New to Holland America? This is for you...AKA "HAL For Dummies"

[lisax]

9 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

They absolutely could take your cabin number and bill the charge to your room; that would be similar to jumping on the airport shuttle when you hadn't pre-booked it - they ask for your cabin number and it ends up on your stateroom account. We've done that several times, including this month, Feb & Dec - all trips where we were not charged the corkage fee. 

Policy says wine must be carried on, so we do a "wine transfer" dance at airport after we claim our luggage moving it from our airport checked luggage to our ship carry-on bag. Sure wouldn't do that if we didn't have to 🙂

When you did this, did they take your cabin number? 

[Haljo1935]

30 minutes ago, lisax said:

When you did this, did they take your cabin number? 

When we took the shuttle but had not booked? Yes - Dec (San Diego) & Feb (Ft Lauderdale), we showed our boarding pass and they wrote our names & cabin number at the bottom of their passenger list. This month (Seattle) they just looked at our luggage tags then wrote name & cabin number on passenger list.

The charge showed up as "shore excursion" on the statement. 

[Nang]

16 hours ago, terrydtx said:

 You can bring on two bottles of wine  per person and pay the corkage if you take them to the MDR. 

 

I believe the policy is corkage is paid for all bottles irrespective of where you drink them, even if in your stateroom. There is no specified limit other than not excessive.

 

Guests may bring Wine and Champagne onboard, however a corkage fee of USD $20.00 (which is subject to change without notice) will be applied to each bottle (max 750 ml in volume or less). Limitations apply. Wine brought in quantities deemed to be excessive by the vessel or security will be refused.

from https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/faq/know-before-you-go.html

Edited May 17, 2023 by Nang

[Nang]

duplicate post

Edited May 17, 2023 by Nang
duplicate

[lisax]

On 5/17/2023 at 5:53 PM, Nang said:

I believe the policy is corkage is paid for all bottles irrespective of where you drink them, even if in your stateroom. There is no specified limit other than not excessive.

 

Guests may bring Wine and Champagne onboard, however a corkage fee of USD $20.00 (which is subject to change without notice) will be applied to each bottle (max 750 ml in volume or less). Limitations apply. Wine brought in quantities deemed to be excessive by the vessel or security will be refused.

from https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/faq/know-before-you-go.html

I understand the policy but what I am struggling with is the application. Say I bring in 2 bottles of wine on board in my carry on bag. At what point in the check in process is the corkage applied ie at check in or when your carry on goes through security and the wine is identified or at another point?  Assume then when I take my wine to MDR nothing is charged because it would have been charged before. I just want to understand the application of this policy and would be interested to hear fromnsomeonecwho has been charged and what the process was

[Seasick Sailor]

6 minutes ago, lisax said:

I understand the policy but what I am struggling with is the application. Say I bring in 2 bottles of wine on board in my carry on bag. At what point in the check in process is the corkage applied ie at check in or when your carry on goes through security and the wine is identified or at another point?  Assume then when I take my wine to MDR nothing is charged because it would have been charged before. I just want to understand the application of this policy and would be interested to hear fromnsomeonecwho has been charged and what the process was

 

On Koningsdam in Feb/March we carried 2 bottles of wine onboard (a bon voyage gift from my sis) We went through security,  there was a desk for wine check in. They wrote our cabin number down and put a sticker on the bottles. The charges were added to our account. 

[lisax]

3 hours ago, Seasick Sailor said:

 

On Koningsdam in Feb/March we carried 2 bottles of wine onboard (a bon voyage gift from my sis) We went through security,  there was a desk for wine check in. They wrote our cabin number down and put a sticker on the bottles. The charges were added to our account. 

Thankyou for the explanation. Makes sense

[Aloha3]

On 5/5/2023 at 12:49 AM, terrydtx said:

We have a true B2B on the Edge next January in Sydney and I already know we will have to get off the ship and wait to get back on, even though we are in the Retreat and same cabins for both cruises.

if you are berthed in the CBD book a behind the scenes tour of the Sydney Opera House on that day.

[loveandpeas]

We are think we will buy the Quench package for our upcoming Alaskan cruise... I've justified the cost! Do we need to buy this ahead of time or can we purchase when we get on the ship - is it more expensive one way or another?

[Cruise Suzy]

7 hours ago, loveandpeas said:

We are think we will buy the Quench package for our upcoming Alaskan cruise... I've justified the cost! Do we need to buy this ahead of time or can we purchase when we get on the ship - is it more expensive one way or another?

Same price whether bought onboard or pre-purchased online. The online price includes the 18% gratuity. If you have OBC, that can be used for the package once onboard but not to pre-purchase.

[lissie]

 I like an "english" cup of tea in the mornings - by this I mean black tea (probably a tea bag) in a cup of boiling hot water and milk - is such a thing possible in the Lido without paying?  

[RuthC]

You should be able to find a variety of tea bags, and there is milk in a container nearby. Just look for the coffee stations to find them. Boiling water? Not really. You will find very hot water, but a rolling boil? Not quite that hot. Sorry. 

[Aloha3]

3 hours ago, lissie said:

 I like an "english" cup of tea in the mornings - by this I mean black tea (probably a tea bag) in a cup of boiling hot water and milk - is such a thing possible in the Lido without paying?  

Yes anytime. You can also call room service at 6am and they will bring it to your cabin. (for free)

 

[lissie]

7 hours ago, RuthC said:

You should be able to find a variety of tea bags, and there is milk in a container nearby. Just look for the coffee stations to find them. Boiling water? Not really. You will find very hot water, but a rolling boil? Not quite that hot. Sorry. 

That's what I'm worried about - it has to be boiling! 

[jules815]

4 hours ago, lissie said:

That's what I'm worried about - it has to be boiling! 

Tea drinker here as well and completely understand the "boiling" thing. Unfortunately when they bring the water for tea via room service, it's not as hot as it is coming out of the very hot water at coffee stations. And while that water isn't boiling, it's probably the best you're going to get on board.

[regnig]

I drink only tea, no coffee. In the AM the choice of teas at the Lido includes British Breakfast Tea along with at least 10 other selections including Tips. While not boiling, the water is definitely hot enough to make a decent cup of tea.  The water delivered from Room Service is not near as hot.  As Ruth said the container of milk is sitting right at the same station.

[islander47]

Is there a place on my Holland America upcoming cruise online page where I can see how much shipboard credit I have received? I want to wait to book a few excursions using this but can't seem to determine exactly how much I have.

[Haljo1935]

10 minutes ago, islander47 said:

Is there a place on my Holland America upcoming cruise online page where I can see how much shipboard credit I have received? I want to wait to book a few excursions using this but can't seem to determine exactly how much I have.

@islander47 you can see it on an invoice from HAL - have them send you one.

If you have a TA, you'll have to get it from them.

Once onboard you can see it on the TV statement and Navigator App, but likely too late to get errors corrected, so I get an invoice beforehand.

[terrydtx]

2 hours ago, islander47 said:

Is there a place on my Holland America upcoming cruise online page where I can see how much shipboard credit I have received? I want to wait to book a few excursions using this but can't seem to determine exactly how much I have.

If the OBC is from HAL as a promo you will not be able to use it until you board the cruise. I think these stinks as other cruise lines allow OBC to be spent on excursions and restaurant bookings before boarding.

 

Your invoice from HAL should have the OBC listed. Here is how ours is listed for our November Koingsdam cruise. It is under the section Guest Information on the first page of the invoice,

 

[islandwoman]

Are there outdoor dining venues on the Zaandam?

[Mary229]

3 hours ago, islandwoman said:

Are there outdoor dining venues on the Zaandam?

The Dive In on the Lido is by the pool. Besides the hamburgers there is a taco bar in that same location. 

[KroozNut]

6 hours ago, Mary229 said:

The Dive In on the Lido is by the pool. Besides the hamburgers there is a taco bar in that same location. 

"Besides the hamburgers".. I would add and hotdogs. 🙂

[islander47]

And the outdoor dining by the pool with glass roof or by the aft pool are also available with tables for you to use when you select food from the Lido buffet.

[gaudi89]

We will be on the Noordam on an Alaskan cruise next month and haven't been on HAL before. When we are at dock for a day can we get on and off the ship when we want or are we restricted in some way (so that once you get off you can only come back on once?). There are a few ports we don't want to be on shore all day and wanted to exit the ship around noon or so. is that possible and if so how about coming back on?

[Mary229]

3 minutes ago, gaudi89 said:

We will be on the Noordam on an Alaskan cruise next month and haven't been on HAL before. When we are at dock for a day can we get on and off the ship when we want or are we restricted in some way (so that once you get off you can only come back on once?). There are a few ports we don't want to be on shore all day and wanted to exit the ship around noon or so. is that possible and if so how about coming back on?

They will open the way at a certain announced time and will inform you of the all aboard time.  The only time there is an organized procedure is when they must use tenders which will be noted on your itinerary.  Other than that do as you want and have a great time.