MickyBee

Thanks for asking this, retiredkid. Yesterday I purchased several different amounts for my cabin mates so was wondering the same same thing and came to search CC for the answer; you made it very easy for me to find :)

Thanks DaveOKC for the answer and the tip about checking right away.

Michele

From the HAL website:

Final payment is generally due no later than 75 days prior to departure although some cruises have different final payment date requirements. Please consult the Holland America Line brochure for the final payment date applicable to your cruise.

Hope this helps :)

Michele

We did the Tracy Arm excursion from the Zuiderdam last year and then did the evening whale watching tour when we got back to Juneau. Everyone in our party preferred the TA excursion over the whale watching. Besides seeing tonnes of whales (literally ;)) the scenery was beautiful. I loved it so much I am doing it again this year.

Michele

I think longer dressy shorts with a nice blouse would be fine, but wouldn't care to see short shorts in the dining room.

Michele

I thought this might be interesting to some who are following this thread.

This is from the "House Rules" for HAL employees:

TIPPING NOT REQUIRED POLICY

All ships have the Rewards for Excellence (RfE) Plan which

consists of Hotel Service Charges and Beverage Service

Charges. If a guest chooses to adjust out of the RfE Plan

and instead provide cash tips to an employee, the employee

is required to turn in this cash to their Department Head

so the money can be added to the RfE plan. Any “tips”

received above and beyond the guests standard amount

may be kept by the crewmember.

Of course no one knows whether a crew member will actually hand in any cash tips they receive from a passenger who has removed the HSC.

Michele

 

I was so hoping someone would post like you have. I'd love to know more about this cruise.

 

Were the menus Asian oriented? Would most North Americans be okay with the food?

Were any announcements in English?

Who crewed the ship? The usual stewards and bartenders we are accustomed to?

 

Activities?

Non-Asians feel 'out of place'?

So many questions but I find the idea very interesting.

 

Thanks if you care to share any about your experience.

The menu had a few Asian style dishes on it, but mostly what I would consider average North American fare.

The announcements were in three languages; English, Chinese, and, ummmm, lol, I don't remember the third, Korean or Japanese, I believe.

The crew was mostly Filipino. I'm not sure if that is the usual as it was my first cruise.

We certainly didn't feel "out of place", but one thing that was a little funny was all the photos being taken. The spiral staircase was constantly filled with people posing for photos.... and I don't mean a few quick shots, more like full blown photo shoots, LOL. No matter where you were on the ship, you would see girls sprawled on furniture, even on the piano in the piano bar, putting on their best sultry look for the camera, it was quite entertaining.

Michele

Thank you! And thank you to everyone on the HAL board for all the great information you share and for being so friendly! This is my first HAL cruise and I have a feeling it won't be my last :D

Thanks again!

Michele

You really had me worried! I'm a pescetarian and salmon is my favourite fish; I would have been extremely disappointed if I had to go seven days without it.

Michele

Thanks, everyone, for your helpful replies :)

Michele

 

Would you think many North Americans would travel to China, enjoy a stay there and then board a cruise ship from a company we have known as catering heavily to North Americans?

 

 

Not sure how many others would be interested in heading to China for a cruise, but I did it last year and loved it. The Great Wall was on my bucket list, and when I saw a nicely priced package advertised by a local travel agency, I swallowed my fear of cruising and took a trip of a lifetime.

We spent four days touring Beijing and then a twelve day cruise on Voyager of the Seas leaving from Tianjin, China, and visiting Toyama, Sapporo, Tokyo, and Nagasaki, Japan, and Busan, S. Korea. The passengers were mostly Asian, followed by Australians, Brits, and Canadians.

I am constantly keeping an eye out for another cruise package to Asia, perhaps seeing Shanghai next time.

Michele

Thanks for the super fast reply, Elsie! Glad I don't have to take it to town with me this afternoon :)

Michele

I was planning on having my husband's suit cleaned before we leave next weekend for Alaska, but I just took a paid upgrade to a Neptune Suite, so thought I should get it done on the ship. Do you think if I send it out on embarkation day, that it will be back in time for our first formal night (I think it's on day two)? I know there's no guarantees in life, just wondering what others' experiences with dry cleaning times are.

Many thanks :)

Michele

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. I had no idea there was a possibility of disembarking so quickly, and although I won't count on that scenario, it's nice to know we may get home to our pup sooner than I thought was possible.

Kindest regards,

Michele

Thanks for your thoughts :)

I know things don't always go as expected. On my first cruise, in Asia, we sat in the skating rink on Voyager of the Seas for almost three hours, waiting to disembark.

So, I guess I should have been more specific in my query: Best case scenario, how quickly could a person be off the ship in Vancouver?

Thanks again,

Michele

We will be parked at Canada Place for our seven day return Alaskan cruise aboard the Zuiderdam, and I'm wondering how quickly we can get off the ship. We get into port at 7:00 AM and would like to carry our own luggage off the ship, if that's allowed.

Thanks in advance for any helpful thoughts on this :)

Michele

Michelle, I have been told you can request a blanket for the balcony from your room steward and also that there is somewhere on deck that you can check blankets out for the loungers on deck.

Thanks for the tip, that's good to know.

Michele

 

Here you go. We also wore shorts and tee shirts on this cruise. It was in June out of San Francisco a couple of years ago.

 

Cheers, Denise.

Denise, this is the perfect answer to the OP's question, and it's prompted me to start my packing list for our 7-DAY roundtrip at the end of August. The first thing on the list is now "blanket for balcony" :)

Your photo also reminded me that no matter where you are, weather is unpredictable. Here's me in Cuba, April of last year:

I'm glad this thread was started, as I was wondering the same thing as the OP, but was afraid to ask. Many thanks to the kind CC members who showed up with polite responses.

Michele

Zuiderdam - 30-Aug-14 - Alaska