TAD2005

On 2/12/2019 at 8:11 AM, ChinaShrek said:

 

The greatest truth is said in jest.  I have seen the same eggs Benedict in the display pan for more than hour on several ships.  Perhaps, not days, but still hard-like hockey pucks.  Take at your own peril!

This begs the question..... do you have nothing better to do on a cruise other than stand at the Lido eggs Benedict station and monitor a particular item ?   If you came back, every few minutes,  how do you know that it is exactly the same eggs Benedict ?  Does it have a serial number on it ?   

And if you never saw any eggs Benedict sitting in the "chafing dish for days"  (which would be an impossibility) then why did you post such an idiotic comment ?   Why are most of your comments about HAL cruises always negative and filled with half truths or totally wrong ?

The break even point for the Signature Beverage Package (SBP) is 6 drinks with a menu price of $7.95 which is about average.    

The SBP is $44.95 per day plus 15% SC, or $51.70.   Between beers, wines and just about all mixed drinks, the average menu price is $7.95.   Divide $51.70 by $7.95 and you get around 6.5 drinks to break even.   The available wines below $9 are not great, which is the weak point of the package.

Recently, most HAL ships have not been including sodas, bottles of water, or non-alcoholic specialty coffees in your daily 15 limit, but they are covered by the SBP.   So with the SBP you have a package that covers your "adult" drinks, plus the equivalent of a "Quench" soda package.   

We generally take cruises with lots of sea days, like Trans-Atlantic, Trans Pacific.   We are on the 28 day Eurodam March 9 Hawaii, Tahiti, Marquesas cruise next month.  We have 17 sea days out of the 28 total.   The SBP will definitely pay for itself on this and all of our other cruises.   And we are not Bill W. candidates, we are on vacation and the captain is driving.

22 minutes ago, JudithLynne said:

Have any of you ordered eggs Benedict from room service?  If so was it hot/warm?  Many don't care about food temp but we do. 

As I posted in #5 above,  yes, you can do a write-in on the door tag breakfast order.   As long as you order regular Eggs Benedict, there will be no extra charge.  The extra fee is for the Salmon Benedict.   And yes, they are definitely hot when delivered.   However, you do have to eat them as soon as delivered.  They will cool down quickly in an air conditioned cabin.   Obviously, eggs Benedict is only available during the normal Lido breakfast hours.

And commenting on another post, every time I order Eggs Benedict in the Lido, it is made to order, right in front of my eyes, and piping hot.  Sitting in a "chafing dish" for hours or days ????   What an insane comment !!

You can also do a write-in on the in-room breakfast menu card that you hang on your door handles the night before.   We have written in "regular eggs Benedict" and we have gotten it every time.  If you want the version that has salmon instead of Canadian bacon, you have to pay extra.   But the regular version is free.

DW likes martinis and on a recent Rotterdam cruise, she had a variety of different types of martinis, including espresso martinis, and they all were included with the SBP.

3 hours ago, ThePenguin1 said:

Hi Copper,  On the Oosterdam Transatlantic back in Oct/Nov,  I asked for a lid and was told "we have stopped using lids to reduce our use of plastics to save the environment".  I was shocked as I see it as a health and safety issue.

I guess those ships that discontinue hot coffee lids don't really care about coffee spills on the ship's carpeting, scalding coffee burns on people in elevators,  and dumped drinks in their chairs. 

The Signature Beverage Package (SBP) costs $44.95 per person, per day, plus 15% service charge.   That plan gets you all beverages costing $9 menu price of less, which, other than wines, are most beverages.   

If you like better quality wines, then the Elite Beverage Package would be better suited.  It is $54.95 per day, plus the usual 15% service charge.  That plan includes all beverages of $15 or less.

Considering the average drink price of $8, the break-even point for the SBP is between 5 or 6 drinks.   Recently, many HAL ships do not count sodas, bottles of water, or non-alcoholic coffees towards your daily 15 drink limit.   Only the alcoholic beverages count in your 15 drink count.

The majority of plastic straws, bottles and cups come from far eastern countries like China who have no policies for plastic waste disposal.   The level of plastic products that end up in the oceans from the US and Canada is a drop in the bucket (or ocean) compared to the other countries.

We will be bringing our own plastic straws that we will clean out and re0use.

We use the excess 1 and 2 Euro coins for tips to the great guys that deliver our in cabin breakfasts every morning.  I asked, and they have no problems exchanging the Euro coins at the cruise end.   It gets applied to their crew credit accounts.

Sounds like you got a Sprint representative who is a millennial.   Schools do not teach geography anymore,  so that is probably why this person wasn't sure if Alaska was a US Territory !!!  A very sad situation !!

17 minutes ago, Jilltoons said:

I have never been on a Holland America ship either.  We will be on the Nieuw Amsterdam this April.  I saw the Specialty Restaurants and thought it would be fun to do two of them - (Tamarind and Canaletto).  We felt that since these particular restaurants had their own international specialties that we enjoy, it would be fun.  We decided to not do the Pinnacle grill because we have enjoyed the Steakhouse on Carnival, but we didn't have these other specialty restaurant choices.  So we will eat in the Main dining room OR the buffet on the other nights.  We have signed up for the 8:00pm dining, also we want to eat with groups of people.  We enjoy the fun and conversation of eating with large groups.  I know this doesn't give you an idea of how the food will be, but we are like you, going on Holland America the first time.  I know for me - no matter what - I get to have an amazing vacation and never have to cook all week - how can that be bad 🙂

By your post, it appears that you have 2 dinners booked in Tamarind and Canaletto, and the other nights you will be eating in the Lido or MDR.   But you have the 8:00 pm main, fixed seating in the MDR booked at a large table.   One note... you should inform the matre'd of the nights that you will be dining in the Lido or the specialty restaurants.   Occasionally, extra seating from As-You-Wish dining is needed, and they will seat extra guests upstairs in the fixed dining area.   They appreciate the heads-up when you won;t be using your reserved seating in the MDR. 

4 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

Use USD.... the crew would have to pay a % to convert another currency and loose money      Use ATM off the ship for local currency as you need.    However credit cards are widely accepted and the best choice.   In Many restaurants   the price you pay  INCLUDES  the service  and in Norway you will pay dearly !!!   Remember  those coins can be 5 to 10 Euro  thats a chunk of change  to throw away. and you can not get them converted    Too remember that many times on HAL ships  your tip is put into a  pool and divided   The crew sends the vast majority their tips and pay back    If you give Kroner  then your forcing  them to pay to convert it  or  pay the outrageous prices in Norway

The highest value for a Euro coin is 2 Euros.   The coin denominations are 1 cent, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 Euro cents, then 1 and 2 Euro coins.   The next higher denomination is the 5 Euro note, then 10, 20, 50, 100, and 500.   There are no 5 or 10 Euro coins.   See pix below.

There is no pro-rating of the beverage package no matter how far into your cruise that you buy it.   But the bigger question is...... why wait until you are onboard to buy it ?  If you know you want the package,  but wait to buy it when you are onboard, you will pay $5 per day more than if you buy it online, 4 days ahead of your sailing day.   The Signature Beverage Package (SBP) costs $44.95 a day plus 15% service charge, or $51.70 a day.   Waiting to buy it onboard, on the first or any day of your cruise will cost you $49.95 per day plus 15% or $57.44 per day.  On a 7 day cruise, buying it online, before the cruise will save you $40.20.    That saving will get you a Pinnacle Grill dinner plus $5 left over to throw onto the red 7 on the Roulette wheel !!!

We had booked a PG dinner for DW and I who are 4-star and our 2 friends who were in another cabin, but only 2-star.  I paid for all 4 dinners in advance online.   After we ate, and checked our cabin account,  I noticed that there were no credits back from the dinner, even after a few days.  After complaining to the front desk, the PG manager, the front desk again, and finally Seattle, we received the 50% credit for all 4 dinners.   I was told that the 50% discount applies to the 4-star mariner who actually pays for the dinners, not who eats it.   That is when Seattle explained, through a letter, that they were working on applying the mariner discount when you book the dinner online.   As long as you are paying for all the people dining, they don't seem to care about the mariner status of some of the guests.

With a Feb 9 final and full payment date, which would be a 5 day deadline from booking, that is definitely a non-refundable cruise.   No cancellation unless you buy HAL's insurance or a 3rd party insurance.

I wish that HAL would continue improving that policy and apply the 3-star 25% and 4 star 50% discount when you pre-book online.   It has always been a battle with the Front Desk and the PG manager to get the 50% discount credited back after we completed the dinner.  So much extra paperwork for something that could be so easily handled by adjusting the online price of a dinner in any of the specialty restaurants to reflect your Mariner status at the time you pay for the dinner online.

Back in 2017,  I had booked a few Pinnacle Grill dinners online ahead of the cruise.  The price was the usual $35 P/P.  After we ate the dinners, I kept checking my account on the Navigator for my 50% Four Star Mariner credit.  After a week, it never showed.  I went to the front desk and asked.  They referred me to the PG manager.   He said that was not his problem, and referred me to the Front Desk.   Back at the Front Desk,  they said they would refer this to Seattle.   After a few more days, I received my 50% credit for the dinners, and a promise from someone in Seattle that in the "future", your 50% (or 25%) mariner credit would be reflected in the price when you book online.  They said that this was a part of a major overhaul to allow Mariner discounts AND HAL issued OBC to be used during online booking of any service (except casino credit and OBC).   That was October 2017 on the Westerdam.   I guess things move slowly with the "suits" in Seattle.

The POS (point of sale) terminals on the ship are directly tied to the main accounting system onboard via ethernet hard wired cable.  That allows all purchases to be verified.   A POS terminal located on an island maybe 1/2 mile away from the anchored ship would need a special  long-range Wi-Fi connection extended to the island to allow a POS terminal to connect and verify purchases.   Yes, that technology is possible, but there are security issues caused by opening up the ship's accounting system to a Wi-Fi connection that hackers would love to get into.   So HAL just takes the easy way out and the drinks you buy on HMC are on you and not your SBP.

I'm with Old Salt.   Late (Hal calls it Main) fixed seating is always the best.  We are off the ship on shore excursions, and we get back onboard around 4:00 pm.  We like to head to the cabin, review our pictures,  relax for a short time,, then shower, and dress for dinner.  We usually head to the Ocean Bar around 6:30 for a few pre-dinner cocktails, and wait for the chimes of the Yum-Yum Man passing through the public areas, announcing dinner.   When we get to the MDR, we walk right in, no lines, no pagers, no questions about which table, which waiter, and we walk right to our pre-selected table.  Our waiter is there to greet us with our usual beverage and basket of rolls.  The waiters get to know your favorites, and how we like our steaks, salads, etc.   We are not rushed at dinner, because there is not another wave of guests coming in, and there is plenty of time to make the 10:00 pm show.

I think the reason they only serve the tails is because eating a whole lobster takes time and a lot of tedious effort to get every last tasty morsel.   I don't think that HAL wants people in fashionable evening wear wearing a bib, and cracking claws and other parts, possibly spraying lobster goo all over the tables, chairs and other guests.  The waiters don't want to be cleaning up pieces of lobster claws and legs when a table is finished, before they can seat the next guests.   A lobster tail is quick, neat and easy.   If I am in my jeans, with a plastic bib, sitting at a picnic table, with a pitcher of beer, I love to spend the time to pick through a full lobster.   But dressed up, with no bib,  I don't want to be cracking and pounding on various lobster parts.  Also, the best whole lobsters are cooked live.  Most lobsters on cruise ships, are frozen, with the exception of some special cruises where they bring fresh lobsters on board at ports.  But, yes, the menu should have specified Tails, not the whole crustacean. 

I just checked the Roger Jet site for HAL drink menus.  All bar menus that he has posted show that every bourbon on the menu is available for $9 or under. 

The comment about the Princess drink package being not worth the money..... Yes, the Princess drink package, if you purchase it, is $59.99 per day plus 15%, or $68.99 per day.   They only show one level of package.  Their drink limit is $12, and 15 per day.  As a comparison, the SBP on HAL is $51.70 total, including 15% SC.   That extra $20 per day would be the deal breaker for me too.  Comparative drinks on Princess are also more expensive than on HAL, which is why the package is almost $20 more expensive.  Here's the info from the princess website.

                                        Premier Beverage Package       $59.99 per person, per day

Enjoy a wide range of drinks for $59.99 per day plus a 15% gratuity. The Premier Beverage Package includes any individual beverage item such as fountain soda, 500 ML bottled water, cocktails, spirits, wine by the glass, beers, coffee and tea, up to $12 (retail value). A 25% discount is also offered on all bottles of wine when purchased in bars, dining room or specialty restaurants.

For dining table assignments, we always get the name and e-mail address of the "Ship's Coordinator" for the ship we are booked on.   We go to HAL Facts dot com and download the PDF of the MDR for our ship, and pick out around 10 table numbers that would work for us.  We send that list, plus the booking numbers for both of our parties to the Ship's Coordinator.  (This is not Ship's Services, but that is where you get the e-mail address).  We usually get a response within a few days with one of our selected tables confirmed.   Of course, you must do this about 4 months out from the cruise.  Wait until you are inside final payment and then you will have to deal with the matre'd when you get onboard.

If you have not made your final payment for the cruise and the flights, they can be changed with no penalties.  That's the beauty of Flight Ease.    You can cancel or change your flights with zero penalty up to final payment date.  Unless you specified the restricted plan. 

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We have never used the laundry service on a cruise, but it might work for our Alaska cruise this year. My question is how long before disembarkation do you have to turn in your last laundry to get it back before you leave the ship? It would be nice to have clean clothes before we do our 5 day land tour post cruise.

On the laundry bag list that you fill out and put in the bag with your clothes, there is a big notice that the laundry service cannot be used on the day before your disembarkation date.  So, on a 7 day cruise, you cannot send out any laundry the morning of your 6th day.   They just cannot guarantee that your laundry items will make it back to your cabin in time to pack your luggage and have it out in the hallway by midnight.

Never fear.  If certain people and groups have their way, very soon the entire top decks of cruise ships will be covered with solar panels and the entire engine room will contain hundreds of banks of storage batteries.   (I'm joking, of course)   

But ships will still need multiple diesel engines to recharge the batteries when the skies are too cloudy to generate sufficient power from the solar arrays.   I have been on a trans-Atlantic crossing where we didn't see the sun for 6 of the 7 days.   I'm all for minimizing burning of fossil fuels, but until there is a 10-fold leap in energy storage technology,  solar or wind powered ships and solar powered aircraft will simply not be practical.