sunviking90

3 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

If I were you, I would call back and ask if anything has opened up.  And keep doing so!  You can check (by doing a mock booking) ahead of time to see if anything shows up.  Again, be prepared with your credit card and a deck plan.  

 

We have been in a SS on the Eurodam.  It wasn't the best location, but the larger bathroom, with double sinks was well worth the extra.  $219pp is a good deal!

Great advice. Don’t wait for them to call you. Availability can change daily.

7 minutes ago, Wehwalt said:

The OP posted almost identically to the Holland America and Carnival boards. The motivation to do such is uncertain, but may have to do with the 21st century connotations of the word "plantation", which are negative. I could be wrong. But I would take care.

Yes, this is where my mind went at that particular word. It wasn’t a positive connotation for sure, but uncertain exactly what they mean.

Thank you for doing this trip report. We are booked on Oosterdam’s return voyage at the end of October, so we are eagerly following along. I’m glad to hear the Step One Dance Company is aboard. 

We love the signature suites. I’m not sure if there are bad locations. We’ve always had them on guarantee and always been happy with the location. If you can get one for a good price, go for it. Is that price for 7 days?

Previous answers are likely correct that HAL has group space and that is waitlisted. Ask you TA (or do it yourself) to book separately and it will likely be cheaper. Register for Accor’s loyalty program first and you get 5-10 % off the rate and included wifi. 
Transfers are not really necessary in Vancouver IMHO. If you are mobile and able to manage your bags, there is the skytrain that goes from the airport right downtown. The taxis are also flat rate from YVR to downtown for about $41 CAD. I don’t know what they charge for transfers, but I’m sure it’s more than that and in USD, and per person. We like Uber, but are not fans of it here since we had a driver falling asleep while driving us to the airport at 4 am.
Fairmont Waterfront is closest to Canada Place (across the street). Fairmont Vancouver Hotel is a beautiful classic hotel, but about 4 blocks up from the waterfront, more in the shopping area.

Here are some photos of Zaandam 1877:

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/ships/stateroom-details.php?ship=Zaandam&cabin=1877
It looks quite spacious.

Even checking it before debarking they can muck it up. We had about $25 in port charges refund sitting on ours that somehow had been zeroed out when I got the email final bill. Creative accounting. I called to try to rectify, but I’m sure we can all imagine how well that went these days. In the end decided my time was worth more than the $25. Too frustrating speaking to idiots.

This was months ago, so I’m sure there isn’t a check in the mail.

17 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

In 2017 when we were spending a season cruising out of Sydney, I bought my mom an iPad and put a shortcut to that webcam on the Home Screen.  When I replaced her iPad in 2022, I neglected to do that (since we were no longer cruising out of Sydney) and she called me to tell me how much she missed it and that she looked at it every day. I had to correct that ASAP!  It is quite entertaining. 

Aww, that’s very sweet. 

Glad to see you’re doing a live trip report. We always enjoy following along. There is certainly room for more than one as they are often the most interesting content on these forums.

22 minutes ago, shakuyi said:

 

thats the issue right there, the fact that you think its ok to give a 3rd party this info says a lot already. You may not think its not a lot but its too much.

We blocked out our address too, and it was accepted. Stockperks is managing the OBC regardless of how you send it to them.

7 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

That's just way too much work. 

 

Stockperks app it takes 30 seconds to apply and a day for the OBC to appear. 

Agree. This is helpful info for those who are not comfortable using the app, but much harder. We blacked out personal info when submitting our original docs on the app, and found the process much easier than the old way.

We had our upcoming cruise refared a couple of times and most recently after final payment! Our CVP is great. We were able to keep the hefty OBC attached when we booked last year too. Of course now it’s on the Drop and Go even cheaper but it can’t be refared to that special she says. We are still about even with our OBC though.

We have decided now that unless it’s a real bucket list cruise to wait until 2 months before sailing to book. I know most on here would disagree, but there are about 3 itineraries we are eying for 2025 and all of them went for about 40% less a couple of months before this year's sailing. 
 

5 hours ago, gknep said:

I still enjoy actually reading books. I cannot get the hang of listening to them on a regular basis. 

 

Same. I have tried audio books when my library only had that option of a particular book I wanted, but I find the reader’s voice a distraction, for fiction anyway. So much of the enjoyment of a good book to me is how you picture and hear things in your own mind while reading.

I know many enjoy audio books though by choice or necessity, so they’re a great option to have.

I would not sail this itinerary without a balcony. Keep in mind it is almost a whole day transiting as you go through the first locks, into Gatun Lake, then through the second set of locks. In between it is beautiful and tropical and you can hear the birds, etc. Yes, it is nice to be out in the decks, but it is also nice to have your own private area to enjoy it. 
I actually ended up with Covid on our Panama  Canal cruise last August and was confined to the room on the transit day. I was able to fully enjoy it from our balcony. I sat out there for hours.

2 hours ago, liamur14 said:

I have signed up and have never received an email from them, can you post the link?Not in junk folder. thanks

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/ca/cruise-deals/top-ten-cruises?camp=CME:20240404_HEP2418MP2_CAD&rmid=20240404_HEP2418MP2_CAD&rrid=11102582922&lid=primarycta&XID=EXTHEM202404044RD3MS63SQ

Log in too. There are some amazing private fares that also come up.

4 hours ago, stbr said:

 

Rent a car! Nova Scotia is incredible!

 

When we had a port day in Sydney, we rented a car and took our kids to the Fortress of Louisbourg for the day. It was fantastic. 

 

You could also drive north to see some of the famous Cabot Trail. 

 

Get out and see more than the port. You won't regret it. 

This! We drove the Cabot trail as far as Cape Breton National Park. A beautiful drive. The rental car agency was a short taxi ride away from the port. People there are SO friendly too! Some agencies used to pick people up at the port but I’m not sure if they still do.

We usually show up around 10:15 and we’re on board for lunch. The main backlog at Canada Place is the US customs processing for Alaska cruises. Fortunately they now have a Nexus line.

We have had balconies aft on Baja deck and thought they were just fine. We are not overly picky, but do prefer aft cabins. You’re right that in your ship the “premium” will be the same, but likely larger balcony (Caribe deck I think, or full aft)

Personally, I wouldn’t bother changing unless it was for a mini suite which will give you lots more space and a sofa in the cabin itself. 
If you’re not choosy about the location you could try to bid for a mini suite, but contact Princess first and ask how much to upgrade your cabin first. 

There will also be enrichment lectures in the main theatre on most days. Usually Alaska themed. We really enjoyed the one given by Libby Riddles (first woman to win the Iditarod). 

I’m guessing it is a standby program like the one HAL has rolled out. 

2 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

For this reason we avoid Spring Break season for cruising and as stated, the 7 day or shorter routes.

 

Exactly. You couldn’t pay me to take a 7 day cruise during spring break weeks. The Pinnacle Class ships are also more popular with families and younger cruisers. I’m hardly a HAL cheerleader, but this is not a situation unique to HAL. All mass market lines will be full of kids and families during spring break.

The kids sail free thing is hardly new either. We started sailing HAL when our son was a young teen (16-17 years ago) because they frequently had kids sail free or 3rd and 4th in the cabin free. We used to joke that they obviously had no idea how much teenage boys eat, or they wouldn’t have allowed him on for free, lol.

Thank you to all for taking us along on this cruise! Safe travels home.

@canadianbear, yes no rush to the airport if you’re on AC. They will NOT let you drop your bags early. We had to wait an hour to do so last time.

@BermudaBound2014 Give my regards to Kapalua! One of my favourite places.

13 hours ago, LN1Casey said:

There is technically no difference in space between queen and twin set up, since the space of the room doesn't change, the bed sizes don't change, and it's just the placement.  However, it's perception of space, since two the "small" sides of the queen are combined into one between the twins.  It may be more workable space, such as stretches or yoga, but it's not more space.

 

It's a matter of preference.  I prefer queen to be with my DH, but if I was going solo, I'd do the Twin set up for the center space.

This is another reason why we like the Queen set up. I like to do yoga, etc and it’s pretty tight when they are twins. I really noticed this when I cruised with my sister instead of DH once.

Lately I’ve had no problems with the website on my new Ipad just using Safari. In fact it’s working much better than before. It was very clunky on my old IPad though. I have had to “whitelisted” the website with my content blocker and enable pop ups. 

1 hour ago, SilvertoGold said:

As Canadians we are a bit surprised to see at least for Alaska the pricing on our account in CND is much the same as the USD standby pricing plus the exchange rate. Can't imagine going standby and not saving a bundle, let alone coming out more or less even!

Yes, us too. Not a deal for Vancouverites for sure. And we could apply our CCL stock credit, and get OBC with the current 50% off last minute sale. Now, if a Vancouver to Hawaii itinerary showed up on the list, we would sign up for sure.