First Holland America Cruise

[Luckybee]

Hello All

 

Dh and I have booked a cruise on the Koningsdam for November 11 of 2018. This will be our first Hal cruise. I wanted to pop in and say hello and ask a few questions :)

 

We've booked a Aft Neptune suite on the 4th deck(for the larger balcony) but I've been reading reviews and Im wondering if I've made an error in judgement having read about noise/vibrations etc on 4th deck cabins ? I've managed to find photos of the 4th deck aft suites, but haven't found any of other aft Neptune, does anyone have a photo of those aft balconies?

(edited to add...I just found some photos of the 7th floor balconies on the aft wrap around neptunes....am I correct they are basically the same but with that looks like a real couch in the room but a more narrower side balcony) ? Would 8th or 7th deck be a better bet for us in terms of noise and vibrations?)

 

We're disembarking early in Aruba which we've confirmed with Hal. Of course they've advised if the port is missed they are not responsible etc. Has anyone ever seen a case where Aruba is actually missed ? I would think it is a pretty safe bet but just wondering now....lol.

 

We plan on doing mainly specialty dining while on board and including Pinnacle Grill, Tamarind, Sel de Mer, Canaletto, (one night in Curacao since departure isn't until 11 pm), pizza night one night and room service one night. Would have added Delibrije but if Im right we wouldn't know when that is until we're on board and other ressies all already made? Also wasn't sure about Culinary Kitchen...do the menus for this change often ? We weren't crazy over the ones we saw but wondered ? Would CK be better than Canaletto ? Are there any of the specialties that are not great? How difficult are reservations for the dates and times we want? Does the priority suite status assist for reservations made in advance? Or are they just easy to get to begin with ?

 

We were going to do a cabana but not im thinking its probably a waste. Since we are disembarking early we'll miss 2 of the 3 sea days and we have our own large balcony. How difficult is it to find lounge chairs in the sun? Im not worried about being near the pool but we are sun worshippers and have to get our base before we hit Aruba for 2 weeks :)...just want to be able to catch our daily dose of sun and although we'll probably hit the beaches in the various ports we might for 1 port simply skip and stay onboard, and of course there is the 1 sea day that we will be onboard for.

 

How does early embarkation work for Hal ? Is there a suite lounge in the terminal ?

 

We plan on carrying our own wine aboard (and paying corkage) since we were not too impressed by the wine lists we've viewed, but ive also noticed that the bottled water appears to be close to a no name brand so im wondering about bringing a case of Evian as well ? Am I correct that this is acceptable ?

 

Thanks for any opinions , answers etc. Absolutely love the itinerary of this cruise both in terms of some great and safe islands and the ability to get off in Aruba which saves us a flight after the cruise. We know very little about Hal other than what we've read here so Im full of questions.

Edited September 2, 2017 by Luckybee

[CruiserBruce]

We had a 7th deck corner SB in March. Zero vibrations for 21 days. Have not heard anyone complain of vibrations, even in the MDRs, which are decks 2 and 3 aft.

 

The Culinary Center alternates two menus. Suite pax get dinner for free in the Culinary Center the first night. Very good- definitely worth going to. Discussed here from time to time.

 

HAL doesn't have a Suite Lounge prior to boarding.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Do you have it in writing from HAL that you are permitted to leave the ship in Aruba to begin your 2 week vacation there?

[Luckybee]

Thanks Bruce

 

I had read in the reviews of the K about the vibrations on the 4th deck and also about the noise.

Was there any reason in particular why you chose the 7th over the 4th with the larger balcony....every deck is still pretty open for the Neptunes so we can pretty much go anywhere at this point so any advice is appreciated.

 

Are reservations for the first night in the CK made in advance or how does one go about taking advantage of this ? Is it always offered?

[Luckybee]

Do you have it in writing from HAL that you are permitted to leave the ship in Aruba to begin your 2 week vacation there?

 

Yes !!

 

We had to book first but we were able to cancel had they said no, then they sent us an email confirmation confirming the deviation. I didn't expect a problem because it didn't contravene the Jones Act ( I checked first :))

[CruiserBruce]

We picked that cabin before the ship was even launched, so no reviews. Primarily because the Neptune Lounge is on that floor.

 

Se checked out Deck 5 afts...smaller than Deck 7. Balcony size on Deck 7 appears to be second largest, Deck 4 being largest. Know that the size of Deck 4 balconies make them much more exposed to sun.

 

If you feel any vibration (again, we, or our family members on Deck 5, aft corner felt nothing), it is probably during docking and sailaway, so a very small amount of time.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes !!

 

We had to book first but we were able to cancel had they said no, then they sent us an email confirmation confirming the deviation. I didn't expect a problem because it didn't contravene the Jones Act ( I checked first :))

 

 

Great!! Make copies to take with you.

Then stop by the front desk on day 2 of the cruise to show them your letter from HAL about leaving the ship in Aruba. They don't always get the information from Seattle.

[Luckybee]

Thanks all for the info so far....still looking for info on how easy/hard to get specialty restaurant reservations for specific times/dates if we book far in advance. Also how easy to get lounge chairs somewhere on the ship in the sun. Is Ice River Green the only bottled water one can get in the suite ??? I don't want to lug a case of water if we dont have to but we prefer Evian or Voss ....can handle Aquafina or Fiji ? Lastly.....any specialty restaurants that are not suggested ?

 

LOL....dh wants to stay on deck 4....and I want to go up to 7 or 8.....now we have to decide on that dilemma :)

Edited September 3, 2017 by Luckybee