Daisyloo

We loved El Moro.

We have always done anytime dining. When we get to the dining room and are asked if we are willing to share, our answer depends on our mood that night. Sometimes we just want to be by ourselves and other times feel more social. Over the different cruises we have had mostly good table mates. There have been a few exceptions - the woman at a table for 6 who totally monopolized the entire conversation. She never shut up the whole meal. We felt sorry for her poor husband who barely got a word in. Another cruise we were at a table for 10 and everyone was great except for one couple. He was a "one upper" type of person, very full of himself. Funny, everyone at the table that night chose to go without dessert. We couldn't get away from him fast enough!

The beauty of anytime dining is that even if you get a not so great tablemate, it's only for that one meal. The next night you get another chance to meet some nice, interesting people. It's part of the great adventure that cruising is for us.

North Cruise Port is great. They didn't charge for the shuttle when I was there in 2013.

Yeah, that's new - started early this year. They no longer use their own shuttles to take you to the port. They have a company come in with much larger shuttles. It worked really well.

We have stayed 5 or 6 times at the Hampton Inn Airport/North Cruiseport. We have it booked again prior to our November cruise.

It has always been clean with very comfortable beds. The staff have always been friendly and helpful. They have a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel, and a shuttle to the port for about $6 each. They have a decent complimentary breakfast. There is a shopping plaza across the road that has a grocery store, liquor store, sports bar, Thai restaurant, pizza place, Subway, dollar store, burger place etc. There is a nice German restaurant across the street within easy walking distance, and the hotel will shuttle you to other close by places. If I was staying in Florida for a vacation I would stay elsewhere, like near the beach, but for 1 night prior to a cruise this hotel is a good choice and we have always been pleased.

So glad to hear that you enjoyed the Regal. We are sailing on her in November. It was a spur of the moment decision, so not a lot of research went into the choice, but since we booked it I have read a few not so positive reviews on her. So it's nice to read a positive one.

If I bought some shares now, can I get OBC for the cruises I have already booked?

Yes, as long as you own the stock prior to the cruise date. Also, you need to send Princes or HAL or whichever line you are sailing on (that's part of CCL) the proof 14 days prior to the cruise, minimum.

We have owned their stock for about 16 months. We bought it when it was quite low, $31 or $32. On 3 cruises in that time we have had $450 in OBC. We have 2 more cruises coming up that will give us another $350. That's $800 in about a year and a half. Plus a small dividend. And the OBC is tax free, doesn't count as income to be reported.

If you don't own it, now might be the time to think about it, while it is lower than it's been in a while.

Only one OBC for stock ownership per cabin, so no need to own more than the 100 shares.

Thankyou for the link! We will be here twice on our B2B in March. We are lucky and that we will be there from 8-4pm on both times. We will be the only ship there! That will be nice. So do they do some sort of Bar B Q while we are there? I know drinks will be on our ship board credit, just asking with lunch.

 

Sailing Nieuw Amsterdam B2B western/eastern Caribbean Cruise 3/15/2015

Yes there will be a BBQ lunch for you on HMC. Things like burgers, hot dogs, chicken, ribs, salads, fruit, desserts etc. They will provide water, ice tea and I think some sort of fruit punch for drinks. Or you can buy a drink from one of the bars.

We love HMC - we are doing it twice on our upcoming eastern/western on the Nieuw Amsterdam. Can't wait!

Innlady, I feel your pain! I had the same thing -fractured root, extraction and implant. It was not a fun time. I feel bad for you having to cancel a much anticipated cruise, but like others have said, its better than having pain in the middle of the atlantic. Hope all the stages of your dental work go smoothly. Good luck.

We used the laundry service on the Zaandam and everything was returned in good shape. Nothing we sent out however was delicate - mostly it was t shirts, jeans, shorts, underwear, socks.

Tomorrow is our Thanksgiving in Canada - I spent all day today preparing, baking, cleaning etc. Lots of work, but we will have a great time tomorrow. However, I am looking forward to spending the U.S. Thanksgiving on board the Regal Princess. All the fun, none of the work.:D

You know it is still a faux pas to wear white after Labor day.

 

Even in the tropics.

 

That's what I read in Miss Manners......

Wrong

We sailed on the Zaandam in July to Alaska. We loved her. The ship was in wonderful condition. The crew was great, as was the food. My mother and I have cruised before, but this was a first cruise for my sister. She was blown away! She now knows why I like to cruise so much!

I think they do. When I wanted to get info and book my first cruise Ihad decided I wanted to book on HAL. When I went to a certain large agency that specializes in cruises they did everything to talk us into a Princess cruise. I didn't like the hard sell, so went to a smaller local agency and booked on HAL.

Why does it bother so many people that others use the elevator to go up or down only a floor or two?? Why shouldn't able-bodied people use the elevator? Who made the rule that it's only for the elderly or infirm? I feel that as long as you use it with manners and respect other peoples rights, anyone can use the elevators. The people who set themselves up as "better" because they take the stairs and judge people who use the elevators are rude in my opinion.

We had always avoided the Canaletto because we kept reading here on CC how bad it was. But the last cruise on the Maasdam we decided to give it a try. We are glad we did. Yes it is just a section of the Lido but the way it is situated makes it semi private. The service was great. The first time we went we both had the veal osso bucco. It was delicious. We enjoyed it so much we ate there again on that cruise. DH had the osso bucco again, but I tried the chicken cacciatore and it was good also. Both times we had their limoncello dessert and loved it - it is a lemon lovers dream.

So my advice is give it a try. You will never know if you like it if you don't even try.

If you want to do the velvet jacket, why not? The ships are all air conditioned so you should be fine. Do the slacks, not the jeans.

I always whiteout the account numbers and only fax the one page that has the CCL stock. I don't bother whiting out anything else that is on that page.

I bought one at Sally beauty. Sorry can't remember the brand. They had a few to pick from.

Taxi is fine.

 

I urge you to rethink flying in the day of the cruise.

 

You take a risk when you fly should your flight be cancelled or delayed of missing the ship. Things happen whether mechanical, security, weather, computer related or a number of other things. Think what would have happened if you had a situation similar to what happened in Chicago the other day.

 

Fly the day before.

 

Just my two cents.

 

Keith

I totally agree with Keith. So much can happen to delay your flight. Fly in the day before and start your cruise relaxed rather than stressed.

Princess

Day Port of Call Arrival Departure

1 Seattle -- 04:00 PM

2 At Sea -- --

3 Juneau 11:00 AM 10:00 PM

4 Skagway 06:00 AM 08:15 PM

5 Glacier Bay 06:00 AM 03:00 PM

6 Ketchikan 07:00 AM 12:30 PM

7 Victoria 07:00 PM 11:59 PM

8 Seattle 07:00 AM --

 

Holland

Day Port of Call Arrival Departure

1 Vancouver -- 05:00 PM

2 Cruise Inside Passage -- --

3 Tracy Arm 10:00 AM 10:30 AM

3 Juneau 01:00 PM 10:00 PM

4 Skagway 07:00 AM 09:00 PM

5 Glacier Bay 07:00 AM 04:00 PM

6 Ketchikan 10:00 AM 06:00 PM

7 Cruise Inside Passage -- --

8 Vancouver 07:00 AM --

 

 

Thanks!

We have sailed several times on both Princess and HAL. We like them both and would not hesitate to sail either again.

For the 2 options you have mentioned, I would go with the HAL cruise. You have better time in port in Ketchikan. You could see both Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm on the same cruise - most cruises you get one or the other. (We did Tracy Arm on the Zaandam - it was breathtaking.)

The Princess cruise has a short stay in Victoria, basically only there because of the need to hit a "foreign" port. Total waste of time. Also, the Vancouver sailing will be on the east side of Vancouver Island, so more scenic and most likely calmer waters.

The demographics on the ships will be similar with probably a slightly older crowd on HAL. But only slightly.

All in all, I would go with the HAL cruise.

Whatever you pick, enjoy. :)

The price sounds good to me. But are you sure it's 5pm when you arrive in Athens?

Another vote for single breasted notched collar.

Similar situation on the last few cruises, we have taken. People do not pay attention, laugh and talk through out the whole muster. On our recent cruise, the Captain came on and told people to stop talking and pay attention "especially those on the starboard side." In retrospect, the past few cruises, the Captain has had to tell people to stop talking. Despite a ship's best effort to train folks on emergency procedures, I really wonder what those folks will or will not do in a real emergency.

We were on the Zaandam in July. At our muster station the crew lined us up in rows, front to back. There was a woman ahead of me in my row and she kept talking and talking throughout most of the muster. Finally I had enough, and asked her to please be quiet so we could hear what the captain and crew were telling us. She gave me a very dirty look, but she did shut up. If we had had an actual emergency on that cruise I wonder how prepared she would be to handle it.

St. Croix was our least favourite stop. Would stay on the ship if we were on another cruise that went there.

I think your flight is too early for the Princess transfer. Cabs are readily available and cheap, maybe $15. It will be busy, both at the port and the airport. You should try to be off the ship in one of the early disembarkations.