Choosing a later embarkation due to no mariner’s lunch?

[SilvertoGold]

10 hours ago, Homala said:

Another good tip!  I did not know that we could use our boarding pass for a drink. That might come in handy!  I’ve heard good things about that Hampton Inn by the port. Last year we stayed at the Seaport Hotel. Although we could walk to the port from there, we decided not to, because of our luggage, so we are considering the Hampton next time. 
 

Thank you for your responses and good tips!

OP:   We have found Room Service comes in handy on embarkation day. We are not crowd-loving cruisers so we avoid the Lido. The Room Service is now more limited, but a nice meal can be put together and you can relax, unpack a bit and wind down while waiting (which has never been too long for us).

[Homala]

11 minutes ago, SilvertoGold said:

OP:   We have found Room Service comes in handy on embarkation day. We

Another great tip!  This will be our sixth HAL cruise yet I did not know we could get room service that first day. Sad to hear the menu is more limited, though. Still, I’m sure we could something to tide us over. Although Dive In or the taco bar may still be the winner. Especially if we find a nice table in the lido pool area. 
 

Thank you all!  The HAL forum really has such a great group of helpful and knowledgeable people!

[whogo]

Hotel check out time generally determines my boarding time. It would have to be an incredible lunch ashore or other attraction to make it worth hassling with cruise luggage, although I have checked in and then gone to a nearby attraction.

[Homala]

Whogo - hotel check out time generally dictates when we head to the port as well. We always tried to board as early as possible, so we could drop off any carry-on bags in the room, explore a bit and then head to a nice, relaxing Mariner’s lunch. This time I believe we’ll try for a later breakfast and then head to the port at check out time from our hotel. We should be able to avoid the lido buffet and have a burger, hot dog or taco bar after the crowd dissipates. (Am I fooling myself that the crowds will dissipate the first day?) 

 

This time we have the main dining time, which I believe is at 8:00 (is that right for main dining?) so lunch at around 1:30 or so will be better anyway. 

[Sea42]

13 minutes ago, whogo said:

Hotel check out time generally determines my boarding time. It would have to be an incredible lunch ashore or other attraction to make it worth hassling with cruise luggage, although I have checked in and then gone to a nearby attraction.

Most hotels will hold your bags after check out time. I haven't had an experience where they wouldn't. The embarkation and disembarkation ports are a part of our vacation and I like to enjoy them and the meals they offer while I'm there.

[whogo]

14 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

Most hotels will hold your bags after check out time.

I consider having the hotel hold my bags one of the hassles of dealing with cruise ship luggage. Have done it, sometimes it's great, sometimes the bellman is dealing with a slew of other things and just returning to the hotel can be an out of the way nuisance.

 

Late checkout is another option.

Edited August 22 by whogo

[Homala]

We will be in Boston for a few days before the cruise, and this will be our fourth time staying there, so I think we’ll be ready to board after checking out of the hotel. But with all these great tips, I’m finding it difficult to decide with certainty what we’ll do. At least we have plenty of options!  

[Suzanne123]

18 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

There is also the taco bar on the Volendam, right next to Dive In.  That’s where I had my embarkation lunch 3.5 weeks ago!  We had no issues boarding early in Boston.  Well, there was one issue which was no liquids in any kind of bottle so all had to be dumped out.  Caused some delay before getting to the security screening.

Wait. What? Are you talking about liquor, sodas etc, or will I have to dump my shampoo?

[Homala]

2 minutes ago, Suzanne123 said:

Wait. What? Are you talking about liquor, sodas etc, or will I have to dump my shampoo?

Yikes!  I forgot to ask about that, too!  No liquids can be in carry-ons, I assume, but even that sounds odd. Normally our toiletry bags (with shampoo, etc.) are in our checked bags, but I usually have a water bottle with me.

[Wasasalad]

2 minutes ago, Homala said:

Yikes!  I forgot to ask about that, too!  No liquids can be in carry-ons, I assume, but even that sounds odd. Normally our toiletry bags (with shampoo, etc.) are in our checked bags, but I usually have a water bottle with me.

I’ve never heard of that to board a ship. That is only for airline. June and July I had no issues. I had the usual toiletries and only do carry on with all my luggage. No issues last year either. 

[Homala]

1 minute ago, Wasasalad said:

I’ve never heard of that to board a ship. That is only for airline. June and July I had no issues. I had the usual toiletries and only do carry on with all my luggage. No issues last year either. 

Phew!  Good to hear!  

[SilvertoGold]

24 minutes ago, Suzanne123 said:

Wait. What? Are you talking about liquor, sodas etc, or will I have to dump my shampoo?

No potable liquids. Not heard of anything else being restricted!

Edited August 22 by SilvertoGold

[Alberta Quilter]

18 minutes ago, SilvertoGold said:

No potable liquids. Not heard of anything else being restricted!

Correct.  We had to empty our water bottles, even reusable ones. I've never had to do that before (but it's been a few years between cruises for me!).  Shampoos are still safe. 

[Mary229]

50 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

Correct.  We had to empty our water bottles, even reusable ones. I've never had to do that before (but it's been a few years between cruises for me!).  Shampoos are still safe. 

That is weird.  I have never heard of that.  I did not have one on embarkation day but I did at every port.  I wonder if that is a Boston rule exclusively 

[Alberta Quilter]

36 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

That is weird.  I have never heard of that.  I did not have one on embarkation day but I did at every port.  I wonder if that is a Boston rule exclusively 

It was only in Boston, at embarkation.  All other ports on our cruise were fine; I had a full water bottle every time.

[Homala]

14 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

It was only in Boston, at embarkation.  All other ports on our cruise were fine; I had a full water bottle every time.

This is good to know. Happy to hear water bottles are fine after other ports. 

[Blackduck59]

On 8/21/2024 at 8:41 AM, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

We wish Holland American would bring back the Mariner's lunch.

This topic has been discussed often in the last year. One of the disturbing elements of these conversations was just what "Mariners" would be welcome for lunch in the MDR on embarkation day. What if they let in a 2 star and that meant a 3 or 4 star had to wait or didn't get seated at all. I think the MDR should be open on embarkation day for lunch, to all passengers no matter "status" or cabin category. it would just take the pressure off the Lido. Alas the MDR is closed for lunch on embarkation day, so if you don't want to Lido, dine ashore before you board.

[shadow 123]

On 8/21/2024 at 9:49 AM, Homala said:

My DH and I just booked the 2025 cruise from Boston to Canada/Greenland/Iceland. This will be our longest cruise to date and new ports, too.  We are extremely excited!  

Reviewing the HAL forum, I see a few changes since we cruised last year.  We have enjoyed the mariner’s lunch at embarkation on all but our first cruise and are disappointed to see that it has gone away. They haven’t restarted the lunch, have they?  Just wondering if many of you have decided to board later and have lunch in the port town.  We are not big fans of the lido, especially when it’s crowded, but we also are so excited to board as early as possible, so we’re torn. Just looking for a little input. 
 

One more question:  it looks like sail away will be at 3:00, which seems pretty early. Isn’t all aboard supposed to be 2 hours prior to sail away?  If so, we would probably just go ahead and board as early as possible.

 

Thank you all!

I think I'm on the same cruise. Is it for 11 days and it leaves July 1?

[shadow 123]

11 hours ago, Suzanne123 said:

Wait. What? Are you talking about liquor, sodas etc, or will I have to dump my shampoo?

I had to dump my bottled water in Boston before getting on the ship. My shampoo was fine they didn't touch it.

[cruiseaholic78]

2 hours ago, shadow 123 said:

I had to dump my bottled water in Boston before getting on the ship. My shampoo was fine they didn't touch it.

A slightly different sort of Boston Tea Party!

[TiogaCruiser]

We just boarded in Boston Tuesday and I did have water in my metal bottle and no one said anything. Security only wanted to see the top of my wine bottle to confirm it was still sealed. 

[shadow 123]

2 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

We just boarded in Boston Tuesday and I did have water in my metal bottle and no one said anything. Security only wanted to see the top of my wine bottle to confirm it was still sealed. 

I think it's only the plastic bottles.

[TiogaCruiser]

22 minutes ago, shadow 123 said:

I think it's only the plastic bottles.

Not this cruise, but in other ports I’ve had water in my plastic canteen shaken to confirm it’s not booze.

[Homala]

10 hours ago, shadow 123 said:

I think I'm on the same cruise. Is it for 11 days and it leaves July 1?

No, the cruise we are taking is the 25 day leaving July 12th. You could stay on board and go on that one too!  

[Homala]

3 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

We just boarded in Boston Tuesday and I did have water in my metal bottle and no one said anything. Security only wanted to see the top of my wine bottle to confirm it was still sealed. 

Oh, interesting. My travel water bottle is metal, too. I would likely have it in my carry-on. Just to be safe, I’ll probably drop off all my bags, including the carry-on, so I don’t have to worry about it or lug it around. If I don’t have my water bottle with me, I’ll just have to have a cocktail instead when I board!  Ha ha!