Tom O.

1 hour ago, Cruise Suzy said:

 

Yes, you can use the Soda Value Card to purchase for others. In February on the Koningsdam, I often ordered two servings for myself and sometimes one for DH.

Thanks Suzy. Do you remember if the card came with your name on it?

I think I will order two cards one for my wife and one for me. We will probably not use all of the $50 per card value. But I am sure we will use more than the $25 per card cost. I understand that sodas cost around $2.88 including the 15% service fee. So one card should be good for 17 drinks.

On my Holland America cruises, I have seen very few children. So, I suppose for HAL it is not cost effective to spend a lot on children's activities, when there are so few of them.

It could be worse, Viking Cruises doesn't allow anyone under 18 on their ships.

I have decided to buy at least one of those Soda Value Cards for my next cruise. I have not done this before. I have a question that I cannot find an answer to anywhere. When I purchase one of these cards on the website, I am asked which passenger is the recipient. So I assume that if I say I am the recipient, the card will come with my name on it. Can I use it to purchase sodas for my wife? Or is it just for me? Also, can she use it without me being present?

These cards are a much better deal than buying the endless soda package, which I have done in the past.

11 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Plus, I buy my beverage card on line in advance and can choose (as best possible) the best exchange rate for my Canadian dollar rather than be a victim of the rate at the time (disembarkation when we are billed).

 

Since any balance remaining on the beverage card is refundable to you, it’s a win win for us 😄 

Thanks Kazu for reminding me of the advantage of picking the best time for an exchange rate. Since I am American this doesn't apply to me, but I see your point. 

I was wondering if the amount refunded at the end of a cruise is at the current exchange rate or is it at the same exchange rate when you bought the card? If it is at the current exchange rate, and you believed the Canadian Dollar was going to decline in value, you could purposely buy beverage cards in large amounts and make a nice profit at the end of the cruise.

But this might require the use of a crystal ball.

I have never been on a ship that had a Tamarind, as I like smaller ships.

But I always try to schedule a specialty dining restaurant (Pinnacle Grill) on the very first night (embarkation day).

I do this for two reasons: First we always have anytime dining, and find that there are longer waits to be seated on the first night.

The other reason is that the meal on the first night in the Main Dining Room is less spectacular than on other nights.

I just wanted to point out that, except for the Soda Value Card, there is no financial advantage to buying a beverage card.

The Soda Value Card cost $25 but allows you to purchase $50 worth of sodas. If you don't use all of $50 you lose the balance.

The other beverage cards, are sort of like debit cards. Whatever amount you buy, you can use to purchase any kind of beverages, including alcoholic drinks. If you don't use it all, you will be refunded the balance at the end of the cruise. But the drinks cost the same as if you just bought them and added them to your room charge.

Some people like the beverage cards because they can keep track of how much they are spending on drinks and don't get hit with a big bill at the end of the cruise.

Personally, I don't buy that many drinks, and I prefer to just charge them to our room. I don't want to deal with concerns about what my balance is on a beverage card.

We did the triple Denali tour last August. We started out in Anchorage, took the train to Denali, and took a bus from Denali to Seward. There we boarded the Noordam for the 7 day cruise to Vancouver.

Our favorite part of the whole thing was our cruise. The train to Denali was wonderful too.

But we got real tired of being on buses, especially that long bus ride to Seward from Denali (about 10 hours).

We were happy we saw some bears on the Tundra Tour, but that was another 8 hours on a bus.

We are happy that we did this tour, and saw this part of Alaska, but if we go there again we will just go cruising.

We have purchased insurance from Allianz from our TA. I have purchased insurance from Allianz several times in the past, but have never filed a claim. Allianz is one of the largest insurers in the world, and many offerings from smaller companies are actually underwritten by Allianz. There are probably better prices offered by other companies, but I think Allianz is a very safe bet.

In the past I have purchased policies directly on their website, but this time I got a better price using my TA.

One policy they offer is car rental insurance which is much cheaper than the insurance offered by European Car Rental Agencies. I have done this in the past, but for our next cruise, we won't be renting any cars.

There are some connecting rooms on the Maasdam. Go to the HAL website and look at the deck plans. Rooms that connect are marked with a plus sign (+). I see several of them on deck 9.

Category BB staterooms are regular balcony staterooms, not suites.

I have not been on the Maasdam yet, but I would have some concern about the Lido buffet being right above you, you might hear a lot of chairs being moved. You might consider moving to a lower deck.

Holland America has one of the oldest demographics in the cruising business. That suits us fine, but it usually means there are fewer families with children. But I have noticed there are always a few more young families when ports include a lot of beaches.

Not for me.

I switched from Princess to HAL a few years ago, because Princess ships were getting bigger. They still had a few smaller ships, but I could never find an itinerary on one that suited me.

I like HAL Vista class ships they are just right for me.

I won't sail on any ship that has more than 2,000 passengers. 

I am somewhat concerned that HAL will eventually replace their smaller ships, as the newest ships in their line are large Pinnacle Class ships. 

Gala Nights used to be formal, now HAL simply suggests formal attire, but doesn't require it. Many people, including myself, simply wear the same type clothing as other nights - smart casual.

This including the newer smoking rules mentioned above (No smoking in stateroom or balcony) are the two biggest changes I can think of. And they are both improvements IMHO.

58 minutes ago, DoggyDaddy said:

I did what TomO suggested, but did it a few days ago. Curious, would a soda card work for cans of tonic water (at the half price)?

 

DD

It has been a while since I have had a beverage card, but I believe you can not use it for mini-bar items. It can only be used in restaurants and bars. And they will simply squirt what you order into a glass - not very convenient for mixing drinks in your room.

But the cans of non-alcoholic mixers are the same price as sodas - not sure what the latest price is, But there will probably be only one can of tonic in your fridge. But, you can call room service an they will bring you some more.

28 minutes ago, whitford said:

My bottle of Gin went from $46.25 reasonable to $80.00 not so much. I guess they are not making enough money on the tickets.

I assume you were talking about the Gin and Tonic Package that included Original Bombay Gin.

I suggest that you switch to Bombay Sapphire, which is still priced the same at $56.25, and then order a couple of cans of tonic once you are on the ship.

You can have breakfast in your room. Just set out the breakfast card the night before. We are always in a state of confusion on that day, so, having breakfast in the room is a lot easier.

Remember, that unless you choose to carry your own luggage off the ship, your luggage will have been pickup during the night.

You will need to have all your morning necessities in a carry on.

A lot of natives in the Caribbean drive like maniacs.

One of the scariest rides I have ever been on was on a HAL ship excursion in Saint Lucia. We were in a small bus going to the top of a mountain. The driver drove like a madman. It was like being in a roller coaster, but not as safe. I am surprised there aren't more serious accidents in these places.

Last August, I arrived in Vancouver at the end of our cruise. We had a flight at 2:30 pm, but we got off the ship quickly and arrived at the airport at 9am. We thought we would check in our luggage and then enjoy a leisurely meal near the gate area. We were told we could not check in our luggage until 3 hours before our flight, due to Vancouver Airport regulations. So we had to wait around in the check-in area for 2 1/2 hours. There are no restaurants or shops of any kind in the check-in area. There are very few chairs as well. We were not happy about this.

Once we got home, I contacted the management of the airport, to see if it was really true that they did not allow check-in until 3 hours before flight time. They responded it was true, and that most Canadian airports have the same policy.

6 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

 

 

TomO, thanks.  That's one of the finer tips I've learned here on CC.  I dislike eating in the MDR in the evenings  because of the noise levels. I wear hearing aids and even as high tech as they are, they amplify everything - including the background noise.  She Who Must Be Obeyed insists on eating in the MDR for dinner and we always get a table for two so that we can converse.  When I cruise solo, I'm happy in the buffet in the evenings, but your tip will give me another option on my next HAL cruise.

It is one of those unadvertised benefits. I have never seen information on this service written down anywhere on the HAL website or literature. I learned about it here on CC, just as you have. On our last two HAL cruises we had all our dinners brought to our room, except for a couple of trips to the Pinnacle Grill.

By the way, if you want to try a couple of items from the Pinnacle Grill in your room, there are some items on the room service menu. These are extra cost, of course, but they are cheaper than actually going to the Pinnacle Grill.

Also, if you like to have wine with your dinner, it would be wise to buy a bottle of your favorite wine for use in your stateroom

My favorite music venue is the Lincoln Center Strings. There is nothing amplified there, all the instruments are played at their natural sound level.

54 minutes ago, dan6681 said:

Tom, do you know if you can have dinner brought to a Cabana if one has been rented for the cruise?

I don't know, as I have never had a Cabana, and know little about them.

Miss G mentioned that Cabana services stop at 5:00 pm. But dinner from the MDR is delivered by room service, an entirely different entity. I would call and ask them if it could be delivered to a cabana and see what happens.

The delivery people like delivering dinner, because they usually get a much larger tip than usual.

I usually give them $5 for the trouble, but if they are willing to go to a cabana, it might be worth more than that.

If you run into a situation where eating in the MDR is unpleasant, HAL has a service that few other cruise lines have. You can order a complete dinner off the MDR menu for that night, and have it delivered to your room. There is no extra charge for this.

You first check out that nights menu, then call the MDR in the afternoon and place your order. You can order anything off the menu including hors d'oeuvres and deserts. You tell them when you want it, and it always shows up on time.

We do this all the time, because we find it very pleasant to have dinner in our room, or if the weather is good, on our veranda.

Since we always have anytime dinning, this eliminates waiting around the MDR for a table for 2, and we can eat at any hour we feel like.

19 minutes ago, wrldtvlr said:

Perhaps we can blame Congress for this also.   

https://fortune.com/2019/12/17/whiskey-tax-price-hike-law-tariffs/

The possible tax increase would only be $1.71 per bottle, and that would only occur for small craft makers of whiskey. So, I don't think it has anything to do with this massive price increase by HAL.

We love being at sea, the ports are secondary. We love the luxurious accommodations and meals.

We have considered river cruises, but have always nixed them, because the ships are too small to offer the same  level of luxury, and we prefer the sea.

Forgot to mention we do land trips too. We love to fly in, rent a car, and stay in B&B's.

12 minutes ago, RedmondCruiser said:

I still enjoy sitting on my veranda with a drink and watch the ocean pass by. 

That's what I enjoy too.  And when you are in port, I like sitting there and watching all the port activity. I don't really enjoy the atmosphere of the bars.

Just curious, as I have never tried this: Is it possible to order a cocktail delivered to your room? With the prices of bottles going up, this might be something to consider. 

If you need to know which nights are Gala Nights well in advance someone here can probably help you estimate those dates.

I did this cruise (Seward to Vancouver) last August, but I don't remember exactly when the Gala Nights were. I am pretty sure the first one was the second night, but I am not sure of the second Gala Night.

One reason I like to know which nights are Gala Nights, is that they often have a little nicer menu in the MDR on those nights. I like to reserve a couple of nights at the Pinnacle Grill before my cruise, and prefer not to do the Pinnacle Grill on Gala Nights. This is simply so I won't miss out on the nicer items on the MDR menu for Gala Night.

My favorite day to schedule my Pinnacle Grill dinner is on embarkation day. This is because I usually find the first nights meal in the MDR to be less than spectacular, and with my Anytime Dining, the first night at the MDR is a little confusing, and the wait is longer than on other nights.