Meme9

Thank you, martincath, for your ideas and especially your links! I will definitely check them out and do some research now that you’ve given me a glimmer of hope that we CAN actually DO something! I have already nosed around TripAdvisor briefly. Thanks again for your help!

Thank you so much for your comments. Our Flight from Vancouver to Chicago is 15:55 in June. It doesn’t seem like we (up to 12) can qualify for any tour since we need to be at airport 13:55 (2 hrs ahead according to Air Canada). Then there’s the issue of luggage if there’s a short tour that could be picked up outside cruise terminal. Sounds like we’re in for a long boring wait in an airport...:-(

Suggestions appreciated. 
 

what to do for 4 hours after disembarking in Vancouver 

This will be our fourth cruise and there were still some great ideas in this thread! Thank you! Never realized about the magnets on the wall! I would definitely agree with bringing fewer clothes! You don't need half of what you think you do! A dollar store pocket poncho is a must for carrying in your touring backpack. We could have sold 20 on one excursion when it started to rain and none of the nearby shops carried them. Everyone wanted to know where we bought them:-)

Thank you for your replies. Yes it is exactly as you said--there are indeed the 2 small chairs and a little table. No roof is an annoyance. We also didn't like the configuration of the cabin to the balcony. The bed was right next to the sliding doors that open to the balcony rather then the couch, desk and coffee table. So trying to eat on the balcony was quite inconvenient.

The balconies cannot be opened to the neighboring balconies either which was a big disappointment as we had arranged 4 cabins side by side with friends. We had enjoyed visiting on our extended balconies opened onto one another on the Eurodam. But we made the best of the situation and made full use of the Crows Nest a few steps outside our cabins:-) We actually found the rooms to be a quite good location!

But we didn't think it was worth the price of a balcony since we did not even use it for the reasons mentioned above.

Thank you SO much for the info! If I an sit on the balcony with my coffee in the morning and a glass of wine in the evening i am happy! We are assigned to VQ11008 and when I looked at the deck plan, description, and view I got concerned.

Do you know if the connecting balconies can be opened unto one another? We have 3 rooms side by side and were hoping to be able to visit and party on the balconies like we did on the Eurodam, but we were on the 8th deck.

Thanks again for your quick helpful reply!

We're assigned to a VW stateroom on the 11th deck-Observation-on the Nieuw Amsterdam. Are their any special amenities included? We paid for a verandah but understand we will not be able to sit outside as it says "viewing balcony!"