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Much better for HAL to rent ALL Cabins to Government, than 1/3 cabins sold to tourists. Better for refugees too.  HAL ships are currently staffed with only 2/3 crews....according to room steward on Koningsdam cruise last month, and 2/3 of ships cabins were empty.  I pray HAL will survive      in the competitive world of tourism. THEY ARE a terrific. affordable cruise line.

Am a 4 Star Mariner w/ 14 HAL Cruises.  Just completed a 7 day Feb Cruise on Konsingdam and did not receive a Mariner Tile at the end of cruise. We were told it would be mailed to our house.  7 weeks later and no tiles. Called HAL Headquarters... was told same story...will be mailed.  Then decided to do some research....discovered many cruisers on various ships are also hearing the same story,  with zero results, some since December 2021.  Also another disappointing change....no Mariner Luncheon on board Koningsdam cruise of Feb to Mexico.  No invitations to either Mariner Luncheon, nor Medallion Awards for 4 Stars. Thw question I have is :  A permanent fleet  change to Mariner benefits,  or just a glitch on a particular ships schedule.  Would appreciate a crewmember  or a cruise critic staff give an update on this topic.  Thanks .

Finished a cruise on the Koningsdam several weeks ago......the ship said they would mail us  are tiles.  Is it really going to happen.

Last week I bought tickets  on Eurodam  ,  from San Diego to Vancouver.   Just occured to me "will passengers who debark be allowed to go to the airport and fly back to the USA,  or will we have to Quranteen there for 14 days ?   Anyone can give advice on Holland Staff,  would appreciate it.

We are  veteran HAL cruisers w/ 15 cruises.  We have a suite cruise coming up,  we are treating 2 family members to a first time cruise.  My Question:  on Mariner Luncheon day may we bring our 2 guests to the luncheon?

THANK YOU  you made my day ! I was afraid there would be the small tv's like  Holland had in the 1990's.

Does the Westerdam have large flat screens in the outside window cabins ?

2 hours ago, UWCorry said:

Hello,

i was wondering what type of binoculars are in the SS stateroom and if they are any good. Debating on buying my own for an upcoming Alaska cruise. 

 

Thanks all!

We had Binoculars on Veendam Amazon Cruise....they will charge you for them if you keep them.  I still have ours.  I did not mind paying...I think was about $80 - 100 dollars.  That was in 2005 I believe.They are/were KonusVue  10/50. Quite heavy and good quality binocs, easy focus, and green  and Black color combo  with neck strap. You can tell quality by the weight of binocs I'm told.  These are pretty heavy.  They were new in the box.

THANK YOU !!  Looks beautiful.  I am going to buy a cruise on NA  asap !

Can someone tell me does the NA still have a Library.  And does it have Lincoln Center and Tamarind ?  OP thinking of taking the cross  Atlantic.

Te ship was Eurodam.

On 1/23/2019 at 9:34 AM, Jen1000 said:

The ship is pretty small so easy to get around and find everything.  I have not been on HAL before so not sure what is different about this ship vs. others.  I did not know about the games in the lounge off the casino until my brother found them.  Food is not the same on the two buffet sides so take a look around.  We started going in to the main show room on deck 1 so that we did not have to walk down so many stairs to sit near the front.

Eurodam is a terrific ship. I have sailed on Eurodam  3 of my 11 Holland Cruises.  The Theater is great, comfortable seats  and usually top notch entertainment.  The Cruise Director, Stone. is ex Ms Tennessee, and she is terrific.  The things that really make Eurodam stand out are  BB Kings,  The Tamarind Asian Food Restaurant,  and the well-trained staff who are absolutely superb.

And of course Holland Food service is a notch above the other cruise lines.  Unfortunately Eurodam no longer has the best Library afloat.  It was removed during a renovation,  so if you want to read bring several books with you.  Oprah Book Club is now  offered on board,  if you like that sort of thing, however those are touchy feely books and weren't appealing to me.  There is a book-swap shelf on port side entry to Crow's Nest, Deck 11.  And GALA Night has replaced Formal Night. So leave your Tux at home and bring a Suit or Sports Coat. 

How does one ea in upper main dining room?  Is it for upper deck floors only ?

Sorry you had the Odor Problem, it really ruins your cruise. We sailed the Eurodam fm Ft Lauderdale to Barcelona, then around the Med for 14 more days , This was in 2016. We loved the Eurodam . BUT BUT,

we also had a foul, sickening odor in the bathroom, on the first day we called the room steward. He immediately poured in some Pine Sol type liquid. Only helped an hour or so. I was determined not to let this ruin our 59 day trip of Europe, so I did the following. I had a 2 inch roll of clear p;astic pkg wrapping tape, and a pair of Scissors. I cut a circle ot tape, and put it directly over the chrome drain pipe cover the tub and toilet. NO MORE ODOR the next 13 days. Our neighbors also had the same issue so I gave them a piece of tape too. Later after the cruise I found a post saying there were a couple of HAL Class ships built which had defective valves that allowed sewer gases to flow up through the ships drain pipes in certain areas of the ship. It is interesting to note this problem occured in a midship cabin abovr the upper prominade. We sailed the month before in a forward cabin, main deck and hd no such problem. In the future I will not be in the super-structure on this class ship. AND I do love the Eurodam. It is a terrific ship !!

How do I find out how many Mariner Points I have. They are no longer displayed on HAL's website, as they used to be.

Was very surprized to see family 8 person suites with Slides, 2 level rock climbing wall, air hockey table, etc. Reminds ( seriously) you of a McDonalds Playroom with all the nets full of balls and tube slide. Who would ever want to book a 7 or more day relaxing cruise in such an envioronment. Be careful what you ask for, you might just get it. Sorry Royal Carrib, I am afraid you are catering to the wrong crowd with this....whatever happened to Elegant, romantic, relaxing cruising ?

Wish you would use no abreviations, ie OBC DD DS etc. Unsure what those stand for

Just competed cruise, we had obstructed view Upper Prominade Deck.

A foul smell was noted as soon as we checked onboard. We determined it was commomg from the floor drain next to the toilet. I had a 2 inch roll of clear package wrapping tape in my suitcase, so I cut a 3 inch piece of tape off and sealed it over the crrome cover of the drain. NO MORE ODOR the whole cruise. We also made sure to keep the sink and bathtub drains closed.

With that many ship's you are hereby dubbed "Comodore.":)

Depends....how much will your stomache hold??

Depends....how much will your stomache hold??

How are toilet facitities handeled in Galapagos....usually NOTHING can be left ashore....

Free Shoe Shines

Free Clothes Pressing

Cigar Smoking Rooms with fireplaces

Footmen to stand behind your chair at dinner

Sails

Forecastle Awnings

Life "rafts"

Huge Patios are the main attraction.

AYWD sounds like a great idea...I'm so tired of getting late dining....6 of 7 cruises I have had late dining.