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SilvertoGold
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Clothes to pack for New Zealand cruise
SilvertoGold replied to Zanny's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
Hi, Jean Lovely post, very helpful overall. Really hope your weather starts to behave itself, for your tourism and for you long-suffering Kiwis. You have been through so much! Sounds as if Napier is on the port list still and we will be shopping and buying all those cookies there! -
Is Specialty dining still worth it?
SilvertoGold replied to Hammer61's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
No one has asked about HAL but with the cutbacks, extra charges at the Pinnacle for dinner (only one of appetizer/soup/ salad or pay US$7 + 18% for an extra), many upsells and smaller portions the pricing of US$39 + 18% = US$92 per couple with no extra charges or wine is not worth it. Add on the exchange for us = CND$124 and we will be going for lunch only :) -
Clothes to pack for New Zealand cruise
SilvertoGold replied to Zanny's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
Jean! Any idea about rain? Is this the time of year when we could expect a lot of rain or none? Appreciate all your help, you have been a huge resource in planning for this adventure. -
Clothes to pack for New Zealand cruise
SilvertoGold replied to Zanny's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
Can we expect much rain/showers/drizzle last week of March and first week of May? Auckland, ports down east coast and over to Australia. -
We saw a guy in the MDR order 3 appetizers, 2 entrees and 3 desserts. He did eat it all, amazingly. Should he have been charged? I think it would have been fair to charge for something there because that must be unusual and quite overboard. But ordering 2 of the starters is not outlandish, especially now that HAL's entrees tend to be on the smaller side.
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How do You Perceive Cruise Value on HAL Ships
SilvertoGold replied to mcrcruiser's topic in Holland America Line
I consider price as well as 5 star perks which do add up to some savings. I see some ridiculously high fares, some so-so and some reasonable. Pax have many choices. HAL has reduced service/nice additions in so many ways (no chocolates, no towel animals, choose one stateroom service per day, etc) the value is beginning to look debatable. All in all HAL is good value and if they tone down the rush to add-on pricing (MDR, Pinnacle) and this nonsense about paying for more than one appetizer/soup/salad in the Pinnacle, plus put an end to the long string of cutbacks, then HAL can remain a good value (for us, at least). -
Way back before the Dive-In existed HAL had a burger bar forward of the mid-ship pool. What was that called? Terrace Grill?? That was where we found a few mostly dreep-fried Dutch treats.
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2nd Quarter Protocols have been posted
SilvertoGold replied to Native Floridian 26's topic in Holland America Line
Australia and NZ HAL cruises still require Vaccine (Final dose. Booster is encouraged) and Testing (take viral Covid test and attest to negative result). Anyone want to guess what "attest" means? Email says HAL website page may not be updated for a few days, so the FAQs page which spells out the testing criteria (photo proof) may be out of date. -
In-transit passengers skipping repeat lifeboat drill?
SilvertoGold replied to Dr.Dobro's topic in Holland America Line
On the Koningsdam last year over 6 weeks of 7 day cruises + one 18 day cruise it was a mixed bag, sometimes yes, sometimes no. Usually if you do have to participate you have between 3 and 6 m to do so. You will be told in writing the day before. -
I can understand that HAL is shoehorning Tamarind into the Asia cruises on the Westerdam. This makes sense and is a nice addition!
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New Zealand customs for packaged cookies?
SilvertoGold replied to Traveling Dot's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
This is good info, but it looks as if some ships/lines are adding to this list. Passengers on the HAL World Cruise were told nothing off the ship but sealed water. Period, Why HAL is going above and beyond is the question. It was interesting because the blog writer mentioning this was standing near a bar guy who was getting ready to sell that "sealed water" when the announcement was made. He also had pop/soda on his cart to sell and he hastily removed it when he heard the announcement. -
Ship Excursion - Don’t Believe the Ship Won’t Leave You
SilvertoGold replied to annnrl's topic in Holland America Line
Where do the operators of the shorex come into this? I expect the locals who run shorex for cruiseships would monitor weather reports. They would likely live there and be aware of typical weather patterns for the area. They probably do not want to get caught in this type of situation any more than pax do. Don't they report to the company who arranges HAL shorex? -
Thanks for your ideas! I have read through all 12 pages of our last policy. Nothing whatsoever about mode of transport. This has not been an issue in the many years we have cruised, but now we could be asked to show the insurance at boarding and some say you need to show it is good for cruises. Never been an extra cost, never been asked about the what kind of trip, just Canada, US, International? This will be another question to ask when we purchase the insurance!
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New Zealand customs for packaged cookies?
SilvertoGold replied to Traveling Dot's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
I hope you are right about this, but HAL World Cruise is saying nothing but sealed water off the ship in ports. -
How does Embarkation time work for Vancouver?
SilvertoGold replied to Trcr2's topic in Holland America Line
This is true. From what I can see, having cruised out of Canada Place for many years: they keep changing everything. Where the line(s) start, where the Xray is, where the check-ins are for each cruise line, where the lines for US Immigration are, even the area where each cruise line seats pax before they board their ship. It is like starting from scratch each day! They do the same with intransit pax: they keep changing how and where it is done, what you have to do one time is not what happens the next time. We did this last year 5 times and it was unbelievable. Everyone is the boss, no one is the boss. I would swear they have a whole new set of works each day with no training. -
New Zealand customs for packaged cookies?
SilvertoGold replied to Traveling Dot's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
Wow! This is MUCH better than the Canadian apple turnover which is just a triangle of pie pastry with a cooked apple filling. Boring! -
New Zealand customs for packaged cookies?
SilvertoGold replied to Traveling Dot's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
Fantastic lot of information on sweets. I thank everyone for participating in this delicious thread. I note you have Lindt down there. This is my go-to for dark chocolate and I LOVE the Lindt "Excellence" Dark Madagascar with vanilla. I have never tasted such smooth chocolate and the vanilla gives it a perfect "extra"! I buy these 100g bars on sale of 3 for $10 CND and horde them! -
What happens if----------????
SilvertoGold replied to bazzaw's topic in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
HALLs are the best ones. -
How does Embarkation time work for Vancouver?
SilvertoGold replied to Trcr2's topic in Holland America Line
You can always show up later that when you are assigned. Usually 2 hours before scheduled departure is best.