jschm27

Jacqui...This has been so discouraging that I may decide to bag cruising and just do land vacations. We bought a Roadtrek RV after selling the inn (DH's dream) and we may just travel in that. The upside is that we can bring the dogs.

 

Quite honestly, I don't have the energy to shop around and find another cruise line that suits us. I HATE change, and it's evident with this whole debacle.

 

We have been very happy cruising HAL but I think the way they handled this whole situation has been beyond disgraceful.

 

We'll do the NA in October and the Maasdam in January. I was seriously considering jumping ship at the end of that cruise to the Noordam for another 11 days...but forget that. We'll probably fly home, unpack and repack and hop in the Roadtrek and head South to get out of the New England winter.

Hey Sheila!

Just returned about 1.5 week ago from an across US voyage in our motor home. Once we got to Texas, pretty much followed the Gulf Coast, west side of Florida, out to Key West and Dry Tortugas, up the eastern seaboard until Charleston, when the urge to hug the grandson exceeded our desire to go further north. All in all we were gone about 6 months, and (to bring it back to this thread), I took a case of wine AND liquor onboard and nobody said a thing! When in New Orleans, we went to a rum distillery and restocked and... no one said a thing! I didn't even have to pay corkage!

While we can, we're "cruising" the USA in our coach, and then doing an occasional ocean cruise. In a few years, when driving becomes less enjoyable, we plan to transition to more ocean cruises, and restrict our land "cruises" to locations that are nearer.

Have fun in the Roadtrek!

Best of regards,

John

I hope you had a great cruise. Sounds like fun!

It was FANTASTIC ! :D

 

And thank you in advance for taking over responding to questions on this thread! I do appreciate that.

No Problemo.

 

I've read this entire thread and several other threads relating to Montreal and followed several of the links. They not quite answered my questions but have provided good information. I considered taxi to 747 bus, but it doesn't quite meet our needs. Here's our situation:

 

We are arriving in Montreal on Saturday, 7 September on MAASDAM. We will be a party of three. My mother-in-law at 85 years has limited mobility (needs walker or wheel chair, which we will have one of each). Our flight departs YUL at 3:20 PM so we need to be at the airport around noon.

Correct. You will be clearing US customs & immigration here in Montreal, and the queues can sometimes be long.

 

I'm thinking that taking a taxi would be the easiest way to go since it involves loading and unloading only once. I see that the fares are flat rate $55.

Correct per the latest information I have in my head.

Suggest you consult list of Montreal Taxi firms here:

http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=2760,3093741&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

Several firms have 'accessible' taxis for the needs of people like your mother-in-law. They could also confirm the flat-rate to the airport. You can also reserve the taxi ahead of time.

 

I've read here and I think on another thread that getting a taxi at the quay is difficult. Is that the case? If so how do I resolve?

Not normally, especially when a cruise ship arrives. Also see previous response, you could print off the list of taxi companies to bring with you.

 

Do the taxis take credit cards? I have both a standard US cards and will be getting a pin and chip before we depart.

Yes, and usually no problem with U.S. cards.

 

If the taxi takes credit card, can I add tip directly to the card? (I've never used taxis a lot).

Yes...although the drivers do prefer cash.

 

US$ or Can$ preferred if I have to go with cash?

Either one is fine...the US dollar is slightly stronger than the Canadian dollar right now, so they should not give you any grief about exchange.

 

I looked into a limo service and it appears downtown to the airport is $70.

Correct

 

I've used limo before in Seattle that caters to cruisers. Once you debark, call limo service to let them know you are waiting and limo arrives within 10 minutes. Do the limos in Montreal work similar?Yes...you can even reserve it ahead of time...see here:

http://www.montreallimousine.ca/airport.html

 

Any other helpful hints would be greatly appreciated!

Merci beaucoup!

John

Just wondering-----

 

Why can DW bring wine onboard and I cant bring an equal amount of beer?

It isn't obvious to the casual observer, but all alcoholic beverages are not created equal!

I have a solution, buy your beer in brown bottles and simply put a new label on to reflect it's higher and more esteemed status.

Here's an idea for your own custom label:

Chateau de Anheuser-Busch

Bud Lite Poids

Appellation de St. Louis

Biere de Qualite Superieure

Mis en une grande casserole par

Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis, USA

12 fl oz

:D:D:D

OK, I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but to have a little fun. I like to drink beer too.

Regards

John

Next idea: Folks who don't want to bring wine on can act as "mules" for the rest of you. I'll be interested to see what the going rate is LOL

Hmmm? At first I volunteered to do it for free and just be a nice guy, but you know, you have a good idea! How about a one glass surcharge of the wine muled (a new verb?) onboard :D.

Just kidding, still willing to do it for free.

Regards

John

We're taking my mother-in-law on her first (and likely only) cruise in September. I've always wanted to call her a mule; now I have the perfect opportunity!!

 

Actually, I like her a lot, but the idea still amuses me.

LOL: Taking my DMIL on her second cruise late August. If I called her a mule, she'd club me :D .

Regards

John

I just sent a letter regarding the wine allowance. I told them if it isn't changed back immediately, I will never pay the service charge again. I'll buy wine with the tip money.

Please don't hurt the hard working crew. They are not responsible for the policy change and not paying the service charge doesn't affect HAL at all, only the crew.

If you want to spend your money somewhere where it may have an effect on HAL, consider not taking HAL sponsored shore exs. That hurts the tour operators as well, but benefits the ones you do book with.

Regards

John

Hi P Mori!

I hope you had a great cruise. Sounds like fun!

And thank you in advance for taking over responding to questions on this thread! I do appreciate that.

I've read this entire thread and several other threads relating to Montreal and followed several of the links. They not quite answered my questions but have provided good information. I considered taxi to 747 bus, but it doesn't quite meet our needs. Here's our situation:

We are arriving in Montreal on Saturday, 7 September on MAASDAM. We will be a party of three. My mother-in-law at 85 years has limited mobility (needs walker or wheel chair, which we will have one of each). Our flight departs YUL at 3:20 PM so we need to be at the airport around noon.

I'm thinking that taking a taxi would be the easiest way to go since it involves loading and unloading only once. I see that the fares are flat rate $55.

I've read here and I think on another thread that getting a taxi at the quay is difficult. Is that the case? If so how do I resolve?

Do the taxis take credit cards? I have both a standard US cards and will be getting a pin and chip before we depart.

If the taxi takes credit card, can I add tip directly to the card? (I've never used taxis a lot).

US$ or Can$ preferred if I have to go with cash?

I looked into a limo service and it appears downtown to the airport is $70. I've used limo before in Seattle that caters to cruisers. Once you debark, call limo service to let them know you are waiting and limo arrives within 10 minutes. Do the limos in Montreal work similar?

Any other helpful hints would be greatly appreciated!

Regards

John

I have no problem with HAL changing the liquor policy, what I have a problem with is the way it was done.

I understand that a corporation has a responsibility to earn money for it's shareholders and if this change in policy does this then so be it.

I have a right, as a consumer, to receive what I have purchased. We are sailing in 18 days. I purchased a cruise from HAL in January and paid in full in May. At that time i was fully aware of the product i had purchased. I would think that an ethical company would provide the goods and services agreed upon in the contract.

If I were to be booking a cruise today I would be fully aware of the liquor policy and could make an informed decision as to whether or not this cruise line is for me.

Would this policy impact my decision? Probably not. I just do not like the feeling that this company can change the product willy nilly with no regard to those who had purchased and paid.

If I buy a chocolate glazed donut with sprinkles, I would be unhappy if I received it without the sprinkles. :-)

Well said.

John

HAL - You deserve to make a reasonable profit but there's got to be a better way to keep your bottom line robust rather than alienate your loyal customer base. We come back to you for a reason, we like the service that you provide and there is a lot that I like about HAL. But if your service erodes, unreasonable costs are added, overly zealous policies are enforced, and your product becomes unremarkable; your loyal customer base just may begin to look to your competitors to see what they have to offer. I do not want that to happen, but it appears that you may have already started that ball rolling.

But it's not be too late to correct. Please look to your roots and determine what makes HAL so special that it has the highest return rate for customers in the industry. Build on your strengths and add new ones where possible. Remember that little things do count. And do not forget to treat your customers well because ultimately we ARE your bottom line.

I wish you my best regards and good luck!

John

Here's a thought.

Purchase a decent but inexpensive ($10) bottle of wine in port. Purchase or take along some small plastic or paper cups. If they will not let you board the ship with your bottle just politely say you will take it off the ship. So you are off the ship, at the gangway, now pop the cork or unscrew the top and share that wine with your fellow passengers.

 

Sure hope I can remember to do this in December. And remember that wine you paid $10 for that HAL would charge you $35 - $40 probably only cost them $5 or less as they buy in bulk. We get 20% off at a local winery when we buy a case as we are wine club members. How much discount do they get with buying thousands of cases at a time?

 

I'll probably get flamed for what I am about to write, but here goes....

If the cruise lines think they need to make more $ they should raise the price of the cruise for everyone and lower their profit on things that only part of the people utilize. I'm not saying give product away, but be reasonable about the prices.. Those who drink should not make up for lost profit for everyone. Seems to me that the current price for that inside cabin is the same or even less than it was when we first started cruising for the same ports and number of days.. What has increased the price over the years is that we have choosen to book higher categories, longer cruises, and more exotic ports.

 

We will attain 4*'s during our next cruise. Booked a great deal with $1375 OBC from online TA. $400 OBC from HAL, and will have $250 OBC from owning CCL stock. If it wasn't for all the OBC I would be talking DH into canceling. We always take wine onboard, purchase wine packages, and drinks at the bar.

 

We are people who worked hard for our money and we live a simple life. We grow most of our vegetables and fruit, hunt for most of our meat which we butcher ourselves. We freeze, can, preserve, and dehydrate. We live this way so we can travel and feel like we can afford to splurge, we like good value for our money. We enjoy wine on our balcony, and wine with dinner but we can decrease how much we drink if we feel it is not a good value.

Hey Jeb!

I was just in your fair city a couple of weeks ago in my motor home. Spent a couple of days and enjoyed the Monument. I congratulate you on your lifestyle. I can see how a person can accomplish that in Grand Junction!

Regards

John

I see opportunity. I'm offering to become a wine mule, selflessly carrying on a bottle of wine...my one allowed bottle...to be a bottle of YOUR choice for YOUR consumption, for the low, low price of an inside cabin on the cruise of my choice. You won't come across a deal like this every day.

Hmmmm! I've been thinking about a new career that I can easily do in retirement! Count me in, I'll hire on!

John

This will be me on embarkation day:

 

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2245853465/

LOL! You will probably not be the only one!

Regards

John

The new policy won't affect me on my next cruise to the Canadian Maritimes. I've already bought a bottle of alcohol that will be delivered to my cabin at the start of the cruise and paid a goodly price for it. BUT I can certainly see how their new policy may affect my enjoyment of an, as of yet, unscheduled trip through the Mediterranean, or to the wine producing areas of Chile, or Argentina, or Australia, where I might want to take a shore ex and buy a bottle of wine to bring back to the ship to enjoy. BUT then again under the new policy, I just might not want to take the shore ex at all.... Who wants to visit a winery if you can't bring something back?

Folks, the new policy is all about the bottom line. A corporate bean counter feels that the new policy will allow HAL to at least maintain, if not improve the bottom line. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Frankly, I've bought their wine card in the past. I paid good money and expected decent wine (not great) and good pours. IMO, the wine they served was bulk, cheap wine and the wine steward poured me consistently a little over a half glass in a small glass.

I understand the need to grow the bottom line, but I also understand the need to serve and PROTECT your customer base, otherwise the bottom line will suffer as loyal customers flee.

Regards

John

I just read all 21 pages for the first time. Thanks to all the posters for your humor and creativeness! BTW, I looked up the post on the RCI boards that started this mess. There were about 7 posts and they were all serious! And no mention of this thread!

Too much fun. Now I gotta go. We be sailing on WESTERDAM in 2 days.

See ya

John

OMG. :eek: I thought this was a current thread. Only when I went back and saw that it has multiple pages did I relalize that it is somewhat historic. Thanks for bringing it back. This is funny stuff.

John

ROFL

John

I would not take pictures of people posed in front of the photographers backdrops, however. That does seem to cross a line.

RuthC - Yah, that would be pretty tacky. Hmmm.... Not a bad idea. :D

John

PS: Just kidding everyone.

OK. This question is sorta on track. I have an expensive camara that I intend to use to take photos of our family and friends at various places on ship including the MDR. I know the ship's photog roams around and takes photos that you can purchase. I don't think I am violating any rules by doing this but I am violating some unwritten cruise unwritten rule? I did it once before and no one said anything.

John

Several years ago, I bought some Platypus containers at REI that are designed for backpackers. They seem pretty darn durable and are made of heavy plastic. Just to be safe, I enclosed them in a large zip lock bag. Didn't have any problems with leaks or them being discovered when boarding.

John

I'm a newbie to cruising but I'm hooked. Our first cruise (and only cruise so far) was on VEENDAM to Alaska in September 2006. This was VEENDAM's 500th voyage. Guess I like the sea going life. I was in the Coast Guard Reserve for over 30 years and never got tired of getting under way. Next cruise is on ROTTERDAM for a Panama Canal transit.

I'm a newbie to cruising but I'm hooked. Our first cruise (and only cruise so far) was on VEENDAM to Alaska in September 2006. This was VEENDAM's 500th voyage. Guess I like the sea going life. I was in the Coast Guard Reserve for over 30 years and never got tired of getting under way. Next cruise is on ROTTERDAM for a Panama Canal transit.