CaveDiving

...I am hopeful the Zaandam will get a refresh of her bathrooms in the next dry dock as the originals are looking very tired. I'm also hoping for her to emerge with a cohesive carpet and textile language throughout. The recent refurb of the Westerdam, has me hopeful in this area. As is well known, I have this "thing" about HAL and their crazy, mismatched, hodgepodge carpet situation.

Hi

It’s interesting that you mention the carpets on HAL ships. Iusually travel on long cruises and am pretty familiar with the ships, so thecarpet design means little to me.

But for folks who cruise on only one or two week cruises andnot very often, the carpet design can be helpful. How many times have you seen new cruisers getoff an elevator and be confused as to which side of the ship was port orstarboard? Simply making the carpet designslightly diferent (perhaps contrastingbut complementary) on the passageways on the different sides of the ship, couldbe rather helpful.

I’ve noticed this on Princess ships where a thin outlinecolor stripe is different on the two sides passageways of the ship. Another approach could be to have the carpetdesign indicate the forward direction on the ship. Simple things such as fish swimming in theforward direction or triangles pointing in the forward direction would seem tohelp confused newbies on the ships.

This is not a big thing but I think might help a bit to improve the cruising experience for new cruisers.

Scott & Karen

If I remember correctly, I seem to recall the Rotterdam and the Amsterdam are pretty close to the same size.

Scott & Karen

...

 

The disappointment is that with the demise of the smaller ships, the nice long cruises that go to remote places might end. I do hope that they will keep some of the long ones...the Grands...but those are the ones that they really don't make money on. We don't drink much, go to the casino....do our own tours....on those long ones.

 

Linda R.

I wonder about this. It would seem that all we'd need is perhaps more efficient tendering operations to get to most locations. As for the long cruises, I have been told that the 2018 World is already almost sold out. So HAL can't be losing money on it.

Scott & Karen

I've often said to myself, "Self, if only there were an in-room brochure telling me how to dress." Imagine the convenience! I can hardly wait for the light up cutlery that blinks to let you know which fork or knife to use. A laminated placard that explains that the butter goes from the butter dish to the bread plate and not directly onto the bread would be cool, too.

...And that the bread dish goes to the left and the drinking goblet to the right....

Scott & Karen

Who do you trust? At the end of the day it is the cruise line that decides if you embark on their ship, and they are all saying "no". That person at the Customs & Border Protection isn't going to be around to help you, and I would have more confidence in their answer if they did not make the newbie mistake of referring to the Jones Act (not the appropriate law).

 

I don't see why anyone would take a chance like this, and I have also heard that those 1-day cruises are something best avoided.

 

igraf

I have to believe that your posting has been made with tongue in cheek. After all, if a question is asked and answered officially by the US government, I find it difficult to accept that your argument is that someone working for a cruise line can make up his own rules which conflict with the government’s, and which take precedence over the government’s rules......NOT!!!

Scott & Karen

I am sorry to create another PVSA / Jones Act thread, but I am confused after reading some earlier threads on the Princess forum.

 

I am booked on the Eurodam April 24-28 sailing, San Diego to Vancouver. Today, I tried to add on a B2B, staying on the Eurodam for the April 28-29 sailing from Vancouver to Seattle. I received a very quick automated email from HAL (forwarded by TA) that this was in violation of the PVSA.

 

OK, so I did some research here on CC, and saw several references that if you changed ships, there is no violation. I see that the Oosterdam is making that same 1 day sailing on April 28. So, I called HAL to inquire, and was told that even changing ships is a violation of the PVSA.

 

Did I speak with an uninformed HAL agent, or will changing ships still not get around the violation?

Yes, the one day add on is illegal. Basically you are attempting from San Diego to Seattle, and that is not allowed without 24 hours in Canada.

David

I looked into this in the past and was told that I would need to spend two nights in a hotel between cruises if using the same cruise line (typically on two different ships).

You *might* get away with one night in hotel if using two different cruise lines. Definitely not OK for the same day.

You might be tempted to use two different bookings to do this, but if it is discovered while on the first cruise then the second cruise might get cancelled.

igraf

I understand there is a great deal of misunderstanding about the application of the PVSA.

Unfortunately, both of the above postings answering the OP, are incorrect. IIRC, there is no given time requirement between making the two desired cruises, i.e. San Diego to Vancouver and then Vancouver to Seattle on a different ship, (with a separate ticket.)

In order to verify my opinion, I wrote to the Customs & Border Protection and asked the question. The message I sent was…

“Customer By Web Form 01/14/2017 02:35 AM

If I embark on a cruise ship in San Diego and disembark the ship in Vancouver, am I then permitted, on the

same day, to embark on another cruise ship (different boarding pass than the first cruise), and disembark this

second cruise in Seattle, Also, does it make any difference if the second cruise ship happens to belong to the

same Cruise company as the first cruise ship.

Scott Bonis

The answer I received was…

“From: CBP INFO Center customs@mailfg.custhelp.com

Subject: If I embark on a cruise ship in San Diego and disembark the ship in Vancouver, a... [incident: 170114-000048]

Date: January 17, 2017 at 10:39 AM

To: scott......s@aol.com

Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support center.

Discussion Thread

Response Via Email (CBP Officer) 01/17/2017 12:39 PM

Dear Scott,

Those are usually considered separate trips if they are separate cruises that you have to book separately.

Mark

Answer Link: The Jones Act

I think the answer here is pretty clear. Yes, you were talking to an uninformed HAL agent, (unfortunately not a rare occurrence.) Contrary to the two postings answering the OP, It appears that by changing ships, your requested itinerary would not be a violation of the PVSA.

Scott & Karen

I tried to make a bookig ttoday w th a 'random' PCC who spouted so much in correct information it was not possi ble for me to book with him. He said way too many things I knew to b e inaccurate, I said,thaanks but ' see ya.

 

I went to H AL website to book there and though I knew the cestinattion, ship an ddate I wanted to c rfuise, I ttill have not made the b ooking. I promise, if I call gomorow and learn that cruise is sold ogt for the cabin I want, in the, I want, I am going to be saying

 

words I cannot print here.

Do they actually not want to boo cruises? What gives with that horrible website ?

I have to agree that in my personal experience, the HAL website certainly is not user friendly.

Scott & Karen

I believe the machines are now "behind the scenes" where you don't see them.

 

That was on the case on the P'dam, Westerdam & Maasdam if memory serves.

 

I asked and they said it was easier for the staff by putting them behind the scenes and not taking up space in the main public working area.

And if you believe this, then I've got this bridge here I'd like to sell you...

We are considering a cruise on Prinsendam in the Med in October. DH was reading the critique in Berlitz and says it says that dinner is two sitting fixed.

 

We have been on Prinsendam twice before - the first time on an ordinary cruise and we had open sitting, the second was part of a grand voyage and it was fixed much to our dismay.

Has anyone been on an ordinary cruise, as opposed to grand voyages on Prinsendam recently? Is Berlitz correct. If so we will have to think again.

 

Many thanks

Last winter we were on both "Grand" and "regular" cruises on the Prinsendam. Both fixed and open seating was available in the rear dining room on both types of cruises.

Scott & Karen

This itinerary is always confusing to me every time I see it because sometimes they are listed as a 1 day and a 17 day added together and sometimes they are not. I am interested in a Hawaii sailing that leaves Seattle and stops in Vancouver the next day, but disembarks in Vancouver at the end of the cruise so it doesn't sound like there'd be any Jones Act issues like the pacific coastal cruises have, but I want to make sure before booking it, as we don't want to find out at the last minute that american passport holders in our party will have to travel to Canada to board the ship, the sole reason we are interested in this itinerary is for the convenience factor of leaving from our home town.

 

I have in fact looked at the travel websites, and none of them seem to indicate this sailing is really a 1 day repo with the 17 day added on, as I've seen with many of the Caribbean cruises that are marketed as 14 days but are really two 7 day cruises back to back. If this is the case, do we have to get off the ship in Vancouver and clear customs and get back on? A big pita for us due to physical limitations, we gravitate to less port intensive itineraries for this reason.

 

Thank you!

You misunderstood the OP. They were not asking if they could disembark in Hawaii. They will be boarding in Seattle and disembarking in Vancouver.

Hi Tom,

You are absolutely correct in that I read the OP’s request as a trip embarking in Seattle and ending in Hawaii. I think we both would agree that this would be a violation of the PVSA.

I just found the 17 day cruise from Vancouver on the Westerdam to which I guess the OP had been referring, and it in fact does not end in Hawaii, but rather back in Vancouver. With this cruise in mind, I agree with you there would be no PVSA violation by combining this cruise with one from Seattle to Vancouver. Please ignore my previous objection to the combination of the two cruises. Sorry for the confusion. Initially, I did not take the time to investigate the cruises in detail and thought the second cruise ended in Hawaii rather than returning to Vancouver.

Scott & Karen

You misunderstood the OP. They were not asking if they could disembark in Hawaii. They will be boarding in Seattle and disembarking in Vancouver.

This itinerary is always confusing to me every time I see it because sometimes they are listed as a 1 day and a 17 day added together and sometimes they are not. I am interested in a Hawaii sailing that leaves Seattle and stops in Vancouver the next day, but disembarks in Vancouver at the end of the cruise so it doesn't sound like there'd be any Jones Act issues like the pacific coastal cruises have, but I want to make sure before booking it, as we don't want to find out at the last minute that american passport holders in our party will have to travel to Canada to board the ship, the sole reason we are interested in this itinerary is for the convenience factor of leaving from our home town.

 

I have in fact looked at the travel websites, and none of them seem to indicate this sailing is really a 1 day repo with the 17 day added on, as I've seen with many of the Caribbean cruises that are marketed as 14 days but are really two 7 day cruises back to back. If this is the case, do we have to get off the ship in Vancouver and clear customs and get back on? A big pita for us due to physical limitations, we gravitate to less port intensive itineraries for this reason.

Hi Tom,

You are absolutely correct in that I read the OP’s request as a trip embarking in Seattle and ending in Hawaii. I think we both would agree that this would be a violation of the PVSA.

With the OP talking about a 1 day and a 17 day cruise, I didn’t see any other way to read the OP’s posting.

Am I missing something here?

Scott & Karen

This itinerary is always confusing to me every time I see it because sometimes they are listed as a 1 day and a 17 day added together and sometimes they are not. I am interested in a Hawaii sailing that leaves Seattle and stops in Vancouver the next day, but disembarks in Vancouver at the end of the cruise so it doesn't sound like there'd be any Jones Act issues like the pacific coastal cruises have, but I want to make sure before booking it, as we don't want to find out at the last minute that american passport holders in our party will have to travel to Canada to board the ship, the sole reason we are interested in this itinerary is for the convenience factor of leaving from our home town.

 

I have in fact looked at the travel websites, and none of them seem to indicate this sailing is really a 1 day repo with the 17 day added on, as I've seen with many of the Caribbean cruises that are marketed as 14 days but are really two 7 day cruises back to back. If this is the case, do we have to get off the ship in Vancouver and clear customs and get back on? A big pita for us due to physical limitations, we gravitate to less port intensive itineraries for this reason.

IIRC, it is not acceptable to board a ship in Seattle and then disembark in Hawaii. It makes no difference whether you call the trip one cruise or two B2B cruises. The PVSA is concerned only with when you board the ship and when you disembark the ship. And any intermediate stops (that are not “distant” foreign ports,) have no effect on being permitted to board and disembark in different US cities. Getting off the ship on an intermediate stop and “clearing customs” unfortunately does not permit you to violate the basic tenet of the PVSA.

Sorry, as I understand it, I’m afraid that your travel plans do not comply with the PVSA. The reason that travel websites do not list your desired trip as a single 18 day cruise is that it is not permitted for a passenge to take the entire 18 day trip in compliance with the PSVA.

Scott & Karen

It is my understanding that if you catch a salmon, it will be, by far, the most expensive fish you ever have obtained.

Scott & Karen

Thanks...I think (according to our TA) we got the last cabin on it! Sold Out.

Although I'm glad to see HAL making money by sailing full ships, I sincerely doubt that every single cabin on the Amsterdam has been sold out for the 2018 world cruise, a full year before the sailing.

Scott & Karen

Since Africa is a new port for HAL, does anyone (including current WT cruisers) have any info on the ability to do safaris from any of the ports?

Considering our options...

I'd suggest that you post this question on the roll call for WC 2018.

By the way, Africa certainly is not a new port for HAL. One, two, and even three day safaris are common and discussed on the roll call. I'm sure you'll be able to find one in which you might be interested. By the way, this roll call already has over 1,300 postings.

Scott & Karen

My hair styling tool is rated at 150 watts. Is it safe to plug this in and use onboard?

I would tend to believe that this would not be a problem. Karen commonly uses a hair drier that has a higher wattage rating and has never had an issue.

Scott & Karen

Hi,

 

I will be doing my first HAL cruise this summer. I've been filling out my paperwork and going through the website, but I cannot find what dining I have. My TA has me wait listed for first seating, but I want to check periodically to see if it's come through. Can anyone walk me through where to find it?

 

Thanks,

 

Sue

Hi Sue,

Sorry to tell you, that you will probably not receive any additional information about your dining plan until you board the ship. I would suggest strongly that you speak to the Dining room manager quickly upon boarding. I have done this many times and always was able to get the dining plan I requested. There is no guarantee, but it has always worked out.

Scott & Karen

I would love to do a world cruise, but DH says that is too long. I am surprised he agreed to the 22 day

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Obviously, get your DH involved in some ship's activities, and he'll like the longer cruises.e.g.Trivia, bridge, jigsaw puzzles, movies, excursions with a theme, etc.

Scott & Karen

...As to taking food off the ship. It is discouraged and is very dependent on the port. On our recent cruise on the Maasdam to Australia and New Zealand the countries are very strict and do not allow ANY food off the ship. They had the local customs folks on board checking the bags we were taking off and in a couple ports had dogs sniffing the bags too. When in New Zealand waters they even removed the whole apples, oranges and bananas from the lido breakfast and only had cutup fruit so guests could not take the whole fruit off the ship. If you are going to the Caribbean and heading to a beach for the day you may be able to take a little Baggy of cheese and bread but again it depends on the port. Listen to the announcements and also read the plan of the day.

 

Have a great cruise.

And they are the cutest beagles you can imagine. A real bunch of "Snoopy" dogs.

Scott & Karen

Denise what was tv like on the Amsterdam? We are looking at the Grand Asia tour and its 80 days. We just wondered about movie selection or news channels etc.\

Hi,

On the Amsterdam for the last few years, it has been unusual to not have CNN, Fox News and at least some movie just about all of the time. Even in the South Pacific.

Scott & Karen

navybankerteacher,

 

I suppose someone will say I am being snarky - but I am not intending to be - just an honest question. Why should a husband be the one to have to dress to match the wife? Why should she not be the one to dress to more closely match the dress preferences of the husband?

I would think that perhaps around half of the time each of the couple could kind of call the shots and the other half would be glad to please.

Now perhaps we dress up a bit more than many others, We like to feel that our dinners are kind of special. I wear a jacket to dinner every night, usually with an open button down collar shirt. So I don’t travel with a jacket, I usually bring along at least six. And for longer cruises, which we often take, I’ll have eight or nine. It only takes one extra bag (36” rolling duffel) for all the packing.

We kind of miss the slow, gentile dining of past cruises. And are doing what we can to bring back the feelings. Just our way of cruising.

Scott & Karen

Sorry you have to cancel and hopefully the surgery will go well and you'll heal quickly.

 

Coming from someone who is a former HAL employee and is now a travel agent... a couple words of advice:

 

1) DO NOT NO-SHOW. Insurance is likely going to want to see that you made an effort to cancel prior to the start of your trip. Also, if you have airfare, you can pay change fees and rebook the air, but they void the fare paid if you no-show.

 

2) As you are booked through a TA, you must call them to cancel. HAL does not allow guests to cancel themselves on a TA booking. If you work with a larger agency and your specific person is not there talk to someone else in the office who I assume would be able to assist.

 

3) If, due to the holidays, your TA's office is possibly closed, in that instance call HAL direct, explain the situation and that your TA is not open for business due to the holiday. They may need to run it up the ladder to a supervisor or manager due to cruise line/travel agency contracts but in most instances HAL can make the exception and allow direct cancellation if no other option exists.

 

I hope that helps. Wishes for best health in 2017! :)

First, sorry te OP won’t be able to make the cruise.

From what I have read on these boards, I do not understand the above number 1). IIRC, particularly, I have read that this is definitely not what to do if you are a single and sharing a cabin. I have read that it will result in your cabin mate being charged a lot more for the cruise. I thought the thing to do was to notify HAL not sooner than the date of embarkation.

Also, I do not understand what the insurance has to do with whether or not you have previously notified HAL.

Scott & Karen

Onboard the Prinsendam holiday cruise and we have had multiple problems with our cabin. Mostly no AC followed by lots of banging when ever we hit a wave. We were on deck 7 forward but I insisted that we be moved. Many forward cabins are without AC. They only moved us when we ordered a meeting with the Hotel Manager. There is a real lack of leadership from Sr crew onboard.

Never again will I sail onboard the Prinsendam!

We sailed on the Prinsendam for eight months last winter. I found all of the staff, Senior and lower, to be competent and extremely cooperative. What few problems we did experience were quickly corrected with no fuss or ado. One night, due to a water overflow problem, we were even given a different cabin to use without either expecting it or requesting it. The only ongoing problem we experienced was the repeated failure of at least one of the eight passenger elevators. But they were always worked on quickly. I cannot fault HAL for their for their responsivenesss to problems.

Scott & Karen

Does anyone know what the ATM Fees are On-Board HAL?

I have never seen an ATM machine on a HAL ship, but you can get an amount of cash against your credit card (the one the ship has for your account,) from the front desk. The charge is three percent of the amount obtained. But since my credit card refunds three percent of anything spent on HAL, for me, it is a wash.

Scott & Karen

There has been an interesting discussion on the Holland American Board concerning the new Chase Sapphire Reserve card. I am posting this here because I believe the subject may be of interest to others here on Cruise critic. I have nothing to do with Chase, other than as a card holder.

The negatives of the card are that you need a reasonable credit score, and there is a $450 yearly charge for the card. However, the positives, IMHO, far outweigh the negatives. IIRC, There is a $1,000 signup bonus if you spend at least $5,000 on the card in the first three months (which is pretty easy when talking about cruising.) In addition, there is a $300 yearly rebate as long as $300 has been spent on Travel expenses (including cruising.) So with $5,000 spent on cruising in the first three months, there is a rebate of $1,300 which is $850 better than the $450 charge for the card. Both Karen and I have cards. We have now been given by Chase over $2600, which is a bunch better than the $900 total we needed to pay for the two cards. So we are over $1700 ahead.

It’s not often that the card user comes out ahead in banking transactions.

And also, there are some pretty significant cruising insurance benefits complementary when using the card.

I thought others might be interested in the card.

Scott & Karen