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LordSpain

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Posts posted by LordSpain

    Westerdam Cabanas Destroyed

    in Holland America Line

    Posted

    OP here.  I asked my TA to check with HAL periodically in case the cabanas became available.  About three weeks ago she informed me that they were now taking reservations for the cabanas, so I booked one for the entirety of the cruise. This particular trip starts as a regular Alaska cruise then continues west to Japan and Hawaii.

     

    Unfortunately HAL just raised the prices of their cabanas.  If anyone is interested in the 2023/2014 fleetwide cabana pricing, let me know and I can post them here.

    • Thanks 1

    Westerdam Cabanas Destroyed

    in Holland America Line

    Posted

    I just booked a cruise on the Westerdam beginning September 1, 2024. My TA informed me that HAL reported that the Retreat cabanas had been destroyed so they were not taking any reservations for them. I searched these boards and found they had been damaged in a wind storm back in May of this year.

     

    I'm seeking information from anyone who knows when or if repairs might be made. I can't find any more information about this, and I'm hoping someone who has been on, or rercently booked on the Westerdam might have some insight.

    New Wine Packages

    in Holland America Line

    Posted

    Price per bottle breakdown is:

     

    Cellar #1

    4 - $29.75

    6 - $28.17

    8 - $27.38

     

    Cellar #2

    4 - $37.25

    6 - $38.17

    8 - $36.13

     

    Cellar #3

    4 - $47.25

    6 - $44.83

    8 - $41.13

     

    It's interesting to note that in Cellar #2 it's actually cheaper to buy 4 bottles than 6.

    HAL and hurricane Irma

    in Holland America Line

    Posted

    Here's the text from Holland America's Facebook page from about an hour ago that specifically deals with HMC:

     

    Hurricane Irma update 9/13/2017: All of us at Holland America Line are holding those close in our thoughts who have been impacted by the recent storms. As rebuilding efforts begin, we are assessing the best way to provide on-going support. Our parent company, Carnival Corporation, has already begun outreach and support for those islands impacted on behalf of the family of cruise lines. They have been in communication with officials in many of the Caribbean islands and have activated a plan to deliver supplies on both an immediate and sustained, longer-term basis. These deliveries will be worked into ships’ cruise itineraries as part of ongoing operations. We stand ready to provide support to affected ports and communities.

    Holland America Line’s Caribbean cruise season begins in mid-October and we look forward to continuing to provide the great cruise experience our guests expect and the economic support that the region relies on, now more than ever. Only a few ports visited on Holland America Line itineraries this coming season were impacted by Hurricane Irma. Our private island, Half Moon Cay, was not damaged and is fully operational. No cruises will be cancelled and should any port substitutions need to be made in the future, booked guests and their travel agents will be notified.

    We sincerely encourage booked guests and anyone considering a Caribbean cruise to move forward with their plans. There is no better show of support for the area and the people than to continue to visit.

     

    Cash From Onboard Account?

    in Holland America Line

    Posted

    If you want to avoid the 3% charge at the front desk, go to the casino and visit a slot machine. Put the amount you want onto your card which will be charged to your stateroom. Play once on the machine then cash out. Your balance will be transferred back to your card. Go the casino cashier and request the remaining balance in cash.

    Holland America adds Cuba Cruises

    in Holland America Line

    Posted

    Thanks for your post. This is valuable information for us because we are currently booked on that December 22 cruise for a 14-day Holiday Southern Caribbean cruise. The stated itinerary was Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, Guadeloupe, St Lucia, Grenada, Barbados, Martinique & St Maarten. Since HALs website no longer lists this as a cruise I contacted our TA. HAL advises our TA that the ship has been “redeployed”. It is now a 12 day cruise going to Key West, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Havana, Cienfuegos, Montego Bay and Grand Cayman. This is not even close to what we signed up for and the new port of calls have little interest for us. We also already purchased non-refundable air fare for the original dates. Our original booking also included a generous amount of OBC that we’re losing. Our TA is now trying to line up another Holiday Cruise for us. We obviously have a lot of negotiating to do with HAL over this.

     

    As a follow-up to my post, we booked another holiday cruise on the Prinsendam in the Caribbean. We have just been informed by our TA that Holland America will be remitting a check for the $400 air change fees and the nearly $1,000.00 in airfare increase expenses that we incurred.

     

    Bruce

    HAL Customer Service - New Cuba Cruises

    in Holland America Line

    Posted

    We too were booked on the December 22 Holiday cruise aboard the Veendam. We discovered this while reading a post here on cruise critic about the new Cuban itineraries offered by Holland America. Weren't we surprised when we found out it was during our holiday cruise. People tend to book their holiday cruises pretty far in advance, as we did. We booked this while onboard another cruise so there were some reduced deposit/OBC enhancements that came along with it. We wouldn't have minded as much if they changed one of the ports of call to Havana, but they changed the entire itinerary. We also already purchased non-refundable airfare - and the change fees are horrendous. At least they could have waited until after the holidays and then given everyone enough advance notice so that changes could be eased into. They just pulled the rug out from under us IMHO. Fortunately, we have a very good TA who is not afraid to contact HAL and do a dance on somebody's desk until she gets what she wants. We are now booked on the Prinsendam for a 16-day cruise that leaves on Dec 18. The TA was able to transfer both the reduced deposit and OBC from the other cruise to this one. She's also got the paperwork all set for reimbursement of the airfare changes. I think HAL could have handled this much better.

    Holland America adds Cuba Cruises

    in Holland America Line

    Posted

    We are livid over this change. We booked this 14 day itinerary months ago. Booked flights for four. Booked the hotels for before and after and now this itinerary has change. The trip is shorter and in my opinion the ports of call are no where near as nice as the original itinerary. We got a call from our HAL cruise consultant and we're advised if the change. We were not offered anything except the new itinerary, to cancel or change sailings. We also were not offered anything in the way of compensation. We were not advised if the new itinerary price would be different. There's one others cruise, which is a back-to-back that we could take, but it's still $1400 more than our original booking. I'm not sure what info anyone else received from HAL, but I feel that the customer service has been deplorable.

     

    We pretty much feel the same way (Post #12). Fortunately, we have a very good TA who is not afraid to contact HAL and do a dance on somebody's desk until she gets what she wants. Our original cruise was booked while on board another ship so there were some OBC/reduced deposit perks that came along with it. We are now booked on the Prinsendam for a 16-day cruise that leaves on Dec 18. The TA was able to transfer both the reduced deposit and OBC from the other cruise to this one. She's also got the paperwork all set for reimbursement of the airfare changes.

    Holland America adds Cuba Cruises

    in Holland America Line

    Posted

    Thanks for your post. This is valuable information for us because we are currently booked on that December 22 cruise for a 14-day Holiday Southern Caribbean cruise. The stated itinerary was Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, Guadeloupe, St Lucia, Grenada, Barbados, Martinique & St Maarten. Since HALs website no longer lists this as a cruise I contacted our TA. HAL advises our TA that the ship has been “redeployed”. It is now a 12 day cruise going to Key West, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Havana, Cienfuegos, Montego Bay and Grand Cayman. This is not even close to what we signed up for and the new port of calls have little interest for us. We also already purchased non-refundable air fare for the original dates. Our original booking also included a generous amount of OBC that we’re losing. Our TA is now trying to line up another Holiday Cruise for us. We obviously have a lot of negotiating to do with HAL over this.

    money transfer to casino

    in Holland America Line

    Posted

    About a month before your cruise go to www.oceanplayersclub.com . Click on VIP Services, then Apply for Casino Credit. Fill out the online form and they will notify you about a week ahead of time of your approval. They will notify the ship and after you embark fill out a quick form at the casino cage. You can get markers at the table games up to the amount of your credit approval. At the end of the cruise you can just write them a check for the markers you took. I believe the limit is $100,000.00.

     

    Bruce

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