I have not cruised Holland America since the shutdown...I have questions

[birdie16]

I have not cruised Holland America since the shutdown...I have questions. Forgive me if these questions have already been answered, I did searches first and couldn't find anything.

 

We just cruised Carnival and were disappointed in the things they have removed since the restart. I am wondering, does Holland America still have the tea time? Captain's party? Tablecloths? Robes in the cabins? 

 

What changes should we expect when we return to Holland America?

 

Thanks!

 

Pam

[Andi Land]

14 minutes ago, birdie16 said:

I have not cruised Holland America since the shutdown...I have questions. Forgive me if these questions have already been answered, I did searches first and couldn't find anything.

 

We just cruised Carnival and were disappointed in the things they have removed since the restart. I am wondering, does Holland America still have the tea time? Captain's party? Tablecloths? Robes in the cabins? 

 

What changes should we expect when we return to Holland America?

 

Thanks!

 

Pam

We sailed in December 2021 and there were tablecloths, tea time, and robes in the cabin. Not sure about a Captains party though. We had a great time and have another cruise in just a few days. 

[birdie16]

9 minutes ago, Andi Land said:

We sailed in December 2021 and there were tablecloths, tea time, and robes in the cabin. Not sure about a Captains party though. We had a great time and have another cruise in just a few days. 

Thank you! We have two Holland America cruises booked for this year. I'm happy to hear not much has changed. Have a great cruise!

Edited June 12, 2022 by birdie16

[jakers]

We have sailed on the Nieuw Amsterdam (7/24/21) and the Koningsdam (12/19/21) along with some Carnival cruises. The main problem that may or may not be noticed is the understaffing of the crews. It appears that the cruise lines are shifting people around so that they can maintain a certain level of staffing on all the ships. Some cruise lines are doing a better job than others. My guess is that the visa problem is limiting the addition of new staff. 

We like the table cloths, tea time, and the fact that food is served in the Lido. The staff has always been friendly and helpful. Limited staffing shows up around the margins. Getting on and off the ship. Customer service desk. Overworked Personal Cruise Consultants. The only time that we  had complaints about the food was on the first cruise. They probably shouldn't have served food that had been in the freezer for two years. We are cruising on HAL in August and are looking forward to it.

[Cajuntraveler]

We have cruised HAL three times since cruising restarted last summer.  The only change we noticed is that our room attendants only cleaned the cabin once per day unless we requested twice daily cleaning. No problem for us - they always checked the room twice a day and provided ice and fresh towels.  One other big change is the possibility of masks being required. Post covid cruising requires that we be flexible and accept that some entertainment may be cancelled due to covid.  Enjoy your cruise.

[darstamp]

I just got back from a 7 day cruise to Alaska on the Koningsdam.  It was wonderful.  Masking was recommended and most people wore masks while walking and in elevators but removed them when seated.  The food was very good but the appetizers in Rudi's sel du Mer were quite substantial so recommend you only order one.  Also recommend if you are going to Alaska that you keep something handy for seasickness while traversing the coast from Ketchikan to the inside passage as it is mostly open ocean and was a bit rough.  I use wrist bands but whatever works is good just in case.  Embarking and disembarking went very smoothly.  I was glad we brought paper copies of everything.  There was no evidence of Covid on the ship, and lots of cleaning and disinfecting.  

[FlaMariner]

We've cruised twice on HAL since the unpleasantness....

 

Yes to all except the Captains Party...not sure about that....Do you mean the big reception where you meet after dinner and before the show in the theatre and toast the captain....We did do that on the Rotterdam last October. 

 

Savor the journey and welcome back onboard!

[jeh10641]

On our early December Rotterdam cruise, we were at about 70% capacity. Table cloths were evident. The meals were some of the best ever eaten, land or sea. I think there was a "tea" but do not remember. Robes and umbrella in cabin (inside, deck two, midships). Service may be an issue if capacity is closer to 100%, as on all cruise lines. I do not think there was a Captain's party. I do not remember an "Orange Party" either and I had clothes for that!

 

Jim

[Roz]

I sailed on the Rotterdam in March - no Captain's Party, no Mariner's Reception, and no Orange Party.  We were at 92% capacity.  Service wasn't good in DR or bars.

[Storylady]

Captain’s party’s haven’t happened since COVID for obvious reasons. We did have some very small, but nice Mariners Receptions. Captain’s parties won’t come back until covid is gone. If the Captain got covid, everyone he was in contact with would have to be quarantined and that would cancel the wonderful cruise you were looking forward to.

 

Please ignore the negative comments that are appearing on this main HAL board. Just go and enjoy your cruise. I guarantee you will have a great cruise. The staff are eager to serve you.
 

Edited June 13, 2022 by Storylady

[Storylady]

3 hours ago, Roz said:

I sailed on the Rotterdam in March - no Captain's Party, no Mariner's Reception, and no Orange Party.  We were at 92% capacity.  Service wasn't good in DR or bars.

We had Mariner’s Reception on the Rotterdam, but it maybe because we were high mariners. They are only doing small groups so as to avoid staff and passengers getting COVID due to people not wearing a mask while drinking their wine or cocktail. All those receiving a medallion were invited.

Edited June 13, 2022 by Storylady

[jakers]

We attended a "Renewal of Vows" ceremony on the Nieuw Amsterdam last summer . Only invited guests were allowed to attend and everybody wore masks throughout the ceremony even though they weren't required on the ship.

[LJProk]

Just got off Noordam for 7 nights. Yes to tablecloths, yes to Orange Party, yes to bathrobes and slippers, and they cleaned our cabin twice a day. Did not go to teatime but they did have it daily.

 

They even provided blankets for the deck in our room and on the lido decks upstairs.

[albingirl]

The negative comments here are common to these boards.  No mariner party doesn't matter to me, since I always find it boring, and I couldn't care less about an Orange Party, but service in DR and bars are areas that are important to me.  I've yet to have trouble in that direction.  Enjoy your cruise.

[Storylady]

3 hours ago, albingirl said:

The negative comments here are common to these boards.  No mariner party doesn't matter to me, since I always find it boring, and I couldn't care less about an Orange Party, but service in DR and bars are areas that are important to me.  I've yet to have trouble in that direction.  Enjoy your cruise.

But lately they have been really poisonous. I comment then delete my message as I don’t want to get want to get entangled with then. It almost seems like they have an agenda. Deleting my comment before sending makes me feel good an hurts no one. 

[birdie16]

On 6/13/2022 at 2:12 AM, Storylady said:

Captain’s party’s haven’t happened since COVID for obvious reasons. We did have some very small, but nice Mariners Receptions. Captain’s parties won’t come back until covid is gone. If the Captain got covid, everyone he was in contact with would have to be quarantined and that would cancel the wonderful cruise you were looking forward to.

 

Please ignore the negative comments that are appearing on this main HAL board. Just go and enjoy your cruise. I guarantee you will have a great cruise. The staff are eager to serve you.
 

I didn't even think of the covid factor. That makes good sense. 

[Tracey/Thom]

We just got off the Nieuw Amsterdam to Alaska on May 15th. There was teatime, with cloths and napkins, it was lovely. Our cabin had 2 robes, 2 plastic wrapped blankets (for the balcony). We requested our cabin be cleaned twice daily, and animal towels.  There were most definitely not many passengers (don't know the ratio), compared to previous cruises, pre Covid. The service was fine, and everything was uncrowded. The staff were obviously working fast and furious - they are worth every penny of the gratuities and some.

 

We wore masks in public areas but most passengers didn't. Never a wait for an elevator.  The season had only just opened up in Alaska, so the land tour part was very short staffed, and it showed. The cruise was fantastic.  Ignore the negative Nancys and go enjoy your cruise!

[john2003]

We are currently on the Nieuw Amsterdam. Gather we have about 1200 passengers which is great if not for our shares.

 

So far we have found the food and service to be great. They had a small reception for 3*+ Mariners. No one spoke. I attended the wine tasting, 4*. Ship is in great condition.

[kazu]

On 6/13/2022 at 6:53 PM, Storylady said:

But lately they have been really poisonous. I comment then delete my message as I don’t want to get want to get entangled with then. It almost seems like they have an agenda. Deleting my comment before sending makes me feel good an hurts no one. 

 

I hear you on the agenda - especially when complaints are about some ports in Europe being too far from the spot the want to visit.  Sheesh.  It doesn’t take a lot of research (even reading HAL shore excursions) to know what ports are a distance from Rome, Florence, etc.

 

Smart to post and then to delete 😉 

[Storylady]

6 hours ago, kazu said:

 

I hear you on the agenda - especially when complaints are about some ports in Europe being too far from the spot the want to visit.  Sheesh.  It doesn’t take a lot of research (even reading HAL shore excursions) to know what ports are a distance from Rome, Florence, etc.

 

Smart to post and then to delete 😉 

Kazu, I don’t even post the message. I just write it and then delete the message I have written. It makes me feel good. And as I said it hurts no one. I guess I don’t have patience with some of these posters who are constantly complaining. Posts on Cruise Critic have mentioned docking at Venice would probably be moved to Trieste and Ravenna since last year. I am sorry if some people did get the word. Too bad their TA didn’t inform them.