Mocamps

Thanks again. The train works out at $210 for both of us as we didn't think the Goldstar service would be worth it. The bus would be $130 and goes from the airport so may work out better as we'll be arriving late at night so an airport hotel may be more convenient. But am really tempted by the train as it sounds fun. Now investigating downtown hotels near the station!

All is now clear! Thanks. I can relax - as I've got my 2 reservations sorted!

I would recommend the native canoe trip. I think it's out of Juneau. It's in a 12-person canoe' date=' on a lake at the foot of a glacier, and goes to a glacial waterfall. Lovely scenery and a fun trip.

 

When I went they had us all in rubber suits. I don't know if that was because it was raining, or if it's standard. I had the sense it was the latter. But the funny suits didn't take away from the fun of the experience.[/quote']

 

We really fancied this and it was our first choice in Juneau but unfortunately it's saying it's fully booked. I don't know if that sometimes changes? Or if we just need to ask about cancellations when we're on board?

Thank you all so much - really helpful! We've booked our excursions now - with a focus on hiking and boats! Does anyone have any experience of the Ocean rafting trip in Sitka? We have spotted we can actually do that in the afternoon as well as a morning trip. Or would that be too much?

I'd almost decided on the train option for the transfer but then read the one-way car rental suggestion. I quite like the flexibility associated with that but haven't been able to find companies that do it. Does anyone know any companies we can try? I've looked at our usual ones and only found Hertz but they're quoting over $350 for one day!! So if that's the case, it's definitely the train!

We've just booked a last minute cruise on the Mariner for July. Chartreuse is the only specialty restaurant that we haven't managed to get a reservation for. Should I keep trying or is it likely we might get one after we board?

I'm a bit confused as it says that Chartreuse and Signatures are both French. We've managed to get a Signatures booking so I was wondering if there's a lot of difference?

We've just booked onto the Mariner Alaska cruise in July and am really excited about it. It will be our first with Regent and I have high expectations so hope I won't be disappointed!

We booked on the spur of the moment and didn't at the time realise that Seward was so far from Anchorage. I'm now trying to work out our flights and transfers (they're not included in the last minute fare we paid). I'm currently considering either the train or a bus. Can anyone advise which is the most scenic?

Also, are there any excursions which are particularly recommended? We're only really interested in the free ones as the cruise is working out at quite a bit more than we'd usually pay for a week. We like getting some exercise, trekking, wildlife viewing and anything to do with water - whale watching, rafting, kayaking, boat trips. We'd love to see a bear!.....though not in a 'zoo'.

And are there any other useful tips? We'll be in one of the base level cabins - an F, I think?

Many thanks for your help

Do the waiters in MDR sing and dance?

You've been on a Carnival cruise, haven't you???;);)

I also live in the UK and have a Celebrity cruise booked for May next year. I would like to buy RCCL shares so that we get the onboard credit. It has worked well with my Carnival shares and was easy as I could do it in my ISA (Individual Savings Account) but am having the same problems as the OP as it seems that it isn't possible to buy RCCL shares in the same way.

Any advice?

Thanks Jacqui,

My TA is a bit of a shambles!! She has so far listed 3 different amounts of OBC and when I recently asked her about a price drop she got herself in a right mess!!

I have actually considered cancelling with hr and re-booking but she did get us a good price in the first place so I'm a bit reluctant. I also have another cruise booked with her where she also got us a good price. And she seems really nice - just a bit dithery!!

But I'm just hoping that the OBC is as much as I'm expecting as otherwise it WON'T be such a good deal!! That's why I was trying to check it out!!

I DO have the HAL cruise documentation showing it (though not the shareholder stuff) so hopefully it will be OK. Should it show it when I do Online Check-In?

Morag

Hi folks,

Another question from me - this time about OBC.

On my HAL confirmation, our OBC shows as $175 pp. However, on the quotes I have from the TA, I have a variety of quotes from $75 pp and upwards.

We should also get $250 because we own Carnival shares and have sent a letter to HAL to this effect. Is there anywhere online we can see a definitive sum of the actual OBC we'll get? Or will we need to wait until we get on the ship and argue it out there if it isn't OK??

It makes a difference to what we book in advance. For example, I quit fancy some of the speciality dining but don't want to book it in advance because I want to use the OBC to pay for it if we have enough.

Thanks

Morag

sounds like you have it all pretty well sorted out.

 

Champagne is a wine so it is included in the wine rules.

 

You can indeed buy a bottle of gin for your room. You can either buy it on line or when you are on board (or both;))

 

Prices vary depending upon the brand you want to buy but there is an economical one on the list and the price you are quoting sounds about right. might have changed by a $1 or $2. All the bottles are 1 litre unless a different size is indicated.

 

hope this helps ;)

Thank you so much! This forum is great for a newby on HAL!! I have just ploughed my way through the whole lot and found the answers to most of my questions so apologies for duplicating some.

I am an avid planner so do tend to have it all pretty much sorted before we go. My thinking is that we have so little time in each place so I need to be well prepared. My husband says that I plan too much but I reckon I have saved us a small fortune over the years!! Probably paid for an extra holiday!!

And on the one holiday where we went without having much booked we didn't have such a good time so I think I've proved my point.

By the way, many thanks to the people who mentioned that you can get OBC if you have Carnival shares. I immediately bought some in our pension plan and, quite apart from the $250 OBC, the shares themselves are doing rather well - probably because of all of us who have become keen cruisers!!

Thanks again to everyone for the help.

Hi folks,

I need some advice on alcohol for our cruise to New Zealand in February. I understand that we are allowed to bring on one bottle of wine without paying anything. Is that per person or per cabin? And does that include champagne?

I also understand that if we bring any more wine then we will need to pay $18 corkage but can then take it to the restaurants. As our cruise is in New Zealand and they make great wine, our plan is to do that because we'll then get better wines for the same price or cheaper than ship's wines. So I'm sorted with wines!!

My question is about spirits. Whilst I'm happy with wine, my husband likes to have a small G & T on the balcony as an aperitif. I understand that we can bring on-board as much as we like in the way of soft drinks and I've read somewhere that you can get a bottle of spirits on-board for $35 so that we can keep it in the cabin. Is that correct? If so, how big a bottle is that?

Thanks

Its their company, they can do it any way they want. If enough people were to choose a different cruise line they might reconsider, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

I'm guessing this cruiser lives in the US!! I live in the UK and it infuriates me that some cruise lines do this. And it seems fairly random because we were able to book a Carnival cruise in the US but not a HAL one? And they're owned by the same company? We have had no problem booking Celebrity or Royal Caribbean in America either.

And what makes me even more mad is that when I have queried the price differential direct with cruise companies they tell me that they use the same pricing and policies across the board which they blatantly do not!! In the UK if you book and pay a deposit and then the price changes or you want to cancel before final payment then you lose your deposit. In the US you don't - one of the reasons why I much prefer to book in the US. That and the fact that it is usually much cheaper. And sometimes the drinks packages apply in one country and not in another. And yet the reservation staff still tell me that they all do the same. I just don't understand it!

We are in the fortunate position of having dual citizenship so that sometimes helps but I do wish they would just use the same pricing and policies across the board. It would make it so much easier.

You are correct. Look at how deep the verandah is though. From the door to the railing the distance is the same for the aft staterooms also. Just not as wide.

 

Width wise on the Vistas, if you look at the first photo that AZNative posted the aft staterooms are as wide as 2 loungers a small table and a deck chair with Ottoman wide. There are also another deck chair and I believe a larger table. The aft HC stateroom verandahs are wider.

 

Hope this helps.....

 

Joanie

What is an HC stateroom?

And are you saying that our aft cabin on Deck 7 will be as deep as the one in the photo?

Morag

That balcony looks amazing!! But to be fair, Joanie, that is an AFT WRAP cabin, isn't it? So it actually wraps around the side of the ship as well as the back. And it is a suite, isn't it?

The true 'aft' cabins aren't as big as that but are just slightly bigger balconies. Is that correct? I'm trying to keep my feet on the ground and not have too high expectations!!

I am an "After", one who adores the Aft Wrap Staterooms and would not even think of another stateroom choice if and Aft wrap stateroom is available:)

 

I know you are talking about Signature Suites and not Aft Wraps staterooms, but the gist is still the same for us. An Aft Stateroom is better than a Stateroom located on the Side of the ship. It is where we prefer to be:)

 

Go with what you want. If it is an Aft Stateroom you want and one is available, Go for it!!

 

There is nothing wrong with them and you will be happier in one knowing you chose it because you wanted it. Hope that makes sense...(working on my 1st cup of coffee this morning)

 

Some will tell you that the Aft staterooms are to far from the "_ _ _ _ _ _" (Insert wherever they say). But our come back is that while yes, it is that distance to "_ _ _ _ _", it is only 2 - 3 seconds to the MDR, The Lido etc, and it is where we wish to be so we are happy:)

 

As I said, I am an "After" and proud of it:)

 

Joanie

Thank you, Joanie!! I believe you are a bit of an expert on HAL cabins so that is good to hear. I was looking for your website but I believe that it has now been taken down.

The cabin we currently have is 7143 (next to the aft wrap which we absolutely can't stretch to even if there WAS one available!!) so I'm hoping we'll be able to see a bit of the coastline from it as well as the wake!!

I'm an avid researcher and have been working on this for a while now so I'm gradually getting to know more about HAL and am really looking forward to this cruise now. In fact, if a balcony cabin suddenly became available on the Solstice I would have to think very carefully whereas before I'd have grabbed it!!

What a great cruise! I am sure you will have a fabulous time. It is hard to define what else you need to know, but perhaps a start would be to google HAL + cabins which will take you to a site with lots of info. Plus reading here on Cruise Critic where you will also find lots of information. Signature Suites are very nice, and for that price differential you can't go wrong.

Unfortunately, although the price is the same on HAL's website, my TA can't get it for the same price (or even close!) as the aft balcony cabin.

She could have got us a standard balcony cabin at the side and for about $200 less than the one we have but I think I'll stick with the aft as I've always wanted to try one - unless you HAL experts tell me that there is something wrong with the HAL afts??:confused:

I've been to both countries twice (land only) and both are one of my favorite destinations, especially South Island. You will enjoy yourself in the "Land of the Long White Cloud."

 

Did you mention which direction you are sailing? The Sydney-Auckland cruise will have 8077 facing the sea off NZ but the coastline for AU. Both cabins are good choices. It would be nice if they traveled up the west coast of the South Island as the NZ Alps are better viewed there. A great cruise itinerary none the less!

It's actually the Auckland-Sydney cruise so 8077 should be facing the coastline by my reckoning!!

I've e-mailed my TA to get her to check on the price difference so we can make a decision. I'm happy with either so it will depend on just how much it costs. On the HAL site they are the same but she got us a good deal on the aft balcony so I'm not sure she'll be able to do the same with the SS. She's checking.

Thanks for your help. Any more HAL tips anyone? Does it differ much from Celebrity? We don't spend a lot of time doing much on the ship. It's mainly the balcony, the evening meal and the show that interests us.We usually go to the casino once or twice but that's about it. We have friends who cruise with Cunard and they go to lots of talks and have learned to do ballroom dancing and all sorts of things but we use the ship mainly as a moving hotel!!

If the Signature Suite is under the carpeted area of the Lido, it shouldn't be a problem. Also, if it is midships or a bit aft, it may be better than the aft cabin on the Tasman Sea which can be rough at times. My rule of thumb for cabin placement is just forward of the stack(s).

The Signature suite IS midships but we really quite like a bit of rock 'n' roll so that doesn't bother us at all. I'm thinking that there may be better views from the aft and it may be easier to see whales and dolphins but my husband says that the views of the coastline will be better from the side. But he's happy with either and has left it up to me to choose. I'm really torn because I've always wanted to try an aft cabin but there has never been one available though I'm a bit worried that there still seem to be a few available on this cruise. Do you think that might be because my husband is right and the views aren't so good??

And it looks like the SS might even be roughly the same price so it's a bit of a bargain. Help!! Our current cabin is 7143 and the suite is 8077.

Hi everyone,

We have just booked a HAL cruise around New Zealand in February and am REALLY excited about it but a bit worried as this will be our first time with HAL. We are usually Celebrity cruisers and to be absolutely honest, only booked this cruise because the Celebrity one in the same month has been sold out for ages. I've been waiting to try to get a cancellation but the only thing that has come up has been inside cabins and we have never done a cruise without having a balcony. I just love to sit on it first thing in the morning and with a glass of wine before dinner in the evening.

On the HAL cruise we have managed to book an aft balcony cabin which I'm very excited about because I've always fancied an aft cabin but there has never been availability.

My only concern is that I can't understand why this cruise has so much availability when the Celebrity cruise is so popular. It visits practically the same ports. Is there something about the Noordam that puts people off??

Also, I can book a Signature Suite (SS) for very little extra but then wouldn't have my aft balcony. Can anyone tell me if the balcony on an SS category will be comparable? And are the SS perks worth an extra $200?? Also, the only SS is on Deck 8 under the Lido restaurant so that may also be a disadvantage. My aft cabin is on Deck 7.

I am gradually working my way through this forum but there are a LOT of pages so if anyone has any useful tips for a first time HAL cruiser please do let me know.

Many thanks - I don't know how I would plan my cruises without Cruise Critic!!:):)

Later this year I am taking a voyage on Silver Galapagos, the Northern itinerary, and have not been able to get a clear answer as to what options exist for scuba diving at any/each respective port of call. I am aware of regular opportunities to snorkel but curious if scuba options exist. Because of the weight/baggage limits by the airline from mainland Ecuador to the port I am also curious what scuba gear is available on board/at a port of call where we would be able to dive so as not to bring anything unnecessarily heavy if rental equipment is available.

 

Kind Regards,

 

WorldFootprints

Hi,

My husband and I went on this itinerary in October of this year and actually, the response you have had already is not entirely correct. It IS true that all ship excursions are organised by Silversea (as is the same for most Galapagos cruises, I imagine, because the national park is carefully controlled as stated) but there was a group on our cruise who were able to organise their own diving at 2 of the stops. They basically arranged with the dive company to collect them from the ship in the morning, take them diving and deliver them back to the ship at the end of the day. They picked the spots carefully so that their diving was done when the ship was close to Santa Cruz as this was where the dive company was based. I'm afraid that I can't remember the name of the company they used. They said it worked well. I know that one of their dives was at Gordon Rocks and they saw hammerheads and manta rays! My husband was wishing that he had done it! I'm not sure how the rental equipment worked but would think that could be worked out somehow. You can get wetsuits,masks and fins on the Silver Galapagos, so you would only need the BCDs, regs and weights.

Good luck. I loved this cruise but for my husband, diving would have been the icing on the cake!!

Hi,

We'll be in Roatan on a cruise in early May. As keen snorkelers we are definitely headed for West Bay and plan to just park ourselves there for the day. The info on this thread is great about where to go - the kidney shaped channel to the reef etc. We plan to use all that info. Thanks to everyone who has contributed.

Now all that remains is to work out how to get there! We have used local minibuses in other Caribbean islands and have always found them fun and interesting! Does anyone know if you can get to West Bay from Mahogany Bay using them? We don't mind walking a bit to access them!

Thanks