New to Holland America? This is for you...AKA "HAL For Dummies"

She knows how to do it all Hofnors, they book many, many cruises and cruises are probably the major part of their business. Giving their clients all the docs is just one of the services they provide. She needed my card info when putting the payments through but did check with me to make sure that was still the card I wanted to use for onboard. The owner is also a HAL 5* Mariner but due to health concerns is unable to travel any longer. His and another 5* Mariner friend's recommendation was the main reason we picked HAL for our first ocean cruise.

Maybe I misunderstood. I was trying to answer the OP who I believe wanted to register a credit card for her daughter's shipboard account but her TA didn't know how to do it. I told her how.

Hi everyone!

Just finished reading through all the 111 pages, thanks to all for such a valuable help!

I'll be cruising on the Volendam with my father from Yokohama to Shanghai in October.

We've only done a Mediterranean cruise on MSC once so very excited about HAL and the great ports!

Could you please kindly help on the following:

- on the older On Locations I found some info on a "dancing with the stars" competition - is this still running?

- we'll be celebrating my father's 71 birthday during the cruise. Without booking anything "special" with HAL - will they still provide you with a little "something" - candle, piece of cake etc?

Thanks a lot for your great help!

Best from Switzerland,

Katharina

Hi everyone!

Just finished reading through all the 111 pages, thanks to all for such a valuable help!

I'll be cruising on the Volendam with my father from Yokohama to Shanghai in October.

We've only done a Mediterranean cruise on MSC once so very excited about HAL and the great ports!

 

Could you please kindly help on the following:

 

- on the older On Locations I found some info on a "dancing with the stars" competition - is this still running?

 

- we'll be celebrating my father's 71 birthday during the cruise. Without booking anything "special" with HAL - will they still provide you with a little "something" - candle, piece of cake etc?

 

Thanks a lot for your great help!

Best from Switzerland,

Katharina

Dancing with the Stars is over with.

Yes, if you let HAL/your TA know that it is your dad's 71st birthday, there should be some singing and a cake for him. I always think it's a good idea to let the dining room manager/assistant dining room manager know the night before as a reminder if it is important ;)

Dancing with the Stars is over with.

 

Yes, if you let HAL/your TA know that it is your dad's 71st birthday, there should be some singing and a cake for him. I always think it's a good idea to let the dining room manager/assistant dining room manager know the night before as a reminder if it is important ;)

Thanks for the fast help kazu!

You have picked a great itinerary. We did Hong Kong to Yokohama and the return trip too. HAL is a great line. Be sure to go to the French Quarter of Old Town in Shanghai. Very pretty and Shanghai itself is beautiful. Arrange as many trips through cruise critic as possible. Small trips are so much better. We are a healthy 77 and 78 year old couple and had the time of our lives!

Hi sweetipie,

Thanks a lot for the encouragement! It took months to decide on a route, very happy with it now!

Hopefully dad will love it!

... I always think it's a good idea to let the dining room manager/assistant dining room manager know the night before as a reminder if it is important ;)

It is also a good idea to check with the dining room manager (maitre d') on the night of the event. I found that this is always helpful even for regular restaurants shoreside.

In this day and age, with multiple dining rooms on most ships, a little extra communication can really help a lot.

Hello everyone! This is my first post, and I have loved reading these boards.

My question is -- how far in advance of my cruise can I make specialty dining and spa reservations? 90 days prior to sailing? 60 days?

Booking is for March 9 on the Westerdam.

Thank you!

Hi, everyone. Is there a board/discussion for asking advice on which specific rooms might be best on HAL's Noordam? First-time cruisers here trying to to choose our room, and so many questions about which decks are better, etc.

Thanks!

I'm starting to get confused among the various cruise lines policies .:o I have open-dining . Can I make reservations in advance ? Is this done with the Maitre D ?

I'm starting to get confused among the various cruise lines policies .:o I have open-dining . Can I make reservations in advance ? Is this done with the Maitre D ?

I'm sure others will chime in here as well, but my understanding is that yes, you can make reservations with the open seating option. There's a number you can call from your cabin to make a reservation for that evening, and if you find a table or wait staff you particularly like, you can reserve a specific table for up to three nights in a row.

Hello everyone! This is my first post, and I have loved reading these boards.

 

My question is -- how far in advance of my cruise can I make specialty dining and spa reservations? 90 days prior to sailing? 60 days?

 

Booking is for March 9 on the Westerdam.

 

Thank you!

March is a tricky time as the Pinnacle Grill and other specialty dining seems to be open up later than normal for cruises that start earlier in the New Year.

You can book as soon as the specialty dining is available on the website.

I would guess that by October/November the specialty dining should appear on the HAL website for your cruise. Now, that being said, it could certainly appear earlier, but I wouldn't bet on it.

For the spa, you can book quite early normally. If you want the pool and thermal chair package, it doesn't show on the HAL website, you need to call. Personally, if that is the option you are looking for, I wait until embarkation day as pricing is usually better and have never had a problem booking.

Hi, everyone. Is there a board/discussion for asking advice on which specific rooms might be best on HAL's Noordam? First-time cruisers here trying to to choose our room, and so many questions about which decks are better, etc.

Thanks!

There is no real board/discussion that I am aware of. There is a website but naming it is not allowed on this board. It has tons of pics of cabins and information for all of the HAL fleet.

In your situation, I would start a new thread on this board - the Holland America Board (not this thread)

Ask your question and specify what cabin category has your interest. (ie. if you are planning on an Ocean View, say so). If people can help they are happy to.

The key thing is to look a the deck plans - above and below. You don't want to be under the Showroom, nor the Galley (MDR), etc. At least,, I wouldn't ;)

I'm starting to get confused among the various cruise lines policies .:o I have open-dining . Can I make reservations in advance ? Is this done with the Maitre D ?

Yes, you can make a reservation as long as your are NOT requesting one at peak times.

Generally speaking (varies by ship) peak time can be from around 6:15-6:30 pm until 7:30 pm.

If you speak to the dining room manager and/or asst dining room manager you can usually reserve for three nights in a row if you are so inclined as long as it is not the peak times.

Best thing to do, chat when you get on board, find out what the limitations are and reserve or plan accordingly.

If you have a table and waiters you like and are going to be consistent, you just have to ask for the same table for the next 3 nights. If you are happy the first or second night, it's helpful to let it be known and that you would like to re-book.

Hi

First time cruiser with HAL in October 17. I hold Carnival stock - how soon before the cruise should I be applying for my on board credit?

Hi

First time cruiser with HAL in October 17. I hold Carnival stock - how soon before the cruise should I be applying for my on board credit?

If you are cruising this year, go ahead and send in your request. As long as your cruise fall within the time the board has passed the CCL credit (they have to approve it each year), sooner is better IMO to make sure it is processed.

Good idea to bring a copy of your confirmation as well "in case". ;)

Hi, everyone. Is there a board/discussion for asking advice on which specific rooms might be best on HAL's Noordam? First-time cruisers here trying to to choose our room, and so many questions about which decks are better, etc.

Thanks!

There is one place on Cruise Critic to find photos and such for the Noordam and one spot on the web where you can find them.

Cruise Critic's album is here http://gallery.cruisecritic.com/ships/noordam-362/

and the Off Site is www(dot)hal(Delete from parenthesis to parenthesis)facts(dot)com There are no spaces in the web address aka url.

Either way you should be able to find your cabin/stateroom or at least one quite similar.

Joanie

I was on a Princess cruise in 2015 that had a messenger service in their app where you could chat with friends/family. It was very convenient for scheduling meet-ups or finding out if anyone was up for a game/the pool/lunch, etc. Does Holland America have anything similar?

We used a free 3rd Party app, Cruise Ship Messenger on our iPhone 6's on the Volendam this past April/May. It worked well if we had our phones on.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I understand that my credit card has a hold on it ($60/day) towards room charges. Will the "tipping" come out of that? How/where do I find out what that amount is ($12/day? per person? per room?).

TIA Jill

I understand that my credit card has a hold on it ($60/day) towards room charges. Will the "tipping" come out of that? How/where do I find out what that amount is ($12/day? per person? per room?).

TIA Jill

Yes, the tipping comes out of that.

remember it's just a hold, not a charge so if you don't spend that, it doesn't get charged.

The HSC (tipping) is per person. If you are in a inside, ocean view, lanai or verandah it is $13.50 per day. If you are in a Suite (Pretty much anything that ends with the word suite), it is $15 per day.

Hello everyone! This is my first post, and I have loved reading these boards.

 

My question is -- how far in advance of my cruise can I make specialty dining and spa reservations? 90 days prior to sailing? 60 days?

 

Booking is for March 9 on the Westerdam.

 

Thank you!

Welcome to Cruise Critic,

As soon as it is posted online under your booking.

Just made ressies this week for the Pinnacle Grill. I ended up calling because I wanted to charge to a different cc than what we're using while on board. We leave in mid September. Easy Peasy.

I just received an email from a dive op in Cozumel. It says, in part,

"Please remember that the cruise lines always quote times in “ship’s time” which means the time zone from where you left. If your departure is from Florida, then the 8AM arrival is actually 7AM local Cozumel time."

They even went on to ask the embarkation port for our cruise. I know that Carnival stays on Florida time when her ships sail the Caribbean, but I was under the impression that Holland America changed the ship's clocks to the local time for each port. This is important to know when booking independent tours. Can anyone give me a definitive answer?

I just received an email from a dive op in Cozumel. It says, in part,

 

"Please remember that the cruise lines always quote times in “ship’s time” which means the time zone from where you left. If your departure is from Florida, then the 8AM arrival is actually 7AM local Cozumel time."

 

They even went on to ask the embarkation port for our cruise. I know that Carnival stays on Florida time when her ships sail the Caribbean, but I was under the impression that Holland America changed the ship's clocks to the local time for each port. This is important to know when booking independent tours. Can anyone give me a definitive answer?

I can only remember one port a number of years ago where HAL did not change the time to match port times. They did countless reminders and warnings about it. I don't recall the reason for it at that time.

Since then, every cruise I have been on with HAL, they have always had the ship time to match the time in ports.

That's been our experience, anyways ;)

Since then, every cruise I have been on with HAL, they have always had the ship time to match the time in ports.

Were these Caribbean cruises out of Florida?