bleacher04

Can you purchase it in the store and bring it to the room?

Nope, they don't allow you to buy in the store and immediately bring it back to your room. I think HAL still lets you pick up your on board liquor purchases the last night of the cruise. This would allow you to do a quality assurance test on your purchases before getting off the ship the next day. ;-) Check behind me on whether that is still the case.

You cannot buy alcohol from the on-board duty-free shop and take it with you; HAL holds it for you until the last night, as Miata said. The same applies for any alcohol that you might buy in port (excluding certain HAL shore excursions and your one-per-person bottle of wine when boarding).

Yes, HAL still gives you your alcohol back the night before dis-embarking (at least as of Dec. 31, 2017).

One last question: Did the Rotterdam refit upgrade the Vista Suites and, if so, have done away with the old red and gold?

Sorry, but as a man, I can tell you where all of the electrical outlets are, but even though it's been less than two weeks, I don't have any recollection of the colour scheme in the cabin :D

But it didn't look or feel newly-renovated, as I recall.

We will be on in a Vista Suite on the Amsterdam in September. Is there an outlet where one can plug in their own hairdryer?

Assuming that the cabin layout is the same as the Rotterdam (and it should be), then yes. There is an electrical outlet at the desk, under the desk mirror, and close to the make-up mirror. One North American receptacle and one European receptacle.

For cruises, I always buy travel insurance. My husband and I are not prepared to take the financial hit of thousands if the trip needs to be cancelled, and don't want the worry of medical expenses if one of us gets hurt outside the country.

 

We purchase through USAA as we are members (I believe they are Travel Guard policies) and consider the $150-200 cost simply a part of the cost of vacationing.

Well put -- it's simply the part of the cost of travelling. I would not leave for any vacation (or business travel for that matter) without travel insurance, and I've bought it for my kids when they go travelling, for my own peace of mind.

Thanks! Quite helpful!

 

Is there an ATM at the airport to get CLP for that taxi, etc?

There is a currency exchange booth at the airport; I’m sure there is probably also an ATM, but I can’t confirm it.

The last time we started a cruise in Santiago, I got 100,000 CLP (about $165 USD) from our bank before leaving, as we were four days in Santiago, and then withdrew more from an ATM near our hotel, as we were going to Valparaiso for a few days before sailing, and our first port was also in Chile.

But as I said, I like to have local currency for taxis, tips, and incidentals.

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What is the approximate cost of a can of tonic?

I think it’s still $2.25, for any can of soda. But 4* and 5* Mariners get the 50% discount for mini-bar items, and 3* get 25% off.

You might want to wait until after leaving port to place your order. Otherwise local taxes will apply and they can be hefty.

Yes, that’s a good suggestion. Even when you pre-order, you can specify delivery “in cabin on boarding”, or “delivery at sea”. If you ask for the liquor to be in your cabin before sailing, you will be charged the applicable local port tax for alcohol. Delivery at sea avoids these taxes.

You are a little out of date. HAL no longer has any "Formal Nights" but has replaced them with what they call "Gala Nights" which supports a dumbed down dress code. We do tend to dress formal on gala nights, but you will also see plenty of folks in less then formal wear..including some jeans and even an occasional guy wearing a baseball cap (this drives me nutz since I was raised to believe that this is bad manners).

 

As to your "piano bar" that has been eliminated on about half the HAL ships (but it still remains on the Rotterdam) and replaced with a "dueling piano" show which OK...but just not the same as relaxing in a piano bar (we also love piano bars). I am a long time fan of Queen....but sadly on our many HAL cruises the various musicians often think that Glenn Miller or Patti Page music is more apropro for the audience (usually less then 10 people by 10pm).

 

Hank

P.S. We are in a minority, but still a big fan of formal nights. Princess and Cunard are about the last mass market lines to still have formal nights.

Not out of date, just choosing to an out-of-date term as part of making my point :D

The dumbed-down dress code doesn't bother me so much (any more) as the fact that the ship has a dress code posted on "Gala" nights, and 99% of the time chooses not to enforce it. That ticks me off. But I know that we look great :cool:

As to the piano bars, the smaller HAL ships that we've been on recently (Rotterdam, Zaandam) still had a piano bar entertainer in the the Mix, but I agree that their choice of repertoire can be awfully dated. But there were no bar seats around the piano in the Mix, and there isn't the same intimacy in a larger open area.

We've only been on one cruise with the Billboard duelling pianos, and one of the two pianists was ill for most of the cruise, and so the remaining fellow had to improvise. Which was fun, actually.

Not a problem in Santiago Chile, to take a taxi from the airport (SCL) to your hotel. That's what I have always done.

When you leave the baggage area, you will immediately be greeted by a number of gentlemen holding signs that say Taxi/Turista, all trying to get your attention (and your business). It feels a little sketchy the first time, but that's just how it's done. Pick one, and they will lead you outside to their cab. If I recall correctly, the fare is about $25 USD (at least to the hotel I use in the Lastarria district).

As to surviving without local currency, I suppose it could be done. You will pay for your hotel in USD anyway (to avoid the VAT), and you will pay for meals with a credit card. But you should make sure that your taxi driver will take a credit card, before getting into the cab. Personally I like to take enough local currency to pay for the airport cab, and for tips and incidentals, but that's just me.

Also if you decide to take the subway to get around (and it's very good, just use the same common sense you would in Boston or NYC), then you should have some Chilean pesos, and you will also need pesos if you decide to do one of the "Tours 4 Tips" tours (although they might take USD).

I didn’t realize some ships mount the mirror and some have it on the desk. I was counting on at least being able to move it, and definitely not to be monopolizing the use of the bathroom while I get ready. Not sure what the Volendam has, or if they would be replaced during their dry dock last month. I’m also in an interior cabin so need some good quality light. One that mimics daylight (like my home mirror) would be ideal. I’m so used to a 5x magnifying mirror, I don’t think I can do a proper job without one!

We were on the Rotterdam (sister ship) two weeks ago, in a Vista suite. The make-up mirror was mounted on a moveable arm, over the desk. While I don't do make-up, I used it to shave (electric) while my wife was in the shower. It was reversible, regular and magnifying. The magnifying side was frankly scary-huge; I really don't need that kind of detail. More importantly I think, the lighting around the mirror was negligible IMO. It was always dark outside by the time we were getting ready for dinner, so the windows were no help, but the overall desk lighting helped a lot.

I didn’t know I was in an important age demographic — I’m pretty sure HAL hasn’t been target-marketing my age group quite yet. It’s a miracle I know the words to the songs in the piano bar. But I still like HAL very much despite that [emoji6]

Without knowing your age demographic, I suspect that you appreciate the finer things in life, regardless of your age. We are also (only slightly now) under HAL's "stereotypical" age demographic, but we like the better food and interesting itineraries and the terrific staff and crew, compared to other cruise lines. And we have made some terrific friends who, yes, are 20 years older than we are. And we like dressing up for Formal Night. If the on-board entertainment is lacking, that's the trade-off; we like BB King's on the larger HAL ships, but we don't want a pool DJ every night.

As to the piano bar, four years ago my sister convinced the singer to play "Bohemian Rhapsody", with massive crowd participation. Sadly I have not seen a piano bar entertainer or a crowd that would do a repeat performance.

Sorry if I hijacked this thread; go back to my earlier post https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=54899833&postcount=36 to get back on track :D

The G&T or V&T packages only give you three cans of tonic (and it is pretty crappy tonic water, I agree), so even with a package you will need more tonic (unless you like really strong drinks). Which is I guess why the OP asked about the soda card. But if you have a mini-fridge in the cabin, you can also ask your cabin steward to take out all of the cans of pop that you don't like or won't drink, and replace them with an equivalent number of cans of tonic.

And you can also call room service and order a plate of limes :D

If the old TVs are still there, the old DVD players should still be there, too. So should the library of DVDs be available at the Front Desk.

Not saying all these are (I don't know one way or the other), but if nothing was changed to add, it's reasonable to think nothing was changed to subtract, either.

Yes, the old DVD players were also there in the Vista Suites, under the old TV's... taking up two of three 110 V electrical outlets in the room.

Again, I can't confirm for the Lanais (or the DVD library), but they should be the same.

You will see a sign for Neptune, Pinnacle Suite & 4* Mariners (usually 4*'s are included).

 

Just go in that lineup and have your boarding pass as it is checked.

 

Once you have checked in, yes, assuming you are in FLL, you will be told to go upstairs to wait. It's a pleasant enough spot to wait, but there is little in the way of lounge goodies ;)

What kazu says :D Neptune Suite and 4- and 5-star Mariners typically have their own check-in line, and get priority boarding. Maybe some treats if you're lucky, but it depends on where you are, and what time you arrive. Services differ vastly by location; over the last 5 years, I have found the service in Europe superior to any port in the US or Canada.

I have never seen a "lounge", like you would get with business class airline flights. But if all goes well, you shouldn't be there for that long.

... Also, the Nov. drydock was supposed to install the large, flat-screen TV's that have on-demand movies, in cabins. After drydock, are the new 48" TV's in the lanai cabins, or just the Vista Suites and up ? Or do I need to bring my own DVD's with an HDMI cable to feed my laptop into the small flat-screen TV over near the desk ?

I can't speak to the Lanai's, but we had a Vista Suite on the Rotterdam over Christmas, and we still had the basic computer-monitor-style TV near the desk, certainly not the 48" wall-mount units that we've had on other HAL ships.

Based on past experiences, I think you need to make it very clear to the table staff if other diner's upcharges will be charged to your room. Before we were 4-star, friends would always pay for our dinners in the Pinnacle or Caneletto, get the 50% discount on all charges, and then we would pay them back at the discounted rate. Twice we had two other rooms (four diners) charged back to the same 5-star Mariner's room. No HAL staff ever questioned it or raised an eyebrow, and frankly none of us ever gave it a second thought that it would not be approved.

The only time we ran into a problem was when the reservation was made through the Neptune Concierge, and they were given the instructions to charge everything to one room, but the instructions were not passed on to the table staff. Then everyone got charged for their own meals, at their appropriate discount rates.

I was assured by our PCC that HAL chooses who receives a casino rate NOT any casino company...

Interesting. Of course it makes much more sense that it comes from HAL, and not the casino company.

When you book a cruise, do you have the phrase "Casino Discount Included In Fare" listed under Special Services on page 2 (with other promotions)?

... I've asked HAL reps many times how this discount is determined and who receives it. I was consistently told that HAL randomly chooses casino players regardless of the amount played as long as you played most days of the cruise. We spend time in the casino every evening but rarely spend more than $200-$300 each cruise. Often we break even. I think the casino discount is similar to the upgrade fairy......some get it....most don't.

Our HAL PCC told me that the casino discounts are determined by the company that manages the casinos (Club 21?), and not by HAL; for reasons no one has been able (or willing) to explain to me, a flag just appears on your file one day. It apparently has no relationship to Mariner status; we started receiving the discounts when we were 3-star, and when I made bookings for all of the family (some 4- and 5-star), I was told that the rest of the party was not eligible, because they had no flag against their name.

I don't think it's based on points, like a land-based casino, because while we are regulars, we are not big spenders. Mind you our discounts have been modest too, and we have never received an offer for a free cruise or emails offering cruises at discounted casino rates.

Neptune Suites have a Bose bluetooth speaker.

Just off a Christmas cruise on the Rotterdam and the Retreat "pool" was marked as "Adults Only". They had one sign out on the starboard side, and I think on day 2 they put another sign up on the port side. It was either well-policed or well-respected, because I only saw a couple of children in the "pool" over the 7 days, and there were a fair number of children and teenagers on the ship (for HAL, anyway).

This was my first cruise on the Rotterdam, but I believe the Retreat pool was changed during the recent drydock. I was told that it used to be some kind of splash pad, and it now consists of a small waterfall and "lazy river" type stream, with a hot tub at either end. It actually looks nice (sorry, no pics) but it's still not very practical. Although one day when no one else was using it, I did lie down in the river to cool myself off :D

We need new people to keep us posted. We were on this ship for two weeks in May 2017 to the Norwegian Fjords and it was fine. Then, we took the first two cruises after drydock in November - a total of 22 days. There were lots of problems with the plumbing, hot/cold water and A/C. They were still working on the ship too. We saw some steady improvement from day to day. We were not happy with the cutbacks in entertainment, that is really bad. Let's hope things get better as they hear from us.

This is still a bargain.

We just came off the Rotterdam on Dec. 31, 7-day Holiday cruise. No problems with A/C and the hot water temperature was quite consistent (and hot). No problems with plumbing in our cabin, but maintenance was working in one of the panels further down the hall (deck 6) for two days, and my wife said that several of the public-area women's restrooms were often out of service. And one of the two ice & water machines in the Lido was out of service for the entire cruise (which I wouldn't have thought of mentioning, except that an earlier poster made the same comment).

Staff and crew were excellent (except for whomever was in charge of entertainment), as were the dinners in the MDR. Breakfast in the Lido was also very good, but lunches were just okay IMO. But New York Pizza was an excellent alternative.

Entertainment was generally boring (also IMO). There was a solo pianist in the Ocean Bar who was very good (not to be confused with the piano bar entertainer in The Mix, who was not), and the Ocean Bar quartet was also pretty good. We generally prefer the BB King's bands, which were not on this cruise (and where would they put them on the Rotterdam anyway?). There was no evening entertainment in the Crows Nest, the jazz/dance quartet and then the DJ played in the Ocean Bar. I didn't care for any of the MainStage shows, and one or two nights in the MainStage they showed a BBC Earth movie, with live accompaniment, which to me smacks of either laziness / cutbacks or else an ill performer. I can entertain myself with books quite easily during sea days, but overall the daily program seems thinner with each cruise, such that they have to fill it with things like "9:00 am, Suduko available!!!".

Overall the ship appeared to be in good physical shape, but if I didn't already know that it had just come out of dry dock one month earlier, I would never have guessed .

But "a mistake?" Not at all. We chose this cruise for a family holiday when everyone had vacation time, not for the ship and not for the ports (although we luckily avoided the islands that had been hurricane-hit this past fall, and 3 out of 4 ports were better than my modest expectations). I would not avoid the Rotterdam for future cruises, but the ports or itinerary would probably have to be very attractive to get me on it again; we enjoyed the Zaandam more last spring, and generally we prefer the Vista or Signature class ships, as there seems to be more to do on board.

Thanks for everyone's comments (and reassurance). Sounds like the train is the way to go.

We would have opted for a later flight, if one had been available. But the last flight from Sydney to Hamilton Island, on Virgin or Qantas, was 11:00 am via Brisbane.

Hello all -- we would appreciate any tips or guidance here.

We will be ending a cruise in mid-March in Sydney, disembarking at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at 7:00 am. We have booked an 11:00 am flight to Brisbane, because that's the last flight that can get us to Hamilton Island that same day.

We knew when we booked this that it could be tight, but I'm counting on the fact that it's a domestic flight to give us some breathing room. And we're young-ish and fit and just crazy enough to try it...

I will be a 4-star HAL Mariner by the time of the cruise, so we can get priority disembarkation. So my questions are:

1) Taxi, Uber, train, or pre-booked transportation?

2) Keep our luggage and take it off the ship ourselves (if allowed), or pick it up in the terminal as usual?

3) Anything else from anyone who has done this before? Successful stories preferred...

Thank you!

I wonder if this all means that perhaps an officer just might come to the Meet & Greet. I'm organizing two for our Collector's on the Koningsdam - and I will send invitations to the officers. Last few times no one has come, although on the Zaandam in the Spring, three CDs and the Cellar Master came to the our M&G!:D

The first Cellar Master :D And three CD's was quite a coup, Ann!

We have a cruise booked for December and another for March, and no surveys for us.

No, the vacuum pumps are in the engine room. An overflow of clean water indicates the water valve for the toilet is not shutting off (since the bowl is closed off with the discharge valve, additional water will not simply flow down the bowl like shore toilets. He may have had to go down the hall to turn the water off to change out the water valve.

Thanks, that makes sense. I also realized that large vacuum pumps would be rather noisy, for installation between cabins.

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The Vista Ships were a new model for HAL. This was the first time HAL built a "big" ship.

Many errors were made in their design: crew elevators too small, no room service galley or pantries, medical center in the bow of the ship, hull design errors that still create problems and noise.

Zuiderdam - the very first model - was (and remains) the most problematic. The ship was far behind schedule, with delayed first sailings. Many errors were made on this first model. Strangely, they forgot to install telephones and toilets in public areas. These were hastily added just as the ship went into service. You may notice that some of Zuiderdam's public toilets are located in very strange places. They had no choice but to convert available void spaces and storage lockers to toilets at the last minute.

 

The vacuum toilet system on any ship can be problematic. But the engineers are usually able to stay on top of any problems.

One of the challenges with a vacuum toilet system is the necessity for relatively small diameter waste pipes that keep the vacuum pressure high. These pipes also function better with a minimum number of twists and turns in the pipe network.

With all the bizarre things people flush down these toilets, it is quite important that the insides of these pipes are kept clean, so the inside diameter is not reduced to block large objects coming through the pipes.

Most cruise lines have a variety of chemicals that they use to treat the insides of the pipes in order to reduce the chance of blockages.

HAL stopped using those chemicals soon after the Vista Ships started sailing (too expensive).

 

As you might imagine, the number of toilet problems on the Vista ships started increasing not long after that. These larger ships had much longer vacuum pipes with many more twist and turns in them - ideal places for all those bleach wipes, hand towels, pizza slices, steak bones, soiled underwear, tampons, cigarette ends, etc to get stuck.

 

Then HAL got creative with new vacuum pumps that were supposed to be far stronger, forcing the blockages all the way down to the pump itself. Bad idea. Now the blockages go directly into the pumps, putting them out of service for hundreds of toilets at one go.

When I last worked on Zuiderdam, we were experiencing around 500 toilet blockages / outages every day. Most were quickly resolved by our very efficient but not-too-happy engineers, only to have the very same problems re-occur the following day.

Boy, the stuff you can learn here! Thanks! :D

We've sailed on both the Noordam and the Zuiderdam, and noticed a few odd differences -- I guess build sequence would explain that.

Are the vacuum pumps located in the stateroom hallways? I ask because on the Zuiderdam a couple of years ago, we found ourselves with an overflowing toilet (clean, thankfully) as we were preparing for dinner (on a formal night, of course). An engineer had already been called -- apparently we weren't the only cabin with this problem -- and he had to go into a service space down the hall, between two cabins, to correct the problem.

No blame was assigned to us, and in fact we received a rather decent bottle of wine for the inconvenience :cool:

Back to the OP, we have sailed on Vista-class ships four times, and that was the only plumbing issue we've ever encountered.