lupaglupa

20 hours ago, wdw1972 said:

Thanks so much - we're also boarding next weekend.  Looking forward to a week in the Retreat!

 

Are they doing 2 shows or just 1?  What are the times?

 

Sue/WDW1972

 

Just one mainstage show. Times seem to vary but mostly about 7:30 starts. The comics do a 7 and a 7:45. 

20 hours ago, richwmn said:

would you be so kind as to confirm your schedule for this week, and next week if you know it?

Thanks

 

We're just doing one week. Half Moon Cay, sea day, Amber Cove, Grand Turk, sea day, Nassau,  home. 

20 hours ago, mast3rn8 said:

Will be boarding next week! Thanks for offering to answer q's!

 

1. How was your boarding experience? Specifically, did you check in right at your specified boarding time or did you arrive early with no issue? About how long was the duration from getting out of the car and walking on the ship?
2. How is the wifi connection - I've read mixed things on this.
3. As a first time HAL cruiser - I'm also curious about any MUST eats and drinks.. I'll give you a few days to come back on that one 😉

Thanks again and enjoy your cruise!

We arrived early and basically walked right on. There were lots of smiling, helpful people at the port moving us through the steps. Even with the additional health requirements it was very fast. I'd guess the whole process took 10 minutes, a lot of that walking forward. Our cabin was ready and we went exploring a bit before lunch.

The wifi is fine for emails and basic searches. I have not tried videos or more demanding things. There is a real difference in speed early in the morning  -  it's much faster when fewer people are on.

We find the food on HAL  generally very good. This is our 4th cruise on HAL, 9th cruise overall and HAL has always had the best food. I did try the Dive In fries for the first time yesterday and they are as good as reported. 

So many people have helped me in the past so I thought I'd return the favor. We left Fort Lauderdale yesterday and spent today at Half Moon Cay. We were told there are about 1000 passengers on board,  so slightly less than half full. The ship is immaculate,  the crew are (as always) wonderfully friendly and helpful,  the food is excellent,  and we are having a grand time. 

Thanks to all who replied. We used an Uber to the port. Our driver stopped at the check point where they asked if we had weapons. The driver had his Florida driver's license in hand but they didn't ask for it. I plan to contact Comfort Suites and mention the incident to them. At the least they should stop advertising this service. 

We did three tests (one each) last night, all of us using our own cell phone. It was quite easy. The staff online were good to repeat things we didn't understand and give us instructions when anything wasn't clear to us. 

Honestly, it's more the annoyance. 

HAL will not let my 16-year-old have an account on their website. I want him to have the Navigator app on his phone so we can use the massaging feature on board. How do I do that without him having an account to log into?

I just got off the phone with the staff at the Comfort Suites in Fort Lauderdale. We chose this hotel because they advertise an airport shuttle until midnight and a cruise shuttle. Oh what fools we were to trust that. Come to find out from the oh-so-not-helpful person who answered the phone that midnight for them starts at 11 pm. And the cruise shuttle doesn't exist because "we can't go there, it's a federal facility." So now we are on the hook for taxi/Uber on both routes. Lovely. 

Has anyone heard of this "no hotel shuttles to federal facilities" rule? It sounds like complete horse feathers to me but I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt. 

One wonders why they call themselves Comfort Suites Airport South and Cruise Port.........

If you are certain you made a mistake and all of your genuine answers would not cause you to be held back, then I would go. I know it is frustrating not to know before you set out but I think HAL is not going to give you a go ahead over the phone.

One thought - if you do get turned away, can you make this a vacation at the port? We are looking at a possibly similar situation - non refundable plane tickets to Fort Lauderdale and a cruise from there. We decided that if the worst happens and we have to cancel the cruise, we can still enjoy some Florida sunshine. It makes me feel better to know we have a back up plan.

I agree with @SusieKIslandGirl - call HAL as soon as you can and explain the situation. Surely they will help you.

Thank you all - that's an unusually unanimous set of replies for Cruise Critic! A taxi we will go......

We plan to rent a car at the Ft. Lauderdale airport after our cruise. Would the HAL airport transfer drop us off by the rental car facility? Or should we get a cab/uber?

We have sailed a variation of this route twice and seen whales both times. It wasn't the up close views one sees from a whale watch trip, but we did see whales from our HAL ship. Saguenay is rather famous for whale watching excursions so if you want to see whales up close I would try there. That being said, one of the best trips I have had was from Boston, on the boats run by the New England Aquarium. 

So just as a follow up - we got a letter early this morning, ten days before we leave. Key West is cancelled due to "port availability" and we will stop at Nassau instead. That's a real disappointment to us. At least Bimini would have been somewhere new. Nassau we've been to before - our last cruise there we didn't even bother getting off the ship. 

From what I've read Key West is served by two piers - one run by the city and one run by a private firm. The city may be listing the scheduled arrivals for their site while the private (I think Pier 26) is not. 

Please let us know how you solve this. Good luck!

Is is wonderful that HAL still tries to have a real library on board. Several of the lines we've been on claim a library and instead have a dingy room with some over used computers and a few abandoned books. 

Thank you all. I had read online that the Key West per was no longer sharing their scheduled arrivals online, in part to avoid attracting protesters. All of the ships that are on that schedule fall under the rules in the overturned referendum. It's nice to see the cruise companies respecting the wishes of the local people. I do want to go to Key West by land but it won't be this year.

I did look at Bimini (just in case...). I still hope to stop at Key West but I think it's very unlikely. 

Thank you all! No planning ahead I guess, which is not my usual style. But better a day at sea than no cruise at all.

We're on Nieuw Amsterdam. I know other ships are also still scheduled for Key West but it seems like no one actually makes it there!

We are 15 days out from our cruise and the itinerary still says Key West. I'm pretty certain we are not going to stop - a cruise ship hasn't stopped in Key West since December. But I'd like to know for sure, especially if we are going to stop somewhere else like Bimini. So I'm hoping those who have had ports cancelled can tell me how much advance warning they got. TIA

The Navigator is still showing us as going to Key West. But I'm not feeling hopeful.

Our Feb 19 is scheduled to stop at Key West. So far no changes from HAL. I really want to stop  there but am also sympathetic to the locals. So, we'll take whatever we get!