OldtimerBill

On 1/1/2024 at 8:04 PM, Scarryann said:

Maya Chan is awesome.  The vibe is totally laid back.  The food is great and fresh. The drinks plentiful and cold. The staff will take good care of you.  We have been going for years and every return there has been with an excellent improvement. We are going back in Feb. '24 and can't wait.

Hi Scarryann ... We will be in Costa Maya in Feb 2024 too. I am going to look at Maya Chan. Is the best way to book directly on their website?  Thanks.

We are thinking about the Hop On Hop Off Bus in Cartagena. We will be in Cartagena on Tuesday November 15, 2022. Normally when we do HOHO tours we ride the bus all the way around the loop and then stay on the bus to return to specific sites. Do you know if these HOHO tours will let you do that? (We will be on Holland America).  Thanks.

Following .... we are thinking about the Hop On Hop Off Bus in Cartagena as well. We will be in Cartagena on Tuesday November 15, 2022. Normally when we do HOHO tours we ride the bus all the way around the loop and then stay on the bus to return to specific sites. Do you know if these HOHO tours will let you do that? (We will be on Holland America).  Thanks.

Hi Ashland,

Thanks very much for that great information.

Bill

Hi All .... Thanks for the tip on Value Trips. I had not heard of them before. They have a good rate on the Hyatt that people seem to like.  I have a couple of questions. I see that the charge for the shuttle from the airport to the hotel is $5/room. Can you book that at Value Trips or do you need to contact the hotel after you book? Same question for the $11 per room breakfast buffet.

Also, does the hotel offer shuttle service to the ship or do I need to book that separately?

Thanks,

Bill in Woodstock, Georgia, USA

Thanks again Zach. I suspected they might be strict about not sharing specific TAs. Also, thanks for the tip about the Holland America hotel and shuttle service. I may research TAs some more this weekend and if I can't find anyone book direct by the first of the week. Have you joined the Roll Call for the cruise in November? Once we book will plan to join that group. Maybe I will see you there.  Thanks again. 

On 4/25/2022 at 1:53 PM, zgscl said:

The best TAs I have had have been in small to midsize agencies and I have found them through word of mouth. 

@zgscl Hi Zach, I just read your very informative post. I thought about sending a reply asking if was appropriate to ask which travel agent you are currently using but I wasn't sure that type of question was allowed. Then I saw in your signature that one of your future cruises (the Nov 9th sailing to the Panama Canal) is the very sailing I am planning to book. Any advice?  Thanks.

Wowzz ... that is good to know. Of the three lines, we have never sailed on Princess.

Hey and thanks for the reply. I guess we are just "old school" but it bothers us to leave food on our plates.  I guess I am trying to get a comparison of the quality of the food on the buffets of these 3 lines.

Hi All,

I plan to post this same message in the Celebrity and Holland America forums.

My wife and I just returned from a cruise on which we took our daughter and two teenage grandkids. We ate our evening meals in the main dining room and came away every night stuffed. We even tried splitting an entrée but that didn't help too much.

I am wondering how your non-main dining room experiences have been on Princess. I think we would be fine eating at the buffets, etc. and want to compare our options on these 3 lines.

Thanks for any advice.

Bill in Woodstock, Georgia, USA

Hi All,

I plan to post this same message in the Princess and Celebrity forums.

My wife and I just returned from a cruise on which we took our daughter and two teenage grandkids. We ate our evening meals in the main dining room and came away every night stuffed. We even tried splitting an entrée but that didn't help too much.

I am wondering how your non-main dining room experiences have been on Holland America. I think we would be fine eating at the buffets, etc. and want to compare our options on these 3 lines.

Thanks for any advice.

Bill in Woodstock, Georgia, USA

Hi All,

I plan to post this same message in the Princess and Holland America forums.

My wife and I just returned from a cruise on which we took our daughter and two teenage grandkids. We ate our evening meals in the main dining room and came away every night stuffed. We even tried splitting an entrée but that didn't help too much.

I am wondering how your non-main dining room experiences have been on Celebrity. I think we would be fine eating at the buffets, etc. and want to compare our options on these 3 lines.

Thanks for any advice.

Bill in Woodstock, Georgia, USA

Hi and thanks for the great review.

We were glad to get to meet you on the ship and were blown away by the suite. Also, thanks for the bottle of "sparkling wine". As I was easing the top off it suddenly popped and I was afraid I had put a dent in the ceiling of our cabin. :)

Hope you had a safe trip home.