CruiserBruce

Take a look down the board...there are MANY threads on hotels. "Crazy expensive" is a totally subjective point of view...what price range are are you looking for? Is that price range relevant to the actual prices in Miami? The dress code issues are best answered on the RCI board.

Already a big thread from yesterday:

Just an FYI, the port doesn't generally care what you bring on, as long as its legal. Its the cruise line that determines what you bring on.

Might be helpful to give a better location than "not far"...

HAL may not have run that itinerary in the past. That is one of the great things about HAL...always new or varying routes.

Correct. Cardioversion is a more complicated procedure, and requires specific equipment to perform. An AED would not be expected to work.

Other than showing your passport to be eligible to fly into Canada, there is no Immigration or Customs procedure at SEA. Canadian Immigration and Customs will be when you land. I don't know SEA's policy, but flights to nearby countries like Canada and Mexico don't have to go out of the international terminal.

Ah, ok. What do you mean? If you are looking for others on your cruise, that would be here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/233-volendam-roll-calls/

The other issue is that some countries only require visas in the case of land visits. One day visits on a cruise ship doesn't require a visa. Turkey is an example.

All those questions can be answered by a little research on the ports boards. It is exceptionally rare that you can't use a private tour company in a port. The ports boards contain many recommendations for tours in each port.

There are only 200 plus countries in the world. Sure, somebody at a cruise line should know all the possible permutations of visa laws. No problem. ( I am being sarcastic.)

Nothing after 5 star. President's Club is, as highlighted repeatedly on our recent Zaandam cruise award ceremony (4 President's Club members present, all over 2000 days), based on "actual days on board", not spending or cabin levels booked. President's Club is in the 100, 300, 500, 700 day ranking system, not the Star Mariner system.

I also have zero issues flying on a MAX. I see a fair number of options to get you to YYZ or SEA. If you are choosing COPA for price concerns, consider another way of looking at what @FlyerTalker is saying is, you get what you pay for. I would be checking what my cruise line offers in this case. One way international airfares are definitely a strong point of those programs.

Do we get to guess the port?

I lied...I am back. 😄 Two things I forgot to mention. First, Tom Vassos was an absolute rocker on board. Such a plus...fantastic presentations, very accessible all over the ship, before and after his presentations and just about 24/7. Just a great human being, and a great asset to this cruise. Secondly, the group on board. There was Sky and Telescope, about 375 people, and two other small groups. Yes, they had various presentations and other events, and had their own operations on the top deck forward for the Eclipse. I never once felt they in anyway affected any other activities or things on the ship. Perhaps because every single person on then ship was there for the same purpose...I don't know. But other than their special ID badges, and the almost daily events scheduled at various venues and times, you wouldn't have known anything was happening. No impact at all on our enjoyment.