mwj

We could never smell smoke. We did find a couple cigarette butts at times. Why people think tossing their 'butts' overboard is acceptable behavior is beyond me.

The Volendam is in dire need of a drydock before the World, Grand and Legendary cruises upcoming. We were the ship on a year ago, and experience multiple plumbing issues that took days to remedy. It's is wonderful ship, and I hope it sails for many more years.

The Noordam's last Alaska cruise in 2026 is a 14-day round trip from Seattle on August 23rd. That would put a possible 'Grand Asia' or repeat of the '24 Legendary Japan starting on Sunday September 6th.

The last ship (Rotterdam) sailed in the spring of ‘22. HAL has NO new ships on the books. Please contrast this to other major cruise lines.

Frankly, for me, HAL has made many small decisions that are driving us away. 1) Elimination of Lincoln Center 2) Elimination of BBKing 3) Poor World Stage entertainment 4) Bumping twosomes out of a room that will hold more 5) Failure to invest in new ships. 6) Persistent poor-quality website and app 7) Persistent Inconsistency between app and daily planner 😎 Poor quality customer service since outsourcing 9) Persistent lack of response to emails addressed to guest services 10) Continually raising drink prices with adjusting HIA price limit 11) Removal of fresh squeezed juice from HIA 12) Poor implantation of anytime dining reservations 13) Park West takeover of public common areas 14) Elimination of informational port talks 15) Cutback on the number of crew aboard 16) Invisibility of sommelier 17) Removal of embarkation MDR lunch These are just the reasons that I could think of in the past fifteen minutes. We continue to minimally sail HAL when we are doing so with friends. In the meantime, we have booked or sailed on other lines; Silversea, Windstar, Atlas and AMA Waterways.

Yes, we have done this recently (this year).

As the Zaandam is likely to be in Alaska the summer of '26 (is for '25), my guess is that it will leave from Vancouver and end in San Diego. Fingers crossed for fall of '26, as this would replace the 56-day Vancouver to San Diego Tales of the South Pacific (Zaandam is doing this in '25). Has anyone heard recent comments from an FCC about Grand Asia?

much appreciated ... thank you !

Did you purchase flights thru HAL?

Once you have the email confirmation from SheerID, forward that email to reservations_submit@hollandamerica.com along with your HAL cruise booking numbers. We did this earlier this year and the AARP OBC was added to the bookings within a couple of days.

One thing to be aware of is that even this list is inaccurate. The Noordam offers Tamarind and Morimoto popups. Also, I believe the Noordam added the 'Retreat' during the last drydock.

The better solution is to dine in one of the specialty restaurants on embarkation day.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/the-best-time-to-cruise-alaska-a-month-by-month-guide

And there's a shortage of Laundry Bags. We've been told they're only stocked enough for 7 day cruises. The Westerdam did multiple 14 day cruises in Asia this winter/spring before moving to Alaska. How is it possible they only have enough for 7 day cruises.

The problem as I see it is that AA has become a second tier airline. Even though AA has the most flights from our closest airport, we have been avoiding them unless there are no other good options. FE customers may have experiences numerous problems with missed connections that led them to this decision. The points issue being the straw that broke the camel's back.

If you have the SheerID email confirmation, you can forward that to HAL at reservations_submit@hollandamerica.com along with your booking number(s). No need to call ...

One has to wonder about this statement. HAL had eighteen months to make arrangements for Dutch Harbor as the cruise went on sale Dec 2022 ...

We had an older blue plastic coupon from a cruise prior (when we had HIA). The bartender begrudgingly accepted it as I pointed out that it didn't have an expiration date.

Response from HAL: "We are modifying our programming as we continue to serve the spiritual needs of our guests. Beginning in 2025, we will no longer provide a priest on every cruise, instead prioritizing pastoral care for longer cruises, for cruises where guests are further away from home, and cruises over religious holidays. We will provide congregation-led interdenominational services on Sunday mornings and congregation-led Jewish Shabbat services on Friday evenings on all cruises. In addition, a Catholic Priest will provide daily Catholic mass on ocean crossings and cruises to Hawaii, the Panama Canal, Asia, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. On Grand and Legendary Voyages, services will be held by a Catholic Priest, Protestant Minister, and Jewish Rabbi. On Christmas and Easter, both a Catholic Priest and Protestant Minister will lead services, and on holiday sailings over Hannukah, a Jewish Rabbi or Cantor will lead services on our cruises."

The problem is that some of the most desirable rooms are rated for more than two. In particular, on the Vista class ships, inside rooms cat I deck 6 and cat J deck 1 are all rated for more than two. Imagine booking one of those rooms, and then getting booted at the last minute to a smaller room that does not have a sofa, or won't fit your scooter.

HAL has a 'practice' of trying new ideas on one ship to test and sort it out. Given that 'all' other ships have 50% off during multiple happy hours in different venues, it seems as if the NS is being used to change this. Yes, I think this is an attempt to increase revenue, and drive guests to HIA.

The coffee certainly isn't what I would call strong. It has gotten better (drinkable) on recent cruises.

In our experience the daily program seems to be most accurate. We have noted numerous timing errors or missing information in the app on each cruise.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/holland-america-line-adds-deal-or-no-deal-interactive-game-show-to-its-entertainment-roster-302070037.html Holland America Line has expanded its entertainment offering to launch the popular TV game show brand Deal or No Deal on nine of its cruise ships. Powered by TimePlay, a leader in interactive technology, this show format has a proven track record due to its highly adaptable design and strong brand identity and is now on over 85 ships worldwide. This high-energy live hosted experience invites contestants on stage to deal for cash, and what makes this game unique is that everyone in the audience also gets to play along for a chance to win big, including a free cruise. The program will run once or twice per voyage, hosted on the World Stage or Rolling Stone Lounge, depending on the Holland America Line ship. ... really ???

Unfortunately, there is NO group chat feature in Navigator. It is strictly one to one. If everyone in the group has a wifi package, then you can use other apps for group chat purposes.