liberty176

My info is a little more dated, but it is from peak family time: my family sailed on the Discovery over Xmas 2022 thru New Years 2023 when my kids were 5 and 8. It was a great ship for our family. I will say, though, there were a ton of kids on board both weeks, most especially Xmas week. That week, we definitely needed to line up 10 min early (though not 30) for kids club, especially for the morning session, and most especially for the smallest kids. It filled up daily with a wait-list posted on the wall. I forget how many kids were on that sailing, but something like 300-500. There was definitely a dropoff after the Xmas cruise (we did B2B, my kids get a long winter break) to about half as many kids, and it was still more kids than the ship is used to, but more manageable all around, and I don't recall having to line up early.

Sorry, I'm sure this has been answered but I read thru the thread and I'm still confused. I do not have (nor want) HIA for a cruise this summer. I do want to be able to check email and do some video calls for work on either Zoom or Google Meet, from an Android cell phone or a laptop. Can I get away with the middle plan or do I need the highest internet plan? Will want to pre-buy since the super helpful chart (thanks!!) shows that it's much cheaper to pre purchase. Thanks.

We're visiting Newcastle in July (also on the NS). How long does the shuttle take from the port? Does it run continuously in both directions? How does one pay for it? Also, this might be a stretch, but does anyone know if a HAL tour would drop us off only back at the ship, or might they give the option of being dropped off in the center of town (similar location to shuttle stop)? Hoping to take a 4 hour tour and then squeeze a little time in the center of town, visit the cathedral, etc. Thanks!

Yes @edinburgher, definitely planning on walking past both buildings (has a new name, but the National Archives building is on Princes St, very convenient to the Royal Mile and nearby sights). I made it to quite a number of different towns and sites, but am really excited to go to the Orkneys, Shetlands, etc. on this cruise!

Ok, thank you. Thanks for correcting to South Queensferry, an odd auto-correct! Ok, sounds like the special x99 bus is the way to go, especially since we actually have an overnight stop, so two days to go back/forth to town. We are in fact 2 adults and 2 kids, which as @edinburgherpointed out, is just more expensive all around. In doing research in various places, I've discovered that there are some cases where even 2 adults + 2 kids on a shuttle or similar is only a few pounds/euros less than a cab, which is why I wanted to check. So excited to go back (and take my kids). I spent a summer in college doing historical research in Edinburgh and haven't been back since!

Is this the fastest way from South Queensbury into town? We're a family of four, so tickets for this will add up quickly and other forms of transport may not be much more for us.

I have a cruise booked for December in the Sun Princess. Can I make a second booking for the same passengers ina second, different cabin for the same sailing? Will doing that cancel one of those bookings (since we obviously wouldn't keep two overlapping reservations)? As info is starting to trickle in, I'm not sure of my original cabin choice. However, between being a family of four in a cabin and Xmas, there are very few cabin choices for our family, and by the time I choose in a month or two, could be sold out for the sailing. Thanks!

Perfect, thanks so much! Sounds like we'll definitely have time for a museum and a chance to walk around. We'll be ending again in Amsterdam and have more time then, but would like to cross an item or two off our list while we're already there!

Our family is sailing on the Nieuw Statendam this summer, booked as a single 24 night cruise. It's also sold in segments (10 or 14 nights). Day 10 is in Amsterdam, where a lot of pax will be getting off, and new ones will be getting on. We've done a b2b in the US, but we're technically on a single sailing with a single booking number for this cruise. 1) We arrive at 7am. Will we be able to get off the ship once it's cleared when we wish quickly/easily, or will we need to go through immigration and be processed with everyone who is disembarking? If it makes a difference, the last stop before Amsterdam is in the UK, with a sea day immediately before Amsterdam. 2) The ship leaves at 3pm. Obviously we'll be back with plenty of time, but will there be a significantly earlier than usual all aboard time since many pax will be embarking? Just wanting to plan if we would need to be back at 12pm vs 2pm or so. Thanks!

ah, so sorry, this is for July! We already have excellent waterproof shells from REI and rain pants as well. I'm just trying to figure out if good fleeces underneath will be sufficient, but from what you've said, it sounds like a warmer layer will be better.

We're taking a long cruise on HAL Reykjavik-Amsterdam. Packing is going to be tricky (family of four, and we're spending a week in London before the cruise). I know that layers are key here, but I'm worried about being too cold. Looking at "average" temps (which I know are just an average) it seems like the low temp can be 50F or a bit lower. This is our first cold weather cruise. For each person, I'm planning on bringing: thermal underlayer, sweaters, fleece, water/windproof rain shell. Do we need a heavier coat? We'll have about 20 days around Iceland and in Scotland and a number of sea days. I want to make sure we're warm enough in port, but also want to enjoy walking around the deck and sitting on our balcony. I don't want to be cold, but I'm already concerned about suitcase space!

For pre-paying: can you buy for only part of the cruise, or must it be for the whole length? FH and I will need to do some work calls for part of a 24 night cruise, but only on days 5-18 or so, excluding weekends. I know I'll need it so would love to save 20%, but I don't need it for the whole trip. Also, related for pre-paying vs. using OBC for WiFi, does HAL let you use OBC for paying gratuities? We have a lot of OBC, but drink very little, so we didn't opt for HIA.

OK, sounds like this is standard, thank you!

What time must everyone be on board in a port? For example, if the port hours are listed as 7:00am-4:00pm, will all aboard be 4:00pm, or will it be earlier? On our most recent Princess cruise, it was a full 30 minutes before the published time. Booking some private tours for an upcoming cruise and I like to plan to be back with an hour or so to spare if we're going some distance, but not sure what time to base that off of. Thanks!

We are booked on a Holland America cruise this summer and so excited. I know the first time a ship sails into the UK (cruise starts in Iceland), you need to do face-to-face immigration and that can cause delays. Is that the case for follow-up ports of call if the ship leaves the UK in between? Our itinerary goes *Iceland x2 * Scotland X4 (assume first port is immigration) * England x1 *Amsterdam (leave some and pick up some new passengers. We bought as a single cruise and not just B2B, each segment is also available) *Norway x1 *Scotland x1 *Icelandx4 *Scotlandx2 So would we have to clear UK customs each time we enter after Iceland and Norway? Or just the first time we enter the UK at all for each cruise segment? Trying to decide if I should book a ship's tour for those days to avoid delays. I can also post this on the HAL board if it's line-dependent, but I assume immigration is immigration. Thanks!