Seaspartan

We had this cabin on an east coast/Canada cruise. We heard no noise at all. The laundry room was not open early in the day or late at night. I would not hesitate to book it again.

We have an upcoming TA on the Regal in April. We made our dining reservations for 5:40 well before the entertainment schedule was available thinking we would be able to attend the 7:30 show in the main theater. The shows are scheduled for 7:00 and 9:00 throughout the cruise. I haven’t seen shows scheduled this early in the past.

We booked 2 nights for 4 people in the crown grill on the Emerald a year ago. After the first night we decided not to return for the second. Since we booked it prior to the cruise my credit card was charged immediately. When I asked about the refund I was told a check would be mailed to me after the cruise. When I suggested a credit card refund (it was on the same card I was using on the ship) I was refused. The same for my suggestion of OBC. I received a check about 2 months after our return. You have to watch for the check because it kind of looked like junk mail.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

We are excited to sail on a 28 day cruise in April, our prior cruises were 14 days or less. My DH is Elite status and I won’t be Elite until the completion of this cruise. Does anyone know from practical experience if the laundry is free for the cabin given his Elite status? Will my items be separated out and charged if we send in a mixed bag of laundry?

We just completed a cruise on Emerald and asked the future cruise desk about discounted cruises. We were told the only “deals” were those we would have received by email. He did check the cruise I have planned for April to see if he could get a better price. The price was now $600 more per person with less OBC. Then we got the hard sell on the future cruise package that includes hotel stays. Selling that package seemed to be their main interest as everyone around us was getting the same pitch.

Thanks for all the great explanations. I knew I could rely on the wisdom of the cruise critic posters! The charges have all been deleted from my card.

I am familiar with credit card holds. It just seemed like these were very small and odd dollar amounts. Thanks to all for sharing your info!

They are pending charges but for weird amounts - 11/11 57.96 11/12 44.98 11/13 32.00 11/14 73.89 11/14 23.60 They look more like items being purchased than holds. We’re elite on Princess and I’ve never seen this before. Our folio was paid in full 11/16 but the charges remain. I’ll provide an update as to what happens.

DH and I recently completed an 11 day cruise on Emerald Princess. I periodically checked my folio for errant charges and found none. The final folio reflected our actual expenditures and I took a screenshot of it prior to disembarking. The day after disembarking I checked my VISA statement to make sure the amount charged matched the total charges on my folio. It did, however I also found 5 additional charges pending on my VISA statement from “Emerald Princess”. These charges did not show up on my folio during the cruise and were charged directly to my VISA with transaction dates occurring during the cruise. The total was about $245.00. We did not purchase anything on shore using the medallion. I contacted Princess and was told post-cruise issues could not be resolved by the CVPs. He took my information and said he would contact the “relevant department “ and also gave me an email address for customer service. I received an email from Princess confirming the CVP’s email. I also sent an email. I have not heard from Princess but 2 of the charges have disappeared from my VISA statement and 3 remain. Any ideas what could be happening here? Has anyone else experienced this problem?

We’re on the Emerald Princess 11/4, NY to Fort Lauderdale. We bid $280pp to go from inside to a balcony. I received an email indicating our bid was rejected with a counter offer of $50pp to go to an obstructed ocean view. We declined because we were concerned about ending up in a noisy location. Maybe we’ll get another offer 🤞

when I went to look for it I couldn’t find it either. Here is the review. The Cruisers: we are a retired professional couple around age 70, having cruised for more than 30 years on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Viking, and Princess (Elite status). We felt we were aging out of Princess and thought this would be a good time to try HAL. We sailed on a 14 day Caribbean cruise (10 ports)on the Volendam 3/18/23 to 4/1/23. The Ship: the Volendam is an older ship that was updated in 2019 and is beautiful. The carpets, furniture, and draperies appear new and were all lovely. It is a small ship which makes it easy to navigate. A pleasant surprise was that we rarely waited for an elevator and they were not crowded. We also were always able to find sun loungers and they were not crowded together. The Crow’s Nest providing panoramic views was a favorite location for pre-dinner drinks. Stateroom 2530: we have always sailed in a balcony cabin or a suite. We found a great deal on an inside cabin and decided to try it since this cruise had 10 ports in 14 days. The cabin was very clean and actually quite spacious with a queen bed, full-size sofa, desk and chair as pictured on the HAL website. There was plenty of storage. It was a bit dreary though as the carpet and sofa are dark brown, the walls a beige color, and the light bulbs a yellow glow. The mattress was very hard and the pillows were lumpy, spongey things. This was not the “Signature Mariners Dream bed with a plush Euro-Top mattress” as described on the website. The bathroom shower was tiny and enclosed by a shower curtain that wrapped around you while showering. We did notice the ocean view rooms across the hall had glass enclosed showers. The curtains pictured are decorative only and could not be drawn to close off the bed from the sitting room. We were pleased to find that we did not at all mind the location of the inside cabin since it was large and we spent most days in port. The Dining Experience: we ate in the main dining room, the Lido buffet, and the burger/nacho bar; we did not try the specialty restaurants. The burger/nacho bar had tasty food with a good assortment of toppings. We usually waited 20 to 30 minutes for a hamburger or hot dog; you’re given a pager to let you know when your food is ready. The Lido buffet was always very busy. It was well staffed at breakfast and there were many selections for food - much of it cooked to order. Lunch and dinner had fewer staff, longer wait times, a significant number of dirty tables, and drinks (coffee, tea, & water) were pretty much self serve. Food was served to you by friendly staff, however much of it was in beat up looking pots and pans sitting on hot plates- not very appealing. The food was OK but not great. The pizza looked like what I would find in my fridge on Sunday morning, the salad bar was the highlight with lots of choices. My husband enjoyed the hand-dipped ice cream as an afternoon snack. We ate in the main dining room only for dinner. It was an unmitigated disaster. We had anytime dining. The second night was dressy night and at 6:15 we waited 30 minutes in line, were handed a pager and waited another 35 minutes to be seated at a shared table. The center section of the dining room was empty with the lights turned off. When the waiter came to the table he introduced himself and asked for our orders - including dessert. He did not take a drink order. When salads were delivered we had to ask for drinks. Dinner took about an hour and 20, we were not offered additional drinks nor were we offered coffee with dessert. The next day I went to the dining room at the end of lunch service, explained that I was new to HAL, couldn’t get the HAL App to work, and wanted to make dinner reservations for the remainder of the cruise. The hostess told me there were no reservations available for that night and directed me to the telephone reservation system. She had no interest in helping me or answering my questions - I was the only person standing in front of her. When I called the reservation line I was told any future reservations would have to be at 5:00 or 8:30. The remainder of the cruise we arrived about 7:00, requested a table for two and experienced: -we had to wait every night but one, often given a pager with about a 20 minute wait; this would not be a big deal but the dining room was never more than 2/3rds full with plenty of vacant tables for 2 -we were never seated in the section of the waiter we requested, even though there were tables available in his section -only twice were we not seated right next to a waiter’s service station, even though there were tables for 2 available throughout the dining room (When you arrive the hostess asks for your cabin number. We joked that our inside cabin and 0*Mariner status was working against us.) -the waiter poured the first glass of wine & we poured any refills, frequently the white wine bottle was left on the table rather than put in a cooler -coffee with dessert was rarely offered and sometimes not delivered when requested -the soups were very good, the salads creative, and the desserts worth the calories, the entrees were just OK The Entertainment: the EXC Talks were offered on afternoons of sea days and were interesting (think TED Talks), trivia was offered multiple times a day but we did not attend, we enjoyed listening to the dance band and the piano player in the bars. The World Stage entertainment included 2 comedians (1 funny & 1 not), Cantare singers- 4 guys singing to a recorded sound track (they were enjoyable but it was basically karaoke on steroids), Susan O. Davis played piano along with a recorded sound track and sang Carol King songs (she was the best of the entertainers), and the Step One Dance Company. There was no live music on deck, not at sail away from Ft. Lauderdale nor on sea days. We felt the entertainment was low budget compared to other cruise lines. To Sum It Up: HAL won’t be our new go-to cruise line. We loved the Volendam ship; small, beautiful, easy to navigate. The itinerary was very enjoyable 10 ports in 14 days. Although we love the concept of anytime dining, it doesn’t seem to work here and recommend choosing early or late seating. The dining room service issues appear to be a staffing problem. Maybe a cost cutting measure by HAL? We were on a 14 day cruise on a different line in September and experienced great service in both the buffet and dining room. The stores were stocked with desirable items and the walk around promenade deck was a plus.

I posted a review of the Volendam in the cruise review section. We just finished a 14 day cruise on the Volendam. We have been on dozens of cruises over the past 30 years and this is our impression of this particular cruise. Some of the review is good, some not so good- it’s just our honest opinion. Hope this helps other cruisers make an informed decision.

Love reading about your adventures! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with us. We’ll be on the Volendam in March for the first time and would love to hear more about the ship and crew. Enjoy the Grand Voyage.

We did this cruise last September (NY to Quebec). In Newport we wanted to see the mansions so we joined the Preservation Society of Newport County. A dual membership was about $100 for the 2 of us. It allowed us to tour any of the mansions supported by this group. We used the free trolley from the public transportation center close to the dock which runs between the mansions and returns to town. We toured The Breakers, Rosecliff, and Marble House, and had lunch at the Chinese Tea House overlooking the ocean at Marble House. The mansions open about 9:30 and we had to be back onboard at 4:30. We had plenty of time to do this tour on our own and it was very easy to navigate. We also had time to walk along the Cliff Walk. It was a lovely day in a beautiful place.