oakridger

Frequently Asked Cruise Questions - Know Before You Go (hollandamerica.com) "items such as sodas, energy drinks or other non-alcoholic items are not allowed on board in any form. Plastic water bottles are not allowed. However, an allowance of six liters, twelve (12) cans or cartons (500 ml in volume or less) or six (6) cans or cartons (1 liter in volume or less) of water are allowed per stateroom. Any amount in excess of this allowance will be not be allowed onboard. Water in plastic bottles will not be allowed onboard in any quantity, including in ports of call. Guests will be asked to discard open beverages in plastic containers prior to boarding. "

Actually, the Rotterdam does have a library. She's the newest ship. ~Nancy

And......Meclizine pills are teeny tiny and weigh a fraction of a gram! I never go traveling without them but have rarely actually taken one! Have a great trip! ~Nancy

As @VMax1700 suggested, upon embarkation you can pick up a few cans of soda from any bar using your beverage package and put them in your cabin refrigerator.

Hello @NancyDrew1953! I read all your books back in elementary school! 😁 Thank you for keeping us all up to date on the NZ weather and cruise happenings. I will be going back to New Zealand as soon as I am able. I love it there! Have a smooth trip home. ~Nancy (lived by Lake Erie in Berea Ohio a long time ago)

I laughed at this! On my last Crystal Cruise in 2019 I was in a deck 8 veranda cabin. I think it was in Auckland a large extended family group embarked including about 8 little kids. I was in shock when the two nannies and two of the toddlers moved into the two veranda cabins next to me!! I think my cabin stewardess, whom I had gotten to know over the past 4 weeks, saw the look on my face of utter horror as they walked down the hall and opened the cabin door! (She knew I was sensitive to loud people and music when not in the appropriate lounge/venue) But guess what? I never heard a peep out of them in their cabin!! 🤷‍♀️ ~Nancy

I love them too! I normally only drink beer/wine/champagne at home so the on the rocks strawberry margarita on Rotterdam last November was really, really good. Dangerously good!!! 😎 Until...........after the 9th day of my 21-day cruise they ran out of strawberry puree (from a carton)!!! 😲 They didn't get any more on board on the 12th day during the turnaround in Ft. Lauderdale either. So, that's why I'm a bit cranky about so many of the "not available" items these days. ~Nancy

Welcome to Cruise Critic @zingaro! I recommend one of the Harv and Marv whale watching excursions in Juneau. They have smaller boats than some of the other operators which I think is a better experience. Less crowded and easier to see and take pictures. It was the highlight of one of my Juneau stops. Harv and Marv's Outback Alaska | Juneau Whale Watching (harvandmarvs-juneau-whale-watching.com) "Crew Appreciation" aka crew tips will be automatically charged to your room account. Please leave them in place. You can always give any crew additional cash if they gave service extras that make your cruise extra special. Beverages on the packages already include 18% tips. Specialty restaurants already include 18% tips. A whisky and ginger is considered one drink. You can order a double shot of whisky if wanted and that is counted as two drinks. Have a great cruise! ~Nancy

Hi Joe. When I have an early flight out of SFO the two hotels where I like to stay are the Grand Hyatt SFO which is right at the airport on the AirTrain route. The other is the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront. I haven't stayed at the Marriott post Covid. There are several decent hotels nearby, but I don't have firsthand knowledge. Room prices can vary A LOT depending on demands from conventions in San Francisco and how soon beforehand you reserve. I would book as soon as you are sure of your dates. - Both have nice, but not remarkable standard King rooms. I would stay at either again depending on cost and how close to the terminal I want to stay. - Marriott is generally less expensive for those standard rooms (currently $264 total for March 28th). - - Marriott has a really nice huge view lobby/restaurant/bar area overlooking the bay and planes approaching. There is also a nice bayfront outdoor patio. - Service was good but no issues so nothing extra required - there is a small bus shuttle to and from the airport.... about a 10-minute ride - the bar restaurant had good food pre covid - Grand Hyatt SFO standard King room is $342 for the same night. - Hyatt has a very nice lobby and bar area as well, with a tarmac/gates view. - Service at Hyatt was excellent last time I was there in September because they helped me with two issues I had - It's right up the escalator from the lobby to the AirTrain. Very convenient. AirTrain goes to the car rental area as well. - The bar and restaurant have good food although the main restaurant had what I thought was an unusual selection of food. I had a burger at the bar the last time I was there! I hope your trip is wonderful! ~Nancy

I live near the cruise port of San Francisco, but the only regular homeport ships are Princess for Alaska and Hawaii or Carnival. I haven't taken cruises on either. It sure is perfect for you Florida folks to have such a variety of choices within driving distance!! It was so nice to leave or return right in San Francisco on a three other cruise lines I liked. ~Nancy

Thanks for your report! It's so inconsistent from one ship/cruise to the next. On Rotterdam in November 2022, I was sitting at the Lido pool one day and made note how pleasant it was in there because I could hear some background music (popular music from the wide boomer age group I think) but it was at a low, and to me, perfect decibel level. I'm VERY sensitive to loud music/sounds but that cruise was enjoyable. Go figure. ~Nancy

Probably both @Laminator since HAL ran out of common items on all my cruises even before the shutdown. It certainly wasn't enough to not cruise with HAL again, but it did have a certain impact on my enjoyment of the cruise......sometimes more than others depending on what was unavailable! 😉 ~Nancy

Very nice! Did you make the box? ~Nancy

When reserving online if you click on the box titled "Complimentary Dining" as @kentuckysailorsays the charge to your account will be zero $0. No need to pay ahead. The three previous posts are currently correct.

I had the same thought @cruisemom42. ~Nancy

It was that price in November 2022 on Rotterdam. One of the people on the "Live From" threads can hopefully report their current cost. ~Nancy

I wonder though about the seemingly consistent running out of popular items on HAL. That was a problem on my last couple of pre covid cruises also. Items that ran out that I wanted were all common commodities and embarkation ports were all USA (as opposed to some obscure port somewhere). A few come to mind: Bud Light then Miller Light, then any light beer other than Amstel Diet Coke Strawberry puree for drinks (premade, in a carton) Salad croutons Fresh berries Sour Cream Fresh Limes for drinks Stroopwafels in Dutch Cafe I'm pretty sure Miami and San Diego don't have any supply issues with those items. ~Nancy

Unlimited laundry per day rate ($7/cruise day) is per cabin, not per person. All laundry must be submitted by 48 hours before debarkation day. They do a great job!

Based on Google maps the port to the Bryggen houses (middle of harbor tourist area as an example) is 0.9 to 1 mile walking distance. For me with a sore knee, even that is a stretch to walk but probably most mobile folks would be fine with that, especially if you were planning on walking around town anyway. Bergen is an easy place to walk around since it's so compact for the "tourist" type areas. ~Nancy

Ah hah!! I'll bet you are correct. I'm sure there will be lots of beads at the party. Sounds fun! ~Nancy

Pete, what are the necklaces on the dancing officers in the last picture? Some sort of Western Australian lei?? ~Nancy

You can also get two unopened cans of Coke or even beers, etc. at any of the bars and bring them back to your cabin fridge. You are correct that there will not be a lot of kids on board. On my non holiday cruises the kids have been well behaved and they did seem to be having fun! The Lido pool is where the kids tended to hang out during the times they weren't in Club HAL. ~Nancy

That brought up an old memory @SeaHunt!! SeaHunt was my brother's nickname in high school!! Thanks for the video. I personally would have motion sickness issues with this forward cabin and the veranda will probably be cold and windy at sea but if that's not a problem for someone, it is a nice bright and spacious cabin! ~Nancy

Celebrity? Celebrity's policies have no connection to HAL's. Did you mean HAL? ~Nancy

Cool video @hallasm! ~Nancy