Petronillus

This summer we were on a Norway (Land of the Midnight Sun) cruise, where Lerwick in the Shetland Islands got substituted for one of the Norwegian ports. We did need to queue up to pass customs inspection and receive the magic sticker. The customs agents were Scots and couldn't have been more affable and gracious, and the whole process went smoothly and pleasantly. There was nothing memorable about the ensuing tender ride, whether bad or good.

I 'm told that bar soap versus body wash is one of the factors that distinguish Baby Boomers from Millennials. I suspect, in addition, that keeping the dispensers in the cabins topped off is less costly than replenishing soap bars and small tubes of shampoo, conditioner, and lotion.

Here's what I think is an interesting, collateral effect of raising the drinks prices. For purposes of accruing credits toward our Mariner Star Status, we are credited with one "bonus credit" for every $300 spent on board (up to a max of $300 for each cruise day sailed). I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the ticketed price of the drinks we obtained under our beverage package counted toward that $300 bogey. Therefore, the more they raise the prices of our drinks under the packages, the faster we accrue the bonus credits, and the sooner we land on the Free Laundry square.

You've nailed it. Like you, the real point of the beverage package is the carefree spirit it gives me of ordering what I want when I want without giving a thought to the cost. Especially true of the elite package, but on our last cruise, when we had the $11/drink signature package, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I wasn't charged extra for a rusty nail nor for a double!

Cloth, but surprisingly malleable (or maybe it's that my laundry items are surprisingly compressible).

Crystal, you are a treasure! Thank you for the 2-page cribsheet. If I'm understanding correctly, none of the three packages (Quench, Signature, or Elite) includes use of the Freestyle dispensers. When it lists "Coca Cola Soft Drinks" under "Water & Soda" in the Quench Package, it's referring to the mixer gun at the bars and to soda by the can.

We have always relied on the by-the-bag flat fee option. I'm always impressed at the amount of laundry I manage to cram into that bag. And somehow there's always room for "one more thing." The service is astonishingly quick and top-quality (depending on your expectations, of course!). You can even specify whether you want the laundry folded or put on hangers. Unfortunately, in my experience, you can't say to use hangers with the dress shirts and trousers, for instance, and fold the rest; so, you get your underwear back on individual hangers. On our last cruise I noticed that the washing comes back including a small card identifying by name the crew member who handled your laundry. Nice personal touch. Like "Your tax dollars at work," it helps put a name (if not a face) on where our crew-appreciation gratuities are going.

It's always surprised me that whatever status one builds up on HAL doesn't count for anything (ok, let's say virtually nothing) on HAL's "sister" lines. I understand that each line's program is different, but wouldn't you think that the marketing folks and the bean counters would get together and figure out a way each line's loyalty program could complement the others'?

I echo your comment. I liken HAL to a Buick. It's not a Beemer or a Merc or a Lexus or even a Cadillac, but Buick suits DW & me just fine.

I'm still grieving the loss of Lincoln Center Stage. HAL invested a ton of money into fine-tuning the acoustics of that space to suit the area as a classical chamber music venue. Maybe the LCS following was too small, but we were a fiercely loyal band.

Deck 4. First time at the stern, in one of the aft-facing cabins.

Thanks for clearing up my confusion. I did read the quoted post but failed to connect and catch the irony. Oops!

We're booked on Westerdam's Asia cruise this coming February, 28 days r/t Hong Kong. I'm so glad to hear good things about her.

I'm confused. You mention a string of compliments, and yet you lead with "We just finished being stuck on the Volendam for 18 days" (emphasis added). Is that like "Beat me up some more"?

Excellent observation. Thanks for sharing. Once again, the ancient truth: it takes forever to build up trust and then only an instant to piss it away.

I tend to take the excellent laundry service on HAL for granted. From these comments I've come to appreciate how much of a competitive edge it is. DW & I always avail ourselves of the reasonably priced by-the-bag option, but plainly even for the 4- and 5-star Mariners the laundry is one of the behind-the-scenes elements that contribute to the quality of life on board ship.

How about this for an anomaly? I just checked the HAL website under the "Manage My Cruise" heading, i/c/w our upcoming 28-day Asia cruise. It's stated there that the per-day price of the "premium, Elite Beverage Package" is "$49.95 if pre-booked online compared to $59.95 if purchased on board." Sounds really good, doesn't it? But if you want to order the package, the price quoted on the same page is $1,650.32" That is very close to the $59.95 figure. How does one snag the $10/day price?

Not "the same." Unless someone from among the pax steps forward, like Reverend Neal, the interdenominational service will be led by the Catholic priest who will be serving as chaplain for the voyage. He (sigh!) will likely use the same set of Scripture readings and preach the same homily as at Midnight Mass, but don't expect the service to include eucharistic communion. I'd also wager that the singing will be better and more robust at the interdenominational service.😉

My understanding is that HAL has deliberately configured the layout of its ships to provide a looser "pack" than the other cruise lines. As a result, it's easy to find relatively quiet nooks for reading and/or daydreaming. I think it contributes to a mellower atmosphere. Condolences on the loss of your husband. My he rest in peace. DW and I have had many pleasant mealtimes in the Lido Market sharing a table for four with another couple. If you ask, "May I join you?" you can gauge from the reaction how receptive your would-be tablemates are. Almost invariably we are welcomed, and when we are already occupying a table for four, awe are always welcoming to others who come to join us. Sometimes you end up sharing cabin numbers and make arrangements to dine together in the MDR. And you can always present yourself to the MDR maitre d' and tell her/him that you would be happy to join with others in forming a table.

Thanks for the explanation. Obviously, from HAL's standpoint, having money "on account" is a form of stickiness that will come into play when one has to decide which cruise line to sail with next. It doesn't sound like the OBC associated with an FCD is so large as to make much of a difference, standing alone. Are there other benefits?

I'm with shadow123. Would someone be so kind as to point me in the direction of a primer on FCDs versus FCCs? So far it's been a mystery I haven't been able to unlock.

I just did a Google search and came up empty on "Flexair" and "Flexair online booking engine." What is this?

Wouldn't a Chef Morimoto restaurant compete with the Tamarind? Considering that a cruise is an adventure in seafaring, wouldn't a seafood restaurant be a more fitting replacement for Rudi's?

DW & I are at the grandparent stage of life. We have tried to prevail on one or the other of our children to join us on a cruise and even considered, however briefly, bringing an 11yo grandson with us. That prospect is only possible because of the good things I've heard about Club HAL. On two occasions over the years we have had the pleasure of sharing a lunch table in the Lido with one of the Club HAL "minders" (d/k if that's the right term). In each case I was very much impressed with the caliber of the young woman, both in her personality and in her experience and training. I can honestly say that DW & I have been spared any encounters with a bratty child. In our experience they have behaved in a polite and unobtrusive manner. I tend to think that, in addition to good parental supervision, it's due in part to the atmosphere prevailing on a HAL ship that moderates their rambunctious tendencies. We avoid booking one-week cruises in the summer or during spring break time. We have never seen what it's like when the number of children reaches a critical mass. But we've never ever heard tell of some "Lord of the Flies" nightmare occurring on board.

Here's what we do, per instructions we first received via this CruiseCritic HAL board: email addressed to world_cruise_reservations@hollandamerica.com listing the following information: Name: [as it appears in HAL's records] Mariner ID Number: Booking Number: Ship: Cruise: Latest statement: see attached, pg __ of [month] 2023 statement The attachment is a pdf of the relevant page of our latest monthly statement of our brokerage account with JPMorgan showing our ownership of CCL shares. I retrieve the electronic version of our monthly account statement from the brokerage firm's website. The page I attach (as with each page of the statement) shows a header that identifies it as our joint account Our most recent cruise sailed on July 1. I procrastinated and didn't send in my email until June 19. I got an instantaneous (plainly, system-generated) acknowledgment from World Cruise Reservations and the relevant OCB was showing on our statement when we boarded. That email address, once again, is worldUNDERSCOREcruiseUNDERSCOREreservationsATSIGNhollandamericaDOTcom