First time obsessive complusive planner has questions

[super_grover]

Hi everyone! Your reviews have been SO helpful in satisfying my bizare need for as much information as possible about everything. I am going on the eastern carribrean cruise in February (God willing and the crick don't rise). I have a few questions and was wondering if you wonderful people could help me out. I am traveling with a 17 year old boy, a 21 year old, myself (21) 4 50somethings and an 80 something. My family are staying in an outside cabin and the other family are staying (i belive) in a suite.

1)- what is the deal with the tenders? Do they leave continuously through out the day to travel from ship to shore and vise versa, or are there scheduled times? Can one go to shore, go back to the ship and return to shore? If one is on board during a shore stop I assume that there is some kind of meal service still?

2)- Can you give me an idea of how much drinks cost once on board? I have heard about the unlimited soda cards, where are these good? Someone mentioned having to buy a different card for Half Moon Cay...details?

3)- Overall what should I expect to spend over and above the basic price for things that are "necessary" while aboard ship? I'm talking drinks and anything else that one would think would be free. I'm not cheap but am also looking to not spend a huge amount of money. Any suprises where your accounts were concerned? Is it horribly gauche to ask how much things cost? I have read that prices were not always well advertized (bingo?)

4)- Which areas of the ship and which activities are only for suite passenger? I assume that these are clearly marked? Are substitutions allowed, for example, could I join the other family if one of their members declines to participate?

5)-from what I have heard the pools can be quite busy. Are there times set aside for lane swims? or should I just carry a noodle and try to scoot people out of my way?

Thanks so much everyone! Your reviews and comments are amazing! I hope that you can help me out :)

[CaptData]

Tenders do run all the time until the last one
which if you miss you get to wave bye to the ship.

Timing depends where you are tendering to. It could be 20-30 mins between tenders. It also depends on how many are running.

There is food on board available at the stated times or room service is available 24 hours a day.

Spending tips $10/person. Drinks vary depending on what you drink, pop, licqor, and depending on the ship the special coffees cost too. Reg coffee and tea are free. You can buy a soda/pop sticker. If you buy drinks in special glasses you paid for the glass so keep it (refills are cheaper then).

I know the above it general info that I was given. My first cruise is in Feb for Holland America but I have cruised before. If you read your Planner you will know what the drink of the day is, this is usually the speical for the day.

Others will be chiming in to help. Have fun and relax. Food on HMC is free (they bring it from the ship). Drinks on HMC including pop will cost.

[Esme]

Can't answer all your questions, but here goes.

Tenders run continually all day. The time you should be back on board the ship will be posted. You can go ashore, come back to the ship and go back to the port. If you stay on board, the Lido will be open (dining room may be closed or have shortened hours). There is also the hamburger and taco stand open most of the afternoon also.

Soda cards are for fountain drinks only. They are not good at HMC. You would have to buy a separate card to use there.

Bingo is $10.00 per card for 4 games or a pack of 3 cards (4 games) for $20.00. Ice cream, tea, coffee are free. There is a charge for bottled water.

The only area of the ship that is for Suite Passengers only is the Neptune Lounge and I understand they are not allowed to bring guests. I am sure someone who has been in a Suite can answer this more clearly.

The pools are small and you really cannot swim lanes as you would in a big pool. I have seen ladies with noodles doing their exercises - this is best done in the outside pool at the stern of the ship, because the inside pool under the dome is usally filled with the kids.

Hope this helps.

[flamingogal]

:) Better to be in the know than " Here's your sign!".

1 - Tenders run all day. Sometimes there is a waiting period for the tenders and sometimes there isn't. You'll get an announcement about that. You can come and go as you wish, just be aware of when the last tender leaves, don't miss it!

2 - Domestic beer $3.75, mixed drinks $2.95 - whatever, depends on your flavor. Soda cards a a great deal. About $25 for a 7 day cruise or $35 for a 10 day cruise. They are only for fountain soda at a bar, not for canned soda from the waiter. The Half Moon Cay drink card is also a great deal - unlimited beer, soda, water and rum punch for about $20.

3 - Our tab varies each cruise, the more you go, the more you don't spend!
We learn a little more each time.

4 - Have never been in a "suite" only the lesser rooms. I hear they get laundry and pressing, coffee, etc.

5 - Don't try to swim a lap, you'll bump you head after 5 strokes! These pools aren't that big. Float a little, cool off, bask in the sun on the side of the pool.

Have a great time, Be flexible, look for the daily drink specials!

Jeanne

[CrabbyHarper]

Hi! I am a "controlling" sort of a person and I fully understand your need to know as much as possible before you go. Besides that, the anticipation and planning is really FUN.

One area that I tend to spend too much is for Shore Excursions. If you are adventurous you can create your own - grab a taxi to go to a local beach, for example, rather than paying a lot to HAL. Some of the folks on this board will give you good advice - check out the "Destinations" section too. Many of the places to be visited have a web site. But I still like to book the shore excursions through HAL because I like the convenience and knowing that if the HAL shore excursion is late to the pier, the ship will probably NOT take off without me!

Other expensive options - the spa, the casino, bingo, shopping, bar bills - all can mount up. One recommendation to keep your bar bill down and still be "legal" - you can purchase liquor from Ship's Stores - not the same as the Duty Free Shop on board. A liter of liquor runs around $25 and it will be delivered to your cabin. That's more than you'd pay for a liter at home, but is cheaper than buying drinks at a bar - that is, if you are content with something simple like whiskey and club soda. If you like the wonderful concoctions with little umbrellas in them, you have to go to a bar.

Iced tea is free and usually available in the Lido.

And last but not least, plan as best you can and then go on your cruise, relax, be flexible, and let the good times roll!

[grannynurse]

Popcorn in the movie theater and the ice cream bar at the Lido are free.
Java cafe on "S" class, free cookies and regular coffees, tea (not specialty stuff, tho)
24 hr. Room service meals are no charge but it's nice to tip the server a dollar or two.
Hot hors d'ouerves in the lounges before dinner, chocolates and strawberries in the Explorere's lounge after dinner, treats from the yum-yum man outside the dining room all are free of charge.
HAL gives canvas tote bags to all guests on the first port day, chocolates on your pillow at night, fruit basket...I'm probably forgetting something, and of course there are the suite amenities for those in "S" and "PS".

They charge for:
Internet service: package is like 75 cents/min for 100 min.
Pinnacle grill restaurant, Casino, shops, and BTW don't buy necessities on board, too expensive!!!
laundry service and laundromat (except on Vista class, there aren't any coin-operated machines), alcohol, I think $2.75 is underestimated since there now is a 15% gratuity added on for drinks.
I've run out of steam, hope this helps,
GN

[grannynurse]

will not be delivered to your cabin until the day of departure. It's duty-free and you can't comsume it on board. If you want to order liquor, do it through ship's services, they have packages for on board consumption. The minibars in the cabins BC and above, are not free, you'll be charged for what you use.
You can however bring on wine but if you take it to the dining room, you'll be charged a corkage fee. Some people bring on beer and soft drinks too. It might be confiscated, depending on who's doing security at the minute you go through the line.
GN

[elmorejj]

I wish mixed drinks were still $2.95, it would reduce my bar bill a lot! Actually they are more like $4.95 and up. The drink special of the day is $3.75, wine runs about $4.50 and up for a glass......jean :cool:

[jhannah]

Don't know how different the different ships may be ... but on our Prinsendam cruise last month a soda card cost $24.95 PLUS the 15% gratuity and it was for 20 sodas. Not unlimited. They were all cans ... no fountain drinks. On the Zuiderdam, the fee covered unlimited fountain sodas.

The internet is 75-cents per minute as you go, or you can get packages at a discount. The 100-minute plan was $55.

[estj]

I'd budget $300-$500 per person. Would cover your tips for the week ($10/day), drinking a good bit (well...it IS vacation!!!)...shopping/souveniers on board, art auction (don'rt go), Pinnacle Grill one night, perhaps a spa treatment or spa services like the Thermal Spa (it's worth EVERY penney!!!), shore excursions (if you haven't already booked them prior to the cruise). Other than the $10/day tip assessment...you control all other expenses...so it could be much less than $300. We always order a bottle of wine for dinner and have spa charges...so our end-of-cruise bill runs much higher. Hope this helps.

[Sierrachik]

Soda cards are for fountain drinks only. They are not good at HMC. You would have to buy a separate card to use there.Our soda cards were good at Half Moon Cay, we paid $35 each for our 7 night, they do charge the 15% gratuity on the soda card. I think I remember a poster some time ago saying that you could buy a card for just the ship or the ship and HMC, but am not positive. We were not offered the choice between two different cards. I wonder if this policy might have changed recently on the ship, not sure. Many times at locations other than the bar (such as the Lido deck and on HMC) the sodas were from cans. They do give you the cup to carry around but if you go to the bars or other locations the sodas are at and present your card with the sticker on it, you don't need to have your cup with you.

[dinscoe68]

Hi All,

I've just booked our first HAL cruise and am obsessed with this board, too. I've never been on them before. :p I feel like I have so many questions. I wanted to ask what is the Thermal Spa? estj said it was worth every penny, so it must be fabulous! Also, I think I read there is a hydrotherapy pool??? Is that right? If so, is there a charge for that, too? I wasn't sure if it was part of the spa or not.

This may be a stupid question, so forgive me, but I must ask, are the games in the arcade free?

Thanks!

[TedC]

The Neptune Lounge is the only place out of bounds for passengers who are not in PS or S suites. Pax in SS suites are not allowed in the Neptune.

People in the PS and S suites are not supposed to bring in guests or family members - it is only for passengers actually in the required category.

The Neptune Lounge is not that large and can get crowded even with passengers from the PS and S suites.

It is not a lounge in the cocktail lounge sense. There are snacks, coffees, teas, etc, but no alcoholic beverages unless there happened to be a special party for suite guests.

There's a staff of one or two who help S and PS passengers with shore excursions and anything that would ordinarily be taken care of by the front desk.


Tipping of $10 per day per passenger is taken out and paid for by the credit card you register when you board, but you can elect to pay cash at the end of the cruise.

The auto-tip can be increased, reduced or even eliminated if you feel you didn't get good service. Many people leave the autotip in place and reward people who gave them extra good service discreetly in person at the end of the cruise. That, of course, is not mandatory.

You can save money by having ice tea instead of soft drinks, limiting the amount of alcoholic beverages, bringing your own wine for in-cabin use, etc.


Also, before buying that souvenier, make sure it will look as good at home as it did in the shop. In foreign places I only buy things actually made there - not in Taiwan etc.

[kryos]

I wish mixed drinks were still $2.95, it would reduce my bar bill a lot! Actually they are more like $4.95 and up. The drink special of the day is $3.75, wine runs about $4.50 and up for a glass......jean :cool:
I was gonna say ... how come I didn't pay $2.95. :) $4.95 was more like it ... plus a 15% gratuity.

It's hard to answer these questions, because the poster didn't give us an idea of what she likes to do on a cruise. If you like spa treatments, they're gonna be pricey. If you like adventuresome shore excursions, they're gonna be pricey too, though they can be booked/paid for in advance via HAL's website ... so those charges won't appear on your onboard tab.

I've heard of people getting off the ship at the end of a week's cruise with little more than the gratuities appearing on their shipboard statement, but I don't know how they do it.

I'm not a spend thrift ... but I had a bill of over $500 for a 14-day cruise. Now, understand ... this may sound low, but there were a lot of credits applied to that bill too ... missed shore excursions because of Hurricane Frances, a shipboard credit applied for the second "shortened" week of the back-to-back, etc. If it weren't for all of those credits, my bill would have probably run close to a grand.

It's very easy for onboard charges to mount. Keep an eye on them, but don't worry incessently about them. Just have fun and realize that you'll tighten the belt a bit when you get home.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[estj]

Hi All,

I've just booked our first HAL cruise and am obsessed with this board, too. I've never been on them before. :p I feel like I have so many questions. I wanted to ask what is the Thermal Spa? estj said it was worth every penny, so it must be fabulous! Also, I think I read there is a hydrotherapy pool??? Is that right? If so, is there a charge for that, too? I wasn't sure if it was part of the spa or not.

This may be a stupid question, so forgive me, but I must ask, are the games in the arcade free?

Thanks!
The Vista ships have both a hydro and thermal spa. Loved the thermal spa. It's $15/day. Has heated mosaic lounge chairs overlooking a wall of glass...took my book in, laid down, and was asleep in two minutes! It has several thermal choices...a traditional sauna, a wonderful herbal-misty relaxation sauna (not as hot as a traditional sauna), a steam bath that sweats off all those pounds you've gained!, and two wonderful, cool-down showers that cool you down with a fine, herbal mist (when I was on the Zuiderdam...it was cucumber scented). I didn't particularly like the hydro spa...was always crowded. At one end of the pool it has metal rods across the entire end of the pool that you ounge in and it acts like a jacuzzi. In the middle it has a wild, bubbling treatment that really gave your muscles a workout...but felt good afterwards. There was price package for the week for either spa or both combined...but I can't remember what they charged. Hope this helps. And don't be shy about asking questions...we all were once "first-timers"!

[Giorgi-one]

Don't forget there is a casino. They are very nice and will give you up to $1000 per day on your ship card which is charged to your credit card.