surebeatssailing

As posted yesterday,cruise fare reimbursed. Today all excursions reimbursed so all is good.

Cruise canceled by HA on 3/30/20 for scheduled cruise departure 4/22/20. Received refunded cruise fare yesterday. Just waiting on refund for several excursions but I did receive 3 emails about the excursions this weekend so there is hope.

Thinking of staying at the Crowne Plaza Fort Lauderdale. Are there any stores /pharmacies within walking distance ?

Thanks to everyone who responded to my concern. Your input has been very helpful & appreciated.

Going on the Veendam in April 2020 on a Transatlantic. I do not see much in the way of onboard entertainment on this ship. Are there decent movies to watch in your cabin?

We went to St Andrews a couple of years ago instead of the Military Tatoo. We got off of the tender boat & took a taxi to a rental car facility [ prearranged]. Drove to the town of St Andrews where we had booked a hotel within walking distance to the old course. Upon arrival we shopped at the old course gift shop, ate dinner at a local pub & eventually back to the hotel. The following morning we met the group tour for a walking tour of the old course . The guide gave so much information . She also made sure to get us on the course for pictures if we wanted. She judged when groups were playing a hole & then got us out on the course. I got a great picture of my husband standing on the bridge. When we were finished we had a leisurely drive back to the ship. Info is on the st andrews web site. Beautiful drive.

Following along!! Especially interested to hear about your air travels on Norwegian. Good luck with your ears!

 

Safe travels!

Jumping in here ...just returned from TA from Rome on Reflection. We flew premium class on Norwegian Air Rome to Newark.

Plane very comfortable. Service in premium class was excellent. Drinks were good but food not so much. On a scale 1-5 with 1 the worst & 5 the best ,I would rate the food 1-2. Entertainment good with good movie selections.

Because of the price & service , I would fly with Norwegian again but I would plan on bringing food from the airport .

Look at londontoolkit.com for transportation & tour information. We took the tour bus to Salisbury , Stonehenge & Windsor Castle. The bus then made 2 drops, central London hotels or Heathrow airport, obviously for a later flight.

Of course you can also get info on ride services or bus transfers to Heathrow. It is a great website for all things London.

Bob's Limos shared shuttle is €75 for two. I've used them and they were very good. romelimousines.com

We have also used Bob's shared shuttle twice & will be using it again this september. You do not have to secure other people to share the shuttle. The company takes care of that .For a particular trip if only you +1 are signed up the price remains the same. Check the website...really easy to work with.

We will be staying in the Olympia Hotel in Venice in October. It is really close to the Piazza Roma ? where the buses, taxis cars pick up / drop off people.

We are going to Marco Polo Airport on a monday morning.

Has anyone used Treviso Car Service for airport transfer before, or any other car service?

I know there is a bus service to the airport also but would like input on the car services.

Thank you.

 

I'd recommend you contact Steve

at www.TripInsuranceStore.com

We get our policies through his agency, and we've had some claims that did get *paid* (which is what matters), from Travel Insured. He also handles several other insurers that he's "vetted".

 

Another fan of TripInsuranceStore.com...just got off the phone with Steve a few minutes ago. He is so knowledgable . I always have a sense of relief when I can cross trip insurance off of my "to do list".

On a positive note, those lifeboats also act to buffer wind / rain too. There is also more shade so for someone like myself who is fair I prefer deck 5 for walking .

IMO, sending out "unmentionables" to the laundry and having them come back in a wicker basket folded in tissue is a special cruise experience. I would suggest you try sending some things that are not quite so delicate and then judge from there.

 

We were on an 18 day cruise on the Westerdam a few months ago & found the laundry service to be outstanding.

Of course my DH said he would prefer that once we got home he would like his underwear & socks in a wicker basket with tissue to continue...NOT .

First about us we have 9 HAL and 8 Princess Cruises. We do like smaller ships <2500 passengers and HAL are all in that category. However, Princess 3000 passenger ships do not seem to be crowed.

 

The main difference is Hal is a little more slow paced on entertainment. This being said we are about to take our first HAL cruise that has BB King on it so this may change our view point.

 

We like both cruise lines and think you will enjoy either one.

Just got off of Westerdam & loved the BB King shows. There were 3 shows of 45 min most nights . Ours started at 845 then 945 & 1045. Sometimes we would go to the theater show & then swing by BB King

Generally the first two days and the last two days are the cool days. In the vicinity of Hawaii. it warms up fast.

 

We've done several Hawaii out of Vancouver in April (and San Diego) and this was the case every time.

 

Walking the deck those first and last days calls for a jacket, gloves, maybe a hood or hat as the wind can be very cold.

 

Lovely cruise, have a great time!

I fully agree. The only cool/ cold days on our San Diego - Hawaii were the 1st & 2nd days & the last 2 days to San Diego. The rest of the time I wore silk& linen blend slacks or cotton slacks. I usually wear 3/4 sleeve length tops & that was perfect. I did take 1 cardigan that I only wore or the flight from Baltimore.

You do not need exact change but do need Euros. They have ticket vending machines that allow to purchase 1 or more tickets (at a time) with Euro bills or coins. We have walked all over Venice including from the Piazale Roma to St Marks Square. It helps to have a map (or phone with map) but there are some signs (with arrows) to both San Marco (St Marks Square) and Rialto Bridge. The signs are usually on the side of buildings and higher up then you would expect. A fast walker can make it to St Marks Square in about a half hour...but its no fun to walk fast as one should slow down and enjoy Venice. There is a lot more to the city than St Marks Square (not one of our favorite places).

 

 

Your limited time will be a real problem which is why many cruisers plan on spending 2 or more days in Venice. Gondolas actually cost 80+ Euros (you can cram up to 6 in a gondola..but we love it with just ourselves) for about a 40 minute ride. Not sure if you have confused the Gondolas...with the water buses (Vaporettos) that run many different routes around Venice and to the other islands in the Lagoon. Vaporetto tickets (also known as the ACTV) are sold at vending machines (which take Euros or chip credit cards) or at ticket windows near major piers such as in the Piazale Roma. They do sell single one-way tickets for 7.50€ which is a bit pricey. Many choose to buy timed passes (good for 24, 48, 72 hours etc). I think a 24 hour ticket is now about 20€ which means you only need to use it 3 times to make it financially smart.

 

Your cruise ship may sell a shuttle ticket which will take you (by boat) from your ship directly to St Marks Square. If so, it may or may not be a good deal depending on the cost. My problem with these shuttles is that they only take you to one place....and Venice is a lot more then just St Marks Square. But your time limitation (only one day) might make this a viable option. We have spend more then 2 weeks (over a few years in Venice) and still have not everything on Venice and the nearby islands. Your time may be even more limited then you think...because it does take time to get from the airport to the port and then the check-in procedure does take some time. Also consider that if you arrive in the morning they might not allow you to board your ship to around noon.

 

Hank

Hank , I have read several of your posts on many forums & you seem well informed. I have a question about hotels in Piazzale Roma. Have you ever stayed at Ca'Doge ? We are looking at the annex because that has a lift. The Santa Chiara looks nice but pricey unless we stay at the annex.The Arlecchino & Hotel Olimpia are also on our list. We have res @ Abrazzia Deluxe but after further reviews there are just too many steps to manage & we will cancel.

I read extensively about the People Mover & even watched a video. Looks great!

I am glad that I read a previous post of yours about Piazzale Roma area because it certainly looks much easier to navigate around Venice & easy airport access with the bus.

Thank you

Wondering if there are decks on the Westerdam that have chairs on the port/starboard sides of the ship where you can read and relax? Have been on a few ships that have that but some do not. We like the solitude that you can not get on the pool decks ;) Appreciate if any of you cruise veterans know. Thanks alot.

We just got off of the Westerdam last week. There are lounge chairs but the cushions need replacing. I have my own personal padding but those chairs could be improved.

As a side, Westerdam had a super crew . We usually sail Celebrity but HAL has the friendliest crew ever.

Thanks to everyone who quickly answered my internet cafe questions. All responses are greatly appreciated.

Shirley

Can anyone tell me if there is an internet cafe on the Westerdam where you

can use the ships computers after purchasing an internet package. Are the

price lists in your cabin?

Thanks

Thank you Cruiser Andi for this response/pictures

We are planning our 1st ever inside cabin on HAL in Oct 2017. We will be on the Westerdam cabin 1073.

I have searched cruise critic & youtube for an idea if cabin 1073 on Westerdam is a small or larger inside cabin but cannot find enough info. Was not aware that there were different sized inside cabins.

We have previously sailed OV on HAL & many times Verandas on Celebrity.

Upcoming retirement dictates we try an inside cabin to allow us to continue traveling as much.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Thanks again for all responses concerning beverages in Exploration Cafe, esp the scanned menu from CrewNews.

And then the next post down showed the Celebrity tea pot ...don't plan on showing this to my husband since he is the tea drinker. He has a back up plan to bring a travel mug with him to fill with hot water to "take the place" of the tea pot.

Thank you for all of your responses...hubby will not be happy that he can't get a pot of tea...oh well.

We usually sail with Celebrity but years ago we did 3 cruises with Hal which we enjoyed.

We are looking at the Westerdam for Oct 2017.

Does the Westerdam have something similar to Celebrity's Cafe al Bacio which serves various coffee drinks, pots of tea, etc.

Thanks for your help.

I've found the bed's very comfortable. I sleep straight and always have problems with beds being too short. I just pull the covers out at end of the bed and slightly overhang the bed. Never caused me a problem.

My husband is 6'4" & he always pulls the sheets out at the bottom no matter where we are, including our bed at home. He has never complained about the bed length on any ship.