Haljo1935

And how would that have played out?

Ditto

@Crew News what do you use to keep those post cards so straight, I always get at least one just a little crooked, lol. Absolutely gorgeous! Aft balconies were made for AK!

OMG SMH and any other 3 letter acronym for "good grief, what's wrong with people?" Ugh

And this is by far the easiest to stop - the dog is simply turned away at embarkation. I think it would be hard to sneak one on.

So are we now allowed to bring our dogs? Cuz I surely would like to lessen the kennel charges...

I'm not understanding your post - are you saying the dog WAS a service dog because they were the only ones at the table night 2? Or are you saying nobody wanted to sit with them so the dog got its own chair? Not being snarky, truly don't understand.

Yep the crabs are no more, at least for now. DH was very disappointed last May when he couldn't get crab on the ship. And paid dearly at the only place we could find it - the hotel in Anchorage. Then this year when no crab and didn't want to pay $200 at Ketchikan Crab & Go - ouch!! A lot of people depended on the crab for their livelihood, unfortunate.

Ugh, that's horrible - on land or at sea.

No they would not - that's the benefit of prey paying - you lock in that price. 🤭

Correct if you book it now, you pay now and that you can use OBC once onboard to pay for - the price will be the same; no discount for pre-paying. For years we paid $49 unlimited, $20/bag. Feb this year on Nieuw Amsterdam was $49 unlimited, $20/bag. But May (last month) Eurodam was $30/bag, $59.50 unlimited. Yes, prices have recently gone up and are different based on itinerary (Europe is higher than US), so you could expect to pay any price you've seen on this thread depending on where you're going. I LOVE HALs laundry service-they do great job and take pride in their work, so almost any amount is worth it. We really like taking home all clean clothes so unpacking is a breeze. Enjoy your cruise!!

We tried starting the day we got the 1st email, but was told there weren't any available. So at 1st I just shrugged it off thinking it was capacity controlled and they probably went quickly. But I kept getting the emails so called a couple more times and every time was told they were gone. Hmmm After getting there, I was glad we didn't do it - the room was plenty big, view was nice and time inside was spent sleeping. Enjoy your trip - it's beautiful!!

Since we do now just pay the difference +18% that math should make upgrading unnecessary. Not the case when you had to pay the full price.

Correct. I belive that's the 3rd category @CruiserBruce was referring to.

Excited to read about all the great things planned for AK sailings this year. Unfortunately, we missed out since we went 1st week of the season (April 29 - May 6) and will not be back in Sept to close out the season (Fall Foliage peeping instead), but hopefully they'll continue the focus in 2024. Yay Alaska!!

I can watch the cabin crawl video on You Tube if you have it there. If not, pix would be nice. Yes, ma'am, I could probably medal in laundry bag stuffing, lol!! Can I prepay or is it onboard only? We're on 2 weeks in Sept.

Happened to us couple years ago - when I called in to ask about a rate adjustment, the HAL agent asked with a really strange tone "where do you live?" She saw "ZZW" for the home airport code. As soon as she corrected it, we were able to book flights. She said she's seen it a lot when dummy bookings are getting created reps will use a fake airport code sort of like a flag. They usually do a good job, she said, of updating it before finalizing the booking if it becomes a real one. But since it's manual, it can get missed. No idea if that's accurate, but I accepted it and moved on to Flight AEase to get tickets.

I booked 2 cruises on Carnival b/c I got (at the time) a good deal on a great location (aft corner wrap) on a wonderful itinerary (NYC Canada). So I thought I'd have plenty of space to steer clear of the ill-behaved. Then Carnival swapped ships and changed the cabins, so now I'm a kranky pants... I know you didn't ask me, but I appreciate you letting me weigh in. 😤

@Roz This is the link provided by HAL: https://cibtvisas.com/holland-america

I appreciate the feedback. And obviously if HAL institutes it, I'll likely be a player 🤔 Certainly, the system is programmed to fill cabins while maximizing revenue. Sometimes I've seen the minimum bid not be what I consider to be a good deal and with no way to reach out to someone, that becomes a pass. Slightly different than the current process where the email or phone offer may not be attractive, but I can talk to someone and try to negotiate a better price. Is every call a success? Absolutely not, but at least I had a shot. These are from what I've seen on Princess, btw. I haven't upgraded with them since they started using a bid system. If there is still availability after XX days of bids, is the minimum lowered and the process starts again or how does that work? Thanks for the info.

I can't speak specifically to the Noordam, but HAL does allow you to order room service from the MDR menu. I believe you need to do it in about the first hour dinner is being served. Welcome to HAL - enjoy your cruise!

I think the current process, though perhaps outdated and "klunky," results in lower prices in a shorter time frame. Passengers don't have to accept the first offer they receive and can negotiate during the live conversation. I've come away from some of those conversations with much better deals than the original offer was for (and completed during 1 call rather than in back & forth multiple calls) and have even been told something else became available during the call that I was able to consider. I think I might not have been able to do that using a bidding process.

Yes, daily, but lately it does seem to vary by ship. Big thread recently on that very topic - you may want to review it.. Typically it's 50% off; I don't have the exact times for each bar, but I'm sure someone here will provide those details.

Is it likely there were 600 No Shows/Cancellations? GS may have given bookings and didn't account for them?