dawnvip

13 minutes ago, HELENPSL said:

Are you sure it’s an SV cabin?  When I look at the deck plan I don’t see anything that starts with an SV.

Helen

My bad - category is VD!! Confused this with the Celebrity cruise!

I can't seem to find any information or photos of the SV balcony rooms with no bathtub (shower only). They are demarked with an asterix on the HAL deck plans but I would really appreciate any info or first hand experience with this lay out. Is it a larger shower stall with door?

TIA,

Dawn

I stayed at the River Rock in January because I had an early flight next morning and was worried about traffic and snow. I can definitely recommend it, as it was very easy to get to the airport, clean, comfortable and quiet rooms. Note there is also a casino on site and several dining venues, so no need to go further if you don't feel like it. 

Group of 4 of us cruised from Vancouver last year, with 3 ships in port.

We found the longest line ups was for people trying to drop their bags off because they did not have bag tags (this is the first step in the embarkation process). While the signage could have been better, as soon as we found the place to drop our bags (because we did print our bag tags at home!) it was off to security and check in.

Start to finish, it took us less than an hour and we were on-board.

Disembarking the cruise ships at Vancouver is right at Canada Place. Self-carrying bags is pretty easy and not very far to reach the taxi stop available right in front at street level or also one level down.

Taxis are notoriously hard to get depending how many ships are in port and how many people are in the queue! Uber is also available and usually cheaper than taxis. You can order on the app as soon as you are ready to disembark! Both taxis and ubers availability depend how early you are planning on disembarking.

A third option is the skytrain which you can take directly to the airport. The waterfront station is also very close to the cruiseport and trains leave every 6 or 8 minutes. Trip takes about a half hour and costs $10 Cad. each

You should be able to see the HIA package credits for shore excursions and specialty dining available throught the app or on the website when you have signed in (to start your check-in).

You may be able to book those right away, depending on how many days out until you sail. My cruise is now 200 days out and the dining reservations just showed up as available. Shore-ex was also available right away, and I suggest you book your favorite right away or it may be sold out by departure!

I also have the Hometrust Visa. Used it this past January in Hawaii and received the cash back. AFAIK, the cash back is only on foreign transactions.

I wish they had a banking app tho!

Stanley Park is beautiful and easily accessed from the cruise ship terminal. Also right at the terminal is the Harbour Seaplane terminal. The sightseeing flights are amazing!

https://harbourair.com/tours/?depart=vancouver

If you are interested in shopping, Gastown, Pacific Centre and Robson street are also close by the cruise ship terminal and easily walkable. Granville Island is a bit farther away.

Another great option is to take a taxi/Uber up to Grouse mountain. The views from the summit are excellent and there is a Grizzly Bear habitat, naturalist exhibits and restaurants.

If you store luggage at the cruiseship terminal, explore the downtown area, then take the skytrain (also very close to the terminal) into Richmond whenever you are ready.

Just finished booking both Pinnacle and Canaletto for my 17 night SA cruise leaving in 200 days  (with the HIA package)

200 days out and I've now able to book both specialty and excursions for our 17 night cruise.

Pinnacle shows available for reservation today on my November cruise (202 days out) but not Canaletto.

Similar situation for myself.

Cruise is mid-November and today the Pinnacle shows up as available for reservation but not Canaletto.

Thanks for asking the questions and thanks to those who responded! I'm booked on HAL for November and had the same issue. 

26 minutes ago, shorne said:

 

I've gone travelling for six weeks at a stretch with no shoes other than the pair that I was wearing. For an upcoming trip, however, I'm going to bring hiking boots, shoes for wet environments (beaches and pools), dressy shoes (compromising a bit by not bringing opera pumps for black tie), and fur-lined slippers. The slippers are an indulgence, but I think that the others are all necessary. They will take up a lot of space in luggage, especially because I wear quite a large size.

 

Tip: Stuff shoes with anything that will fit into them. Pack things around them, too. This helps to save space while also preserving the shape of the shoes.

Yep, our upcoming cruise will need similar: flip flops for beach/pool, hiking boots (which are largest so I'm wearing them onto the plane even though its a PITA at security), dressy pair of heels, and most likely a pair of light walking/sneaker type if they will fit.

I definitely stuff shoes with socks and anything else that will fit!

Exactly! Its the SHOES that take up all the space and cause all the packing conundrums...

You can get pretty good rates with an eSIM if your phone is new-ish.

Depending on how long your cruise is, and how much data you typically use, the regional plans are likely your best bet. Note that most eSIMs are for data only, so you would need to text your family with messenger or whatsapp, etc.

https://www.airalo.com/latin-america-esim as an example of what is available. 

AC Marriott is close to lots of shopping and St Catharines Street.  The rooms are styled "funky" , comfortable and fairly reasonable, especially if you are a Bonvoy member.

Celebrity tends to have larger ships and more entertainment options.

HAL is smaller, more "enrichment" opportunities and generally speaking an older crowd - especially on the longer voyages.

Both are comparable food and service-wise.

Excellent, thank you!

@GeorgeCharlie thank you so much for your detailed trip report!! DH and I are booked for the Ft Lauderdale to Santiago leg this fall on the Oosterdam. Wondering if you recall which days were the formal nights on the cruise? We really enjoy the formal nights but also want to book the specialty dining so hoping not to conflict!!  Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Dawn

Were you able to communicate with owner and guide in english? I see their site is only spanish, so wondered whether it was worth the effort!

Oosterdam - Nov 15, 2023 - 17 nights Panama Canal and South America!

Other elements to consider:

- size of boat/number of passengers. HAL is smaller (2000 passengers) vs Princess (2600). HAL will have less on-board activities like the big evening shows, fewer specialty restaurants, etc. 

- your age. HAL caters to an older crowd, but generally speaking, the longer the cruise, the older the clientel.

DH and I have been on both Princess and HAL, so can say the food is similar quality. We are booked on Oosterdam ths fall, through Panama Canal down to Santiago, so won't be able to say how the ship is for awhile!!

Agree with other postings above. DH and I did Alaska inside passage trip last summer and as we are from BC, expected to be able to use our cellphones until outside of BC waters. Nope! 

I think we had cell coverage for the first 4 hours and then nada. Fine once were were in port with a US add-on roaming (with Telus) but otherwise we had to rely on ship's wifi.

Travelling to the UK, so no 6 month validity requirement (whew!)

Service Canad may take the passport application and money, but it is still Passport Canada that does the processing and issuing of. If any of those orgs go on strike, then backlogs will occur again 

 @Ex-Airbalancer how long did it take to receive your new passport?