GrammySpo
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Posts posted by GrammySpo
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My husband and I also were on the Royal sail away last October. It was magical, brought me to tears with the music and the beauty of Venice. Hope we will get the chance to do it again.
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Here, here! You are so right! For the reasons you expressed, my husband has no interest in going on HAL again because he felt totally ripped off. Good luck in your quest for a change.
As far as the question regarding the one red, one white offered on the Signature package, we kept asking and verifying with the bartender that it wasn't a good deal BECAUSE there was only one option, and he stuck to the party line that it was a great deal because of all the other drink options. I think he was pretending not to understand that this was a problem for us.
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I don't recall sorry. Was just stunned that there was only one white and one red option included.
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We just took our first HAL cruise so didn't qualify for any Mariner benefits for any of the wine packages. We did bring on a few bottles but not as many as we should have. We were appalled by the prices being charged for their so-so wines, and the full-price packages (because we don't qualify for discount). We had just finished a week cruise on the Royal Princess and took advantage of their new alcohol policy that is not linked to loyalty rewards so were really disappointed to see that some of HAL wines were $30 higher per bottle AND their beverage packages only gave ONE red wine by glass option. Yuk! We are such wine snobs I guess. I appreciated reading this thread before we left that gave us an idea what to expect, but still suffered sticker shock in the end. My husband has no interest in sailing on HAL again because he thought it was so bad. I still enjoyed the cruise for other reasons, so we'll see.
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We just did a back to back, first week on Royal Princess, second week on Holland. This was our 8th Princess cruise (second on Royal including the Transatlantic), and first on Holland (we were on the Eurodam). We personally like Princess and especially the Royal. Such a beautiful ship, and don't think it was a good thing to compare them so closely. My (subjective) impressions were: while I like the Royal (a lot) there were also some things I enjoyed on Holland. The food in the Main Dining Room was way better than I expected, and better than the Royal. I enjoyed the digital workshops and culinary classes on the Holland. I loved walking on the promenade (not an option on the Royal.
The Holland felt very dated and small to me. I didn't think the crew was as friendly on the Holland although I heard people raving about the friendliness. It seemed kind of hit and miss.
I liked the new alcohol package on the Royal. If you enjoy wine, you will NOT like Holland's wine prices or their packages.
The beds on the Royal are wonderful, as are the pillows. Hollands bed were ok, pillows not so much.
Pros and cons for each. It's definitely a personal decision that only you can determine what is best for you.
Whatever decision you make, you will be on a cruise so it can't be bad!
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Success! We made it to our flight in plenty of time. We did the expedited disembarking and heard as we were waiting in line that 200 other folks were doing it as well. Some were just driving and some had later flights so not sure why they needed off early other than they must have wanted to. We got outside expecting to see a long line of taxis and there was ONE! That was all we needed so we were happy campers. Thanks for advice.
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Thank you for sharing your journey. Went to a couple of your islands this winter and shared with my traveling companions what me yellow fish friend did, recommended, etc. Thanks for your advice and guidance (and we haven't even met!). Glad to hear you were on the mend before you got off your winter home.
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I watched so many videos leading up to our cruise to get me pumped up. I started having dreams about cruising every night! Haha, you will have a BLAST!!
I'm having a terrible time sleeping too. So done with the short winter days and ready for the beautiful sights as captured in the video. Maybe tonight I'll get some rest since I packed today.
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We are boarding the Eurodam on March 23 after disembarking from the Royal Princess. We were thinking we would get onboard the Eurodam as early as possible and then go buy some wine o bring on board from the Total Wines nearby. Does Holland allow wine to be brought on board other than when you are checking in, or do we need to get the wine purchased first and then board the ship? We have our luggage to deal with going from one ship to another, plus Total Wines doesn't open til noon. Anyone have ideas since we won't have transportation? Thanks so much. Enjoyed your research...
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Still happy with alcohol package? Pondering whether to purchase on our March 16 sailing. The only problem I see might be wine choices. We typically buy nice bottles of wine for dinner so would have to go with wine glass options. What do you think of the options?
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Just discovered this thread. I've missed you Dave! No plans to sale on Regal yet, but get to do the Royal again March 16. Love reading about cruising, my new addiction.
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My day isn't complete til I catch up on what has happened on the Yellow Fish blog. Love your positive outlook and REAL life postings. Heading out on our 8th cruise with Royal Princess in a week and I can't wait. So addicted to this lifestyle! You have given me such great insight on things to do at various stops. The iguana is going to miss G.
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Thank you for your advice. I feel much more confident now that we can do it!
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We need to catch a 1020 flight. Do you think there will be a problem walking off the ship and finding an available taxi?
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I also take photos of the map on the tv screen that captures, routes, places and other facts you may want to remember. My favorite was when we were on our Transatlantic cruise and the map showed us all alone in the muddle of the ocean. Priceless.
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My take on this never ending question... The Princess site says to dress as you would for a nice dinner in your home (or words similar to that). Our town is pretty casual and most anything is acceptable, HOWEVER, I don't believe that is the intent of the Princess request. I think it's fun to dress up (smart casual and formal) BECAUSE I'm not at home.
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As I understand it they are only allowed to have a couple (possibly 4--never did figure out what the rule was) venues available to sell liquor, and then only certain drinks. I saw people having drinks so went on a search. Most were closed but there were a couple places open. It was just a surprise, and wish I would have figured out what was going on sooner.
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Several things occurred that were not as we had planned. There is a Houston law regarding sales of liquor in the Houston port. The sail away was less than "party-like" which lasted for several hours. I'm not saying you have to have alcohol to have a good time, but because of the lack of venues open for service, it wasn't the happy atmosphere usually experienced during sail away. Yes, we got fogged out on our return morning so missed flight home, plus added expense of extra hotel room, meals, etc. It was much easier and cheaper to fly to Houston so that was a plus. I wish them well.
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I don't know if it was cheaper, but it was worth it for peace of mind. Also used the luggage packing bag that sucked the air out so clothes were very flat (can't remember what they were called). Did this for the clothes I only intended to use on the cruise. Worked out very well.
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We limited our luggage to one suitcase and carryon. Wouldn't recommend more than that.
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We had trains from Munich to Salzburg, Salzburg to Innsbruck, and train to Venice. They also arranged taxi to hotel in Munich and Venice.
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We used Avanti for recent trip to Munich and Austria. They only booked hotels and transportation and we did the rest ourselves. Really had fun on Mike's bike tour in Munich and loved the original Sound of Music tour in Salzburg. Stayed in old town of Salzburg and loved wandering around that area.
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You can do it! Also do lots of walking, and always take the stairs (if possible). Keep your water bottle filled at the buffet station and enjoy! I've actually lost weight on a cruise and I am a Lifetime WW member.
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Just posing a soot question. Do you think there will be a soot problem for Rooms M712 and M714. Thanks for your help. We are booked in these rooms on a future cruise and wondering if we should move. Thanks for your help.
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Cruise Critic heads to Mexican Riviera!
in Mexican Riviera
Posted
Did I miss your review? Taking a Mexican Riviera cruise in November so very interested in your thoughts.
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