SeeSun&Sea

3 hours ago, CruiseDuckDuo said:

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/cruise-deals/standby-program 

"Page Not Found" 3 hours later ... and my standby bookmark also showed not found!

Hopefully just a little tech glitch.

Chordial played classical music, for ~30 minutes, on the Rotterdam World Stage on 23 April and will return every 3 days. Good music, well practiced, interesting transcriptions to piano trio. Success!

My sister & BIL got a 4th deck /interior standby cabin for March 23 out of San Diego. She called, and was offered a $500 upsell to an 11th deck / verandah. I think HAL is actively refining the protocols for standby! We are seeing more 5-7 days in advance of sailing and ... clever ... distribution of better cabins. As a stockholder, I approve. 

On Feb 19th, late summer, it will be twilight until 11pm. So this will be an evening cruise of the Channel with no stops for glaciers or wild life. (= the "only" part of the description) Be sure to go sea kayaking down there!

Pack lightly - overnight laundry is $30 for a cloth-bagful that holds 4-5 days for a couple.

HAL does not have Princess's tracking system. You have to tell a waiter where you are and ask your travel companions for their location.

Strategically, it is often worth purchasing the lowest level of cabin within a class (A, B, V, ...) then getting Club Orange for $25/day and upgrading for free to the exact cabin you want (within that class.)

Cruised Princess to Alaska last August.

1. Princess ships are focused on the interior plaza - fewer casual sitting or walking areas have windows.

2. Light packer VS just-in-case packer: Laundry on Princess is very expensive and mostly by $5/piece. Laundry on HAL is by the bag ... and I can stuff 90% of my wardrobe into that $25 bag.

3. Compare Princess Plus or Premier very carefully to HAL's Have It All or Have It All Early Booking.

4. Very personal: I find Princess's tracking system, that allows the ship staff to know where you are, to be extremely creepy. Having the ship watch me at all times ... ugh. Many people love this feature, and enjoy having a hot dog & scotch brought to them. NOTE unless you have Plus, there is a large surcharge for the privilege of being constantly tracked.

The fullest possible value of HIA is applied to the Mariner Points "1 point for $300" offer. So, even a sober couple gets Mariner credit for 2x15x$11 drinks per day = $330. Double Mariner Points for any cruise with HIA ... for couples. Less for us poor solos (arrggg gggrrrr and phooey) and maximum 1 extra $300 point/day.

Do you get any Mariner Points for cruising stand-by?

Thanks for all the reports!

Alternatives to Beverage Package:

* You and your spouse may each bring one bottle of still or sparkling wine aboard without charge. You can leave your stateroom with a glass of wine but will be charged if you take the bottle to a public venue.

* Black Friday sales via Celebrity web site

.. "Classic Stateroom Bar Set Up" from $135.99 / per package: 1 liter of alcohol plus 6 cans mixer. (Was $118 last month...)

.. Bottles of wine, 20-50% off, $23-$$$, which will be stickered, so you can take them to the dinning room.

You are viewing place-holder activities. Real activities may appear on the evening of the 28th, but earlier is unlikely. All you can do is wait [im]patiently.

7 hours ago, Crew News said:

CCL OBC is applied for each booking number.  On Embarkation Day of the second leg, the CCL OBC for that booking # will be added to your continuing account.

Cool! Many thanks.

Hmmm. Can you get shareholder On Board Credit for each leg? Or do you get one for the whole trip?

Thank you, good to know!

My 5-day Coastal Cruise departs at 11pm from Vancouver. I'm used to 5pm departures! When does boarding time begin & end? Will we be able to have dinner on board? Or perhaps even lunch? Will there be music the first evening? Any special issues or benefits?

Many thanks!

Yes. I booked an Aft Veranda and did NOT want a Spa Veranda. Ask for free laundry instead...

The Vallarta Botanical Gardens are beautiful and offer an excellent walk, have (in 2019) fabulous food with tropical birds dining 10 feet away, and a stream at the bottom of the hill for a cool dip. Taxi, tour, local bus ... all go out and provide their own experience.

Starboard gives you -- somewhat -- more shade in the canal. Note that sailing north from the canal, you will have evening sun on the port side. Also, on the Pacific leg, starboard gives a glimpse of the continent rather than the mere Pacific Ocean. Sailing into San Diego, I prefer the port view of Point Loma rather than Coronado Island, but I have family at Rosecrans.

The Dutch Pea Soup is greatly improved by adding 5-20% sambal ... sambal oelek, of course.

[🦆 and cover]

Consider upgrading from the included Signature Beverage Package to the Elite Beverage Package for $10 more per day. This gives you unlimited soda, coffee and personal bottles of water (but not 32 oz bottles) plus 15 alcoholic drinks priced up to $15 each (instead of Signature's $11 limit)

Once onboard, BEFORE YOU BUY A DRINK, ask the bar tender to upgrade your Beverage Package.

I love aft cabins, and as a solo passenger the extra room, extra seating, larger bathroom (with tub) and bigger balcony would not be quite enough to make me upgrade. But for a couple? Much more worth upgrading.

See https://www.cruisemapper.com/cabins/ms-Noordam-613 to view the difference.

Before the App, I would yellow-highlight & annotate the paper schedule, then take photos of each page.

In this modern era -- I am not a fan of getting alerts while on vacation... and l dislike sharing my personal information with corporations. So I may not personalize Navigator App.

Thank you!

I muddled thru in Dutch. My cell phone has a Netherlands eSIM -- that maybe complicating matters. The mobile site seems to lack a language button, but it may have been overlooked.

I'm in the Netherlands for a May 8th cruise. The HAL website is, of course, in Dutch. Is there a way to open the English language website? Using this "EN" link still opened the Dutch website: 

 (without line break)

https://www.

hollandamerica.com/en_US/

Thanks!

I'm traveling solo, but still would like to try rijstaffel -- perhaps for lunch. Are there any places that will do a solo Rijstaffel? Thanks.

3 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

Will HAL still provide a free Covid test in order to fly back to the USA?

Or free wifi so one can use a personal emed proctored test?