mcrcruiser

Totally agree .What once a niche cruise line is no longer

Thanks the whole Alaska season seems very interesting for cruising

For those that sailed on recent Hawaii cruises on Koningsdam ,what were the special Hawaiian activities & shows on the ship ? Thanks in advance

where Where does Carnival ships fr in here for Alaska ? Wonder what their pricing might be ? TIA

Hank then Carnival may be a better buy with their shows .The food can't be worse .What do you think ?

Hank we thank you for your candid evaluations ,We were thinking of the Westerdam for the cruise from Seattle to Japan ,a 53 day voyage ;but ,following your comments made our decision to not do that cruise

Oh on this board you can read about Club Orange

We will never do any time dining ever again . In December 2022 we sailed 12 days on Koningsdam .We were fortunate because of being disabled to get seated eight away but the lines were awful for others very very long waiting .So on our Hawaii cruise next Jan we booked Club Orange ,got the proper cabin upgrade & we can dine any time no long waits .Then on a future cruise ,all on KDam again we booked early fining table for 2 window seat . For 5 people if affordable for you club Orange is a definite solution but you need to book it early as it does gull up fast

Let's face it what HAL was is no longer . The new HAL & the new CCL is emerging . We will decide whether these cruises are worth our vacation dollars . Just wish we were able to fly because we be doing more river cruises than ocean cruises & imo Europe is the best for river cruising because of the daily tours to different ports & far less pax . There still are trips to our wonderful National Parks & Monuments out there as alternative trips which are drivable

How do you get the upsell to a suite?

We got the person leading the Trivia for HAL to give out pins .They have them ,just ask

Hopefully a day in the future when they can spend a bit more HAL will bring back the production shows to the World Stage.We miss those a lot as well as magicians ,ie

Isn't 3 pm the last time to board in most cases?

We are 3 star Mariners & getting close to 4 star ,I never asked but will HAL count the Club Orange Fee toward your days at sea to reach the next Mariner level ? TIA

Yes you beat me to the punch LOL

BTW after paying that tax we now wait until the ship is far out from any land to avoid the taxes ,all the shops close with in the 12 mile limit here i the USA & in foreign ports to avoid selling with taxes . Another interesting fact is if you win over 1200 less the bet the cruise line reports that to IRS but ,how does a person claim their losses

yes we are aware of that fact ; but how can a foreign country be sure they will get that tax .Here in the USA the cruise lines corporate offices are based here which make a difference . Just curious abut foreign ability to collect the tax from any cruise line .

Not only Holland America but other cruise lines will apply a sales tax if they are not past the 12 mile limit from shore . We understand this ;however ,how can they charge a tax near to a foreign port ? This makes no sense to us because how can the foreign port enforce the tax on any cruise ship ? Also why doesn't this tax apply to any beverage sold

My DW loves the way her blouses come back o hangers from a HAL laundry .Other items nicely folded . On our recent Celebrity cruises the laundry came back in the bag not like HAL .Although we got free laundry on Celebrity ,we prefer paying &v get the way HAL send it back .That was the only downside of our cruises on Celebrity

Yikes ! Not a decent shower area .If that was a hotel shower the rating would be one star if that

No Holiday sailings for us ,once was enough with 500 kids aboard .HAL ships are inadequate for children which other cruise lines cater . So as this all gets around what is HAL going to try next when the next holiday period arrives ? Well we won't be there

We hope to see full staffing on Koningsdam ,We have one 18 day & another 14 day cruise booked on her .That & well trained personnel makes all the differences for a successful cruise

That is a million dollar question ? How do things improve if the supervisor is not made aware

Dr Koop we couldn't agree with you more . Your report is accuratec Instead of the wow factor HAL disappoints because of their staffing problem being under staffed & in some cases not well trained There is a certain rooting section of cruise critic members here who can never see the truth of this matter . BTW ,we did B2B in March on Celebrity Soltice from San Pedro (LA area) & we are Elite plus as well . The service ,the food ,cocktails & shows were tops in all categories . It may be a dups thing from one ship to another in the fleets that we all are experiencing . Some time in the future ,I am confident ,the cruise lines will be back to normal as we once knew that feeling

Wonder does Club Orange give priority boarding over every one else or do the Suite guest go first then club orange?