boulders

7 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Most cruise lines (Disney is a notable exception) do not permit children in programs until they are at least potty trained :).  As to bringing an infant on HAL, one parent once told us that it was like having over a thousand grandparents.  Most folks do like babies until they start to scream :).   As to caring for your toddler, you must remember to bring along everything that you will need to care for your toddler including a decent car seat to use at ports.  Just like at home, caring for a toddler on a cruise is a 24/7 job and you will have to do it all!  Having an extended family on the cruise can make it fun since parents and grandparents can take shifts, giving the others some relaxing time on their own.  Also keep in mind that HAL does not permit toddlers to go into any of the pools....even if wearing swim diapers (which do not work).

 

Hank

Royal Caribbean and Norwegian have nurseries for ages 6 months and up. Carnival has children's programming for ages 2 and up (no potty training required). I couldn't find any info on any cruise line, including HAL that said children had to be potty trained. 

I do agree that you will need to bring anything you might possibly need, including diapers, medication and any special foods. 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/company/customer-support/help-and-faqs/pre-cruise/travel-documents

13 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

your passport is  a Government issued photo  I.D.

 

Ten times this. 

My first child had a peanut allergy. It developed when he was 8 months old and the 11 month old sitting next to him at daycare had a peanut butter sandwich.   Every year after that, when he would get a new daycare teacher even if there were glaring signs saying that he was peanut allergic, inevitably, around September, someone would feed him peanut butter. I learned that you can't trust others to make sure that there is no allergen in your food. You have to be vigilant, especially with desserts, stews, sauces, Thai food etc. I can think of two incidences where I specifically asked about nuts or peanuts and was assured that the food in question didn't have nuts or peanuts, and my son had a reaction. Luckily, his reaction was vomiting, and not anaphylaxis. Also, luckily, he did eventually outgrow the allergy. 

I think the OP's message was a reminder to all those with food allergies that you cannot count on the waitstaff or kitchen staff at HAL or any other location to keep your food uncontaminated. Remind them each time and check your food. I now have a second child who is allergic to almonds and I sometimes taste test desserts for them. 

The Marriott branded hotels in Waikiki are having strike actions. Hotels affected are: Sheraton Waikiki, The Royal Hawaiian, Westin Moana Surfrider, and Sheraton ‪Princess Kaiulani‬i.The hotels have brought in scab labor. Normal hotel operations are disrupted. The strikers are rather loud and disrupt things further. I would avoid those hotels until the strike is over. I say this as someone who stays in Marriott hotels almost exclusively. There is no end in sight for the strike. 

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2018/10/08/hotel-workers-strike-against-kyo-ya-owned-hotels/

http://www.staradvertiser.com/2018/11/14/breaking-news/striking-marriott-hotel-workers-hold-noisy-waikiki-protest-ahead-of-negotiations/

27 minutes ago, erewhon said:

A headline in the on-line Otago Daily Times ( Dunedin, New Zealand) is "Questions over Dunedin-bound cruise ship's safety.

https://www.odt.co.nz 

Very sad.

 

Do you have a direct link to the Otago article? I can't seem to find it. 

 Get your own hot water from the Windjammer or the Promenade Cafe. If you order it from room service, not only will it not be hot enough, the water will be coffee flavoured. Yuck. 

Thanks to you both!

My total number of points is correct, with the correct number assigned to cruise days and bonus days. However, I have no past cruises listed. I guess it's a work in progress. 

I sometimes check travel agencies' websites to scope out the available cabins.  The online TAs' will show more availability than the HAL website. There is one European TA I know of that will show all the available cabins. 

We will be arriving at Port Arthur in a few months on HAL's Noordam. We have a separate visit to Hobart, where I've booked a tour. Does anyone have recommendations for Port Arthur? Would you recommend a ship's shore excursion or can I see enough wandering around by myself? Are there tours on shore that I can book that day? TIA.  

I went on a round the horn cruise a few  years ago. The CC South American port of call board had a lot of good info on it. Some things I learned from there: 1) In certain places, like Rio's airport, for example, ATMs cannot be trusted. Don't use them 2) Credit cards are OK in shops and hotels. 3) Private tours want brand new USD bills. But I think large bills are not OK (check on this). 4) In Argentina especially, they took lots of different currencies, including Brazilian reals. The Argentinian peso was unstable at that time and no one wanted them. Things may have changed. 

So, I ordered currency from a broker in Chilean and Brazilian currencies. I think I took British pounds for my tour in the Falklands. And I took brand new US bills for those who wanted US currency. Yes, my wallet was fat. I didn't rest easy until the stash of cash was in the cabin's safe. 

Looking at the OP's signature, they're on 2 different ships, so it shouldn't be a PVSA problem. I agree with the others though, don't expect exit or entry stamps on the passports. 

I'd go with the HAL cruise, since you already know that you like the HAL product. Each cruise line has a different "feel". And the "feel" appeals to different people. On cruise critic, some insist that HAL is for "old" people. I would phrase that differently and say that HAL is for people who like a quiet place to read,  learn something new or visit exotic locations. Yes, the demographics on my HAL cruises were older than on my Disney cruise and my holiday Royal Caribbean cruises, but other than that, the passengers were about the same age as on my other cruises. Since you are traveling New Year's week, there should be a good number of young adults (and kids). 

I've taken several Royal Caribbean cruises. My last one was on Allure. On paper, my family should like it. There's so much to do! But my teenagers were not interested in ziplining or surfing or rock climbing. The ship was too big (and noisy) for me. It took a long time to get anywhere. Royal Caribbean just didn't have the right "feel" or "fit" for us. 

2 hours ago, jungrak9 said:

Thank you for your reply! I like your idea that wait for Alaska cruise from Vancouver. I live in Alberta so that will be easier to travel to the port. I looked Alaska cruise depart from Vancouver and the season starts in April. You mentioned wait until June. Is April not good to have Alaska cruise because of weather? I would rather have warm and nice weather on ship not Alberta winter cold weather. Also for me fly to Vancouver or Seattle will be same. Seattle to Alaska will be better than Vancouver? 

Vancouver departures actually have better itineraries than Seattle departures. Also, cruises from Seattle can have rougher seas because they have to go out into the Pacific whereas Vancouver departures are protected by Vancouver Island and the Inside Passage. 

Whichever cruise you choose, if you choose something in January or February, don't forget to fly to the embarkation port 1 or 2 or 3 days early. If there's a blizzard or ice storm and you can't get out of your home airport to the embarkation port, the ship won't wait for you and they won't refund your money.  I know Holland America sells their own protection plans which includes cancel for any reason, but I don't know about other cruise lines. 

Holland America's Eurodam is doing 7 night cruises out of San Diego during that time period. It's  a much better itinerary. I would recommend going in mid to late January rather than February. February is more likely to see kids on board, especially the week of February 18/2019. 

Alaskan cruises are great too. I especially loved excursions to see black or brown bears. 

When you enter the country of your citizenship, you're supposed to use their passport. The US border patrol didn't like it that I used my Canadian passport to enter Canada. 

2 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I  understood  that you need to use the same passport  on the return to Canada that  you used  going to the USA   is that not the case ?

6 hours ago, SRF said:

 

US law requires that you enter the US on your US passport.

 

If you check in with your Canadian passport, that is the info transmitted to CBP from your flight.

 

Best way, always check IN with the passport you are using to enter your destination.  It does NOT have to be the same passport you use to pass through outgoing immigration (if you you have to).

You misunderstood. They hassled me for entering Canada (left the US) on my Canadian passport. I entered the US on my US passport. 

I flew out of YYZ about 10 days ago to the US. I'm a dual US/Canadian citizen, so my experience might be a little different. I was not questioned about cannabis/investments in cannabis companies etc at all.

US immigration did give me heck about checking in for my US to Canada flight on my Canadian passport though. They've never done that in countless times flying between the 2 countries. 

There's a similar cruise to Tales of the South Pacific on the Maasdam in March, 2020. 

They tend to switch up itineraries on the Amsterdam especially. I wouldn't count on the same itinerary being offered for Fall, 2020. 

I wouldn't fly to San Diego for the Eurodam. I'd choose either 2 or 3. 

Kauai has less beach real estate than any of the other islands. I see that you are visiting in December too. That's Kauai's rainiest month. I'd recommend making plans to do something other than the beach. If you must go to the beach, go to Poipu. If you are going in early December, it won't be too crowded, but it will be extremely crowded around Christmas and New Year's. 

I couldn't see anything that was posted between 1pm Eastern Saturday until at least 3 am Eastern Sunday. I couldn't post during that time either. The boards were acting slow on Friday. They seem fine now. 

We used Estancia Excursions. Highly recommend. Book early. 

The seahorse farm often sells out all its tour tickets to cruise ship passengers. You should check at seahorse.com.