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Thank you. That was helpful. Did you take the Free Walking Tour? I'm enjoying reading your posts.

Mike, I would be interested in knowing if HAL is offering a shuttandle from Callao Port to MIraflores and where does it stop? Is there a shuttle to the main gate of the port what times do these run? Trying to plan our 3 days in port when we're on a similar cuise in November to do some on our own and private tours. Thanks.

@shipmeoff! Thanks so much! I knew I had seen that once but couldn't find it again. Good news on the gratuities @CruiserBruce. Thanks!

Does anyone know where I could find an actual list of what beverages (wines, mixed drinks, and other beverages) that are included on the Elite Package? Can you have your beverage gratuities debitted against your OBC at Guest Services?

Mike, I am looking forward to following you, as we are on the 11/14-12/1/24 Oosterdam from FLL to Santiago. Nothing quite as good as up-to-date tips and tricks! Thanks for taking the time to do this and wishing you smooth cruising.

Hi, You go to the upper right corner of Cruise Critic after you log in. Click on Boards. Then scroll down until to see a category called Find your Roll Call. Scrool unitl you see Holland America Lines, then scroll until you see the Oosterdam. It will ask you for the month of your sailing - so enter May. Then it will come up with a list of all the sailings of the Oosterdam in the month of May. Our roll call is the first one that you will see. There are now 30 pages of postings, so it's probably a good idea to read a few of the early pages to get the gist of it. Look for the user name KAZU on one of the posts, and Jacqui, who is nice enough to have created an is moderating a detailed spreadsheet for tours and activities happening on this cruise! She is doing this even though she has had surgery and has had to cancel this cruise herself! The true selflessness of a CC member! At the bottom of one of KAZU's post is something called her signature. Look for the name of our cruise and click on that to see the spreadsheet. She has an instructions page for using the spreadsheet too. See attached. What a big job. Hope to see you on board at the Sailaway party 5/30 at 4:00 at the Seaview pool aft. See signs on the tables. Spread the fun!

Ilovesailaway, We'de like to have you join our Roll Call for this cruise. We have a number of shore excursions the Spreadsheet that one of our CC members has generously moderated. It's a very active roll call with 700+ posts and a few shipboard events posted too. We're looking forward to this itinerary, which several posters here have given the thumbs up. Hope to meet you onboard! Bobbie & Fred

Thanks for all your help. Ithink water from the Lido will be just fine , but I never would have thought about a gallon jug of distilled water.

Since HAL has imposed the restrictions on bringing bottled water onboard the ships, do they allow you to bring in into port, filled re-usable water bottles, such as Nalgene or collapsable bottles such as Vapur? How would you find boxed 1 liter bottles of water in unfamiliar ports, since the price of water purchased from HAL is exhorbitant? It's going to be hot in summer and important to stay hydrated when doing lots of walking.

Searching for a tour operator that uses 14 -18 passenger van for a 5-6 hour tour in Charlottetown. Is there such a thing? Everything on tripadvisor seems to be a minivan or car. Thanks.

Route 3 (Sand Beach) is a loop and is probably your best bet. Routes 6 stops at the Village Green in Bar Harbor but is not a loop, so you would be backtracking. Route 6 goes to Jordan Pond and Northeast Harbor, which is picturesque and not as crazy busy as Bar Harbor. I really recommend you look at the link in my earlier post, then print out the timetable and stops for the one you like. They're not at frequent as you might like.

The free bus (The Island Explorer) around Mount Desert Island and through Acadia National Park is https://www.exploreacadia.com/. They have 10 routes and you must have a National Park Pass to ride the bus through the park. Pay careful attention to the schedules posted on the above web-site and allow plenty of time to get back to the ship. Buses are very busy on cruise ship days, and could be full when you want to get on. There is a flat scenic walk next to the water of about a mile each way called the Shore Path. It appears on a Google map of downtown Bar Harbor near the public pier and is a beautiful walk. Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company offers several boat trips of varying lengths that board near where the tender will drop you off. Less expensive than the ship's shore excursions and they're the same thing. Lots to do on your own in Bar Harbor. Just plan ahead to make the most of your day!

It seems to be buried on the HAL website, if it's even posted, but I can't remember all the rules for using the dollars we have in OBC. Gratuities, special dining, beverage purchases or wine packages, shore excursions and purchases in the shops I think are all allowed. Am I missing something? Thanks.

Forgot to state that I'm looking for a balcony cabin! Balcony in the shade would be better for us. I think I'll look for on one the port side. Thanks NavyBanker and others!

Is there any advantage to being on the port or starboard side in a Verandah cabin when embarking in Barcelona then to 2 France ports, ports around Italy, then Corfu, Kotor & Dubrovnik to Trieste or am I overthinking this? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Cruise begins in late May. Thanks.