Never cruised on Holland America

[Ianstar]

Never cruised on Holland America.

We found an itinerary we were very interested in. I have some questions.

Don’t want to be surprised on the final cost because of not included expenses. We had changed from Princess Cruises to Crystal (now out of business) because of all inclusive in the long run was cheaper. Wondering what to expect on Holland America.

1. decent drinking water, on many ships we have found the water coming out of the tap to drink is awful. And had to buy bottled water, If there are no filtered water staions.Is that the case on Holland America? I don’t necessarily need bottled water but would like good filtered water.

2. Coffee, some cruise ships the coffee is made from a liquid concentrate and is horrible. Do I have to pay for a decent cup of coffee?

3.I am a fitness buff. How are the fitness classes on board that are included? How much are the fitness classes that are not included?

4. We noticed there is no self serve laundry. Is the cleaning service reasonable or outrageous.

5. Is Wi-Fi included? If not what is the cost?
6. Are there parts of the ship such as spa sanctuary or other limited access areas, that they charge for and if so how much?

7. How crowded are pool areas? Can you get a lounger?

8. How are the wine and cocktail prices? 

Any other things that need to be consider?

[RuthC]

1.)Water from the tap is fine for drinking; add ice from your ice bucket. 
It's the same water served at meals, and that melts from ice in your cocktails. 

2.)Coffee is made from ground coffee beans. Not the best ever, but quite drinkable. You can also purchase various specialty coffees at Explorations Café. 

4.)You can send a (cloth; it doesn't tear) bag of laundry for $20 (US; $30 Europe). You can also purchase unlimited laundry for $7/day times the number of days on your cruise ($9/day Europe). 
These are not 'specials', and are available every day until the day before the end of the cruise. Clothes come back washed, ironed, and either folded or on hangers (your choice). 

5.) You purchase an Internet plan at one of three levels, each adding more sites you can access. The price depends on the number of days, and level you want. There are charts previously posted, and someone is likely to post again in reply to your query. 

8.)Most cocktails are $10.95 each, plus tip. You can also purchase a Signature Beverage Package which gets you 15 drinks/day up to $11, or an Elite Package allowing for drinks up to $15. Tips are included in the package prices. 

[rafinmd]

I have about 400 days on Holland America and 500 on Crystal.  I'll start with a suggestion that you share what ship you are considering as there are quite a few differences.  I'm generally a low bill person so I can't answer a lot of your questions but will mention a couple of things.

 

I have found the free coffee on HAL to be quite comparable to what was served in Crystal's Lido marketplace.  If you were happy with that you will probably like HAL's coffee.  The free coffee will not be what was served in the Bistro.

 

I was quite satisfied with the tap water both on Crystal and HAL.  If you had a problem with that on Crystal you will likely need to find another source on HAL as well but others may know of some different options.

 

I am now a HAL 4-star mariner and as such get unlimited free laundry but have found the ship's laundry to be very good and responsive.

 

Roy

[Ianstar]

Great information. We are looking at the Westerdam Tokyo to Seattle. Keep them coming people I really appreciate it

[RuthC]

8 minutes ago, Ianstar said:

We are looking at the Westerdam Tokyo to Seattle. Keep them coming people I really appreciate it

Great itinerary! I really enjoyed it. Be aware, though that you are heading west to east, so lose an hour many nights. 
IIRC, there were also a couple of days when we also lost an hour during the day. Up that far north each time zone is fairly narrow, so it's not hard to cross two time zones in a day. 

[KiwiGal117]

 I too am new to HAL.  We recently booked an Alaskan cruise and chose the "Have it all" package which includes the signature drinks package, Wifi, a $100 shorex credit, a dinner at a specialty dining restaurant.  We also got a $50 OBC as that was an incentive at the time of booking.  It ended up being about $1200 extra for the two of us (so $600 pp) over the cost of the basic cruise.  I always prefer not having to fuss with signing receipts and seeing surprises on the onboard account at the end.  Not sure if this is useful for you, but thought I'd mention it!