maryandmarge

We were Yellow 1 tags and waited in the World Theater. We were escorted off of Deck 3 directly to the buses. We had booked the transfers from the pier to Seattle Airport. We had no issues on the way up to Vancouver and walked right thru to the ship on May 5th. We boarded the ship around 2 pm. The trip back to Seattle wasn’t as smooth. We left later than we were supposed to. Our bus driver needed to be better trained on his job. He did nothing to help people on or off the bus. Most times he was sitting in his seat playing on his phone. He never took the time to explain before custom what to expect when we stopped. He never explained that the restrooms were closed at customs. It took us an hour to get cleared thru customs. Finally once we are back on the road he announces that we could stop at rest area either in 10 minutes or 35 minutes. Everyone said stop at the first one. Good thing we did as we hit traffic backups further up the road. We were back on the road for awhile and he pulls off another exit and into a gas station with a restaurant Donna’s. He mumbles something as he gets off and comes back 15 minutes later with a drink and sandwich or something to eat. Really …. If he needed food on this trip he should have packed his lunch. He had no concern about people making their flights. When we got to Seattle one of the passengers had to help unload the bus trying to help others make their flights. Our PCC told us not to book a flight before 3 pm - the paperwork in our room said don’t book a flight before 4 pm. I’m going to tell my PCC to tell people not to book flight out of Seattle before 5 pm. We were lucky - we were booked on the 10:15 pm redeye direct to Cleveland. I’m not sure the people in front of us on bus were able to make their 3:35 flight as security lines were very long. I would take this shuttle again if it comes to that where it was cheaper for us to travel to Seattle rather than Vancouver. Just watch what time you book your flights. Hope this helps others make choices.

Roger - great job on this thread. You are a wealth of knowledge for cruise critic people that have questions. We enjoyed meeting you at the meet and greet and hopefully our paths will cross again on a future cruise. Safe travels to all that were on this great cruise. Maryell.

It’s a good thing you didn’t have zoom. I was still in our room in my pj’s. 😂😂

I finally get to watch the webcam as I’m on a ship pulling in. Woohoo. It would have been nice to have some sun but looks like we are having more rain today. Even with cold and rain this has been a great trip so far on Nieuw Amsterdam. Maryell

OMG. I almost forgot about my friends from WI pretending they were on the ship to surprise me - when they were actually sitting at home laughing because I went looking for them on the ship. I’ve forgiven them but at the time I was really upset about it. I can laugh about it now. Wow - 28 days is a long cruise for Alaska. Hope you are able to do it. We had so much fun on the 25 day cruise last August from Boston to Iceland that we signed up for the same one in July 2025. Hope you will keep in touch on the daily so we know how you are doing. Maryell

Bruno - good to hear from you. Just remember it’s one day at a time. You have many friends on here keeping you in their thoughts and prayers. My sister and I fly into Seattle on Friday before taking the Holland transfer on Sunday to Vancouver to do a 14 day Alaska cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam (the same ship we met you on in 2021). I’ll make sure we do a toast to you on sail away on the back of the ship where we first met. Hope our cruising paths cross again in the future. Stay healthy and I hope things continue to get easier for you. Take care. Maryell

I had the same problem with I phone since yesterday. It just started working again. This is a good thing since we leave for a cruise next weekend.

Hi Debbie - Hope you and Sue are both doing well. Funny you said you would do Iceland again - Marge and I have said the same thing since we were on that cruise with you. Funny thing is - Holland had their 1 day deposit sale of $1 this week and we went ahead and booked the 25 day cruise to Iceland on the Volendam 7/12/25. Now we have something great to look forward to. Say Hi to Sue. Take care! Maryell

I did the same thing today. We’ve been watching the 25 day Iceland cruise out of Boston 7/12/25 but did not want to put down the $3500 deposit for a cruise more than a year away. Today I was able to book at the same price that has been offered for the last couple months and only put down the $2. I booked this because we plan on taking this cruise and saving that big deposit was worth it for us.

Bruno - so sorry to hear about your father’s passing. You were both blessed to share a great life together and that you were with him all the way to the end. You were an awesome caregiver and put your life on hold to be able to make his better. You were a wonderful son. When the time is right you’ll be able to take a most needed break and I’m sure he will be smiling down on you from above. I hope someday our paths will cross again and we be on a same cruise again and you can tell us stories of happier times. Take care of yourself and know a lot of people are thinking and praying for you. Maryell.

Ouch Debbie. So sorry to see the troubles your eye is causing you. Hope your treatments start clearing this up. I follow along on the daily so I saw that you and Sue had a fun vacation to Hawaii. Wish we could have joined you. Take care of yourself and tell Sue I said Hi. We all had some fun times on that Iceland trip. I’d love to go back there again. We are doing a 14 day cruise May 5th to Alaska with Marinda and Larry that you met on the Iceland cruise - we will have a drink in your honor! Take care Maryell

I too had trouble entering my gift cards towards my final payment. It took all the info but then wouldn’t finish the transaction. I saw the place to enter the credit card info under the gift cards so I tried to place a charge of $100 to my Discover card along with the gift card payment. When I hit enter it said transaction complete. I thought all was good until I made the final payment and asked my PCC to send me a new invoice showing paid in full. I checked and the day I made payment with both gift card and credit card it showed the total being charged to my Discover card. When I checked my gift card balances still showed the $500 on each of them. After talking to my PCC again he gave me the reservation accounting department. Their phone number is 888-663-5384. I called and she informed me that if you enter gift cards and then try to also pay some with credit card - the credit card automatically takes the full charge and the gift cards are not charged at all. I questioned why they even give that option to combine different options of payment if it didn’t work like it should and she didn’t know. She also could not tell me why it wouldn’t accept just the gift card payment. She was great to work with and took the gift card numbers and she put the credit back on my Discover card. Hope this helps.

Watching the Konsingdam leaving San Diego pier right now on the San Diego Web Cam. What a gorgeous ship. Safe travel to Debbie and Sue and all the others from the daily.

I hope you all have a great time - lots of blue skies and calm seas. Debbie and Sue - wish we were joining you on this fantastic cruise. Seems like you have a great group to hang out with. I’ll have to follow your adventures on the daily. Have lots of fun and please give Sue my congratulations on her new grand baby. Maryell

Bruno - thanks for taking the time to update all your cruise critic friends on the status of your dad. I know this is a hard time for you as you had hoped one day to be able to cruise with him again. Please take care of yourself and know that you are always in my thoughts and prayers. Maryell

I guess for us it is more than one thing that made us decide to book with Holland. The knowledge that if anything happens on the way to Vancouver the ship will wait or Holland will make arrangements for us to catch up with the ship. Plus we like the convenience of not having the extra stops and time spent on the bus. We have booked shuttles in the past with Holland without issues for the difference in the price wasn't an issue with us.

That sounds great for younger people in great health - but not an option for us as we are 2 senior citizens with back and knee issues. For us it’s worth the extra cost to hand our bags over to the cruise line shuttle and not have to struggle with it. Maybe this option will work for the original person that posted. Thanks so much.

We are on a 14 day Holland America round trip Alaska out of Vancouver May 5, 2024 and found much better flights out of Seattle. Holland offers a shuttle before and after the cruise to Seattle Airport. The cost is $84 each way. It is more money than the Quick Shuttle but it doesn’t have the extra stops that the Quick Shuttle shows on its schedule. Maybe Princess offers a similar shuttle next year.

Bruno - So glad to see your updated posting. Since meeting you on the 2021 Alaska cruise I always watch for you to post to see how you and Dad are doing. Was sorry to hear about your stroke but good to hear that you made it thru without new deficits. I’m sure the new location has made life easier for you to manage with your Dad. Dad is blessed to share his living space with you as you are such a caring person. I hope someday that we will be able to cruise together again. I wish you two a wonderful holiday - and please when you have time - keep us updated. Take care Maryell

Thank you so much

Thanks Roy. I have followed along on the daily for quite awhile - seldom do I post. But I was lucky enough to finally meet Debbie and Sue and hang out with them on our 25 day Iceland cruise on the Zaandam this August. Also met Sandy and her Husband. It was fun to put faces to these people I’ve been following. Cruise critic is a great place to get useful information for upcoming cruises. The Daily has some delightful and caring people posting and I enjoy following along. Maryell

Debbie - congrats on the upsell on your Hawaii cruise. Hope you and Sue have a great time. Maryell

I have the same experience with my PCC who is in Seattle and hope I never lose him. He always has time to answer my questions and I never feel rushed when on the phone with him. I can either call or email him and have always gotten a response quickly. I wish every one had the same experience with the PCC as we do.

Thanks so much - makes me feel a lot more confident in our choice of flights to return home.

Thanks for your response. Hoping as the month goes on others coming off the cruise ship and heading to the airport will also give us some input also.