Friend100

Aug 2019.

Next one planned for May 2025, hopefully can go this time.

It depends.  I have done it all - book direct with the cruise line, through an online TA, brick and mortar TA and a big-box store TA.  The situation varies a bit each time, and I choose whatever works best for that particular cruise.  Sometimes, the TA can really help in resolving issues.  But some other time they can be an unnecessary bottleneck.   I will choose to go with a TA (vs. direct) depends on the perk and the type of cruise I go to.  Also depends on the cruise line, definitely consider to book onboard to take advantage of reduced deposits and OBC - that is on top of whatever perk you can get from the TA.

if you cruise HAL, they have Cancellation Protection Plan (CPP)

Cruise Cancellation Protection Plan | Holland America

I did a mock booking for an Alaska cruise and the cost for the Platinum Plan is about 13% of the cruise fare.

12 hours ago, Blue Eyed Belfast Belle said:

I might have accidentally booked an aft balcony on Voyager for over Christmas 2023! 😉🎄

 

What an unbelievable balcony price for over Christmas.  This could be a glitch ... it won't last very long.

Veendam at Amber Cove

We had lunch at Da Costa at Fira.  This was our view.  Not sure about the view at sunset though.

Thanks.  This is helpful.  We have cruised HAL 4 times and are getting to love it more but will be venturing out to NCL for the first time on the Spirit this fall .... just can't resist those Greek Isle itinerary.

Thanks for the review.

My kids did their first HAL cruise 8 years ago when they were 10 and 8, and last year we did an 11-night cruise on the Koningsdam.  Their conclusion: HAL is great for a port-intensive longer itinerary.

Pinnacle class ship has the family oceanview cabin that is spacious for families.  Deck One?  No problem at all!  We spent 11 nights there and won't hesitate to book it again.  The 1.5 bath (one with a sink and shower, the other one with a sink, toilet and bathtub), the extra storage space and queen-size sofabed are all very nice.

Only negative on the Pinnacle class is their wrap-around promenade deck - a disappointment comparing to other classes of HAL ships.

15 hours ago, John Bull said:

 

2. And there's a cruise quay where other ships dock a mile or two north of the village. From there it's a hot and shadeless walk, or a short hop by taxi or transfer bus, to the village.

Are you saying there's now the choice of taking a boat from the cruise dock to the harbour?

 

Yes indeed. There is a water taxi just right next to the cruise port that will take you directly to the old town.

This is from youtube:

The picture below was taken from the X80 bus stop that would take you back to Piraeus.  So when you took the bus at Piraeus coming to Athens, you will be dropped off where the 3 flag poles are.  Just walked across the street at the traffic light and you will see the pedestrian-friendly area.

This is the "entrance" to the pedestrian-friendly area that goes to The Acropolis.  Just follow the sign, or simply follow the crowd as everyone is going to the same place basically.

Then after "some" walking and lots of sweating (we went in the middle of August) ...

Whereas in Mykonos, you dock and then a 10-15 minute boat ride to the old town... more relaxing here.

At Santorini doing a trip to Oía can be considered a DIY excursion.  And there are many other options too.

We took the X80 bus, 4.50 euro per person for unlimited trips within 24 hours.

We stayed at the Le Quattro Dame Suites for 3 nights prior to our Holland America cruise last August (Rome roundtrip to Greece and Turkey).  The suite was spacious for my family of 4.  The location was perfect - within reasonable walking distance to The Colosseum, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Step and all the shops in that area.  There was a taxi stand just across the street and it was a short taxi ride to The Vatican.  The hotel offers shuttle services to/from airport and the port at Civitavecchia.  

This is the view of the street just outside of the entrance.

Walking up to the front door.

One of the room

Bedroom area of the suite (it has another queen-size sofa bed)

The view looking out from the room.

We took the X80 bus for us family of 4 and it was easy.

We like Royal Caribbean and Holland America for different reasons: entertainment and onboard activities on RCI mega ships; itinerary, service, relaxation and value for money on HAL ships.

7 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Down load your own books on Kindle  .Much lighter  & you get exactly what you wanted to read 

If you think that is the same, then your experience in a library on a HAL cruiseship is different than my experience in a library on a HAL cruiseship.  Have s nice day.

A Library

OP, ask yourself which are the top 3 ports you want to visit out of these:

St Petersburg

Venice

Barcelona

Copenhagen

Santorini

Istanbul

Amsterdam

Rome

Athens

London

This should help narrow down a little bit.  

23 minutes ago, Tennessee Titan said:

No bathtubs on the Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam..... Showers only

 I said "most".  In fact, the oceanview cabin I stayed on the Koningsdam last month has both a bathtub and a shower.

6 hours ago, Tennessee Titan said:

The promenade thing is a hoax in my opinion. 

Not to me.  It degrades a very important part of my cruise experience.  

This is Eurodam (Nieuw Amsterdam is similar)

This is Veendam.

HAL ship doesn't have a solarium.

From the daily program.

I concur with the post above.  In addition, I can share my experience on booking a HAL cruise for Christmas, and my observation over the years in monitoring Christmas/New Year pricing for HAL and other mainstream cruiselines. 

My only experience was in 2014 when we booked a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise on the Eurodam which was over Christmas 3 weeks prior to sail date.  It is for a quad large interior and it was very very cheap.

Assuming you are considering a Caribbean itinerary in Christmas/New Year in 2020.  If you are looking for a 7-day itinerary, my observation is that generally the one over Christmas is usually a bit less expensive than the one over New Year.  If you aren't picky on a specific ship, or itinerary, or a specific cabin/category/location, then my advise is to take a risk and wait after final payment deadline and look for deals.  It is more than likely you will find good deal on HAL especially when comparing to price from other lines.  Why I am suggesting is that, for the demographics of the people who are willing to spend more $ for a Holiday cruise but "can" only do a week, they likely will choose the more family-oriented lines/ships first.  But let's say if you specifically have to cruise on the Nieuw Statendam, East Caribbean and have to stop at San Juan, and must need a Signature Suite, then book early and lock in the price and perks.

If you are considering 10+ day itinerary and/or those going to more unique ports, then book early (refundable fare) to lock in the price, and keep checking regularly. 

We did just that in our last cruise on the Koningsdam in August.  We were one of the first groups in the tender ticket lineup at B B King, probably 7:30am.  Got our ticket around 8am when they started.  We were in the 3rd group.  Tender started shortly after 9am I think.  We were at the old port 9:30am, and purchased the Transfer to Oia package.  As we were the only ship at Santorini that morning, we had to wait for more passengers before the boat was full.  I can't remember exactly when the boat took off.  When we got to the destination port, still had to take a bus to go uphill to Oia.  We were at the bus parking lot at Oia around 10:45am.