liberty176

My info is a little more dated, but it is from peak family time: my family sailed on the Discovery over Xmas 2022 thru New Years 2023 when my kids were 5 and 8. It was a great ship for our family. I will say, though, there were a ton of kids on board both weeks, most especially Xmas week. That week, we definitely needed to line up 10 min early (though not 30) for kids club, especially for the morning session, and most especially for the smallest kids. It filled up daily with a wait-list posted on the wall. I forget how many kids were on that sailing, but something like 300-500. There was definitely a dropoff after the Xmas cruise (we did B2B, my kids get a long winter break) to about half as many kids, and it was still more kids than the ship is used to, but more manageable all around, and I don't recall having to line up early.

Sorry, I'm sure this has been answered but I read thru the thread and I'm still confused. I do not have (nor want) HIA for a cruise this summer. I do want to be able to check email and do some video calls for work on either Zoom or Google Meet, from an Android cell phone or a laptop. Can I get away with the middle plan or do I need the highest internet plan? Will want to pre-buy since the super helpful chart (thanks!!) shows that it's much cheaper to pre purchase. Thanks.

We're visiting Newcastle in July (also on the NS). How long does the shuttle take from the port? Does it run continuously in both directions? How does one pay for it? Also, this might be a stretch, but does anyone know if a HAL tour would drop us off only back at the ship, or might they give the option of being dropped off in the center of town (similar location to shuttle stop)? Hoping to take a 4 hour tour and then squeeze a little time in the center of town, visit the cathedral, etc. Thanks!

Yes @edinburgher, definitely planning on walking past both buildings (has a new name, but the National Archives building is on Princes St, very convenient to the Royal Mile and nearby sights). I made it to quite a number of different towns and sites, but am really excited to go to the Orkneys, Shetlands, etc. on this cruise!

Ok, thank you. Thanks for correcting to South Queensferry, an odd auto-correct! Ok, sounds like the special x99 bus is the way to go, especially since we actually have an overnight stop, so two days to go back/forth to town. We are in fact 2 adults and 2 kids, which as @edinburgherpointed out, is just more expensive all around. In doing research in various places, I've discovered that there are some cases where even 2 adults + 2 kids on a shuttle or similar is only a few pounds/euros less than a cab, which is why I wanted to check. So excited to go back (and take my kids). I spent a summer in college doing historical research in Edinburgh and haven't been back since!

Is this the fastest way from South Queensbury into town? We're a family of four, so tickets for this will add up quickly and other forms of transport may not be much more for us.

I have a cruise booked for December in the Sun Princess. Can I make a second booking for the same passengers ina second, different cabin for the same sailing? Will doing that cancel one of those bookings (since we obviously wouldn't keep two overlapping reservations)? As info is starting to trickle in, I'm not sure of my original cabin choice. However, between being a family of four in a cabin and Xmas, there are very few cabin choices for our family, and by the time I choose in a month or two, could be sold out for the sailing. Thanks!

Perfect, thanks so much! Sounds like we'll definitely have time for a museum and a chance to walk around. We'll be ending again in Amsterdam and have more time then, but would like to cross an item or two off our list while we're already there!

Our family is sailing on the Nieuw Statendam this summer, booked as a single 24 night cruise. It's also sold in segments (10 or 14 nights). Day 10 is in Amsterdam, where a lot of pax will be getting off, and new ones will be getting on. We've done a b2b in the US, but we're technically on a single sailing with a single booking number for this cruise. 1) We arrive at 7am. Will we be able to get off the ship once it's cleared when we wish quickly/easily, or will we need to go through immigration and be processed with everyone who is disembarking? If it makes a difference, the last stop before Amsterdam is in the UK, with a sea day immediately before Amsterdam. 2) The ship leaves at 3pm. Obviously we'll be back with plenty of time, but will there be a significantly earlier than usual all aboard time since many pax will be embarking? Just wanting to plan if we would need to be back at 12pm vs 2pm or so. Thanks!

ah, so sorry, this is for July! We already have excellent waterproof shells from REI and rain pants as well. I'm just trying to figure out if good fleeces underneath will be sufficient, but from what you've said, it sounds like a warmer layer will be better.

We're taking a long cruise on HAL Reykjavik-Amsterdam. Packing is going to be tricky (family of four, and we're spending a week in London before the cruise). I know that layers are key here, but I'm worried about being too cold. Looking at "average" temps (which I know are just an average) it seems like the low temp can be 50F or a bit lower. This is our first cold weather cruise. For each person, I'm planning on bringing: thermal underlayer, sweaters, fleece, water/windproof rain shell. Do we need a heavier coat? We'll have about 20 days around Iceland and in Scotland and a number of sea days. I want to make sure we're warm enough in port, but also want to enjoy walking around the deck and sitting on our balcony. I don't want to be cold, but I'm already concerned about suitcase space!

For pre-paying: can you buy for only part of the cruise, or must it be for the whole length? FH and I will need to do some work calls for part of a 24 night cruise, but only on days 5-18 or so, excluding weekends. I know I'll need it so would love to save 20%, but I don't need it for the whole trip. Also, related for pre-paying vs. using OBC for WiFi, does HAL let you use OBC for paying gratuities? We have a lot of OBC, but drink very little, so we didn't opt for HIA.

OK, sounds like this is standard, thank you!

What time must everyone be on board in a port? For example, if the port hours are listed as 7:00am-4:00pm, will all aboard be 4:00pm, or will it be earlier? On our most recent Princess cruise, it was a full 30 minutes before the published time. Booking some private tours for an upcoming cruise and I like to plan to be back with an hour or so to spare if we're going some distance, but not sure what time to base that off of. Thanks!

We are booked on a Holland America cruise this summer and so excited. I know the first time a ship sails into the UK (cruise starts in Iceland), you need to do face-to-face immigration and that can cause delays. Is that the case for follow-up ports of call if the ship leaves the UK in between? Our itinerary goes *Iceland x2 * Scotland X4 (assume first port is immigration) * England x1 *Amsterdam (leave some and pick up some new passengers. We bought as a single cruise and not just B2B, each segment is also available) *Norway x1 *Scotland x1 *Icelandx4 *Scotlandx2 So would we have to clear UK customs each time we enter after Iceland and Norway? Or just the first time we enter the UK at all for each cruise segment? Trying to decide if I should book a ship's tour for those days to avoid delays. I can also post this on the HAL board if it's line-dependent, but I assume immigration is immigration. Thanks!

I am interested in a cruise this December, but I'm not sure if it's going to work out to be able to do 7 days or 14 days (where the 14 is really 7+7). Same ship (Nieuw Statendam). I just booked the 14 night version a few days ago (with refundable deposit). Can I make a second booking for the same passengers, on the same ship, for one of the 7 night segments, or am I risking having both get messed up? I am booking a family of four into one cabin, so I need to book way in advance, as there aren't too many cabins that can accommodate us this way. I won't know our plans for sure until summer. Thanks!

Thanks. The whole reason we started cruising for Xmas/New years is that everything is so crowded that time of year, and at least the cruise ship is meant to serve a certain capacity. Between work and kids in school, our only options will be to visit over this period or in late June/July, so we won't be able to go at really off-peak time for many years. But it sounds like perhaps Sydney + NZ is doable, and save more parts of Aus for the future.

We are a family of four (2 adults, 10 yo, 7 yo), who have never been to either Australia or NZ. We are in very early planning stages and are considering a cruise for Dec 24/Jan 25. 1) would you take a cruise if you've never been to either of these countries, or would you stick with your own land tour? 2) anything to consider weather or crowd wise this time of year? I know it can be super hot in the summer in Australia, but seems like NZ is quite different? Thanks!

Forgive me if this has already been discussed, but did Princess change the way they do lunch menus? Last year on the Discovery, we had totally different menus each sea day for lunch int eh MDR. Lunch type items, but arranged into courses like dinner, and completely different selections each day. Plus some brunch items like the James Beard French toast--yum! On the Emerald now, and it's a slightly larger lunch menu, but almost the same menu every day for lunch (2 specials of the day) and no brunch items. Is this a fleetwide change? Makes lunch a lot less exciting.

Thanks so much to all who replied and especially to the incredible response by @Crewbie. Everyone gave me a bunch to think about and I'm leaning towards walking around Reykjavik on embarkation day and then doing a day tour of the Golden Circle on our port stop in Reykjavik. Going to skip the South Coast tour (which included Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss, the black sand beach, and Solheimajokull glacier). It did not include Jokulsarlon, which seems to be a highlight, and we'll be visiting there separately. Thank you!!

Does HAL ever offer tours on embarkation day? We are sailing in July on the Nieuw Statendam, and we leave Reykjavik on Day 1 at 7pm. We're staying in a hotel the previous night. Excursions are available for nearly the entire sailing, nothing for embarkation day, though. Normally we like to come to the ship early, but with a 7pm departure it seems like there would be plenty of time for an excursion. We want to drive some distance, so I thought a combo tour/transfer could make sense. Thanks

We are on a long Holland America cruise next July with numerous stops in Iceland (24 Night Iceland & Scotland, leaves from Reykjavik and finishes in Amsterdam). Unfortunately we just found out that our planned two day (overnight) call in Reykjavik has been replaced by one day at Heimaey Westman Islands (which well be stopping at earlier in the trip already) and one day in Reykjavik. We were supposed to do a South Coast tour one day and Golden Circle the next. I contacted our tour company to find out what our options are, but my questions to people who have visited are: 1. If I have to choose only one, would you pick Golden Circle or South Coast and why? Fwiw, the other stops are Westman Island (island tour) Isafjordur (no plans), Akureyri (doing Lake Myvtan etc. tour) and Djupivigor x2 (we plan to go to the glacier lagoon) 2. We are in a hotel overnight in Reykjavik the night before our cruise, and the shop is supposed to leave that day at 7pm. Normally we like to get on the ship as early as possible, but would consider doing a tour that morning. What is the latest you would want to be at port on embarkation day? Thanks so much!

Does anyone have a recommendation for *which* Premier Inn in Central London? We're a family of four and want to be near a good tube stop, considering PI Blackfriars or Kings Cross, but open to others. Definitely want good tube access for major sights (Tower, British Museum, Westminster, etc.).

Does anyone have any tips or hacks for the MDR breakfast menu? We'll be on the Emerald in December. We loved our B2B on the Discovery last December, but found the breakfast menu to be pretty basic compared to other lines (like HAL). Plain pancakes, plain waffles, etc. and just one rotating hot dish (that, as non-meat-eaters, we usually can't eat). Not sure if it was because the Discovery was new or larger, but they were unwilling to prepare anything off menu or even tell me the specials of the day (despite having a list). We are in a regular mini suite, not club class.

The Promenade photo looks exactly like the promenade deck on the Carnival Panorama. We sailed it within a month of launch in Dec 2019 and it was really nice--quiet, close to the water, tons of great furniture configurations. They had some outdoor dining areas for specialty restaurants too. Went again in Feb 2023, and other people had really discovered this deck, and it filled up quickly. (aside, cruise was disappointing on multiple fronts and we're done with carnival)