Laurie22

Hmmm, I don't know. Unless it is posted on the website for each sale... I noticed that the "Anniversary Sale" has been extended to May 31, but I don't know about Early Booking.  I would call and ask.  

The crew appreciation that is sometimes included in HIA is the $16 per day per person that is automatically added to your cabin account for each day of the cruise. Yes, this crew appreciation is split between all crew members, including those behind the scenes.

When the fine print mentions the other gratuities, they are referring to any other services outside of HIA that you might use - for example if you were to order an upgraded meal item in one of the dining rooms (like a lobster dinner), you would be charged an additional 18% on the upcharge.  Or if you went to a specialty dining restaurant outside of HIA, you would pay the fee for that dining option plus 18% service charge.  Does that make more sense?  

This thread was very entertaining to read. I am a fit female in her 60s who is looking for similar port information for an upcoming Hawaii cruise. The only really helpful information was post #10 from @BermudaBound2014 (thank you). I personally would enjoy a 4 mile walk to and from the beach, but I also appreciate the bus info in that same post.
 

Cheers everyone, and I hope you’re all friends again. 😉

The Discovery Centre (Science Centre) in Halifax would be a lot of fun for your kids.  It is really close to the cruise port - only a short walk away.  We have a 3-yr-old grandson who absolutely loves it there.  It is all indoors (which could be perfect for a rainy day).  Be sure to check out the Halifax waterfront boardwalk if you prefer an outdoor walk, there is a playground, some hammocks, food vendors, souvenir shops, restaurants, etc.  Hope you have fun on your cruise!

Socialised healthcare, a functional societal safety net, well-maintained infrastructure, recognition of tribal sovereignty and potato chip flavors such as Tandoori BBQ.

Awesome reply, VibeGuy![emoji4] With love from an east coast Canadian (currently packing for a flight to Vancouver and a cruise to Alaska) [emoji41]. Woohoo!

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I personaLLy prefer a whole steamed lobster to a lobster roll. Halifax has wonderful fresh, steamed lobsters for a great lunch. Just this minute I have a brain freeze on the name of the restaurant wherew we had our lobsters. We walked alonggthe sewsall when we e xited the terminal, (turn right) and came to a great restaurantr with a large outeoor patio for lunching on a beaurriful day. We could justr about see the ship form our lunch talbe. :) Hopefully the name will come to me.

Hello! Maybe you are thinking of The Bicycle Thief on the Halifax Waterfront? It is a wonderful restaurant (not cheap) with consistently good food. Very popular all year around!

I live in Halifax, and one of my favourite seafood restaurants close to the cruise port is McKelvie’s. If you are renting a car and driving towards Peggy’s Cove, then I recommend a small family restaurant called Shaw’s Landing on Prospect a Road in West Dover. Charming, rustic, no frills, great seafood and friendly service! They have a lobster grilled cheese sandwich to die for. Just saying [emoji4]

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We are active 50-somethings and we absolutely love HAL! Go have fun! Alaska is on my bucket list... we'll get there some day soon [emoji4]

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Just returned from a transatlantic with lots of sea days. My husband came down with a bad cold (caught from other passengers) and we had not brought Advil Cold and Sinus medicine. He ended up at the ship medical facility with a bill for US$400++. Being from Canada, we are absolutely shocked by the medical cost. We have added cold medicine to our packing list for our next cruise.

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This thread was really helpful for our first RCCL cruise! We are sailing on Serenade of the Seas this month.

Questions for all you veteran RC cruisers --

1. Are you allowed to bring bottled water or soft drinks onto the cruise? I thought you were not allowed.

2. Do we need to bring our own shampoo, body lotion and body wash? We are used to Holland America, and they provide super-fancy toiletries in the bathrooms.

Thanks for your help!!

Laurie

We just got an upsell offer through our TA for our cruise leaving on Sunday. We didn't choose to take the offer, but it was fun to receive it. I would agree that it would be nicer to receive the offer directly to my own email, and then I could reply more quickly. My TA helped us get a free beverage package, so I am happy with him for now:D!

The cardio machines are free, and also all the weight equipment. The gyms on the HAL ships we have been on have been really nice.

My wife and I just returned from a two week southern caribbean cruise on Celebrity's Eclipse. We had heard that Celebrity was equal to or slightly above HAL. I'm here to tell you....... it ain't so!!! The ship was beautiful, the itinerary was good (too many islands in too few days though - we wouldn't do that again). Generally, the crew was available and friendly. Our cabin Stewart was OK, but not friendly like on our past two HAL cruises where they called us by name after the first day and couldn't do enough for us. We sailed the Eurodam two winters in a row and the cabin Stewart even remember our names. Unless the food quality has slipped very recently, the food on HAL was far superior. I never had a problem in the MDR on HAL finding something great to eat. How did Celebrity compare.. Well, out of 14 nights, we only had dinner in the MDR five times. Looked at the evening menues in the afternoon and couldn't find one item that appealed, so ate at the buffet all the other evenings. Room service meals are very restrictive in what they offer. However, Celebrity entertainment is FAR superior to that on HAL. We even had karaoke five times during the 14 days and the winner appeared on stage at the final show Saturday. Slightly younger crowd on Celebrity 50s thru 70s. HAL appears to be more 60s thru 80s. Only took two ship shore excursions. Both were good, but costly. I think that's the same with all the cruise lines though. Loved being able to track my account on the tv in our room. Cruise director was fabulous and involved and even did a one-woman show one night. My view is that HAL Is more traditional on both style and on-board finishes whereas Celebrity is more plastic, glass, Chrome and flash ----- European style vs American style.

Would I return to Celebrity? Maybe. Will I sail again with HAL? Definitely!

Wow, I could have written the above comments, word for word. We have only ever tried HAL and Celebrity, and we came away wanting to go back to HAL. We really missed the genuinely friendly service on HAL when we sailed with Celebrity, but we loved the entertainment on Celebrity. This is a really interesting thread. I am enjoying reading all the comments.

In Quebec, you can buy wine in regular stores. They will have lots of choice. You could ask around for suggestions of where to buy and what the local wines are. Have fun!:)

We sail on the Eurodam next Sunday... SO excited!! Have a wonderful cruise, and we'll see you on the flipside!:D

It is so nice to read how happy and excited you are. Have a wonderful holiday. We leave for Florida for a lovely holiday on the Eurodam in two weeks and I am getting SO excited. I wish you and your family all the best.:)

I remember the ice cream on both Eurodam and Westerdam (in the Lido) were very good and lots of flavours. Also, they had various toppings so you could make a pretty fancy bowl of calories. There were definitely more than just chocolate, vanilla and strawberry!:D

Does HAL still have the midnight chocolate buffet or whatever they called it. We went once but were so tired by the time pictures were taken that we went to bed. We did stay up once though and it was fabulous. I'm just curious.

On Eurodam 2011 and Westerdam 2012 they had "Dessert Extravaganza" at night in the pool area. The food looked really pretty -- I liked the carved fruit sculptures. I took quite a few photos, but I don't remember eating much.

I have to agree with a previous post, many of the people lining up for treats were like pigs at a trough. You'd think they hadn't eaten all day. Ha ha, fun times.:D

Thank you Whogo for sharing your adventure with Mrs. Whogo on your amazing cruise. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog! Much appreciated.:D

Eurodam March 22 - 7 day Western Caribbean - celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary a few months late!! Our 3rd cruise with HAL... Laurie & Hugh

Transparent aluminum, diuranium, and quaduadinal tri-wifi.

 

Also calorie free chocolate donuts.

Amen to that!!

Seriously though :), I think technology can be wonderful for those who would like to use it. I really liked being able to check our bill on the tv on our Celebrity Cruise, mainly because they made so many errors, we could keep on top of them (never cruising Celebrity again!!)....

I would love the option to purchase a few minutes of wifi that actually works. I have no need for continuous connectivity, but an occasional email would be great.

Cheers!

I logged on to look at the new website and found that I could change our 7 day cruise to be a 14 day cruise for a mere $400 per person! Drooling now..........Could leave on March 8th instead of 15th but would have to move the airfare, the hotel etc. Oh well......................

How did you figure out the cost of adding the extra week?? I am also totally obsessed with checking Cruise Critic and Holland America sites. We booked a guaranteed veranda cabin for March 22 and I keep checking to see if they have assigned our stateroom number!!

Thanks,

Laurie

There is a cocktail of the day but it is on the Bar Menu I scanned two weeks ago on the Westerdam (See link for Bar Menu):

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/?page_id=908

 

The Bar Menu includes the "mocktails" for $4.25. The price for glasses is on the Bar Menu.

 

The cocktail of the day was not listed on the last page of our On Location on the Westerdam two weeks ago.

 

There are also alcoholic beverages served in the Explorations Cafe. That menu is included on the link above.

Thank you Roger for such a comprehensive listing of menus from the ship. We are sailing on the Eurodam in March, and we received a Signature Beverage Package with our booking this time (YA HOO!!)... so I was curious to see what was available under $7... looks like we will have tons of choice!

I have tried for over a month now to browse excursions and/or book the Cruise Critic Connections event. I still get nowhere on the site... I either get an error message longer than my leg, or I get nothing. When I click to view possible excursions, I get as far as "Caribbean" and then I get no response at all. I can view my reservation... hallelujah. I have tried Chrome, Firefox and Safari. I don't have trouble with any other websites and I'm on the computer all the time. I don't have a Captain's Club number so that's not the issue. I don't have a hyphenated name so that's not the issue either. This is ridiculous. If the folks at Celebrity head office are unaware of these issues, then they should visit Cruise Critic and view a page or two of this thread. This is my first cruise with Celebrity and I am already fed up with them. :eek:

I booked my first Celebrity cruise a few weeks ago, and the website has not worked for the past 10 days. I can get to my reservation and I can click on excursions, beverage packages, etc, but I can't drill any further down to make choices or to see my options. I am using a macbook air and Chrome is my browser. I tried Firefox... it doesn't work either. At one point last week, my reservation wasn't even showing. I must say, if it wasn't for all the positive reviews on Cruise Critic, I would cancel with Celebrity. Totally not impressed. :(