BostonBoy2

Hi, we are doing the eastbound transatlantic in August. We will be taking the train down from Boston the day before the ship departs, and we're wondering whether all the info on this page is still accurate - taking the ferry from Pier 11 to Red Hook looks great! We do know that the the Andaz Wall Street hotel is now a Hyatt. Sadly, it does get terrible reviews on Tripadvisor, so any suggestions as to an alternative would be welcome. However, the main point of this post is just to make sure that the ferry from Pier 11 to Red Hook remains the attractive option described here.  Thank you!

Will do - glad I had this resource to reassure me!  Thank you all. 

Thank you for all these comments and suggestions. I guess the problem is that I can't figure out why anyone would want to stay in a Cunard hotel and pay their premium!

We are traveling on Cunard in late August, NY to Southampton. We will be taking the Acela train from Boston to Penn Station the day before ship boarding.

I spoke to Cunard about a hotel reservation for the night before we board, and they gave me the same list quoted above - 

Hilton Midtown

Marriott Marquis

The Knickerbocker

Marriott Brooklyn Bridge

The Cunard rate is far above the non-Cunard rate. For example, the online rate for the Marriott Brooklyn is $384.  Cunard quoted us $700 (!)

We're thinking, why not simply take a cab/Uber from Penn Stat. to the Marriott Brooklyn, and benefit from the lower rate? We are not New Yorkers, so any advise much appreciated!

Cunard has several pre-cruise hotels that they book for you in Manhattan, They then transport you to the ship the morning of the cruise. However, their prices are far above the "street rate" for these hotels. And, it seems that it might be more economical to just stay in a hotel near the cruise port.

The "Cunard hotels" are NY Hilton Midtown, NY Marriott Marquis, Knickerbocker.

We will be taking the Acela down from Boston the day before the cruise, and the train stop is Penn Station/Moynihan. We could simply take a cab or Uber from there to a hotel near the cruise terminal.

What do you advise?

On 5/4/2023 at 2:08 PM, Destiny0315 said:

Btw, the four cookbooks that Rudi Sodamin has done for HAL are all available on Amazon as I am not sure if they are sold on board anymore. They also have the earlier ones that he did for RCCL. If you have family and friends who like to cook and especially ones who have cruised with HAL and tasted some of these same recipes they would make nice gifts...Rob

Thank you so much! Just ordered this book on Amazon. 

Early this year we booked. a Barcelona-Athens cruise with Windstar (Star Legend) for Sept. 2023.

However, in the interim my wife has been diagnosed with a meningioma - a type of brain tumor. 

The medical professionals at MGH say that it is small and is not growing/non-malignent. They advise "watchful waiting" before brain surgery, which carries risks.

However, my wife has had 2 (perhaps 3, we are uncertain about the first) seizures in the last six months. It was the second of these that led to medical evaluation and diagnosis.

Visits to the ER after 2 of these did not result in any "treatment" per se. She was dehydrated and was treated for that, alone.

She seems to recover from these seizures quickly - she is tired and a bit wiped out for 24 hours, but that's it.

So, I am trying to decide about this trip. We do have cancellation insurance, so the cost is not an issue. We also have evacuation insurance. However, she wants to go. And, we are are taking our daughter and her boy friend ( very serious), so cancelling would be a big disappointment.

The issue for me is what I would have to do if she had a seizure on the ship. She called Windstar and they told her that there is a doctor and two nurses on the boat, which is a bit reassuring. However, the idea of having to leave the boat to check into a hospital somewhere en route is frightening.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on this situation.

Thanks, in advance. 

I'd love to be able to create the recipe for roasted zucchini bisque, which we had on a recent Holland America cruise. The menu has Rudi Sodamin's name beside it. Any idea how I can track this down? I know that some recipes are trade secrets, but I'm hoping that this one isn't. Thanks in advance.  

We are going on New Amsterdam, leaving Port Everglades (FL) on Sunday. First time cruisers.

We have a number of electrical outlet adapters we have brought on international trips in the past. Should we bring any on this trip? We have "U.S." devices (phones, ipad, CPAP machine ...).

thanks in advance.

Yes - I'm looking for: "this is no big deal. Everyone does it - as in millions of people bring cannabis onto these cruise ships every year without incident. You should just do it, and not worry about it."

That is exactly what I'm looking for.

5 hours ago, mom says said:

So you are fully aware that what you are planning is against cruise line rules, US Federal law, and against the law in many other countries. And you are willing to allow your wife to face the penalties if she is caught. Because it is she, not you, who would face whatever penalties  that resulted after a sniffer dog got close, or an inspector wanted to open her bag. Trying to hide it would just make the consequences worse. I'm not sure why you would think that anyone is "looking the other way", or why US ports are different to others.

 

Your wife should consult her health care provider for an alternate medication for the length of her travels.

Well, the reason I don't think this is a big deal/risk is because it seems that almost everyone in the U.S. is high on cannabis these days. With tens of thousands of people (many of them young) going on and off all these massive cruise ships every week, I have a hard time believing that many of them are not bringing cannabis on board. It's just a matter of statistics + human behavior. 

We are about to go on our first HAL cruise (out of Ft. Lauderdale, 3/19). We are seeing all the promotions for "Have It All," but we are really a bit clueless on who to value this. It seems that the only way it "pays off"/saves any money is if you are a big drinker.  I'd appreciate any thoughts on this.

Thanks in advance.

We are about to go on our first cruise (Holland America out of Ft. Lauderdale next week) We fly Boston to Ft. Lauderdale, cruise, then reverse flights.

My wife depends on medical cannabis quite a bit, and is worried about not being able to bring it. (To be clear, she has a Massachusetts "medical marijuana card").

I know this is not permitted (despite the fact that medical marijuana is legal in both Mass. and FL.  A quick Internet search warns that the cruise lines don't tolerate this.

However, the risk seems exceptionally low My wife uses gummies (edibles), so there is no smoke or odor. In fact, I can't perceive any cannabis odor from the gummies themselves. To be safe we could wrap the gummies in some manner to reduce odor even further. Unless our bags are searched in depth or a pot-smelling dog was present, the risk of getting caught seems miniscule. And, I can't believe that thousands of people don't do this every day (especially out of U.S. ports), and that the cruises don't just look the other way.

Please share your thoughts or experiences. Thanks in advance.

Wife and I are going on the Nieuw Amsterdam for a week in late March. This is the Ft. Lauderdale to San Juan 7 day cruise. We are first-time cruisers. There are two days "at sea."

I'm trying to figure out how to handle phones/Internet on this trip.

I need phone and wifi access to stay in touch with work - I have a phone and an iPad. I can have my workplace turn on international roaming for the phone (AT&T). I've done that a couple of times in Europe and it's worked well. I assume that will only work when we're in port. So, I am thinking of buying the ship wifi. Will it work for both devices?

My wife has a phone, and would like to use it for email, telephone, browsing and to send photos to family members. I can turn on her Verizon international roaming, which I assume means she'll only get access when we're in port. Alternatively, I can buy the ship wifi package for her - I assume I can't share my ship wifi package with her, is that right?

I'm thinking that I'm overthinking this, and that I should just buy two wifi packages, one for wife, one for me.

Advice much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

This cruise, leaving March 19, goes to Half Moon Cay, Amber Cove and Grand Turk. There are two days "at sea."

Could anyone that's taken this cruise recently let me know if there are any rough waters? I am very susceptible to sea sickness, and I'm wondering what precautions I need to take, or whether I need to take any at all. 

Thanks in advance.

We are first-time cruisers, and will be going on Holland America's NIEUW STATENDAM Caribbean 7 day "Tropical" cruise in February. The itinerary is Nassau, Amber Cove, Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, with two days at sea. The cruise departs from and returns to Ft. Lauderdale.

I'm quite susceptible to sea sickness, and I'm wondering - might we encounter rough seas on this trip? If so, what is the best sea sickness preventative? A Scopolamine transdermal patch? Something else?

Thanks in advance.

13 hours ago, anadi said:

We(my mom, my sister and I - all adults) have done 3 in a room twice. Once we had a balcony room(french balcony so you can only stand on it), once was an ocean view. The rooms were both the same size. There is a curtain you can pull between the beds and the sofa. My sister usually takes the sofa bed, so not sure about comfort, but she has never complained, so assuming it is OK. 

Thanks very much

21 hours ago, new_cruiser said:

There were several pieces of info in my post. Not clear which you are requesting a link for. Hopefully one of these covers it.

 

On:

https://www.windstarcruises.com/ships/star-legend/

scroll to the bottom and choose View Deck Plan which opens a pdf of the deck plan. Look at the key for the symbol indicating 3rd birth. The deck plan also shows a typical cabin layout. 

 

The waived and reduced solo supplement page is:

https://www.windstarcruises.com/reduced-single-supplement/

Thank you! - both of these are helpful

On 12/17/2022 at 7:54 PM, new_cruiser said:

Cabins with a third berth are marked on the deck plan. There are not a lot 2 to 4 in most categories so you should contact Windstar to see if one is available in your category.

 

Cabins have a good sized sitting area with a couch and two chairs so there should be adequate space to be comfortable during the day. 

 

I have no experience with the comfort level of the 3rd berth. 

 

Some cruises have a reduced solo supplement (generally 25%) and the normal solo supplement is 75%. I don't know what Windstar charges for a 3rd person in a room. 

 

Edit: The spring Barcelona to Athens is on the reduced solo supplement list, the one on Star Legend in the fall is not so you might consider whether the spring dates could work. Or, if you book the three of you sharing a room, you might check the reduced solo supplement list from time to time and change the booking to two rooms if it gets added.

Could you provide the link to this information, please?

My wife and I were just about to pull the trigger on a Barcelona-Athens cruise next year. We are first time cruisers.

Today our 28 yr. old daughter visited us and said, "can I come"? My wife immediately said "yes."

Me: "how ahh ... will you get off work"

Daughter: "that's my problem pops, don't bother yerself"

Huh, ok.

I know she can share hotel rooms w/us in Madrid, Barcelona and Athens pre- and post-cruise, but I'm wondering about the ship cabin. Do we have to fork over another ten grand to get her a separate cabin, or can we get a cabin that will comfortably (ok, ok, semi- semi- comfortably) hold three people.

We are all pretty small people - wife and I are tall but skinny. Daughter is 5' 1", 120 pounds. 🙂 

T'hanks!

We are planning our first cruise in the eastern Mediterranean. We are in our early '70s. We had heard a lot of good reports on Viking, so we were inclined to book with Viking. However, I am a long-time member of TripAdviser, and I usually go there for travel information. There seem to be an unusual number of truly bad reviews of Viking on the Viking forum. 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g1939161-d10813724-Reviews-or30-Viking_Cruises-Lignan_De_Bordeaux_Gironde_Nouvelle_Aquitaine.html

In fact, the "terrible/poor" ratings exceed the "excellent" ratings. And, the negative reviews are heavily weighted toward recent trips.

I'm wondering - is booking an ocean tour with Viking a big mistake?! Or is it just that people who have bad experiences are more inclined to write negative reviews, and this is something of a statistical anomaly? 

Thanks for you thoughts! Oh, and one more thing - while I typically don't use a travel agent, the whole "cruise thing" is sufficiently complex that it seems that it might be a good idea to use a travel agent that specialized in cruises for this trip. Any recommendations of travel agents in the Boston area would be appreciated.