Mary229

The very best bonus you can give is a favorable mention on the app or directly to a supervisor

At least we got a mention in for Roger😁

You are not expected to pay any additional tips. Even the spa has tips included in the price of services.

Yes it is per person. It is treated as a total amount per person so if one excursion is less than $100 the remainder carries over to be used on the next excursion

It depends on cruise length. Here are the details https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/deals/have-it-all/have-it-all-upgrade.html

Roger has the new menu as well as the old menu posted https://rogerjett-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Canaletto-New.pdf oops - does not appear to have each daily special

I guess my overall point is one should pay no attention to the people who fancy themselves the fashion police. Just follow the guidelines published by the cruise line and ignore the self appointed hall monitors.

As mentioned earlier Gus sent out an email just last week saying that HIA will be available on all sailings . It will take a while for this info t9 trickle down. If it is on your manage your cruise page buy it if you want it.

I am sure it will show up. Dave got his yesterday. Who knows if you wait until the last minute you may get a better deal too?! 😉

Check your sailing roll call. It is a popular discussion there.

I think HIA will be available to all by month’s end if not already. Keep checking

Who is gaming the system. Some of us received them as compensation for other issues, some for gambling (or spouse of gambler) and a very very few were to people in a welcome back campaign after Covid.

This link from that above page is helpful in describing the various options https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises/alaska-land-sea-journey-cruise-tours.html

There will be a couple of different versions ranging from 9 to 18 days. We did the 14 day version but the cruise portion was only 3 or 4 days. It was well orchestrated. To get psyched up there is a wealth of information here, be sure to read all of the links too https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises/articles-and-videos/about-alaska-cruisetours.html

About 3 months ago HAL introduced a whole new Alaska enrichment program on all sailings to start rolling out this summer (2023). People did post it in this forum; an intensive search may dredge it up. I am booked on the Alaska Ultimate and am hoping for an excellent enrichment program and if not I will just enjoy the cool ❄️.

My agent provides me with advice beyond simply booking . She actively trains and loves to hear the tidbits I pick up here on cruise critic. She will seek the best deal, negotiate on my behalf and provide some small gifts onboard. If I show her a deal from an online agency she can usually explain the hook . I have heard ridiculous events from other cruise passengers and they would have done better just throwing a dart blindfolded.

On the side margin of the website there is a small feedback button. Open it and leave them a pointed message. The website is awful and gets worse daily.

@Hlitner my previous comment was not directed at you. However do understand that the casinos have operated with this model for many decades and it has proven to be a profitable model. Simply put, it is the get you in the door model. It works

Some are already posted and the remainder should be soon. Often the big box stores get the schedule early so maybe look there to see if they have more complete schedules. I am not sure what you mean by booking separate. If you want to use HAL’s tour package they give a wide variety of dates, durations, itineraries and options. However you could just as well use the cruise ship to ferry you to your jump off spot, rent a car and find a lodge then cruise back a week or so later. Princess does sell their lodges separately

I don’t understand the antipathy toward gamblers. Many of them spend a lot of money, far more than the suite set. Many 4 and 5 star Mariners got there by spending - spending more on a suite, spending more on packages. Spending is important, it is a business. Thank goodness we have spenders or cruising would get very, very expensive.

I sailed the N. Statendam deck 8 aft. Early in the morning I would hear the moving of deck chairs as the crew put them in place. It was brief and it was not loud. It did not bother me. That was the only noise I encountered. The convenience was nice.

I don’t know. I guess we could read the casino provider’s annual reports, if they are public companies. I assume they profit a lot. I have met people who spend thousands of dollars a night on the ship. Many luxury lines do not have casinos and so there are many very wealthy, gambling clients on HAL and other mass market ships. I think some of this inventory is given to past cruisers for a variety of reasons outside of gambling. I am a very limited gambler, on my last 35 day cruise my entire gambling charges were less than $250. I think my complimentary “casino” rate is for a problem I encountered. DH, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoys the casino and gets frequent discounts, not so many freebies tho.

Always try. We get tiny discounts on some cruise (5-20%) and they do give us the CCL OBC. For the $99 variety casino cruise they do not. It doesn’t stop me from asking. The AARP OBC offer specifically says no casino, again, I try anyway. It is just a “no”, no harm in that

Depending on how large the discount yes it is excluded. If it is a small discount you usually will still get the OBC

Once the credit is applied you can sell. Check your tax implications