15 hours ago, Gunther1 said:

As a long-term resident of the area (and you probably already know this from your experience above), I take the light rail from the airport….MUCH faster and trains come every 15 minutes during the absolute slowest schedule.

 

From the closest stop (Westlake, I’m guessing), it would be a quick Uber or Lyft to 91.

I know about the light rail into Seattle from Sea-Tac. Have you ever taken the light rail from Sea-Tac to Westlake center and then taken an Uber or Lyft to Pier 91? I think we’ll just do what we’ve been doing in the past and park at the Seattle Cruise ship parking lot behind the Armory and take their shuttle over to Pier 91. I detest driving in Seattle, it’s such a mess. Every year when we go up to Pier 91 it’s gotten worse and worse.

We avoid the Buffet like it was the plague. We don’t like the crowds in the buffet so if we have to go to the buffet we go early or just go to the MDR. I can’t believe that butter is still like gold or they act like it’s coming out of there pay check. On our last cruise we had breakfast with a lady that had a tub of “Kerry Gold” butter with her.  She said she got tired of having to ask for butter so she bought her own. I sometimes bring my own favored coffee creamers.

I want to be the 4^th one to say it’s Pier 91. We live just South of Seattle and very seldom do we go into Seattle. Last year I decided to go to Sea-Tac airport and take the Princess/Holland America Shuttle out to Pier 91. Huge mistake! that we’ll never do again. We got to the airport at 9am and there was probably close to 750 people trying to get on an occasional bus that came and more coming in behind us. No bathrooms nearby, no water, hotter than the hubs of hell that morning. We stood in line for 4 hours before we got on a bus to Pier 91. Once we got to Pier 91 there was 2 lines under the covered walkway that about 400 feet long. We got on the ship at a little past 3:30 absolutely exhausted. This year we’ll do what we’ve done in the past and drive up to Seattle and park at Seattle cruise ship parking lot for a $187 for the week and catch there shuttle over to Pier 91.

We've never been turned away when we arrived at the Pier/Port earlier than we were supposed to be there. I'm sure they probably don't like it but it is what it is.

Here's a great article to read that will help you understand the differences between the two types of water. https://waterfilterguru.com/purified-vs-distilled-water/#:~:text=📌 Key Takeaways%3A 1 Distilled water is water,there are numerous ways to achieve purified water.

44 minutes ago, Eaglecw said:

How do you get the military credit?

Thanks it too some digging but I found it and registered, super easy. My TA doesn't know there is a Military credit available.

2 minutes ago, robotpony said:

 

In my experience, It won't appear in the app until you're on board, and it will only be visible on your statement. If you have a TA, they can print out an updated invoice (which includes the other OBC, including any TA OBC).

That seems rather lame. How do you know if it's been accepted?

56 minutes ago, KAKcruiser said:

Military credits have been available on Holland America for the past couple of years.

How do you get the military credit?

16 hours ago, metairiegal said:

But, is there anywhere just to see your dining preference on-line?  I can't find it anywhere.  

 

Also, can't find our onboard credits - shareholder and military -  anywhere on-line.  I guess I will have to call and ask them about it.

 

(I know this is an old thread, but I did a search and this came up.)

I booked a cruise on Feb. 27^th. I downloaded the Navigator APP and I had no problem finding my $100 excursion credit on the APP. I just sent in my Shareholder request form so I should be seeing that soon. To the best of my knowledge there are no military credits on Holland America, only on Princess.    

I hate to be so naïve, but what is “Club Orange”? Can someone explain?

We are cruising on the Westerdam in June. What are the hours that the MDR is open? Is there a door to the MDR on both deck 2 and deck 3?

10 minutes ago, KroozNut said:

 

How did you book your cruise.. directly with HAL, via an external TA? Depending on this information, your dining arrangements (i.e., Fixed early/late or open) should be noted in the 'cruise details' section of your emailed booking confirmation from HAL.

If through a TA, they should have the same information and you need to get it from them. If they don't have it, they can contact HAL on your behalf and get the info.

My booking says "Open Dining" my TA said that traditional dining was full. So I guess I just show up at 5:30 and hope for the best or try to find the table/podium near the Pinnacle Grill to make reservation

I’ve been a shareholder with Carnival for years. The Shareholder benefit is a nice little perk. We booked a cruise yesterday and I just noticed that “The benefit is applicable on sailings through July 31, 2023” and “Reservations must be made by February 28, 2023”. Does that mean that those who book a cruise on March 1^st are going to be SOL on getting there Shareholder benefit and does it mean that those who cruise after July 31 are going to be in the same boat. I’ve never seen that on any of the previous postings.

2023 US Annual Report - Shareholder Benefit - Final.pdf

27 minutes ago, Cruise Suzy said:

 

The MDR doesn't open until 5:30 or 5:15. There is usually a line of those without reservations at that time.

 

However, you can reserve a specific time once you are onboard. There is a table/podium near the Pinnacle Grill on Deck 2 plus one on Deck 9 - sometimes near Canaletto, sometimes near the spa. Or you can call to make reservations, but expect to be on hold.. 

Thanks Suzy

We just booked a cruise on the Westerdam for June, this will be our 2^nd cruise on Holland America. We normally cruise on Princess but decided we need a change. Our TA said that traditional dining was full and we had to go with anytime dining. We like to have dinner around 5 – 5:30 is that going to be a problem? Is it going to be crazy busy at that time?

First time cruiser on Holland America. Who can use the Neptune Lounge? We are thinking about booking a Signature Suite.

Many thanks

On 7/28/2022 at 4:48 PM, Eaglecw said:

It's been 10 days since I e-mailed the higher up at Princess, still no reply. They must all be on vacation.

After 81 days and countless phone calls and e-mails to management at Princess I finely got my FCC problem resolved. The customer service rep reinstated both my wife’s missing FCC and mine. If I hadn’t persisted I’m sure nothing would have happened.  

We just have room service bring us what we want. It's a lot easier than carrying a plate back to our cabin.

21 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

Oh so sorry this all happened to you.  You mentioned wanting to reach out to the executives and here they are (courtesy of elliott.org):

 

Princess Cruise Lines

 

24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
https://www.princess.com/

---

 

Phone Contacts

Main: (661) 753-0000
Customer Service: (800) 774-6237

Call center hours:

Monday – Friday 6am – 7pm Pacific Time (9am-10pm ET)
Saturday and Sunday 6am – 6pm Pacific Time (9am-9pm ET)

---

 

Email Contacts

customerrelations@princesscruises.com

---

 

---

Executive Contacts

Primary Contact
Collin Steinke
Director, Customer Relations
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
csteinke@princesscruises.com

 

Secondary Contact
Lorna Warren
Vice President Guest Services
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
lwarren@princesscruises.com

 

Chief Executive
John Padgett
President
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
jpadgett@princess.com

 

In another post someone earlier today someone also mentioned these other addresses for Jan Swartz (she is over Holland America and Princess) and John Padgett:

 

Jan email address: jaswartz@hagroup.com

John email address:japadgett@carnival.com

I e-mailed everyone on this list 28 days ago and still not one reply. Princess doesn't seem to care about there loyal customers.

We are still waiting. We e-mailed Princes, called I don't know how many times, I'm trying to find out what happened to our missing $200 FCC deposits that just vanished and the refund from our June 25th cruise. Heck we never got a final bill e-mailed to us from Princess.

On 7/28/2022 at 4:35 PM, Eaglecw said:

I e-mailed all the executives and I'm still waiting for reply, it's only been 32 days. I think it's BS the way Princess treats there customers.

I'm still waiting. No reply from anyone. Princess has gotten to be a total joke.

On 7/19/2022 at 1:32 PM, Eaglecw said:

I e-mailed the higher ups at Princess yesterday concerning my problem with my vanishing Future cruise credit deposits. Lets see how long it takes for them to respond.

It's been 10 days since I e-mailed the higher up at Princess, still no reply. They must all be on vacation.

I e-mailed all the executives and I'm still waiting for reply, it's only been 32 days. I think it's BS the way Princess treats there customers.

That's really to bad. I tell everyone who comes to visit, don't leave anything of any value in your car that's visible. We always take everything out of the car when we park in Seattle even in a safe and secure parking lot.

I would go to Puyallup on Wednesday, spent the night or if you got into Sea-Tac early  drive to Eatonville and spend the night. There's a lot to do and see up there.

We go to Mt. Rainier a lot. We live 45 miles away so it's pretty handy. We like to go up for a picnic dinner a couple of times a month at one of the campgrounds in the summer. Believe it or not, I used to work with people who had never been to Mt. Rainier NP, they were born and raised in the Puget Sound area.