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

[Toofarfromthesea]

6 hours ago, bfury said:

 

Will be sailing on HAL Eurodam next Feb 8.   This will be the first time on HAL but will be the 15 cruise with others on Carnival and Celebrity. I have a couple of questions.

 

1. Can someone tell me what the muster drill is like on HAL.  On Carnival you go to the muster station check in with your stateroom card and get a short demo on putting on the life vest.  Takes about 5 minutes.  Does HAL do the same.

2. We purchased Club Orange.  I have read all the documentation provided but was wonder if anyone had more insight to Club Orange.

3. Eurodam.  I have seen pictures of Eurodam and it looks like a nice ship.  Is there anyone that, has sailed her recently,  can give me a perspective of what the ship is really like and their opinion of where the best place is to eat on the ship.  As an example, we were on Carnival Glory for a 14 day cruise this past December.  The best places to eat, for me, was the stake house, the pizza place, the Blue Iguana (Mexican) and the Deli.  The MDR and Lido were bland if not bad( I was served raw chicken in the MDR).  Room service was decent but Carnival Cruise line now charges for every item on the room service menu.  Any info would be appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance for any info.

 

Re: Club Orange - depending on the cabin you booked the 'free' cabin upgrade is definitely worth looking into if you haven't already.  I booked the cheapest Oceanview cabin and was then able to use CO to upgrade to a larger Oceanview cabin that would have cost nearly 1,000 more if I had booked it originally.

[Trapper44]

6 hours ago, rwethereyet1969 said:

 

 

Thank you for the detailed reply.  To clarify, could my DH take both of our cards and have one drink applied to each card without me being physically present?

Often, I or my wife will leave our card with the other to order two drinks. We have never had a problem doing that. We also have often ordered two drinks using one card without a problem. It usually is at least several days into the cruise when we have ordered two drinks, so it may depend on the ship and/or the waiter.

[YourWorldWithBill]

1 hour ago, tatabea said:

Re: number 3-

the coffee table has a lever beneath so you can raise the table 

Thanks for this note. After leaning over all those times - I often have breakfast in the stateroom, and I'm pretty unobservant, so never noticed - I feel uplifted!

[Sea42]

10 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

Thanks for this note. After leaning over all those times - I often have breakfast in the stateroom, and I'm pretty unobservant, so never noticed - I feel uplifted!

From what I remember only some ships have the tables with the height adjustment lever.

[kazu]

57 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

From what I remember only some ships have the tables with the height adjustment lever.

 

You are absolutely correct on that 🙂 

[terrydtx]

18 hours ago, rwethereyet1969 said:

 

 

Thank you for the detailed reply.  To clarify, could my DH take both of our cards and have one drink applied to each card without me being physically present?

Yes, I have done it many times. With a 15 drink per day limit on the HIA drink package this is the best way to do what you are asking.

[terrydtx]

12 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

Re: Club Orange - depending on the cabin you booked the 'free' cabin upgrade is definitely worth looking into if you haven't already.  I booked the cheapest Oceanview cabin and was then able to use CO to upgrade to a larger Oceanview cabin that would have cost nearly 1,000 more if I had booked it originally.

We have done the same with CO, if you do it right the cost of the upgraded cabin often pays the added cost for CO. On our August Volendam cruise, we wanted a midship A category Vista Suite, we booked a B category added C and then upgraded to the A midship one we wanted The difference in cost from B to the A was within $10 of the cost for CO.

[Sea Hag]

20 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We have done the same with CO, if you do it right the cost of the upgraded cabin often pays the added cost for CO. On our August Volendam cruise, we wanted a midship A category Vista Suite, we booked a B category added C and then upgraded to the A midship one we wanted The difference in cost from B to the A was within $10 of the cost for CO.

This is what I've found to be true. I actually just look at the cost of the cabin I want to book, knowing I'll add CO and that the cost will be ballparky the same for the lower cabin with CO as for the higher level without.

[terrydtx]

2 minutes ago, Sea Hag said:

This is what I've found to be true. I actually just look at the cost of the cabin I want to book, knowing I'll add CO and that the cost will be ballparky the same for the lower cabin with CO as for the higher level without.

My fear is that as more and more book this way with CO, HAL will take it away as a CO benefit. 

[Sea Hag]

2 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

My fear is that as more and more book this way with CO, HAL will take it away as a CO benefit. 

I worry about that too. More than that, I worry that they'll change the rules so only the higher category cabins can book CO. The upgrade is really nice, but I'd rather lose that than the ability to get CO for a less than top level cabin.

[*Miss G*]

5 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

My fear is that as more and more book this way with CO, HAL will take it away as a CO benefit. 

 

What I believe will happen — now that the prolific posting about it has done their marketing for them — is that they will raise the prices to their original pricing when it was new on the market.  The introductory pricing was $50/day for pinnacle ships and $35/day for non-pinnacle ships.

 

Edited March 22 by *Miss G*

[terrydtx]

48 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

What I believe will happen — now that the prolific posting about it has done their marketing for them — is that they will raise the prices to their original pricing when it was new on the market.  The introductory pricing was $50/day for pinnacle ships and $35/day for non-pinnacle ships.

 

And when very few booked at those prices, the price dropped to $25 pp per day.

[*Miss G*]

24 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

And when very few booked at those prices, the price dropped to $25 pp per day.

 

Yes, that is correct.  I was one of many who posted that I would not book at the initial offering price.  Following my experience as a NS perq on Pinnacle-class, I did start booking at the lower price because I felt that the CO dining was well worth it.  (I am not as interested in the upgrade benefits as I am in the smaller dining room.)  I will need to revisit whether CO dining (on Pinnacle-class) will be worth it at a price increase.  I may decide that it is not as high on my priority list as it currently is.

[bfury]

21 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Welcome to HAL! Our most recent sailing Eurodam was 2023 April 29 - May 6 for opening season of Alaska. I may not hit all your points, but here's what I do know:

1) Turn your TV on as soon as you enter your cabin so it can muster ( it will play a safety video that must be watched before the TV will turn to any channel). You will have your card scanned at your muster station, no demonstration given and you do not need to take your life vest w/you, but each person in the cabin does have to get their card scanned.

2) Eurodam does not have a separate CO dining room: you will have additional entree choices on dinner menu, a separate line at GS and priority embarkation & tendering

3) We were on the 2nd cruise coming out of dry dock and found the ship to be in pretty good condition. We like the Eurodam because it is mid-size (for HAL) and easy to learn. Food is subjective, but we didn't have issues with anything we ordered (usually never do). Eurodam does not have Grand Dutch Cafe, so that limits your options a bit. That's one of my favorite food stops, so it hurts, lol. We love the candied bacon at Pinnacle Grill, but lunch there is a great bargain and nice treat. I think there are pictures in my review. HAL doesn't charge extra for Room Service like Carnival does, but there are a couple (seriously only a handful) items that have a surcharge; the chocolate chips cookies, which do not have a charge, are really good. There's nothing comparable to Teppanyaki, which we do miss as that's our favorite on Carnival. The art collection on the ship is very nice - take different routes so you can see more of it.

 

Happy to answer any other questions or send pictures if I have something you want to see. Safe travels- enjoy your cruise!

 

You can read the Live review I did here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2934932-live-review-eurodam-alaska-april-29-may-6-2023-seattle-roundtrip/?do=findComment&comment=65313568

HALjo1935:

Thank you so very much for your response.  The information you provided is very helpful.  We are looking forward to our cruise with HAL.  I did check out your link.  The pictures were fantastic. 

I was wonder about dining reservation. On Carnival you had to use the Carnival App to make all the dining reservation.  How is it handled on HAL.  Do you use their APP or do you have to go to a physical location to make the reservations. We have anytime dinning.

 

Thanks again.   

 

[Haljo1935]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

My fear is that as more and more book this way with CO, HAL will take it away as a CO benefit. 

Or revert back to the original CO pricing. When the program launched, it was double the cost it is now.

[kazu]

7 minutes ago, bfury said:

HALjo1935:

Thank you so very much for your response.  The information you provided is very helpful.  We are looking forward to our cruise with HAL.  I did check out your link.  The pictures were fantastic. 

I was wonder about dining reservation. On Carnival you had to use the Carnival App to make all the dining reservation.  How is it handled on HAL.  Do you use their APP or do you have to go to a physical location to make the reservations. We have anytime dinning.

 

Thanks again.   

 

 

I’m not Haljo1953 but if you have anytime dining, there is no need to make dining reservations.

 

If you do want to reserve for a couple of nights, availability is only at certain times in the MDR (approximately 5:30 - 6:30 and after 8).  If you wanted to arrange this I would speak to the MDR asst / manager to reserve.

 

For specialty dining - you can do it on Naviagator or go to the Specialty Dining Podium IF you haven’t booked pre-cruise.

[bfury]

19 hours ago, Crew News said:

I was aboard the Eurodam last month so just a few thought in addition to what has been provided above:

1.  No programming will appear on your stateroom TV until the safety video has been played.  There is approximately a two hour window, ending 30 minutes before sailing, for all passengers to report to their muster stations for small group briefings.  If you visit your muster station before the fluorescent vest-wearing guides are in place, there will be nobody to scan your stateroom keycard to validate your mandatory attendance. 

2.  Club Orange (CO) - CO guest will be escorted to "better" tables which could be in any location of the dining room.

3.  Dining - Free made-to-order pizza is a big plus as is the free Dive-in burgers.  My favorite dining venue is the Tamarind Restaurant.  i was not impressed with the Morimoto pop-up.

 

Thanks for your response.  The muster is a little different than on Carnival.  Carnival had the muster video but you could ignore it.  Thanks for the info about not showing up at the muster station before the guides are in place. Even though muster appears to be easy I sure don't one to do it more than once. 

With Club Orange do you make your reservations before hand or do you just show up to the MDR.  Seem as though if you just show up you could be in for a long wait.  

Love the free made-to-order pizza and the free Dive-in burgers.  We almost lived on pizza on our last cruise on Carnival.  Will have to take a closer look at the Tamarind Restaurant.  Trying to find current menus for all the different restaurants is difficult.  Can you tell me about the Italian restaurant. I understand it is only available on certain days.

Once again I appreciate you response.

 

[bfury]

17 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

Re: Club Orange - depending on the cabin you booked the 'free' cabin upgrade is definitely worth looking into if you haven't already.  I booked the cheapest Oceanview cabin and was then able to use CO to upgrade to a larger Oceanview cabin that would have cost nearly 1,000 more if I had booked it originally.

 

Thanks for the information about the upgrade.  When we made the booking the first person we spoke to didn't mention an upgrade but we called back because we had some questions and the second person noticed we hadn't done an upgrade and took care of it for us. We went from a standard verandah to a spa level verandah. We are almost at the top of the ship.  Mainly got Club Orange for the priority embarkation. I have neuropathy in my feet, due to chemo treatment, and it is difficult to stand for long periods of time. Walking is fine, standing not so good. Your info was helpful.

[bfury]

10 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

I’m not Haljo1953 but if you have anytime dining, there is no need to make dining reservations.

 

If you do want to reserve for a couple of nights, availability is only at certain times in the MDR (approximately 5:30 - 6:30 and after 8).  If you wanted to arrange this I would speak to the MDR asst / manager to reserve.

 

For specialty dining - you can do it on Naviagator or go to the Specialty Dining Podium IF you haven’t booked pre-cruise.

 

kazu thanks for the information.  Moving from on cruise line to another can be a bit tricky and if you can get as much info up front the better off you are.  Will be adding this info to our HAL folder.

 

[Crew News]

23 minutes ago, bfury said:

 

Thanks for your response.  The muster is a little different than on Carnival.  Carnival had the muster video but you could ignore it.  Thanks for the info about not showing up at the muster station before the guides are in place. Even though muster appears to be easy I sure don't one to do it more than once. 

With Club Orange do you make your reservations before hand or do you just show up to the MDR.  Seem as though if you just show up you could be in for a long wait.  

Love the free made-to-order pizza and the free Dive-in burgers.  We almost lived on pizza on our last cruise on Carnival.  Will have to take a closer look at the Tamarind Restaurant.  Trying to find current menus for all the different restaurants is difficult.  Can you tell me about the Italian restaurant. I understand it is only available on certain days.

Once again I appreciate you response.

 

The Eurodam does not have a separate Club Orange dining room or dedicated seating area.  From what I have observed, Club Orange guests are seated immediately (ahead of others in line). Club Orange does not accept reservations as they have a limited clientele. On Pinnacle-class ships with a dedicated dining room, I have seen waits up to 15 minutes with guests given beepers.

 

The Tamarind Restaurant is open every evening with the exception of one evening each cruise dedicated to a pop-up Morimoto dining experience.

 

For current HAL menus use the link in the bottom right corner of my signature.

Edited March 22 by Crew News

[islandwoman]

17 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

Re: Club Orange - depending on the cabin you booked the 'free' cabin upgrade is definitely worth looking into if you haven't already.  I booked the cheapest Oceanview cabin and was then able to use CO to upgrade to a larger Oceanview cabin that would have cost nearly 1,000 more if I had booked it originally.

How do the Club Orange cabin upgrades work - When can you get them - how many categories can you upgrade - can you pick your upgraded cabin?

[Sea Hag]

38 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

How do the Club Orange cabin upgrades work - When can you get them - how many categories can you upgrade - can you pick your upgraded cabin?

I'm pretty much a HAL newbie, but I can tell you how it's worked for me. First off, I look at cabins available for the cruise I want to do. Then I call in and ask if CO is available for that sailing. If it is, then I tell the HAL person that I want to book it, add CO, and get the upgrade. I tell him or her what cabin I want to end up in, and he or she makes a booking for a cabin in the lowest category that can be upgraded to where I want to be. I make the deposit and pay for CO. I get an email confirmation. In the meantime, the HAL agent is working with the CO department to get the upgrade. When that's done, I get another email confirmation with the cabin that I wanted showing as booked. The last one I booked, I paid for a VF and got the VB that I wanted. There's probably an easier way to do this, but I find this very simple.

[Haljo1935]

4 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Yes, that is correct.  I was one of many who posted that I would not book at the initial offering price.  Following my experience as a NS perq on Pinnacle-class, I did start booking at the lower price because I felt that the CO dining was well worth it.  (I am not as interested in the upgrade benefits as I am in the smaller dining room.)  I will need to revisit whether CO dining (on Pinnacle-class) will be worth it at a price increase.  I may decide that it is not as high on my priority list as it currently is.

I have done CO for both - the upgrade and dining. As dedicated dining is only available on the 3 Pinnacle Class ships and 1 of those the room was so cold we went to MDR instead, I have quickly learned that benefit is not as valuable to me as I thought it would be. 

[YourWorldWithBill]

2 hours ago, islandwoman said:

How do the Club Orange cabin upgrades work - When can you get them - how many categories can you upgrade - can you pick your upgraded cabin?

The process is just as @Sea Hagsaid; while I was still on the phone making my booking with my PCC, the cabin I requested was confirmed. On the Rotterdam we found the CO dining room really nice, comfortable, not too cold; but as the newest ship, the CO dining room was built into the ship, rather than just taking over another area. We'll let you know our reaction to the Nieuw Statendam in a couple of months.

[Toofarfromthesea]

2 hours ago, islandwoman said:

How do the Club Orange cabin upgrades work - When can you get them - how many categories can you upgrade - can you pick your upgraded cabin?

 

You can get a free upgrade to any available cabin in the category of the cabin you are nominally booked in.  You can get it as soon as you pay for Club Orange.  You cannot upgrade to a better category, it has to be the same broad category.  Oceanview to Oceanview, Balcony to Balcony.  You can't cross to a higher category but you CAN move up to a better sub-category.  And yes, you pick your upgraded cabin from any available cabin.

 

In my case I booked one of the few Oceanview solo cabins.  Then I used CO to upgrade to a much larger Oceanview cabin which would have cost nearly $1,000 more to book originally. It was a 17 day cruise so CO cost me 17 x $15 = 255.  The $15 is per person but I was sailing solo.  I suspect my deal was close the extreme because of sailing solo.