Holland America shore excursions

[chewie44]

This will be our 2nd cruise and first with HAL. We used Norweigan last year for our first cruise, but were disappointed in the food, so we expect more from HAL.

 

Anyway, I read that HAL charges you immediately for shore excursions when you reserve them online, which is different from Norweigan because last year on Norweigan they charged us for our excursions only when we arrived on board.

 

It does not make sense to charge you immediately, I feel, since you might change your mind when you get on board the ship and go with a different excursion, etc.

 

Also my mom and I will be paying for our excursions separately, so if I were to book online, then my card would be charged for both of our tickets.

 

Am I correct in this? Did I read it right or will HAL charge for excursions once on board?

[ilovhywd]

Yes, you read it right. I booked a shore excursion last week, and it already shows up on my credit card bill that I can view online.

 

Since my particular tour only can take 28 people, I was worried about waiting to book it until I was on board the ship. There was a distinct possibility that I could have been shut out or put on a waiting list.

 

You can still cancel or change the booking up until the date and time that the tour desk closes the tour, which is usually a day or two before.

 

You can book online with separate credit cards. They do not necessarily use the credit card that you registered for your on-board charges. I had to enter my card number separately for the tour.

[janiceah]

Hi Chewie, we just booked our first cruise with Hal and that will be our second cruise also. Our first was with NCL and I totally agree about the food. I really thought the main dining food was lacking and the service in there kind of fell apart. That's one of the reasons we are trying HAL too for a 02/10 cruise. I also have to say that the non stop super loud music by the pool drove me crazy. I love music but not blaring at you so you can't hold a conversation. Overall we had a great time but we wanted to try something different.

I would like to know the answer about the excursions also. It was nice to not pay for them until you were onboard. Janice

[Jewel99]

I haven't been on a HAL cruise yet, so I hope it's okay that I'm putting in my two cents. I actually asked the shore excursions desk about this issue and they told me that I could cancel anytime up until 5 days prior to the start of your cruise without any penalty and they will refund the money to your credit card.

 

If you try to cancel within 5 days of your cruise, then it's subject to a 10% penalty.

 

Some of the high-end tours in specific HA collections have more strict cancellation policies with no refunds after a specific date, I think.

 

At first I didn't like the idea of paying for things almost 6 months before the cruise, but now I'm warming up to it. I can still cancel if our plans change, plus I have more time to pay it off my credit card before the trip and at least I know that I've got specific tours booked that are of interest to me.

[Boytjie]

It was nice to not pay for them until you were onboard.

 

On the other hand, I like that much of the cruise vacation will be paid for even before I board the ship. :)

[wander]

On several HAL cruises I made changes after pre-reservations and found that my credit card was credited by the next month for the cx. shore ex. No problems but I always made changes more than 5 days before departure. I tend to like the very tours that are limited in numbers. Also, to date if I change my mind once onboard, IF I switch to another tour for the same port I have not been charged a CX fee.

[janiceah]

I do have to agree with Peter that it would be nice to have it paid for before boarding. The more I have paid for ahead of time the better so I can see the benefit of paying for it when booking, especially if it's easy to cancel if needed. Janice

[Willsot]

Agree with others that we like to pre-pay in order to secure a reservation and to get yet another cruise expense out of the way prior to the actual cruise. I also pre-pay for a wine card, our HMC cabana and specialty restaurant reservations.

[Pete Jackson]

Paying for things ahead of time makes a lot of sense these days if you use money that you have in the stock market. That really paid off for our last December cruise since the money then got removed from the stock market before the crash! :D

[Roz]

Personally, I like having my shorex reserved and paid for before I board, and coming into the cabin and seeing the hot pink tickets in the envelope on the dresser.

 

Roz

[chewie44]

Hi Chewie, we just booked our first cruise with Hal and that will be our second cruise also. Our first was with NCL and I totally agree about the food. I really thought the main dining food was lacking and the service in there kind of fell apart. That's one of the reasons we are trying HAL too for a 02/10 cruise. I also have to say that the non stop super loud music by the pool drove me crazy. I love music but not blaring at you so you can't hold a conversation. Overall we had a great time but we wanted to try something different.

I would like to know the answer about the excursions also. It was nice to not pay for them until you were onboard. Janice

Hey another newbie to HAL! I so agree with you about NCL's food. It was so disappointing, and I expect alot since I'm paying alot of money to go on a cruise. That is why we are using HAL because so many passengers on the NCL told us that HAL or Celebrity were the better cruise lines.

 

Of course, now we will have 2 formal nights on our cruise, which is far different than the casual style of NCL, and that means more things to pack, so packing light, might not be an option.

 

I do believe that it will be a positive experience with HAL because I hear that the food is a better quality, and I believe that the crew cannot do enough for you...they go out of their way to please.

[sodomojo]

Of course, now we will have 2 formal nights on our cruise, which is far different than the casual style of NCL, and that means more things to pack, so packing light, might not be an option.

 

Chewie, you do know you have the option of going to Lido (partial main dining room menu) or order that EXACT same menu as in room dining right?? That way you don't have to pack extra...