Moriah

2 minutes ago, seapad said:

So, is there still a welcome lunch of some sort - maybe later on during the cruise - for the Mariners Society perk? As 1 star though 🙂 

I've been on I think 6 cruises since the comeback after Covid, and none of them have had any mariner lunch or brunch, sadly. 

You probably won't find out for sure whether the MDR is open for lunch on. your embarkation day until you actually embark, and chances are it won't be.  I think it's pretty well been phased out.  If you are on a Pinnacle ship, I suggest having your embarkation lunch at the Grand Dutch Cafe.  Delicious, lovely venue, and not as "crazy" as the lido.  If any other ship, there is always the possibility of getting burgers and fries at the Dive-In and eating next to one of the pools, weather permitting.  Other than that, the lido buffet is pretty much it for embarkation lunch.  I used to love going to the MDR for the relaxed atmosphere and to get away from all the craziness of embarkation, but in recent years I actually started getting bored in there when lunch was taking upwards of an hour.  And as said, the "welcome aboard" lunch (which wasn't anything special, really, as far as "perks" go...) is being phased out if it isn't already gone.

When Tony reported on this last week on his podcast, I gave it some thought.  First of all, it seems the woman's husband, in his excitement about the trip, posted details, or perhaps a photo or screenshot proving they had a wonderfully special cabin, or whatnot, and I absolutely agree that posting information about your trip - in this case it was the booking number - is absolutely ridiculously negligent.  However, I also think that there could be some kind of extra step - such as an email or other communication asking the person "are you sure you want to cancel your cruise?" just to have an extra step safeguard in there.  Someone said that "someone at Carnival noticed and cancelled their shore excursions."  No, actually when you cancel your cruise online, the system will automatically cancel your shore excursions.  Thus the email they got saying their excursions were cancelled. So my question is, if they got an email saying their excursions were canceled, wouldn't they also have gotten one confirming cancellation of the entire booking?  How did they notice one and not the other? And my REAL question: if they had noticed RIGHT AWAY, and called, could they have reinstated their cruise?  Anyway, I guess bottom line, there SHOULD be an extra-step safeguard so there can't be a mistake like this with just one stroke.  I do feel for them, because while yes, it was ridiculous for them to post their information, does this make it "their fault"?  They were STILL victims of a crime, and it's still terrible!  I really don't like to "blame the victim" - we've all put ourselves at risk in various ways, and let's remember they are still the ones who were ripped off. 

Anyway, as Tony says  - it's a "cautionary tale".   He says, and I tend to agree, that these people seemed to be "bragging" on social media about their upcoming cruise, and someone, just to be mean, decided to pull the rug out from under them when they posted their booking number.  Again, they are still the victims, even though posting their booking number was stupid.  I do NOT think Carnival is in any way to blame, and I agree they should have taken whatever they offered, but they seem to lack judgement across the board. 

And a related subject - for all the years I've been on CC, it never fails that on a roll call thread there is someone posting his or her cabin number on their upcoming cruise.  I sincerely hope this has never led to any mishap, but it certainly has such potential. 

When Tony reported on this last week on his podcast, I gave it some thought.  First of all, it seems the woman's husband, in his excitement about the trip, posted details, or perhaps a photo or screenshot proving they had a wonderfully special cabin, or whatnot, and I absolutely agree that posting information about your trip - in this case it was the booking number - is absolutely ridiculously negligent.  However, I also agree with the person above who mentioned that there could be some kind of extra step - such as an email or other communication asking the person "are you sure you want to cancel your cruise?" just to have an extra step safeguard in there.  Someone said that "someone at Carnival noticed and cancelled their shore excursions."  No, actually when you cancel your cruise online, the system will automatically cancel your shore excursions.  Thus the email they got saying their excursions were cancelled. So my question is, if they got an email saying their excursions were canceled, wouldn't they also have gotten one confirming cancellation of the entire booking?  How did they notice one and not the other? And my REAL question: if they had noticed RIGHT AWAY, and called, could they have reinstated their cruise?  Anyway, I guess bottom line, there SHOULD be an extra-step safeguard so there can't be a mistake like this with just one stroke.  I do feel for them, because while yes, it was ridiculous for them to post their information, does this make it "their fault"?  They were STILL victims of a crime, and it's still terrible!  I really don't like to "blame the victim" - we've all put ourselves at risk in various ways, and let's remember they are still the ones who were ripped off. 

Anyway, as Tony says  - it's a "cautionary tale".   He says, and I tend to agree, that these people seemed to be "bragging" on social media about their upcoming cruise, and someone, just to be mean, decided to pull the rug out from under them when they posted their booking number.  Again, they are still the victims, even though posting their booking number was stupid.  I do NOT think Carnival is in any way to blame, and I agree they should have taken whatever they offered, but they seem to lack judgement across the board.  I really don't think they've embarrassed Carnival at all. 

15 minutes ago, Will_Dieterich said:

The benefit is that there are various promotional programs where they don't give OBC to single cruisers and since you with some of the single supplements being at 100% you are paying as if two people would be there.  So it is an attempt to get the promotional benefit that people paying the same amount of money, for two people, that you are paying for a single.

 

But as I said, you would NOT get the OBC for two people, unless both people actually board the ship, so in that case there is zero "benefit."

On 5/30/2024 at 12:53 PM, DanielNL said:

I am sailing solo this September on the Rotterdam. I have paid 200%, for a Inside cabin. 
The special solo travellers cabin were more expensive. Maby because it has a small window?

The solo cabin doesn't have a "small window" - it has the same kind of window as all the other OV cabins on the ship (not the floor to ceiling, though).  It's actually a very nice ocean view cabin, although the ones furthest forward are small - it is only for one person, after all.  I like the beds that are not split down the middle - I believe it's a queen size bed, or just slightly smaller, and does not split in two.  I am not sure why everyone is so surprised that the solo cabins can be more expensive than a double inside cabin.  They are Ocean View cabins!

On 5/31/2024 at 6:17 AM, Will_Dieterich said:

With single being the same cost as two, there are some deals that give benefits for doubles vs singles.

So what happens if you sign up as a double get the benefit(mostly obc) then when it comes to check in call them up and tell them the other person has cannot make it?  Do they grab back the benefit

I have heard they rebate you the taxes and port costs so that should bring the price to the same.

When you have two on the schedule better to not sign up for HIA but if you go sign up for HIA once you are on-board do they charge you for two people or just the one that boarded?

First of all, why would you "call them up" and tell them the cabin-mate can't make it?  Are you saying you would sign up a person who never intended to come, and check them in and everything, and pay in advance for their port fees, etc?  Besides the fact that this is ridiculous, if you are going to do this, just go get on the ship because if your cabin-mate does not show up, you will still get YOUR OBC but you will NOT get theirs.  You will sail in the cabin you booked, you will be charged for YOUR port fees and taxes and get YOUR OBC, but again, not theirs.  I fail to see any "benefit" at all, because as said, you will NOT get their OBC.  If that fictitious cabinmate HAD shown up, their OBC would be on their account, and yours on yours.  Yes, they divide the amount in two and allocate it that way.  As for HIA, I have no idea.  So again, knowing you will NOT get the OBC for two people, why would you do this? 

Oh, you and me both!! I LOVED the smaller ships that are now gone, as well as the couple that we still have available, and while the Vista class eventually became my favorite for various reasons, even the Eurodam and NA were considered HUGE by me !!  I resisted trying the Pinnacle class until just last year.  My first sailing on one was, like yours will be, on Rotterdam, and I LOVED it!!! The things you mentioned were exactly my negatives - the narrow wraparound deck on Deck 3, the strange theater configuration (and lack of much going on in there by way of entertainment in any case).  Also, I agree with RuthC about the cabins - a shame that they made them smaller and just not as "old time cruising" feeling...  HOWEVER, there was so much to love, that I forgave those things.  I loved that the Sea View pool area is more covered and has lots of comfortable furniture to hang out on, and I love love love the Grand Dutch Cafe.  The whole ship just felt like "home" the minute I boarded, and to be honest, it just doesn't feel that big.  If you could beam me onto a Pinnacle ship and told me it was the Westerdam, I probably wouldn't have argued (until I saw the GDC, but you get my drift). Weirdly, for me, the signature class ships seem bigger!  I don't know why that is.  They are my least favorite class.  Another thing, although this probably doesn't apply for you, is the Pinnacle class has solo cabins and they are really nice.  In short, while I STILL would probably choose a smaller ship - I now would not hesitate to choose Pinnacle class ships.  I've done 3 cruises on them to date and have one booked on K-dam, the last one for me to have sailed on every ship in the fleet (most many, many times).  I know you are going to have a wonderful time on your northern Eurpoean cruise!!

21 hours ago, islandwoman said:

Can I specify a specific type of cabin and location with a waitlist request?  Do we have to book whatever is available in order to get on the waitlist for a different cabin?  Since the cruise is sailing on August 4, is it already too late because guaranteed and upgrade passengers are already being assigned? 

We have an August 4 cruise in mind, but there are no cabins available except inside and one oceanview.  DH won't sail in anything below a veranda and I can't sail in a forward or high deck cabin (sea sickness).  I know: fussy, fussy.

I've never heard of the waitlist, but I can tell you that for a cruise in August there is no way they are already assigning guarantee guests - that won't happen for a couple of months, maybe late July at the earliest. 

11 minutes ago, Navybikermom said:

I tried to get a solo cabin for my 14-day Rotterdam cruise and it was more expensive than paying the double price for an inside cabin. That’s some creative pricing right there!

I think it’s the simple law of supply and demand. There are only 12 solo cabins per ship and they are ocean view. Other lines have inside solo cabins which would presumably be competitive with regular inside cabins but from what I’ve seen on YouTube those are usually painfully tiny. The HAL solo cabins are really quite spacious and nice, and all have a nice unobstructed ocean view. I would agree with you about the “creative pricing” if the solos were inside cabins, but they are not. 

I agree that embarkation day lunch in the MDR used to be "relaxing" - but in recent years I found it a bit too relaxing! Meaning it could take over an hour to complete a meal, and I guess in my old age I'm getting antsy and want to be out and about on deck or unpacking... anyway, I digress.  About GDC - Now I have lunch there on embarkation day (if on one of the ships that has it, obviously) and it's Pea Soup or course, and by new embarkations "drink" is ADVOCAT!!! I encourage everyone to order this amazing "egg brandy" - it's like alcoholic pudding and sooooo good!  (Be sure to ask for whipped cream on top).  Sigh... I want to book a pinnacle class cruise right now just for the Advocat!  Apparently you can only buy it in European liquor stores.  At least where I live in the US they just look at you funny...

4 hours ago, westerdam said:

Well, I called HAL today and like some of you said there is no set rate for singles. I bit the bullet and am booking the Nieuw Statendam for the westbound Transatlantic this fall.  It ended up being 200 percent for occupancy of an inside cabin. Wish they still did single share but c'est la vie!

NS has solo cabins, which should come out cheaper than the 200 percent for inside (the solo cabins are ocean view).  I had a solo cabin for two weeks on NS and enjoyed it very much.  It's a nice sized ocean view with a "mid-sized" bed (not splittable, a tad smaller than a queen, larger than a single).  It should be less than what you would pay solo for an inside cabin.  I was on a casino deal so not sure about the actual pricing.  I had wondered if I'd like the location, and turned out I loved it.

On 5/11/2024 at 11:10 PM, mawvkysc said:

Someone asked for library pictures. There is also a leave a book/take a book section. 

Thank you so much for the library photos!! It looks awesome!!

Happy embarkation today!  I'll be following - lucky you trans-Atlantic on Zuiderdam!  I haven't been on the Z for years but am booked for this fall for a three week cruise out of Boston and very much looking forward.  Curious about the new library!  Hope you'll be able to post photos.  Main thing is - HAVE FUN!

36 minutes ago, Laminator said:

Do yourself a favor. 99.9% of cruise critic members have no clue how casino offers work. Several agents at the casino number have no clue either. There is a group called Holland America Casino Players on a very popular social media site that has over 6100 members. All of them book casino offers and are a wealth of knowledge as to how to get offers as while as how to book them. If you choose to go a different route I would HIGHLY recommend you get a PCC that is familiar with casino offers. As an FYI my offers are showing online. 

When you say "showing online" - could you be more specific as to how you find them? Thank you!

YUL has a Marriott right in the airport.  If you are not planning to see any of the Montreal sites, but only need a bed for the night before the cruise, consider that one - it's quite nice, and obviously very convenient.  (Uber or taxi to and from the pier) I've used that hotel when leaving the next morning on international trips.  I live in Vermont, so sometimes leaving from Montreal is less expensive than Boston, and the two are equidistant from my home, but I digress.  I've also started a few cruises from Montreal, but have always driven so needed "park and fly" hotel - there are several that provide up to two weeks of parking included in the room price.  I have Marriott "loyalty" points usually so I just look on their site for Montreal park and fly - I've used the Fairfield Inn, which is their low end brand but worked just fine and wasn't a long Uber ride to the Port.  I can't recall the name of the other one we stayed in, but probably also a Marriott.   

Are you booked on a HAL cruise?  If so, if it is one of the loooooonger itineraries you may have a few ballroom dancing opportunities... but the shorter the itinerary, the less it's likely.  If you tell us which ship and itinerary you are on, or are thinking about, I'm sure people can give you more exact info.

It will open about half an hour to an hour after sail-away from Vancouver, and it will be open all day on sea days.  On port days, it will open, again, about half an hour after sail-away.  This is the same as any itinerary actually.  I've never noticed a difference when on an Alaska cruise. 

Anytime between 2 weeks before sailing and when you get to the port for embarkation.  At about the 2 week mark, just check every day and you might be surprised.  If you never see an assignment, don't worry, you'll have a cabin when you get there! 🙂

I did a back to back last month - and the port was FLL, so it may be different in other places, especially a European port, but here's my recent experience. Almost half of the passengers were "transit", meaning they were staying on board for the next cruise, and our process was as follows.

We received a written notice in our cabins telling us that at a particular time (I believe it was 9:30 AM) we were to gather in the theater.  I got there about 20 minutes early and there were already about 300 people seated in the theater.  Once we were ALL there (don't be late if you don't want to annoy a lot of people LOL) we were led out, row by row, in a long procession into the terminal.  Once out there, we turned around, lined up, and waited about 10 minutes to be marched back on board.  I'm not sure why you asked about customs - you do NOT have to "go through customs" and you do not have to bring anything off the ship with you except your room key and your passport.  So customs is not a thing at that point.  Yes, it was seamless, the waiting all took place in the theater, and a few minutes waiting to re-board. 

Now, if you want to go ashore and treat your turnaround day as a port day and do something on land, you will have to re-board the same way the other passengers do, including security.  Then once they are ready to board, they will board "transit" passengers first, before priority boarding and group one.

Enjoy your cruise!

13 minutes ago, Archipelago said:

It is Oosterdam and the website says limited availability . 

Yes, they only sell a certain number of passes so it is never crowded.  If you mean you are worried they will have no more room once you board, I highly doubt it - I don't think I've ever heard of that happening but maybe others will chime in.  Anarctic cruise!!!  I agree you will love having the thermal spa!

I have used it on all of the ships except Koningsdam.  What are your questions about them?  What ship will you be on?  There are three distinct types of spas now - the two smaller ships do not have the hydropool, just a small hot tub in the same room with the thermal couches.  The Vistas and Signature ships have beautiful square hydropools, and the Pinnacle ships have basically the same one but round, and with more comfortable set-ups for sitting down in the water.  (also you can douse yourself with ice cubes and a few other additions :))

If it will be your first time, you might want to wait until embarkation day to decide. Take the tour (the spa has an open house on the first day) and see the facilities, hear the pricing, and decide if it looks like something you will use and enjoy.  I love the hydropool and the thermal couches - but my cruising style is sort of couch-potatoe-y (at least when on board) so it's perfect for me. That said, I don't do it on every cruise.  Depends who I'm with, how many sea days, etc.  If you ask specific questions I'm sure I and many others can answer.

On 1/15/2024 at 10:10 AM, Kc1220 said:

Going to Alaska in May on the Noordam and in room 1060

I will be in 1060 soon!  Do you by any chance have any photos of the room you can share?

On 4/8/2024 at 1:08 PM, AV8rix said:

And the dedicated computer dude in the library, and the crew show, and the classical music, and I could go on and on.

Sigh... I still miss "Love in any Language...." the night before disembarking.