Ricktan

10 hours ago, Lido deck main said:

Hi,

We sailed out of Vancouver last year exact same date, three ships with one of them being Norwegian Bliss which has over 6,000 passengers, and the Bliss is in again this Monday when you are leaving.  With the three ships, Approx. 10,000 people embarking.  As we knew it was going to be a crazy day, we went to the port extra early around 9:00am, luckily they had immigration open early we were able to have our luggage scanned, go through immigration and get checked in, all very fast, Then we had to wait for an hour in seats, however they let us board early at 10:30am, advising us that the cabins were not ready but we could all go up to the buffet.  Never, have been on so early.  In my opinion be there around 9:30am, as this is going to be an extra busy day.  As the Bliss is so large, this is their one annual visit.  I believe it is the largest ship to be in Vancouver port.  Have a great cruise.

 

 

Thank you for the great info! I will go at 9:30. Great info!

Thank you to everyone for the great answers! I feel silly asking but now have knowledge lol! I will take pictures! 

We depart from Vancouver next Monday, yeah! I received an email saying they expect delays as there is 3 ships that day. It said if booked your hotel through them you would receive boarding instructions at your hotel (we did and are at the PP). Said deck 8 at 10:30, deck 7 at 11, etc. We are staying in the PS and I thought we would be one of the first on...not a huge deal but I wanted first access to the concierge in the NL so that I could get some reservations set up. Of course, I don’t know what I will find out once we get to the hotel. My question is if they give me a later time should I go by that or just show up lol? What should I expect with 3 ships leaving?

Internet....I noticed it says it is for one device. So, if we want two devices running them we need to buy two packages? Sorry if this is a stupid question.

Pinnacle Grill.....we have two sea days and we want to try lunch at the PG due to the great reviews on here. Do you make reservations for that or is it first come?

Thank you!

On 8/26/2019 at 5:55 PM, malibu2 said:

We are booked for a Hawaii cruise in April 2020. I told the kids (30's)  no babies while I am gone! So low and behold what do I find out today that daughter is expecting at that time. So my question is has anyone moved there cruise a month earlier and kept incentives? I could cancel and pick up in the fall of 2020 as have great incentives this week. I used FCC, so not out any deposit. Spring or Fall  best for Hawaii ?  TIA...

Regardless of the cruise......CONGRATULATIONS Grandma!!!! Nothing in this world better than a grand baby! 

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions! Although torn the Marriott didn’t have the room I wanted so I ultimately decided on the Del! King room, ocean view....I’m excited. I know it means we will be on the Island but I think we will be fine with going back and forth.  We have reservations at Juniper & Ivy on Sunday night. Doing the zoo on Monday and then think we will eat dinner in Coronado Monday night. Found a couple nice restaurants with great reviews there. I think this will be a great way to end our cruise!  Thanks again for the suggestions! 

4 hours ago, slidergirl said:

Also look at the US Grant.  A classic old hotel.  Near Gaslamp.  Another more "hip" hotel is the Andaz, up the street a little more from the US Grant.  I'm trying to think a little outside the box for you, rather than the same old cruise favorites and big chains.   

Thank you! Love being outside the box lol!

10 hours ago, Yodalicious said:

If money is not a consideration, Hotel Del Coronado,  On Coronado island.    It is where they filmed Some like it Hot.  It is a beautiful old classic with gorgeous views.

 

 

I did consider this,.....my only concern is that since we won’t have a car will I find enough here to keep us busy? I will definitely go over for a visit but wasn’t sure about staying.  

12 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

Highly recommend the SD Old Town Trolley if you have extra time pre or post-cruise

 

https://www.trolleytours.com/san-diego

Thank you for the link! This I will definitely do! 

Thank you to everyone for all the suggestions! I’m looking over the suggestions....sounds like I can’t really go wrong with any of these! 

I don’t know why but I’m having a hard time deciding on a hotel in San Diego. We end our cruise there and we are staying 2 nights. We have all day Sunday to fill (any suggestions are welcome) and then are doing a private tour at the Zoo on Monday. We love any kind of food! I would like to see some shops. And I want to stay within about 15/20 mins of the airport. Budget isn’t really a concern and we like nice hotels. Any suggestions? 

I’m sure it will be round trip. We are booked on the Sept 17th, departing from Quebec City and ending in Boston. Received our email a couple days ago ago also.  I’m actually excited about the changes and very happy to end in Boston instead or the originally planned NY.  Nothing against NY but have been there several times and have never been to Boston. We will stay for a couple extra days. 

29 minutes ago, msmayor said:

 

How easy is it to wire the cash, and is there a fee?  We're on the Eurodam in the fall and I'd love to do this.

 

My husband and I have always carried cash and are not a fan of this.  We took out a marker for a recent trip to Vegas and loved the freedom it offered, not needing to carry cash across country or store it in our safe.

Another option.....I purchase the casino chips online. I would say we play more than a little 😂 and I certainly don’t like carrying cash. Trust me, you can buy as much as you want.  You will have a card with the information on your chips waiting in your room. Then, after boarding, as soon as someone is in the casino take that card to them and they will convert it to cash. Since you purchased up front they are prepared and expecting you. Then we take our cash to our safe. No extra fees doing it that way. I charge on my HA credit card so I get credit for the purchase and I just pay it right away so I have no extra expense. I’m sure others have better ideas but it works for us! 

I noticed this at the bottom of my PCC’s email this past week.

*Please Note: The Office of the Personal Cruise Consultants is closed on Saturday and Sundays - effective March 2nd, 2019.*

My PCC typically didn’t work weekends anyway so I didn’t think anything about it but it appears to be a new standard. 

On 3/2/2019 at 4:20 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

I agree with your opinion about menu description.  Sometimes, what sounds promising surely isn't!  (On Royal Princess,  their celebrity chef's entree of Roasted Pork Belly was on the menu that sounded good and I have never tried Pork Belly; I ordered it.  When my Steward served it, the entree didn't look appetizing.  After 3 bites, I knew if I attempted to eat, my digestive system would revolt because of the grease.)

I hate that you had bad pork belly! When done right it is amazing so please try again! 

On 2/26/2019 at 11:33 AM, racnwdow said:

 

I would have a very hard time getting full on one trip through a buffet.  Not because I am a glutton or over eat.  But because I am one of the people who can't stand their food to touch.  I am 56 and haven't outgrown it yet, so I am not changing now.  

🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️🤣

7 minutes ago, richwmn said:

That list looks pretty much like the list for GA. I will add though that for the proof of address you can not use 2 versions of the same thing. For example 2 registrations for 2 different vehicles don't work, but (at least for GA) 1 car registration and the insurance card for the same vehicle does.

I actually found the process of renewing my GA license the easiest ever.  I brought in the 3 things listed and was done in minutes. They did tell me that now that I have the gold ⭐️ I can renew my license on line in the future! 

4 hours ago, Homosassa said:

 

If you have a Florida Driver's License, check to see if you have a gold star in the right hand corner.  If you do, you have a Real ID Florida license. 

 

No star means you need to get yourself down to DVM or find another government issued ID that meets the requirements when you fly.

 

The RealID for Florida is nothing new. I needed to show all the required documentation the last time I renewed my Florida license in 2010.

Same for GA...gold ⭐️ 

Ms. Ruth, you  can get them on Amazon.....comes in a four pack with a little brush to clean them!!

On 1/9/2019 at 12:46 PM, Cruising-along said:

We have done the 6-day Pacific Coastal before, it's a nice cruise.  I looked and see that it leaves September 30 -- not October 30?  I was curious because I've never seen a Pacific Coastal leave in October 🙂  

 

There was once or twice we did miss Astoria -- it happens sometimes in the fall, we've had some rough seas in September.   If you've never been there before it's a nice, quiet little town, easy to walk about.   But IMO  San Francisco, Santa Barbara and San Diego are the highlights of this cruise. 

 

 

Oh my! You are correct. I typed that wrong. It is Sept!! 😊

8 hours ago, canadianbear said:

I recognize your handle-welcome back!  Happy you are now well enough to cruise again.    When I read the title 6 day Pacific Coastal I thought you’d be on ours this April.

 

 You’ll have time now to research what you’d like to see in Vancouver  for your 3 night stay-it will probably be raining so be prepared!!   

 

 

 

 

Thank you! Not even rain will dampen my excitement! But I will invest in a rain jacket!

8 hours ago, RuthC said:

Welcome back to health, normal life, and Cruise Critic. I can practically hear the excitement anticipating your cruise from what you wrote. Have a lovely time.

Thank you!! I have to say.....everyone is being so nice! (Not that I expected meanness but hey, you never know right?) 

10 hours ago, grsnovi said:

We will often stop there to eat at the Bridgewater Bistro when we make the trip over to the coast. 

Great info, thank you!

10 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Glad you are back to normal.

 

Don't know what star Mariner you are, but if you are 3, 4 or 5 star Mariner, you can get discounts on the Specialty restaurants.  If not -- the first evening in the specialty restaurants is being discounted -- only if you book once on the ship.

 

 

Thank you!  We are just 2 *. Will reach our 3* with the Sept 2020 Canada/NE cruise that I just booked hehe!! 

Hey everyone! Let me start by saying that it has been several years since I’ve posted (although I’ve done a lot of trolling lol). We did a Med cruise several years ago and I was so grateful for all the advice I received on here. Some of you long time posters are incredible with your input! I had several cruises booked that I had to cancel and have sent the past few years trying to get well. By the grace of God (and some very skilled hands of a brilliant Neurosurgeon) I can proudly say that I have booked a new cruise and am enjoying becoming a “normal” person again (my hubby says I was never normal). 🙈

We are booked on the 6 day Pacific leaving Vancouver on Oct 30 (Oosterdam) and hitting Astoria, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and then San Diego. Couple of questions...

Best day to book Pinnacle Grill? I’m thinking the first night might be good....any thoughts? 

I have read that sometimes you can’t get into Astoria? If correct, I will roll with it but wondering if I’ll be missing much as I can’t find a lot on this port. 

We leave on a Monday so we will have the weekend in Vancouver to play. Interesting tidbit....I went online to book 3 nights at the Pan Pacific and it was showing 1583.00 (US) for the 3 nights, Pre paid and non refundable. Went on HAL and found 3 nights precruise for 1180!! Big difference and I’m good with booking through HAL since they will provide my transport from the airport to the hotel. I’m sure this might sometimes be more expensive but glad it worked for me this time! I have never been to the West Coast and am excited and open to all suggestions! So happy to be back! 

Has anyone had a cabin right next to the pinnacle suites? I was wondering if it would be more noisy on the balcony .. I am assuming more people would occupy the PS hence more loud talking etc on balcony ?

PS is all we book and only two of us....although we do love the sound system and enjoy turning the music up while on the balcony, I doubt it's loud enough to bother anyone.....