do fly in with at least 1 day cushion, now we try for two days.

We also get access to bulk sales and of course the OBC. Took a while to hand over the control, love control, but it was worth it in the end.

This is good news to me! I have had the DD experience (Dec 1st) and it did leave me with a question of now what line do I chose if they all go to DD? Sorry, I did go in with hopes that it would work out well. What I found was limited choices on the menues (picky eaters or no seafood/fish you are in trouble). and any traditional meals had something non-traditional added to it.

To spend my vacation running around with a schedule was not relaxing. always had to check where was i eating today and at what time. Entertainment was also hard to fit in with your schedule. Missed a lot of activities because of this.

Beautiful ship, staff was nice and I didnt see or experience poor service. But if you are into traditional cruising, this is not your option right now.

Thank you! we are sailing December 1st and I was very concerned about DD and the negative reviews. I have been able to secure some reservations but not all, it's nice to hear that you can still walk in and are not stuck with the windjammer for all meals.

We go to at least one each cruise. In my "real" life I don't get the opportunity to dress up so we take advantage of it and also get great family picture done. I don't find that packing the formal clothes take that much space in the suitcases so why not?

I was able to book 8 nights out of our 11 (Dec 1st sailing). I was trying to book the times around the entertainment. Frustrating process, was about to cancel cruise - had fears of spending 11 nights in the buffet. Buffet is fine but not for every night... Thankfully I made a call to the dynamic dining and was able to get reservations and have the emails printed off as proof.

Hello, we were there in December. yes you can rent water shoes. not sure of the price as we had our own shoes.

Have a great time.

Hi, a few years back, I was also considering the jump to a DSLR. I ended up with a super zoom. The canon sx50 gave me everything that I needed or wanted and more and I don't have to lug around a bunch of lenses and accessories.

I was looking to upgrade to a DSLR last fall and it sounds like your camera/photography experience was about the same as mine... I was all set to purchase the cameras that you have been looking at but when I went to the store I was introduced to a cannon SX50. It was described to me as a hybrid between a point and shoot and DSLR. I have been more than pleased with the pictures and videos that I have been taking. Close ups, distances has a 50x zoom and my favorite is the sports burst. I have great action shots of my DD playing her various sports! Might be an option for you to look at for your needs. Oh and the battery lasts very long. I dont think that I needed to charge it during our last cruise and I took around 500 photos (ok I forgot to take the burst off a few times...).

Thanks...but...6 of us 6+ pieces of luggage including baby & stroller etc. etc. :eek::eek: Still think the skytrain would work for us, if so more details please :)

It all depends on how easy it is to lug your luggage ;) are they all on wheels? or shoulder straps? The Canada Line starts at YVR so as a group, you will have no problem finding space and seats on the train. I believe that Canada Place is the last stop too! I dont think its any harder to get to the train than lugging your stuff out to the curb to find a cab or private car.

Check out the local transit website, they have good "training" courses on how to use the skytrain etc... the local transit system is operated by Translink (hope I am not breaking any rules about giving out company names?).

Depending on how many bags you are hauling, I would recommend the Canada Line it goes directly from the airport to Canada Place. I am a self confessed transit disliker and transit idiot and I love the sky train system...

I have had one for years and I am only 39! I find the skirts or board shorts a great thing with not feeling self concious walking around in a smaller bottom and you dont have to worry all the time about "maintenance" in areas that perhaps the wax job didn't take care of ;)