mommasaurus

We are boarding the Freedom of the seas  today and are wondering if we can bring a case of bottled water onboard with us as carry on.

When using CC in the past and choosing a cruise line to see the message boards, I was able to then choose a specific ship from a menu on the side to see posts related to a particular ship.  Is that no longer available?  I can't seem to find it anymore.  

We have an onboard credit from our travel agent. We were wondering if it is refundable if we do not use the whole amount as we have already prepaid gratuities and tend to do our own shore excursions. I had read before that there was a casino option that has a percentage taken off but I would like to know if it is still possible to do this. Some comments have been confusing as to whether or not this is still possible. Other posts have mentioned that guest relations desk can refund this type of onboard credit.

We have an OBC from a travel agent for an upcoming cruise. Our gratuities have already been pre-paid and we tend to do our own thing at the ports. If we do not use this OBC is it refundable?

Do you intend to all eat together at the same time? If so, I think you will have to make reservations on board as I believe the largest pre-cruise number for the same reservation is 10. Even on board, the best you will be able to do is two tables close to each other.

Last time on the Oasis we had two tables of 8 that were close to each other. That would be ideal.

We are a group of 16 traveling on the December 30 Southern itinerary cruise. We have My Time Dining and our question is do we make a reservation time online in the cruise planner before the cruise or do we need to make the reservations once onboard? It does not seem to be available for booking at this time in the cruise planner (perhaps too early or perhaps not an option). We like the flexibility of My Time but there are a few nights that we may prefer to have a reservation in order to make it to a show.....

We took our kids on a 14 day collector cruise to Alaska. They were 11 and 13 at the time. At our first stop in Ketchikan I rented fishing poles for them. It was a good time because the salmon were running. They loved fishing and we ended up buying them fishing gear at a Walmart in Juneau and they fished at every port (catch and release). They enjoyed Alaska and all that it had to offer. I liked that HAL had a retractable roof for their pool as it made it very useable and enjoyable. There was not a lot for the kids to do on the ship but because it was a port intensive cruise, by the time you had dinner and maybe went for a swim or a hot tub, all they wanted to do was go back to the cabin and watch a movie.

Thank you for your replies. The information provided is very helpful.

We are cruising on the Maasdam B2B on July 21 and July 28 cruises. We will be in different cabins for each cruise. My question is about the turn around day. We would like to go and tour Boston a bit but we don't know how much time we will have. Looking for information as to when we would get new cards, availability of new stateroom, customs...... Do we have to wait until all other passengers are off?

I'm afraid that I can't relate, as every cruise we have taken (except for our most recent) has involved purchasing airfare as well as at least one night's pre-cruise accommodation (just to be on the safe side in case of weather delays in winter).

 

Last week's cruise on the Maasdam was the most cost-effective, as we were able to take a two hour train ride to the port -- but still had to pay for return airfare from Boston. So all things being equal in terms of access, we would still prefer HAL over RCI, with a nod to Celebrity as well.

We are also from Ottawa and can relate to paying airfare. We are booked on HAL's Maasdam July 21-August 4 and will enjoy the short ride to the port. HAL is nice and quiet and offer some great itineraries.

We have sailed on HAL twice in the past and on the Liberty as well. We are also booked on the Freedom of the Seas which is the sister ship to the Liberty. If traveling with kids, I would choose RCI. Our kids did go on HAL but they were a bit bored. They were never bored on RCI ships. On the Freedom we will have 8 adults and 8 kids (aged 15-20). They love all the onboard activities.

We stayed at the best western palm inn suites in Condado. We loved the location and walked on the beach and to restaurants and there’s a Walgreens across from the hotel. Highly recommend.

Glad to hear that you recommend this hotel as we are booked there for 2 nights before our cruise.

Just wondering if anyone knew about this cabin location and noise.

The hours for all HAL ships pools tend to be the same. 7am to 10pm. Occasionally a pool area event will close the pool area sooner.

Thanks for the information.

We will be cruising July 21-August 4 on the Maasdam (Canada/ New England) itinerary and we were wondering what time the pools close in the evening. This is a port intensive cruise and our daughter was wondering if there would be time in the evening after dinner for a swim.

Thanks

Cynthia, just got off the Prinsendam and they had some nice bling on sale. (Sort of like the $10 sale but the rings were more). My friend bought 2 for her daughters.

 

 

I think they were around $20 each.

 

Can't promise you will have the sales as the ships can vary but definitely keep your eyes open and check your When and Where. Hope this helps.

Thanks. We will check it out.

Thanks for your replies. I think that if they have some Swarovski jewelry that might work. Our credit can't be used for gratuities, we don't really drink that much and we tend to do our own shore excursions.. so it was just a thought that we could get her a little something with it.

We will be going on the Maasdam this summer. We will have a $100 onboard credit. I was hoping that I might be able to get some earrings, ring or a bracelet or something for my daughter's birthday. She will be turning 15. Do you think that they have anything reasonable in the shops?

We went on the Breakaway to Bermuda last summer for a large family trip. There were 12 of us (6 adults and 6 teens). We all had a great time. The teens had more than enough to keep them busy and they enjoyed all the activities (rock climbing, waterslides, ropes course....) The only thing was that because they were under 18 they were only allowed in the family pool which they did not like. Also, the waterslides close at 6pm but the ropes course was open in the evening and there are other activities like mini golf for the evening.

Another plus for them was O Sheehans pub. After all the activity, they were always hungry. It is open 24 hours and it is a complimentary restaurant .They loved the wings.

We would not hesitate to book again.

Just got off the Royal and we had a connecting cabin. The door does not have an impact on the space of the room. We could not hear the people next to us at all on the Royal but last year on the Ruby we could hear our neighbours a lot.

We had an inside connecting room on Plaza deck on the Ruby in December and I noticed that you could hear our neighbours very well and I'm sure they could hear us too. It was the first time that we had a connecting door and I really noticed the noise.

I would definitely suggest the train. At Secaucus, find the departures board that looks like this:

http://www.railfanwindow.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/NJT-Secaucus-Upper-Lvl-Departures-big.png

 

Just get on the first train headed to NY Penn, the tracks are clearly marked. Also, they don't have traditional turnstiles, they have gates that open when you scan your ticket, so your luggage shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks for your help/advice. It is greatly appreciated.

Will the train be really crowded mid-afternoon? I think that it is a short walk from Penn Station to W35th street.

It's the Hilton Garden Inn 63 W35th.

We will be taking a cruise on the Breakaway soon and had a question about transportation from Secaucus, New Jersey to Manhattan with luggage. We can take the bus (#320 - I think) which takes you to the Port Authority Bus Terminal or the train which takes you to New York Penn Station. Both are $4.25 a person. Our hotel is conveniently located to both stations. We would be doing this early afternoon (before 3:00) on a Thursday. It would be myself and my teenage kids (13 &15). We have traveled a lot and they are used to riding trains and subways and looking after their luggage. I have read that the train station at Secaucus can be confusing and I am wondering about getting the luggage through the turnstiles.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

My parents had planned a family cruise for everyone and they were presenting it as a Christmas gift to the grandkids (the adults already knew about the trip). My dad asked for my help and I grabbed some of my kids items (sunglasses, bathing suits, sunglasses, sunscreen...) and wrapped them up and gave them out randomly to the grandkids. It was funny to see my nephew open up his present and find my daughter's bathing suit and my niece got my son's crocs. After the presents were opened and they were a bit confused ,I read a poem that I wrote all about the presents being clues to all the activities they could do (Oasis) and the ports we would visit. After the cruise I made a photobook for my parents and the poem is on the first page and the last page has messages from the grandkids about the trip. We are taking our next family trip in 3 weeks and this time, we did a bunch of clues (some picture, some number) for them to figure out that it was on the Breakaway from New York.

Thanks for your reply. I have read countless reviews of people who have stayed in these cabins and I have only found three that mentioned it and the most recent mentioned that the noise was muffled but noticeable. They also mentioned that after the last showtime it stopped. It is unfortunate that the last showtime can be as late as 10:30 start time. On other ships we have stayed on Plaza deck under the theatre and didn't find it a problem.

I always appreciate the comments given by others. This is a New Years cruise and we need a quad inside room, therefore some of our choices get limited.