muskokacruizerz

:mad:Just a warning: We arrived by cruise ship on July 21st, walked 20 minutes in the pouring rain to pick up our reserved rental car. They had no cars available, even though they had confirmed our reservation by e-mail 3 days earlier.

Didn't even offer to take us back to the ship.

Ruined our plans to visit Fortress Louisbourg.

Other review sites have posted similar reviews. Don't use this agency!

Try this link to the "old" website. Works for me. Good luck.

HAL should be soooooooo embarrased :o

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/?ASCookie=RSOrigin

First of all, thank you for posting this link. After 2 weeks of trying to salvage something from our 28-day Prinsendam booking (sail date June 17, 2017), which was cancelled by HAL because the Prinsendam is sold effectibe the mid-point of that cruise, I was able to find an alternative to keep the combination. Now have Prinsendam June 17-July 1, get off it and immediately board Rotterdam for the Baltic half.

Holland-America was absolutely useless during this situation. You would have thought that they could have offered me the combination I had to find for myself. As a 5-star Mariner, I am thoroughly disappointed by HAL's customer service during the past 12 months.

We are leaving in a few days for the Voyage of the Vikings. They'd better get it right....

I don't even understand how you could find Rotterdam itineraries after July 1 on HAL's website.

We have had our June, 2019 collector voyage cancelled because the 2nd half was to sail July 1.

It is worth noting I read about this on Cruisecritic fully 7 days before HAL had the courtesy to notify me and my travel agent. I also found out at that time that at least one cruisecritic member had been re-booked on the Rotterdam July 1 sailing. We were offered no such option. (I guess being a 5-star mariner has little influence on HAL.)

This situation had been aggravated because ever since I found out on July 2nd, HAL's website has blocked off all post-July 1 sailings from their cruise planning tool. Almost 2 weeks now. So how are we supposed to even look for an alternative? So I'm baffled when other cc members make reference to Rotterdam sailings...?

And now, for the past 24 hours or more, the planning link on HAL's website won't work at all, and the log-in link won't work.

HAL has really dropped the ball on this.

I hate to think we'll have to abandon HAL after all these years, and abandon the 5-star perks, We are sailing on the Voyage of the Vikings in 5 days, and I'm going to be particularly critical of our experience.

This current situation, along with other recent issues, has left a bad taste in my mouth...

Our ship is scheduled to stop in Sydney, first Canadian port after leaving Boston. Scheduled arrival is 8:00 a.m.

Anyone have any idea what is the earliest I should expect to be able to pick up a rental car?

Do we have to clear Customs & Immigration in Sydney or do the Canadian officials come onboard at the previous U.S. port to process passengers on the sea day in between?

Our cruise will end in Boston following a few stops in Canada.

Do the U.S, Customs & Immigration staff board the ship at the last Canadian port and do pre-clearance onboard during the final sea day, or will we have to do it all upon arrival in Boston?

I need some idea of what time we should expect to meet a booked shuttle service for a transfer to our car about an hour away. (Ship's arrival is scheduled for 7:00 a.m.)

Sorry to report that such long term parking is not available at Hanscom Field, so it looks like Worcester Airport is your best option. So glad you didn't pick the Holiday Inn in East Somerville.

 

Could you report back on your experience? You are not the first person to ask about parking for the "Voyage of the Vikings"

I can't thank you enough for all your efforts. I am quite comfortable with the Worcester Airport option.

The only other possibility, which I haven't explored in depth, would be to park my car at one of the self-storage companies in Worcester, or even better, Auburn. Either outside (if the yard is secure) or in a container. If I pursue this further, I'll update this thread.

And I'll try to remember to update this thread to report back on my experience with whatever option I choose.

Thanks again.

Have you looked into any of the off airport parking lots near Logan? It just seems ridiculous for you to park in Worcester and have to deal with the logistics of traveling back and forth.

Thanks for you comments. I did a quick search and the best parking deal I could find around Logan or close to the cruise terminal was the Holiday Inn Parking lot on Washington St.

It would cost me $360 to park there, plus about $50 for a taxi from there to the cruise terminal and back, so $410.

For the same amount (actually about $428), I can park at Worcester and let somebody else do the driving both ways between there and the pier.

Since I am coming from north of Toronto, it appears to me to be no more hassle to do that than to do what you suggest. Same amount of driving &/or being driven, same effort to park & transfer luggage... And for $18 more, I'm certainly prepared to let somebody else to the driving in Boston!

Again, thanks for the suggestion. It was worth a look.

But thanks for the suggestion

No call back from Massport. I will try to call again.

Please do not spend a lot of time on this on my behalf. It's really not worth the effort, IMO.

Not to say I don't appreciate everything you've done... because I DO!

As I said in an earlier post, even tho' it will cost me about $250 more to use the Worcester Airport parking, It will keep me out of the worst of the Boston traffic, so, although I haven't made a decision yet (and probably won't until much later (we sail in July), I'm still leaning strongly toward the Worcester option.:D

The Massport website is really uninformative. I did call and finally reached a very nice lady in the Airport Manager's office at Hanscom Field. Her boss isn't there today, but she will try to find out if it's possible to leave a car there for 38 days. She will also talk to the state police sergeant who manages the 7x24 State Police coverage at the airport. Hopefully I will get a call back this week.

 

I'm unclear about your morning timeline going to the pier. Where would you be leaving from and at what time? To get to Hanscom Field you would take I290 through Worcester to I495 north to route 2 East to route 2A east in Concord to the Hanscom Field entrance. At the height of rush hour there will be traffic on I495 and route 2, but later is better on these roads since they are not major routes into downtown Boston.

We hope to be at check-in for the cruise between noon and 12:30.

So transfer from either airport to the pier should be well past rush hour issues.

And return to the airport will be a Saturday morning.

A further update: Perseverance pays off.

I was finally able to find a phone number for Worcester Airport and was told there are no restrictions as to the length of time I can park.

When I tried to call Hanscom field with a number I found on the Massport website, I got an answering machine, so I chose not to leave a message for now. But I do know for sure the parking is free there, so let's assume there's no restriction.

I got a taxi fare estimate online, and it appears it would be about $63 less (incl. tip) to take a taxi round trip between Hanscom and the cruise terminal than taking the shuttle van quote I have for travelling between Worcester airport and the cruise terminal. (I expect the taxi fare would be a little more on a weekday morning.) Of that, about $15 would be taken up by additional fuel cost & tolls for me to travel between home & Hanscom rather than Worcester.

Then I would save $231 - $238 on parking, so let's say net I would save a total of $280 by using Hanscom Field.

I then have to balance that against the aggravation of driving that 45 extra miles further toward Boston on a weekday morning and (less a concern) back the other way on a Saturday. I hate driving in that heavy morning turnpike traffic, which is one of the reasons I chose to consider parking and taxi from Worcester rather than rent a car somewhere around Springfield and drive into the cruise terminal area. I've heard horror stories about driving there!

I don't have to make a decision for another couple of months, so I'm certainly open to any additional comments and suggestions. Thanks for your ideas.

Wow, it's tough getting information on the Massport website.

I wanted to contact Worcester Regional Airport to make absolutely sure there are no length of time restrictions for a parked vehicle. (Sure don't want to get back after 38 days & find my car towed away!)

If there's a contact phone number for that airport, I sure can't find it.

I tried to use th contact link to send an e-mail message and when I tried to send a question about this, once I composed the message & clicked "submit', nothing happened. So I don't know if the message was sent or not. Guess I have to wait 5 business days to see.

I'll wait a few days and see if I get an answer before trying the phone number for Hanscom...

Grrrr!

For those who tried to help with this, here's where I stand.

I have cancelled the air and hotel component of our package and got a very generous reduction.

My plan now - UNLESS SOMEONE IN THE KNOW TELLS ME WHY I SHOULD NOT DO THIS - is to drive our family car from Ontario down to Worcester and park it in the Worcester Regional Airport long-term parking. Then use a van or Town Car transfer to the Boston cruise terminal. And, of course, the reverse of that to go home.

It all works out well for me, unless someone on this board provides a good reason why I should NOT park at that airport.

Comments?

At this time we are booked with a package that includes return air and an overnight pre-cruise hotel in Boston (specific hotel not identified yet).

We are only looking at driving and parking in Boston because of the god-awful hassle of flying out of Pearson Airport (Toronto.)

As discussed in this thread, long-term parking in Boston is prohibitively expensive, and one-way car rentals from Canada into the U.S. (and return) are not allowed.

I sent a message to our package provider today to ask if they could delete the air and hotel from our package, and if so, how much the price would come down.

If the reduction is reasonable, I will pursue our last option which would be to drive from home down into the U.S., maybe Albany. Then rent a car in Albany for the drive to Boston, same day as embarkation (if we are allowed to leave our own car in the rental company's secure lot).

Then do the opposite on our return - rental car to Albany then pick up our own car & drive home.

Thanks for all the replies and comments so far. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. I will look into the 2x1-way car rental idea (hadn't thought of that), but I expect, as suggested, it will be very pricey to another country. Maybe not even allowed.

And I may just drop the idea: It's just frustrating to have to check in 2 hours in advance of flight departure for a one and a half hour flight.

Thanks again for your comments.

Can anyone tell me if they have any suggestions for longer-term parking in Boston. Or nearby?

We are booked on the Voyage of the Vikings for 2018 and would prefer to drive to Boston rather than fly. Would need 38 days of parking.

Suggestions?

Can anyone tell me what they mean by "soda fountain" beverages?

Is it just a catch-all description which covers canned sodas served from bars, or is it specifically sodas which are produced from a pressurized system and served in a glass?

 

Also, can anyone tell me HAL's current (canned) soda beverage pricing?

I found my answers elsewhere on Cruisecritic boards .... should have looked there 1st. Thanks anyway!

Can anyone tell me what they mean by "soda fountain" beverages?

Is it just a catch-all description which covers canned sodas served from bars, or is it specifically sodas which are produced from a pressurized system and served in a glass?

Also, can anyone tell me HAL's current (canned) soda beverage pricing?

We are scheduled to arrive at portside at 7:00 a.m. and depart at 3:00 p.m. I had planned to use the ferries both ways but it's too difficult a schedule, assuming we would spend about 2 and 1/2 hours at Lone Pine.

I looked up the taxi rates and it appears a taxi will cost us $50-55 each way, so it's still cheaper than the ship's excursion, assuming we share with another couple.

Thanks, 'MMDown Under' for your lovely comments about Muskoka. The Muskoka Lakes "cottages" (I call them mansions) and their boathouses are truly wonderful, as are the fabulous restored wooden boats contained in many of them.

'Cabansail' - no, we don't plan to cuddle a koala. Your comment makes me concerned that we should maybe reconsider a visit to Lone Pine...?

More comments and suggestions welcome!

I have been trying to find out about taxi availability in Brisbane. We will be docking at Portlands in November.... on a Sunday.... and I'm trying to find out if there will be taxis readily available at the cruise terminal or if we have to book in advance? (to visit Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary)

Can anyone provide me with accurate information?

(Tourist information office AND Portlands have both ignored my inquiries.)

For those of you who have booked your air through HAL, was the price guaranteed?

I ask because when we booked our air through HAL for this cruise, they told us the price was NOT guaranteed until we made final payment.

Is this a relatively new approach from Holland-America? I seem to remember the price was locked in as soon as I booked last time I used their air (probably 2011, maybe 2009).

And somehow I'm not too interested in paying out $16 grand or so before I have to!

Cruisemom, I'd love to receive your notes on Herculaneum. We expect to be there in October and we always tour on our own from European ports.

duncanmuskoka at yahoo dot com

Thanks in advance for your help

Add my vote for Highpockets.... a fabulous experience!!!

In St. Maarten go to Orient Beach! It has all of what you mentioned! :cool:

I don't know that I'd take a 14 year-old to Orient Beach.... lots of nudity...

I'm looking at some options for excursions atm, but not many appeal to me.

It'll be a sunday when we dock in FdF and last time when I strolled around town, it was lacking life, big time. Few people got off the ship and the area around the cruise terminal seemed a bit boring as almost all the shops where closed on sunday.

So if anyone's got some good excursion options (through the ship's fine; I'll be on HAL's Noordam), please let me know because I don't know what to choose right now.

Last time we were there (it was on the previous Noordam, I believe), we took a tour of the island by taxi. There were 4 of us and as I recall, it was not terribly expensive. But those who don't understand French may not be all that pleased, as our driver and many others spoke French only. Fortunately, I do speak French so I was able to translate for the other couple that shared the cab. All of this was a long time ago, so I won't attempt to quote prices... and maybe the cab drivers' English has improved.

At any rate, we enjoyed the tour, saw a lot of the island including a stop in St-Pierre.

BTW, we will be on the same cruise as you!

Our first stop on our cruise will be at Cabo, and after 4 months of winter I will be very susceptible to sunburn.

Anyone know if we can rent beach chairs & umbrellas at Playa Medano?