CafeBruno

We were on the N. Statendam from Feb. 11-25, 2 7 day back to back Carib. cruises. If there were any kids on board, (unruly or otherwise) we never noticed them. We certainly did notice rude adults though - in the Lido, I was behind a young Millennial age man who reached into the lettuce bowl with his hands, to add lettuce to his taco. I also saw more than 1 couple having loud Facetime conversations on speaker, in the main dining room. As did my next door neighbor on his balcony. As others have said, any 7 day cruise during Spring Break, holidays, or probably even in the summer months is going to have kids, so the solution is not to avoid all 7 day cruises, just to maybe reconsider those when kids are off from school. I wish I had an easy solution for the rude adults, though.

Oh and also, if a top secret loyalty tier exists for pax with high profitability scores, I would assume it also includes spending in the jewelry shops - there is a small group of core HAL guests who routinely spend thousands of $$ on jewelry on every cruise. This I know firsthand, unfortunately

I upgraded from the basic HIA internet plan to the middle (Premium) plan on our 21 day January Eurodam cruise and our 14 day February N. Statendam cruise, in order to be assured I could do Zoom and Teams calls, as I had to work some on both cruises. The prices in the chart you attached were what I paid - $80 for 17 days on my 21 day cruise, and $50 for the 14 day cruise. And the call/video quality was perfect, no difference from my high speed connection at home. I'm really glad HAL upgraded the internet to support Zoom/Teams.

Yes, we stopped at Fanning this spring on the Koningsdam and the ship was not involved in handling the donations. On the island, just past the pier, the islanders had a table set up to receive school donations, and there were a lot of people that dropped stuff off there. So just bring your donations when you go ashore. There was no customs presence, no forms to fill out, no problem in dropping off your donations.

Thanks for your thoughts on this. I still find it hard to believe CO is really all sold out so far in advance - I'd like to believe they are holding spots back. I am pretty sure I'm going to put a deposit down and then check back maybe once a month so see if any spots have opened up. And then as we get closer to the final payment date, I will check more frequently, like weekly or even daily in the final days. But as was mentioned earlier, Lido breakfast and MDR dinner on the Pinnacle class ships are just too hectic and loud for me, even on fixed dinner, so I don't think I will keep the reservation unless I can get Club Orange dining.

Hi, would appreciate your thoughts on this….I’m interested in a 35 day sailing on the Koningsdam in February and March 2025, but really only if I can get Club Orange, since my wife and I really don’t care for breakfasts in the Lido or dinners in the MDR, especially on Pinnacle class ships. I got a very good quote from my very solid and reputable travel agent, and told her to book it, but only for the cheapest balcony cabin, and then at the same time buy Club Orange and upgrade to a better balcony cabin. She’s done this for me several times before, no problem. But this time, she called me back 15 minutes later and told me that HAL told her that CO was sold out for this sailing. This can’t be right, 18 months before sailing, can it? I’ve bought CO at least 6 times in the past, usually 3-6 months before sailing, no problems. How can this sailing suddenly be sold out 18 months in advance? I am wondering if HAL is holding back some CO capacity, and only releasing a few spots at a time, to spread out the capacity and therefore ensure spots are available for those booking later? It seems possible, but it wouldn’t seem smart, since I would think HAL would be more motivated to sell all the CO spots as early as possible, since CO is paid at the time of booking, which of course speeds up HAL’s cash flow. Has anyone run across this situation before, where CO is sold out so far in advance? So I am trying to decide what to do. Since I am getting great pricing now, I could just go ahead and book the cheapest balcony now, and then call HAL every month, to see if any more CO spots open up, and buy it then. And then if it remains “sold out” I guess I can just cancel the cruise, since I really do not want the cheapest Obstructed View balcony. But I hate to tie up a deposit for potentially a long period of time and then cancel if 14 months from now if CO is still sold out. Or, I could just not book the cruise now, and call HAL every month to see if any CO spots have opened up, and then book the cruise with CO then. But who knows if I would still get the great pricing and Early Booking Bonus Have It All perks they are offering now - I doubt it. Anyway I’d appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks

Not trying to minimize the OP's experience, but we were on the Eurodam last month on the same 7 day Alaska cruise from Seattle, with likely mostly the same staff, and did not at all experience the service issues the OP described. I did not notice any cleanliness issues. In fact we had a GREAT cruise and found the food, beverages and service fabulous and up to the HAL standards we enjoy. On our cruise the Lincoln Center stage area was in use every day, including Trivia, coffee with the Cruise & Travel Director presentations, Art history & auctions, the port talks, and spa promotional talks. Yes, the food portions in the MDR have decreased on every HAL ship, compared to pre-Covid, so that's nothing new. On our cruise, our portions sizes were not "insulting" at all, we thought they were fine. And you can still get additional entrees for free in the MDR, no problem. I'm sorry you had so many bad experiences on your cruise. For others with future cruises scheduled on the Eurodam, you may not have the same issues, as our experience was very different and completely positive, just a month earlier than the OP. In fact we have 21 days on her scheduled for January and we are looking forward to it very much. For context, we are also experienced cruisers and close to 5 star on HAL.

I'm currently booked on the Eurodam for 21 days in January in a VB balcony, with the Have It All package. Just for fun, I looked up what 21 days on a Seabourn ship with a similar itinerary would cost, using a popular discount To Go booking site. After factoring in the extras and OBC included in the HIA package compared to the internet and drinks included in the Seaborne fare, it turned out the Seaborne fare was double the HAL fare. I know it's not an apples to apples comparison, but for us and maybe others like us who typically stay in one of the more expensive balconies, (VB in this case), I can't justify paying double for a Seabourn suite. But for those who only book Neptune suites, then yes, do your own comparison before you book HAL.

This was the school supply donation table from our March trip on the Koningsdam to Kiritimati

We stopped there for a day this past March on the Koningsdam. There won't be any excursions offered at all. But I found the island very interesting and urge you to get off the ship and walk around. I and many others just walked around and felt very safe; people were super friendly. Since ships stop there so infrequently, its a very big deal to the locals when a ship does stop, and many of the locals come out for visitors. When we were there, there were 10-15 locals selling craft items, the school kids sang some songs, one of the church groups did songs and music, and very friendly local people will come out to visit. Many people on our sailing donated backpacks full of school supplies; there was a special area set up by the pier to receive those donations. So, do get off the ship and leave some cash on the island to help out the locals. But yeah, definitely don't swim in the water, as the sewage system is basically a big pond that empties this gross brown water directly into the ocean.

If the upgrade cost is 600AUD in total, then I believe its a very good deal. If that's the upgrade price per person, it probably wouldn't be worth it for me. The Vista will be noticeably larger, but the best feature is that you will have a great view of the scenery from your room and from your balcony, as the Vista's are all in great locations and completely unobstructed views. With the obstructed view balcony, its unlikely you will be able to see much of anything from your balcony except the lifeboat that's blocking your view of the scenery, which is a big , big drawback in Alaska in my opinion. Another feature of the Vistas is that you get double Mariner points, which HAL calls their "suite bonus". Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

On a HAL sailing in March, I got Covid, and I was told to isolate in my cabin for the day I tested positive, plus 5 more days. Then they came and tested me, I was negative and was released, and the next day they put a letter in my mailbox stating that I would be given a FCC for my days in isolation. About a month later I checked my Mariner account on HAL's website and I saw that the FCC had been added to my account. I find it amazing that they never tested you at all during your wife's isolation. When I was isolated, they required my wife to come down to the medical center and be tested every other day (she tested negative every time). Anyway, I believe the FCC policy is still in effect. If you are still on the ship, you should make sure you have something in writing from HAL to prove your wife had to be isolated, and ideally confirming that a FCC will be provided to her. Then when you get home, check your Mariner account every week or so to see when/if the FCC gets added to your wife's Mariner account. Good luck

We went in February this year on a HAL ship excursion. HAL has 2 levels for this excursion, a basic level with seating further away from the stage, and a VIP level with seating close to the stage, extra drink tickets, priority access to the buffet and the bar, to avoid the long lines, and a couple other perks. We got the VIP as we looked at this as a once in a lifetime thing. We thought the food was good and plentiful, the drinks were small and just ok. We enjoyed the show, especially since we were seated in the closest table to the stage, front and center, thanks to the VIP package. Both the basic level and the VIP were really expensive, I think we paid $295 per person for the VIP and I think the basic level was around $40 cheaper. Was it "worth it"? For us it was, just to experience it once. Would we do it again? No, I don't think so, once was enough for the cost. If you are comfortable with the cost, I do recommend it as something to experience at least once.

Yeah, @eggemon, in some cases it takes HAL forever to issue the credits. When my wife and I got Covid on the land portion of our Alaska land & sea cruisetour in summer of 2022, it took several months to receive the FCC's, and 9 months to receive our cash reimbursement for our hotel, air, and other out of pocket cash costs. But when I got Covid in March 2023 on the ship, it took 3 weeks to get the FCC's. I am guessing it was so much faster now because I got sick on the ship and had no cash out of pocket expenses like I did in 2022. Much less complicated.

In our case, I tested positive, but my wife never did, so only I got the credits. They were posted to my account, not hers.

I got Covid on our last HAL cruise, which ended March 25. I noticed the FCC's in my account approximately 3 weeks later. They could have been there sooner, because I only checked our account around once a week. HAL did not email me or otherwise notify me. So it should be pretty soon for you, in another week or 2.

Thanks for your review. But one clarification - you said in the review that bottled waters are not included in the beverage package. Actually 12 ounce cans of water are included in the beverage package, but neither 16 ounce aluminum cans of water of 1 liter glass bottles of water like those shown in your video are included. HAL does not have plastic bottles of water. I would love to see pictures of the Club Orange dining room after the drydock, as I am wondering if they moved the door to the center of the room like on the Rotterdam, or if any other changes were made since we last sailed on the K in February-March. Would you mind posting any pictures of that room, if you have any? Thanks!

Don't give up hope, I believe you will eventually get your reimbursement. My wife and I caught Covid on a HAL Alaska Land & Sea trip, and I submitted my reimbursement form to HAL on June 26, 2022. HAL emailed me in September 2022 stating my claim had been approved and a reimbursement check would follow soon. I didn't receive the check until March 20, 2023 - that's just shy of 9 months from the day I submitted the forms to HAL. Before finally receiving the check, I contacted HAL numerous times, including with the Office of the President, and like you were only given vague assurance that it would be paid but they couldn't tell me when. It's incredibly frustrating, especially hearing that some people received their reimbursements in "only" 3-4 months, while others like you and I have to wait 9 months or more. Anyway I don't know if it will help speed things up, but I do recommend you start emailing the Office of the President if you haven't done so already. No idea if that helped me or not but I don't think it can hurt. Best of luck to you. officeofthepresident@hollandamerica.com

@rajkr74 I hope you get your reimbursement soon, but don't count on it. I submitted my Covid expenses last June. In September they told me that my claim was approved for payment and to expect a check in 8 to 12 weeks. At 12 weeks I called again and was told it was in the que to be paid but they could not tell me when it would be paid. At 16 weeks (3 weeks ago) I emailed Gus Antorcha's office (HAL President) and after 2 weeks I got this wholly unsatisfying response: Thank you for contacting Mr. Gus Antorcha regarding your ms Nieuw Amsterdam sailing. Mr. Antorcha has reviewed your concerns and asked me to express his regret for the disappointment you encountered. While we are extremely sorry for the wait times when contacting Guest Relations, we, like most companies, are experiencing staffing shortages due to Covid which causes wait times to be longer than normal. We are doing our best to keep up with the requests of our guests. We know you’re waiting for your refund ($1993.23) and may be frustrated by how long it’s taking. We hear you and are doing everything in our power to get it to you as soon as possible. Rest assured we’ve received your request, and it’s in our queue and the process has started. Because we are not able to use our usual automated process, our team is manually handling a large volume of requests while working from home. We want to try to make sure each and every guest’s booking is handled accurately. Please know we have asked that our Refunds Department finalize your refund and get it expedited. As a reminder, your check will not come from Holland America, rather from Paymode-X. As always, we thank you for your understanding and hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy and safe during this difficult time. Sincerely, Christine Ferris Special Advisor Office of the President No promises, except that "the process has started" - I would hope so, 7 months after I submitted my documents for the reimbursement. Again I hope you get your $$ quickly but be prepared for a wait.

Thanks @Gray Lady, good advice as usual, I will do that. And yes, call me a masochist, but I still really prefer the HAL onboard experience to other lines, and so I will be sailing with them again, for 7 days in January, and then for 35 days in February-March. Thanks again

No we didn't have insurance for that trip, and I included that fact when we submitted our paperwork to HAL. And the TA we booked with has been no help at all. I guess the thing that bugs me the most is that HAL emailed us in early September that our claim was approved and to expect a check in the mail from their 3rd party payor. Why use a 3rd party if it takes them over 3 months and counting to issue the check after its approved by HAL? I get that HAL is overwhelmed, but I would expect the 3rd party payor to be able to process payments a lot quicker than that. I guess I'll follow your example and call HAL every few days, and start emailing the office of the president. Thanks

Yes, exactly right, we tested positive and spent our quarantine in Fairbanks, back in June. We submitted our claim on June 26. But you submitted your claim in September and have gotten reimbursed already? I am very happy for you, but I am puzzled that HAL's 3rd party payor is apparently not processing reimbursements in date order. Guess I need to be more vocal about it with HAL.

Tomorrow will mark 6 months since I submitted my Covid expenses to HAL. They emailed me in early September and told me my reimbursement was approved and to expect a check in the mail in 2 to 3 months (past that now). 2 weeks ago I got hold of them by phone and told me they had no idea when I would actually get my reimbursement check, and that it was in the hands of the 3rd party payor HAL is using. So frustrating!! I guess its time to start emailing Gus Antorcha's office about it

There doesn't have to be repetition, but I can understand when a band does have to repeat songs in a week. As an amateur guitarist I like to talk to the Rock Room musicians when I can. More than one band has told me about the process that HAL uses for bands. HAL uses a 3rd party company to screen and supply the RSRR bands onboard, and that the process works like this according to several of the band members I've talked to: 1. 3rd party company advertises to recruit musicians 2. Musicians apply, and submit brief video of them playing couple of songs 3. If interested, the 3rd party recruiter invites musicians to live interview on Zoom or similar platform, where they play a couple more songs provided by 3rd party on short notice 4. If accepted, musician invited to 3rd party's HQ in New York I believe, where they are paired up with the others to be in their group. In almost all cases, this will be the first time the band members meet each other. 5. The newly formed group is given the master list of around approved 500 songs from which they are to select their set lists. They only get around 2 weeks rehearsal time at HQ before they have to report to their ship and start playing in the RSRR So again they get to make their own set lists from the universe of around 500 approved songs. If they are early on their contract, then you would not expect them to have learned 13 hours of music in such a short time. So that's when you would likely see repetition - when the band hasn't yet had time to learn enough songs to avoid duplication in a week (or more). I'm just happy to see the quality of bands they provide with so little rehearsal time; its pretty amazing. I know there's no way I could learn anywhere close to 100 songs in 2 weeks, much less learn them well enough to play as well as the bands I typically see in the RSRR.

I totally understand your cynicism. But as an auditor I can say with a high degree of confidence that the reason for the new policy of printing the receipt is only due to a desire to have better inventory control. Now, when a bartender hands someone a beer, he's supposed to enter it in the cash register system and hand you the receipt...when he does that, the system shows that there should be one less beer in inventory. So lets say the bar starts the day with 300 beers, and the bartenders give out 100 beers to customers that day, all of which are entered in the cash register system. So at the end of the night they close the bar's cash register, and the cash register system tells him he should have 200 beers left in his bar inventory. Then, he or his supervisor do their actual end of the night inventory count of beer, and if that count ends up with 200 beers, then great!! But if they count only 160 beers in their nightly count, than the beancounters and the supervisor want to know what happened to the other 40 beers. Could be sloppyness, or could be the staff taking beer downstairs to A deck for an unauthorized crew party. In any event, entering each drink in the cash register system (either paid ala carte of under the HIA) will ensure that each drink is accounted for and removed from the system's inventory. If the bartenders just give out drinks but don't enter them in the system, then the beancounters get very uncomfortable and nervous, because then there's no way they can tell if inventory is being used improperly; all they can do is count the end of night inventory, and say "Well, we started the day with 300 beers and we have 160 now, so we must have sold 140". I don't like signing the receipts either, but I'm sure this is why they are now doing it. Trying to save every penny they can, which I guess they have to do to try and survive after 2 years of almost no revenue.