CruiserBruce

sorry...duplicate post.

There are many threads here on Miami hotels...several on the first two pages of the board. Every single one frequently recommends the Hampton Brickell, which is a very good hotel in a great location. Breakfast is included. Shuttle has a fee.

Had a balcony in a Norway/Iceland/Greenland cruise last July/August. Never cruise without one. But that is just us. A balcony is NEVER a requirement, strictly personal choice.

If you look around the board, you will see many discussions and recommendations on this topic. Try someone like the wonderful Rome in Limo. Huge thread just down the board.

Ah...its the Private Island board, and Carnival ships also visit HMC.

The breeze can be pretty important in hot climates.

Not sure how we would know how late you can get off the ship, as you don't specify the ship, but most cruise lines want you off by 9:30. If you ca carry your bags, you can make 11:55 flight. Just walk off, and garb a cab. Traffic will be pretty light on a Saturday morning at that time.

They do have some odd port times....as Hank says, Kusadasi gets short changed. If I weren't going to consider any other cruise line, I would probably take option 3.

Reality is not quite as dire as @Mike45LC makes it out to be. Some ships actually use two "docks" on the side of the ship, and 4-6 tenders (or perhaps more), so the tender flow is constant. The ship's crew is quite practiced at this. But, its still going to be pretty tight for your 10am tour. If the tour is not your own private tour...just for you...you are right to be worried.

If you look at Google Maps, you will see the port is right in the middle of town. There are MANY things to walk to...a couple of Museums (Including the aircraft carrier Midway), shopping, great "districts" for food.....even as far as Petco Park to see the Padres play. There is trolley and train lines to take you further away, if you wish. Also mentioned frequently on the threads here.

Never had a need. DW's cell is rarely leaves the cabin safe during cruises. We know what each other likes to do, where that will occur, and if needed, make plans to meet at the times and locations that matter.

Some terms here...a "partial charter" really is just a "group"...that is the name usually applied. The size can range from well under 100, to over half the capacity of the ship.

Many of your purchases will likely be using credit card. But getting 100 euros at an ATM in country won't hurt anything. A quick look around the board, or at Google Maps shows the train station at Civi to be a short walk away...6-8 blocks, not across the street. As frequently mentioned here, it is walkable, or there is a bus for 2 euros (I think), which will take you from the station to the gate of the port. You may be able to walk to your terminal, or take a free shuttle bus within the port, depending on which terminal you are at.

It could be tight. Is this a private tour just for you? If so, they will wait...you own them. But if you are joining a group not all from the ship, then you are going to be tight.

I would ask on the Carnival board, here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/133-carnival-cruise-lines/ There are dolphin excursions in MANY ports. Specifics in a question is always a good idea.

The ship will enter the first lock close to sunrise...so anytime between 6 and 7am, usually. They pay extra for the timed entrance. Most people get up early to be there when approaching and entering the locks. The ship doesn't dock in Gatun Lake. It tenders pax ashore that have purchased excursions ONLY. The ship transits the Gatun Locks twice, hopefully, as those are the old locks, which you want to use, once in each direction.

In port, correct. However, to board the ship you either need a official, raised seal type birth certificate AND a government issued photo ID, or a passport.

Where is home? A flight to the US requires extra procedures other flights don't. The drive to the airport is only about 30 or so minutes, so if you can get off pretty quickly and grab a cab, shouldn't be a problem.

Welcome to Cruise Critic! The better place for all the Holland America info you will ever need is here, the portion of Cruise Critic devoted to Holland America: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/103-holland-america-line/ How did you book this cruise? If possible, go back to that and see if you can add a request for traditional dining. If not, you can fix it when you board the ship.

Google Maps and looking around this board are very beneficial.

I would start looking around the ITA weand see if they have a fee to assign seats in advance.

As OleSalt liked your post, I assume Santa Barbara is the one. But Monterey also meets the criteria described. And is smaller, already usually pretty crowded, thus a 3k ship load would overload Monterey pretty easily.

HAL has a sailing from Lisbon? Yes, tipping in Europe, which is not really anything close to tipping in the US, is discussed heavily on the various Europe Ports boards.

Take a cab...usually the readily available vans are over priced. Might be OK if you are a solo.

There are varying times when passports are held by the ship. It is definitely not all the time.