islandwoman

5 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

"Crowded" is a purely personal and subjective position. 

 

Just got off the Zaandam (sister to Volendam) 14 day Eclipse sailing. It was filled to the gills. Only a couple of times did we feel crowded. 

By "crowded", I mean too many passengers for the public spaces.  And I could add, too many passengers per crew.

Some ships can be "filled to the gills" and still not seem crowded if they have sufficient public spaces and crew.  Glad to hear about your positive experience on the Zaandam.

2 hours ago, julia said:

We did the K'dam 35 night SoPac last year, and felt there were areas that were often crowded and noisy.  We gave up on dinners in the MDR (after a few attempts and long waits) but did try it for some breakfasts & lunches.  Service was hit or miss. The Lido hours were too short in the evening, so we needed to plan ahead.  Port talks and shows were way overcrowded.  Obnoxious canned music played in every venue... even at 7am in the Lido. We enjoyed our trip, our cabin, and the crew, but not sure that we'd do this ship again.

Our experience, too. 

3 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

Is your cruise on of the many that were sold as “free 3rd and 4th guests sail free”?

I don't remember. We booked a long time ago.

I am currently on the Koningsdam.  I was unpleasantly surprised to find it crowded (like Carnival)  Anytime dining usually requires waiting or a reservation and when you get into the dining room, it's noisy and frantic with slow service.  It is difficult or impossible to find a seat at the pool deck, in the Lido, or at the World Stage.  At lunch times, it's difficult to make yourself understood to the servers behind the food counters, probably because of the noise. 

I am booked on the Volendam for a 42 day cruise in November.  Should I expect to find the same crowding on that ship? 

Just now, Ileneilene123 said:

I would like to use HAL gift cards to purchase OBC for our cruise. 

I think that you can use HAL gift cards to pay your bill onboard, but I haven't done that myself.

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/plan-a-cruise/giftcard   :

"Gift card funds are in US Dollars and can be applied to bookings in US Dollars and any pre-cruise or onboard purchase."

I know that you can use them to pay for your cruise if your TA is willing to deal with them. I have done that.

21 minutes ago, Ileneilene123 said:

I am looking for a link to purchase shipboard credit (OBC). I have been having a lot of trouble with the HAL website so a direct link would be greatly appreciated. 

Sorry, I can't help you with that as I don't have such a link.  But I would like to ask you a question:  Why would you want to purchase OBC?  Do you get a discount or what?

5 minutes ago, jmbstudios said:

But open seating you can pretty much choose your own time.   We rarely have dinner after 6pm and like the idea of eating when we want but the elderly parents standing in a long line for dinner is a big draw back.    Right now we have open seating

I am answering from my current experience on the Koningsdam.  I don't know whether the Westerdam will be the same.  We have open seating and it's been quite annoying to try to get into the dining room when we want.  The good part is that your parents won't have to stand in a long line.  You all will be given a beeper to notify you when your table is ready.  Or you can make reservations.  We just learned today that the dining room closes reservations at 4 PM.  So it will be another night for us of waiting for a table.  In your case, since you seldom eat dinner after 6 PM, why not switch to fixed dining and avoid the hassle of waiting and/or making reservations?  The only downside to that is your early dining time might interfere with shore excursions.  

Perhaps someone with more HAL experience than I will tell you how you can work around that situation if you choose fixed dining. 

We are currently on the Koningsdam.  We booked too late to buy the "Early Bonus Have It All" package that would have covered crew appreciation as well as everything that is included in the HIA (without the Early Booking Bonus).  We bought an unlimited internet package online before sailing and are paying for our drinks as we go.  We usually have 1-2 per day. Yesterday we didn't buy any because the ship gave us a "free" glass of bubbly at the Captain's welcome party.  We did the math and discovered that if we drank enough to make the HIA package a good value, we'd miss the entire cruise, passed out LOL.  Ship's excursions are expensive and for you those might make the HIA package a good value, but I doubt it. Do the math.  No, we don't regret having passed on the HIA package for our cruise.  We would buy the Early Booking Bonus HIA package, when available, because the included crew appreciation would make the difference for us. 

7 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

For example, the price of the specialty dining option(s) you get with the HIA are definitely included as part of daily spending. .

I don't have HIA for my upcoming cruise, but my cruise fare came with two specialty dinings.  Will those be included as part of daily spending?

41 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

I reduced my packing by 50% by using the laundry service and recently cut more. I always do unlimited and frequently send a bag every day, sometimes 2 (one before breakfast and another before dinner).

If I'm not being too nosy, how many sets of sea day clothing and how many sets of dinner clothing (other than "dressy" night and orange night) clothing do you pack?

9 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Whatever you're comfortable wearing and presentable. I would save the room in my suitcase, pack less and use the terrific laundry service. 

How long will it take to get clothes back from the laundry for cold wash/hang dry and for cold wash/low dry?  In other words, how many sets of clothing (day clothes and dinner clothes) will I need to pack?

I didn't sleep last night, worrying about how I'm going to get all of these clothes into my suitcase.

Is it customary to change for dinner on smart casual nights?  Or can I just show up in the same clothing (turtleneck, pants, tennis shoes) that I've been wearing all day, and still fit in?  I have some dressier blouses that I bought just for dinners on cruises, but I don't think they're going to fit into my suitcase 😒

8 hours ago, Ready2go11 said:

I injured my arm, and as part of my physical therapy I’ve been using a heating pad after doing my exercises. I checked the FAQs list of prohibited items, and I do not see that this specifically would not allowed to be brought on board. 

 

Contact HAL.  They probably have something in the medical center that you could use there.

I am booked on a 22 day HAL circle Hawaii cruise.  Should I expect theme nights?  What should I take along for them?  

4 minutes ago, Kaleidoscope said:

We're new to HAL, although not to cruising, and wondered if anyone has any advice on managing food allergies.  I'm coeliac and allergic to milk (all details provided to HAL, of course), and are there any HAL-specific things of which I should be aware?  From previous cruises, I know that the MDR is normally easier, but I hear that the Italian station in the buffet has some good choices.  I'd welcome help with anything else I should know.  TIA. 

I'm a HAL newbie too, but this here are some tidbits I've learned from sailing on other cruise lines:  Don't rely on Corporate to pass your food allergy information on to the ship.  Sign up for fixed dining so that you always have the same waiter.  Eat in the MDR as often as possible. When you board, speak with the maître d' in the MDR and make sure that he/she understands that your dietary requirements are due to allergies and not just preferences. Also speak with your waiter and be sure that he/she understands your dietary restrictions.  Don't accept "Oh I'm sure ..." for an answer. If you intend to eat in the buffet or in any specialty restaurants, also speak with those maître d's.  If you have any questions when eating there, ask the server at the buffet counter or your alternative restaurant waiter and if he/she doesn't seem sure of the answer, ask him/her to find out.

53 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

Cabernet pairs very well with chocolate

 

😍

So do you bring a bottle or more onboard at $20 "corkage fee" each?  Do you buy a bottle from the dining room to keep in your cabin?  Or do you go to the bar and get a glass of Cabernet and take it back to your cabin every time you want to pair it with chocolate chip cookies there? 

20 hours ago, Ready2go11 said:

I have put snacks like granola bars, nuts, candy in my checked bags to bring on board and have never had an issue.

Why?

Does HAL charge extra for snacks? 

After what I paid for my upcoming cruise, I would be really upset if I thought that I had to supply my own snacks 😒

This discussion brings up another laundry question:  If I have clothing that includes items that need to be dry low and items that need to be hung dry and maybe even items that could be dry medium, do I need to send them in 2-3 separate bags with different instructions on each bag? 

10 hours ago, sciencewonk said:

 Most of all, we love the Neptune Lounge with its access to the concierges, who have fixed so many small and large problems during our cruises.

It is my understanding (although I have no experience) that in hotels, concierges expect large tips in return for fixing problems.  Is it the same on HAL, or are their tips covered by the assessed crew gratuities?

Do you think the Neptune Suite on the Zaandam is worth the extra cost above that of the Vista (notice I didn't say "Vista Suite") ?

I'm not asking you to guess whether it would be worth it to me.  But I would like to hear your perspective on whether it would be (or was) worth it to you, and why. 

17 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

Re: Club Orange - depending on the cabin you booked the 'free' cabin upgrade is definitely worth looking into if you haven't already.  I booked the cheapest Oceanview cabin and was then able to use CO to upgrade to a larger Oceanview cabin that would have cost nearly 1,000 more if I had booked it originally.

How do the Club Orange cabin upgrades work - When can you get them - how many categories can you upgrade - can you pick your upgraded cabin?

Can I order a pitcher of mimosas from room service?

Canadians, If you're flying on Westjet to Florida to board a cruise, be sure to allow an extra day (in a hotel in FLL for example).  The last time I flew Westjet from Orlando to Calgary, the flight was delayed by 12 hours!  There was a thunderstorm, (OK, not their fault) and they had to stop at a different airport on the way for re-fueling and were therefore VERY late landing in Orlando.

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

 After being a 23 Guaranteed 5-6 cruises a year in upper suites "Loyal" Celebrity -    So far this year I have booked only 1 Celebrity but booked 2 Oceania, 2 Cunard and 1 SilverSea.

 

 

Where do you find the time?  I'm retired and can barely fit in 1-2 cruises a year !

Sandiego1 said:  Air credit for an inside cabin is an incl perk for the P2P. One must purchase the flight through FlightEase and the credit is $500pp. The Surf WiFi package is also a perk.

If we live in Florida and can drive to the port (Ft. Lauderdale), will HAL credit our account the $500 that we will have received toward air fare?

Also, what is P2P?