Haljo1935

Nov/Dec Koningsdam & Feb Nieuw Amsterdam had canned Open Water as well as glass bottled Acqua Panna (small & large sizes) plus Aha cans. Last week Eurodam only option was Acqua Panna, which our cabin did not receive. Amazon sells Open Water. We get an extra ice bucket in our cabin - it will be a large wine bucket, not the small ice bucket - and fill our reusable bottles from it. We get icy cold water for excursions that way with no fear of confiscation. We have them refill 2x/day. The melted ice we just pour into one of our bottles - works great and never run out.

As of May 9, it shows 4.26.0; I'm using Android device. I am always only able to see current day menu. Was on Eurodam last week (April 29 - May 6) and it was that way. Some features only work onboard; designed that way, doesn't mean it's not working/broke, just means it's functioning as designed although we may not like it. Don't like being tied to phone while on vacation but it (and TV) is great for being aware of ships time.

That is my understanding of how it's supposed to work - I just have not been successful in reaching anyone who would do the booking that way for me. Ugh and Grrrr, why am I still loyal to HAL?

Hospital industry buys them - you'll be served jello and oatmeal on one when you have your gall bladder removed next year, lol.

P&O is only cruise line I've heard of that has had them in years...they were removed a looooong time ago. And yet food waste continues.

We consider school schedules/holidays/... when we book, but still find ourselves on EVERY cruise saying at some point to each other "shouldn't these kids be in school?" Usually followed by "there sure are a lot of home schooled children these days" and "how much of this trip is the bottle-feeder going to remember?" With that said, we will continue to book HAL and not book mega-ships with waterparks and other children-friendly venues. Our frustration is with both the ill-behaved child and the "ignore it and it didn't happen" parent who created the behavior. Not anti-child. Pro civilized, well-behaved children and adults who appreciate the difference. Recently (Feb Nieuw Amsterdam) while waiting for our table in MDR - you know the place - it's between the glass doors and the host podiums - an approx 8yo girl in a dress was doing cartwheels. Neither the man nor woman that I assumed to be her parents said anything (to her to stop doing what she was doing or to us to apologize). The woman that I assumed to be her grandmother did say something to her - she told her what an excellent job she was doing, again not a peep of an apology to us or to the MDR staff who had to maneuver around her. This is why I choose to frequent cruiselines that have typically fewer children. Oh and the screamer whose parents didn't see they dropped their bottle in the buffet line about 10 passengers back...

I have tried 3 times to do this exact thing (thru PCC, thru TA and onboard thru FCC) and have never been able to get anyone to do it for me. I booked a VH Gty that worked in my favor w/TA, but that's a gamble I would rather avoid by selecting cabin w/CO. So, do you just stand firm when calling HAL? Is there a special # to call that is answered by people who understand the process? If going through TA, can they complete it in 1 call or do I (or them) follow up w/HAL after booking the Gty? Thanks for your help 🤔

So frustrated about CO - I've tried 3 times to purchase CO with the intent of upgrading to my preferred balcony location and have yet to be successful. 1st time was w/PCC - she said they were discouraging buying CO due to abuse (?) - I ultimately ended the call with no booking. 2nd time was w/TA - he said his deal was better (maybe it's a hassle for TAs?) - I ultimately booked a VH Gty (my first ever Gty [I'm 4 star]) which did pay off with us getting assigned a SS!! 3rd time was last week onboard (the aforementioned SS) w/FCC who said it wasn't worth it - I ultimately booked a VB for May next year but need to figure out how to get it changed. It's as if you mention CO upfront and they shutdown...

Two comments: 1) I did my first ever VH Gty for last week's AK cruise; I'm 4 star, DH is 3 star, so we have some history of selecting cabins. I thought it paid off when we got our cabin assignment - VQ Spa Verandah, until the night before we were leaving when it changed to a Portside Signature Suite, at which time I thought we'd won the lottery! Especially since we never received an offer to upgrade and the ship was sold out. Thank you, HAL!! 2) my 3rd attempt to do CO and secure a lower cost upgrade has failed. Previously tried w/PCC who said they weren't doing it due to abuse (?), with my TA who said his deal was better and again last week onboard w/FCC who said it wouldn't pay off for my itinerary (AK May 2023 - next year!). So, I guess I'm a fan of guarantees (maybe) and how do I buy CO and upgrade to the cabin I want? Help!!

Due to Fiona, PEI was canceled last Oct from our cruise, so both envious of your stop and thankful of the pictures.

B2B on both Koningsdam in Nov/Dec and Nieuw Amsterdam in Feb, the host/ess asked us if we wanted the same server we'd had. We also asked to have a table at 7:15 each night. That puzzled them the first night as 7:15 is not a dining option, but when we told the Maitre D 5:15 was too early and 8:15 (or whatever time the late option is) was too late for us and that the 2 of us would be 4 people the 2nd week, we were all set. Incredible service made up for the occasional iffy menu options. As for the menu, we seemed to always ask for stuff that wasn't on the menu any particular night. So long as it was something that at some point was in rotation, we were obliged.

Would love to see an actual menu. On HAL, the Italian specialty is $19/pp, while the steakhouse price aligns w/Carnival's. However, Canaletto (the Italian place) does not have it's own room - it is carved out of former Lido space, so maybe it's not considered "high end specialty " enough to warrant the higher charge. Or maybe Carnival decided to charge more for Il Viaggio because it's a "new" specialty themed ship. We were able to book for both nights on a B2B in Sept, along w/Steakhouse, Teppanyaki, and GEAH. So they're getting specialty dining $$ from my group (no OBC to use). We will monitor reviews and cancel if they're not favorable, so possibly some last minute openings down the road. 🙃

??

Explain, please, what is/was the great Bacon Plate tragedy?

Gratuities have gone up.

Thanks for the heads-up - we booked for both weeks. Would love to see an actual menu.

Like you, we were cruise first, land last. We never received anything from HAL on meal options, learned through their tip guides there are meal options but not what they were. Our TA didn't have info on them other than pricing and a recommendation to not purchase them but I was successful after multiple attempts in reaching a HAL Excursions (not Guest Services) person who explained the options (breakfast only, dinner only, breakfast & dinner, no lunches at all) - we chose to not purchase any of them and after seeing the limited menu felt we made the right choice. Food was very expensive everywhere but we did have more choices than we would have w/meal plans. We NEVER had an option to book land excursions - TA said we should receive something from HAL and both HAL & TA said a Travel Host would join us when we transitioned from ship to train who would present options. That did NOT happen and if it had would mean we couldn't choose excursions until the land portion had started, which seemed strange. So for us the land portion was an extremely expensive disappointment - not at all HALs usual service nor what they're known for in AK. The only excursion that was booked was in Denali - HAL automatically booked it for us for the night our train arrived. It was canceled due to the delay in our arrival (train broke down, we were 6 hours late arriving) we have yet to see the refund. Dinner that night was at the McKinley Chalet - they kept the restaurant open for us. We did go on a self guided hike in Denali the next morning before we got on the bus to Talkeetna - no charge, rode the provided shuttle (school bus) to park entrance. We write the disastrous catastrophe up to everyone trying to get back to business after Covid but will never do another land cruise; we're sticking to cruises only (just returned 2 days ago from AK 🤤). I suggest you call the Excursion number, not Guest Services, and continue to call until you reach someone who will answer your questions. Do tell them you know your TA has to handle transactions and that you are only looking for info/answers; that is how I finally got answers about meal options. Also, we received an email for upgrading the room at Denali (McKinley Chalet) that had a different number on it - you might try talking to them when you get that email. Good luck - regardless of the upfront pain, it will be beautiful once you're there.

Different cruiseline - returned yesterday (April 29 - May 6) from Alaska on HAL Eurodam. Ship was full - child count = 29 (not official from HAL, rather the ones we physically saw) Other than a couple screamers (all too young to remember screaming in a ahip theater), we didn't have any issues. Feb (not Spring Break) 14 day Bahamas on HAL Nieuw Amsterdam we counted 23. That trip had an impromptu gymnast doing cartwheels at entrance to MDR. Her mother said nothing, grandmother told her what a great job she was doing!! Last year in Caribbean we were at port w/Carnival ship. Passengerstold us it was a nudist charter w/ages from children to Golden seniors, so that's not necessarily the easy answer.

Here's another comment re smaller ships vs larger ships

Not necessarily the ports (but could be) - maybe the routes to/through them. For example, there's a detailed conversation about how the larger ships have to go west through the Inside Passage where the smaller ships can go east (I may have that backwards). Skagway potentially limiting number of larger ships but not necessarily smaller ones. I believe routes through Glacier Bay National Park are limited in some places as the larger ships don't go as deep into the park as some of the smaller ones and some Fjords cannot accommodate larger ships.

Laundry service is your friend for controlling luggage and minimizing packing weight. Even if you do laundry by the bag vs unlimited, it's a huge benefit. You'd be surprised how much you can fit into a single bag when you roll/fold/squeeze instead of just stuffing it in; even with unlimited we filled the bags full almost daily. Highly recommend since there will be 4 of you. And doing 1 last bag at the end allows you to take home clean clothes so unpacking (yes, sadly, you do have to reverse the suitcase dance at the end of the trip when you're back home) is a breeze.

Boarding never gets better (or quicker, or fewer/shorter lines) in Vancouver. There are other posts re different cruiselines with the same lamentings, most including the phrase "never again." Pre and post -Covid produce same results. It's a painful process.

No offense to RCL fans, but that is exactly why we cruise HAL (Holland America) for Alaska - being smaller ships, they can go places the larger ships can't go. Not that HAL (or any cruiseline/ship) is immune to berthing issues or Acts of God/construction delays/... Truly sorry you will miss out on Skagway. ISP is not a comparable port, but does have unique offerings (nothing can replace the White Pass train ride, so let's not pretend) - we did a bear watching hike a couple years ago that was fabulous and not offered in other port.

I have not as we go to Irish Times Pub for dinner, but have seen them going by while we are walking. It's probably a lovely ride, just be sure to bundle up if you're there early or late season as it gets cold. Hope to see pictures if you do it.

You can board with birth certificate and valid government issued photo ID (for round-trip Seattle) but passport is preferred in case you require medical evacuation while in Canada.