OYSTERBAY1

Guarantee Staterooms: My experience has been 2 weeks out. But, I was offered a very reasonable up-sell once to a Neptune suite 48 hours before sailing. (I took it.)

 

Tips at the pier for the porters: They seem to be happy with $1/bag when you arrive. If you use their services to get you through Customs/Immigration and to your transportation upon disembarkation, a more generous amount is deserved, in my opinion.

Thanks for the info. so looking forward to this cruise.

I drink Caffeine Free Diet Coke and can usually get it easily aboard the ship. The only time it's a difficulty is when I am on a ship that is (and has been since restocking) in Europe. In that case they have either the Coke Lite or Coke Free.

Cabins are generally assigned anywhere from 20 days before sailing right up until check-in. Most are assigned somewhere around the 10-days before mark, though.

Thanks for the info on the diet caffeine free coke.

guarantee bookings can be assigned up to at the pier, but suites are commonly assigned about 20 or 25 days out.

 

For the porters...couple bucks per bag.

thanks you

What is the suggested tipping amounts at the pier? We will be having 3 full size suitcases For the guys that take the bags from the taxi and put then on the ship. We are sailing sept 13th. Are there non smoking nights in the casino? I have been given different answers on this from Hal. Does anyone know if they have cans on diet coke caffeine free on the ship?. One more question, when does Hal assign cabins? we booked a guaranteed Neptune suite and have not been assigned one yet. Thank you, john and laura

yes its out of vancouver. thanks for letting me know they help with the luggage.

sounds like they do all they can to stop its spread.

thanks for all the info.

Noro always exists. Noro can survive surfaces for about six weeks if not properly clean.we where on a cruise , on day ten someone brought onboard from a port. Within a day the ship was in condition red. No utensils , salt , pepper , sugar on the tables. Buffet wasn't self serve anymore.

 

 

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sounds like they do all they can to stop its spread.

Yes i know someone brought it on board, but the ship can have it. it can be on rails and elevator buttons etc. I also know it can be in schools and other places. My question was to find out if it was eradicated from the ship by cleaning or if passengers on the next cruise were still getting sick. It's a nasty bug, people are contagious for days before and up to two weeks after symptoms from what i read. thank you for replying. . so if anyone knows if the ship was now clean of the virus i would appreciate hearing from you.

Is there anyone on here who has recently been on the Volendam who who can say if the Noro virus has been stopped? Also if anyone has recent experiences staying in a neptune suite. My wife and i are going on sept. 13th this year. We will be taking a taxi to the ship from our hotel, are there people to take the luggage from the taxi to the ship? We are looking so forward to this cruise. John & Laura

We have 3 couples on the Volendam next month. One couple has never cruised, and one is new to HAL. None have ever been to Alaska. I wanted to make each person a "bingo" card to compare our experiences. I was going to put things like saw a whale, tried a new drink, tried breakfast in the mdr, polar plunged, etc. in each square. Please give me suggestions to fill the squares.Thanks.

We are going on the volendam on sept 13th. I hope u have a great cruise. I hope u post about it. We have been looking for posts from people who have recently cruised on the volendam. Enjoy

You will enjoy the Neptune Suite on this ship. The verandah is larger than the NS's on the later class ships (Vistas and above).

 

How many days is your cruise? I ask as traditionally I have seen several non smoking nights in the casino, but we usually are on a bit longer cruises.

 

Tipping is very personal and subjective. We do tip room service and extra to the concierge (not sure if they are actually in the HSC pool or not as they are part of the front desk?) as well as other key personnel who have made our cruise special and enjoyable. It's not required at all if you leave the HSC in place but if you are fortunate enough to have the same experience as we have by a number of the crew, I suspect you may want to do so as well ;)

 

IF you are going to tip room service, have the money handy as they don't stay waiting for one. Sapper1 suggested in the key slot. We put ours on the table where the tray will be placed. Either one works.

 

PG can vary by the chefs and staff of course, but generally speaking we have enjoyed our time there.

 

Since you are in a Neptune Suite, you will also have the Pinnacle Grill for breakfast. A very nice ambience :). Love the Murano glass in the Pinnacle Grill on the Maasdam. (Hope I am not getting my ships mixed up ;) )

We are going on a 7 day cruise. I was anticipating giving the cabin and dinning staff additional at the end of the cruise. We always have in the past. I hope they do have a non smoking night in the casino . The ship is the volendam. It looks very nice. Thank you for the reply. I have read several of your insightful posts. I enjoy them. thanks. John

Since the concierge and room service are free I am not sure they get any of the prepaid gratuities. thank you so much for taking your time to reply. John

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

I agree with the suggestion to look on the HAL boards for additional HAL info.

 

Tipping is a very hot topic here. Tipping is never required, and extra is also never required. Whether you give extra is totally up to you. Many, including us, do. It all depends on the quality of service and effort you feel you received. There is no "should" requirement.

I know tipping is never required however I would never not tip regardless of the service. We have never been on a cruise with tips prepaid. I was just wondering if it was appropriate or if there was suggested or customary amounts for room service or the concierge. Thank you for your reply.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

You will reach more people with direct experience if you also post your questions on the dedicated Holland forum:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=171

Thank you for your advice. I think I just did it. Not getting the hang of this site just yet. John

my wife and I have not cruised in over ten years. We booked on the 9/13/17 Volendam. We booked a Neptune suite. Our tips were included in the cruise deal we got. Should we still give additional tips to room service or the concierge? If so, what amounts do you suggest? We are non smokers, are there any parts of the ship we should avoid? Also are there smoke free nights in the casino? HAL at one time said yes and other times said no. How are the steaks in the Pinnacle Grill? We are so looking forward to this cruise. Any tips you can give us will be greatly appreciated. Thank You in advance, J & L

My wife and I have not cruised in over ten years. We booked on the 9/13/17 Volendam. We booked a Neptune suite. Our tips were included in the cruise deal we got. Should we still give additional tips to room service or the concierge? If so, what amounts do you suggest? We are non smokers, are there any parts of the ship we should avoid? Also are there smoke free nights in the casino? HAL at one time said yes and other times said no. How are the steaks in the Pinnacle Grill? We are so looking forward to this cruise. Any tips you can give us will be greatly appreciated. Thank You in advance, J & L