hokie_fan

We have always rushed off so I had no idea what happened later.  I totally get the clearing of the ship and have no idea how they get the turn around done so quickly.  We will be counting the minutes to get on the ship for sure. Thank you for all the advise. I do want to splurge on the Luggage Direct. (we missed the paperwork deadline last time) Since some of the post cruise excursions are already sold out, we may just uber out for a long lunch and head to the airport. 

Thank you for your suggestions and wonderful advise.  You guys are rock stars.

Forgive me for not finding an answer to something that has probably been answered a dozen times.  My flight does not leave FLL until 4:pm.  What is the latest time we will have to disembark?  I am not sure how to fill the time up that day.  

We discovered HA and Nieuw Statendam  last February and LOVED the cruise line.  I am excited to take family members along this time. I am a convert and HA people are my people!

Thanks so much.  The luggage delivery sounded awesome.Maybe next time.  I will be packing a small roller bag with my favorite wine, some tonic and order a bottle of gin from the ship. I like diet tonic which is hard to come by.

The three weeks we had to prepare for this cruise are almost over so I am running out of research time.  Please forgive me for asking something that has been discussed several times before. I promise a trip report when I return for all the help everyone has given me.  Can't begin to tell you how excited we are to travel with HAL.

1) Wine Package - I was ready to do a six bottle wine package in the lower price  level and then looked at some of the possible options.  It looks like I am paying $30+ for a $6.00 bottle of wine. I don't think I can swallow that, literally.  So, I will bring the two allowed bottles and am thinking about bringing some additional ones that I enjoy and pay the corkage fee.  How does this happen during check-in?  Do you put the wine in a small roll on bag and just tell them to charge the you corking fee?  Does this confuse things in the dining room when you come carrying your own wine?  I am not sure about any wine being available at the ports we are visiting but if so, could we pick that up and pay corking fee?

2) Tours - I was thinking about booking a jeep tour with ABC (seem to be #1) but then ran across the toursbylocals website.  Anyone use those?  They offer a half day private tour for $180.  We really want to explore Aruba to decide if we would like to plan a family trip there, so a private tour would help accomplish this.  Looked at car rentals but did not find a place that had good reviews.  I did reserve a car in Curacao with Advanced Car Rentals.  Good reviews but it seems odd to hand someone $75 and then drive off in their car.

3) Disembarkation - My hubbie was excited to see the option of sending the luggage straight to the airport from the ship. Has anyone used this feature? Looks to be $19.95 per person. Do we need to book a ride to the airport?  Flight is not until 2:45.  We are driving down from VA in a rental and flying back.  I did not want the stress of flying even the day before after our last flying disaster that caused to lose two days on a trip to Kauai.  Govt.  shutdown sealed the deal.

I was able to make the reservation for the 8:30 snorkel tour with Woodwind. So happy!  From reading reviews, they will take care of me while my husband has his own fun.  I am anxious and will go with the inexperienced group.  Will make a reservation at Tamerind for our special night.  Now for visiting whatsinport.com  for my the rest of the islands and the dreaded packing. So glad I don't have to wait a year to do this.  I am thinking last minute is a good thing.  😎

Balcony cabin has been booked, so now on to flights and port research. The more I learn about HAL, the more excited I am about cruising with this line.  Not to much left  to choose from cabin wise, so I ended up with an aft cabin on the 5th level for $2790 total, with OBC to pay for tips.  I decided to avoid the steel railings, which was a risk when going for the guarantee deal. 

Correct on the inside cabins.  I would have died in there.  146 square feet, yikes.  Thanks to all.  HAL people are good people!

Thanks for cabin advise. Will go for the balcony. Inside sounds pretty claustrophobic. 

Yes , $2500 for both if hat price is still available tomorrow. Hopefully woodwind will have room for two. I do want to try tamarind. Thanks so much for your help. 

This is just my husband and I for our 28 anniversary.  I may have made some mistakes when writing the cabin numbers down. You are correct, they are forward.  The one inside was provided to me by the agent just in case I wanted to save money and book inside. 

canadian-nurse - The things you listed are exactly why we want to switch to HAL.  I am hoping to go back to how cruising was 25 years ago.  Elegant and special.

Have been planning an anniversary trip to one of the ABC islands for snorkeling and was having a hard time choosing and spending so much $$ to go to one place, not knowing if I would like it.  Decided to check on taking a cruise and ran across the Nieuw Statendam 10 day cruise that visits all three islands for much less than spending a week on one island.  I have not cruised HAL, but have cruised Carnival, NCL and RCL on family cruises.  I am happy to leave the water slides and rollerblading behind for sure.  

Is there anything I need to be aware of by booking something so close to the departure date?  Cabins choices are not great. I am choosing between guarantee or a aft cabin on deck 5 (choices are 5011, 5012 and 5014)  Only incentive is prepaid tips by online agency.  The price, $2500 seems okay for a 10 day cruise, but I am not sure.  

Thank you in advance for any advice you may have.