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My favorite cruise hotel in Seattle is the SEATAC Marriott across the street from the airport. The hotel has a free airport shuttle to/from the airport so taxi fare will be saved. HAL usually has a Seattle hotel downtown that you can book through the HAL website. Best way to the cruise terminal (Pier 91), on the other side of town from the airport, is via taxi (40 minutes and about $50).

Welcome to Cruise Critic and to the HAL Forum. You will find lots of answers here. To help in your planning, here is an informative HAL brochure for Alaska: Alaska Tour Tips I have sailed on both the Zaandam and Koningsdam. Viewing - As a frequent Alaska cruiser, I enjoyed my Zaandam cruise for the views from the Deck 6 and 7 aft balconies, accessible through the doors at the end of the hallways. There are loungers, blankets, and a large heating vent. The Koningsdam does not have the Deck 6 and 7 spanning balconies. Staterooms - My Zaandam stateroom did not have any beside electrical or USB connections so I brought a 15-foot USB cable that would reach the USB ports at the desk. The Koningsdam does Crowds - Since both the Koningsdam and Zaandam use a single gangway, passengers on the gangway can be off the Zaandam much quicker. Onboard - The Koningsdam has five baristas for two Specialty Coffee services and the Zandaam only one of each. The Zaandam does not have a dedicated pizza operation, a Grand Dutch Cafe, a Gelato operation, or a comparable Room Service menu. The Zaandam does have a Taco Bar near the indoor pool. Alaska cruises normally dock in each port early in the day. That makes the days very long and time aboard ship is very limited to enjoy the many attractions offered by much larger ships. I strongly recommend Fly Denali with a landing in the mountain snow.

Premium Plan works fine for Zoom sessions. My college professor friend conducted a Zoom class from the Nieuw Amsterdam last October. In addition to the Premium Plan benefits, the Stream Plan allows connections to identified streaming sites.

No discount last month on Eurodam.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. As a hobby photographer, Alaska is my favorite cruise region. I have been on 15 whale watching excursions and saw orcas only once. ISP is my favorite location for whales because they are so active. I strongly recommend the Mendenhall Glacier Walk in Juneau and definitely a stop at the Glacier Smoothie Soap Shop on Franklin Street. My favorite excursion is feeding the eagles on the Bering Sea Crab Fishing excursion. Orca in Juneau Auke Bay mere feet from our small excursion boat ISP for bubble feeding humpback whales Glacier Trek via helicopter in Juneau Ketchikan Crab Fishing with eagle feeding

Here is a link to the upgrade chart I posted earlier in this thread: Internet Update from HIA Surf Plan 2024

The internet Streaming Plan lists several well-known streaming accounts but then adds "and other accounts." All that I have been reading is that YouTube is a streaming service. For getting a quick answer, this might be a question to pose on a current live thread for someone using the Premium Plan. As far as notifications, perhaps the notifications under your account settings might show a cause.

Others have reported that it does not. As a WhatApp user, I need the Premium Plan to place and receive calls. Nothing beats a Spam Call while on a cruise even while your phone is in airplane mode.

Yes. Here is a table of internet costs that I created based on tables that I received from Ship Services: Internet Pricing Plans 2024

When you login after boarding, you will see the option to upgrade in the Navigator app.

It gave you a big discount on the regular price of the Premium Plan.

Wi-Fi calling comes with the Premium Plan

You can surf the web and send pictures by email with the Surf Plan.

Once aboard, if you wish to upgrade a HIA Surf Plan to the Premium Plan to make WhatsApp WiFi calls or Zoom conferencing, here is a table that I have created to show the cost: HIA Surf Plan Upgrade Cost

As requested: Cooler

Kudos on being a fellow aft stateroom lover. FWIW the Deck 5 balconies are fully covered and same depth as Deck 4.

Per the Nieuw Amsterdam Captain last October, the Mariner Luncheons were currently being offered on cruises longer than 14 days. As HAL continues to evolve away from the COVID restrictions, more luncheons should be occurring.

It is my experience that shrimp cocktail is served fleet-wide on both the silver (1st) and gold (2d) "Dressy Night" menus. Dressy Night Silver Menu Dressy Night Gold Menu

My Eurodam internet speed in an aft stateroom last month was 107 Mbps. It should be much better if closer to the repeaters in the atrium and indoor pool.

If you want to avoid the crowd for making Specialty Restaurant reservations, there is a secondary podium near the entrance of the Spa on Deck 9 (indoor pool).

Contact Holland America Line Ship Inventory at 1-888-628-8107 or 206-626-7381.

Welcome to Cruise Critic and to the HAL Forum. This is true for Vancouver. The HAL disembarking process starts at 7:30 AM and continues until 9:00 AM.

All passengers must be off the ship by 9:30 AM so your either assigned or chosen disembarkation time will be no later than 9:00 AM.

I have discovered this situation, especially on repositioning cruises. My HAL PCC contacted Ship Inventory and resolved my issue in a few minutes. I booked my cruise to start in San Diego instead of Vancouver.

The times listed by most cruise lines at each port is the time that passengers may begin leaving the ship. Actual docking occurs 30 minutes earlier than the post times.