mcrcruiser

I own over 1000 share of CCL stock .so what does that imply ? when we tour we like to be able to tell the driver lets see that over there & the driver does that .In cruise line tours you can not defer

Mary we can pit together a better & lower cost tour than any cruise line day in & day out , /We have never ever come close to missing the ship , The cruise lines tout that but ,there was once a ships tour that actually did not make the ship & the ship had to leave .It was a HAL cruise in the Pamama Canal ,some thing about floods ie .So there is no fool proof tours imo . Another great feature doing a small group tour is changes can be made while on the tour .Can't do that with a ships tour

The traffic is not all that bad &once you are away from the Honolulu area it is easy

We have been to the PCC rwice .You can rents a vehicle from Thrifty at the port they have shuttles to the airport , &when you come back they will drop you off at the pier .If you have 2 days on Oahu that is a better way ,Reason is HAL will have certain times .when you book yourselves you control the time you want to spend there .Believe me you want to do this one yourself .We will go back there in 2025 hopefully & then only Super Ambassador .although pricy it is so worth the money .You can even rent electric scooters there fir any one who needs assistance in walking ,Great place to visit Another wonderful to see on Oahu is the Bishop Museum ,pretty close to the cruise pier ,uber or taxi & Iolani Palace close by the poer Been to all the islands many many times by plane & ships .Let me know if you need other recommendations ,We seen 95 % of it all on the islands Cliff

We are doing a small private tour on Kauai by renting a SUV from AVis who picksup at the pier ,We split costs of rental $176 plus gas cost ,We are going to Wiameia Vanyon & Popui Beach ,a top 10 beach for snorkel mswim ,restaurants ,showers ie , Holland America just for Waimea Canton shares$129 each .We are doing a 7yo 10 hour lunch includes & all entry costs for a Circle Oahu tour at $140 each in touring Vans with a/c large windows ,small group of 10 pax , I have done private tours all over the world by creating a great tour with 5 star operators only , We always do bettrer than the ships tours ,Not only that but small groups we can alter the tour in progress if it works better for us

Do you feel that the cash that Holland America allows per tour on the Have It All is a good deal in light of their rather high tour prices ? What is your opinion ?

If we used iur large walker ,we could work out of a standard balcony but id we need the electric scooter than the handicap balcony is a must Our ages are catching up with us ,84 each & I am 85 on December

Yes however ,not balcony handicap types .Interior mostly

On embarkation day isn't the MDR open for lunch as well ; which would relieve the pressure on the Lido buffet

Very interesting concept .What about medical though ?

It seems to me that a ship like Koningsdam should have more Handicap cabins than what they show on Decks 4,5& 8 , what is the normal for ships to have handicap cabins .Id the number based on total cabins or some other number ?

We have one of those as well October 2024 booked . This one in Mexican Riviera followed by Coastal Ca from SD port / We know the process as we have done B2B before 😄

Thanks to every one .We are happy to hear that Koningsdam is back to a normal dining flow . We booked early dining table for 2 window seat on our next Hawaii cruise in Jan 2024 ,just to avoid the possible hassle

Ok so did HAL correct the long wait lines for any time dining during May & Hune in Alaska ?

The issue is on Koningsfam only ,at this time

Thanks for your replies .I just added another new post asking if the problem has been resolved about the long lines & beepers .Hoping to get those people who sailed on Koningsdam in Alaska May & June 2023 ,to see if the problem of long lines & beepers has been resolved .

In December 2022 the Koningsdam had a huge problem with long lines & long dining times for any one with any time dining . People in line where given beepers as to when they could be seated , Staff to passenger ratio was also low ,at that time . For those people who have sailed on Koningsdam with the last couple of months .say May & J une has the problem in your opinion been resolved or does it still exist ? TIA

We have sailed close to 100 cruises not with HAL vut more with Celebrity & RCCL .however ,we are 3 star Mariners with HAL . when i organize a Meet & Greet ,we ask for a MIC 7 invite officers ,The vest M&G was on Eurodam in 2019 for HAL .The person who organized the M& G had the people ask one question each & the Captain answered ,He even spent more time with us , Thus ,it seems to me that it is the way the organizer structures the M&G that can make irt successful or not

Have on board management on board the ship solved the problem of long lines with beepers for any time diners ? Back in December there were very long lines & slow service in the MSR .hope they fixed that problem What is the current environment ?

We are Elite Plus on Celebrity .We once could fly to any cruise destination but now my DW can not fly because she has a ear problem . Celebrity rarely sails from Calif ports .They have done it & we were on B2B in March from San Pedro ,:os Angeles area .We are both 84 & the parking problems there are quite bad & they charge in open air parking $20 per day . so we can't sail Celebrity because they don't sail from San Diego ,our home port ,28 miles door to door .If Celebrity were sailing from San Diego that is the cruise line I would pick .you would be very disappointed in Holland America vs the quality mvariety ^ service in the MDR & buffet . Celebrity has shows every day in the Theatre ,Holland america has dancers & nights BBC movies if you call that entertainment . Holland Has a Music Walk on Pinnacle class ships . Believe me I rather sail Celebrity than Holland America .We have now come down to trivia games with no prizes , music walk , dome paper making skill . So if you are not into swiming or hot tubs ,gym time ie ,holland can be quite dull We are also 3 star Mariner with holland & close to 4 star . so what I am telling you is quite candid BTW ,Celebrity had no problem with Lobster but HAL does .Others can explain that one to you Good luck

We understand your desires for a smaller ship . At this time CCL can not afford new ships ;but ,they could make the ones in the fleet more appealing

We would love to see more entertainment on those long voyages or even the 7 night ones . Perhaps the cut backs will give way one day & CCL will have the shows reinstalled

Jacquie we hear you & understand your cruise desires .Thus ,imo the future will be small ships pay more & yes there will be lines that will focus on ports with more than one day stops . With HAL ,the future is murky ,at best .As long as it is under the Carnival umbrella of ships HAL will keep loosing what it once was ;reason is the corporate mentality of CCL today in survival mode Cliff

What we recommend is to phone Marriott & ask them do they have a lounge with free food & drimks if you book into certain type rooms or suites . Trust me food in europe is very very pricy when you eat out .In amsterdam in 2009 2 breakfast L2 eggs ,toast ,hash crowns & coffee no juice was $35 with out tip .Rome in 2009 lunch one was pasta & seltzer ,Mine was pasta sausage diet coke ,$69 with out tip

I know Hilton Hotels in Europe have the Executive lounges but ,does any one know if Marriott Bonvoy gas any thing like that ? We use both Hilton & Marriotts in the USA on points for free rooms .Here n the USA book 4 nights & get 5th night free with both Hilton hotels or Marriotts .Europe it is 6 nights get 6th free for Hilton Hotels Cliff