cruisepro19

Thank you aungrl, much appreciated. I'll have a look and see if they also ship to Canada.

My mom (senior), is looking for a new lightweight travel backpack that she can use as her carry-on for the airplane. She is looking for something that has a padded section for her iPad, exterior waterbottle pocket, a few compartments for organization, a light coloured lining or interior so things are easily found, a separate pocket for a cellphone and/or keys would be great. She also wants something that she can carry comfortably. She doesn't use any wheeled carry-on luggage because for her, getting it overhead to put into an overhead airplane compartment isn't an option. Any recommendations from travellers would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all in advance!

I didn't have the pea soup, but had their sandwiches, quiche, apple pie, cookies, beverages, etc.. I'll have to try that next time!

Hi doone, We did 2 back to back cruises in September 2022 and booked a cabana for the second cruise only (separate booking number). It was no issue, but did have to commit to that entire cruise. HAL staff did state that if there were any remaining available, they could do "day" rentals. We splurged on this on the Niew Statendam on the East Coast cruise and LOVED being spoiled. Although the weather was cool, it was a quiet spot to read of book, be delivered a coffee or hot chocolate from the amazing staff, comfy loungers and blankets for those cool days, and use of the Cabana Area Hot Tub! The staff there treated us like royalty.

Does anybody have a list of HAL Cruise Ships that have the Dutch Cafe? I know the Niew Statendam does, but wondering which others do? Was a HUGE fan of this spot on the Niew Statendam when cruising with them last Fall 2022. A great spot for a casual lunch, quick snack & drink, and a great spot to rest and re-group after an excursion. Thank you all in advance!

Hi johnmik1, If you are able to get into Toronto, ON - there are flights from Toronto Island Airport flying with Porter Airlines flyporter.com . This is a much smaller airport than Pearson International Airport in Toronto. It is easy to get to from Pearson Airport or from the Via Rail line. It is right downtown Toronto on the lake, and has flights daily to Quebec City. This is the airline my mom and I flew last year on our East Coast Canadian Cruise with HAL out of Quebec City. I personally much prefer flying out of the Toronto Island Airport whenever I can (Pearson airport is huge and the wait times can be long). Hope this helps.

Love Porter and the Island Airport in Toronto. Haven’t travelled with them in a few years, since Covid, but we are flying Porter for our cruise in September to avoid Pearson.

I agree with your thinking that if something happens with the flight in Seattle, they are closer and would have better options as alternatives if need be.

We are starting the cruise Sept 6 and returning Sept.24. We are also doing Northern Newfoundland (St.Anthony) as well. Sounds like the Boston/NE area will be a bit warmer than I thought.

Hi all, I live in Southern Ontario, Canada and we are cruising the East Coast and New England in September for a B2B cruise. We understand layering of clothing is going to be key to being comfortable and dressing for the weather. What I’m looking to purchase is a good quality outerwear jacket that is going to be lightweight with a little warmth. However, I want it to be suitable for windy conditions and light rain. I don’t want it to be so waterproof or wind proof that it causes me be be sweaty. My plan thus far is to pack my Columbia rain jacket, but this only is good for rain & wind (no warmth whatsoever and does cause me to be a bit sweaty) (sorry! Yuck!). Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!

Dear PasadenaDave, That is great that you have that time before the cruise. I know it is only July and things may change, but there has been a lot of media/press here about Air Canada cancelling flights for July and August. As an example, if you look at Toronto Pearson airport at the arrivals and departures for today, there are a number of cancelled and delayed flights. It is hard to predict what “may” happen. We are travelling to Quebec City for a cruise in September and currently live not far from Toronto and are scheduled to fly 1 day in advance. However, if our flight happens to be cancelled, we are fully prepared to make the drive as a back-up plan. I hope things go smoothly for you and that it is stress free flying in.

Hi John99, I wouldn’t take a chance on a 1.5 hr. layover at YYZ right now. That is just personal opinion based on what we see in the news daily and experiences of friends and family flying out of YYZ not connecting flights though. Not sure what carrier you are flying, but Air Canada just recently announced they cancelled either 10% or 15% of their flights for July and August 2022. We are cruising from Quebec City in September and have booked out of Toronto Island Airport with Porter Airlines and are leaving a day prior to the cruise because if it is cancelled we are fully prepared to drive from the greater Toronto Area. Again, this is just our own preference and personal opinion.

Dear PasadenaDave, Understanding your frustration about your flight change, where are you connecting through when you fly in for your Quebec City cruise in September? How far in advance are you flying in?

TheBus is great, not sure what the fares are anymore, but it is very tourist friendly. We’ve also used the Waikiki Trolley a number of times (the routes and costs are posted on their website). It is pretty easy to get to places like Hanauma Bay, Punchbowl Crater, Pearl Harbor, Waikiki Stadium (market), etc. Via TheBus. We did something similar to what you were looking into, mid-trip we took TheBus to the airport to pick up a car rental and paid for parking for 3 nights at the hotel we were staying at. We did this when we wanted to drive around the island and also wanted to go to the Dole Pineapple Plantation.

I would agree with others here about Molokini. We did not have a good experience there, and much prefer other snorkeling tours elsewhere. We enjoyed Haleakala, I’m sure you’ll enjoy that.

In Hilo, I would second Volcanos National Park tour. We really enjoyed our time there. The helicopter tour in Kauai out of Nawiliwili is breathtaking to see the Napali coast. I would recommend doing this excursion mid to late morning when the fog has risen or early afternoon. For Kona, we took a shuttle from one of the hotels in Kona to “turtle beach”. This was fun, but black sand hurts the feet (wear water shoes). The other option is to walk around on your own in Kona (there was a market and a shave ice place). If you can do Haleakala, we did a sunset tour and we loved this as well. Did not enjoy the Molokini crater snorkeling, the current was too strong when we went. If you are spending time in the Honolulu/Waikiki area, I would highly recommend Hanauma Bay for snorkeling. Lots of fun, and you can get there by city bus. Enjoy!

If you can, try and do the helicopter ride. I’ve sailed by the Napali Coast on the cruise ship and done the helicopter. This was the best activity I’ve ever done, hands down and worth the investment for this once in a lifetime opportunity. I would also recommend not trying to do this first thing in the morning, wait until mid-morning or early afternoon when the fog burns off.

Thank you kazu & richwmn for your replies and help. kazu - I'm sorry for the loss of your husband. It was hard to post about the loss of my father as he was an avid cruiser too. This will be my mom's first cruise since the passing of my dad (my mom and I are making it a "girls" trip 🙂 ). I appreciate the insight and hopefully they will honor a credit of some kind, (understanding it may take time to process). Thank you for sharing your experience too, and sharing a difficult topic to discuss. richwmn - it is encouraging to hear that a friend of yours did receive a reply through the Guest Relations email address. I have sent an email a few days ago to that address so I will give it time for them to reply. Just thought speaking to a human being would be easier, but I guess not... lol. Strange times we live in, that is for sure.

The concern I have is that my father passed away in May 2020 and he has a cruise credit on-file with Holland America from a cruise that was cancelled by HAL in April 2020 . My mom and I are taking a HAL cruise this Fall 2022 and would like to transfer his credit to her. In speaking with Guest Relations, one Guest Relations employee said "no transfer or cruise credits" which I do understand in most cases. Another Guest Relations said that HAL would probably do something, but unsure and by the time she transferred me, the person on the other line either was disconnected or hung up. Any suggestions here? I had stated that we could provide a death certificate, but that didn't seem to assist in any way. Also, my husband has a credit that I would like to use (sounds like that won't be allowed) which I can understand. Has anybody had any luck with trying to extend a credit? It is my understanding the credit will expire on December 31/22. This is more something I am curious about than anything because it has only been recently that we've been permitted to travel. Thank you for your help in advance.

Hi Everyone, I’ve had a bit of a challenging time finding someone with Guest Relations who can assist me. They have insisted that I email guest relations, which is fine, and I will certainly wait until the timeframe they gave me to receive a reply. Does anybody have a direct phone number and extension of someone in Guest Relations who has been helpful to them? I have tried the Mariner phone number, Guest Relations phone number posted on the HAL website and the generic phone number of the website and have all looped me to the same spot. I’m getting mixed answers, but nobody seems to be able to answer the question and have spent over 3 hours the last few days on the phone. There is no sense in getting stressed, but couldn’t even speak to a Supervisor on Manager on the phone. Realizing many industries are short staffed and are dealing with long wait times, I just want to get a definitive answer and rationale. Thank you all in advance for any contact information you can provide.