regnig

What a truly awful newly released site that HAL chose to announce in a very unprofessional manner. Not only was the email lacking that number of days, but if HAL had really been interested in our opinion they would have included a link for us to use to respond.

There is no excuse for making such monumental changes that break the “keep it simple stupid” rule. Commercial web-sites of this nature should be user friendly and not require a manual to operate!

For those of you having trouble finding your account/mariner information go to the bottom of the 1st page and click on SITEMAP. You should easily find what you are looking for there.

Catl331, my numbers are all screwed up too. Guess along with software development HAL’s staff knows nothing about accounting!

The scissor fob is a very cleaver idea.

It took to the "nursery rhymes" trivia question before I finally got all 5 right. Thank you for posting them, they have made my day!

We had a booking that we made onboard in March for next March and HAL changed it over to the READY SET SAIL today with no problem. Fare had not gone up and we got to keep all our FCC OBC. For once we lucked out.

The main difference is the crew..

We think the HAL crew is far superior... hopefully that was what you meant also.

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ms Nieuw Amsterdam vs. Regal Princess

Cabin category V vs. BD cabins

 

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TIA.

The HAL stateroom will be larger and contains a love seat that on Princess you have to book a mini-suite to have. Additionally the balconies on The Regal are really really narrow. :eek:

No need to leave any OBC in the HAL bank. You can always use the Casino slot machines trick to get back any OBC.

The following was copied from someone else's posting:

"I open my Casino account on the day beforeDisembarkation Day, after reviewing my statement, for an amount that is higherthan my remaining OBC credit . That Casino account amount is immediately postedto your stateroom account as a deduction. My choice for a few slot machinepulls is the penny machines before going to the Casino Cashier to cash out. Ileave the ship with cash in my wallet and a credit card bill for just a fewdollars."

Question for Regnig...we have cruised Carnival twice, Holland America twice....can we get all those combined to count towards our Star Mariner status on HAL? Is that what you are indicating above? That would be great!

If we fly in the day before, get a hotel in the area...what is the best way to be get to the port? Taxi? Or is there a shuttle service from the bigger hotels to the port? Since this is over a year out, I can't look at hotels or airlines yet. My husband travels for work, so we should have enough airline miles through AA and hotel points with Marriott or Hilton available.

 

If we fly in the day of the cruise, what would be the latest arrival time we should consider to allow enough time to safely get to the port? The cruise is set to depart at 6pm.

If the hotel where you would be staying has a free shuttle why not just use it? One benefit is that you will meet fellow cruisers before you even board the ship. We stay at a Hampton Inn in Plantation and always take the shuttle to the ship but grab a cab upon disembarkation which gets us back to the hotel and then on the road to drive home. If you are flying home there are lots of cabs (don't remember the exact price but not much) or you can opt to get a Transfer from HAL for the trip to the airport.

Please, please, please arrive the day before sailing. We learned that lesson the hard way on our very 1st cruise :eek: and have never repeated it since.

If the ship is scheduled to leave at 400p you must be checked in and onboard I believe 90 minutes prior to sailing making it 230p. While the airport is close to the port you still have to add in time for luggage pick up and then securing a cab. And if weather is bad along the way you could easily miss the ship as it will not wait for you.

Welcome to Cruise Critic and the wonderful world of sailing with HAL!

Understand since the Nieuw Statendam is not yet in the water answers about it "could" be a bit Indefinite at this time. Since she will be the sister to the Koningsdam I would recommend you read everything about her as you can as while perhaps not identical, they will be very similar.

On a 7 day cruise you are likely to have some children (particularly during "Spring Break" time) but nothing to compare to what you would occur on Carnival or RCCL at the same time. There are people out there who think HAL is just for "Old Folks" and therefor don't sail on her ..... and us younger folks who sail her are just fine with that! :rolleyes:

Our personal preference is towards the aft section, although not the rear facing cabins, on a deck with cabins above and below us to eliminate extra noise.

As far as booking your cruise your possibilities are several. You can always book either on-line at the HAL site or by calling them. After you make that booking you can then take your time and investigate the rates and offers from TAs or Big Box stores. If you find a deal better than what you got directly with HAL you can just transfer your booking over to the TA or BB store. It's an easy process and they will tell you what to do.

Oh, BTW, since you have sailed on Carnival you will be a 1 Star on your first HAL sailing. While it doesn't really get you much it is better than nothing.

Many thanks, DH will be a happy clam! :D

On the

The person who came up with that correct answer sure needs to get a life! ;p:eek::p Why in the world would that be a tidbit of trivia left floating around in one's head? :eek:

Love your blog, continue to enjoy your (and ours) cruise.

My opinion only but I think you have made the correct decision. Aft verandas on some cruises can be well worth it but on an Alaskan cruise I personally don't feel it would be worth the extra money. You, I assume, will be spending a good deal of time off the ship at the ports where you are stopping rather than sitting on your balcony watching the world pass as you sail along. If they offer some kind of up-sell to a suite you could consider it but since there will only be 2 of you in the stateroom even that might not be worth spending the extra money on. There are lots of places onboard where the 4 of you can gather without having to worry about the weather or a noisy crowd of other people. Were this a warm weather Caribbean cruise the aft balcony and the available time to use it would be a completely different situation.

I’ve wanted togo on a cruise for quite awhile now but my husband has always been leery because a big part of a holiday for him is lying around at the pool &beach. Then I had some health issues (breast cancer) and that put everything onhold.

Hopefully you are clear of that concern! High five to you for moving forward!

I’m back up and at it now and hoping to make up for lost time and my husband is eager to see us go on our first cruise.

 

My husband & I are in our early 50’s and from the reviews we seem to prefer the more peaceful cruise ships like the Holland America & Princess Cruise Lines. With this being our first cruise, we’re looking at the ship as being the destination and not hugely interested in trekking far from the ship on excursions. My husband loves the idea of the ports in Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk as we can just hop off the ship right to a beach next to the ship. He’ll be able to satisfy his beach fix easily.

 

I’m going to post these same questions in the Princess forum section because we’re still humming & hawing over which one to try first.

 

We live in Ontario Canada and will be booking our cruise for early April to one of thevarious Caribbean options. We’re flexible in going to 7, 10, or 14 days. We’d like to book a balcony room probably the Veranda series.

 

Forgive me if some of these questions have been answered countless times, but the forum has so much information that it’s just a bit overwhelming.

 

Onto thequestions.

 

• At Half Moon Cay – I understand you have to tender from the ship to the beach. Is the tendering fee included in the cruise package? Also do the tender boats have schedules that they run back & forth between the shore and the ship so that we could go back to the ship for lunch or dinner? Tenders will operate continuously back and forth all day, no "posted schedule". The 1st tenders will take provisions and crew ashore followed by any who have a paid "excursion" with an early start. They staff will be handing out Tender Tickets early that morning and you will be provided directions as to when and where to pick them up. In the beginning they will call ticket numbers in order for tendering.
  
• At Half Moon Cay – Is the beach access here included in the cruise package price? Yes and the chairs and umbrellas are free. Unless you want alcohol or soda you can spend the day at the beach and enjoy lunch without paying extra.
  
• At Grand Turk – Is the beach access here included in the cruise package price? Yes
  
• At Grand Turk – Can you come & go as you please from the beach to the ship and so forth since the ship is docked? Yes
  
• Does either Half Moon Cay or Grand Turk have a port terminal like Costa Maya and do you have to pay extra to use the facilities at the Port Terminal? No. HMC has public bathrooms and also some gift shops.
  
• I understand that the Costa Maya cruise terminal is one stop that some of the Holland America ships make. Are the facilities/beach at Costa Maya (other than the restaurants) included in the cruise package price?
  
• Regarding the dress code – What is the excepted dress code for the main dining room. My husband is Mr. Casual. The only time he ever wears a suit is for weddings,funerals & business when required. He’s hoping he can wear dockers & acollared polo shirt to the main dining room meals. With that in mind what isthe accepted dress code for women. Although some might find it necessary to "dress up" it is not required. If you choose to eat in the MDR on Formal Night (Elegant Night) your husband can simply put on a tie and will be fine. You can wear pants, capris, skirts, dresses in the MDR and add shorts if you use the Lido. If you really want to stay casual the Lido is available and they normally have most of the same food choices as the MDR. Presentation is different but the food is just as good.
  
• What is the accepted dress code for the buffets? Pretty much goes except please use a cover up with bathing suits and no bare feet.
  
• We appear to have the options of the ms Eurodam, ms Veendam, ms Nieuw Statendamfor the dates & locations we’d considering. Does anyone have any preferences regarding these three ships? We were originally looking at the ms Koningsdam but the dates don’t line up for us. I'd vote for either the Eurodam or the Nieuw Statendam as the Veendam is a bit smaller and older.
  

Nothing will reward you for your brave fight with BC better than a cruise. Please enjoy!!

google 7195 – Koningsdam and look for the hal facts link

Seriously? LOL I'm a 4 start Mariner and hardly a "newbie" but even if I was, what's wrong with that? We all were "newbies" ... um... when we were newbies...

 

I find this conversation extremely amusing, if at the same time a bit disturbing! I love my lanyards, never in a million years considered that other people might be bothered by them, or even notice them! Really, people, how silly can you get? Also, to the person who said it's the "magnetic closures" that cause phones to deactivate cards, I don't think this is true since I don't have a magnetic case on my phone and I used to have key problems regularly until I started putting my card on a lanyard. Honestly, I can't believe we are actually having this discussion! LOL

DITTO and spot on!!

Last count 120 posts (whoops guess I've now made it 121) about such a silly subject. Now if it were something really important like what kind of shoes or shirts one wore into the dining room I'd certainly be understanding - provided I was given time to pop some pop-corn prior to reading the thread. I guess when I get to the point that I need to carry around all my face and hair products while onboard the ship :eek: I might revert to carrying a bag of some kind but until then folks just avert your eyes and you won't have to see my lanyard! ;p

Jacqui

Another one for you please -

Koningsdam - 07-Mar-18

This is a link to pictures of an SS on the Westerdam and it appears there are medicine cabinets at both ends of the bathroom counter

halfacts.com/vista-class/6058-westerdam/

We do exactly the same thing! We put everything on the tray after we've rinsed the cups/glasses (so as not to spill on the tray) and the plates and silverware. Put the tray on the desk and when we return it's gone! We also try to call housekeeping to pick it up, but if they don't do it before we want to leave the cabin......the tray stays in the cabin for the steward. No mess in the hall for people to fall over and the steward will take care of it gladly.

DITTO for us!

On the Vista Class ships we have been on the staterooms (regular balcony ones) have all had the mirrors attached via an arm to the wall. While the mirror itself was okay the lighting at the desk was awful. I finally learned to bring my own portable LED light (kind of like a square flashlight) that I got at Harbor Freight that someone here on CC had recommended. From what I've read the situation on the Koningsdam is better but I'm still bringing my own light in March.

While these pictures were taken on the Noordam she and the Eurodam are sister ships and stateroom 4069 is in the same location on both.

Replace the word dot with a . and loose the extra spaces.

halfacts dot com/4069-noordam-fo/

Holland America is a business and has a responsibility to their share holders. Why would they be anything less than fiscally and morally responsible? There is too much to lose.

Spot on, Miss G - great response!

So sorry you two as I never intended to suggest that HAL was anything other than "fiscally and morally responsible". Since I've upset you so please accept my apology. All I was attempting to do was to make certain we tipped in the correct fashion. Maybe you'll both have a better day tomorrow. :D;p:D

Thanks for the positive answers on 1 & 2. For the time being based on what you said I'll go with a yes to #3 BUT if anyone definitely knows other wise please advise. Those folks work far too hard to get shorted by a Promo HAL is running.

Hopefully I can phrase these questions so that they make sense and someone can provide the correct answers.

When we booked our upcoming March cruise on the Koningsdam we received a total of $500 OBC which included the OBC from booking while On-Board with the FCC plus the ZPM OBC. Additionally, there was a special promo of Pre-Paid Hotel ServiceCharges (HSC) that we were able to take advantage of. All documentation from HAL is correct and shows both. My questions deal only with the Pre-Paid Hotel Svc Charge as I’m very familiar with how the regular OBCworks.

Questions –

1. On our daily Stateroom folio will it show a debit for the daily HSC followed by a credit for the same?

2. Will we still get credit for the HSC amount towards our Onboard Spending?

3. Since the HSC is “pre-paid” by HAL can we be assured that the amount will actually go into the “Pool” for distribution to the qualifying staff?

Question #3 above Is important to us as we almost always tip extra over and above the HSC and want some assurance that the staff is receiving their portion of the “Pool” in calculating what extra we will hand out.

Thanks in advance!

No paper cups as cruise ships use as little paper products as possible with the exception of your daily promo adds. But the coffee cup (mug) can be taken out of the lido with you so it acts just the same as a "paper to go cup". The provided cups/mugs do not hold a large amount and some folks bring their own travel mugs and or water bottles. There is signage that requests you do not fill your personal cup directly from the machine spout in order to reduce the risk of transference of germs. Just fill one of the provided ones and pour it into your personal container.

Sure sounds like you handled the situation very well and that it ended in your favor. Thanks for letting us know the outcome.

Now do we on CC need to set up a "Fund Me" page to cover your cancellation fee? ;):eek:;)

Hoping you have a wonderful cruise.