MajMom96

I have two questions regarding the correct etiquette for pax......

 

1/ How do you dispose of nail clippings? On shorter cruises I never had the necessity, but recently we have done a couple of 14/15 day cruises and the nails need to be trimmed! But where to put the clippings........just in the bathroom bin? wrap them in a tissue and put in the bin? or DW's suggestion of put them into a 'Lady Bag' and put them in the bin?

 

 

 

and 2/ I use an electric razor, so when it needs to be 'emptied', where do I dispose of the 'shavings'......

 

 

 

I did meet the Environmental Officer on the Rotterdam last week and was going to ask her but as she was having dinner at the time I decided to pass ;)

I just treat myself to a pedicure, then the beautician disposes of them for me! One of the little luxuries of cruising! [emoji483]

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Wow I've just learnt something new ... You get less body hair with age ??

It’s one of the few advantages to getting older! 🤣🤣

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LOL. Yes, that lessons my concerns! :halo:

Great! So happy to oblige! LOL. 🤣🤣[emoji483][emoji483]

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Has anyone ever taken the "18 DAY VIKING PASSAGE" cruise with Holland America??? In particular I would love to hear about your experiences in ICELAND and GREENLAND. Did you feel it was worth it??? Also how did you like Rotterdam??? It looks like a very interesting cruise but would love to hear some details from someone who actually has done this cruise. Its along time to be gone for me so I just wanted to know if you felt the whole experience was worth all the effort of being gone that long as well. THANK YOU.

We took the Northern Isles cruise on the Koningsdam in 2016 and loved it! One of our favorite excursions in Iceland was “Into the Glacier”. It was pricey (about $500 per person), but we thoroughly enjoyed it! We took large four wheeled “off road” vehicles out onto the glacier to an ice cave that was dug into the glacier for scientific study. It was an exciting ride on the glacier because as we left the road and started our trek across the ice, the weather took a turn for the worse and it got very foggy and snowy. One of the vehicles got stuck in the snow and our vehicle had to pull them out. We had to put spikes on our boots for the hike into the ice cave. It was a very informative tour! Overall, it was a great day and something we’ll never forget or probably ever get the chance to do again, so I would certainly say it was worth it!

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If you are peeing hourly, you should seek medical advice!

Really? That’s what you took away from my response? Okay, maybe the literal “hourly” was a stretch. Does “frequently” work better for you?

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It’s due to travel in general. You are certainly eating more salt and drinking more alcohol than you do at home. All of this contributes to your swollen ankles. Also if you fly to your embarkation port, you’ve already gotten a head start on retaining water if you sit on an airplane for an extended period of time. The best solution is to keep moving and to drink plenty of water. If you’re not peeing every hour, you’re not drinking enough water! So as soon as your ankles start to swell, drink more water (a lot) and keep drinking it until you need to pee! And keep moving or elevate your ankles. As a last resort, you can always ask your doctor for a diuretic to take with you when you travel.

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Was wondering if there is an ATM on board? We will be traveling for almost 6 weeks and don't want to carry that much cash. Husband likes the casino.

 

Thanks.

I’d be surprised if it didn’t. Every ship I’ve been on has had an ATM. But whether it does or it doesn’t, one way to get around paying the ATM or cash advance fees is to pull your money from the slot machines. All you need to do is put your card in a slot, charge whatever you need to your room, cash out at the slot and take your key card to the cashier and cash it out. Of course you’ll need to be able to pay off your credit card before being charged any interest, unless you set up your account with your debit card and made sure you had sufficient funds in your account before you left home. Have fun! [emoji483]

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My biggest issue with the new website is the difficulty I now have in comparing the published fare with my casino rate. It used to be so easy to locate a cruise, check the published fare, then login with my Mariner info and simply watch the fare adjust down on the page I was viewing. Now I can’t figure out how to do that as the fare never changes whether I’m logged in or not. So now I am forced into making a phone call instead of using the website. When I call, the booking agent always gives me a lower rate than what shows up on the website based on my Mariner status. So I agree with other posts that the new website has made things more difficult and most definitely is impacting the number of on line bookings being made. And just because all other cruise line websites also suck, doesn’t mean that HAL had to follow suit!

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Any itinerary!!! We just live cruising in Holland America! But our favorite so far is Mediterranean Romance. [emoji483]

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Our experience has been that embarkation lunch in the MDR has very limited choices but is a nice, quite escape. However, if you're really hungry your best bet is the Lido or Dive In.

That is true, but if you don’t get enough to eat in the MDR, you can always go to Lido afterwards. LOL. That’s the way to get your cruise off to a great start - enjoy both! We like the MDR because we don’t have to search out a table and we’re able to relax with our traveling companions and plan out the rest of our day without everyone getting up and down to get food from the buffet. [emoji483]

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The Lido is actually quite good, so if you can’t get into the MDR, I’m sure you’ll find some great choices. And if you like burgers or hot dogs, the Dive In is wonderful! Cooked to order and lots of toppings with great fries!

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Wow!

 

You know, SOME people are ARE advising and helping.

 

So short answer - yes you can book Explore4 with a refundable deposit when and if it is offered. Sometimes the price goes up a lot, and sometimes there is not a lot of change. Depends on the cruise.

 

And if you want help, I suggest you keep your knickers out of the knot they are already in.

 

You get more flies with honey ;)

 

You can do your own math when it comes out. My reply has nothing to do with being a HAL newbie, it has to do with the tone of your post.

Excellent response! Much better than mine! [emoji483]

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I think you may missed the previous thread that the OP is referencing. Pretty sure it was before you started posting on this forum. It got quite acrimonious.

 

 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2628813&highlight=%241+deposit

You are correct, I did not see the previous thread. But it still doesn’t excuse his harsh comments. And holding onto grudges from previous threads in how you respond to a new thread is just juvenile. New question, new responses. Totally unrelated. And why bother asking a question if you’re really not interested in the response?

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You do not have to be a Mariner,

 

 

 

On the gangway, they try hard to direct as many as they can to Lido. If one doesn't know to check re; mdr, it is possible they may have no idea there is usually lunch in MDR available.

This is exactly what we’ve found. You do not need to be a Mariner to dine in the MDR. They don’t check your key card on embarkation day. And, yes, if you ask a crew member where lunch is being served, they will initially direct you to Lido. But just say that you want the main dining room where they are serving lunch and they’ll send you in the right direction.

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Jeez... the one thing I really wanted to know is whether one can book Explore 4 with a refundable deposit. And maybe if there has usually been a big fare increase with this promo. Hhhhmmmm... didn't get any insight or info on either of those things....

 

 

I had posted, especially since I am seeing other current threads all about the upcoming Explore 4. (Clearly, you have to get out the calculator and come up with the bottom line to see if a new promo works better for you.)

 

How about this.... I won't get my knickers in a wad over my cruise planning, if you guys will make an effort to not get your knickers in a wad, over some complete and total strangers cruise planning, just because a HAL newbie, who is more familiar with their regular cruise line, asks a question about cruise planning. No need to throw shade here, people.

 

And we saw all of the whining and complaining and judgment already, about the $1.00 deposit... I certainly do not need to relive that negativity all over again. When we are planning this many months/years out... yes, keeping that money in our accounts and working for us, instead of HAL, can make a real difference.

 

Anybody who advises to 'let go' of any planning, a year or more before a cruise... will simply not get any consideration on my part.

Jeez... the one thing I really wanted to know is whether one can book Explore 4 with a refundable deposit. And maybe if there has usually been a big fare increase with this promo. Hhhhmmmm... didn't get any insight or info on either of those things....

 

 

I had posted, especially since I am seeing other current threads all about the upcoming Explore 4. (Clearly, you have to get out the calculator and come up with the bottom line to see if a new promo works better for you.)QUOTE]

 

 

Well, I guess I will get my knickers in a wad since I think your latest comment is pretty harsh especially since you were the one asking for help. I didn’t see anyone “whining and complaining” about the $1.00 deposit, just me indicating that you would most likely need to pay a higher deposit if you changed to a different promo. It was intended as a “heads up”, not a negative statement. Good for you that you only paid $1.00 at this time. As far as Explore 4 pricing, your first post was hardly as specific as your follow up question. So, yes, you can book Explore 4 with a refundable deposit and yes the pricing will go up and down during the year (or two) prior to your departure date.

 

 

 

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Well HAL fans, this customer has done his good deed for the day:). This morning I talked to the HAL Air Department and explained what had happened and that through Cruise Critic I had learned that it had happened to others. The Air Department person got me the e-mail address for the air department IT folks..which is where this stuff can be fixed or ignored. A few minutes ago I sent them a detailed e-mail explaining the detail of their software "glitch." Whether they will act on the information is the big question. But from my own experience in corporate software, this kind of thing usually makes it to a an existing working group. For those who have never worked in the IT environment, when they design this kind of "front end" system (the back end would be SABRE) they would have likely spent weeks or months testing different scenarios. But even the best testing can miss certain glitches and this is certainly a major glitch.

 

 

 

Hank

Thanks for taking the initiative to get the issue to the right people. I think sometimes people on this site think that HAL monitors their comments and just ignores them. I think that’s unfair to HAL to make those assumptions. Getting the issues directly to HAL is the only way to initiate action (or inaction). Hopefully they will take action in this case.

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We have a deposit on a cruise for late next year.

We did request non-refundable, for sure! But wanted to get something on the books.

We then did the Flash Sale $1.00 deposit. So, hopefully nothing risked.

 

Here is my question:

Do you experts think that it will be advantageous for us to look at the upcoming promotions.

I believe the other promotions so far, from this Spring, required large, and/or non-refundable deposits.

 

So, for example... Would we be be able to switch to Explore 4 if we decide that it is worth any extra costs. Assuming that the fare will increase.....

Would we still be able to make sure our booking is refundable, until final payment?

 

Thanks for any insight!

Yes, you can take advantage of other promos as long as you haven’t made final payment. But you’ll probably want to speak with a HAL booking agent to make sure you’re getting the best deal. They’re very good at helping you evaluate the different promos. But you’ll most likely have to pay a larger deposit on any other offer. However, I never worry about the “reduced” deposit offers because you have to eventually pay for everything anyway and a higher deposit means paying less at the end. [emoji41]

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Can the OBC be used for gratuities?

Yes, I believe it can. OBC has just been an offset of our final bill regardless of what else has been charged.

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Original topic is pretty clear and nicely comprehensive: "For folks interested in what CCL intends in terms of how it presents its cruise lines, including Holland America,........"

Good thing you’re so smart and never need assistance. (“Pretty clear and comprehensive”) ... the type of response that implies I’m stupid. Sorry it seemed to be such a chore for you to help me out.

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Maybe the lesson to be learned is that once one has accepted the Flight Ease air reservation/price is to stop checking, at least on HAL's system?

I agree! It sounds like the system isn’t set up for performing “what if” scenarios on a confirmed reservation.

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Our cabin has always been ready on a HAL cruise as soon as we board. And we like to board early so we can have a relaxing lunch in the mdr. We hate fighting the crowds in the Lido and trying to find a table! And when we board early, we go straight to our stateroom to drop off our carry-on. Sometimes the cabin steward is putting the finishing touches on the cabin, like filling the ice bucket or delivering confirmation envelopes for pre-cruise purchases, but they are always welcoming and help us get settled. We drop off carry-on (which usually includes our allotted bottles of wine) and then head to the mdr to get our vacation underway! Much nicer than my last cruise on Celebrity where the fire doors were closed and secured to the passenger cabins and didn’t open until two hours after we boarded. [emoji483]

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Does anyone know how much internet service is?

They have a few packages for a number of minutes or you can pay by the minute. If you check on line, you can prepurchase the internet packages if you think you’ll need more than a few minutes.

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Just stumbled on an interesting Flight Ease problem that can immediately cancel your air reservation with no warning. We had a flight ease reservation (which we verified on the airlines own web site). Today I went into the system to check our reservation and look around to see if there were better deals. Normally the Flight Ease system will immediately show your existing reservation and you can click on change to look at other options without a problem. But this time I decided to change my departure airport (to check for other options). I changed the departure airport and checked some options but did not make any changes. But I later noticed that my original reservation had disappeared from the HAL site. I went to the airline web site and discovered that my entire reservation had been canceled! Fortunately I was able to simply rebook the same flights and seats at the same price.

 

 

 

The problem is that Flight Ease canceled my reservation with no warning and not even a hint that this had happened. It is only because I am anal about checking existing reservations that I noticed the flights had been canceled. So beware when using the Flight Ease online system.

 

 

 

Hank

Great heads up! Thanks! We don’t bother going into flight ease once our reservation is made. We usually just check status and pricing directly on the airline site. We’ve never had a problem doing it that way.

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I’m sorry, but I’ve totally missed the point of this thread. It seems to have gone off the rails. Anyone care to redirect us back to the main point? [emoji12]

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Maybe do a video like the one for If I Could Turn Back Time?

Good one! [emoji41]

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