Ashland

Just returned from my flight and yes it was a great deal and so worth it !!!

We're doing the full transit from San Pedro, Los Angeles to Tampa, Florida on RCI Serenade this October 2nd-15th....Booked this when the schedule first opened and it sold out very quickly. A few cabins became available just after final payment date but at very high rates. So OP book a Panama Canal cruise regardless of the cruiseline when you can.

Thank you...We actually had no idea we would be going through the lock cruising out of Amsterdam. And yes they did slide.

Not my choice but OP you might want to consider RCI Quantum class out of Seattle if sailing with kids. We'll be sailing with extended family including (2 young grandsons) and we're not basing it on what will be best for them...it's what worked out with our schedule this year (multiple cruises) and sailing on Serenade early September. No doubt they'll compare it to Harmony that we sailed on in April...but oh well they'll have fun regardless !!!

Just used LAX arriving home last night and I who have flown many many times out/in of there can say it's more of a mess than I have ever seen...Beware !!!!

Yes it absolutely does. Our departure yesterday Sunday Aug 7th was easier and quicker than I could have imagined. We were off the ship at 7:30am and in the airport lounge by 9:00am. What a difference timing can make. I had been so worried about departure and it was the arrival that shocked us.

I didn't have a "horrible" time in Amsterdam !! We enjoyed our 3 days pre-cruise. It was trying to get out of the airport that was the problem over 3 hours...crazy !!!. Luckily leaving through Schiphol was so much easier than we had anticipated...could have made an earlier than 2:30pm flight but the horror stories led me to be cautious and book an afternoon flight.

Just off Jewel yesterday on Sunday Aug 7th from our Arctic Circle. The earlier 3:30pm sailout worked out great. We arrived back into Amsterdam at 9:00pm on Saturday night and you had an option to disembark or come and go as you like and disembark as early as 6:45am on Sunday.

No not at all....I'm saying the Banks Mansion location was just perfect as compared to where the Movenpick was which was right next to the port and am so glad I didn't opt for that hotel.

Also just off the Jewel Arctic Circle yesterday Aug 7th. You could certainly opt to disembark on Saturday night after docking at 9:00pm (you were also free to leave and come back) or the earliest using self assist was 6:45am on Sunday. The concierge offered to walk us off but we had no problem doing self assist at about 7:30am. Absolutely no lines...We easily walked off the ship and into a taxi. We flew DL One and walked right up to the SkyPriority counter at Schiphol again no lines. We were through checkin and at the lounge around 9:00am. I must say I had been so concerned about this and had booked a 2:30pm flight back to LAX via SEA and could have certainly made a much earlier flight...but you never know. However arriving for our 3 pre-cruise days was an entirely different experience...that took us almost 4 hours to get out of that airport and into a taxi heading for our Banks Mansion hotel (loved that hotel). Road construction going on and made the trip to the hotel longer and a bit more expensive.

We just transited through the locks on Jewel out of Amsterdam on our Arctic Circle cruise. We'll be on Serenade in October doing a full transit San Pedro-Tampa so will this be similar?

Best of luck with that.....However now that I saw the location of this hotel as we arrived at the port I'm so glad we opted for Banks Mansion....walking distance to so much !!!

Banks Mansion couldn't have been better....just an amazing location. Would absolutely stay there again but doubtful I would after experiencing the mess at AMS. Three hours in line just to get out of this airport !!!

We just did a few pre cruise days in Amsterdam and was notified on Sunday that our sailout time had been moved up to 3;30 for our Tuesday sail. I have no idea why that change has also affected our last port day in Oslo with an earlier departure. Our concierge will escort suites off ship as early as 7;00. Luckily our flight isn't until 2;30 and have SkyPriority...AMS is just a mess...it took us 3 hours just get out of this airport when we landed.

We have SkyPriority for our flight home out of AMS this Sunday off our Arctic Circle cruise. I'll be looking for the info above...so thanks. However I must say even though we were prepared for a long wait when we arrived into AMS a couple of weeks ago it was crazy that we had to stand in line for almost 3 hours just to get through immigration and then find our luggage just to get out of this airport !!!

Just used a taxi in Amsterdam from AMS to Banks Mansion....Due to road construction it was 100 Euros. From hotel to port was 25 Euros. So road construction is making usual fees a bit higher than many quotes.

We find it a lot easier to check in online the old fashioned way rather than the app. We don't download anything ... just print out our boarding pass, choose our boarding time and show covid neg test print out, vaccination card and have our pic taken at the terminal.

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Oh...I understand now you were still home. I thought you were already in Amsterdam. We're feeling fine and have done the at home test our self and test neg. I'm just worried about getting there and then testing positive right before we board the ship.

See I'm so stressed I didn't understand that you were still home when you tested.

Yes...."redundancy" is the key word here...and why I decided to add my 2 cents. I think once you actually get to Bar Harbor you'll see what I mean. Once you get off the tender and walk up the hill on the main street towards Testa's you'll be in the middle of town.

What the heck !!! This sounds horrible. We're flying into AMS this Saturday and have been stressed out about flying into and out of this airport. Why can't they manage ???

Thank you so much...but I just read your other post and feel so bad for you. I'm so stressed out now !!!!

Yes...I think most hotels have this policy...but very surprised they didn't just let you change dates. Mind saying how you're managing all this? Were you able to change flight, quarantine, etc etc. This is my biggest fear on how to handle this as we are flying to AMS on Friday to cruise on Tuesday. Bringing our eMed test to test at our pre-cruise hotel (Banks Mansion) and have no idea how or what to do if the worst case scenario happens. Best of luck to you and so sorry this has happened.

You might also consider in Ketchikan doing the Bering Sea Crab tour. Check directly on their website vs booking with your ship. We have usually gotten a better deal booking directly but not for our Sept cruise it was cheaper booking through our cruiseline. Just an amazing excursion !!!