Daisyloo

We were just on the Emerald in P326 and our friends were in P319. We loved being close to the IC and the Piaza. Our friends in P319 said they occassionally heard muffled noises coming from the Art Gallery- they said it sounded like they were sliding pictures out of the storage cupboards as they changed what was on display frequently. It didn't impact their cruise at all, just an observation.

You can buy lanyards on board in the shops. They have different kinds, some very plain and some really "blingy". I never use one myself but was tempted by the blingy ones! You will see all sorts or people using them - ignore the statement that only kids or old people use them. Do what ever makes you happy. If you want to use a lanyard, carry a purse or use a wristlet do it. Ignore the people who say not to. Do you really care what they think? After all, who says their opinion is correct. :)

We did this tour while on a Holland America cruise but I am sure they will be very similar. The drive was interesting and you see alot of the countryside. Our driver/guide told us about the things we were seeing.

The caves themselves are interesting. You actually go into them on a small "train", kind of like big golf carts. We found it interesting and probably it was the only time we will ever get to see a cave system.

We enjoyed this excursion.

Thanks to everyone for the info and advice. In the end I thought it was better to be safe than sorry, so I called and they switched me into P330. Lower deck, closer to midship, and mere steps from the IC...guess I will be getting a coffee card :) Will have to go up a couple of decks to indulge my bad habit, but so be it. This will be my first Plaza deck cabin. I'm very curious to see what it will be like.

Good choice. I think you will be very happy with it. If you are coffee drinker do get a coffee card. Your cabin location will make it so easy to grab a cup. Also, you must try the donut/croisant they have in the mornings at the IC- heavenly! And if you like "egg Mcmuffins" they have them at the IC in the a.m. as well. On mornings when we had early excursions booked we would grab a couple of them and a coffeee and eat breakfast in our cabin.

Sympathies on your loss.

We just did a 10 day on the Emerald Princess in an interior cabin on Plaza deck, cabin P326. We loved the location. It was quiet. We felt almost no motion at all and we loved being so close to the IC, the Piazza, the dining room etc. Also, all the ports we were in, the ship used one deck down for the gangway. So instead of waiting for elevators with lots of other people we would walk up a flight of stairs and we were near our cabin. Loved this location and would do it again.

Great video! Looks like you had a wonderful time, and what a perfect song to pick for your video.

We were on the Emerald the cruise prior to yours and loved it as well.

I would say go with seven days. By the time you get settled, find your way around the ship and start to relax, a 4 day cruise would be over. We started with a seven and now find even 10 days not enough - we prefer 14 days. Hoping someday soon we can do even longer (hurry up retirement!)

We disembarked about 2 weeks ago in Port Everglades. We opted for a late time slot ( 9:45 a.m.) and literally walked right off the ship and went through customs with no stopping or waiting. When we walked outside there was no wait for a cab at all and we were at FLL in 10 minutes tops. Absolutely the best disembark ever.

We have been at Port Everglades when it was slow, with long lines and lots of waiting. That was unusual in our experience though.

We usually but not always book excursions through the ship. We have been pleased with almost all of them. If they cost any more than doing it on our own we just think of that as added insurance. Insurance that the ship will wait for us if there is any problem.

On our last cruise 2 weeks ago we did a ship excursion on St Lucia and really enjoyed it. Back on board the ship we sat on deck waiting for sail away. And waited. About 1/2 hour past the time we should have left, the Captain announced that we were waiting for about 80 passengers on ship excursions that had not arrived back yet. Turned out there had been a bad accident on the main road and there was a huge traffic jam because of it. The ship finally sailed 2 hours late when the last passengers arrived back. We talked to people who had been on that tour. They said the police were letting the ship tour buses get around the accident site before any other vehicles. As they drove through, the buses picked up frantic passengers from taxis, who were not on ships tours and drove them back too.

I know this sort of thing is probably rare, but it does happen. So if someone wants the security of doing ships tours instead of doing it on their own, I fully understand.

We were on the Emerald on the March 29th sailing and our mattress was not very good. They were saggy in the middle and hard, not very cushioned feeling and that was with an eggcrate topper on. The pillows were pretty bad too - really thin and lumpy. We asked for extras and piled them on top of each other.

I am looking at booking a one way ticket from Seattle to Detroit after our cruise. I have read some not so good things about Southwest Air recently.

Our flight has a stopover in Atlanta with only 40 minutes to make our connecting flight onto Detroit. If I am reading things correctly, I understand that Southwest does not assign seats, and you pick your seats when boarding the plane? Is this correct? Would you book a flight with them with only a 40 minute stopover and that is without any delays. Would you book this flight?

We have flown Southwest many times and love them.

A couple of things about Southwest that might help you decide:

You can book what they call the "earlybird" option. After you book your flight you can purchase the early bird option- what that means is Southwest will "pull" your reservation 36 hours before your flight and assign you a boarding position at that time. This is especially important as you are flying after a cruise and may have limited access to check in online while still on the ship. If you don't purchase the earlybird, you get access to check in at 24 hours before the flight, and don't get a boarding position assigned until you do check in. So early bird gets you checked in and a better boarding position. We feel it is definitely worth the extra $12.50 each.

Also, Southwest seems to have all the gates they fly into and out of close together, so you will probably be very near where you have to be for your connecting flight. You won't need to collect your luggage, just need to get yourself to the next gate. We had just over an hour between connections earlier this month and had tons of time - a forty minute connection would have been easily done.

Another thing about Southwest - their customer service people have always been great to deal with. I have called them several times when I have had questions or concerns and they have always been helpful and co-operative.

Also, their website has lots of info about how they run their boarding, how earlybird works etc.

Add in their no-change fees policy, 2 free bags and their welcoming crew and we feel you have a winner.

April 8, 2014 - four of us got a cab (an SUV) from Port Everglades to the Fort Lauderdale airport. On the meter it was $12.50. Plus a tip.

To the OP: I had to laugh as I read your post. It could have been written by my daughter. She and her new husband are going on a cruise for their honeymoon this summer and she has been getting the same kind of negativity from some people too. Things like "why are you going on a cruise- they're for old people," or " why did you choose HAL- you will hate it, there's only old people on that line". My favourite one though was " why don't you immerse yourself in the culture of where you are going and backpack around, stay in hostels. Then she proceeds to tell my daughter "oh by the way, I got scabies in one of the hostels I stayed in". Yeh, that sounds like a great honeymoon idea!:eek:

She answers them by saying she and her husband have cruised before and had a great time and that they love Holland America.

Ignore all the negative people, go and have fun and an awesome honeymoon!

Our 3 kids, 28, 26 and 22 have sailed both HAL and Princess. They all say they liked Princess but liked HAL more. Our daughters new husband feels the same way.

The email we got from Princess prior to our cruise this Saturday mentions Captain Phillips and Gravity as being currently shown on the Emerald. I haven't seen either yet so I am looking forward to it. If they mentioned any other titles I don't remember.

I would suggest asking your steward for ice, several times a day if needed. Then put the gel cooling sleeve in a plastic bag and submerge in the ice bucket. That would get it pretty cold I'm sure.

I never feel quilty. We have worked hard for our money. We have paid our bills, educated our kids and saved for retirement. Now it's our time to enjoy ourselves. When people say "again!", I always answer "somebody has to keep the economy going".

Yes. We cruised on Maasdam ine December and last April. Both times there was an Adagio Duo playing in the Explorer's lounge. We really enjoyed them- listened to them every night.

This vaccine only protects against enterotoxic e. coli and cholera. There are many, many other causes of gastrointestinal upset. Counting on this vaccine to protect you is living in a fool's paradise. I could see this drug as a useful adjunct if you were traveling or vacationing for an extended time in a third world country with questionable sanitation.But for a cruiser on a brief port excursion simple common sense precautions should be more than sufficient.

I'm not counting on it to protect me from everything. I take precautions with food and drink and use common sense. But I think using this vaccine adds another layer of protection. I don't think that means I live in a "fools paradise" at all. It's a little added insurance, and I feel I am worth the cost.

What about taking the vaccine "Dukoral" for travellers diarrhea. In Canada it is available in pharmacies without a prescription. Protects against the most common cause of traveller's diarrhea. Protects against cholera too.

It is an oral vaccine.

We play a game called "10,000". All you need is 5 or 6 dice and a pen and paper to keep score. So much fun and easy to learn. Google the instructions. We have played it in several land based resorts where passers-by stop to watch then want to learn and they end up joining in.

Am looking at booking a circle Hawaii cruise next year on the Veendam and I have some questions regarding cabin K500 on Main Deck. It appears that this cabin is much larger than the other inside K cabins. Was wondering about how it is configured and how noisy it is being near the anchor. Does anyone know what the square footage is?

 

Would appreciate any info you might have.

Hi. DH and I had cabin 500 on Main deck on the Maasdam. Is that similar location to Veendam?

It was very nice and large. Had large shower with grab bars and a drop down seat. When we first walked into the cabin we were wowed by all the space. We loved the cabin for the first two days. Sea days. Then the fun began! The itinerary we were on had us arriving into each port early in the a.m. Like 7:00 am. We would be asleep and be awoken by the sound of the winch motors reving up. For about 30 plus minutes. Loud. They would whine til the ship was docked and fully tied up. Did I mention loud?

The noisiest was the day we were at HMC.. The dropping anchor sounded like it was going to crash right through our cabin.

We loved the cabin layout and size. We said we would book it again if we were doing a TA and there was only 1 port day at the end. Or if all the port days started later after we would normally get up. But on an early starting port intensive day, no.

We still talk about "Winchie" and how noisy "he" was.

I think that the Hampton Inn south FLL still provides free port shuttles.

No, as of January they started charging. I emailed the hotel and the manager, a nice guy named David emailed me back. He said they have started to charge as they are now using outside shuttles- bigger than the ones they had. He told me however, that as we had booked prior to January when they still advertised free shuttles, we would not be charged the $5.00. Even paying the $5.00 is a bargain I think.

The shuttle from the airport is still free, and if you ask they will shuttle to area restaurants for free.

I would recommend Hampton Inn Airport/North Cruiseport. They have free shuttle from airport to hotel, clean and comfortable, pool, complimentary breakfast, across the road from a plazza, several restaurants and fast food places nearby. They used to have free shuttle to the port, but now charge $5.00 each. In not peak season we paid $139.00, in peak we have paid as high as $289.00 We have stayed there 5 times and have a 6th booked.