crystalspin

Every HIA package I have seen has wifi per person. If somehow this isn't true, you can add 3 or 4 devices to one subscription for I believe $10 per day. But read your confirmation all the way through, the last "page" should specify either Surf or Premium WiFi ... Guests 1, 2.

What cruise are you looking at? I see 4194 available for the combined Baja-Hawaii Collectors Cruise... If you are only doing one leg of that, and they have "saved" the Aft Vista Suite so it doesn't show to the individual parts, your PCC or TA may be able to contact "Inventory" to break it free of the constriction!

Yes, Chase protection is worth more than 10%. We pretty much self-insured our last B2B (it was mostly phantom COVID-cash anyway), but I will not use discounted giftcards to pay for any more cruises. I may do as Cheryl does and buy one for on board expenses, if I get around to it!

I believe that @BermudaBound2014, Cheryl, did supply the policy in print: "Look at the disclosure in the Chase Sapphire travel portal and you will find the following language. A gift card is not considered a payment or deposit and therefore is not eligible to be reimbursed under the CSP travel insurance...

Ah, you reminded me, that was the case when HAL offered their gift cards last October! But I suspect the AARP problem is not that, that people can't even get that far...

My Chase Financial Advisor and the head "Banker" at our branch, say that you are wrong. (I'm not on conversation-terms with the president!) AARP and even HAL gift cards will not be reimbursed on a claim. Probably you need to wait for your grandchildren to visit.

Hi Tom! Pluses the slightly larger room, the location (near but buffered from the midship elevator bank and one flight of stairs to the Grand Dutch Cafe), and the double Mariner points when booked at rack-rate as opposed to an upgrade/upsell. Only con is the cost! The difference in furniture arrangement could be a pro or con. If you like to come in from the hall and sit down at the desk or sofa, VS is good! If you are travelling with an adjoining cabin, with the balconies open between and want to use it as a connection to the 'social' areas of the cabins, OR you like to sit on the sofa and look out at the ocean -- the arrangement of the Verandahs would be better. As far as halfacts.com, a site I love, for the Pinnacle class -- both Verandahs and Vista Suites are marked "V" (a few Vistas are marked MS for minisuite). If you see the bed near the balcony, it is a Vista Suite. Or you can check back and forth with the deck plan. We booked 4100 on the K'dam for a B2B (16 days total) last winter, to push us over the 4* line with the double mariner points and to use up pandemic FCC that was to expire. We liked the room and particularly the location enough that we are booked in the same cabin for the 35-day South Pacific!

I would browse here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/116-northern-europe-amp-baltic-sea/ and then ask if you don't find enough answers in several pages.

It's not you, it's them. Just not a very robust platform. Try again tomorrow. Back in fall of 2022, gift cards were not available to be purchased for several weeks, and in fact, before they "came back", HAL made their own gift cards available and I paid up my cruise(s)!

I have read on here that it's your choice. Any or all of the above.

Oh right, I think I knew that once.

That was supposed to be "if your cabin-class is NOW sold out". What a difference a letter can make! To explain this: If your category stateroom is sold out, and you were to re-fare, then in that instant of cancellation, the room would be available to anyone waitlisted.

I have cruised eight times (nine cruises, one was a B2B) with Holland America; once and done with NCL, and once with Royal Caribbean. I would not rule out another RCL cruise, but they do not contact me so it's never come up, and also once you get to 4-star loyalty, it's hard to look around! My first HAL cruise in 1999 (at age 41) was not an immediate hit, but that was certainly the travelling companions over a total of 10 or 11 seadays (Hawaii)! By the next one, ten years later, I was hooked! We sailed on Rotterdam's sister ship, the Koningsdam, last winter and we're booked on that ship next February! REALLY loved it. ETA: We took a family group including my very social 35-yo sister on a 14-day Alaska cruise on the much smaller HAL Zaandam in 2018. She LOVED IT.

When you get a price-drop without rebooking, you really are rebooking (also known as re-faring). You can only do it without losing or changing your perks IF THEY HAVEN'T CHANGED. You also cannot get it if your cabin-class is not sold out, because it really is a new booking as far as the computer is concerned. I have all this from my PCC; I didn't just make it up!

My different situation was I booked a 24-day cruise (R/T Boston) close enough in time to our last cruise, to get the OBC benefit (code ZCM?) for that. $300pp!!! plus $75 for using (6) FCDs. Last week I switched to the 35-day Voyage of Vikings. The FCDs shifted over WITH their $75pp, but the close-to-last-cruise perk did NOT. Cuz not soon after anymore.

I think what is happening is re-faring in cases where it doesn't effect the price of cruise already booked. What I hope to do on Thursday! My other (two) cruises, I wouldn't be able or want to do it, because (1) Vista Suites are essentially sold out, SO or guarantee only depending on the day, and (2) the further out one was booked on the $1 day.

Premium WiFi costs just a little more than Surf when bought before the cruise. It allows audio and video apps. It is not faster, just fewer apps blocked -- Surf = no audio or video. If you decide to pre-purchase, do it TODAY. I don't believe you can make any changes in the three days before sailaway.

Holland America has the Southern Caribbean Seafarer out of Fort Lauderdale, 9 days, two sailings in March or March-April. Visits each of the A-B-C islands, and the private island Half Moon Cay. Four sea days in all (two going, two returning). Rotterdam is HAL's newest ship and should be good for your range of ages (no amusement park rides, though!). Itinerary: Y422 9-DAY SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN SEAFARER (hollandamerica.com)

I figured this. After all, it's not out of the goodness of HAL's heart they would be giving away $200 per cabin, but to bring in people on the fence. I checked my three bookings and do have one that I don't stand to lose anything by re-faring Thursday!

So when is the birthday/month??? Length of cruise desired? San Juan departures (and I had one going into the shut-down) do throw an additional flight to and from, for each person. ETA: welcome to Cruise Critic!

No no, not you! Halfacts has a problem on the Pinnacle Class ships anyway (showing both Verandahs and Vista Suites as "V"), but in this case it's flatly the wrong number. Looks like Vista Suite 4112ish.

Sad to say, the photo gallery @kazu linked, is not a Verandah partially obscurred by a tender. It is a Vista Suite (note the bed next to the balcony) on the bump, looking aft at the Tender. A better idea of what you will see is (same website, different cabin): https://halfacts.com/pinnacle-class/4142-nieuw-statendam/

Just take a printout of your confirmation. You 99% won't need it.

The PointsGuy said more than once a year, but nowhere said or implied that it could be apply to already booked cruises. "New Bookings Only" is not in writing so far, but more people have been told that is the case than have reported it will be retroactive.

I repeat, Alaska -- choosing an itinerary that includes Skagway for the history of the goldrush. Ketchikan for the history and culture of the Natives there, too. Of course, northern Europe has its own history. Also welcome to Cruise Critic!