jenp123

Check the hotels website and you can book yourself. An uber or taxi is very easy to get from the vancouver airport to the hotel. You can also take the transit train (skytrain) to a station near the fairmont. The fairmont waterfront and pacific rim are right across the street from the port. I have stayed at the waterfront pre cruise and booked my own room. The hotel gave me instructions on when I should have my bags picked up from the room, and they transferred them all to the ship. We walked across the street to board when we were ready. The cost of doing the booking on our own was significantly cheaper than using the HAL hotel booking, even after paying for transportation from the airport.

If you like lots of veggies, I have always been able to ask for plain, steamed veggies. They usually come out with an assortment each night and slightly different options.

I would take a HAL ship for the covered midship over any other option that does not have a covered pool area. We spend a lot of time reading, playing cards etc in temperature controlled area that has the big windows to look at the scenery

Aruba- pretty easy to get off, grab a taxi to do a quick tour and get dropped at a beach for the day. Bonaire- try and book woodwind snorkeling tour through their website ($85 and it's a quick walk to the dock) Amazing trip and a fraction of the cost of the trip you listed. You can also rent a gold cart for $100 and drive the whole island yourself, stopping at beaches, photo ops etc... It is a fun day Curacao-also taxis and tour opportunities when you get off of the ship. Taxis always running to mambo Beach if you want to do it on your own. Great place to wander into town and sightsee

Just a heads up on the Nieuw Amsterdam. It has a dedicated morimoto restaurant that takes up half of Tamarind and because they are sharing the same kitchen, they significantly reduced the Tamarind menu to make it easier for the kitchen to keep up. I ended up not eating at Tamarind because all of my favorites were not available on this ship. Not saying they aren't good options on the menu, just a lot less than the other ships.

A few extra ammenities which I personally did not find useful. Concierge did not answer my call or return a message once and i tried myltiple attempts.... But what I booked it for was location. It was in a very quiet spot on the ship and the other balconies were in a nosier location. I would book it again for location only, but never for the "extras"

I have made a phone call on my last 3 cruises and they have mentioned that I was sent an upgrade offer all 3 times but I never received any of them. I also booked directly with holland so it's not a matter of it going to anybody else. Not sure where they ended up sending them.

I noticed a package that included internet and priority boarding I think it was called premium something... Does this mean you get to board with the suite guests or just that you get to pick your preferred boarding time?

Just did it last week. $20 on the way there and $15 on the way back

When were you on the ship? Hoping it was recently and the really good band is still onboard in 2 weeks 🙂 thanks for the review

My price dropped after final payment on a cruise last December. I started with an inside room and it dropped enough that I could have moved to an ocean view for free or $100 for a well located balcony. I took the balcony :)

Not holland related but last week at the port of San Pedro(Los Angeles), they confiscated all plastic 1 time use bottles and made us dump our water out from the reusable bottles. She said it could "short" the security scanner, but it didn't seem to be an issue with all of the liquid going through in wine bottles lol. I assume it is to prevent people bringing booze onboard hidden in bottles.

Going on the Nieuw Amsterdam in a couple of weeks. Has bb kings has been transitioned to the rock room? How are the piano players? Any other entertainment to talk about?

Just use pier 26 port everglades if you can't find it and when you get to the port, check the signs and have them take you to the correct pier. Or check on the port everglades website before you order the uber and the pier will be listed.

I would 100% do this, not sure if it is technically allowed but no bag checks getting off of the ship. Grab a few beers/pops from your package...I would bring a small cooler bag with some ice so they stay chilled. You could even bring an insulated mug or water bottle and have the bar mix a few drinks for you and put them in before getting off.