Epicureangirl

Not sure why my title was truncated, but I will have luggage in HAND, as I don't have a Han. :')

I haven't booked my return flight from my May trip to Boston yet. I see the airport is only 8-20 minutes away from the cruise terminal, so getting there by taxi should be easy.

However, if I decide to take an evening flight to give myself time to explore Boston a bit, could you suggest how to deal with my luggage? I'm assuming there is no way to send my luggage ahead to the airport, while I stay behind sightseeing, is there? Somewhere to store it perhaps?

I have been to Boston before, so do not have my heart set on spending the afternoon -- but if it is easy to sightsee, have a bit of lunch and then head to the airport, that would be great! It Iooks like there is a bus I can take right from the port, unless that is not-recommended. I walked everywhere my last trip and don't recall using the buses.

Any advice is greatly appreciated... including telling me to go straight to the airport, and it being easier than any alternatives. ;)

Even seen Kevin Jordan, the former LAPD cop with the stream (flash) light? Funny as heck!

I've never had the pleasure. I will have to check if he is on Youtube (isn't everyone!).

You can ask but US$ are not that common that I would expect to be able to get change in it. Easiest way is to withdraw a few $ s from an ATM. If you use US $ at a store here you will not get as a favourable of an exchange. Imagine if i tried to use CAD $ in the US![emoji16]

 

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I haven't come across a store that has a cash float in Canadian AND US dollars. Unless you are at a tourist gift stand set up right at the port, I wouldn't even ask to tell you the truth. These are real work-a-day cities and towns that happen to have cruise ships visit part of the year -- as above, I can't imagine what they'd think in Maine if I asked for my change in Canadian. ;)

I had a great and lengthy conversation with a HAL comedian, and honestly, I'm surprised if HAL will take the risk of having that kind of entertainment (especially one geared to adults). When people complain to HAL that they were offended, HAL apologizes profusely, sometimes giving OBC or something to make it up to them and then has a talk with the performer, making them cut that joke. They have had (at least) one passenger threaten to sue, and were comped a cruise. Or so the legend goes! It really sounds like their creativity is hampered and it has gotten much worse as time goes on -- especially since people try to find ways to complain to get something in return.

I love comedy, and am not easily offended, but I don't think that is true of most of the passengers on HAL. Finding a comedy act that does not use foul language, sexual references or plays on stereotypes, is pretty rare these days. And probably not really that funny when they have so many rules to play by.

Your best bet is to exchange a minimal amount in a bank before you arrive. You certainly won’t lose as the US dollar is between 25-30% higher in value.

 

 

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You will lose 5-10% of that money, that could be used for a future cruise... don't let that happen!:') Your dollar is strong, but often our prices look higher (such as at restaurants) and often they are. I live near the border and am STILL shopping and getting deals in the US, despite the exhange rate.

Surpringly we will happily give you a poor exchange rate and your change in Canadian. So I definitely wouldn’t be handing over $100USD for a $5 purchase. Bank ATM’s will be everywhere, but credit cards are widely accepted. Get one without foreign transaction fees and it will likely be comparable to the exchange. Happy travels, it is a lovely itinerary.

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As an aside I was interested in trying this itinerary on Celebrity and was ready to book, when I thought, I better check where it docks so I’m not stuck far away from the sights and spending time and money commuting each day.

I’m so glad to have found out before I booked that it went to dockyards, but that HAL was right at Hamilton. An ideal location and HAL was comparably priced.

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I have scratched the scooter idea off my list, I like my skin attached to my body. They have a slow speed limit but I have no experience with a scooter.

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Just to confirm, children do pay the adult price for specialty restaurants (we just sailed 2 weeks ago). My daughter would have not enjoyed a 2 hour meal at Pinnacle, but we took her to Canaletto 3 nights. She is 12 though, so I'm not sure if your kids will like the food at Canaletto (other then perhaps the spaghetti bolognese). It is also a longer meal, and your fellow-guests there will expect nothing less than exemplary behavior from your kids during dinner. Lots of pressure, sorry!

As for the Main Dining Room, just because there IS a kids menu, doesn't mean they have to order from it. You can also 'deconstruct' a meal, such as asking them only to bring the pasta that was supposed to be the side dish (instead of the pasta and chicken breast for instance). We also had FABULOUS chicken-strips at lunch (they were an appetizer), so I asked if they could make this as dinner-entree for our daughter that same evening. It was no trouble at all, we just needed to make our dinner reservation to tie the request to (we were on open seating so didn't have a table number assigned). I had not asked for that in the past, but read that this was something completely do-able for them, so I'm glad it was true.

We recently got off the Emerald Princess after a 31 day cruise we had the new Club Class dining which was great with immediate seating and great service but the food was a 6 out of 10 at best the best meal of the day was breakfast in the Crown grill for Suite passengers only. We were disappointed with the lunch and dinners. Just curious has anyone been on Viking ocean cruise ships and how is the food?

I have been 'researching' on the Viking Ocean part of the forum, and hear that the food has really top-end ingredients. But I still need to find a thread on HAL vs. Viking etc.

I was reluctant to post there asking about food quality on Hal vs. Viking... I'm pretty sure they'd tell me Viking is in a different class so there really is no comparison at all! :o

Best to get a bus/ferry pass. Buses go everywhere. Make sure you go out to historic St. George. Nice lunch places out there. You can go by ferry or bus. Food is not cheap in Bermuda as most supplies come from Gr. Britain or USA. Fresh fish is a good bet. Outer Mongolia is a nice trip by ferry and return by bus. Nice Lighthouse on the way back. If the street fair is going on that side of the boat will be noisy at night.

They are very strict about drugs and will prosecute.

Thanks for the tips, I had already been looking at restaurant websites so will not be shocked by the prices. I will look into where to get a pass, I heard their transportation system is very good. I hadn't heard of Outer Mongolia -- do you mean near where the other ships are docked? I assumed it was a joke, but I have no idea... maybe that IS a place in Bermuda!

I'm glad that I had read about where the ship docks, and that it can be noisy at night (but fun to watch the street if you have a verandah facing Starboard). I usually do not like when we're in a port overnight -- I can never get the room dark enough (aside from noise issues). So for this cruise, I booked a large inside stateroom even though the price was more than the Oceanview rooms (View & Verandah special is on now). Hopefully I don't regret it. I figure I will just pop out to the promenade to see what is going on from time to time and then back to my cave. ;)

Do I come across as a drug user? :confused: Or just generally saying it's strict (somewhat like Singapore)? I have nothing to worry about I'm sure. :')

I just finished my Asia cruise this month -- Loved Vietnam and will go back for a land vacation there. Enjoy!

Given that there will be shiploads of tourists on the Island at the same time, is there an advice on things to pre-book or go early to? I am guessing if I want to eat dinner close to the ship I might want to secure a reservation?

Did anyone rent a scooter, or does driving on the left-side there seem too risky?

Thanks for the follow up. Transfer to a TA is relatively straight forward. I have not had good luck with a PCC, as they were not Interested if I was to transfer. Yet I know others have.

I was also curious if I now have to only approach Canadian Travel Agencies, or if I can contact some of the high-volume cruise TA's in the States. I am curious what will happen so will give it a go. It isn't much effort for me to send out a few emails.

I am unclear on the PCC vs. TA -- I thought PCC was just a fancy title a TA would give themselves if they consider themselves knowledgable in cruise vacations! :confused:

Thanks!

Kazu, when you say "details", do I tell them just the cruise, cabin category & price? Or do I also divulge the OBC given or promo codes I used with HAL (or is that just my business)?

Thanks. As always you are so helpful!

I just wanted to follow up with a big THANK YOU to all of you here. On my past cruise, I did buy the FCC's, and have already used two of them to book another HAL cruise. Getting my ZPM promotion as well.

I will also be buying some more FCC's on this next cruise -- they are very useful.

Now I am looking into the possibility of transferring this to a PCC in another agency for even more perks, but that is a whole other process that I'm exploring.

The food is not free. Its included in the cruise fare.

:') Yes, the food they already paid for... I stand corrected!

Now, do I need another thread, or does anyone know, now that I have the V&V Promo with OBC (keeping in mind I didn't actually choose an outside cabin or verandah at all, due to being in a lit, noisy port for 3 nights), and getting the OBC from HAL for the FCC and ZPM, is there any point in trying to move my reservation to an agency?

If there is still a stateroom in my room category available, which of these offers would no longer apply?

Or do I just give the competing agencies my booking number and let them sort out what they can do for me compared to what I already have?

Do I actually have to give up my stateroom when switching from HAL to a PCC?

Thanks.

Having done the Pacific Coastals 3x and the Bermuda run 6x, I would still do Bermuda again before I did the Coastal, especially if you've done California a lot.

What are your reasons for choosing Bermuda? Just curious why you would still choose doing another Bermuda cruise.

The location on the ship may explain the delay in receiving messages, but not the menus, entertainment schedules, etc. not being updated timely.

So true!

Maybe there aren’t that many people using it, so they don’t put a lot of effort into keeping it current.

So if we complain do you think they'll put some effort into it? ;)

The Silver Wind looks magnificent -- I'm sure I will some day. I love that your itineraries go to places that the larger ships can't sail. Enjoy your cruise, and the dining of course!

Great idea. I was always wondering if after I booked I could upgrade my room -- though logic would say they would be happy to take more of my money! ;)

We had similar issues on the Rotterdam last month. Messages showing up hours later, menus and schedules not being updated, etc. We have used Carnival’s Hub app and didn’t have the same issues. You would think with same parent company, the apps would be very similar, but that was not the case.

I'm wondering if it depends on the ship then. It's not even really an app (it's a LAN page apparently), the onboard server should control the sending (and you'd think it would be instant). I know for my home internet, I had to set it up especially so that we didn't have any dead-zones on any levels or rooms in the house. Perhaps some of the areas do not have well-configured 'mesh'? I imagine the new ships would be built with that in mind, but do you think maybe the older ones get a retro-fit that is insufficient?

I just booked the View and Veranda and got the OBC from V&V and the OBC from the FCC. I didn’t get the OBC from the ZPM because I am more than 60 days out from my last cruise but you should get that.

Yes I did, I got it all! (y)

Actually my wife is afraid we will be bored on HAL. As I said, we enjoy the comedians, trivia, and production shows on Carnival. Did they not have those on your sailing, or are they just not your cup of tea? What do you enjoy to conquer boredom on your favorite cruise line HAL?

I will answer this gladly, because I sail HAL again and again, in spite of being quite critical of the entertainment. However, I don't fit the demographic they are mostly trying to please, so I know that going in. A cruiseline can't be everything to everyone! Here's what I do:

• I always go to the shows, sometimes I really like it and stay, and if I don't I slip out quietly (no big deal).
  
• I set my schedule by trivia -- I love it. Last cruise was general knowledge trivia, as well as music trivia where they play a song and you're guessing the song/artist/year of release. It goes from the 50's to present day so it's good to have a wide age-range on your team.
  
• Some cruises the piano-bar has been great and was request-driven by a fun group (last cruise it was neither, so YMMV)
  
• I go early to things I think I will like (sometimes it is standing-room only at the America's Test Kitchen, or if they are playing a current-release movie in the Theatre). For some reason people go REALLY early to everything that involves being seated. :confused:
  
• We take book (or choose something from the library) to fill in the quiet times (or the times they're offering watch-seminars, or hair-secrets as entertainment). :o I find a spot in the Crow's Nest or Explorations Cafe (a.k.a Library area).
  
• We also take two decks of cards and sometimes end up playing with some new friends. There are plenty of board games you can borrow from the library too.
  
• I haven't done this yet, but there is an extensive DVD-library (the list is in your stateroom), you can watch something in your room.
  
• Shuffleboard, table-tennis and pickle-ball are available if you're so inclined.
  
• If you drink, there are wine-tastings, beer-tastings, happy hours and pub crawls.
  

I'm sure other people have some secrets, but a book, cards and my computer (if I feel like writing a cruise diary) are all I need to fill the quiet hours. We seem to find plenty to do, even when there is nothing to do.