sandyss

Does anyone know if there are Mah Jongg game on board the Zuiderdam?

Thanks.

IF the Cuba ports are not eliminated because of Trump's directive, you should just be able to follow Canadian rules. 

We (US citizens) also have a Cuba cruise scheduled, and I have already booked private tours in both Cuban ports and am planning to use "support for the Cuban people" for the visa IF our cruise is not cancelled.  Cuba could be removed from the Cuba itineraries if US citizens aren't allowed to go there, strange as that may seem.

Also, because of the policy change by Trump, Carnival Corporation (owner of Holland America) is being sued for using Cuban port facilities that were confiscated from American owners in 1960.  

So, everything can change.

You can check to see which Neptune Suites are still available on that departure.  (I always go to the website for the Big Box Store.)  I looked at the deck plan for the New Statendam, and the only Neptunes that are less than ideal (my opinion due to possible ship motion) are the two Neptune Suites on Deck 11, and possibly the two directly below on Deck 10, at the forward corners of the ship.  Nevertheless, as Dave just said, I would take ANY Neptune Suite that I could get.

Maybe someone who has actually stayed in the forward corner Neptune Suites could give their opinion.

 What ship are your parents on? If it is the Zuiderdam or a similar ship, all of the Neptune suites are good. 

If they can get the guaranteed Neptune Suite, they should definitely take it.  Lots of great benefits for Neptune Suites and the Neptune Suites are much larger than the Signature Suites.  Breakfast in the Pinnacle Restaurant, free Laundry, lunch snacks in the Lounge, etc.  They may have to wait for a cabin assignment, but all the Neptune Suites are great.

We're hoping to avoid the self-disembarkation if we can, since we will have heavy luggage (after a 24 day cruise).  That's why I posted this question.

Thank you. That is just the kind of information that I need.

Do we need to disembark that early in order to be out of the terminal by 9:00 am?  The reason for my question is to find out how much time to allow once we depart the ship. 

How efficient is the customs/immigration procedure for US citizens at Black Falcon?  How long should we allow for that?

We just need to call or text our guide when we walk out of the terminal.  He will pick us up in front of the terminal.  We will be arriving on the Zuiderdam, and should have nothing to declare.

I'm trying to figure out if we should self-disembark or request an early disembarkation time.  We could also ask our guide to start our tour a little later. (Its a 3 hour tour from the port to the airport.)

We will be disembarking in Boston.  Boston will be our only US port - the prior port is Halifax.  Has anyone had experience with a similar itinerary and know how long it will take us to clear customs/immigration after we leave the ship?  Our ship arrives in Boston at 7:00 am and we will be picked up for a private tour at 9:00 am.  (We are the only ship in port that day.)  Thanks for any advice that you can provide.

1 hour ago, 2Beeze said:

Fortunately or unfortunately, the “ignore” at cc doesn’t act as a block as the kind that is at FB  (although I sooooo wish that it did!). My understanding is that you will no longer see the ignored person’s post and other type of entries, but they can still see everything you post. So you might blissfully I aware, but that person can keep snapping (or whatever behavior it is that wish to avoid) you if they wish. 

My aim was to avoid seeing the repetitive rants from a certain person.  She can keep it up, but at least I won't waste my time reading her posts in the future.

FYI

If you hover your cursor over the name of a poster, you can check "Ignore User".  Then you need to choose what to ignore.  There are 4 choices.  Check the options that you want and hit Update.

I just used that feature, and it worked great!!

1 hour ago, Granny DI said:

Agree 100%! DH says if HAL substitutes Bahamas etc....we are bailing! Luckily final payment isn’t for awhile and our deposit was only $100. We’ll lose the $100 to avoid the Bahamas.

Unless ports that we like are substituted, and the cost reduced, we will bail also - even though we already have air booked.

If HAL makes changes to the Cuba itineraries, I hope that they also make changes to the pricing since we are paying premium prices for the cruises that stop in Cuba.

We seem to be getting somewhat off-topic. 

Since we are among those who have chosen to travel to Cuba, I am more interested in finding out the status of our cruise.  We have a cruise to Cuba booked in December.

Has anyone talked with HAL and found out anything further as to whether cruises will be allowed to dock in Cuba later this year????

I have another question.  If we purchase an 8 bottle wine package, can we get the same wine several times?  (We much prefer reds.)  

Isn't CC owned by TripAdvisor (or vice versa)? 

TripAdvisor has completely changed their format which used to be so easy to use.  They have monetized it.  When you look for things to do, you get ads for tours. It is now almost impossible to see "Traveler Ranked" things to do.

When you look for hotel recommendations, the first thing that comes up is "Recommended" or "Best Value" hotels.  It is necessary to use a drop-down box to request "Traveler Ranked".

I now use TripAdvisor much less than I used to.

I wonder what CC will do to monetize the CC Community Forums?

Are the Explore 4 fares refundable?  We do like to be able to re-fare if a lower overall price becomes available.  Thanks.

On 3/3/2019 at 5:43 PM, sandyss said:

I clicked on the link, and the offer showed up.  I clicked on the offer, and it is now showing up as added.  Now to see if it actually works, since it wasn't originally one of my offers.  Keeping my fingers crossed.

It worked!!  The link was not originally included in the offers on my AmEx Hilton card. The credit came through around one day after the payment to HAL posted.

43 minutes ago, Jennifire7 said:

 

 

No luck using the link either, still doesn't show up in my offers. Did you have to chat with somebody to have it added?

I clicked on the link, and the offer showed up.  I clicked on the offer, and it is now showing up as added.  Now to see if it actually works, since it wasn't originally one of my offers.  Keeping my fingers crossed.

Does anyone know how difficult it was to get early tender tickets for private tours?

My DH has "decorated" our suitcases with wide strips of tape.  It's very easy to find them.

My favorite port in Norway was Leknes.  From there we were able to take a tour to the Lafoten Islands - all the way to the last island - a colorful fishing village called "A".  It is a string of islands  - connected by tunnels and bridges, with mountains, colorful fishing villages, and stunning scenery.  Since none of the ship tours went all the way to "A", we arranged a private tour.  (We had gone with Celebrity on that cruise.)

1 hour ago, 138east said:

Trip advisor reviews indicate there is assistance with luggage on the water taxi.

 

Here are other options: https://freetoursbyfoot.com/luggage-storage-boston/

I’m only familiar with the bus station storage on the top floor accessible by elevator.  The bus station is down the block from South Station.  The Faneuil Hall  and Boston Common areas are walkable as well as accessible by public transit.  Boston Common is 2 stops on the Red Line and the Faneuil Hall area is accessible via the Red Line and a transfer to the green or orange line to Goverment Center or Haymarket.  https://cdn.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/Documents/Schedules_and_Maps/Rapid Transit w Key Bus.pdf

They are also a quick taxi/Uber ride.

Great website for luggage storage.  Thank you so much.

19 hours ago, 138east said:

For $25/pp you can take the Rowe’s Wharf water taxi from the pier to Rowe’s Wharf, store your luggage including carryons for the day, and take the water taxi to the airport.  This leaves you free to ride the Hoho bus, walk the Freedom Trail, and/or explore the Faneuil Hall area as well as gets you from the ship downtown and from downtown to the airport. http://www.roweswharfwatertransport.com/luggage-storage

Freedom Trail Walking tours - https://www.thefreedomtrail.org/tours

 

This assumes you can roll your luggage to the water taxi and from the water taxi to the free shuttle bus at Logan Airport.

Thanks for the suggestion.  But we had already looked at this possibility, and are concerned about getting our luggage on and off the small boat.