RobTheGob

I guess it’s not surprising that there is inconsistencies… I realized that I had entered my info in SheerID before sending the email - that probably affected how well it worked for me. SheerID HAL

We actually joined and linked AARP after booking - so it was worthwhile taking the time to jump through the various hoops!

That is likely exactly what happened - thanks!

I was able to see my included perks after I posted - it does appear like I may have lost a $50 OBC after the AARP OBC perk was added! Having said that - I'm not 100% sure where the $50 OBC came from, it just showed up earlier this week, but has now disappeared...

I wasn’t sure how to get the AARP benefit added to our upcoming cruise in September (booked through a big box store TA), but I saw others mentioning sending an email to reservations_submit@hollandamerica.com. I sent an email late Thursday afternoon (Pacific time) and received a reply within 15 minutes stating that the OBC credit had been applied! Very fast & easy! I really liked how the Stockperks worked - also very easy. Mind you - in the past all I did was send and email and wait, so not exactly difficult.

We’ve often rented cars in Honlulu/Waikiki from the hotel car rental locations. The main issue (for me) is that they have very odd hours and often close early, so the return is done by a “drop box”. I’ve had no issues - but take MANY pictures of the car and drop off spot… Also - Waikiki is closer to the cruise pier than the airport, but still quite some distance. One thing to consider - the transit system on Oahu is VERY good. We’ve not done it, but we have friends that took the bus all the way to the North Shore and back (at that time - it was $2 per person each way!). We often walk off the ship, take the bus a fair distance and make our way back on foot (but we walk a lot). For our upcoming trip with an overnight stay, we might take the bus over to Kailua and back the first day and then take the bus to the Diamond Head area and walk back on the second day.

We’ve not actually requested the AARP OBC to be added for our recently booked cruise - but I’m hoping it can be at some point. The large AARP thread indicated that HAL can add it, even if the booking was done by a TA - but success was kind of hit & miss, depending on the HAL rep you talk to.

Yep - working now! I can't recall how long ago I noticed this issue - but it was months ago.

The public sections of the aft decks are one of my fav parts of these ships. We had a DD cabin on the Amsterdam (now sold) and loved that we could get all the way from deck 2 to the Seaview Pool without going to the main stairs/elevators (there are stairs towards the back of deck 3 that go up and past the MDR to deck 6). We recently booked a cabin in the same location on the Zaandam and I’m really looking forward to the experience…

Yes - we gave up looking for availability on the HAL website (because of the blank cabin selection page) and booked the cabin we wanted on the Zaaadam using the Kirkland, WA based online travel website. We had no issues seeing the available cabins on their site and the booking was confirmed in our HAL account… It’s odd that it’s been in this state so long - I was noticing this for a while before I came across this thread (I really wanted to find a cruise on either the Volendam or Zaandam, based on our experience in 2019 on the Amsterdam). Many people have said they’ve notified HAL of the issue.

My fav cabins are DD oceanview, towards the aft of deck 2. - Large window (I really want to see outside) - No people walking past the window like OV on deck 3 - Steps away from the aft balcony (with stairs up to the promenade) - Within a few steps of the cabin - I can see both sides of the ship AND aft - Easy access all the way to the Seaview pool without an elevator or main staircase!

We booked an oceanview cabin for our upcoming cruise - based on our trip on the Amsterdam (no longer part of HAL). The best outdoor public areas of any ship I've been on.

I noticed this issue while doing a test Zaandam booking last weekend. But I was able to select cabins and get to the “enter your credit card” stage when doing the same booking at the big discounter travel website (the one that’s famous for selling hot dogs cheap!). I assumed it was a problem with my particular itinerary until I saw this thread.

It appears in the pic that one of my fav areas on the Zaandam (I’ve only actually sailed on the Amsterdam) is to close to empty! The public areas at the aft of most decks is often completely vacant and it’s an amazing place to watch the world go by! I also love the public deck at the front of the ship, below the bridge. We’re looking into Zaandam (and maybe the Volendam) itineraries, to a large degree because of my memories of the ship layout…

Thanks. I have some video from a storm we passed through late at night from the deck under the bridge - it was amazing (but very wet). Pitch black and then intense lightening, followed by pitch black again! I found it was very rare to see people out there on the Amsterdam - but it was always the SAME people! Haha. But I suspect that more and more passengers find out about these areas and then they tell two people, who tell two people, etc... I think most people don't explore like I do and/or see a door and assume that entry to prohibited (even though it's not marked so).