boulders

10 hours ago, fatcat04 said:

We adore HAL and it's classic timeless style and have for a decade+ (we have had 4 HAL cruises cancelled "for us" by Covid including the Rotterdam TA) but we have a 4 year old (and a near 21 year old old too) and in the time of Covid, young children are anathema (even despised) on HAL apparently. So we spend our vacation dollars elsewhere, and not sadly tbh. I hope that changes as we love cruising but I am not holding my breathe tbh. HAL will lose us as multi generational cruisers sadly. 

My son cruised HAL when he was 6 and again when he was 8, both about 10 years ago. We never felt that he was despised. We all had a great time, including his teenage siblings. Have you taken him on a HAL cruise? 

I was in a J cabin on Nieuw Amsterdam for 24 nights with my 3 kids when they were all under 18. It was fine. I think we were in 1054. It was plenty quiet, except for the room next door sometimes. I don't recall any noise from above. 

There is a website called halfacts.com which has lots of room reviews. 

5 hours ago, dave34 said:

I checked with Walgreens, they have a PCR/ naat test with results in 2hrs. Canada’s arrive Canada app states that NAAT is a approved PCR test. I hope I’m understanding  this right. Canada could make this a lot better but they want to hold on as long as possible with control 

PCR is one type of NAAT test. Before they updated the requirements to allow for an antigen test, you needed a NAAT test, which includes Walgreens' Rapid ID Now test. 

The Canadian media has done a crappy job of explaining testing requirements. They keep saying that a PCR test is required, when they mean NAAT. The regulations are also poorly worded. They use "molecular" to describe the testing requirements. The term "molecular" is meaningless in this context as an antigen is also a molecule. 

Currently, to enter Canada, you can take an antigen test 1 day prior to entry, or a NAAT test 72 hours prior to entry. Check the regulations before your trip at this website: Canadian covid testing requirements They have updated the site to include requirements for marine ports of entry. 

Aloe gel. It's excellent for sunburn and any other skin damage issues. Other toiletries? A hat or 2 or 3? I don't leave my house without my Maui Jim sunglasses. 

8 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

Also note, that just because the ship may not require a mask, the port still might.

As well as the airports and airlines. 

It's not HAL's responsibility to administer covid tests for entry to Canada unless they're docking at a Canadian port. You'll have to get a test either proctored on the internet that doesn't require shipping the test or once you have finished the cruise.

If the cruise ends in the US, book your flight to Canada 24 hours after testing for a rapid antigen test or 72 hours after testing if you get a PCR test. 

Try Walgreens. They were booking 2 weeks ahead in December but were back to 5 days ahead the last time I looked.

Edit: Just checked. They're doing 2 days ahead now. 

There's a Grand Africa for both 2022 and 2023. The 2022 is sold out and there are cabins for the 2023 which was just released 2 weeks ago. 

5 minutes ago, Shipswap said:

You might want to read to the bottom of the page. Rapid Antigen tests are not approved. They must be PCR and the equivalent

I've read the whole page. Rapid ID Now tests are not antigen tests. They are nucleic acid amplification tests. They are similar to PCR. 

PCR tests are not required to enter Canada and never have been. There are a bunch of other tests that can suffice. https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada  Included amongst these is the Rapid ID Now test which gets results back a lot quicker than PCR. 

1 minute ago, wblotner66 said:

thanks but this is the old Rotterdam ship

Oops. Sorry! Can you tell I haven't been keeping up? 

I have a J category adjacent to the elevators booked on Volendam. I don't see any I categories. Here's a non-CC review I found from the same cabin on Rotterdam. J2555 on Rotterdam review

My $2500 was for an inside. I would expect a suite to be more. I suppose you could do a booking up to the payment page to check. 

29 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

Just out of curiousity, because I probably can't go, how much is the deposit for either GV?  I'm more interested in the Australia one but I'd imagine the the WC deposit would be a good indicator.  Thanks!

$2500 USD for the Australia one. 

delete

I got an email from a travel agent this morning. I was planning on the World Cruise for 2025, but this has all the ports that I wanted in the world cruise. I am booked with my HAL PCC! Woot!

I've sailed to Alaska twice with young kids. In my opinion, Alaska is one of the best locations for cruises with littles. There are so many opportunities for interactive excursions and animal-based excursions. Favorites of my youngest included whale watching, dog sledding and panning for gold. My youngest was 4 on his first AK cruise and 6 on his second.

Air Canada has nonstop flights LAX to YYZ and YUL. I would try to get them into Canada as expeditiously as possible. Borders may close. Restaurants are closed in many places. 

51 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

It happens.

 

But also, what IS correct is, if you are not a US CITIZEN, you must use a passport only.

Nope. If you're a green card holder, you use that instead of a passport.

What you do need is documentation that shows that you are allowed to enter the US for the period of time the nice immigration people believe that you will be staying. A passport (without the proper visa) won't work if it's not a US passport and you say you live in Nebraska. 

My point in my previous post was that there is no one size fits all declaration of the type of documentation that is needed to get off a cruise in the US. Not all US citizens can just use their birth certificate. Not all non-US citizens enter the US with their passport. 

FlorenceItaly is correct. It will die a natural death when HAL doesn't receive a deposit. 

I had an upsell offer a few years ago from an outside to a verandah. I believe the amount was $700 pp for a 21 night cruise. I was also offered an upsell to a Neptune for $2200 pp. I took the Neptune, because there were 4 of us and we couldn't fit into their available verandahs. So, for the verandah, that works out to about  $67/day. For a 28 night cruise, I'd expect in the range of $900-$1000 pp for a verandah. 

That's for the offer. Whether or not it is "good" is up to you. IMO, it's worth about $75/day (total) for a balcony. Some people value them higher or won't sail without them at all. 

If it's a publicly available fare, then it qualifies for the Mariner cruise day credits. If it's an upsell via an email at the last minute, then it doesn't qualify. 

Unfortunately, upsells to NS don't count towards Mariner status. 

My cruise is just a few days after the OP's. I'm going to have to start stalking my email. I'm in a balcony guarantee. I've got my fingers crossed for a nice upgrade or upsell. 

Naturalized US citizens and US citizens born abroad can't travel with just their birth certificate, because their birth certificate won't prove US citizenship. You have to have been born in the US for the birth certificate to be accepted for a closed loop cruise out of the US. 

It’s been a few years but I recall a lot of standing in line at the Vatican.  I would not classify it as easy, maybe moderate.  I’d use the easy for an excursion where you just got on and off the bus and maybe walked a few steps.