Roz

@LAFFNVEGAS, HAL is consistently inconsistent. 😁

No tux or an evening gown has been required on HAL for a long time.

@Suzcruz57, I'm not staying at a HAL hotel. The transfers can be purchased on HAL's website independent of a hotel reservation. The morning of the cruise, I'll take the hotel's airport shuttle back to the Seattle-Tacoma airport, and go to Arrivals to find the HAL rep and board the bus to Vancouver. I disagree with @bennybear. Depending on the airline schedule from your home city and your budget, it can make a lot of sense to fly into Seattle.

If I relied on CC reviews, I would have never sailed around South America on the Oosterdam.

@Mary229, I believe it is. The cost is $89 each way.

Just go to baggage claim and look for a cruise line rep. They'll have a clipboard and your name should be on it.

@Suzcruz57, I suggest you book a HAL airport transfer that includes a tour of Vancouver. That will cut down on the time you spend in the airport if you book a later flight.

HAL's hotels are VERY expensive, at least by my standards. If this is your first time cruising, or Vancouver is unfamiliar territory for you and you feel you need a little hand holding, then by all means book everything through HAL. For my September cruise to Alaska, I'm flying Southwest to Seattle and staying in a hotel near the airport that I booked with points. The next day I'm going back to Seatac and taking the HAL transfer bus to Canada Place in Vancouver. After the cruise I'm doing the same thing in reverse. I'm saving over $1,000 by not flying directly to Vancouver and staying there overnight.

@mikebsxm, @Cruise Suzy gave you the correct answer. I don't like to load up my phone with a lot of photos and documents.

@Kate45, is your cell phone a smartphone? If it's not, I'm not sure that you can even download the app. If you put your phone in airplane mode on the ship you won't need a data plan.

If you board a ship looking for things to go wrong or be wrong, you'll find them. I agree with @LAFFNVEGAS that the Rotterdam was a huge disappointment. My sister and I had high hopes for it and were excited to sail a new ship. It was a letdown. My sister owned and managed a restaurant for over 20 years so she knows what are reasonable service expectations. The Rotterdam didn't measure up.

I would not pay $143 for a Black Forest tour.

When I wrote my review I stated that I was glad I didn't read any of the recent Oosterdam reviews on CC. I'm one of those people who doesn't require that their every need to be attended to by someone else.

🤣🤣🤣

This was not my recent experience on the Oosterdam. I disembarked on April 10 from a 31-day cruise. The ship was out of blueberries (temporarily) and raisin bran. Nothing to be horrified over. Missed ports? We didn't miss any ports and if a ship misses a port, it's usually due to weather conditions or something going on at the port beyond the cruise line's control. I met and talked with numerous other passengers in the course of 31 days, I never heard any accounts of toilets backing up, leaks, mold, broken thermostats, or badly soiled soft goods.

I thought the vinegar estate was fun, but if you've never been to Heidelberg, it's well worth visiting. How much is Uniworld charging for it? That would help me decide. 🤑 I would do the Strasbourg walking tour if you've never been to Strasbourg. I've not been overly impressed with the Black Forest when I've visited.

The day after getting back from my recent SA cruise, I had a sausage biscuit and a bowl of cheese grits for breakfast. I missed biscuits!

Just copy and paste from the email AARP sends you.

I find it very very peculiar that Rotterdam transit only takes credit cards from Dutch banks. The Netherlands is part of the eurozone and Rotterdam is an international destination. When I was in Amsterdam last December I had no problem using American credit cards. Some places didn't take amex but Mastercard and Visa were accepted everywhere. As a result of Covid, many businesses are cashless.

I'm a pretty low maintenance person. When you say fresh fruit, are you referring to whole fresh fruit, such as an apple or banana? If so, you can go to the Lido and get what you want and bring it back to your room.

I email my TA the card numbers and PINs.

I booked my air through the cruise line on my 3 Uniworld cruises. It was less expensive than booking on my own, and I was given 2-3 choices. I contacted my TA and they worked with Uniworld. I buy 3rd party insurance.

Take a 10+ day cruise.

Canada Place seems to always be in a state of chaos. Switching to another cruise line won't solve that. The onboard experience on HAL is quite different than the phone experience.

@0106, here are the excursions I took in Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile. All but one were HAL shorex. In Puerto Montt I did the same private tour as @soccermom4, @DCThunder, and a lot of other people on the roll call. Buenos Aires - Panoramic Highlights of BA - I thought this was a good overview of the city. Montevideo - A Walk through Montevideo's Old Town - We visited on a Sunday so most places were closed, but I enjoyed seeing the architecture, visiting some monuments, and learning about the history of Montevideo and Uruguay. Falkland Islands - Stanley Highlights - Great tour with an 8th generation Falkland Islander who really knew her stuff. We had perfect weather that day (for The Falklands). 😉 Punta Arenas - Sights of Punta Arenas - I found Punta Arenas to be rather charming, but others didn't find much of interest. One of those places that's off the beaten path. Ushuaia - Beagle Channel Wildlife - Great scenery and wildlife and well worth it. You would have to be pretty tough to live in places like The Falklands, Punta Arenas, and Ushuaia. Puerto Montt - Vicente Perez Rosales National Park to the base of Osorno volcano - I thoroughly enjoyed this tour and it's not something you can easily do on your won. Contact Dennis Purtov at denis.purtov@gmail.com San Antonio - Highlights of Santiago - Another good overview of a large city. I enjoyed seeing the colonial architecture. Our guide also introduced us to the Hot Dog Completo - sauerkraut, mashed avocado, tomatoes, and mayonnaise. 🤮 I hope this information helps, and I'd be happy to answer any questions.