*Miss G*

You should probably ask on the Seattle board or your cruise line. I think that Seattle is unique in that they send your luggage to the airport directly from the ship and check it for you. There is probably a cutoff time for this. FWIW, Seattle traffic is horrendous and it has always taken us a super long time from arrival at the airport to the gate. I always make sure that we are there at least three hours prior but I have never done it from a disembarking ship so I don’t have any experience with that.

I wonder why you have to call in? The prices are always in my emails. Do you go through a TA or something?

The Princess dining system is a disaster. We reserved in advance and never once did we dine at that time. Like Roz, we were never made to feel welcome and always had to wait. They even went so far as to blame us for their mess! As for the International Cafe, I tried their food three separate times (savoury dishes; not sweets) and it was terrible. Their coffee was okay but not great. The music in the atrium was nice. Princess is definitely not a line for us.

Thanks for your review, @Cruise Junky! I, too, am a fan of the pinnacle ships. Totally agree with you on the cocktails. I always have to specify that I would like them made with fresh lemon and not sweet… and especially no bar mix!! Mostly I get tired of that and just ask for vodka and soda. 😂 The frozen mango drink in Billboard is great and I never have to ask them to adjust it! Welcome to Holland America! Yes, there are shows at night. Take a look at some live report threads where some post the dailies and you can see what type of thing is on offer. You will not find elaborate production shows like they do on Princess (which I am with the OP and do not like). You can book for dinner or you can arrive at your own pace. Ask the Maitre d’ to recommend the best times to arrive to minimize your wait time. You can share a table or you can choose not to. Usually they will ask or you can offer to share. Yes, definitely tell the servers how you want your drinks. I always specify no bar mix because they are too overpowering. Enjoy your cruise!

No. But Canadians are treated welcomingly, and uniquely, in Florida in that snowbirds are allowed to have a Florida resident permit as well as a Florida resident driver’s license. That’s pretty neighbourly for a State which is far from the border.

The OP went to the trouble of finding the Canadian board to ask an honest question. Their query was quite the opposite of disrespectful and they should not be treated as though they are. We are better than that.

No. It is a HAL sponsored perq.

Same with Air Canada. It seems the Canadian airlines need to be closing the loop on their communications.

Wow. Grudging and disrespectful. Strong words. I prefer to remain on the neighbourly side of things. Back when Buffalo was trying to pull themselves out of a poor economy, they consulted with their neighbours north of the border and came up with a plan. Lots of Canadian-at-par back then, and lots of USD cheerfully accepted by Canadian businesses. It went so well that it expanded into urban planning, consulting, and growth as Ontario and New York worked together to help each other out. Grudging and disrespectful? That is not how I know Canadians to be and I hope that does not change.

Well, this took a turn. 😂

Oh, activities! I’ll be attending the Planetary Sciences talk but will skip Looking Good on Television as it all comes naturally. 😜 Apparently I was quite oblivious to what the Bright Lights Society was because I had no clue there was a murder-mystery onboard! I will definitely be attending that. And I have the perfect ensemble to wear for tonight’s gala! All I need now is a ship. 🫤

Whoa. That RCI ship practically obliterates Victoria. I wouldn’t be comfortable sailing on anything that size. Sorry you have to disembark today!

Beautiful! You picked a lovely day to visit. I’m loving the flowers!

Ah yes. The infamous web inconsistencies strike again. Here is the info from the Know Before You Go.

Oh good. You’re still there. 😂 I was going to recommend a walk over to Fisherman’s Wharf then catch the Water Taxi over to the Empress Dock. Enjoy Victoria! Oh wait. You had mentioned ChinaTown. The ferry takes you there too. 👍

Good luck!

Ah. I haven’t been in an OV or an Inside on the Zuiderdam so I didn’t realize they don’t have the same setup. My last voyage on her was six years ago (2018) and we had the wall-mounted flat-panels.

You might be thinking of the Zaandam. The Zuiderdam has had the large-screen wall TV’s for years.

They are probably oblivious to the light being on 24/7. I have mentioned it to the room steward when I had the same situation and it was turned off.

Yikes. Can you book with another carrier?

I always use CAA.

Hoping you are both fully recovered now. They asked me which arm I wanted the covid shot because they weren’t doing both in one arm. I chose my non-dominant side because I’ve been here before lol. The last 24 hours haven’t gone well. Basically, it’s been like a condensed version of the flu with a super painful arm added in for fun. I’m hoping to feel better tomorrow as there is much to do.

Thank you, @TeamCan I’ll give you the only other example I have. This time at YYZ. Daughter and I were heading off to the same England trip. Both chatting as we went through the regular line since she didn’t have Nexus. As we were flying together, I just assumed it would be the same as it is for land borders; that you both don’t get to use the Nexus lane if one of your party doesn’t have it, so you go to the regular lanes. We get called up, officer sees I have Nexus and makes me go over there. Then my daughter got sent to secondary and that is where I lost track of her. They wouldn’t let me wait for her. Lesson to me at the airports… always use the Nexus/Global Entry lane. lol

Count me in as someone looking forward to following along! Have a wonderful time and a safe trip. ⛴️

Is it too late for you to edit this thread as a poll? I think people are more likely to respond when they can remain anonymous… or they just don’t feel like commenting in a thread. It’s also easier to see the results.