Kate45

Doing the repo cruise New England to FLL in October. Need a hotel that provides ideally, both shuttle from port to hotel, and hotel to airport. Also if it could be within walking distance to grocery store (Walmart or such) would be great. We stayed at a best western years ago and it was perfect-right next to a strip mall. But reviews aren't so great for it now. Any thoughts would be appreciated as I've been looking for a week and not really getting anywhere 

Thank you 138east. That's what I wanted to know. Now I need to figure out what to do in NYC. Can't wait!

Doing HALs transition from Quebec City to Ft Lauderdale this October. Haven't been able to get much info on HALs website regarding shore excursions yet. Actually, don't even know where we dock in NYC other than I believe I read somewhere either Manhattan or Brooklyn(?). Wouldn't they know by now where in NYC they are docking?  As hubby has never been to NYC and I was there when I was a kid, what are your suggestions for must see things. We are there from 8-6. Also, anyone know when shore excursions will be available to book thru the cruise line or is this a port that we can do on our own?  Thanks so much!  

Trying to decide if we will fly in to Quebec City day before or day of. Flight can get in as early as 10am so was wondering if anyone knows if we can get a taxi from airport, take us on a little sightseeing tour and drop us off at the cruise terminal. I've been to YQB but hubby hasn't. Thanks.

I'd be interested in which hotel you stayed at near the pier. Did you book this hotel thru HAL or on your own?

i know the HAL perks right now are for selected cruises, prepaid free gratuities.  I believe this is in effect until May 15. Does anyone have any idea what will be offered after this? We are thinking of a cruise this fall, and wondered might be offered as the "free gratuities" are a joke. They charge $80 more per person p r cabin but give free tips. Also, I seem to be having quite a problem itch HALs website. Is this normal? Thanks

We are looking at doing a repo cruise this fall. HAL does 3 such cruises, 2 from Montreal and 1 from Quebec City to ft. Lauderdale. I would really appreciate any input on either of these embarkation ports and also on the ships - Veendam, Zaandam and Zuiderdam. We have only done 1 other HAL cruise (Westerdam last year to Alaska). How do these compare? Thanks

We normally go I75 but decided to go thru Buffalo border and eventually meet up with I95 for something different. We have had a chance to look at our maps and I think we will stick to I95. Hopefully, traffic won't be too bad. Anyone know the cutoff we need to get to the port in Ft Lauderdale?

So how does the Sunpass you mentioned for $5 work, Rocketman?

We are driving from Canada. Our route to Ft Lauderdale takes us on various parts of the Florida Turnpike. I understand some parts of the Turnpike are "Sunpass" only. Obviously we don't have that. What are we to do?

Just finished pre booking obc because of the preferable dollar - Cdn vs US. Printed out copy for my records and noticed it says "you may cancel within 72 hrs of your cruise". This is exactly  what I was afraid of. We are driving from Canada. What if something happens the day before we get there? Everyone here says it is refundable. No one said within 72 hrs. Am I worried for nothing or do I have to cancel it? I'm a worrier. Don't really need another thing to lose sleep over.

Is the gratuity included in this price?

So when I buy the obc, do I have to put some in my name and some in hubbies or will the total just be put on our "stateroom" acct to be used by either and/or both of us?

Thanks for the info. Can I call Princess and do this direct with them (we booked thru a travel agent). Our internet is not very good; we live in the country. I just don't want to get it half completed and have the Internet go wonky and either not have it completed or go thru twice.

Thinking about pre purchasing some onboard credit. Will this show up on my acct when I board or will I have to go to customer service and show my Princess receipt? What if I don't use it all? Do I get it refunded to my credit card? What happens if, God forbid, I have to cancel the whole cruise. Will I get a refund? I'm also thinking about pre purchasing the soda pkg for myself. Does this work the same way? We leave in 3 weeks and I'd like to do this soon. Your help is appreciated 

This is just an obc question. If I pre purchase obc now for our upcoming cruise (3 weeks out), what happens if I don't use it all or worse, have to cancel the cruise altogether? Will it be refunded to my credit card? And if I pre purchase, will it be applied to my account right away or will I have to go to customer service with a copy of my receipt?

I noticed all pages have pricing except first page. DH drinks Crown and coke and Beer how much are these? Thanks

Why do I need to buy for each of us? Isn't obc on an account that covers both of us (per stateroom)? Any cruises we've done in the past, we have 1 stateroom account but we are itemized separately. Can't I buy obc say of $400 US$ and use it to pay gratuities for both of us andsoda pkg for me?

So why was I charged in US$ for my excursions? Isn't it kinda the same thing?

Thinking about pre purchasing soda pkg and buying some obc. I'm a little confused on how this works. We booked some shore excursions already and my cc was billing in US$ so I paid the exchange and cc conversion charge for a total of over 35%. The soda pkg and obc is priced on the Princess site in Cdn funds, not US$ so does that mean my cc company will bill in Cdn funds? Why is it done this way for this and in US$ for shore excursions? What's the difference in buying soda pkg now vs buying on ship (other than the obvious currency difference).

We would love to be able to take her on a tour but she is paralyzed and is unable to get out of the wheelchair so finding a tour with a lift is not really an option.

one of the people is our group is in a motorized wheelchair so any kind of a tour is out. We were just going to hang out by the pier. Is there stuff to do within walking distance here?

i know I can do this but can't find where and how to buy obc for my upcoming cruise on the Crown on Nov17. Figure this will be the best way to avoid a large bill at the end. Also, our Canadian $ seems to be pretty volatile right now so figure it wouldn't hurt to have some prepaid.

We are on the Crown departing November 17-27, 2018. I read somewhere that Florida has implemented a free parking policy for accessible vehicles equipped with ramps. So I am curious to know if we can park for free at Ft Lauderdale pier for the duration of our 10 day cruise as well as the procedure used for handicapped parking.

That is not an option for us as one of us is in a motorized wheelchair and cannot get out of it (paralyzed). Is there some way to find out where the ship will dock both upon embarkation and disembarkation? Will Princess be able to tell me this if I call?