HMSDingy

Just booked our Med cruise next June. I figure if the price drops drastically and if HAL does not honour the lower price, we'll cancel and rebook.

I checked with the insurance had handles the group benefits for my wife's company and they do have travel cancellation, interruption, lost baggage and medical. For one week post cruise we will be visiting family in Italy and one of my cousins is a doctor, so we have that part covered.

We've sailed both Royal and Princess with the later being our favourite. We've always had great service on Princess but a hit or miss on Royal. This will be our first cruise with HAL and our choice had to do with the itinerary. I for one enjoyed the MDR experience onboard the Princess ships maybe because for most of our cruises, the head waiters were European and we are of Italian heritage. As we speak 3 languages, they treated us like royalty. We're sailing on the Koningsdam on a Med cruise in June and the ship looks amazing.

Does anybody know the cost of buying OBC in Canadian dollars. I remember buying OBC with Princess & their rates were far better than at my BMO bank.

Travel insurance provides evacuation coverage and can cover co-pays that regular medical insurance doesn’t, plus other benefits. A few credit cards (e.g., Executive MCs) provide similar coverage for large evacuation and medical bills, but certainly not most. Insuremytrip dot com has a variety of plans that you can compare to HAL’s. Nationwide, available through insuremytrip, has several plans tailored to cruise passengers that even cover itinerary changes and missed shore excursions. Note that in case of cancellation, taxes and port fees are refunded by the cruise line so keep that in mind when factoring in your “total (non-refundable) trip cost”. All the Best!

I'll do my homework before we leave. BTW we are Canadian and I'm not sure the insuremytrip will cover us

Thanks!.

You would never be over dressed in a tux on Gala Night, but you will be in a distinct minority. There are some who can't even manage to dress to the minimum level of smart casual, while there are others who manage to get that 'dressy' only on Gala Night.

However, depending on the itinerary (Europe cruises still tend to dress up) and the ship, there may be several others in tux, white evening jacket, kilt, or at least suit or sport coat and tie.

 

If that's the level of dress you want to wear, there is no valid reason not to.

I've worn a tux to all of our cruises except one and I've never felt uncomfortable. This will be our first with HAL. Although we are platinum members with Princess, we chose HAL this time because we like the itinerary. It is a Mediterranean cruise to the Greek Islands.

Since I have someone's attention...:D How formal are the gala nights? Would I be out of place in a tux?

Swipe a card at the gas pump or check in to a hotel — or any place where your final total isn't known — and merchants often place a temporary hold on the account. The purpose is to make sure you can pay for that tank of gas, or for raiding the minibar on your way out. Cruise lines do the same thing.

 

The daily Hotel Service Charge (gratuities) for suites is US$15.00* per guest per day, and US$13.50* per guest per day for other staterooms.

I don't remember paying that on my other cruises. Thanks

HAL places a reserve on your credit card in the amount of $60/day ($30 on cruises over 25 days) to cover all expenses you incur on board. Those could include your HSC, drinks, meals in specialty restaurants, photos, shore excursions---and expenses. This is not a charge, but does reduce the amount of credit available for you to use making purchases not on the ship. You will only be charged what you spend.

 

The Hotel Service Charge is $13.50/pppd for people in most cabins, and $15 for those in suites.

Thanks!

We're looking at a cruise on the Koningsdam next June. My wife has a family plan insurance at work and I will pay for the cruise using my credit card and that also has trip insurance. Do I still need the ship's insurance?

We're looking at a cruise on the Koningsdam next June and I've see on some threads a $60/person hold. Not sure what that is and how much are the prepaid gratuities per person?

Thanks in advance

We're looking at the Ancient Empires cruise in April 2019 and my question concerns flying in and out of Rome. Since the cruise is sailing at 5:00 PM, what would be the latest time to arrive into Rome? Secondly, what time should we book a flight out of Rome if the ship arrives into port at 7:00 AM?

Thanks in advance.

Great review. We were on the same cruise and agree that the CD was indeed the invisible man. On our past cruises most CD's would be more involved. I also found the Maitre D' engaging and polite unlike some of the more boorish and arrogant ones. For most nights, we enjoyed the meals in the MDR but do concur with your description of the Crown Grill. We also found the service slow at the Crown. We had one of our best meals at Sabatini's.

That was one of the best cruises that I have ever been on. Marianne and I had a great time.

The preceding one wasn't so bad either:D

We stayed at this hotel pre and post cruise of our Crown Princess cruise last week of February. We chose the Crowne because of the good reviews and that it was in a nice part of town. About a block away is Harbor Blvd which runs along the port. This is the nice part of town but if you go the opposite way past Pacific, the area looks seedy with many homeless. There also seem to be many homeless wandering about near the hotel. Restaurants within walking distance form the hotel are the San Pedro Brewing Company, the Green Onion and Grinders. There are also restaurants on Sampson Way along the port and Ports o Call. These are mainly take out with seating in a general area. They specialize in seafood. Personally the restaurants here are not my cup of tea but that's IMHO. For other restaurants more inland, you have a nice trek

The hotel itself looks impressive with its large reception area and the grounds are well kept. But never judge a book by its cover and the opposite is true here. The rooms are nicely furnished but well worn and tired looking. The a/c is noisy and not much in way of cooling the room or at very least airing it. Lucky for us the windows open. The bar and restaurant offer decent choices. Don't bother with the breakfast buffet. At $37 per couple taxes in, you'd at least expect more choices let alone the eggs and bacon being hot instead of cold. If we sail out of Los Angeles again, we will definitely look for another hotel.

Sold out means there are no more cabins in any category to be sold, but does not mean that all cabins already sold have been assigned.

We were on the upgrade list and If i understand you right, we may still be upgraded.

I agree with Pam, coffee tastes are very personal. DW and I have no problems with Princess coffee which we take with our breakfast. After dinner, we usually have espresso which is quite good as my Italian roots tell me.:D

If it is sold out, then there are no cabins available for you to upgrade to.

I know it sounds like a stupid question but I believe airlines upgrade you to first class if they've oversold. I thought the cruise lines would save a cabin or two.

If a cruise is sold out, can we still get upgraded?

This is the same question you asked a couple of days ago. It was answered, so if you are still unsure, select another vendor or go to Stone Island on your own. It is very easy to get there by water taxi for $3.00 round trip.

Not the part about the review I read on Tripadvisor. First time to Maztalan and I won't know who to compare them to. For the price I'm paying it would be cheaper to go with the tour.

What tour? Where?

Stone Island Beach getaway. Mazatlan Tours.

http://www.mazatlantours.org

You would prefer they ignored Ebola?

That's a pretty nasty remark.:mad: Obviously you didn't understand my post.

I received an emergency notice from Princess re: the Ebola virus and what they are doing in way of screening for it. Like its not enough that we have to worry about Noro. Anybody else receive this notice:confused:

Has anyone taken this tour with Johan and Sandra lately? Apparently it is similar to the one with Princess but at almost half the cost. I saw a not so good recent review on Tripadvisor.

Has anyone taken this tour with Johan and Sandra lately? Apparently it is similar to the one with Princess but at almost half the cost. I saw a not so good recent review on Tripadvisor.