VermeulT

19 hours ago, crystalspin said:

If you are counting on travel insurance or protection from your credit card -- the amount paid via AARP cards will NOT be covered! This from my Chase banker in re to the Sapphire credit card.

 

Not sure about the HAL gift cards. The AARP cards come through as something like "Charity", not travel...

  on the HAL site..

* By clicking above, you will be re-directed to our third-party vendor site

Deck 4 balconies forward and aft (not midship) are deeper than decks above.  yes a bit is exposed but SO MUCH ROOM.  and if you get cabins 4154 or 4152 they are also double wide.

Look at the pictures here. https://halfacts.com/pinnacle-class/4154-rotterdam/

The forward cabins have solid steel verandah railings, instead of clear-view Plexiglass railings

LOVE the Tamarind!!

Can anyone help me date these?  I know the three on the left are from HAL.  the 4th, I'm not sure about.  and on all of them I'm not sure of the date(s).  Both my parents went back and forth from the Netherlands to NY many times in the mid-late 50's and 60's.

I was talking with DH about this last night.  We could see Virgin picking up HAL... their current line is no kids but sways young adult (I'd guess 25-34/ 25-49) If they could keep enough of the HAL vibe, they could appeal to the slightly older demo of HAL and expand their "empire". 

Whatever may happen, I will be very sad if we lost the Holland American Line experience.  It may not be what it once was, but it's better than if it were gone completely.

In April both sides were closed at the same area... yes around 4175

I still have the atlas that went with my first adult cruise - NCL to Bermuda.

It had one of my favorite lines of all time....

Knock Knock, Who's There, It's room service, It's free and it's available 24 hours a day.

2 hours ago, KAKcruiser said:

I asked the future cruise consultant on the Nieuw Statendam in April and was told that there was too much uncertainty to print one.  Whether this was true or not I don't know.

I don't doubt it - still too many ports and parts of the world affected by Covid

2 hours ago, AnyWayIsGood said:

Thanks for the advice, but we figure we do what we can with the allotted port time no matter where we are. Not much interested in venturing on our own beyond what the ship offers unless it be to just walk around in the local port area. Totally different if one is there as a DIY trip. 

The port area itself is a commercial shipping port.  There is a free shuttle to downtown Anchorage.

There are plenty of options for you.  Just be aware of the time.  I would rent a car and head south to the turnagain arm area. There are a lot of nice areas to view whales and hike.

You can find a lot of help in the Alaska boards.  alaska.org was helpful also. 

https://www.alaska.org/guide/turnagain-arm-drive

20 minutes ago, albingirl said:

You can't put words in people's mouths; I've never expressed resentment or anger or jealousy over your great deals. This is something you are making up.

I think many of us are confused what your position is.  You started this thread to have people honestly tell you the deals they get, and they you seem negative that you have to pay so much for the same cruise.  But you're not jealous or angry or expressing resentment...

19 hours ago, AnyWayIsGood said:

So this HAL cruise would allow us to see Anchorage since we haven't yet. 

That was one of the best parts IMO. 

In 2023, you're only in port 11a-8p.  On the previous itinerary we were there until midnight.  Having the security of that extra time allowed us to rent a car and go North.  We went to the Iditarod headquarters and walked on Matanuska Glacier.

Having to be onboard by 7 or 730p means I'd plan to be back in Anchorage by 5p to allow time for a flat tire or the like.  6 hours doesn't allow you to venture as far.

14 hours ago, albingirl said:

This is a policy decision by Carnival Corp.   Carnival owns Holland America.  Rather than reward loyal customers, they have chosen to reach out in a different direction, toward gamblers. Business models would show that.  New cruisers, new gamblers, the demographics are getting old anyway.  It costs more to get new customers than to retain old ones.  It's a new direction, and I doubt the end of the pandemic will change things that much.  Younger people are gravitating to RCL and Celebrity and so on.  

These are loyal customers.  They are previous cruisers that [mostly] spend in the casino.  They're not trying to convince these people to try HAL and fall in love and pay full price next time. 

Now Carnival is saying - show us your loyalty card from on land casino and cruise for near-to-free.

On 4/27/2022 at 2:56 PM, albingirl said:

Thank you for that....I am in total agreement 100%. The muliple threads are bad enough, but getting onboard and hearing people at the bar crow about it is as low as it gets. I mean there are worse things, but that's a stinger.

Does it also bother you that people get free upgrades to big suites when the pay for something much less?  or really cheap upsells?  That's even a bigger mystery as it doesn't seem to coincide with your mariner status or previous cruise history.

Airfare is prices vary too. Some people pay nickles compared to others for the same plane ride.

Some people luck out and get good deals.  Good for them.  I hope karma sends me a token of goodness now and again.  But if not, I'll enjoy taking a trip for the price I was willing enough to pay to book it.

I love that it leaves from Vancouver.  I love that it stops in Skagway.  I'm surprised no Juneau.

I don't love that the first two days are at sea in that it's a long stretch and * could * be rough waters. 

The previous 14 day did half the stops going up and half down.  This is more head to the top and hit all the ports on the way back.  It's not enough to dissuade me much.  I'm keeping an eye on this one!

I was on the Rotterdam earlier this month.  I had OBC from several sources including shareholder benefits.

See screenshots of my folio mid cruise.  They were all merged together.  They were applied to my balance due for everything EXCEPT casino.   This is the first time I saw it noted as "Not valid for casino or cash"

Looking forward to reading your thread.  I will be living in SC soon and plan to cruise on her often.

Just off HAL.  My sister has a similar device.  We were concerned for airport and xrays to get on board.

Security was great.  Never asked to see the card.  They had a female officer pat her down.

No worries.

lets get baking!

14 hours ago, LindaJ+ said:

So the pool is full of algae??

no. The pH balance is off.

It's not salt water.

14 hours ago, bobpell said:

Hi Florida-gal50

What did you think of the painted color of both pools? I called it pee yellow, my wife thought HAL was pulling a joke!!

Bob 

I took this pix when flying out.  The Rotterdam is the lower ship.  Above it was a Celebrity.  To the left was the Eurodam.  You can very clearly see the difference in pool color, especially with the Rotterdam's midship pool.

12 hours ago, LindaJ+ said:

Is there an Orange Party?  Are we supposed to pack something orange?  Hubby has a golf shirt in every color of the rainbow but I have nothing.

On the 4/3 Rotterdam cruise (per the Cruise Director) the 2nd Orange Party was held on the Rotterdam.  This confused me because it's been talked about on CC forever.

It was on the last sea day night (Friday), which was also gala night (now that I think about it - that was odd).

It was held in the BB King Lounge. The regular band played regular music.  Many passengers had some sort of orange on.  The waiters had bright orange wigs.  For the first 30 min or so they came around with trays of various treats - small cream puffs (bossche bol), almond cookies, oliebollen, Dutch cheese, and one more that might have been boeter koek (butter cake).

That pretty much was the extent.  It's a nice idea and we had fun. But for an Orange party, was a little letdown.

1 hour ago, Jersey42 said:

Do you have an annual comprehensive travel policy that you are happy with?  Which one?  If not, can you tell me about any policies that you think are worth looking at?

I do not.  A TA friend of mine mentioned it after I almost missed my 4/3 Rotterdam cruise due to flight issues.

Depending on the frequency of your travels - perhaps look into annual coverage instead of per trip.

8 minutes ago, poinsettiaplate said:

For those of you who have been on the new Rotterdam, I have some questions:

1)Was there information available only on the app that was not available in another format for those who choose not to use their electronic devices to provide their own customer service?  Just off the Silhouette where one had no idea what shore excursions were available unless one used the app.

2)Are there desktop computers available for passenger use?  Free with free wifi or for a fee?

3)Is there a clothesline in the shower?

4)Does one need a magnetized card for the safe, as well as the lights?

5)Is there a light on the balcony for night-time reading?

6)Are fixed time diners and at will diners in separate areas of the main dining room, so the same set of waiters are not having to serve both?

7)Was a schedule provided at the beginning of the cruise that indicates the gala nights and has the updated port schedule?

8)Was a daily event schedule and additional info provided in a daily newsletter delivered the night before?

9)Did you find that you had more tender ports, due to the size of the ship?

10)Do I need to bring my ear plugs for the musical performances in the various venues?

11)Were printed copies of newspapers provided?

 

Thanks for any answers.

1. not really.  Shore excursions etc are available on HALs website starting several months before departure.  Onboard you can go to the shore excursion desk.  Menu's are avail on the app anytime or in the venue. The daily schedule is on the app for the entire week or you'll get a sheet the night prior on your bed.  You don't NEED the app but info is more accessible through it.

2. I believe so but am not 100%.  Internet outside of a handful of sites will require a fee.

3. yes

4. your room key needs to be inserted to a slot by the door for the lights to work. Safe works with a combo that you set.

5. yes

6. yes

7. you can inquire/ confirm with guest services on any itinerary changes.

8. yes

9. just HMC for us, which is a tender port for all.

10. that's a personal preference.  If you want to enjoy the music, there are places to sit that are less loud than others.

11. no.

last week on the Rotterdam there were 2 x KN95 masks for each passenger in the stateroom and if you wanted/needed more - the disposable blue ones were available at the front desk.

Masks are only REQUIRED for getting on and off the boat in any port, including HMC.  They are RECOMMENDED when inside at all other times, especially in more crowded areas (in theory - world stage, shows, etc).  I'd say maybe 15-20% wore masks indoors.