a.madruga

Pro and Con on both directions by those who have cruised Transatlantic with HAL

thanks for your experiences suggestions

22 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

We were in Santiago in March 2023 (Oosterdam) 

 

Transport was easy from the airport to hotel with a pre-arranged taxi pickup.  

 

We stayed here....

 

https://www.plazasanfrancisco.cl/en/

 

beautiful old hotel in the center of the old city.  We spent one day walking around enjoying the old city area.....

 

The next day we had an early am pick up with a great wine tour before w/drop off at the ship.  Lots of tours that do that.

 

I'd recommend getting on the roll call and finding a small group to join you for the wine tour/pick up.  Also, head to the South America board for intel on taxis, tours, hotels, etc....

 

(we do not book any hotel package thru HAL as they are, in our experience, way over-priced)

 

We enjoyed Santiago...and our SA cruise......

 

Enjoy the journey

 

 

True on HAL over priced hotels we just experienced for Vancouver where they charging per passenger on a two night pre cruise hotel. Never again, flights with HAL excellent 

On 8/19/2024 at 3:33 PM, MississippiMom said:

Thank you for your honesty!

 

I realize that the easiest would be Pan Pacific or one of the nearby Fairmonts, but I don’t think we can justify that price point.

check Auberge hotel in Vancouver 

Pre. cruise prices have been way out of control with charges at per passenger not the normal per room

like two doubles or a king. Has anyone had this issue?   Thanks 

On 7/1/2024 at 6:01 PM, djtx2 said:

Can anyone tell me where they stayed when taking a cruise out of Vancouver?

Check out Auberge you’ll need to call them talk to Carl very helpful one block from pan pacific and fairmont. Reviews were good and about five hundred less for two days compared to those mentioned 

good luck

On 8/23/2024 at 10:55 AM, MississippiMom said:

What if we don't need to stay near Canada Place, what area of downtown is recommended?  We do tend to lean toward Marriott or Hilton properties (it's a reward points thing), so the Metropolitan Hotel Vancouver is at the top of our list currently.  It appears to be near lots of retail and restaurants.  However, I have seen various posts that reference staying west in downtown, so is The Westin Bayshore or the Marriott Pinnacle going to be a better location?  We really don't need to have a water view or be within walking distance of the cruise port, but we do want to stay downtown and not near the airport.  It is just for one night, but we would have time to walk to dinner and to breakfast the following day.  I'm not sure how early Celebrity Summit boards, but we aren't scheduled to depart until 5 p.m. on a Friday.

Try calling Auberge which is very close to Canada place but you should call most places had them all booked se we called and got a great location that had good reviews 

good luck

On 9/6/2024 at 11:00 PM, iiplus said:

Cruising out of Vancouver later this month. We need recommendation for hotel Airbnb and method of travel to cruise port. We’ve disembarked in Vancouver; this is our first time cruising from Vancouver. 
thanks

Try calling the Auberge one block from pan pacific. Good luck

On 9/8/2024 at 9:10 PM, Cruise Junky said:

Book it yourself. You’re paying a massive premium for HAL to do it for you. 

cruise junky 

I took your advise. and booked the hotel in Vancouver pre Alaska cruise on our own HAL wanted $2300+ for two days at Fairmont Downtown.....We broked Auberge great location and price  reviews seemed very good   thanks again

On 9/18/2024 at 9:01 AM, a.madruga said:

how far out did you. get pricing for May 2025?

Just got our waitlisted choice and $ for July2025 was not worth it IOO somewhat overpriced and only one choice    Although our flights are decently priced and we have till April to pay.  It’s lowered once since booked 

will call PCC tomorrow to find out if any other choices on hotels

we began with Carnival when the kids were small then tested Celebrity(when they were on their own) which we loved now gotten older and HAL or Princess will do us fine....usually it's the ports that we chose from. As much as we hate to say loyalty does not mean anything to cruise lines and to us more bang for our retired bucks.

37 minutes ago, Anastas617 said:

I'm looking at booking Alaska next July or August and I'm pondering the options in the title.

 

I have been to Seattle several times including a cruise on Princess this year. I have no real desire to "visit" Seattle, so there is no attraction for me there. Does Vancouver compare favorably in ease of getting to port from Airport and/or central tourist/hotel area? I assume as an American my flight will likely be a bit more expensive and I'm not planning on multiple overnights in either city.

 

The (possibly) bigger question is between the two ships. Rotterdam might be my favorite ship I've sailed on (3rd time upcoming in February), so Koningsdam immediately appeals to me. What would I be missing out on with Eurodam or perhaps the inverse, what would be more enjoyable about Eurodam?

 

This will be a casino comp so price isn't a big factor, but I'm a bit shocked (perplexed?) that Eurodam is significantly more expensive for a 7-day cruise leaving the same days. Looking at three dates and Eurodam is $800-$1000 more for an inside cabin based on solo occupancy. I would be looking at upgrade options but will also be happy to just keep my interior if I don't see the value of upgrading.

 

So the question that I could have asked in one sentence: Which do the Alaska veterans think is more preferable? Koningsdam from Vancouver or Eurodam from Seattle?

 

Thanks!

Koningsdam our choice but maybe you might like the stops on Eurodam better

10 hours ago, Cruise Junky said:

I work downtown Vancouver and disagree. We’re no different than any other city. We just have better winters 🤷🏻‍♀️

can we have your local opinion. on a nice a few hotels that we might like

thanks from way down south Florida 

23 hours ago, 2TheSea4Me said:

Hi all!  I'm new to cruising and have had the desire to go to Alaska.  

 

I'm looking to go next May for a big birthday.   I'm realizing I should have booked a long time ago.  Anyway, I'm seeing we can do a 14 day inside cabin on the Nieuw Amsterdam for about the same price as a 7 day balcony cruise.   I have "held" the 14 day inside cabin with HA.

 

Are we crazy to skip the balcony in Alaska?   Just seems like 14 days versus 7 is a whole lot of difference when we can go on deck and see a lot, plus see other port visits.

our very first cruise was a 14 day Mediterranean cruise which we did inside. I loved it but DW said no more only till we retire...Well she's retiring July 2025 and guess what? Balcony, and BTW all our cruises since then have been Balconies. If walking and stair climbing is not an issue I would do the 14 day, because you never know about coming back to ALASKA. good luck and enjoy either choice, which is going to be great. IT'S YOURS!!!!!

On 9/13/2024 at 9:29 AM, wdw1972 said:

I did the same for May 2025.  I'll keep watching for a better rate and will also check HAL's rate when they release it.

 

Sue/WDW1972

how far out did you. get pricing for May 2025?

we have always paid $149 but again that's for 7 days  pre cruise

On 9/12/2024 at 10:44 AM, Rambozo68 said:

Hi Wehwalt, paid for pre-cruise.

were they paid by AARP gift cards?

This happens when you allow customer service to be overseas when they are limited to what actions to take and resolve issues.

Gloria and I are puzzled as to pre cruise Hotel booking, is Flight Ease done first and Pre Cruise Hotels are much closer to final pay?  first time with HAL booking with this pre cruise

1 hour ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

Ditto.  Why are you waiting on HAL?

we have one reserved but like you must know Vancouver is somewhat expensive when booking pre cruise

so we've been told that nothing yet on contracts for hotels to choose from at Vancouver for July 2025 cruise

any information or experiences on this issue will be much helpful

On 6/24/2024 at 1:23 PM, Gsel said:

I am booked with Flight Ease in November. I booked at least three months ago. I received a email last month saying if I wanted my AA miles I had to let them go ahead and ticket the flights which I did. Guess this was before the rescinded the rule.  I am now ticketed on flights I really don't want and would cost almost $1000 to change.  I have a 30 minute layover at DFW!

good luck with your flights and enjoy the cruise your headed too

On 9/6/2024 at 9:41 AM, Iamthesea said:

That's a great deal!  

 

We are cancelling our Caribbean cruise on HAL for this coming spring.   Now in the process of booking a 12 night Epicurean Awakening cruise out of Southampton on Oceania at the beginning of June.  We will start and end in London and the ship travels to Spain and France.  We have done a few cruises on Oceania, but only in the Caribbean.  This cruise is a bit more pricey than the cruises we have taken overseas in the past, but the fare includes so much more than on HAL.  Looking forward to a new experience. 

Book an obstructed balcony and upgrade to aft balcony but you need to do CO with original booking

Darcy8 

we are Wait Listed/Hotel  for our Alaska cruise in July out of Vancouver 

just did our airfare reservation through HAL 

you might say we're puzzled as to Hotel issue also

28 minutes ago, mb777 said:

I did not know about the policy when I booked about 5 months ago.  The cruise is summer, 2025 and I didn't want to take the chance of being moved.  My TA said it rarely happens, but I didn't want to be the one who was moved as so many others have.

BTW today Alaska 2026 opened up for. Booking and we noticed in trying to get our same cabin and it was not offered since we’re just two. 

OPEN!!!!!