FlaMariner

That's our "go to" preferred category..... Why? They are a balcony cabin. No obstructed view. We prefer being tucked away on deck 8 near the front of the ship. Quiet area. No thru traffic. Easy location to get to lido and the gym. Great price point.

Here is a chart from our TA: Deposit and Final Payment Cruise Deposit Amount Final Payment Due Date Alaska, Bermuda, Caribbean, Canada/New England, Europe, Mexican Riviera, Panama Canal and 16 to 18-day Hawaii voyages $350 to $2900 per person 75 days prior to sailing All other sailings, including holiday sailings, 30+ day transatlantic voyages and segments of 30+ day transatlantic voyages $350 to $2900 per person 90 days prior to sailing Note: Select promotions require full payment at the time of booking.

So the wine is confiscated at the gangway (great service as we do not have to worry with it in the stateroom....we consume HAL wine onboard) and the room steward brings it to us the last night of the cruise. We just take it with us (usually 6 bottles) off the ship and we usually take Amtrak or car so no fear of breakage in the luggage.

In Spain: (Malaga, Cartagena) spices, olive oil and wine In Ponta Delgado: tea (a the tea plantation), cheese, All over Europe: wine, chocolate We find the local grocery store....and ask the tour guide what they buy.

Wow! Yes, thanks for the heads up......We have not used ours in a while and I'd hate to loose the few points I have.

Good point.... On our Westbound TA's (heading home) Her Majesty enjoys grocery shopping.....smoked paprika (and other spices I can't keep up with), wine, olive oil, wine, cheese, wine, tea, wine and chocolate come to mind......also, wine. (well, maybe I enjoy grocery shopping also...we bring back wine..LOL)

It is a beautiful island...Ponta Delgado was our stop.....we took a tour that included waterfalls, churches, a great pastry, fish market, walked on hot volcanic ground, made tea out of boiling water coming out of the ground, ate lunch that was cooked in a pot in the volcanic ground, great cheese, tea plantation tour, friendly folks.....and that was only half the island....Hope we make it back again for the other half.

I recall presentations about the Bermuda Triangle, the Sargasso Sea, the making of Rum/Bacardi, pirates, City at Sea (about operating the ship), ship navigation, astronomy/star gazing, Spanish history, Azores history, cooking demo with the chef and the cruise director, even a financial retirement presentation from a retired professor (no sales pitch)....And more, I'm sure, that I cannot recall. This was all since the unpleasantness. The presenter is usually a college professor, military guy or a ship's officer or the Captain himself (in particular, the Captain was involved in the Navigation presentation). Seems like most are at 10am in the World Stage but other venues and other times.

Hey Anne and welcome to Holland America Line.... There will be a laundry bag in the cabin along with a form. You fill out the form and toss it along w/your dirty clothes in the laundry bag. The stateroom attendant will take it away and the clothes will arrive the next day all clean and folded/on hangers. Along with the laundry bag service, there is also an "unlimited laundry" option. Send as many bags out as you wish. That price is something like around $9 or $11 a day per room. Not sure of the exact price. It's a great service. Enjoy the cruise......

This is the definition of that benefit for 4/5 stars.....We need a 4/5 star Mariner to define this: Priority check-in, tendering and disembarkation*

ditto. we missed the Azores when on the Rotterdam and it was 9 sea days....but no problem for us. They flew by. YMMV.

no special boarding for me......3 stars.

We board her 10/1 on the trans-pacific cruise to Japan.....Looking forward to it! I found this recent review........

We've cruised HAL 4 times since the unpleasantness including one departure from Amsterdam and we've always arrived early (11amish) even though our boarding times were much later and we've always been welcomed onboard. Based on our experience, yes, I think you can board earlier. Enjoy the cruise and go Noles!

Do it! We've done TA's on the Nieuw Statendam and the Rotterdam.....and we've been both directions. Our preferred route is Europe to USA (but both routes are fantastic): Why? We get jet lag and the flight out of the way. We spend time in Europe on the go. Very busy touring. We then board the ship and enjoy some more ports right up front.....again, very busy.....then, it's relax, relax, relax as you take full advantage of those 7 sea days that go by fast. You also get an extra hour for many of those sea days as the clocks change to your favor..arriving back home rested.

Thank You! That's our plan....So glad it worked!

yet another reason to avoid Princess....just went to the Princess board and we've got no issues over here compared to that mess......room service fee? fee to use the app? pizza fee? and makes these increases seem like nothing and even more grateful to prefer Holland America Line.....

From the HAL FAQ's Q: Are jeans allowed? A: Jeans without holes, tears or embroidery are welcome on most evenings in all restaurants, but on Dressy nights jeans are only allowed in casual dining restaurants.

Real recent experience: Booked VF Verandah for March 2023 Oosterdam cruise. Received and took upgrade offer for Signature Suite. No double mariner points. @crystalspin is correct as far as my past and recent (March 2023) experience.

LOL. Yes, not Jean Dixon but an astronomer........college professor lady....and they turned off the ship's lights on the starboard pool deck at night and she pointed out the southern cross and other star sights only seen in the Southern Hemisphere.

Thanks! Yikes.....$25.84 w/my discount.....see y'all at Lido.....or the Dive In....The Cannonball at the Dive In will suffice!

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LOL....we cruise 10/1 as first time 4 stars and we never, ever, rarely go to a $$$ restaurant onboard....We were thinking we might just use our 50% discount to enjoy a $15 Pinnacle lunch for $7.50 Now it's going to $19 so that would be $9.50 each with our new 4 star discount. Back to Lido, MDR and the Dive IN and NY Pizza and food at Grand Dutch for us cheepos......We are fine and savor the journey..... (We've never understood paying for dinner and then paying for dinner...but we understand that for other folks, it's a big part of their cruise experience)

If it were me....... If I did not want to continue to use the HAL VISA further, I'd put my onboard account on the HAL VISA and once that transaction posts, I'd redeem my points as statement credit. If I planned to use the card in the future, I would not redeem the 15,000 points and I'd put all my purchases on the card and especially my HAL purchases (cruises and onboard account and anything else HAL) and save up until one day I would have at least 164,000 points because that gets me the highest redemption percent of 2.5%.

and it has a $100 annual airline incidental credit (baggage, taxes on points flight, wifi purchases, etc.) that we easily eat up so that cancels the annual fee for us.... And once every 4 years $100 towards TSApre/global entry fee.