Been There, Planning That

Three years ago we did a b2b from Montreal leaving our car in the port garage. We arrived fairly early when passengers were still disembarking and there was general signage confusion. We finally made our way to the garage line and had to show our boarding passes and were allowed into the almost empty garage. All ticket gates were OPEN and unattended. The HAL employee inside noticed we'd driven and offered us a HAL identification ticket for our window. At NO point upon entry did we get a ticket and two weeks later simply were waved out -- no charge. I'm sure someone goofed, but may you be so lucky. I had been in contact with port parking authority and been given a weekly rate and advised to request this upon entry. You might start here: https://www.port-montreal.com/ Last year we did the repositioning HAL cruise, again from Montreal but this time took the bus from Ottawa -- prebooking senior tickets cost under $50. It was a breeze on sail away morning. It cost us more for a taxi to the bus terminal than to Montreal! The taxi driver at the Montreal station wasn't eager to accept us for a short ride to the port, but too far for us to walk. Ruth

100% cotton underwear often comes back a shade of grey but I now save 'travel greys' so no worries. I also bring a travel spray bottle filled with spot remover for any stubborn stains which I spray first. We rely on the blue bags on every HAL trip. Ruth

We have to fly to any Florida port, but this gives another option. We tend to alternate among, HAL, Princess and Celebrity. Ruth

Thanks, for the speedy reply. We've enjoyed Celebrity but I know nothing about the Constellation. We cruise by destination and price.

Is it the ship or the cruise line?

Ah! Thank you. We had two perfect windows of opportunity to cruise as a family. With the older ones off to university and the teens getting summer jobs life becomes more complicated for families living in different cities. Ruth

Our version of T shirts is a bit different. On a family Alaskan cruise, celebrating our 45th anniversary, on HAL there were eight grandchildren ranging in age from almost two to twelve. My husband and I had always jokingly referred to them by their birth order - i.e. #1 to #8. We were surprised on the first cruise morning to have the entire family suggest we have breakfast together in the dining room as the Lido was so much easier for the parents to gather with the youngsters. As we sat waiting for the group at the entrance to the dining room, the eight grands marched up to us is bright red shirts with huge numbers on the front - #1 to the toddler with a #8. After breakfast we went up to the deck to take pictures. Many of the informal pictures show other passengers taking pictures and a couple of fellow seniors said they planned to copy the idea. They were worn just one on one other day when their parents wanted a few more pictures. The idea was repeated on our family cruise to celebrate our 50th anniversary, but by then the older ones were teens and hid their utter embarrassment and showed us love by wearing the shirts for pictures on the deck. The memories and pictures have gone down in family history and the surprise still brings us great joy, almost a decade later. Ruth

Bob has a rubber one he'd bought for a young grandson for a wedding. It passes for real from a distance.

I agree that there's nothing more pleasing than a 'kilted' gentleman. My husband no longer brings his as on recent HAL, Princess and Celebrity cruises he felt quite self conscious. We have early traditional dining on all lines which often seems to have fewer in really formal dress -- tuxes in particular. Yes, his effort was always appreciated. The best comment from one of cabin stewards was, "Nice dress sir!" We've found more kilted gentlemen on the New England cruises. He's a proud Scot whose family has lived in the colonies since the mid 1800s. And our granddaughter's dance troop danced for the Queen at Balmoral last summer. So it's in the blood.

For the two family cruises I phoned HAL to check on numbers of kids. Can't for the life of me remember what department. But of course we'd already paid in full. I'm sure one of the more knowledgeable CC members will give you a phone number suggestion. Ruth

We did that very cruise 4 years ago with our 8 grandchildren and I believe the total number of children was around 30. It's spring break time so there are bound to be children. I know the two young teens met other young teens. And there were others in Club Hal with the younger ones. Ruth

That's encouraging for new bookings, but we booked at $1.35. I don't think I could make an OBC to cover our excursions. Ruth

When sitting at a shared table it seems courteous to eat together and the table stewards seem to prefer that each person at a table is on the same course. Ruth

By letting your table mates know you'll be dining elsewhere, it means they don't have to needlessly delay ordering their meals. We've often waited half an hour before ordering while waiting table mates. This complicates things for the table steward as well. Ruth

We've booked to secure the best cabin in our budget with a refundable deposit and then our TA will rebook when the right incentives for us come along. Crew News, we look forward to your post cruise reviews/reports. Ruth