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Tapi

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About Me

  • Location
    4 hours and 12 minutes from the closest cruise terminal
  • Interests
    Boating, Vacationing (specifically cruising)
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Holland America, MSC
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Valletta, Malta

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  1. We've sailed with our kids twice on HAL, one time in Alaska, and the other time in the Caribbean. On our Alaska cruise aboard Westerdam, there were very few kids onboard, and the kids club was closed several times when it was supposed to be open. In addition, our kids didn't even care about going because sometimes they were the only ones in attendance, so we didn't even bother with it after a few days. On our Caribbean cruise aboard Nieuw Statendam, there were 110 kids onboard (high compared to HAL's average, according to the camp counselors). On that cruise, my kids attended the kids club almost on a daily basis. They absolutely loved it. They made fast friends right away and after that, they all wanted to hang out as much as possible. On that cruise, all activities ran as scheduled. Overall, our experience with Club HAL (more specifically on the second cruise) was very positive. Compared to more family friendly cruise lines that we've sailed on (Royal, Carnival, MSC, Disney, etc, where the number of kids can sometimes be in the thousands), our kids received a much more personal and dedicated experience from the counselors. Having a smaller number of kids onboard meant that it was easier for them to make friends. HAL may not have massive facilities with tons of activities like on other cruise lines, but my kids still say that our cruise on the Nieuw Statendam was one of their favorites.
  2. We've done both. When we stayed in the Orlando area, it was because we were combining our cruise with a visit to the amusement parks 🤮. Otherwise we've stayed in the Cocoa Beach area at one of the oceanfront hotels. To me, that's much more enjoyable, relaxing, and a better way to begin my vacation.
  3. I agree. We have a land vacation (a quick 4 night trip to Cancun) in a few days, and we're paying 2X what we will pay for a 4 night cruise that we have planned for June, and we're not even staying at an All-inclusive resort. I was floored at the cost of all-inclusive resorts. They have sky-rocketed since the last time we did an all-inclusive vacation 3-4 years ago. Even for a less luxurious resort, the cost would be 3-4X more than our upcoming cruise.
  4. We sailed on Celebrity for the first time about a year ago aboard Celebrity Solstice. Mid-late 40's with two kids. We absolutely LOVED it. I must say that I wasn't wowed from the get go though. It took me a few days to warm up to this brand (not because there was anything wrong with it), but once I did, I enjoyed every minute of it. The ship was beautiful (although it was showing a bit of wear in some spots pre-drydock, but nothing major), service was great, food was better than what we've experienced on other cruise lines, and the overall experience was very enjoyable. I'd place Celebrity somewhere above Royal Caribbean and below Holland America. At par with Princess.
  5. We always do Uber to move around in the MIA / FLL area between airport, port, and hotel. Super easy to do, priced well, and usually no wait.
  6. Certainly. The tour operator is called Bay West Adventures. Don’t know if I can share their info on this forum, but Google them and you’ll find their website. You can book online. We had 14 family members in our group and split the cost accordingly which made the per person cost cheaper than a ship excursion. I just visited their website and they have increased prices and changed their pricing structure, but it may still be worth your while. Enjoy!
  7. We've done both LGA and JFK. LGA is closer, but with the Manhattan traffic, we felt like there was no clear winner between the two. We were stuck in horrible traffic coming from both airports. I fly in and out of NYC area airports very frequently for work, They are notorious for cascading, hours long delays and cancelations, even early in the morning. The airspace is too congested and the infrastructure simply can't keep up with the demand, even with the recent renovations. Please consider flying in at least one day prior to your cruise.
  8. Sorry that your cabin had issues. Not trying to minimize your experience, but I wouldn't generalize and say "avoid deck 4" altogether. I was concerned when I booked cabin 4133, first, because we were above public venues, and second, because we had a connecting door. Turned out that all of my concerns were unfounded. The cabin was super quiet during the entire cruise, and we loved the location near stairs and elevators, which made it super easy to go down to the Dutch Cafe one deck below for a quick morning coffee. I wouldn't hesitate booking the same cabin on deck 4 again. (but i would avoid yours)
  9. I have a good friend who lives in Miami who surprised us. We flew down from Atlanta to take a quick, 3 night cruise out of Miami. I'd asked him if he wanted to join us for lunch before getting on the ship but he declined, saying that "he had to work". We got to our cabin and minutes later, someone knocked at our door. Surprise, surprise, it was him. We'd cruised together before and I was very happy to see him. We had an absolute blast. It was a very welcome and pleasant surprise. With that said, had it been a different friend on a different cruise, I probably would've been mortified. I have some great friends who I love hanging out with back home, but who I would NEVER want to travel with.
  10. Hi: Thanks for your very thorough and detailed response. I just looked at my trip, M431. There's only one Gala Evening - Black and White slated for October 1. All the other are smart attire evenings. Looking forward to the experience! Have a great day.
  11. Hello: We just booked a quick, 5 night itinerary on the QM2 from Quebec to New York, and I have a few questions: How many formal nights can we expect on a short itinerary like this one? Our fare includes one dinner at an alternative restaurant. Is it correct that on QM2, a portion of the King's Court is transformed into an alternative dining venue, and that will be our only alternative option? (We are booked in a Britannia balcony). We are looking forward and planning accordingly to adhere to Cunard's dress code throughout our sailing, but there may be a night or two during the cruise where we may choose to skip dinner at the main dining room and have a casual dinner at the buffet. Will smart casual (slacks and collared shirt for men, cocktail dress or pant suit for women) be acceptable for a buffet dinner and to then attend other venues throughout the ship after dinner? What if it's on a formal night? I haven't been on a Cunard ship since the 1980's, so needless to say, I'm a bit rusty on all things Cunard. Thanks for your expertise and kind words!
  12. We snorkeled independently (not through the cruise line) in Nassau. We were taken by private boat, just for our family, to a spot north of Balmoral Island to swim surrounded by turtles (it was wonderful and a bit surreal). From there, we headed to a secluded spot on Rose Island where we spent a few hours at a stretch of pristine beach with no other human being in sight. After that, we stopped at a coral reef off the coast of Rose Island where we snorkeled for a while until we were ready to head back to the ship. It was a great spot with tons of corals and colorful sea life. The advantages of going snorkeling independently were many. First, we had the boat all to ourselves. The boat captain tailored the day to our needs, including where to go, what food and drinks we brought, down to the music that was played on the boat’s music system. We also avoided the crowds since we were taken to snorkeling and swimming spots which we had all to ourselves. We passed several boats gathered in one spot with hundreds and hundreds of people trying to snorkel all at once and we were grateful that we had bypassed the ship sponsored excursion. It was a bit pricey since it was a private tour operator, but it was well worth the price. I’ve been stopping in Nassau for over 30 years, and this activity was, by far, the best thing I’ve ever done at this port of call.
  13. If you’re flying in the day before the cruise, you’ll have considerably more time to figure out plan B. Even if you had to hop on a car and drive at the last minute, you can make it happen. It’s not only a flight cancelation. It can be early morning fog (very typical of the SFO Bay Area) causing rolling delays and where ALL flights are affected, or an accident on the way to the airport that makes you miss your flight, or longer than usual TSA lines, or lost luggage that doesn’t arrive with you and now has to play catch-up. We’ve had that happen, where we made it to the port city, but our luggage didn’t and it arrived after our ship sailed. We went on the cruise with just what we had in our carry ons. Our big luggage never caught up with us. Also, keep in mind that, even if they have flights every 30 minutes, that doesn’t mean that they’ll have a seat for you on the next available flight, specially these days when flights are operating close to full capacity. If your flight cancels, now they’ll have 180 passengers to re-accommodate. If there are only 5-10 seats open on subsequent flights, you may be out of luck. Besides all of the possible scenarios that could make you miss your cruise, it’s always nice to arrive one day early, unwind, go out for dinner, sleep in a bit, and arrive refreshed at the port, instead of exhausted after being up since before sunrise. The advice that I’m giving you is not only based on 40+ years of cruising experience, but also based on my experience working for the airlines for the last 30 years.
  14. If you’ve sailed aboard older, Fantasy class ships on Carnival, Margaritaville won’t be much of a shock. I found it to be very similar in terms of overall casual vibe, clientele, and ship condition. - You used to select your fixed dinner time (early or late) at the port prior to embarkation, but it’s my understanding that they don’t bother anymore. Nobody even checks anyway and they seat you at whatever table is available. - They will have a separate check in line for people who paid extra for one of the priority packages. Word of advice: If you have a passport, don’t bother paying extra for express/priority check in/check out. They’ll have a passport only line on debarkation which moves much faster than all others. There’s an overwhelming amount of birth certificate holders traveling on this cruise line and their line is a nightmare. - The main thing to watch out for on this cruise line are the extras. Their base fares are cheap, but they offer several packages to “enhance” your experience, some which cost considerably more than the actual cruise fare. Take for example “License to Chill” which includes specialty dining, massages, access to a VIP lounge, reserved seating at the theatre, priority embarkation, drink package, etc. A LOT of first time cruisers are suckered into buying these packages and end up paying considerably more for this 2 night budget cruise than if they went on a longe cruise aboard one of the more established cruise lines. We just paid the $49 cruise fare (plus taxes, gratuities, etc) bypassed all the extras, and still had a great time (obviously we adjusted our expectations accordingly). Go with an open mind. It’s a fun, super casual, budget minded cruise, and it goes by super fast.
  15. First and foremost, you are going to have a wonderful time! - Advice #1 of cruising: Never fly on the same day of the cruise. Even if it’s an early morning, short flight, too many variables can quickly derail and ruin your vacation. - Advice #2 of cruising: Travel insurance. There are several comprehensive policies that cover everything from lost luggage, delays, cancelations, lost passports, illness and other medical emergencies, evacuation, work related issues, to repatriation of human remains. If you cruise enough, sooner or later, you’ll be grateful for following these two pieces of advice. 😀
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