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CruiserBruce and Cruise4food, thanks for the info.

Seayourself, my children sure better appreciate us!!  😉

3 hours ago, C 2 C said:

It does not get any simpler once you have already passed through immigration in a previous port.

When are you travelling?

May 25th-June1. Then June1-8. Just in a few weeks!

Thank you so much for the detailed information! We have never done a back to back in our 26 years of cruising, but the older we get, everything seems to be more complicated! Thanks for the speedy answer.

First time on HAL. We are doing a back to back but would like to explore the disembarkation port. (Montreal). What are the procedures for checking out and then checking back in to next cruise? Will we have time to explore Montreal after this?

How is the general conditions of the ship? Are the rooms in shabby conditons as I read in many reviews?

Sailing on the Volendam May 25- June 1st, 2024. Boston to Montreal. Then June1-June8  from Montreal to Boston. First  time on Holland America after cruising on other lines since 1998! Taking granddaughter and family on a celebration cruise for her high school graduation! She picked this cruise out from many other itineraries and cruise lines!

Didn't mean to add to anyone's confusion while answering my question. It is actually 2 (7 day) trips. Leaves Bos to Montreal. Then next cruise is Montreal to Bos.  So much to see and do for some members of the group traveling that have never been to these ports.  Thank you, X-elite, for the dress code policy info. We are booking the Pinnacle Grill for week 1 and not sure of week 2. Volendam doesn't have a lot of choices!!

Thanks for your quick response! The itinerary is:  Boston (embarkation port), Bar Harbor, Halifax, Sydney, PEI, At sea (day 6) Quebec City, Montreal. We are on the reverse order week 2 which ends in Boston.

We're new to HA but not cruising. Can anyone tell me the days for the formal nights? Is there one or two nights on the 7 night Canada/New England cruises? I'd like to book a specialty dinner but not on the formal night. Thanks for info!

Just my 2 cents worth.....if you use open seating and then meet people during the day, you can always ask them to sit with you at dinner if they also have the open seating. This has worked well with us in the past as we make friends throughout the day!

Thank you for that info from a first time HAL cruiser next May! 

We stayed at Hyatt Place, Dania Beach. There was a great pizza place literally right out the back door. Was called Cucina  Italian Restaurant. Will probably eat there again even tho not staying at Hyatt Place. (just too expensive for us)

I am sailing on Equinox in a couple weeks. I'm so hoping Vinod is still in Luminae. He was fantastic last year!!

Really hate to hear your experience! We've been sailing Celebrity since 1998. Our upcoming Equinox sailing will be our determining factor. After every cruise, we've done a future cruise while onboard but it seems that might not be the case this year. Probably will be "jumping ship"! I love Royal Caribbean but when sailing Celebrity I want it to be Celebrity, not Royal!!

I am on the Volendam next year. I booked cabin 1921 on Dolphin deck. Do you know if this cabin has a shower stall? I'm having knee/ankle problems and stepping in/out of tub is going to be trouble. Any way to find out for sure? I'd appreciate any answers I can get! Getting older has it's drawbacks for sure!!

I foresee a toll charge to access the ramps for boarding the ship for those who like to splurge. Everyone else can use the rope ladder.

A group of mixed ages will be on the Volendam next May. What should we expect? None of us have been on this small of a ship nor on HAL before!

Any one remember when they had stationary and a post card of your ship? I still have many of the post cards actually framed in a collage!  I miss the excitement of the midnight buffet. I never ate a thing but loved the presentation! ( my family consumed my share, don't worry about waste!!)

Could someone let me know about my Cat F (room F1919)? Travel Agent just gave us this because we wanted to be near family in an F triple.  Don't mean to steal this thread but hoping someone can answer!

On 7/24/2023 at 1:54 PM, deliver42 said:

The reason the menus are no longer there is because of all the complaining about Celebrity's prices, the decided to lower the price and eliminate all food. LOL

Could also be the vaping in the casino has put a big cloud over the menu!

17 hours ago, davekathy said:

I didn't realize pole dancing was a thing on Celebrity ships. 

If I stub my toe on the pole, it will be real!!!

Thanks everyone! I am just afraid I will walk into the pole so I really like the idea of a light string.

I'm sailing on the Equinox and looking for advice about placement of the structural poles in the Sunset sky suites. I'd appreciate any info!

Where are the poles located at in these corner sky suites? Same location on every deck? I'd love a room where the pole isn't right next to the bed if possible!

Here's my 2 cents worth:  Both cruise lines will give you an awesome experience. It depends on what you want out of your vacation. Royal has lots of bells and whistles with non-stop activities.  The larger the ship, the more activities are happening. Celebrity has a slower pace of activities with lots of time to relax and enjoy the ocean views. It really boils down to your expectations and desires. Traveling with family? Then Royal is the way to go. Looking for quiet down time? Go Celebrity. Both have great staff and enjoyable food and clean ships.