CruiserBruce

Agree. If the OP could provide any more details on the increased prices, so the rest of us could judge the new price/value ratio...

Customs takes about 2 seconds...(not kidding), its the red/green system. Immigration and collecting your luggage can take an hour or so, particularly as several flights from the US are arriving in close proximity.

Any one of the commonly mentioned shuttle companies...SAS, QLS, Jiffy Jeff, GO Shuttle, should be contacted to see what they can do for you.

No.

And Copenhagen, according to the HAL website.

Just passing through. In Vegas tomorrow. We had a little snow mid afternoon..didn't stick. Pool was very nice.

There are dozens of threads here on hotels. There are about 8 hotels within 5 or 6 blocks of the pier, each with their fans. We like Embassy Suites. You can make an 11:20 flight. I am writing this from western Colorado...Glenwood Springs, to be exact.

Nope.

So, if HAL gets back to it's standard approximately every 30 months for a drydock, it will go in again before your 2025 cruise.

Can't find the listing of drydocks, but if your 2017 date is correct, it will definitely have a drydock before your sailing.

Spent 18 days on her in July. Nothing bad to report. Everything was great, particularly the staff.

There is also a requirement for a roundtrip cruise out of a US port to stop at a foreign port (not distant). Thus Victoria is commonly, but not exclusively used for this purpose.

It will not be warm enough.

A private tour isn't going to be less unless it only a few hours.

Rome in Limo, great company. Huge thread of recommendations just down the board. Jump on it...you are starting a little late in the game.

Yes. Discussed here quite frequently.

How early? Common recommendation here is take your time collecting luggage, find a place for a relaxed breakfast, then head out to the port.

If you paid about $50 per person, per day for HIA, then spending $50 to break even isn't that hard. 5 $9 adult drinks, plus a couple soft drinks, for example. That doesn't count the free dinner or two, shore excursion credits, and, if your booking includes it, coverage of crew tips.

If you look around the board you will see many comments about staying right at the pier...there is a couple of hotels in the immediate area, and you can take light rail from the airport to very near the pier.

I have had this card for 15 years...just got it renewed and upgraded with tap capability. Americans have always been PIN resistant, and the agreement across the Visa system is Americans have not been required to get PINs. This issue has been around for at least 20 years.

Hmmm...just got a tap capable card, on vacation right now, using it widely, and no mention of this. This card doesn't even have a PIN. Agree...seems overly cautious. This might be a Canadian bank issue.

Food, and improvements (or not) are totally subjective. Always have been.

Try asking on the West Coast Departures board as well. Does your cruise line offer this sort of tour?

@bdd123, the OP is asking about N. Amsterdam, which doesn't have restrooms in the Retreat area. Only the Pinnacle class ships have a restroom in the Retreat area. All the other ships with cabanas one needs to go to the entrance of the Crows Nest for a restroom.

I think most ships in that situation start letting pax off between 6:30 and 7. If you can be first off the ship, 10:30 would be the earliest I would consider. That being said, when schedules come out, the airlines might have flights scheduled between 10:30 and 11, only to drop the departure back to something like 10am as they tweak and tune their schedules. And then you will be back asking if you can make this earlier flight. I would say no. As frequently discussed here, FCO is a very poorly organized airport.