dheianevans

Veendam had a Poutine Bar on the Lido deck at Gaspe. They served it in a basket lined with a French paper replica. But French as in the paper referenced the Eiffel tower and other sites in Paris. Poutine is uniquely French-Canadian and has nothing to do with France. Should have been paper referencing Quebec. It's like serving something uniquely American in British paper. It's the same language...

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Typed on my smartphone. But I typed it with dumb thumbs so please excuse misturks.

That subject line should say Veendam but I was caught by an overzealous auto-correct.

Typed on my smartphone. But I typed it with dumb thumbs so please excuse misturks.

Just wondering...

Veendam recently had a dry-dock so was it upgraded to the new TV system and if so, is that for all cabins?

Typed on my smartphone. But I typed it with dumb thumbs so please excuse misturks.

Arranged for a complimentary wheelchair through Holland America for embarkation ONLY at Port Everglades.

The letter from Holland didn't make the process clear. For those with experience, where do I need to go or who do I need to look for when we get out of the taxi? I'm sure it'll be marked, but I like to be able to answer my party's questions beforehand. :)

Thanks.

Thanks.

Typed on my smartphone. But I typed it with dumb thumbs so please excuse misturks.

Once again, the folks on CC are faster Thanks for the info.

Let's see who's faster answering: The hotel on Twitter or the fine folks here at CC.

Are there usually cabs waiting outside the Riverside Hotel. Average cost to Port Everglades?

Thanks.

As luck would have it we managed last night to score a price drop on a mid morning PBI flight instead of a late night FLL one. So we'll be able to stroll Las Olas after all.

Now I guess we have to decide whether to go with plan A and take the tri-rail or look for a good price on a car service and avoid the whole PBI-shuttle-trirail-taxi rigamarole. Any suggestions there would be welcome. ☺

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Thanks to Hotwire, was able to land the Riverside for $150 Canadian or about 115 US.

Thanks to you both for the info.

Two unrelated topics but was just thinking of future Google searchers. :)

I know the actual trains have restrooms but just wondering if the West Palm Beach Station by PBI has its own restroom.

As for the kiosks...we'll be arriving with US cash but won't have change. I'm assuming, from a photo of a kiosk I saw, that it will accept bills and toss out any quarters if necessary?

Finally, for any of the locals, is the Fort Lauderdale stop, not the Fort Lauderdale Airport stop, the best place to get off if you're heading to Las Olas? Will there be taxis waiting there?

Thanks!

In this thread you are talking of three components - accommodation, ground transportation and flights. The key is to take these 3 as a whole, and get the combo that best meets your financial and logistical needs.

 

Put in a more practical (and hopefully less pretentious-sounding ;)) way: you are talking of taking the tri-rail, which is definitely your cheaper ground transport option. However, reserving a hotel convenient to the train could end up being more expensive. Look at renting a car for your transport, and all of a sudden you can greatly expand your hotel area to places not easily accessible by public transport. Boca Raton and Pompano Beach if flying into PBI or FLL, or Hollywood if flying into MIA or FLL, would be places I would look.

Thanks. A car rental is not an option but at least with the fares so much lower to PBI than FLL we do have wiggle room. Definitely a spreadsheet task adding up flights, room and taxi/shuttle before we make our decision. You even have to take into account if there's food options nearby vs. over-priced hotel restaurants. Booking the cruise is the easy part!

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Thanks for your advice. I might even expand my search to the MIA & PBI airport hotels. We can always Tri-Rail into Fort Lauderdale in the morning.

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If the Fort Lauderdale part of the trip is literally a place to rest our heads overnight are there parts of the city we can expand our search to where our hotel dollar might go further? That is, we don't need to be near the beach, shopping, etc.

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Looking at Apr 23. I'd say $150US or less. I have started searching but would love suggestions from people who have stayed there.

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Seeing as I mentioned the Tri-Rail, I guess I'd be open to flying into MIA and staying at a hotel there as well.

Any recommendations for a place near the airport that won't break the bank yet avoids some of the more colorful reviews on Tripadvisor? I was looking to avoid the places that, you know, say "Sheriffs led another guest away...".

Our budget might be a bit higher if we fly into PBI and Tri-Rail it to Fort Lauderdale so any good places near the train station I'd be open to as well.

Thanks.

"Alberta Quilter" If only I could guess your province and pastime. :-)

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It was just a special feature on the Lido deck one night at sail away time. Just like they have a salmon bake one night during Alaska cruises. If you Google Poutine bar Holland America, there's a picture of a woman standing in front of it.

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We went on a Canada/New England cruise on Holland a few yrs back. I remember their being a poutine bar on the Lido that I missed because we were already dining in the MDR.

Does anyone know which port they usually do that for?

Thanks!

Returned from 2 wks in Alaska last Monday. Some quick thoughts:

1) Mixed salads have gone the way of the dodo...at least at lunch: Used to be able to choose from a Waldorf, pasta, potato, mixed beans at every lunch. Now there just appears to be a featured mixed salad of the day

2) More cast shows, less dust: Can we please get rid of outdated comedians "You some him on Star Search..." telling 1950s material like "I went to Japan and it took me two weeks to get disoriented"? People seem to enjoy the cast shows, they're already paid and on the ship, and it's not like their performance week even adds up to one full-length Broadway show. They can memorize a bit more. :-)

3) How hard is it to say thank you? 99% of fellow cruisers are amazing. But I'm saddened when a simple smile and thank you can't be extended to the staffer clearing away plates. Even worse then the dead-eyed looks are the people who look away until the staffer leaves..."If I can't see the help, my vacation hasn't been ruined."

Thanks for the info!

One of those simple questions I never thought of before...

If you happen to need a blister pad or bandage on the ship, are you able to get a single one free from the infirmary? Or is that something you have to buy from the infirmary or ship shop?

Thanks

...we have the 5% federal GST on most goods and services and a 7% provincial sales tax on most goods. When we had the HST it was 12% on just about everything.

Wish Ontario could drop to 12 from 13.