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We did not have a suite, nor did we purchase HIA.  They gave us 28 points for the cruise and 28 points for onboard spending...  I'm wondering if they simply looked at the total amount charged to our credit card to calculate the onboard spending?  If so, they included the casino postings as well, which is odd.  I will not look a gift horse in the mouth, and will be happy with their calculation!

I can't, for the life of me, figure out how our Mariner points were calculated for our last cruise!  While I really appreciate the number of points we were given, I can't figure out how they came up with the calculation.  We sailed on the 28-day Amazon cruise Feb. - Mar., 2024.  We were given 56 points for this cruise -- 28 points for our cabin and an additional 28 points for something.  We spent around $2,000 on gratuities, shopping, and shore excursions.  We spent a lot in the casino which doesn't count...  So, how did they come up with 56 points?  Hmmmmm...  Is there someone I can call at HAL to get their breakdown of this calculation?  We are close to four star and are trying to figure out the best approach to achieve that goal (length of cruise, etc.).  Thanks!

Quick question -- does the casino on the Zaandam stay open while we are cruising along the Amazon River?

We are on the February 17, 2024, 28 day Amazon Explorer cruise on the Zaandam.  We have cruised HAL many, many times and always opt for the any time dining.  I believe it is possible to reserve a table for two for this type of dining.  Is this true?  How do you make this reservation?  Can you select a specific table?  Can you make this reservation for the entire duration of your cruise?  TIA!

We will be arriving in Macapa on February 26 on the HAL Zaandam.  This is the only port on our entire 28 day cruise where we will stay on the ship.  We have traveled the world as most have on these Boards, and rarely do we make a decision to not go explore...this is that rare occasion.  

We did a day pass in December, 2023.  There is no beach at El Cid!  There are steps that take you down into the water, however, when we were there the water was so rough we could not even think about going in.  We purchased the all-inclusive day pass and the drinks were delivered quickly and regularly as we enjoyed resting in the lounge chairs.  The food in the restaurant was just OK -- nothing special!  I was looking forward to a delicious Mexican meal and ended up with overcooked Fajitas!  What a disappointment.  We spent the day playing ping pong on a very nice outdoor ping pong table and lounging in the lounges enjoying the view of the cruise ships in port.  It was a nice day, but definitely not a beach day.

Regarding transfers -- I just called the company handling the transfers and this is what he said:

Go to Terminal 1 -- Baggage Carousel 1 -- there will be a Holland America desk there.  He said we need to get there after 10AM.

On 1/5/2024 at 7:28 PM, Mtn2Sea said:

We’re doing the same thing.  I have not seen any instructions regarding meeting times or where we go at FLL to pick up the shuttle.  Any ideas on this?

I just read through my boarding pass and it gives the name and phone number of the company responsible for these transfers.  I will be calling them on Monday to get the details and will post once I have them.

We have a unique situation.  Our ship sails out of Miami and returns to Ft. Lauderdale (it was originally slated to be RT Ft. Lauderdale).  We are parking at Park by the Ports in Ft. Lauderdale (which was arranged based on the original itinerary).  I have purchased transfers from the Ft. Lauderdale airport to Miami via HAL.  We are not flying into Ft. Lauderdale, but will be taking the Park by the Ports shuttle to the airport to catch the shuttle (transfer).  We are being asked in Check-In to list our flight information and I have continuously answered "we are not flying to the port."  I'm wondering if this confusion is because we purchased transfers?  Regardless, has anyone done what we are doing?  Should I list a flight in "check-in" that has an arrival time near the time I expect us to arrive at the airport?  Any thoughts/ideas are appreciated.

We get these offers all of the time.  We just got off of a 10 day Western Caribbean on the Eurodam and upgraded to an aft Verandah.  The upgrade cost $248 total for two of us.  After we paid the upgrade and the port fees, etc., we ended up paying $988 for our "free" cruise.  It was definitely well worth it!

We are parking at an offsite parking lot.  Thanks for the head's up -- it should help others who are in the same situation.

3 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Where do you meet your transfer?  Unless it's actually in the port I would be a bit concerned about getting through security into the port without a same day FLL ship.

 

Roy

We are meeting our transfer at the FLL airport.  It was the easiest scenario -- drop the bags off at the airport with my husband, I drive to the parking lot, call an Uber, and meet my husband at the airport where the HAL transfer rep will be waiting (hopefully).

48 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

HAL seems to be doing it's best to keep ships in Everglades as much as possible.  Last year on the Eurodam my scheduled embarkation was moved up a day so we could fit into Everglades.  I think so far all the cruises that were moved were other than FLL round trips, including an Oosterdam turnaroud that arrived from Europe and then went far south for the Antarctica season.

 

Roy

Actually, our Amazon cruise for February, 2024, was originally scheduled to be round trip FLL and they moved our embarkation to Miami and kept FLL as our deparkation port.  Talk about a huge inconvenience!  We kept our parking at FLL and will use a HAL transfer to get to Miami.

I am also interested in details of this beach.

We were on a European cruise last summer and wanted one particular shore excursion through the ship -- however, it was sold out and we were waitlisted.  After about a month of watching and waiting, they added a second departure for that same excursion and suggested that I quickly purchase that excursion before it becomes sold out, which I did.  It all worked out for us!

You can use the Free Play either in the slots or at the tables (you have to choose).  If you choose the tables, they will hand you a stack of special chips.  The amazing thing about playing with these chips is the fact that you can play the same chip many times if you keep winning -- they don't take it until you lose it...  If you choose slots, they simply load that amount onto your cabin key for access when you play.  We always find the casino host as soon as the ship sets sail to make sure our free play is in order.  One time there was a disconnect between what the Players' Club had given us versus what the casino host thought we had.  I had the offer and the email from the Players' Club to help resolve the disconnect.  After one day, I received the amount committed to by the Players' Club (which was significantly more than what the casino host said I was entitled to)...  Have fun and have a great cruise!!

We are booked on the Holland America Amazon Explorer cruise, February, 2024.  We will be visiting numerous ports in Brazil:  Macapa, Santarem, Boca da Valeria, Manaus (overnight), Parintins, and Alter Do Chao.  I am not finding much on what to do in these various ports.  Any experience/suggestions that can help me put together a plan?

On 4/12/2023 at 6:25 AM, GHCruiser7 said:

The When&Where will list it at 9 or 930 most every day on every HAL ship.  Pickleballers will show up.  You can also set an afternoon play party with others that you meet.  I played every day at 9 and 3, including most port days on the Volendam Grand South America this year.  Bring extra OUTDOOR balls (I recommend Franklin X40s, not orange).  Indoor balls don't work very well, even with the slightest wind.  You can't rely on HAL to know, accomodate, or have enough of the right balls, unfortunately - they will eventually learn if they listen.  They will have paddles but the quality is not great.  Also, HAL should be up and running as the official Pickleball cruise line for the PPA.  They were NOT ready for the South America Grand Voyage earlier this year.

The Volendam did, however, stripe a second court and buy another net during the 5th or 10.5 weeks of the Grand S.A..

Good recommendation regarding "bring extra OUTDOOR balls!"  We were on the Rotterdam last year for a Europe cruise and all of the balls became unusable after a week of play.  Holland America couldn't get replacement balls for several days due to the remoteness of the ports we visited.  We ended up purchasing two sets of children's tennis racquets and balls at one of the ports and created a new game of Pickleball using those sets while waiting on Pickleball balls.  It was a lot of fun and very challenging!  LOL

We are booked on the February Zaandam cruise down the Amazon River (among other places).  I'm curious if the Zaandam has the large screen in the pool area and shows movies at the pool?  

The afternoon teas are still held.  It is a very nice afternoon activity which we always enjoy!

Yes, you can break bills in the casino.  Take your money to the cashier and ask for change.  They are always very accommodating!

23 hours ago, Mscruisin said:

We are booked on a casino offer in June.  "Free" inside cabin, free play, and free drinks while playing in the casino.  How does the casino know how much free play you have and how does that work?

I always print the email containing the free play offer.  Our first stop once the ship sets sail is to find the casino host to confirm our free play and any other benefits.  I carry that printed email with me.  We have had confusion at times where the casino host shows we are to receive less than the offer stated, and they always ask to see the email.  The email has always been honored in such circumstances.

On 5/3/2023 at 9:03 PM, Florida_gal_50 said:

Isn’t that cruise usually offered in November or December?  Plenty of time for it to sell out. It’s only may.

We are booked on this cruise for February, 2024...

They've had an Orange Party on every one of our HAL cruises!  Have a great cruise!!

We receive all kinds of casino offers almost daily!  We just booked a "free" 28-day Amazon cruise.  We both play in the casino on a daily basis...  The offers range from a free cabin with free play and drinks to a 30% off cabin with no additional perks.  Our last "come back and play" offer was nothing to write home about, however, about one week following the conclusion of that cruise new offers started hitting our inboxes.  The casino usually opens an hour or so after sail-away.  I've never seen the casino close at 11PM, but I have seen the casino close as late as 1AM.