Loreto

Ours too! I wish they would return it R/T Seattle again instead of Vancouver.

I have always asked at the Seattle Airport Hilton since I am Hilton Honors, and the answer is always "no." But I would get points if I had their food venues charged to my room. I would stick with letting HAL book the rooms in Santiago/Buenos Aires, just for peace of mind. We had a pre cruise package booked in Santiago, cancelled due to Covid. You can always ask when you check in. It pained me to pay more and get no points, but the trade off was the convenience. A number of years ago when we booked the downtown Sheraton with HAL we were mysteriously given a Club Level room with lounge access, even though I was just a basic member.

We were on the Westerdam/Alaska Seattle in June and you are correct. There was no place to line people up at that terminal, but they did have a large waiting area. We had verifly and there was no line for that screening. We came on the HAL bus from the airport Hilton and waited in the priority area. I will say the Seattle cruise pier was a mess with 2 ships boarding at the same time. It was more controlled for Hawaii/San Diego because everyone had to take a covid test at the pier, even though we did the required testing 2 days before.

At the port in San Diego for the Feb. sailing of the Koningsdam to Hawaii (which was heavily booked) there were 3 signs outside the terminal gate with about 100 passengers behind each time sign. It was strictly monitored. You dropped off your luggage and then got in line. We are 5* (and I believe we could board any time) but also in a Neptune Suite. We showed our boarding pass to the HAL rep and she allowed us to go through the gate to the terminal. We were actually given a very late boarding time for this cruise, which was a problem as we had to wait in our hotel lobby and then take their shuttle to the cruise pier. I called HAL and pointed out the we were 5* in a Neptune and could we possibly have an earlier boarding time? We were moved up to the 2nd group, right behind the handicap group, which was allowed to board first.

We were on the Westerdam/Alaska in June in a Neptune Suite and enjoyed breakfast in the Pinnacle for breakfast. I found the service to be really wonderful on this ship for PG breakfast....much better than the special Club Orange dining room on the Koningsdam. Patrick was our concierge...he was with us for the Koningsdam?Hawaii in February, but switched to the Westerdam as it heads to Australia/New Zealand this fall. We were happy and surprised to see him again...he is great!

We were on the Westerdam in June and they hadn't implemented it yet. We like to order a clothesline bacon to share and then get another appetizer. I guess we could share that too!

I found that to be on our last 2 cruises this year...MDR waiters didn't seem to know. Frequently the entree that was offered was not that great. We were in a Neptune on the Koningsdam Hawaii and Westerdam Alaska.

We also take our actual original CDC Vaccination Card. better as others have said, to have a back up! In Hawaii we had to show our actual card to be seated in a restaurant last February.

Hi Reds4life, I am a Cincinnati transplant to California....my mom had Pete Rose as a student at Western Hills HS! We sailed on the Zuiderdam last Christmas for the Sea of Cortez, and most recently her sister ship, the Westerdam for Alaska in June. Our 15 year old grand daughter came with her parents and us. She chose not to join Club HAL, and had a great time on the ship and on excursion. Last summer Alaska we has our 12 year old grand daughter and family and she, too, made lots of friends independently, and is still talking about it a year later! Both loved the Dive In and getting smoothies and the pools. The Zuiderdam is a nice sized ship, but doesn't have the activities ( or crowds) of the larger lines. Hopefully you will look at all the posts and decide for yourself. Go Reds! Karen

Glad you heard from them🙂!

We were on this excursion a number of years ago. Allen Marine did the excursion in a modest catamaran. The toilets are small Marine toilets with room for 1 person, and the ride is very rocky in them. I wouldn't try to bring a baby in there. While the excursion was great, the ride from the Arm to Juno was very long and after awhile, boring. The seats in the cabin were all filled, with passengers coming and going to outside decks, so changing the baby in the cabin may not be the best idea.

I would call, phone # 800-522-3399...it goes to the HAL main menu and then you choose. I wasn't on hold for very long. The agent I spoke with, Jennifer, told me to email of fax the request, so you should have received an prompt reply. I always ask for email confirmation. The email is world_cruise_reservations@hollandamerica.com. I hope this helps! it is frustrating to have to jump through so many hoops!

I asked Jennifer if I should address my email to her. She said "no," that it will go to whoever opens the email. They are all working from home/remote. So far I have had replies from 2 different employees, neither was your guy, Shivang. I have heard from Nisha Parashar and Puja Singh, which makes me wonder if a call center is answering the emails. It doesn't matter, they seem to be adding the OBC.

I finally called yesterday since I hadn't heard back from my July mailing to them. Jennifer at World Cruise Reservations explained that there are 2 people in the office and mail is only being opened once a month🙁. I don't like to do the request by email but did resend everything as a PDF and received email confirmation by the end of the day that the OBC had been applied to our November cruise.

There were a number of float planes taking off, so HAL excursions may have been among them. A HAL excursion floatplane did crash a few years ago. As others have stated, it can be very risky. My husband was a pilot, and we would never chance flightseeing, spectacular is it may be. This lawsuit just brings back memories of this sad day. We were having dinner at the Pinnacle Grill with son, wife and 12 year old grand daughter when the announcement was made and the venue became very subdued. I felt badly for the crew as this should have been a very happy, upbeat return to sailing for them.

I was on the Nieuw Amsterdam Alaska sailing last summer along with my family when this accident occurred. This was our first time back on board after the pandemic pause. My HAL Ketchican excursion left by small boat for an island. The weather was very overcast as the float planes were taking off. As the day progressed it was raining heavily. Our port call was lengthened because the ship would not call at Victoria. By early afternoon the captain announced that a private flying excursion had not returned and had our guests on the flight. At dinner it was announced that the wreckage had been located and that crisis counselors would be available for anyone . It was a very sad, traumatic ending to our cruise. We prayed for those lost. I am somewhat surprised that HAL would be sued and I hope they will not settle. For many HAL excursions I have signed a waiver and the dangers are clearly spelled out. I am sure it is the same with private companies too.

We order the wasabi cocktail at our seat while looking over the menu. The Tamarind is our favorite restaurant, warm and welcoming with great cuisine! We choose it over the Pinnacle for our 5* mariner benefit.

As has been mentioned, the Zaandam verandah staterooms are all listed as "suites" which you get double mariner points for. They all have whirlpool bathtubs. I just looked at my Big Box TA web page and there are plenty of rooms available. The 10 day Sea of Cortez itinerary is a favorite of ours.

I sent in my request 2 weeks ago by mail for my November cruise, asking for email confirmation, and haven't heard back yet. I will have to follow up. The email is: World_Cruise_Reservations@hollandamerica.com You can find the info at the Carnival Corporation web site Karen

Hope all ends well for you...I love Alaska Airlines! The Hangar is our favorite restaurant in Juneau. I even have a Hangar t shirt!

Last week I asked my big box ta about refaring our B to B Panama Canal cruise next Feb. adding the crew appreciation. Agent said it couldn't be done. After reading recent posts I decided to try again. Success! I was able to get the new lower fare, and Have It All with Crew Appreciation. I did take a hit on OBC...HAL had given us $200 on each cruise, but now it is $150, but now I have almost $500 in crew appreciation on each segment, so I am happy! Thanks Cruise Critic posters🙂! Karen

I agree with those who say get a hotel! When we have a late arrival, and it is always a long drive home, we stay overnight at the airport. As one poster said, the drive home can be the most dangerous part of the trip. When we arrived in Las Vegas last October on our flat bed business class flight from AMS to SLC, clearing customs...which was exhausting and then on to LAS, the heat was incredible in Vegas. We had already booked a hotel for that night and headed for home the next day.

You won't be disappointed! We have gone to Mexico 8 times with HAL and I never tire of the beauty of the ports, especially Cabo San Lucas. In between cruises the area around the port in San Diego is nice, or take an excursion with HAL You don't want to be in Ohio in the winter🙂! Karen Cabo San Lucas

Chickadee I see You are from Ohio! We are Ohio transplants to California🙁...miss Cincinnati! Karen Honolulu

Hi Chickadee910, We did this itinerary as a Collectors Cruise last February for 25 days on the Koningsdam. We went to Hawaii first, then after returning to San Diego, down to Mexico. When the ship returned to San Diego, everyone had to disembark...we were given a letter explaining the procedure. We stayed in the same stateroom, so no luggage to pack. HAL offered a number of in transit excursions for the Collector Cruise. We were covid tested before we arrived in San Diego. Everyone was actually tested at the pier again on the first embarkation prior to Hawaii(in addition to the HAL negative test requirement), and tested again on the way to Hawaii. We chose a 4 hour tour of San Diego to kill time, which turned out to be a disaster as our group was combined with a handicapped group going to the airport. Everyone must go through immigration in San Diego and it was a mess...very slow, the handicapped people ignored the meeting time making the tour 2 hours late. We were told our tour would now just be a "Drive By" tour and all of us intransit passengers mutinied and got off the bus and got a refund. We were not allowed back on the ship because the disembarkation was not completed. I wrote to HAL and they did give me future shipboard credit and an apology. If you choose a HAL tour do the Zoo or wine tasting...you shouldn't have a problem. We received mid cruise statements when the ship arrived in San Diego from Hawaii, and then a final bill at the end of the entire cruise. We kept the same cabin stewards, but our dining was changed from fixed seating upstairs, to everyone now downstairs for Mexico because the ship was not full..I am sure it will be full for you now. For the 5 Sea Days each way to Hawaii HAL did a good job with enrichment lectures...even stargazing. We enjoyed the Islands and did HAL tours...loved Volcanoes National Park in Hilo. That tour sold out before embarkation as it is in small vans. I hope this helps. The only bump was the slow immigration in San Diego. Enjoy the cruise! Karen