Bolt.

I was on a Zaandam Inside Passage sailing earlier this month. We had a truly wonderful time!

I can't share daily programs, but I can answer questions to the best of my memory.

The program/activities were pretty much as I expected them: a sail away party on embarkation day; two exec shows and a Dutch tea on each to-and-from sea day; special Alaskan menu for lunch in the MDR on the outbound sea day (but I think maybe not on the return-bound sea day?). In the middle: two port days (Juneau arriving after noon, Skagway arriving in the morning) a day in Glacier Bay with national park interpreters onboard until early afternoon, then another port day (Ketchican arriving around 11am). I enjoyed the 'polar plunge' into the very well-warmed outdoor Seaview pool as we were leaving Glacier Bay. Other daily offerings, including shopping 'opportunities' and other smaller activities were pretty standard, as far as I noticed. There were two identical evening stage shows daily, including 3 different offerings from the dance company interspersed with a comedian and a musical Beatles tribute act.

We didn't do anything at Tracy Arm.

1 hour ago, TiogaCruiser said:

The documents are available on HAL’s website 

 

 

To obtain your state-specific Certificate of Insurance providing the terms, conditions and exclusions of the certificate, visit http://www.affinitytravelcert.com/docs/nwehal01.

 

Thanks!

Do you think it means the state(s) you are going to visit? Or the state you live in? (I don't live in a state, I live in Canada)

It's my understanding that there is coverage from Holland America's Platinum coverage for both cancellation, health events, and other mishaps. So I bought it, and it's all paid.

Now that I'm getting ready to go, I can't seem to find any information about what to actually *do* -- if I have an emergency and need assistance.

There's no phone number that I can find to call in emergencies. I don't have a policy number, and I can't even find a way to show that I have insurance at all. Aren't these things that I would need if I needed to get treatment in an emergency? Shouldn't there be paperwork of some kind?

Am I missing something?

53 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Tonight on Nieuw Statendam

...

It was not listed anywhere, but I am not complaining.  I had dinner completely made from tapas

 

That looks amazing!

Was it at supper time? Or did you notice what time they put it out?

I'm assuming it was on a sea day?

I particularly enjoyed the one that had churros -- a Mexican fried doughnut-stick dessert.

I was on a Pinnacle class ship last summer. I really enjoyed that on some sea days, in the mid-afternoon, sometimes special themed foods would be set up for a short time in the lido -- taking over one of the "sweet spot" locations. On recent reports, I can see that other folks have had this pleasure too.

I'm wondering: Is there any schedule or predictable plan to know what days and times a "special corner" is going to show up? Also, has anyone experienced this on the not-pinnacle ships? I'll be on the Zaandam in May.

Could you let me know how you find out whether you are docking or tendering at each port? I'm on the Zaandam in May, and I wish I knew which ports would be done which way.

25 minutes ago, amandas friend said:

On the day of our embarkation, N.A. will be the only ship there. I would think that would decrease the wait times. 

Could you share what you use to find out which ships will be in port on a particular day?

My info is from Koningsdam 2019, so there's a reasonable chance that things have changed. However what they told us is that only staff is allowed in with the kids at any time. It seems likely to be a liability thing -- they could be responsible if a parent of some of the kids made other kids uncomfortable, or things like that.

18 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Just move their towels (after an appropriate wait for them to return), and if they do return, claim the lounger was clear when you sat down. 

People in the chairs are, of course, allowed time to go to the rest room, or to get in the pool or hot tub for a while. But holding a chair while they go off to do something else? Ah, no. One 'seat' gets one seat (at a time). 

I always wonder if I'm on the borderline of being a chair hog. I do come early, get some lido breakfast, and come back to eat it with various members of my family coming and going. I regularly go to the washroom, into the pool, or to get a snack. Occasionally I may pop back to my room if I forgot something. I don't think I often exceed 20 minutes away: but maybe that happens from time to time?

Members of my family come and go all day, but usually we 'keep' 4 chairs even if all 4 of us aren't present at the time. (We usually occupy a 4-chair nook. I can't see other folks genuinely wanting to share a nook with another family, but we would make space to do so, if anyone asked.)

Do you guys think I need to change my ways? (Please be nice if I do. I really am someone who is open to learning and changing if I'm on the wrong side of good manners.)

I recently went on the Rotterdam, on a Back-to-back cruise including 7 days in Norway, followed by a little more Norway, then Iceland and Scotland. It was fantastic. If I had to choose between them, I'd go with the Iceland-Norway combo -- but for us, the shorter cruises are never quite enough for us. We barely get settled in on a 7 day cruise. I'd recommend booking a longer block of time and going to multiple places when ever you can.

Sorry, it double posted what I wrote.

I once shipped a suitcase from London to a luggage storage facility in Rome, then had the luggage facility get it to the ship (with our luggage tag attached) on embarkation day in Civitavecchia. It was surprisingly smooth and very cost effective. I imagine most luggage facilities will do the same thing, if drop off and delivery are part of the services that they usually offer.

My 17yo has slept on the fold-out loveseat style of bed without complaints. She's young and light, but if she was uncomfortable, we would have heard about it!

Our family is thinking of this itinerary for next year, so I will be following these posts closely! Thank you all for keeping us up to date.

Nearly identical, except that Rotterdam has a lovely library (and Koningsdam did not have one).

Thanks! These are great ideas!

We are planning to enjoy a cruise to celebrate our daughter's High School graduation in the summer of 2023. It's a pretty confined window of time (just July or August) and when asked what she would like best the daughter replied, "Lots of sea days!" She likes the easy life, for sure!

So, experienced HAL cruisers... where do HAL ships spend their summers? What kinds of itineraries have lots of sea days?

We'd like to go for at least 2 weeks, possibly longer.

1 hour ago, Sharon in AZ said:

I believe San Juan is replacing St Kitts on our itinerary. It isn’t official yet but the Navigator app shows the change. 

I'm hoping to keep an eye on this information. My Navigator app doesn't show any change from St Kitts on the 29 Dec... which is strange. You'd think it would all change at once! I'll need to do some port research on San Juan if there really is a change.

It sounds like maybe they briefly experimented with in-terminal testing, but are reverting back to onboard testing? The date on the PDF is Dec 2.

We might need to be prepared for it to go either way for the near future.

5 hours ago, Chickadee910 said:

Works wonderfully. Make sure you type in any changes like extra mayo etc. you can even put extra cheese on the side for your fries. Pizza same. You can add or switch toppings. Milkshake you need to order at the counter but they only take a minute.

Are the milkshakes at the Burger place or the Pizza place? Are they an included item or at an extra cost?

Thank you for this update! That's an important change!