cruiseaholic78

Definitely will buy it for my grandson on board the Westerdam in October.

Is it not possible to first check on another website which shows numbers available? On another note we wanted to book the Journey from Bordeaux to Amsterdam and I couldn’t believe the pricing shown! They were asking more than €11000 euros for a balcony cabin, checked yesterday with a T.A. and he said it was correct. Just had another look and they seem to have gone crazy unless I am missing something, I know there supply and demand but this is ridiculous.

And last but not least get them/one of the to register for CC and join their roll call. happy planning Rosalyn

If I was you I would book an airport hotel with a pool, you can go straight there from the ship and relax. We did that in Sydney and were very pleased that we had. https://www.dayuse.com/s/seattle-tacoma-international-airport?selectedAddress=Seattle-Tacoma+International+Airport&sluggableAddress=Seattle&placeId=eyJsYXQiOjQ3LjQ0ODk5LCJsbmciOi0xMjIuMzA5MjksInQiOjEsInAiOiJnZW9uYW1lcyJ9%2B9c9570d1223c3b698d08b92b8e468005&checkinDate=2023-05-25&equipements=33

If I were you and it sounds like you are not interested in sightseeing in Tokyo I would travel directly to Yokohama and book a hotel there. You should be able to crash out for a nap and then you can wander around Yokohama without any further stress about travel. We have taken the limousine bus from Haneda and Narita to our hotels previously and its more of a coach than a bus with room for luggage underneath. Someone here explains the possibilities. Happy planning https://japantravelplanning.com/narita-airport-to-yokohama/

Maybe your ship like ours (Westerdam October/November) offers the possibility to book “Bangkok on your own”. This is basically just a shuttle there and back with a certain number of free hours to do your own thing with the certainty of getting back to the ship. Happy planning Rosalyn

In January 2023 the railway bridge was closed off so we had to walk up to the station and cross there. We took the train into Perth and used the free busses from the station there to get around. https://www.google.nl/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjuwLHmp7_-AhWziP0HHRVUBf0QFnoECBIQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.transperth.wa.gov.au%2Ftimetables%2Fcat-timetables&usg=AOvVaw31N6uctgxuOcWIi_UKKEvi

We returned to Azamara in March for the first time since Covid and once again we absolutely loved it. We had better entertainment in our 10 days onboard than on 35 days Oceania round Australia at Christmas. (BBQ white night and of course Azamazing evening) Closest competitors? I presume that you are referring to Oceania? Then you might be disappointed, no Brussel sprouts, roast potatoes or xmas pudding. This was their “typical” Christmas dinner and it wasn’t that good either! To say nothing about the BS we had regarding the Hull cleaning Saga,!

I know they are expensive but has anyone looked at Oceania or Azamara ( preferably the latter for some night life!) for cruising Australia? Happy Planning Rosalyn

One of our most memorable cruises was with the Eurodam in 2019 round trip San Diego to Hawaii and Polynesian Islands. A precruise dinner and various Happy hours, dinners and excursions sealed the deal and we made friends for life. The fotos were taken on an excursion to Fakarava with snorkeling and a BBQ, a day in paradise. We scrubbed up pretty well for the last one.

To me the offer of a rijsttafel looked pretty pathetic ( I’m glad you enjoyed it though) we tried it on N. Statendam in Tamarind and were so dissatisfied at their offering. I was actually looking forward to trying the Canaletto Asian dinners on our Westerdam tour in October, might have to reconsider. One would have thought with all the Indonesian crew they could have done a better job. Here some fotos of what we consider a typical Indonesian rijsttafel. Love Hanks and Cruisemom42 posts will use some of your tips for our trip.

Have fun on your remaining days on board and your arrival in Rotterdam. Our Dutch newspaper had a special about the HAL and I thought you might be interested, I have included the text, maybe sailing Dutchy can translate (see you on Westerdam in October/November) Ann I am still proudly wearing the CC Badge your daughter made for our Copenhagen - Boston cruise. On our last Azamara cruise I was the only person wearing one so everyone presumed I was the Organizer! Rosalyn

The OBC you want to spend on board for extra excursions and dining can be booked from the cabin on your TV. Lounge on the bed choose your accounts and book, no queuing necessary. Happy planning Rosalyn

The park leads to the Playa de Espana which is incredible, the (free) Military Museum there is also worth a visit. My lunch tip is The Terrace cafe overlooking the city and the river it doesn’t get much better than that!

Another suggestion regardless of which suitcase size you choose, do cross pack. In other words make sure that some of each others clothing (if possible) is in each suitcase, in case one gets lots you will all have some clothes. Another tip is to join your roll call, there will be tips and chats from your fellow cruisers, pls see “find your roll call above” as we don’t know which ship you will be on so we can’t provide the correct link. Rosalyn

Just a general tip regarding using OBC in the shop, do not wait until the end of your cruise if you have quite a bit to spend. For some reason they don’t stock nearly enough larger sizes (for men at least) and on our port intensive cruise people were looking round desperately trying to spend their OBC! We managed it by being a bit earlier and DH looks great today wearing his 7diamonds shirt. Rosalyn

I wouldn’t have a problem with that as long as they provide a cruise to go with it!

I hate to admit it but the same thing happened to us ! We were on a sort of freeway and saw signs to the airport, our driver took a left and took us through back streets with roadworks and traffic lights and we also ended up paying €35 ( no tip given) We laughed it off as lesson learned, ask before the trip what it would cost and take a photo of his registration number. There was a meter but he kept his arm along the back of the seat so we couldn’t see it properly. Rosalyn

We have just arrived home after the same fantastic cruise. It took us nearly as long to drive from Schiphol to our home as it did to fly from Lisbon to Amsterdam drove straight into so many traffic jams! It was our first time with Azamara since 2018 and I think it would be fair to say that it was definitely as good as we remembered if not better. Rosalyn

A similar thing happened on our 35 day circumnavigation of Australia in December 2022 as may have been mentioned previously. People were waiting in the lounges for their excursions being informed by private tour operators that they were cancelled. Oceania knew about this the day before! Attached is an article dated 7th January in which an Oceania spokesperson said that the vessel would be missing two ports and was on her way to Philip Island. They KNEW at least on 7th (it might have been submitted earlier) that we would not be going so why did they not inform us until the morning of the 8th? I did reach out to the author of the article asking when he had received the information but as he has not replied I presume “he is protecting his sourse” https://cruisepassenger.com.au/news/queen-elizabeth-fourth-ship-to-fall-foul-of-new-zealands-environmental-laws/ There were quite a few newbies on our cruise and many said that it would be their last, we all understand that **** happens but Oceania should not think not informing us is ok. Especially in this wifi day and age when everything can be checked so easily.

For anyone staying longer or wanting a serviced apartment we used the Meriton suites Sussex street, join and you get a discount. After more than a week traveling before embarkation we were glad to be able to use our washer an dryer and take clean clothes on our cruise. Also recommend Andersons for Blue mountains trip pre cruise. Happy planning Rosalyn

This might help for the transfer for Haneda https://tokyo-haneda.com/en/access/travel_between_terminals/index.html Have you filled out both Quarantine procedures (fast track) and Disembarkation Card for Foreigner on the visit Japan web, we did and had Q codes for both and we were able to pass through immigration/customs very quickly. It took a while but was worth it, there were people every 5 meters or so telling us where to go. Happy travels Rosalyn

Another option you might consider is to book an hotel room(s) for part of the day, great for relaxing before (changing) your return flight. I used this option in Sydney Australia when our flight didn’t leave until 21:30 and we chose an airport hotel with a pool. Happy planning Rosalyn https://www.dayuse.com/s/seattle?selectedAddress=Seattle&sluggableAddress=Seattle&placeId=eyJsYXQiOjQ3LjYyMDI1LCJsbmciOi0xMjIuMzUwNjksInQiOjEsInAiOiJjdXN0b20ifQ%3D%3D%2B55e93668612277f791b0521788a8363f&checkinDate=2023-03-29&isPoolIncluded=true&ne_lng=-119.457369&ne_lat=48.870206&sw_lng=-125.238273&sw_lat=46.339679

Do pop over and join us on the roll call, we are a friendly bunch. Rosalyn

I have no idea about the insides but here is a pretty nice photo of the outside. Rosalyn