CanadianLoveCruise

Wow, what a quick response! Thanks for the info. And perhaps it's a sign that the internet is faster/more reliable than I've experienced in the past!

Was wondering if, by any chance, you know if Mark Pells is stil going to be onboard in September for cruise Vancouver to Auckland sailing?

Hope you have a wonderful time and the weather cooperates!

My husband and I are on a back-to-back cruise from Montreal to Boston and back to Montreal. We will be arriving in Boston on June 17, which is the day of the tall ship parade. Does anyone know if we will be able to watch the activities from the Maasdam, or if we would be better off going somewhere else. Since we've never been to Boston before, we plan to take the ship's tour in the morning which takes us around the highlights of Boston and Cambridge. We figure that the city will be busy with people wanting to see the tall ships, hence it might be better for us to take a ship tour rather than do something privately or take the hop on hop off trolleys. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks for your help.

Thanks, Ruth. I figured that I wouldn't be able to, but I thought it was at least worth asking. Getting canned drinks is a good alternative.

Cruise Critic is such a great resource. Thank you once again for your help.

For one of the perks on our upcoming cruise, I will be getting a $100 beverage card. Do you know if I can use that card to purchase a card for $25 for $50 of dispensed soda? We don't drink much alcohol, but on a 21-day cruise, I am pretty sure we will drink a lot of soda!

Many thanks for reminding me of the process. I was inventing a problem when none existed. I very much appreciate your help. Next on the list of things to do ... book tours!

I am hoping that someone can help me out. My husband and I booked a HAL cruise through a travel agency. My sister-in-law will be joining us; she booked her cabin directly through HAL. How do we go about booking HAL tours so that we are together? A HAL shore excursion person told my sister-in-law that we can individually book our tours, and as long as we book the same tour for the same time, we would be together. I don't think that is correct though. There are often numerous busloads doing the same tour; and therefore it would be very possible that we could end up on different buses. Any suggestions? We would prefer to keep our expenses separate if possible.

I will be on a collectors cruise (two 12 day cruises) and an additional 12 day cruise with a separate booking number, so that makes it a b2b. If I purchase a per/min internet package, i.e., 200 min, will I be able to continue using it on the last 12 days assuming I still have minutes left? And I guess since it is considered one cruise, then I can't purchase a laundry package for just the last 12 days? I assume I would have to pay for 36 days? (I realize I can't have it both ways. I'm just trying to figure out what our expenses might be.)

I know that we can bring two bottles of wine without corking cost on the first portion of our cruise. Can we bring another two bottles on the last cruise? I assume the answer is no, but it's worth asking!

Thanks for your help.

There are four per-minute packages listed:

 

600 min - $199

400 min - $159

200 min - $99

30 min - $19

 

The instructions are available in the Explorations Cafe. They are clear and easy to follow.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Thanks very much for the info. Hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise.

Many thanks for taking the time to post your cruise experience. I'll be on the Nieuw Amsterdam in September, so your review is very helpful.

I noticed that you purchased internet access for the entire cruise. Are there per minute-packages available as well? If so, would you post the prices? If it's too much digging to find the costs, then don't bother. It's much more important that you enjoy the rest of your vacation!

Enjoy, and thanks again for your review.

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions. Let's hope the situation gets better, particularly for the citizens of Greece.

As we don't know what is going to happen, just yet I would be making other plans.

 

Is your flight stopping at an "Euro" airport before it gets to Greece? Get cash there. Are you stopping anywhere else prior to Greece that uses Euros?

 

You could always get Euros, at a poorer exchange rate, in Canada before you depart.

Our flight does land in a non-Greek airport, so that is definitely an option. I'm not so keen about getting euros here in Canada only because I prefer to limit the amount of cash I carry. What I was thinking about was using an ATM near the port we cruise out of. That way we wouldn't be carrying around extra cash while touring. And then I wondered if I am making a bigger deal out of something than I need to. I like to plan ahead and know what my options are; and although sometimes that's a good thing, it sometimes results in unnecessary worry.

Thanks for your very quick response. It's great to have Cruise Critic's forum to get answers, suggestions, information, etc.

We will be taking a cruise in September/October, and am concerned about accessing ATMs to get money to pay for private tours while in Greece. I don't want to waste time getting in long line-ups with people that can only take out 60 E. In general, are there usually ATMs near the ports? Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks.

CanadianLoveCruise, thank you very much, but without our fellow CC members I could not do this:)

 

Question for you... The square footages that your TA was given are those the same ones listed as a generality for the specific category?

 

Such as

 

Large or Standard Interior Staterooms

Category: I, J, K, L, M, MM, N, NN Approximately 182 sq. ft ... Joanie

Joanie, I think that our TA was given the actual square footage of the cabins because they were not the approximate sizes given in HAL literature. For instance, she was provided with two different measurements for two Category I cabins. The difference between HAL literature and the number provided directly from the HAL rep was significant (approx 50 sq ft); that is why I sent an email to verify the info. I thought that our TA might have heard wrong, or that the HAL rep made an error; apparently this was not the case because I got the exact same sq ft from Ship Services.

I would guess that HAL has a database that includes the sq ft of their cabins, and that it is readily available. (Our TA was given the info in one quick phone call.) Hopefully it's accurate, because we are really looking forward to our large cabin!

When my husband and I booked our upcoming cruise, our TA called HAL to find out about available inside cabins. HAL told her the square footage of several individual cabins, and we used that info to help make our decision. We also emailed HAL, and Ship Services promptly confirmed the size, as well as provided answers to other questions. Perhaps HAL would help you with collecting this info?

Really appreciate all the work you are doing on your website. It's certainly going to help many people, and certainly increases anticipation of future cruises.

I eagerly await to see photos of inside I cabins on Vista class ships!

What a great job you are doing. It is a huge project that you have started. I am sure many people are going to appreciate your effort. I keep checking your site to see if my future cabin is pictured. Which leads me to a suggestion. Would you consider adding a last edited date on the home page for each HAL ship? That may help people like myself who are wondering if you have added/updated anything since the last time they visited your website.

I am definitely planning to send you photos after my cruise next year. Will try to get pictures of several rooms.

Thanks again for all your work in helping to build the anticipation of cruisers.