cruzngal

We were onboard the N.A. Thanksgiving week.  Staff confirmed that it was going to dry dock on December 2 for 2 weeks.

On 7/15/2023 at 10:18 AM, cmrvancouver said:

I have heard that there might be happy hours on board with drinks for sale for approximately 75 cents. If I choose to purchase this type of drink, do I have to use the drink package or can I just pay the 75 cents and save the more expensive drinks for my package.  TiA

Thar would make sense only if you are going to drink more than the 15 drinks per day limit.  To me, that would be hard to do, I would think, even with the non-alcoholic drinks thrown in.  I’d suggest just using your drink package, because no charge still beats 75 cents.  And  I never saw 75 cent drinks onboard the NS  this Spring.  It seems like those prices are long gone"

We are on a Thanksgiving week cruise.  Our adult daughter is also traveling on a separate reservation.  We want to book our complimentary HIA  dining together, but there doesn’t seem to be a way to book a table for 3 using two confirmation numbers.  The HAL rep claimed it was not possible, but I’ve read about people on this board arranging shared complimentary reservations.  How did you do it?  Is it just a matter of visiting the Dining desk at embarkation to combine the two tables?  Or is there something we need to do ahead of time?

Thanks!

On 4/11/2023 at 4:18 PM, mgatc said:

Glad to hear you like your cabin. We have that cabin when we board in Barcelona. Have you had coffee from room service? Not a fan of lukewarm coffee, lol.

On this sailing as well and get the RS coffee every morning.  They have nice thermal pots which keep the coffee hot, but they use old fashion cup and saucer so it gets cold quickly.  If you want coffee to stay hot, you might want to pack a thermal mug.

Otherwise, as L454S said, ship is beautiful.  The food has been excellent, as has the entertainment.  You will enjoy!

Swap meet at Aloha stadium.  Great place to buy the souvenirs, jewelry, carvings, clothes, treats that are overpriced everywhere else.

Short answer:  yes.  They should start getting credit for days at sea now.  My daughter is 26 and is already working toward her 3 star status.  We started taking her on cruises with us when she was 4.  

BB King is a full band including horn section that plays covers of top 40 hits from the last few decades.  It is a great dance  band and fun to listen to.  
 

onboard the NS now and they do have a ballroom dance band in the Ocean Bar.  It was a hopping place last night during dinner service.

Were any of you out on the lawn with the Bon Voyage and Holland America banners?  We waved at you!  👋

My MIL fell face first and broke a tooth on the way to embarkation.  She powered through to get onboard so that we didn’t miss the cruise.  Then she went to see the onboard medical facility.  They examined her for other injuries, dealt with the cuts and scrapes, checked for other loose or damaged teeth,  and provided meds for her mouth pain, but that was about all.  She was very satisfied with the care they gave her, but it was generalized medical care.  

The last time we did this was before Covid, We just used an Uber.  Less expensive and very quick.  Dropped us right off at the port terminal.

1 hour ago, richwmn said:

We are now at 0 degrees latitude and 0 degrees longitude. King Neptune Ceremony has ended and we already have the certificates

 

The Captain just announced that he is trying to position Zuiderdam along the lat / long lines so that bow is in northern hemisphere, aft in southern hemisphere, port and starboard are in the western / eastern hemispheres

Very cool!  That’s a once in a lifetime experience.  I’ll have to add that one to my HAL bucket list!

As everyone has said, mid-ship, decks 4/5 are good.  One other suggestion.  Get a minimum of an outside cabin, but veranda would be better.  No inside cabins.  If you feel sick, focus your eyes on the horizon and get some fresh air.

21 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

Oh, sorry.  I focused on “fresh juice” and completely skipped the vegetables.  😂

 

There are morning smoothies available for no charge in the Lido Market and the MDR.  I tried one, once, and it definitely tasted like vegetables.  🤢

Thank you!  Did not realize they had that!  

15 minutes ago, Torquer said:

To be specific, it is free freshly squeezed orange juice for breakfast for suite guests in the Pinnacle Grill or in the CO dining room on Pinnacle-class ships.  I do not recall seeing fresh vegetable juices anywhere on the ships, but I can't say I looked for it.

Thank you for the clarification.  I don’t remember it either, but was hoping.

I’m wondering if anyone knows if any of the bars or cafes have a juicer that can make fresh juices, particularly vegetable juices, onboard the NS?  And if there is, would the HIA package cover it?  It’s a part of my daily health practice, so hoping to not break my routine while onboard.  I haven’t been on a cruise for 3 1/2 years, so not sure what is available or not anymore.  
 

Thanks in advance!

I just booked airfare for our transatlantic next April using HAL.  MUCH cheaper than booking it through the airlines.

Hi All,

Thanks for the great advice, both on airfares and news about when the country will or won't open up.  I wound up booking the flexible airfare though HAL, knowing that I can change or cancel.  It's alot cheaper as well.

I want to be hopeful about this cruise, since it will be year #2 trying to get to Australia for a cruise.  But I agree, it's iffy. 

Ah well, hope springs eternal...

Hi HAL Cruisers!

We are booked on the Circumnavigate Australia cruise in November 2021 on the Oosterdam.  It's exciting to be planning a cruise again!

Looking at HAL air travel, I am wondering if there is a sweet spot for timing the airfare bookings when you get the best airfares?  We are traveling Minneapolis to Sydney, and planning to book Business Class, so timing could make a sizeable difference.  

Right now the window for booking airfare has just opened, so it's still early.  Our home airline, Delta, does not even have any offerings through HAL.  Not sure if more airlines are offered as time goes on, or if what is there at the beginning is what there is.

Hoping that there are enough of our cruisers with experience still checking the website that could give me a little advice.  

Stay healthy!

My husband has a shellfish allergy.  When we dined at Tamarind, that was one of the first questions they asked us.  They were able to tell him what not to order, and also if they could make any substitutions.  They executed on it flawlessly and we had a wonderful experience.  

Our stateroom was on this level, so we used these a few times.  I didn't see there being much sun, but it was quiet.  In the evening, it was a nice place to sit and enjoy pizza and wine from the pizza place.  Can also be a nice place to watch the evening movie.

We were "upgraded" to one of these on the Koningsdam.  The verandah was indeed disappointing, although we did enjoy the location: High floor, off the upper deck of the Lido pool area and near the fitness room. There was a nice public sitting area around the upper deck of the pool that was essentially ours for the taking. That being said, If you value the verandah space, don't go for this class of room.  Also, watch out for the stateroom guarantees.  Ours was billed as a 7 category upgrade over what we paid for, and we did not have the opportunity to change once it was assigned.  Lesson learned...

I'm not sure whether you are asking about the cruise itself, or the excursions out of each port.  If you are talking about the cruise, you can search for cruise prices online and see who has the lowest prices.  I have started using a Personal Cruise Consultant from Holland America, and have been very happy.  She has helped me find what I want and has been proactive about finding me the best value for whatever I am looking for.  HAL will always match valid pricing for identical stateroom categories, or be slightly better.

For excursions, I also search external tour operators and compare to what the ship is offering.  Trip Advisor or Yelp can provide reviews.

I hope that helps.

Yes. We did this when taking a longer cruise, and traveling with friends.  We went wine shopping before we got on the ship, hand carried them on (you have to...) and paid the corkage fee.  It WAS cheaper and better quality wine.  

That being said, when you get to 3 and 4 star Mariner status, it is easier to buy a wine package with the discount (25 and or 50 %) and save the hassle of lugging in extra wine -- especially for a 7 day cruise.

I just spoke to my PCC.  According to her, we book dining online before at full price.  We will receive onboard credit for the discount during the cruise.  I just went ahead and booked as we are going next week and it's the DH's birthday on a sea day, so I wanted to ensure that I had a reservation for this holiday cruise. 

As I remember in the past, we always saw the discount on our final bill.  

I do not know about the packages though.  You already get a discount for buying the dining package, so would not be surprised that you don't get a further Mariner discount.

I agree. Pick your own. If you like access to the Neptune Lounge, pick something on deck 7 mid-ship.  If you can get one of the aft suites with wrap around balconies, that may be amazing for an Alaska cruise. 

We agreed to get an upgrade on our last cruise.  We were upgraded from our regular Verandah stateroom  to a spa Veranda stateroom.  It was billed as a 5 level upgrade.  It turned out to be the same sized room with no verandah to speak of.  Loved the location of the room but would have rather stayed with our original since I basically live on the verandah during a cruise.  Common sense would tell you that the best rooms will be selected by passengers, and HAL will hand out the rest.  It's not going to be a prime room, either for location, size, layout, or whatever.  My advice - pick your own...