jenp123

I love HAL and have been sailing them 90% of the time since I was 25 (I am 39 now) but if you are concerned wirh teens and young 20's, I think princess might have more going on.  If you are doing HAL, make sure it is one of the newer ships (koningsdam is usually in Alaska) the koningsdam has more music venues and the rock room is a fun venue that can appeal to multiple generations. 

I know they switched bbkings on the older ships to rolling stone rock lounge but I thought the 3 new ships were keeping both bbkings and rolling stone rock room...curious how this all plays out 

There are definitely plus size robes every time that I have asked (3x I think)  ask the room steward and they can find one.  I have seen the waffle robes in plus size and they have brought me club orange robes in plus size

Check the hotels website and you can book yourself.  An uber or taxi is very easy to get from the vancouver airport to the hotel.  You can also take the transit train (skytrain) to a station near the fairmont.  The fairmont waterfront and pacific rim are right across the street from the port.  I have stayed at the waterfront pre cruise and booked my own room.  The hotel gave me instructions on when I should have my bags picked up from the room, and they transferred them all to the ship.  We walked across the street to board when we were ready.

The cost of doing the booking on our own was significantly cheaper than using the HAL hotel booking, even after paying for transportation from the airport.

If you like lots of veggies, I have always been able to ask for plain, steamed veggies.  They usually come out with an assortment each night and slightly different options.  

I would take a HAL ship for the covered midship over any other option that does not have a covered pool area.  We spend a lot of time reading, playing cards etc in temperature controlled area that has the big windows to look at the scenery

Aruba- pretty easy to get off, grab a taxi to do a quick tour and get dropped at a beach for the day.

Bonaire- try and book woodwind snorkeling tour through their website ($85 and it's a quick walk to the dock)  Amazing trip and a fraction of the cost of the trip you listed.  You can also rent a gold cart for $100 and drive the whole island yourself, stopping at beaches, photo ops etc...  It is a fun day

Curacao-also taxis and tour opportunities when you get off of the ship.  Taxis always running to mambo Beach if you want to do it on your own.  Great place to wander into town and sightsee 

Just a heads up on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  It has a dedicated morimoto restaurant that takes up half of Tamarind and because they are sharing the same kitchen, they significantly reduced the Tamarind menu to make it easier for the kitchen to keep up.  I ended up not eating at Tamarind because all of my favorites were not available on this ship.  Not saying they aren't good options on the menu, just a lot less than the other ships.

A few extra ammenities which I personally did not find useful.   Concierge did not answer my call or return a message once and i tried myltiple attempts....

But what I booked it for was location.  It was in a very quiet spot on the ship and the other balconies were in a nosier location.  I would book it again for location only, but never for the "extras"

I have made a phone call on my last 3 cruises and they have mentioned that I was sent an upgrade offer all 3 times but I never received any of them. I also booked directly with holland so it's not a matter of it going to anybody else.  Not sure where they ended up sending them.

I noticed a package that included internet and priority boarding I think it was called premium something... Does this mean you get to board with the suite guests or just that you get to pick your preferred boarding time?

Just did it last week.  $20 on the way there and $15 on the way back 

12 hours ago, AtticusFinch1 said:

We went on our first Holland America cruise last year and were blown away by the BB King Club. Absolutely incredible. So we were a little disappointed when we learned -- after booking on Nieuw Amsterdam -- that the venue had been switched to a Rolling Stone Lounge. Not that we don't like rock (we do). The blues experience had simply been that good.

Turns out our concern was misplaced.

I know a lot of people like to come on these boards to complain about stuff but this is not one of those posts. The band on NA was absolutely amazing. They killed it every single night in every single set. Honestly, if there's a better live band at sea, I'd REALLY like to see it. Rock, disco, funk, whatever, it was terrific. And the people who were in the seats and standing around the back clearly loved it.

Consider this nothing more than a public service announcement for those who reach the Billboard Lounge, hear the duelling pianos and stop. At least once, keep walking to give the band a listen. I get the sense a whole lot of people never did and they missed one of the best elements of the ship. 

Now back to the quibbles ...

 

When were you on the ship? Hoping it was recently and the really good band is still onboard in 2 weeks 🙂 thanks for the review

My price dropped after final payment on a cruise last December.  I started with an inside room and it dropped enough that I could have moved to an ocean view for free or $100 for a well located balcony.  I took the balcony :)

Not holland related but last week at the port of San Pedro(Los Angeles), they confiscated all plastic 1 time use bottles and made us dump our water out from the reusable bottles.  She said it could "short" the security scanner, but it didn't seem to be an issue with all of the liquid going through in wine bottles lol.  I assume it is to prevent people bringing booze onboard hidden in bottles. 

Going on the Nieuw Amsterdam  in a couple of weeks.  Has bb kings has been transitioned to the rock room?  How are the piano players?  Any other entertainment to talk about?

Just use pier 26 port everglades if you can't find it and when you get to the port, check the signs and have them take you to the correct pier.  Or check on the port everglades website before you order the uber and the pier will be listed.

I would 100% do this, not sure if it is technically allowed but  no bag checks getting off of the ship.  Grab a few beers/pops from your package...I would bring a small cooler bag with some ice so they stay chilled.  You could even bring an insulated mug or water bottle and have the bar mix a few drinks for you and put them in before getting off.  

The last 2 locations of docks in aruba i have been at, have pretty much the least amount of walking you can get in port.  Gangway is almost right beside port building in both cases.  You walk through a very small port building and taxis are right outside the door.  The walk into town us a bit further, but I am sure you can pay a taxi to take you around.

On 1/3/2024 at 11:05 AM, Heidi13 said:

 

The International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS Code) is an IMO Code that sets the standards for how ships and ports interact, with respect to security. Under the ISPS Code, each vessel must have a Ship Security Manual, which contains the relevant policies.

 

Bringing visitors/guests on board will be one of the articles included in the Ship's Security Manual. Therefore, you will have greater chance of success by submitting a request, once onboard the vessel, at least a few days in advance. I would submit a request to the Master/Staff Captain, who may approve the request provided the MARSEC Level is low and nothing else is happening onboard. Since shoreside sales/customer service offices have no knowledge of the Ship Security Manual, I wouldn't suggest submitting a request to a shoreside office.

 

Approved requests usually require full name of the guest, passport/driver's licence number and possibly date of birth. The information is forwarded to the Security Officer, who adds the guest's name to the list of approved guests that is sent to the shore authorities, prior to arrival. Upon arrival, the guest must provide photo ID, which is retained ashore, as the guest is issued a visitor badge. Upon disembarking, the guest returns the visitor badge and receives their photo ID back.

 

Note - this was the procedure we used with Princess, so it may not to totally consistent with all cruise lines.

When was the last time you had a guest approved on princess?  I am hoping to get 2 approved on a February cruise.

With casino deals, i have always been charged double the rate and taxes/fees for 1.  So if it is free, it is just taxes and fees.  If it is the reduced fare, (I just booked a $199pp deal) it was $199 x2 plus taxes and fees for 1.  I have added on club orange in the last and that was just for 1 as well.

I just booked a trip on the summit.  The celebrity pricing was doing the same thing for me and charging an astronomical amount for a solo.  I phoned a large internet based travel agent.  He not only got me a fantastic price for a prime concierge class room (cheaper than a gurantee inside room on the website), but he was able to do it as a solo summplent which just removed the 2nd person's taxes on the sale rate he had quoted.  I am usually a big fan of booking with the cruise lines directly, but this saved me about $1200

Last time I did this, a porter walked the luggage with me to the other terminal and the porters took it right away.  I waited until the last call to get off of the ship (probably 9 or 930). I tipped the porter and grabbed an uber or taxi from there.  I have also taken a taxi or uber from my ship, had them stop off at the new terminal, drop my bags and continued to my destination for the day.  The drivers were much happier to do this as they got a full fare from me after the bag drop.

We will be in mazatlan for the day and we have 2 canadian friends in the area. We are hoping to get authorization to bring them onboard for the day (we have done this in the past on holland america)  does anyone know if princess allows this and who to ask for approval? 

The reservations team does not seem to even understand what I am asking. (The agent asked me if holland america was a hotel, when I told him they had allowed it in the past)

On holland we would phone "ship services", which are totally different agents from reservations, but princess does not seem to have a similar phone number.

Just did a turn around in Fort lauderdale.  I left the ship around 8am and spent the day out and about.  Others I was with, met in the lounge by 9am as instructed, they waited for all passengers to show up and escorted off the ship to go through customs.  They waited in the terminal until the ship was zeroed and they were allowed back on.