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glutenhab

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    Internet on Trans-Pacific?

    in Holland America Line

    Posted

    On Westerdam 51 day Seattle to Sydney on Oct 2/22 & wondering how the internet connection is while at sea?

    Some other questions:

    1) Are there room service charges for lunch/dinner etc. (I assume none for breakfast)

    2) Can we bring wine/soft drinks aboard on embarkation? (have heard only water now but unsure)

    3) Buffet closing times (nothing after 8pm?)

    4) Westerdam condition? 

    5) Advice/ideas on room VA6091

     

    Any other advice is warmly welcomed

    Table for 2?

    in Cunard Line

    Posted

    Thanks. 2 more questions:

    1) Are exercise classes (Spin/Body Flow etc.) and/or specialty coffees (Latte/Espresso etc.) included?

    2) How does Cunard compare to Holland America?

    Table for 2?

    in Cunard Line

    Posted

    4 hours ago, majortom10 said:

    I hope you mean QE and not QE2. You can request a table for 2 when booking but it is never guaranteed or confirmed and you wont know until you get onboard and your table assignment will be on a card in your stateroom. Then go down to restaurant to see where table is situated and if not see if you can change it but again that is not always guaranteed.

    Sorry, this would be Queen Mary 2. Hope that all the previous replies (thanks all) still apply & that we will be able to avail of a table for 2 whenever we wish to do so.

    Upsell Pecking Order for HAL

    in Holland America Line

    Posted

    In theory this is how it is suppose to work, in reality this is not how it works;) The days of Free Upgrades are a rarity and not to be counted on. HAL has actually gone to the point for Neptune or Pinnacle Suite to leave them empty. They would rather have an empty cabin to move someone to if there is a need to last minute or problem with a cabin. Now if there are more than two then the Upsell offers can occur.

    Upsell offers are NOT sent out based on your Mariner Status, if an Upsell offer goes out then it goes to EVERYONE that is eligible.(see below on what makes you eligible)

    If you are wanting an Upsell offer first you must not have your reservation linked with another cabin for dining or traveling together because in the first round of offers for those reservations are NOT included. Depending on the number of cabins being offered they might be included in the second round of offers but often not till the third round.

    If there are just a small number of cabins available there may not even be an offer sent. Numerous agents know the drill and know timing and keep contacting HAL. Often Upsells are gone before notices go out.

    Pricing is also based on percentage of remaining cabins. It is the revenue department that handles this, and YES Revenue is seeing how much MORE money they can make the company, NOT how many they can GIVE AWAY to 4 and 5 star Mariners. One has to remember HAL is still a company that needs to make a profit. Pricing for these Upsells and been increasing over the past few years and if you see a crazy low price you will know that this is the 3rd of 4th round :D

    The likelihood of an offer grows by the size of the ship, the smaller the ship is not nearly as likely unless it is Interior to OV. Vista Class and higher get the most offered Upsells.

    The other thing is that offers do not come very frequently if you are on a Collectors Series or a Segment that is linked with other segments. The cabins availability gets quite complicated at that point.

     

    We always book "Collector's Series" or "B2B" cruises & never get offered up-sells or upgrades.

    I assumed that was the reason. Definitely unfair but I can see how it would be complicated for HAL to coordinate.

    V of D's MV Voyager Feb 2014

    in Other Cruise Lines

    Posted

    I keep wanting to book this line because of the great itineraries & longer port stays but always back off at the last minute when I see reviews mentioning tiny cabins & a postage stamp size pool that is never used, as well as breakdowns because of the age of Discovery & repeat older patrons thinking they "own" the ship.

     

    I can easily get by without a pool, although it is nice to have the option & to see others enjoying it. I can even manage with a slightly smaller cabin. But all of these things combined make me steer back to Holland America etc.

    Am I right in being concerned like this & does the newer ship make a difference?

    What is The Retreat?

    in Holland America Line

    Posted

    No, there isn't. There wasn't any need to remove the pool on that ship as it was originally on Lido Deck anyway.

    On the two ships where the aft pool was removed, it was on Navigation Deck. That's where the new cabins are.

     

    Once again, thanks Ruth.

    Good for Vietnam

    in Asia

    Posted

    Few days ago some posters mentioned the growing number of video clips about Saigon HCMC, Cu Chi, My Tho posted on You Tube by a guide from the same place. I viewed all and thought that was something. Something good for people planning to go there. Something good from an individual. Up to now, there haven't been many things of same nature about places of interest in VN. There should be more efforts like those since many, many people can find one or two things clearer prior to arrival.

    How do I find these?

    Stuff to do in Sydney

    in Australia & New Zealand

    Posted · Edited by glutenhab

    Great thread, thanks! This allows me to update the list, compiled from CC'ers posts, of suggested tips for Sydney, especially a newcomer. Here is the current edition.

     

     

    First, things that you can do even if you only have one day in Sydney:-

    • The Rocks – historical area, plus some tourist shopping.
    • Circular Quay – for views.
    • Sydney Opera House – do a tour; the backstage tour is the most interesting, but is much less frequent and much more expensive than the standard tourist run. Go to a concert or a show if you can.
    • Botanic Gardens and the Domain (parks).
    • Hyde Park, including the ANZAC memorial, fountains, and nearby buildings such as St Mary’s Cathedral, the New South Wales Art Gallery and Hyde Park Barracks.
    • Darling Harbour – touristy things, including the casino at Star City if you're into that sort of thing.
    • Sydney Aquarium (at Darling Harbour).
    • Sydney Wildlife World (at Darling Harbour).
    • Maritime Museum (at Darling Harbour).
    • Powerhouse Museum (at Darling Harbour).
    • The Australian Museum (in the City).
    • Museum of Sydney (in the City).
    • Museum of Contemporary Art (Circular Quay – the café is said to be pretty good).
    • Bridgeclimb – 3½ hours, but worth it if the weather's good. Not energetic, nor difficult to anyone who has anything other than serious fears of heights. Best to book when you're there and you can gauge what the weather is likely to be. Most popular and expensive climbs are at twilight. Otherwise, a first timer should do a day climb to see where everything is, although night climbs are romantically spectacular. They have a new route which climbs the lower arch, but the standard route is still better for a newcomer.
    • Or just walk across the Harbour Bridge if you don't want to climb it. You can go up the south-east pylon (the one nearest the Opera House and Circular Quay) for some views that are better than those from the roadway.
    • Sydney Tower – the tall building thing, also a very ish revolving restaurant.
    • Paddy's Markets.
    • Chinatown.
    • The Sydney Fish Market (an early start is needed to get the most out of this).
    • Take a ferry to Manly.
    • Manly – long beach on the ocean side, cafes etc. If you can get there, big park at North Head with good harbour and sea views, but is a long walk from Manly itself.
    • Taronga Zoo – take the ferry from Circular Quay for this, too.
    • Cruise on the harbour - lots of ways of doing this, standard tourist ones from Circular Quay; also a jetboat from there; but my favourite is on a genuine ex-Americas Cup yacht - a cruise ship is nothing like this!
    • Watsons Bay – famous for Doyles, seafood restaurant, also good views. Also, go up to South Head (walking distance) from there, for views. Watsons Bay can be reached by ferry.
    • Queen Victoria Building – possibly the most elegant shopping mall in the world.
    • Bondi Beach – if you feel that you really have to do this. Quite close to Watsons Bay, can be done in a long walk (about 3½ miles), or by the Bondi Explorer Bus.
    • Walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach along the cliff tops.
    • Also, between Watsons Bay and the City, there are Double Bay (elegant, expensive shops) and Rose Bay (pretty waterfront).
    • Balmoral Beach, to which you can get by bus (including, if you like, lunch or dinner at the Bathers Pavilion, or just fish and chips, or something else - there is a number of eateries here).
    • Other walks along the harbour foreshore, for example between Cremorne and Mosman.
    • Blu Bar at the top of the Shangri-La Hotel for cocktails with a view.
    • King's Cross at night (for the broad-minded).
    • Featherdale Wildlife Park.

    Also, Sydney is one of the great eating cities of the world, so there's no shortage of good and/or exotic food.

     

     

    If you are staying longer in Sydney, the following day trips out of Sydney are also possible:-


    • Blue Mountains/Katoomba
    • Northern beaches (up to Palm Beach)
    • Hunter Valley wineries
    • Canberra

    You might also want to have a look at the following threads:-

     

    Fantastic Post!!!

     

    Are you, or anyone else, familiar with the Hyde Park Inn in Sydney & if so your opinion?

    Referral Coupon Thread- This is the only one!

    in Seabourn Cruise Line

    Posted

    I have just requested our T/A book us on a 34 day Seabourn Pride cruise in April/11. We will be celebrating our 25th anniversary & her 50th birthday. Have read so many good things about the line. A coupon would be a bonus for sure. If I get the booking tomorrow my final payment is due on Jan 18/11. Will I have any trouble gettting a coupon here? And can I just give it to my T/A at final payment, or even after that? Is there a deadline to redeem I guess is what I am asking. I wouldn't want to waste someone's coupon, but I would like for both him/her & us to take advantage of it. Is it per person or per stateroom? We are both new to Seabourn.

    Cruising - have the great days gone?

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    First Cruise.......Honeymoon in 1986.

    Last Cruise.......August/2009

     

    I think you can still cruise like "the good old days" with HAL, Celebrity etc., or better than "the good old days" with Azamara, Oceania etc., at a better price (adjusted for inflation) than then. If you really want "the good old days" just go Seabourn, Regent etc. I am sure that if you adjusted the price for inflation for what was being charged on just about all cruise lines back then, even the 6 star, but certainly the 5.5 star, would be cheaper now.

     

    The biggest thing that has changed is the number of people who can now afford to go. I remember on my first trip to places like Vegas, Europe etc. I felt like I owned the place. A trip from here in Newfoundland to San Francisco in 1977 was exotic....now it's ho hum. That is the part of the "good old days" that I miss. Coming home to bragg about your trip to all your friends was great. Now they've all been there too.

     

    Oh well, back to the Azamara site to browse.

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