Does HA let us off the ship at the end of first segment of a combined cruise itinerary?

[GreenDice]

I will be on a 14-day cruise in 2024, departing and returning to Rotterdam. I booked a combined 14-day itinerary instead of a B2B of two 7-day cruises.

At the end of 7 days, the ship returns to Rotterdam. Does Holland America usually let us get off the ship and do a shore excursion for several hours?

I wonder if they give us options.

 

Thanks in advance.

[FOPMan]

Yes, you may disembark. There may be special instructions or a procedure to go through (In the US, HAL needs to get Immigration to clear the ship before new passengers can board, and that means accounting for all “old” passengers.

 

The only time that might be limited is if the turn around time is too short.

[kazu]

18 minutes ago, GreenDice said:

I will be on a 14-day cruise in 2024, departing and returning to Rotterdam. I booked a combined 14-day itinerary instead of a B2B of two 7-day cruises.

At the end of 7 days, the ship returns to Rotterdam. Does Holland America usually let us get off the ship and do a shore excursion for several hours?

I wonder if they give us options.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Yes, it’s a ‘turnaround’ day for you.  So Rotterdam is another port day.  You are given a special card identifying you as In transit - and you go straight to security and do not bother with the check in that the new passengers do.

 

So you just need to be back in time as specified.  You most likely will not have to repeat the muster drill but you will need to watch the lifeboat demonstration on your tv.  HAL will give you a letter fully explaining the process on board.

 

edited to say - Europe is not the U.S. and the ship does not have to go to zero count.  

[GreenDice]

8 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Yes, it’s a ‘turnaround’ day for you.  So Rotterdam is another port day.  You are given a special card identifying you as In transit - and you go straight to security and do not bother with the check in that the new passengers do.

 

So you just need to be back in time as specified. 

 

9 minutes ago, FOPMan said:

The only time that might be limited is if the turn around time is too short.

 

Thanks. The schedule says 7:00 am arrival and 3:00 pm departure. That should be enough, I hope.

[kazu]

8 minutes ago, GreenDice said:

 

 

Thanks. The schedule says 7:00 am arrival and 3:00 pm departure. That should be enough, I hope.

 

Oh I think so.  Rotterdam is a lovely city - you could visit Hotel New York (the old HAL headquarters) and even tour the old Rotterdam (now a hotel on the water), or the windmills - it’s a long list.  Enjoy!

[CruiserBruce]

@FOPMan  I would love an example of the turn around time being too short, as the ship needs to off load 90+% of it's pax, and load the new pax, plus supplies. Never heard of a turnaround time being too short, nor experienced anything like that.

[FOPMan]

12 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

@FOPMan  I would love an example of the turn around time being too short, as the ship needs to off load 90+% of it's pax, and load the new pax, plus supplies. Never heard of a turnaround time being too short, nor experienced anything like that.

I wouldn’t see it as an itinerary feature, but in response to a late docking situation where turn-around needs to be accelerated or because of a tide they beed to catch.. Decidedly a rarity.