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Posts posted by ExpatBride
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3 minutes ago, Horizon chaser 1957 said:
Any time we’ve prepared the gratuities, the amount we’ve paid shows up as refundable OBC on our statement at the beginning of the cruise. Then the daily grats show up as a charge on the statement each day. That way, your prepaid grats get included as onboard spending and count towards building Mariner points.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for me.
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I would't pre-pay it because it opens the door for things to go wrong.
On NS last month, they kept adding the charges to my onboard account every day even though I showed them my booking confirmation, which stated that I had prepaid gratuities as part of a promo. I wasted a lot of time trying to sort it out with "Guest Services," who were supposedly trying to sort it out with the head office.Long story short, it wasn't resolved before I disembarked. So I ended up using my OBC to cover it and reduced the total amount by $10-20 (can't remember), which OBC wouldn't cover. That's a big black mark against HAL because it stressed me out, wasted my time, gave me less than I paid for, and affected my holiday. I had and provided documentation of the promo. It's not my problem that there was a disconnect somewhere in their process.
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3 hours ago, Geezer Cruiser said:
Would an Old Fashioned be too American for many cruise bartenders?
Considering how many Americans are on cruise ships, I doubt you'll be a special case.
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16 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:
When we exited the ship on Wednesday it was Capt Eric at the bottom of the gangway - Nice gesture!
He was also there when I disembarked on 2 August.
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6 hours ago, Windsailer said:
Last evening the Captain announced that the number of COVID cases had increased so he was having face masks delivered to each passenger and strongly recommended wearing them. No change for me as I wear them on tenders, tour buses and while standing in line. Not sure what this means for the next cruise.
Have they said how many cases are onboard? I actually came down with something a few days after I disembarked earlier this month. I didn't test, but the symptoms tracked with COVID. I definitely caught it on the ship because we drove to the port and my symptoms showed up before I'd been anywhere but on the ship and in the car.
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2 minutes ago, Crew News said:
This late buffet is for those senior crew who work odd hours but all passengers are invited. Just like the MDR, there are regular menus that are served on every ship in the same season/location.
Here is a link to the Alaska 2023 season menus: Alaska Late Snack Buffet Menus
That's not even close to what was served on NS last month. -
4 minutes ago, syesmar said:
the traditional late-night snack.…”
On NS last month, they opened one Lido station for "late-night snacks" and it was the oddest assortment. My SO and I started going every night just to see what odds and ends they managed to scrounge up. It looked like leftovers from the crew canteen.
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14 hours ago, SSBrickNJ said:
As for me, one night I ordered the Ravioli and they brought me a plate with THREE raviolis on it.
I couldn't hold back and I let out a little laugh.
Without me asking, they figured it out and brought another plate.
The same thing happened to me with shrimp on "dressy night" 😅 Except they didn't bring me another plate 😑
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5 minutes ago, Roz said:
I'm sorry, I don't agree with this. 25 days is a L-O-N-G time for a kid, especially a 5 year old.
And for the other people onboard who have the misfortune of being in the vicinity of a bored 5 year old. We were sat next to a table with 3 bored kids (I'd guess ages 5–7) in the MDR one evening and it was not enjoyable in the least. They may as well have been climbing the curtains.
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On 8/12/2023 at 5:22 PM, Zukini said:
That "scenic cruising" never made sense, given the distance between Alesund and Gothenburg, and I wrote it off from the beginning as an error that crept in when they changed the itinerary around which never got fixed rather than a bait & switch. It just never made sense that we would go back into the fjord after just having exited it the day before.
I actually wrote HAL about this and was told directly that the revised itinerary with "scenic cruising" was correct. This was my fourth times sailing a fjords itinerary and it didn't make sense to me, which I explained to them in the email to highlight why I was questioning it.
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On 8/10/2023 at 11:45 PM, skrufy said:
Thanks for your quick response. First Holland America cruise and there’s a lot of differences from Carnival. Like to know a little so we are not asking where’s this and where’s that all day long.
There's a map of the ship outside every elevator along with a categorized list of venues and their locations 👍
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HAL is not a cruise line for kids. There wasn't a kids club on my recent 7-day cruise. There were a few "meet & greets" for teens ages 13-17, but they were at 8 PM. I've just looked through my daily programs from that sailing and I don't see any kid-specific events. There were teens and kids running all over the ship bored out of their minds. We heard one of the teens say that he couldn't wait to go home "because even the music is disgusting." 🤣
Longer sailings usually have fewer kids than shorter sailings, so I think you can safely count on having to entertain your bored 5 year old.
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I'm not picky about my cabin location and I find the best deals right around the last payment date. At that point, they're still offering perks (I got HIA, pre-paid gratuities and OBC on my July sailing) and cabin prices are as low as they're going to get with perks.
I usually pick 1–2 sailings and then watch prices and book when I feel like it's a good combination of price and perks. I've been using this strategy of over 10 years. With that said, I sail out of a local port, so I don't have to factor the airfare implications into my considerations. -
4 minutes ago, ConanD said:
So Geirangerfjord was replaced with Sognefjord. I've never seen either yet. Is the Geirangerfjord that much more spectacular? From what I can find online, the Sognefjord will be quite a nice sight as well.
In my opinion, they're all breathtaking. But there's something extra special about Geiranger. I've always chosen my Norwegian itineraries based on whether or not Geiranger was included. There's a reason it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site.- 1
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15 hours ago, newcruisers70 said:
We were just on the Nieuw Statendam, and Geiranger was one of the stops. The cruise director said that was the NS' last ever trip to Geiranger due to the new environmental restrictions. Even though officially those do not go into effect until January 2025, she said that there are currently discussions to impose them earlier.
I had a not-so-great time on NS, but I'm glad I got to see Geiranger one last time. It's truly spectacular and the main reason I've sailed a fjords itinerary 4 times. I guess this explains the bait-and-switch of NS not actually "scenic cruising" in Geiranger for a second day after Alesund. -
7 hours ago, houstonheels said:
@Gail & Marty sailing away we will be on NS in October. I have read some conflicting posts - is NS back to twice daily housekeeping? Or is it just once per day?
On the 26 July sailing, evening service was only upon request. Our steward asked the first day and it sounded like he was really steering us toward once a day, which suited us just fine. -
15 hours ago, Mary229 said:
The spa offers deals onboard, particularly on port days but usually not for the Hydrotherapy passes
On NS last week, a $50 spa "gift card" was delivered to my cabin. The only caveat was that it had to be used on a port day, which was fine with me. I got a pedicure for under $20 including the 18% service charge.
It was a nice treat, but the service wasn't worth the regular price ($59). The woman who did it insisted that my polish was dry enough to put on my shoes (I disagreed). Long story short, she put my shoes on and the polish on several toes was ruined because I was right. I guess they wanted to get people in and out. -
2 minutes ago, maggie777 said:
First time on HAL this Nov. One feature that attracted us was LCS. So disappointed.
On the bright side, it'll be your first time on HAL so you don't know what it used to be like. I think it'll be less disappointing that way 😅- 1
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8 hours ago, Lakesregion said:
What makes Holland America so great if you have to bring your own food?
I wish I'd brought my own food last week 😅 -
I'm just off NS this week and there wasn't any karaoke.
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A word of caution to anyone considering pre-paying gratuities...
I know it's not an identical situation, but I had pre-paid gratuities as part of a promo. For whatever reason, it didn't show up on my onboard account. I had a copy of my booking confirmation, but "Guest Services" basically said, "sorry, you'll have to take that up with your TA." I wasted so much time trying to sort it out onboard, and it wasn't resolved before we disembarked because of time differences, etc.
I ended up using OBC to cover it. I had to reduce the amount by a bit (about $20) to have it fully covered. I'm not one to stiff the crew and $20 seems petty, but after multiple go rounds with the guest services manager and submitting comment through the Navigator app, I decided it was the most pragmatic option. I shouldn't be out a few hundred dollars because of a clerical error. I had proof of what I booked in writing but HAL couldn't have cared less. I'm not happy to have forfeited my OBC to cover something that should've been included, but it wasn't the crew's fault.- 1
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On 7/29/2023 at 5:50 PM, fusion927 said:
On our Nieuw Statendam cruise that just ended, Clare was unbelievable as the Cruise & Travel Director
It's interesting how these things are so subjective. My SO and I found Clare completely annoying 😅
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On 7/30/2023 at 5:48 PM, 3rdGenCunarder said:
The woman tended to screech.
Did she have long red hair? The one NS this past week was a screecher. I'm still having nightmares about what she did to "Skyfall" 😳
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I was just on NS for 7 nights and there was no classical music. I don't understand the decision to get rid of classical music but keep both Billboard and Rolling Stone. HAL should really cast a wider net. It wasn't clear to me who they're trying appeal to. I'm solid Gen X, which would be smart demographic for them to court if they wan longevity and a younger clientele. Unfortunately, the music (even the "rock" music) wasn't my demographic.
Crew appreciation - when to pay
in Holland America Line
Posted
I understand where you're coming from. HAL's screw up re: my pre-paid crew appreciation didn't bankrupt me nor was I going to remove it entirely to make a point.
But how they handled it, which made me feel like they that thought I was trying to scam them, was not acceptable. Apparently, producing an itemized invoice wasn't enough to remove doubt about what I'd booked. That combined with the amount of time I wasted trying to get it sorted out, and the majorly downgraded experience vs. the onboard experience pre-shutdown is enough to make me not sail with them again.