Liz54

1 hour ago, wyobean said:

Honestly, Chuck, you would be safer on a private tour in Cuba than almost anywhere else you would stop on a cruise. You have to do what you are comfortable with, though. Have a great time!

I agree!  Felt safer in Havana at midnight than anywhere in the Caribbean at noon!

If you have time on your hands, the ship docks right in Old Havana.  We spent 4 days there 4 years ago.  It is wonderful - beautiful architecture and squares. Lots of live music.  Just fab.  Very safe for tourists walking around.  We are Canadian so cannot address specific US Government restrictions, if any.

Stewards will get for you, or you will get a beeper. I am sure the beeper would work in all lido cabanas...

3 hours ago, Chuck said:

Yes, my bigger concern is half way thru the trip getting horribly sic (food poisoning or ???) and being taken to a Canadian Hospital.  You only have $10,000 coverage with the Platnum Plan and thats the best plan that Holland America even sells.  Its just NOT ENOUGH if you end up in a Canadian Hospital as I have already called MEDICARE AND MY BC-BS SUPPLEMENT AND THERE IS "NO COVERAGE" WHATSOEVER IN CANADA.  So therein lies the problem.

That said, $10,000 is likely worth 10X as much in Canada vs in the US.  Our local hospital billed a US insurance company $5000.  The Insurance assumed a misplaced decimal point and sent 50K instead.  The hospital refunded the difference.  This is true, but sad.

2 hours ago, dfish said:

I was solo on Koningsdam last summer and enjoyed it very much.   Unfortunately, you only get one bottle of wine as it is one per person, not two per room.   And, you only get credit for one cruise, unless you do a suite with the double cruise days.

 

Have you checked out the single cabins?   They have single cabins that are ocean view that are priced specifically for solo travelers.   I didn't book one as I found an inside with a single supplement to be more economical.  The inside was fine for me alone.  I wouldn't do it for more than one person as they are tiny.

Thanks!   Did not know about the solo cabins, but an inside across the hall from friends with a balcony will work best for me.  Sorry about cruise credits and wine!

Considering going solo with friends in another cabin.  Not loving the single supplement however.  Looking for slight good news.  Can I take 2 bottles of wine aboard?  Will I get credit for two cruises?    Any insight?

You will feel brave once you see the wide array of ways others dress for the pool!

Crown Grill is on Princess. I'm sure she meant the Pinnacle Grill.

Helen

Thanks, You are right, of course.

When we booked the cruise, about six months prior, we requested late dining, as we always do. Our confirmation noted "waitlisted".

We were confirmed for late traditional and that never changed. After the first half of our cruise we were bumped. They can do whatever they like.

We are booked on the same ship in April. The upcharge was just under $300 per person for Explore4. That includes the beverage package and a dinner in the Crown Grill. It was worth it to us.

The thread I saw was started by Cruisin'Chris. Looks like Chris wasn't the only one to be treated like that.

 

I'm wondering though if they've changed their policy about those big groups. I only take a trip once every couple of years and if that would have happened to me it would have ruined my trip.

 

The worst thing is that it sounds like a crapshoot. It might happen on your cruise or it might not. I'm looking forward to trying HAL (at least I was), now I'm worried. I've already deposited $3,000+.

The best insurance would be a cruise longer than 7 days. I have heard groups usually go with 7 days. We loved HAL until the moment we did not. We are trying again, but have booked an 11 day cruise, so fingers are crossed.

You may have seen a thread I started. The Gospel group was 1000 people and we were ejected from fixed late dining mid cruise. (we were doing a b2b and they came on for the second half). We were told we could have anytime (!) before 6.00 or go to the buffet. Hundreds of people got the same treatment and HAL turned a deaf ear.

I would never book if I knew that particular group would be onboard because of the size and the fact that they are accomodated to dine together at the expense of the other passengers.

Sometimes they are . That's why it's recommended that folks check the prices. We booked a cruise with Explore4 and when it ended, the price went down 550.00PP. We rebooked, happily. We've seen some where the prices stayed the same but you can almost always get the promo removed and pay less. Congrats on it staying the same for you! But really, everyone should check their own

So true. Check often. Our cruise is in April. We always book in summer for late winter and have always had many reductions and changes!

We just booked a cruise as Explore 4 came on. Spoke to HAL and they priced it both ways. With Explore4 its $375 CDN more PP for our 11 day cruise. We usually buy a wine package and a coffee card - just under $200 US, so probably worth it for us....

See you on board!!!

On dining. Fixed seating is sometimes very hard to get. Suggest you try and get it when booking. If you don't like it. you can switch to Anytime dining easily. Usually impossible to do the reverse.

If you do this, and decide to abandon Traditional fixed seating, be sure to let them know, otherwise your seats will be held for the whole cruise!

We are in 437 on the Royal. Boarding Wednesday:D Exciting to see this!

Doesn't always happen. My wife made a call and texted some photos from our balcony overlooking the port facilities in SF. We were just boarding. She got a notice from the carrier that she was incurring big time charges so we called and got it fixed. Don't count on the ship tower being turned off even though it should be.

Great info to have! Thanks!

Thanks all!

Clarification for Julie. I have a roaming package thats good for the Islands so as long as I am NOT on Cellular at Sea, I will be fine. Just kept hearing about people sitting on deck using phones !!

I keep hearing about people connecting to the net and calling through the internet services at port, even from the ship, WHILE IN PORT. I have a plan that allows calls and data in all our ports, and will get my platinum free minutes while aboard. How can I be certain the phone is searching for the local not using the ship's satelite service?

I have osteoarthritis in one knee and the other is not far behind. I have booked 2 snorkel trips for my upcoming Eastern Caribbean. One is a shore snorkel and the other I emailed the operator and confirmed that the boat would not prove too difficult. Much better communication with private tours.

Sunny and 85 today...how's the weather in NS while eating your lobster?...;p

Not too bad. The South Shore of NS is much warmer than most of Canada. That said, Heading out of here Tuesday for the Royal, Feb 28-March 10. Lobsters were delish!!!;p;p;p;p

Come visit Canada's east coast - Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Guaranteed you will LOVE the lobster available here. :D

You got that right! Just heading out to buy it live for dinner guests. $8 CDN a pound! Love living in NS!!!

Agree that Bonaire still has plenty of fish. I'm wondering to what extent to boat causes them to scurry away. We have twice done shore snorkels there, with Renee Shore Snorkels. You go in with her, from the shore , and she is a biologist so great at identifying and finding a wide range of undersea life. She encouraged us to swim with flippers only, arms down close to our bodies as the movement of our arms could scare some creatures into hiding. If so they may have been hiding from the boat.

Renee's was a fantastic experience, particularly if you are inexperienced or nervous. Maximum of 4 participants.

Its a mystery why they are so often disorganized in the MDR, fixed seating on night one.

We traveled with a friend who owned some great restaurants. As she said:

• They know how many are coming months in advance
  
• They know the menu since it rarely changes
  
• They could/should know closely how many will order the prime rib, the fish, etc.
  
• We all arrive at the time they say when in Traditional.
  

One time when they were in real disarray we had to hold her in her seat to prevent her from leaping up and sorting the staff out and clearing the logjams!