Should I upgrade? And a couple of other first time cruiser questions (scuba, pickleball)

[bdawg76]

Hi everybody,

 

I am a 47M and going on my first ever cruise with a buddy from high school.  We're aboard the Eurodam on its 11 day Eastern Caribbean Wayfarer Dec 9 to 20.

 

I have always thought of myself an independent traveler and never considered going on a cruise before, but by status matching from Caesar's I was able to get an offer for a free cruise from HAL, and here I am lol.  My buddy and I each had to pay just $200 in taxes.  This only gets us an interior room though.  The HAL agent suggested we would get assigned one of the 8 standard interior rooms on deck 4 upon check-in.  We were offered an opportunity to upgrade.  I don't remember all the prices as this was a couple of months ago but I think a verandah upgrade was $400 per person.  My buddy has been on a few cruises (though not sure he's been on a HAL cruise) and said he thought we should either go verandah or just stick with what we have as he thought verandahs were nice but that he's never spent that much time in his room on a cruise.  He wasn't interested in the ocean view rooms that were a cheaper upgrade.  Not wanting to turn our free cruise into a not-free-cruise, I suggested we stick with the interior room.

 

Flash forward to today.  I just received an email offering to upgrade to a verandah room for $300 per person.  That doesn't seem too bad, and I'm wondering if we should do it.  But I have no experience in this--are we likely to receive an even better offer if we wait?  Or will we get automatically upgraded to something better if the ship doesn't fill?  Those standard interior rooms on deck 4 appear to be right above the World Stage and that makes me nervous about sound bleeding into the room.

 

My second question is about scuba diving.  I am advanced open water certified and would like to scuba at some of these ports of calls.  It wasn't listed on the activities list for any of the ports of call.  Is it possible through HAL or would I need to arrange it with a local scuba operator?

 

My third question is a very silly one about pickleball.  I've recently started playing a little and saw that the Eurodam has pickleball on board.  Do I need to bring my own paddle or do they have ones I can use on the ship?

 

Thanks in advance for the help, and please chime in with anything else you think would be useful to me as a first time cruiser on this particular route.

[Banditswife]

Can't really answer your pickleball or scuba questions.

But I will comment on your upgrade question:  It is of course entirely up to you, but we rarely spend time on our balcony when we have one.  It is too windy while the ship is in motion, sailing.  But having the daylight & fresh air is nice.  Are they allowing you to choose your cabin if you upgrade?  That would also be a deciding factor for me.  I think what you've been given or booked is probably an inside guarantee.  I doubt this means you will be assigned 1 of the 8 cabins you mention.  It usually means any inside cabin anywhere on the ship.  We've booked inside guarantees several times.  Sometimes we love our location, other times we didn't really like what we got.  But like your friend said, we are rarely in the cabin, so no big deal.  We are just there to sleep & shower.

 

Enjoy your 1st cruise

[KAKcruiser]

I would take the upgrade offer.  $300 pp for a verandah sounds like a good deal. The verandah will be bigger than an inside. I don't think there is much chance you would get automatically upgraded to this category.  If you do decide to upgrade, have a deck plan available because they usually let you pick your cabin.

[bdawg76]

58 minutes ago, Banditswife said:

Can't really answer your pickleball or scuba questions.

But I will comment on your upgrade question:  It is of course entirely up to you, but we rarely spend time on our balcony when we have one.  It is too windy while the ship is in motion, sailing.  But having the daylight & fresh air is nice.  Are they allowing you to choose your cabin if you upgrade?  That would also be a deciding factor for me.  I think what you've been given or booked is probably an inside guarantee.  I doubt this means you will be assigned 1 of the 8 cabins you mention.  It usually means any inside cabin anywhere on the ship.  We've booked inside guarantees several times.  Sometimes we love our location, other times we didn't really like what we got.  But like your friend said, we are rarely in the cabin, so no big deal.  We are just there to sleep & shower.

 

Enjoy your 1st cruise

When I was offered the verandah for $400 per person when I originally booked, I was definitely being offered to choose my cabin.  I would be surprised if it's different now, but it's my first time cruising so I don't really know.

 

You are probably right about the inside guarantee.  The match offer was "HALMatch 1: Complimentary Interior Cabin + $100 Freeplay with Drinks for two (2) while playing in the casino"

 

The newest offer to upgrade that is $300 pp for a verandah is $149 pp for an ocean view and $99 pp for an obstructed ocean view.

[OlsSalt]

I have never seen scuba offered as a shore excursion. PADI myself.  Plenty of snorkeling, but now even that that is age restricted.You will need to connect to a local certified scuba operator in each port.  Easy to do online today. They can make arrangements for you to get from the port to their locale.  Or it might be walkable.

[AroundWithMAPTravels]

They have pickleball paddles onboard.  But if you are “particular” to your own, by all means bring it.   I was a newbie to the sport on Zaandam in Aug, so the ships paddles were fine for me.   I was just thrilled to be able to learn to play.   Others that I encountered had their own paddles. Some, like me, used the provided equipment 

[daisy-mae]

Although paddles are usually provided, we like to travel with our own (as well as a few extra balls just in case...).

 

Have fun!

[kazu]

OK, If I am correct - your cabin offer is a guarantee. - that means you could be in a bad location.  If you take the upsell to the verandah, you should be able to choose your cabin and that, in itself, is worth the money to me..

 

I would do the upgrade, but that’s just me.

 

Pickleball is always on the ships, no problem.

 

For scuba - I’d look for private excursions.  there are some good ones - especially since you are certified.  The only HAL ones I have seen were for new people.

 

You may even be able to luck into at port but me, being the planner I am, I would book in advance and avoid disappointment.

[bdawg76]

1 hour ago, KAKcruiser said:

I would take the upgrade offer.  $300 pp for a verandah sounds like a good deal. The verandah will be bigger than an inside. I don't think there is much chance you would get automatically upgraded to this category.  If you do decide to upgrade, have a deck plan available because they usually let you pick your cabin.

 

Yeah this makes sense.  I do wonder if I would get upgraded to an ocean view stateroom or at least a bigger interior room by doing nothing though.  Do the offers ever get even cheaper if one waits?

Your point about a bigger room may be the biggest deal.  I should call in and see what I can get.  It seems the verandah rooms run from 213 to 379 sq feet which is a big spread.  Are there any favorite verandah rooms on the Eurodam?

[bdawg76]

Appreciate everyone's info on the scuba--I'll arrange with local operators.  And on the pickleball!  I'll see if I've got room for a paddle or not when I pack...mine's not fancy anyway.

[bdawg76]

24 minutes ago, kazu said:

OK, If I am correct - your cabin offer is a guarantee. - that means you could be in a bad location.  If you take the upsell to the verandah, you should be able to choose your cabin and that, in itself, is worth the money to me..

 

I would do the upgrade, but that’s just me.

 

Yeah if I'm for sure stuck in one of those interior rooms right above the World Stage, that would kinda stink.  I'm going to give HAL a call tomorrow and see what's what.  I'll report back!

[POA1]

Grab the PDF of the deck plan before you call about the upgrade. That way, you can see where to your room will be. Familiarize yourself with the little symbols so that you know what is obstructed, has no overhang, etc. In general, V is the highest category, followed by VA, VB, VC... All the way down to VH.

 

The side of the ship, port or starboard, probably doesn't matter much. If you want an aft verandah, they will be in VB on the Eurodam.

[crystalspin]

3 hours ago, bdawg76 said:

...I do wonder if I would get upgraded to an ocean view stateroom or at least a bigger interior room by doing nothing though.  Do the offers ever get even cheaper if one waits?

...It seems the verandah rooms run from 213 to 379 sq feet which is a big spread.  

A precious few insides get an upgrade to K or J Main Deck insides, or OV (probably obscured or in a non-optimum location). If a ship really is not selling well anything can happen, but the news is all about how cruising is booming...

 

The BIG range of any class of cabins is usually due to the handicapped rooms within the class. Assume yours will be near the low end!

 

I think you should run not walk to the phone with the deckplans on your screen, and upgrade. If it were me. 

 

Edited October 31, 2023 by crystalspin

[REOVA]

Currently on that cruise right now. It's sold out and ship is full, no upgrades so expect as you get closer no more offers. We tend to book balcony cabins as my wife has gotten sick multiple times (flu, covid, etc) and having fresh air is nice. We spend alot of time on the balcony sitting and watching the water, especially morning and evening, catching sunrise or sunsets. We book port or starboard depending on direction the ship travels. This time was port to see the islands. But not really important. Be careful of deck 8 unless under spa (not under fitness center or Lido pool or buffet). Deck 10 may have more sway to it. There is a scuba excursion but it sounds basic. Plan private excursions with enough time to get there, scuba and return to ship at least an hour before all aboard. Traffic sometimes can be slow on the islands and ship will leave you if late. Bring your own paddle. There are alot of players so not sure how many paddles they have or how many players at a time are playing. 

[AKJonesy]

Stateroom location is critical. Make sure you DL the ED pdf doc which you can find by googling Holland America Staterooms and look for the pdf document.  Stay away from the World Stage, kitchens and Lido.  

The Eurodam has a wonderful promenade deck and during the day they will put out the deck loungers along with the blankets and you can have that "verandah" there if you decide not to upgrade.  Of course, there are deck loungers at the pools too, but also on the higher deck which is usually empty.  

 

[*Miss G*]

11 hours ago, crystalspin said:

A precious few insides get an upgrade to K or J Main Deck insides, or OV (probably obscured or in a non-optimum location)

 

And of those, the odds are that someone who paid full price (vs receiving a free room) would be upgraded first.

 

Welcome to Holland America, @bdawg76!  Looking forward to hearing your upgrade results and I hope you enjoy your cruise!

[CruisingGrandmaW]

@bdawg76

We just got off the Eurodam.

We originally booked via an Inside Guarantee Cabin offer.

Ours was a repositioning cruise from Alaska via P canal to Ft Lauderdale

 

Upon printing out Boarding Pass - ended up with Ocean View Cabin - Deck 1 - just behind the Aft set of elevators.

 

I would definitely take the offered veranda upgrade.

While we were overall comfortable in our Cabin - it did have it's issues:

1) 5 out of 16 Night cruise - had different kitchen odors entering cabin via ventilation system: raw onion, curry food smell, cooking grease etc.

2) Cabin location was more warm than rest of ship - our Cabin steward brought us a fan to use upon embarkment.  We could not have survived our warm cabin without it.

 

We normally cruise - veranda.  

At the price of upgrade you were offered - TAKE IT - which you decided to do.

Hope you are able to obtain a nice Veranda Cabin

 

[WannaSea]

Last year the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas was a good time to take an upgrade on the Eurodam. Not as many people traveling, so more cabins to choose from. Hope it works for you.

[vicd1969]

$300 is still like 2-3 extra scuba sessions, right? I wouldn't upgrade and use the funds for your shore excursions. Scenery in the Caribbean isn't usually worth the upgrade, imho, unlike if this was an Alaska or Norway cruise. The Eurodam has a lot of nice outside viewing areas on the ship.  Also, unless you're an early-to-bed person, having a room above the main stage isn't as big of an issue on HAL, compared to most other cruise lines - whose shows can go late into the evening.

 

Definitely go with private scuba operators -  there may be quite a few that offer free pickup from near the cruise port terminal in whatever islands you visit. You can look up their reviews on this board's parent company, that big online review site that starts with "T". 

[bdawg76]

Hi everybody, just talked with HAL and agreed to pay the price and upgraded to V5113.  There were a few other available: V5127, V5128, V5130, VA8074, and VQ10035.  5113 seemed like the best option.  I appreciate everybody's help!

[Langoustine]

Unless you and your friend have a great deal of money, I think you've made a very bad decision.

[oakridger]

12 minutes ago, Langoustine said:

Unless you and your friend have a great deal of money, I think you've made a very bad decision.

 

???  Looks like a great cabin to me!!  V5113 for an extra $27 pp per day sounds great to me for this midship cabin.  For two friends in a room the extra veranda space will be welcome, I'm sure!

 

Have a wonderful first cruise and I hope the scuba diving is good too!

~Nancy

Edited October 31, 2023 by oakridger

[bdawg76]

28 minutes ago, Langoustine said:

Unless you and your friend have a great deal of money, I think you've made a very bad decision.

Maybe so! But as Caesar supposedly said: the die is cast. Well, he would’ve said it in Latin. 

[bdawg76]

17 minutes ago, oakridger said:

 

???  Looks like a great cabin to me!!  V5113 for an extra $27 pp per day sounds great to me for this midship cabin.  For two friends in a room the extra veranda space will be welcome, I'm sure!

 

Have a wonderful first cruise and I hope the scuba diving is good too!

~Nancy

thanks! Something said earlier in this thread that as a non paying customer I was likely to get the very worst cabin on the ship resonated with me. $300 in the end seemed pretty reasonable to guarantee myself a decent cabin. And my buddy was on board. 

[vswan]

I've spent way more than $300pp to get a balcony vs inside cabin. Have had many insides, but once I had a balcony, have a hard time going back to inside. Like my own outdoor space and fresh air.