FlaMariner

It was fun watching both episodes filmed on the Eurodam.....The ship made for a great backdrop...And having the captain, Gus and many of the great staff visible was a treat.

I chase the lowest price and when onboard I often come armed with a few cruise prices from the large internet TA we use to see if I can get a better price booking onboard....It has never happened. We do load up on the FCD's...they are a no brainer for us in that they reduce our deposit risk to $100 and they come with free money (OBC)....and in the "hope it never happens" file, the FCD is refunded if not used in 4 years.

Thanks for sharing this..... Just noticed that the large internet TA we use has this new info....this makes my math at getting to the daily fare when comparing cruises so much easier.....It also explains why I thought cruise prices had suddenly jumped in price..... Here is their wording..... NEW! Prices now include port charges and government taxes and fees (previously taxes and fees were charged but were not included in the displayed price).

@roothy123 Thank you for passing that info along.....

Same. Agree. Not worth hauling bottles of wine to the ship with the discount on the Sommelier packages. Enjoy the wine onboard......

kicking this back up...any intel?

I agree. We docked at Villafranche on the Oosterdam in April. Great port....Our independent tour took us to Nice, Monaco and surrounds....great day. Nice was our favorite and we said we'd like to come back to Nice..... Also, Villefranche is a tender port.....So if Nice is not, you are in much better shape. Enjoy France and the Oosterdam........

No explanation has been needed for us...the coupon is for a "free Mariner cocktail" and we hand it to the bartender and he delivers a "free Mariner cocktail"....And it is enjoyed and appreciated. Enjoy the journey.......

must see TV

So zip, nada on intel for a day in Manila? Just popping this back up the queue........

Thanks for the heads up....We will be watching....

That's an awesome offer......You could bump me anytime for that......Nice.

Further confirmation that there will be a cabin....this is part of the disclosure (from HAL website) when you book a guarantee cabin.....Relax and enjoy the journey! "Your stateroom is guaranteed. You will receive your stateroom details prior to departure."

My son (legal age to drink) visited all our family member cabins on embarkation day and stole all the coupons off the desk.....He enjoyed several Mariner cocktails and even "bought" me one.

I use the "big Internet TA".....and I get upsell offers timely now.....but I had to ask the lady that we use at the big internet TA to send them to us or otherwise I would not.

Agree w/this....and will add same for all of Japan....we spent 5 nights post cruise based in Yokohama and took trains daily (including bullet)....2 days Tokyo, 1 day Kanazawa, 1 day Kyoto, 1 day Yokohoma......No tours...very to get around and see stuff.....DIY worked fine for us.

I would be all "in" on this if, as referenced, the site was good........same for other TA sites....The booking experience online is still clunky for cruises...IMO.....And booking a cruise online really should not be that difficult.....self-service should be the best service w/booking a cruise. In the meantime, it's an email to our big internet TA for a quote and then a response back asking her to "book it". I'd also like to receive a very good price for "self service".

"Worth it" would be up to you.....but... You are paying $21 a day to use the thermal spa.....If you think you would get your money's worth, go for it..... ...We get the pass when we are on a cruise with lots of sea days.....and then, we think we get our money's worth because we wear out the pass......We've known some folks who buy the pass and only visit a couple of times....that's a waste for us....If you get it, use it a lot and enjoy!

It's a personal decision....but I use a TA...Why? It's a large purchase and I'd like to have an "agent" represent me and handle any issues.....and the agent has much more clout (company has lots of bookings) with the cruise line that I would booking it directly with the line (just today, she had to go deal with HAL over a refund they were late handling....she succeeded and I am grateful I did not have to deal with that mess). I use a big internet TA and when I compare prices with other TA's and HAL directly I always save some $$$ I do not need/nor want to visit a TA in person (perish the thought).....Email is my preferred way and phone when necessary.....The big internet TA does a great job answering and helping....in a timely manner.

Yep, it's the only reason we use navigator.....it's good to place the dive in order while finishing up our pre-lunch activity and then go find a table, get our drinks and get situated and then it's ready....and you just go up and get your order and pass by all the other people waiting and leaning against the wall by dive in.......

We board early...in the first boarding groups..and lately (Oosterdam in April 2024 and Westerdam in October 2023) we have not experienced the buffet first day chaos of the past. We also grab a table on the lido pool deck area...keep walking and the crowd dissipates....and found it very calm and pleasant in the first hour or so...... Another option, is to order Dive in burgers on the app and then when they are ready, take them to your cabin....works great if you have a balcony. We were big fans of lunch in the MDR on embarkation day but we've adjusted fine.

So passing this along but this may never happen again...... So we wanted the thermal suite for our TA but we really only wanted it for the first 7 days (all sea days, eastbound, the Oosterdam, April 2024) During the embarkation tour, we asked the spa lady giving the tour if that was possible and she said "we will need to see the manager" after the tour......We did and the spa manager sold us a 7 day thermal suite pass for $149 each (even though this was a 14 night cruise). This worked out perfectly for us. I never expected it and will never expect it again.....but learning it never hurts to ask.... Enjoy the journey......

on our Oosterdam cruise last month, the afternoon tea's (on sea days) had a different theme ......Dutch, Queen Elizabeth, Indonesian....and other themes I cannot recall.... We enjoy the Dutch heritage on Holland America Line....and glad to see them promote it more frequently.....

no, but happy to answer any questions.....we had a blast.

OP, you are on target.... We upgraded to a Vista suite once and we will never pay for that again.....For us, absolutely no advantage for the $$$$. We were underwhelmed once we opened the cabin door.....It was a great balcony cabin but for us, not that much more room and was not worth the upgrade price.....We will gladly travel in a vista if it is a "free upgrade' but not paying for/doing that again. Enjoy the cruise.......The Nieuw Statendam (and any HAL ship for that matter) is a great ship!