sunviking90

The Lido on HAL used to be (in my mind) one of the best for selection and food quality. No longer. On the Zuiderdam last summer we came back onboard at 3:30 hungry and just wanted a little something to tide us over. There was NO FOOD in the Lido! Not even the usual Pizza, pasta,salad section. We were told to go to the Dive In which had a line up about 50 people deep. Didn’t want a heavy burger, so went up to Explorations cafe (for the first time this cruise). I remembered they used to have little snacks and desserts up here. Nope. Was told they had had some macarons but they were all gone. Went back to the room to order room service and told a wait of 1 hour. By this time it was 4pm and our dinner in MDR was 5:30, so we just left it. While I love HAL ships and the classic design (promenades that you can walk on!), I’m not in a rush to get back on HAL. In comparison, we have taken a number of cruises on Princess in the last year, and while they have their issues too, the bounty in the buffet is amazing! I’m not even a big buffet person anyway, but there is always something there I feel like having. I will say that I do prefer HALs system of serving people. There are too many things I need to “unsee” when the buffet is all self serve.

We also have Nexus, but I have never seen a separate line at the port. We also have never experienced the wait times people are having now, so possibly I never noticed? We usually cruise later in the season and arrive around 10:30.

This. You have been cleared already. They just use the same letters all the time.

Thank you for your trip report. I just want to clarify that it is only US (not Canadian) customs you are clearing on embarkation at Canada Place. I suspect this is why things are often so delayed there. Almost all have to be funneled through the USBP, after checking in with their respective cruise line. im glad you enjoyed your time (pre-embarkation) in Vancouver!

Really enjoying your trip report! We were on the Discovery Princess next to you in Victoria. Here is a shot of you sailing in. Canada Place seems to be especially crazy at the beginning of the cruise season. Being a seasonal port, combined with more passengers than the place was designed for (even after expansion) can be chaotic. It is also (I think) one of the only ports in North America where you have to clear US customs on embarkation. We usually sail out of it later in the season and it seems to be a bit better then, but even living here we are sometimes confused as to where to go. I find some of the the waiting areas are now the exhibition halls I used to attend dental conventions in! It is all worth it to sail the beautiful inside passage though. Sorry we didn’t have better weather for you today! Enjoy part two of your journey!

If you’re not already locked into your San Pedro hotel choice, consider staying at LAX, then Ubering the morning of the cruise. We usually do this (late pm arrival) and the LAX hotel shuttles pick up right at the airport as opposed to the Ubers. We usually only pay around $30 the morning of the cruise to get to San Pedro (30 min)

I guess we all have our own systems of remembering things. Our car keys are the last thing we would think of as we don’t drive to the port, so they’re put away. I would never forget my wallet though. It comes out of the safe and into my purse the night before we disembark.

We use the safe for my wallet which has the passports, credit cards etc. I really wonder why people would put their keys in there though. Do they think someone from the ship will steal their car or break into their home? I put the keys in a zippered compartment in my tote bag and leave them there.

Yes, I remember the tags from HAL. Those tags actually don’t bother me. It’s the only way I can ever remember which cabin we sailed in!

Because it’s France and they will taste so unbelievably good! The problem is that you won’t want to touch the ship croissants after that. I agree that you don’t want to try bringing on a banquette! A baguette will fit for sure tho!

Yes, it doesn’t make sense at all though. I don’t really know until after my main course if I’ll want dessert, or whether I want a light one, etc.

Thank you everyone for your replies. Very helpful.

We are going on a 7 day cruise and I was thinking of prepurchasing a laundry bag. What is the general turn around time? We are travelling after the cruise, so I’d like to have it done as late as possible. Thanks!

Good Morning to all the Dailyites and thank you for all the contributions as usual! Grilled is cheese is the ultimate comfort food in our house and best enjoyed on a rainy day. My darling niece is a lawyer, so of course I’ll be kind to her! We’ve never been to Brazil, but it’s another one on these new retirees bucket list. Today is a beautiful sunny day in Vancouver, and we kick off our 2023 cruise ship season with the Sapphire Princess today and Konigsdam tomorrow. Best wishes to everyone!

Agree. We’ll be trying Concierge class next week only because it was actually cheaper than the veranda staterooms! The extra points make it worthwhile, but I’m. It expecting much difference. We always enjoy lunch on embarkation on Princess, but anyone can go.

So, I went in again to look at the Canadian at par offers and it does what yours does. The Standard is the same as Plus. If you click through it is higher though.

I was told on another thread that the 14 is treated as two 7 days if it is also bookable that way, even if you book it as 14. The advantage of booking it as 14 would be some savings on port charges, but as she points out the cabin selection is not as good for the 14 as they obviously have a lot of them allotted for the 7 day itineraries as well as the cruise tour combos in Alaska. I think she will be bidding as a 14 day itinerary only.

Thank you Norwaylady for once again taking us along 😊. Have a safe trip home (the cats are waiting) and I look forward to reading about your next adventure!

It seems to work for me and I’m in Canada. Also, check you’re getting the best price with your PVP. The website prices are often incorrect, as you see mine is lower than yours. I recently booked a cruise with pricing my PVP had (as well as TAs) and it never showed that cheap online.

Ship: Solstice Length of Cruise: 7 days Cruise Sail Date: April 15, 2023 Date email offer received: January 30, 2023 (day we booked) Captain’s Club Tier [“PREVIEW” = first Celebrity Cruise]: Select Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: CVP Current Cabin: Concierge Bid? Yes/No: Yes If YES - Bidding Details: Cabin Category: Royal Suite $1360 CAD$ Celebrity Suite $945 CAD$ Sky Suite $700 CAD$ Aqua Class $75 Bid Offer: $85 for AQ Notification Date: bid still pending. Accepted / Rejected: pending, but sailing is sold, so a no go. General Comments (offer details, etc.) went cheap to match a couple we are travelling with. Didn’t want one of us to be upgraded if the other wasn’t. Originally booked Concierge as it was cheaper than Veranda and got a great rate, OBC, etc, so happy with the double points on Concierge.

I didn’t say that I kept it. I honestly don’t remember if I sent it back or not.

I love the bunny napkin fold!

Thanks for your review! Beautiful photos in the link. I haven’t been on this class of ship and it looks lovely. I’m glad you got to see the Origin Story in its entirety. I really enjoyed it last year. I agree with you about not sticking with one line. We also like to change it up and enjoy the variety and differences.

Happy Easter to all who celebrate it. It looks to be a rainy day here, but for now it is dry and the birds are singing. Thank you to all who contribute in so many ways every day to this thread. Thank you to @grapau27 for Fr. David’s message and to @kochleffelfor the very interesting explanations of Jewish traditions. Robin Williams was right, but thankfully I don’t experience rush hour anymore. His was a very sad loss. I’ve been to the War Rooms In London and found it very interesting particularly as both of my parents were in Britain as children. Mum in London and Dad in Jersey under German occupation. A very good book on Winston Churchill is “The Spendid and the Vile” by Erik Larson. I haven’t been to todays destination, but I’m sure I will one day. Todays dinner won’t be shrimp, but Pork roast and Lemon Meringue Pie for dessert, which I should start baking about now. Cheers to all.

Our last one for our Hawaii cruise in January was accepted about 20 days before. The cruise was only about 70% full. I think it depends whether they anticipate the cruise selling out or not.