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

[Camelia-]

Thank you! 

[Crew News]

On 6/13/2019 at 7:31 PM, Chickadee910 said:

Hi...ice tea,hot tea,lemonade,chocolate and white milk...also the 25 dollar soda card is worth 50$ of soda..hope that helps...

 

regular and decaf coffe is also available at no charge in the MDR.

[Louise245]

I reserved our cruise with HAL and then transferred to a big box TA.

Following this I reserved our flight on HAL site. I have to pay the flight when I do the final payment.

My question is to which company do I pay the flight when it comes due.

HAL, the bog box TA or in my case Air Canada.

[Mary229]

17 minutes ago, Louise245 said:

I reserved our cruise with HAL and then transferred to a big box TA.

Following this I reserved our flight on HAL site. I have to pay the flight when I do the final payment.

My question is to which company do I pay the flight when it comes due.

HAL, the bog box TA or in my case Air Canada.

I do exactly the same as you.  The Flight Ease appears on my final invoice I receive from my TA and I pay all through the TA

[Louise245]

Thank you Mary!

Edited June 19, 2019 by Louise245

[Shawnino]

We are HAL noobs embarking July 15 in Amsterdam.

On our docs it says embarkation 1pm.

How much earlier (if any) can we check in, get our photos taken, drop our luggage at the counter and head into Amsterdam? 

If it matters, we are in a Lanai cabin.

 

Thanks very much.

[CTOM]

How long do you folks typically wait when calling Holland America?   My hold time seems to get worse each time I call.  9 minutes and counting as of me writing this...

[jonyboy]

I've never had to call them, I've emailed and received a reply in a reasonable time.  If it's anything that requires a phone call I call my TA and she handles it

[jonyboy]

On 6/20/2019 at 8:23 AM, Shawnino said:

We are HAL noobs embarking July 15 in Amsterdam.

On our docs it says embarkation 1pm.

How much earlier (if any) can we check in, get our photos taken, drop our luggage at the counter and head into Amsterdam? 

If it matters, we are in a Lanai cabin.

 

Thanks very much.

Last cruise we took in March we got there at 10:30, had the photos taken etc. very quickly and had to wait about an hour to board

[richardgail]

We booked a guaranteed cabin and final payment was last week. Any of you seasoned HAL cruisers been in this situation and how long did you have to wait to find out your cabin number? 

[Crew News]

Stateroom numbers for guarantees are usually assigned 10 days from sailing date.

[sfarrlee]

18 hours ago, jonyboy said:

Last cruise we took in March we got there at 10:30, had the photos taken etc. very quickly and had to wait about an hour to board

This is a similar question - we board tomorrow with our boarding passes saying 1 pm. Is it better to get there a bit later to avoid some of the wait? Thanks in advance!

[jonyboy]

Just me, but I prefer to get there early, board and explore

[Crew News]

1 hour ago, sfarrlee said:

This is a similar question - we board tomorrow with our boarding passes saying 1 pm. Is it better to get there a bit later to avoid some of the wait? Thanks in advance!

 

Every passenger on your cruise received the same check-in time of 1:00 PM.  What if they all arrived at the same time?

 

If you are embarking in Seward, the ship will have been in port since 5:00 AM and more than ready to receive new passengers by 11:30 AM.

Edited June 22, 2019 by Crew News

[sfarrlee]

2 hours ago, Crew News said:

 

Every passenger on your cruise received the same check-in time of 1:00 PM.  What if they all arrived at the same time?

 

If you are embarking in Seward, the ship will have been in port since 5:00 AM and more than ready to receive new passengers by 11:30 AM.

Thank you - very helpful to know!

[darstamp]

On 5/30/2019 at 2:22 PM, Fouremco said:

Well, the Westerdam crew members had it wrong, not the first time that a ship has acted independent of corporate policy. The price was raised earlier this year, and can be found on the HAL website. I've highlighted the pertinent section:

 

Our convenient, affordable Signature Beverage Package allows you to select from a variety of wine, beer, spirits, cocktails (including non-alcoholic), sodas, bottled water (sparkling 330ml or still 500ml) & coffee! Includes any beverage priced at $11.00 or lower (up to 15 beverages per day). Prices are per day at $44.95 if pre-booked online compared to $54.95 if purchased on board. A 15% service charge will be automatically applied to your purchase. The package must be purchased for the entire duration of the voyage. All adults over 21 years old booked in the same stateroom must also purchase the package. Participants may order only one drink at a time and must be 21 years or older. Sharing is not permitted. Excludes Mini Bar, Honor Bar, Chocolate Seduction, In-Room Dining, beverages on Half Moon Cay, Freestyle Coca-Cola and any self-service draft beer. Packages are not transferable or refundable. Beverage management reserves the right to revoke the package if misused and reserves the right to refuse service for any reason; including refusing service of alcoholic beverages to intoxicated customers.

I am having trouble understanding this.  If I order a drink priced at $11.00 and they add a 15% tip is the tip included in the package or will I be charged it on my account?

[kazu]

1 hour ago, darstamp said:

I am having trouble understanding this.  If I order a drink priced at $11.00 and they add a 15% tip is the tip included in the package or will I be charged it on my account?

 

It’s included in the package.  As long as your drink is $11 or less there is no extra charge.

[darstamp]

Thank you

[palolake]

Does anyone know how early they start taking the luggage?  We'll be coming over from a Princess ship and would like to drop off our luggage and go get some wine.

[sfarrlee]

Can we put a bottle of wine and some soda in our checked luggage or must we keep it in our carry on? Just want to make use of roller bag instead of carrying in an over the shoulder bag. Thanks!

[terrydtx]

15 minutes ago, sfarrlee said:

Can we put a bottle of wine and some soda in our checked luggage or must we keep it in our carry on? Just want to make use of roller bag instead of carrying in an over the shoulder bag. Thanks!

All beverages brought on board must be in your carry on, specially alcoholic beverages. Many people have tried in the past  to smuggle clear spirits like vodka and Gin in soda and water bottles.

[sfarrlee]

22 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

All beverages brought on board must be in your carry on, specially alcoholic beverages. Many people have tried in the past  to smuggle clear spirits like vodka and Gin in soda and water bottles.

Thank you!!!

[przyk]

Another Wine Question

 

I understand we can bring one bottle of wine per person.  Is the only place we can drink the wine without paying the corkage fee literally in our room?  My past cruise experiences have been on Carnival and I remember taking a glass of wine from our cabin to the MDR for dinner or to a show, or even just for a walk around after dinner.  I'm not trying to get away with anything, just trying to understand the rules.

 

Edited June 24, 2019 by przyk
Clarification

[ljgordon54]

1 hour ago, przyk said:

Another Wine Question

 

I understand we can bring one bottle of wine per person.  Is the only place we can drink the wine without paying the corkage fee literally in our room?  My past cruise experiences have been on Carnival and I remember taking a glass of wine from our cabin to the MDR for dinner or to a show, or even just for a walk around after dinner.  I'm not trying to get away with anything, just trying to understand the rules.

 

Nobody is going to test or question where you got your wine as you wander around the ship. We carry wine/beer/drinks around all the time. The corkage thing is if you bring your bottle to the MDR, basically. If you have your wine in your wine glass and take it with you, I can't imagine anyone would question you. I know they won't in the Lido, we seldom use the MDR.

[terrydtx]

2 hours ago, przyk said:

Another Wine Question

 

I understand we can bring one bottle of wine per person.  Is the only place we can drink the wine without paying the corkage fee literally in our room?  My past cruise experiences have been on Carnival and I remember taking a glass of wine from our cabin to the MDR for dinner or to a show, or even just for a walk around after dinner.  I'm not trying to get away with anything, just trying to understand the rules.

 

I have done what you are asking many times. No one will question a glass only if you try to bring in the whole bottle.