Krispie5

I experienced this on a HAL cruise, but I still want to give you my input. There was a Gospel group going to be on my sailing, and I was assured by the HAL TA this wouldn't be a problem, plus my parents and I were sailing in a neptune suite, and we'd have access to the concierge to make things right if there was a problem. I didn't notice the group at all, aside from people wearing special lanyards around their necks, and walking to places together in small groups. nothing was closed off in areas i wanted to be in while i was there. The only huge problem that we ran into, was that our dining was changed to early dining. There was absolutely nothing anyone would do about it. They said either you come for early dining, or go to the buffet. So if we were out late on excursions, or enjoying a later afternoon at the pool, the 3 of us would have to get back to the room early so we could all take turns showering, and getting dressed, just to get to the dining room for the early seating. I wish HAL would have been transparent about how this would impact us and the dining time, instead of us finding out after we had boarded. We aren't the type of people to cause a raucous about anything, so we just dealt with it. Looking back i think i should have asked for some specialty dining or something, so that we could have eaten when we wanted. 

Thank you for all the responses. The only other time we sailed out of Bayonne we drove, so it was a non-issue. We're not that familiar with EWR. I haven't booked our airline tickets yet. It will be either United or Jet Blue. Regardless of which airline we use, we will definitely do early self-disembarkation, and then grab a cab. $20 pp sounds about right for that trip. $60 sounds high. Is that for 2 people or per person? Yikes!

 

Has anyone done Uber or Lyft from the cruise terminal to EWR? How reliable is that for an option?

60.00 was the quote we were given for me and my BF to take a cab to EWR by the girl running the taxi line. She then suggested the van others were getting into for 20 PP so we took the "deal" and rode with a group.

I was just off the Anthem yesterday and had a 12:20 flight out of EWR. I admit I was a bit worried because I had never sailed out of this port before. The amount of passengers on the ship also worried me. We left the ship a bit after 8, picked up our bags and didn't even encounter a line to get through customs! Everything was so organized and we breezed right through so I guess I worried for nothing. I'm sure everyone's experience week to week can be different, but just to be safe leave the ship early. We then walked to the taxi stand and ended up taking a big van to the airport for 20.00 a person, there were 6 other people also in the van. The girl at the taxi stand said we would normally pay around 60.00 for a regular cab ride. Not sure how true that price is because I rarely take cabs and I am not from the area, but 20 PP seemed fair to me. We arrived at the airport in about 30 minutes and did not encounter any lines there either. I am not sure how busy that airport is on Labor Day weekend though. In my opinion you should be fine. Have a fun trip!

I was on this cruise and knew about the group ahead of time thanks to this forum. I emailed my PCC and asked about dining and she told me it wouldn't be a problem, especially since I was in a Neptune Suite. It even went as far as the concierge letting me book a standing reservation for the MDR all week when we boarded and then going the MDR only to rudely be told we could not eat and whoever made my reservation was wrong. I was then told to go to the buffet because it has all the same food (untrue, it only has some of the same things and it doesn't even compare to a MDR experience).

I was taking my parents on this cruise for my mom's upcoming 60th birthday. The dining situation made it hard for us to be out enjoying the ports, pools, activities etc when we all had to be back in the room, shower and dress by 6pm. People on the cruise were outraged, and understandibly so. I felt like I did not receive the product of a relaxing vacation and as you wish dining as HAL advertises.

I also wanted to book a future cruise while on board and couldn't because I was so paranoid there might be another group on board and I did not want to go through this again. I have exclusively cruised with HAL for years because I love everything about the cruise line but this was truly a disappointment. I really wish HAL wouldn't let groups like this charter half a cruise, what a way to lose money and upset your loyal customer base.:(

We were on the Zuiderdam for 11 days earlier this month. Single passes were $199 and couples were $299 for the duration of the trip, and there were only 40 slots available. You could purchase day passes for $40. We purchased the passes the day we boarded and there were plenty left. I am sure the price fluctuates some depending on cruise length. Hope that helps!

We just got back Friday morning on the Zuiderdam that made a stop in Cartagena. We took a brand new tour offered by HAL to the National Aviary of Colombia. It is not yet open to the public (they are still working on building parts, but all the main structures are finished and open) and we were the second group to tour this facility. It was absolutely beautiful and filled with exotic birds and other wildlife. Some birds are out in the open and very friendly like a gold crowned heron who loved to be touched and followed everyone around. This tour was shaded by trees while walking through the Aviary and we were offered plenty of bottled water and were encouraged to take breaks. This definitely which helped with the heat. I would recommend bug repellent because everyone was getting bitten up. A must do for bird and wildlife lovers :)

We took a 1/2 day tour through our ship to Pompeii. It was much better than I expected, learned a ton of historical facts, and the views with Mt. Vesuvius behind us were amazing !!Came back and we we starving.....so what better to do than walk around Naples and find some delicious pizza..yum:)

As a microbiologist let me tell you:

 

Any cleaner/disinfectant YOU can buy at the grocery, drug or mass market stores will do SQUAT.

 

To do any kind of decernt job against bacteria or viruses you need to use specialized commercial disinfectants or specailly prepared bleach solutions.

Actually, companies are not allowed to make claims about disinfection/sanitization unless first tested by the EPA. Just be sure to check the labels to see what solutions will kill what pathogens, and make sure the surface stays WET for the appropriate length of time.

I started buying the 1oz. travel size lysol spray bottles. Perfect to throw in your bag and do a quick spray down of high traffic surfaces in your stateroom. Hey, it can't hurt. Who knows what went on in there before you called it home:eek:

We used the same HAL transfer last September. We had pre-booked tickets to the Accademia to see Michaelangelo's David and more art than you can shake a stick at in the Uffizi. I was not sure about the times either so I booked the Accademia around 11 am and the Uffizi at 2pm. The trip to Florence seemed to take forever, traffic was terrible and we made a pit stop (which was great, except they only had one restroom for a bus full of people). :confused:

We got off the bus and waked for about 15 min so our guide could show us our meeting spot. After that we went straight to the Accademia and the pre-paid line was LONG. We waited about 45 min to get in. Same thing with the Uffizi. They never looked at the time on our tickets, just let us in. I think they just make you pick times as a form of crowd control so not everyone shows up at the same time. We were there on a Saturday and the city was very crowded. I hope that helps! Have a fantastic trip!:)