CruiserBruce

Just an FYI, the port doesn't generally care what you bring on, as long as its legal. Its the cruise line that determines what you bring on.

Might be helpful to give a better location than "not far"...

HAL may not have run that itinerary in the past. That is one of the great things about HAL...always new or varying routes.

Correct. Cardioversion is a more complicated procedure, and requires specific equipment to perform. An AED would not be expected to work.

Other than showing your passport to be eligible to fly into Canada, there is no Immigration or Customs procedure at SEA. Canadian Immigration and Customs will be when you land. I don't know SEA's policy, but flights to nearby countries like Canada and Mexico don't have to go out of the international terminal.

Ah, ok. What do you mean? If you are looking for others on your cruise, that would be here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/233-volendam-roll-calls/

The other issue is that some countries only require visas in the case of land visits. One day visits on a cruise ship doesn't require a visa. Turkey is an example.

All those questions can be answered by a little research on the ports boards. It is exceptionally rare that you can't use a private tour company in a port. The ports boards contain many recommendations for tours in each port.

There are only 200 plus countries in the world. Sure, somebody at a cruise line should know all the possible permutations of visa laws. No problem. ( I am being sarcastic.)

Nothing after 5 star. President's Club is, as highlighted repeatedly on our recent Zaandam cruise award ceremony (4 President's Club members present, all over 2000 days), based on "actual days on board", not spending or cabin levels booked. President's Club is in the 100, 300, 500, 700 day ranking system, not the Star Mariner system.

I also have zero issues flying on a MAX. I see a fair number of options to get you to YYZ or SEA. If you are choosing COPA for price concerns, consider another way of looking at what @FlyerTalker is saying is, you get what you pay for. I would be checking what my cruise line offers in this case. One way international airfares are definitely a strong point of those programs.

Do we get to guess the port?

I lied...I am back. 😄 Two things I forgot to mention. First, Tom Vassos was an absolute rocker on board. Such a plus...fantastic presentations, very accessible all over the ship, before and after his presentations and just about 24/7. Just a great human being, and a great asset to this cruise. Secondly, the group on board. There was Sky and Telescope, about 375 people, and two other small groups. Yes, they had various presentations and other events, and had their own operations on the top deck forward for the Eclipse. I never once felt they in anyway affected any other activities or things on the ship. Perhaps because every single person on then ship was there for the same purpose...I don't know. But other than their special ID badges, and the almost daily events scheduled at various venues and times, you wouldn't have known anything was happening. No impact at all on our enjoyment.

Just got off Zaandam. Boarded at 11:10...rooms weren't ready, so no room key. Waiter took our order, "charged" it to our room number, but it never got charged because we had the drink package.

OK, to wrap up this review... The condition of the ship. Well, its a 25 year old ship, so it is not in pristine shape. There is some rust here and there...I was a little shocked to see a fair amount of rust on the exterior of the Bridge wing, clearly visible from our cabin balcony. But over all, the ship is in very good shape. Didn't see any issues with furnishings. The Lido pool deck is in good shape. The various venues all seemed fine. Other than some sun aging on the carpet in our cabin, the cabin looked fine. We always do a thorough cabin search as we pack to avoid forgetting anything. I always seem to find more cabinets and storage space than I can possibly use. I had mentioned that the starboard side blue hull area needed paint fairly seriously. Bam...just give the crew 6 hours in port, and the entire starboard side, bow to, and including, the stern was painted. They didn't chip rust, so it might be a bit temporary, but it looked great. I believe it has a drydock this coming fall. The Wifi on board is Starlink, and a significant improvement. Except in many cabins. Ours was actually worse than the old system in our cabin. We heard others complaining about the in cabin coverage, and our Neptune Lounge concierge was very aware of the problem. It is supposed to be addressed in drydock. We used the Wifi in the main show room (waiting for shows and events, not inappropriately), the two pool areas, Ocean bar, all over the ship...just fine, no issues. But in our cabin.... We have sailed the Mexican Rivera many times, so excursions aren't generally a priority...we walk, taxi or bus to places for lunch, a beer, shopping, or just being a tourist. But we had HIA excursion money. So we booked a Hop on, Hop off bus in Mazatlan just for the heck of it. Mazatlan got canceled, so that money was "wasted". We booked a "Luxury Boat Sail and Snorkel" for Cabo. As I mentioned, overall, this was a fun excursion. Beautiful, clear weather, if a little chilly, great crew, excellent food, drinks and service on board. The minuses...no shade, no seats with backs, and the water temp was pretty cold for water sports. Cabo in the spring doesn't have friendly water temps. We ended up with pillow chocolates all but 2 of our 14 nights on board. Towel animals were only on dressy nights. Overall, this was a great cruise...I would give it a 9.75 on a 10 scale.