epixx

This is actually REALLY simple.  There is no need to book the cruise/land package from HAL.  Just book the cruise.

If you are committed to a land tour (rather than DIY), then just book the land portion for everyone via the third party.

Although I have no idea if you can book it, you can definitely check the EZAir price. Take a look at the Star Princess departing from Seattle on May 19, 2019. Checking round trip prices from Toronto to Vancouver for this sailing, I get a price of $365.52 USD pp, so, yes, I believe you would be paying too much for the one ways at this point.

My daughter just returned from this 6 day tour from Uluru to Adelaide:

https://www.groovygrape.com.au/our-tours/tours/rock-2-water

The tour is geared toward young people and includes 4 nights camping under the stars and one night in an underground bunkhouse. Her group included 15 people from all over the world.

She said it was fantastic and highly recommends it.

How fast can you pack?

The Regent Seven Seas Voyager departs 7 October 2018 from Athens (from which you can visit Corinth), and sails to Valletta (Malta) and Kusadasi (Turkey) for Ephesus. When you disembark in Piraeus on 17 October, hop on a quick flight from Athens to Tel Aviv Airport, from which you can get to Jerusalem and to the sights in the Galilee on your land trip.

Have a great vacation!

Has anyone got a taxi at the Oort to take them to Petra? Are there any taxis at the port.

You will find taxis just outside the Oort gate. Negotiate a price.

 

Also ,has any one used Viator tours to get to Jerusalem ? If you have how did that tour work out ?

 

TIA :)

TIA: Are you asking about a tour, or just a transfer? If a tour, then realize that Viator does not operate any tours. I think you're much better off purchasing the tour directly from the vendor, in this case Guided Tours Israel, than from the middleman Viator. You will get the most accurate information directly from the vendor, and you can deal directly with the vendor for any problems. If you are asking about a transfer, I suggest taxi directly from the port.

I don’t think it matters anymore what the fare type is once it is past final payment. We booked a refundable fare nine months out for X Dollars, we could have booked non-refundable for X minus $600.00 per person, but I wanted the option of rebooking if price went down before final payment. Anyhow price did not go down until after final payment, went down significantly over $1,200 per person, we booked an inside guarantee and HAL offered an obstructed ocean view which was at the current price lower than what we paid for inside. Anyhow that is it, we can’t refare as past final payment, was told we would have to cancel booking lose 75 per cent of fare, then rebook, which of course wasn’t a good option. Personally what I have learnt from this is to book within the final payment window.

How long after final payment did the price drop? We are thinking of booking a cruise that is already past final payment, but the price has not dropped.

HAL is NOT consistent. There is another thread posted here that clearly states they have upgade after final payment.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=57034532&posted=1#post57034532

Ahhh, I see that you have not been reading carefully. I acknowledged that HAL may not be following consistent policies with their refundable fares. I questioned whether HAL's policies are consistent within their completely nonrefundable fares. The individuals who received upgrades in the above-referenced thread gave no indication that they originally booked a under a completely nonrefundable fare.

Yes; I still wonder whether this new completely nonrefundable fare should be called "non-amendable fare" instead of nonrefundable, since it seems that not only will HAL not provide any refund in case of cancellation, but they will also not permit ANY amendments to the original booking, either before or after final payment. If I am wrong in the assumption of no amendments, I would love to hear from someone who booked under this completely nonrefundable fare and actually was permitted to amend the booking in some way without charge.

Seems to me it's a matter of consistency. If the cruise line breaks their own rules sometimes but not other times then the person who doesn't get the break feels ripped off. I understand.

Perhaps not. As has already been discussed, HAL might only be flexible for passengers who book under a refundable fare. HAL might be consistent in following rules for the nonrefundable fares.

Thus, I ask the following question:

Has anyone here booked under a completely nonrefundable fare and received an OBC after final payment due to a price drop? Has anyone here booked under a completely nonrefundable fare and been able to upgrade cabin after final payment?

We paid 10 euros for 3 people with luggage from the port shuttle drop off area to the train station in Civitavecchia.

Haifa port to Tel Aviv:

Train station (Haifa Merkaz HaShmona) is located adjacent to port. Take the train to Tel Aviv. You will have no trouble navigating the train as an English speaker. Timetables here:

https://www.rail.co.il/en

If there were 14-day cruises where you could unpack once and let the captain do the driving for the whole two weeks, that would be fantastic.

 

Unfortunately, there aren't any in August.

Of course there is. As oaktreerb posted twice above, HAL Amsterdam offers this fabulous itinerary, the 14 Night Great Alaskan Explorer, on 12 August 2019. We sailed this one twice with our teens, and I would highly recommend it for a large family group such as the one you have.

Princess May 25, if you consider that to be summer.

I would go the day prior to cruise embarkation with:

United Airlines flight 4137 that leaves YHZ at 1445 and connects at EWR (4 hr, 7 min connection) to UA 1543 departing EWR at 2025 and arriving SJU at 0020 the next am

In Skagway we always enjoy tramping:

https://www.nps.gov/klgo/planyourvisit/shorterdayhikes.htm

It's almost as nice as the Routeburn Track!

When I took the flash sale I was happy with the price and felt this was HAL’s best final offer for a last minute cruise(that we had taken 3 times before). I asked TA because it doesn’t hurt to ask, and was surprised that HAL came back with an offer. If nothing was offered, I was fine with that, too. I know HAL is a business, not a charity:).

 

Karen

How long after final payment did you purchase the flash sale cruise? Was it within a few days, or significantly later?

We went in the spring on one of the $499 (air inclusive) Nexus Travel 10 day tours to Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuxi, and Hangzhou, with a 4 day extension to Hong Kong. We knew about the forced shopping stops and had limited expectations given the price, but, surprisingly, the trip was excellent! All of the hotels except one were terrific. Our tour companions could not have been more fun! I would do this trip again (and I actually might at this price).

Did you try this?

http://shoreexcursionsnz.com/tour/taieri-gorge-railway-larnach-castle/

If the ships are boring, have you considered skipping the cruise and just doing the land tour?

 

As you are finding with the trip that you are tortuously planning, the fewer options you have, the more likely they are to be inconvenient.

I am not torturing myself here,

"tortuous" : Full of twists and turns, or excessively lengthy and complex.

"torturous" : Involving extreme pain or suffering.

Just wanted to point out how the choice of a ship can really impact the vacation.

I agree with above.

As I responded to the OP's other question, we've sailed HAL 5 times with our "kids" who are now 24 and 20, but never in the Caribbean. We selected HAL for the 5 cruises almost entirely on the basis of itinerary, and we understood that the entertainment would be lacking (which it was). For those other locations (Alaska, Europe, Canada/New England) the itinerary trumped all other considerations. I doubt that I would sail HAL with young people in the Caribbean, as the itinerary makes little difference to us there. I would go with Royal Caribbean for this one and spend most of the time on the ship.

Our "kids," who are now 24 and 20, sailed HAL 5 times since they were 16 and 12; twice on the 14 day Alaska itinerary, once on an 11 day Dover to Barcelona trip, once on a 12 day western Med cruise, and most recently on the 7 day Canada/New England trip. All of these cruises were in the middle of summer. Although the teens had no trouble connecting with others their age on the 2 European cruises, they did not really find companions on the North American itineraries. None of these cruises offered entertainment that particularly appealed to them, but we have done trivia on all of them. They were never able to find reasonable dancing, as you described above, and the comedians were definitely not funny. Game shows??? Not really. Nevertheless, they have enjoyed each of these cruises very much and are certainly willing to travel with HAL again. We have sailed all of the major cruise lines and like HAL for the classic ship decor, the library (at least on the older HAL ships), the comfortable rooms, the smallish size of the ships, and, most of all, for some of the best itineraries around. Although we consider it a bonus on other lines, we don't need the entertainment. Finally, with regard to the older passenger composition, our "kids" quite enjoy meeting seniors and speaking to them at dinner, for example.

There's a lot to see and do in the Seward area. Why not stay in Seward a couple of days, then rent a car, drive to Anchorage, and fly to Seattle?

cruisestitch:

Thank you very much for posting.

Do you know whether one could ask for the same items in the dining room for dinner?

What did you like most in each port. :)

the gelato