lukydog

Thanks, everyone, for your input. I agree the timing would probably stress me out. We normally take a later flight to be totally safe, but this time the later flights are ridiculously more expensive. Looks like we might not get to go anyway :-(

Does HAL have self disembark (where you carry off all your bags instead of setting them outside your room the night before) like Carnival does? Am looking at a cruise that will arrive back at Ft. Lauderdale at 7AM on a Sunday. Would it be possible to make a 10:40 AM flight out of Ft. Lauderdale airport? Thanks in advance. CC is always so helpful!

Is she normally hot blooded, cold blooded? Personally, I get chilly inside the ship because of the air conditioning so long sleeves would be perfect in the dining room. I usually wear a hoodie everywhere inside but I tend to be cold blooded.

It's been a couple years since I was on the Breeze, but it's a great ship! My favorite! Love the more subdued décor. Has all the bells & whistles except no Alchemy Bar (which is a fun bar).

We took an upsell to a spa balcony on the Breeze last year and loved it. We had never utilized the spa before, so it was a new experience for us. You get access to the Thalasso therapy pool, steam rooms and heated stone loungers which we took advantage of every day and really enjoyed it! We had spa samples in our cabin bathroom to use, a big fluffy robe and slippers also. I believe you might get a discount if you reserve 3 spa treatments. Go for it!

Delta would be my last choice. They are notorious for delayed flights (at least on my flights with them :mad: )

We stayed in a spa balcony cabin on the Breeze a couple years ago. While we didn't have any massage or facials, we did utilize the spa facilities every day and loved it! I can't really compare it to any of the other ship spas, as this was our first.

We did the Chef's Table on the Breeze and loved it. Very interesting and enjoyable....go hungry!! If you have food allergies or sensitivities they will work with you. When you make your reservation, just let then know what they are. My husband has to eat gluten free and I cannot eat any kind of raw fish and they totally adapted our servings to those needs.

I see you already answered the taxi question in my other thread....sorry read this one first. Thank you so much for all your help!

Thanks so much for all your help!

I had just responded to your thread. The hotel in question should be Holiday Inn Express & Suites New Orleans Airport South.

 

I'll give you some others closer to the action that are under $130.

 

$84.00 - 4* Downtown-Superdome 95% recommendation - Hyatt Regency

 

$85.00 - 3.5* Downtown-Superdome 85% recommendation - Aloft New Orleans Downtown

 

$90.00 - 4* French Quarter-Bourbon Street 85% recommendation - I'm really not sure on this one. It could be new to hotwire or it could be a downgrade of Sheraton on Canal Street which has been 4.5* for a couple years. The only "Pet Friendly" 4* I've seen in this area was Sheraton on Canal before it was upgraded to 4.5*.

 

$112 - 3.5* Warehouse District 95% recommendation - Only 5 hotwire reviews on this one...it tells me it's Hotel Modern but Hotel Modern has been on here for years. Intercontinental did just purchase Hotel Modern last month so I guess it's possible they started over with new reviews under new ownership.

 

$114 - 3* Warehouse District All-Suites Hotel 95% recommendation - Staybridge Suites

 

$119 - 3* Garden District 85% recommendation - This one is new to hotwire so I don't know for sure but the guess is Prytania Oaks.

Thank you! Do you have any idea what the cost of a cab from the airport to the "closer to the action" hotels might be? :)

Saint Greg, would you have any idea what the 3 star, 100% recommended hotel MSY airport area would be on Hotwire ($84 on Aug. 13th). Am open to other areas (warehouse, garden district, etc) for $130 or under...any recommendations? Pool for the grandson is the most important thing.

We (hubby, 5 y/o grandson and I) are flying into New Orleans on Sat, Aug. 13th and cruising out on the Dream on the 14th. Trying to decide airport hotel or downtown. We have been to NOLA before, grandson not but we will only have the evening there pre-cruise. Does anyone have a recommendation for an airport hotel...would be nice to have shuttle from airport, pool, free breakfast would be great and a shuttle to the cruise port even better. If we would decide to stay downtown vicinity I am doubting those hotels would have airport shuttle. Anyone know the cost of cab from airport to downtown or warehouse district? Thanks everyone!

Mahogany bay has a beach. You can walk there from the pier, or you can buy tickets to ride the chair lift. I've been to that beach (and rode the chair life, which scared me half to death lol) and it's OK, but it's crowded and not that pretty.

 

Little French Key is not through Carnival. You have to go to their website and make reservations. It's amazing and safe and I highly recommend it!

Thank you! Would you be able to give me their website address?

We're sailing on the Dream for the 1st time in August and taking our 5 year old grandson. Tell me about Mahogany Bay if you don't book an excursion....is there a beach right there? Little French Key looks fabulous. Was this an excursion thru Carnival or something you booked on your own?

Maybe a search of "shopping in Juneau" or whatever city on Tripadvisor. Reviews from other travelers are great help.

Does anyone know if the the HAL ships offer a gluten-free pizza?

I stayed there recently....

• great price
  
• free shuttle from the airport
  
• halfway to downtown by cab... good choice for those arriving the night before the cruise and don't have time for downtown sightseeing.
  
• convenient bus connections to the subway
  
• one warning.... request a West or North facing room. I found the windows to the main streets can be noisy from the traffic.
  

Thanks for letting me know about your stay @ Coast and glad to hear you liked it. I would have loved to get into Vancouver earlier & stay downtown but this worked out to be the best flight for us and the 2 other couples traveling with us. I'm hoping my DH will want to come back to Alaska & we can spend longer in Vancouver next time.

We are flying into Vancouver in June for an Alaskan cruise and won't be arriving til around 9:30 PM. Our travel agent booked us at Coastal Airport Vancouver for around $75 US. It has decent reviews and looks to be OK so we are giving it a shot!

Where are you staying? Remember most hotels will store luggage for you after you check out :)

We are staying at the Coast Airport Vancouver.

Yes, we are flying into and boarding at Vancouver. We always take our passport when traveling. We've never had to turn over our passport on initial boarding, so hence the question to the HAL ( ;) ) seasoned travelers. Love CC...always full of great info.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I figured that was only the case if you were visiting Asia or Europe but thought I would check with the seasoned Holland cruisers ;)

We are platinum on Carnival but have never sailed with Holland before. We are sailing to Alaska in June on the Noordam (so excited!) and on looking at the Holland website I see this: Passports are normally surrendered to and held by the pursers on board to facilitate clearances in ports of call. It is prudent to photocopy the identification page of your passport and pack it separately, in case of loss or damage to the original

Does Holland really keep your passport while you are on the cruise or do they just check it when boarding and give it back to you?

Thanks for the info on the Noordam. Will be sailing her for the first time in June to Alaska....excited!

Thanks for the input. We normally just have 1 carryon suitcase and backpack each so usually don't turn luggage over to the porters outside the terminal. May have to this time so we can venture out for a while.