maggiev

If you ar CO on the Nieuw Amsterdam do you get breakfast in the Pinnical Grill, due to no CO private dining room?

I wish they had advertised not everyone in your party needed to purchase the boil.  We chose not to have it because 2 people do not eat seafood & we wanted to all dine together.

I do not like the idea of the Lido dining area, nor Cataleno being there either.  Takes away from the “specialness” (nor a real word) of the meal - in my opinion

 Have been part of a 1/2 ship “group”

Yes, we all had 2nd seating dinner & everyone else had first, lido, or specialty, Yes we had private pool parties that closed Lido for 3 hours, Yes we had private shows, BUT, no venue was ever closed 100% of the time.  
I was with a group that would have caused many to cancel, however by the end we were all friends & many wanted to, & did, join our group next year.  
DO NOT judge a group by their name. 
We were on a cruise of 3000 & 1500 were bikers! Would have turned many people off but once people sailed with us, they realized we were there for a cause & wanted to be a part of the group

My point is - Holland America failed big time. They should not book guests in the Westmark. It is NOT what I expected to receive from Holland

After a wonderful 5 star cruise to be put up at the Westmark Anchorage is an insult.  The hotel is old & dingy.  The carpets are not vacuumed.  You have to leave the hotel to get something to eat.  When we arrived, there are no signs indicating where the HAL rep are & it was mass confusion.  
I, in good conscience, cannot recommended Holland if they continue to use the Westmark Anchorage.  
Be forewarned if you’ve already booked a tour

I thought I read, and now cannot find, there are 2 different Hop on - Hop off bus tours in Vancouver.

Can anyone give some tips on this? Or is there a better way to see the city for non walkers?

A few blocks is ok but more than 2 or 3 is out. 
the HoHo seems like a great way to hit the highlights & get from point A to point B 

thanks 

On 7/27/2024 at 8:21 PM, a.madruga said:

thanks to all

just booked hotel for next year Alaska cruise out of Vancover 

any information in using booking.com would appreciate help

Book the hotel direct instead of via booking.com. For the very little extra cost, you have piece of mind incase there is an issue. If something happens, the hotel will not deal with you, they will refer you to bookings.com. Not fun if you’re standing in a hotel lobby

7 hours ago, ECCruise said:

Yes.

 

We are fully booked 2024 through May of 2026 (11 different sailings on 3 lines).

 

When the Europe 2026 was announced, we dove right in, looking for mid to later 2026.  Big "nope, due to pricing." 

 

Understand supply/demand, etc. but if those prices are maintained, it's sayonara, likely to cruising in general but definitely to MSM sailings.

I’d say you’ve got nothing to worry about with 11 cruises booked.  Those of us that struggle for 2 or 3 a year are feeling the crunch

I like the bike shorts idea because of the pockets.  I buy mens boxer briefs - they do the trick 

A consideration - Princess only offers the shorter Natural History Tour in Denali.  Holland offers the longer Tundra Wilderness Tour.  Some will say there isn’t much difference, however you will go further into the park & if this is your only trip it is worth considering.

On 4/25/2024 at 3:47 PM, shipgeeks said:

Maggiev, Where do you all live?  I have an inkling you might be in the PA/Ohio/MD area?  If so, or even if not, I would recommend the Royal Caribbean C/NE cruises from Baltimore. Could you swing 9 nights?  The ship is Vision of the Seas, which has a great ship ambience, many adults, excellent crew.

We travel to Baltimore on a Lenzner coach from the Pittsburgh area, but it's a nice drive, with parking right at the port.

@shipgeeksSouthwestern NY so Baltimore would be an option, no further a drive than to Boston.  I’ll look at dates, if 9 nights includes 2 weekends it would be an option.

I’ve sailed Royal & do like them.

Carnival still has not come out with 2025 rates yet 

And where at the airport do you find it.

We are flying in & need to go to a hotel

Does the Skytrain stop at other hotels?
We are staying at the Fairmount (not on the water) & wonder

how to find the closest stop.

thank you

Would an upgrade offer ever go out to a 1st timer Holland Pax? 
Just wondering if I should even think I may relieve an offer?

8 hours ago, kdakda said:

I'm still trying to understand WHICH Customer Service you're looking for.........do you have a TA through an agency or are you speaking about a Holland American PCC?

I have a less than helpful (not only about this but other things) TA.  I was wondering if there was a way I could talk to Holland & try to get a room. Wasn’t sure if they ever tried to get more rooms once their allotment was gone. 

7 hours ago, martincath said:

It sounds like it's a HAL PCC rather than an independent agent to me; but regardless, HAL like other lines prebook blocks of rooms and once those are gone their special rates are gone - the fact that you can book the hotels yourself proves we've talking about one of those deals rather than literally no rooms available.

 

If you are not traveling solo though OP @maggiev you might find that independent booking of the same hotel (at a per room, not per person rate) is actually cheaper; and unless you're familiar with Vancouver cruises already you probably don't realise quite how obscenely overpadded the cruiseline shuttles are here! I've seen folks charged ~$30pp for both an Airport to Hotel, and again Hotel to Pier, when you could travel in your own cab for ~$30 total even if there's 4 people in it on the first leg and the second leg is literally 'walk downstairs or across the road' from the Pan Pacific or Fairmont Waterfront so zero spending required at all independently...

 

The distances involved here are minuscule compared to most US ports - most downtown hotels are less than a mile from the pier and actually quite walkable even with luggage and a <$10 ride by cabuberlyft if you don't think you can move your own bags on foot; there are multiple lovely hotels at virtually all pricepoints (except really cheap, in cruise season anyway!) that will save you buckets compared to HAL 'hotel and transport for $Xpp' packages.

We have always sailed from Florida, once from Galveston but did not pre cruise, so have relied on the cruise line transfers.  I know the hotels & transfers are more but we’ve never ventured doing our own.  I like the “I’m on vacation, I don’t want to think, hold my hand” aspect of doing it all with the cruise line.  Guess it is time to broaden my horizons & try new things.  
Thanks for the info

On 5/1/2024 at 2:40 PM, Sandscout said:

On 5/14/2024 at 10:32 PM, Cruise Suzy said:

 

@Crew News are you on deck 7 by chance? Why did you choose the deck you did?  We will be sailing in an aft deck 7 cabin & I wonder about the balcony. Would there be room to invite friends over for coffee & glacier watching?  I’ve been on Princess and on some you can look over your baloney & into the one below - is this the case on NA?  Are there issues with smoke, noise or anything?

Sorry if these sound silly but I’ve read these are “issues” on some ships. 

@Crew News & @BaileyMJ

Thank You so much for taking a part of your vacation to post. 
I will be sailing on my first “dam” ship in August to Alaska.  Your insight, photos, & reviews have been a great help 

On 5/14/2024 at 1:19 AM, Crew News said:

As promised:

 

Nieuw Amsterdam MDR Table Maps

Do you happen to know what tables are designed for Club Orange?

7 hours ago, Cruise Suzy said:

 

 

 

 

You will have dinner in Tamarind. As I posted in #104: That's also on our reservations for Pinnacle Grill and Canaletto when choosing "View My Purchases" on "My Itinerary" (HAL Website). Just means the meals will be provided in the selected venue. Does not mention MDR.

Thank you - I posted before I finished reading the whole post.

Thank you for the info - may have to look into Morimoto also

Thanks for the input. 
I looked at Fairmount on my own & there are rooms so I was hoping Holland could find a room for us.

7 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

I'm not sure how good your relationship is with your TA but this is squarely in their lap. Never let the bird in hand go before the other one is secured. I'm not sure who's customer service you want numbers for. Unless you have booked a pre-cruise and ship's transfer from the cruise line the cruise line isn't going to find you a hotel. If the Fairmont (any of the 3 in Metro Vancouver) and the Pan Pacific are fully booked it really won't matter who you talk to, they aren't going to miraculously find you a room.

I can book the Fairmount on my own but at a higher cost & then have no transfers.  We’re not huge travelers so wanted our everything done through Holland. 

I am having issues with my travel agent & my Fairmount Hotel reservation. She cancelled the Fairmount to book the Pan Pacific, however it was sold out so had to reinstate the Fairmount but that sold out in the time she was doing it, now we have nothing.  I did an on line chat to no avail.  I was hoping I could call customer service for some help, luckily the other people were traveling with did not get their room canceled.  
Does anyone have a customer service number that gets to someone higher than an entry level call center employee?  Not that they are bad, I just feel this may require a supervisor. 
Thank you

On 5/10/2024 at 11:58 AM, Cruising on a Sunday afte said:

Has Morimoto’s taken over Tamarind?  I made a reservation for Tamarind a few weeks ago for our August cruise. Now I see they have noted “delivered to dining room” on my reservation details. That will not be nearly as fun.

I also have Tamarind reservations in August, guess I better check my itinerary.  I want a speciality dinning experience, not an upgrade to the dining room menus experience.

On 5/1/2024 at 2:40 PM, Sandscout said:

That’s me in the yellow jacket!

Thanks for posting this picture. 
What a great souvenir. 

How awesome is this 

I’ll have to wear a distinct outfit in August incase I’m on camera