Caribbean Chris

Enjoy the Rotterdam’s Grand Dutch Cafe. (No reservations) The food is free and you pay extra for Dutch beers on tap, other drinks or special coffees. The Tamarind Restaurant (extra charge, reservations a must, do prior to cruise) is very popular among long-time HAL passengers. Pan Asian cuisine or sushi. Very nice small bar. You can use the Navigator app while aboard ship to pre-order from (both, I think) New York Pizza & Dive-In (free, casual carry-out restaurants), then pick it up rather than standing around waiting. No tickets issued for evening entertainment, just show up. No paper tickets for Shore Excursions, you’ll be issued e-tickets.

I think the HAL website is having one of its little tantrums this morning. I got into the website “my account” page and noticed “null” in front of my name, zero Mariner credits, and “You have no bookings.” (Navigator was normal, with my info for November 17 cruise.) I logged out of the website and back in again. All back to normal. Was able to see my booking, pressed “manage my cruise” where the flowers, etc are found under Extras.

Had no problems on Zaandam a year ago in an outside cabin on Lower Prom Deck. However, I’m an early riser and for years now have had no issues logging on at 5 or 6 a.m. to take care of personal and work emails. Speed sometimes slows during high demand times when a lot of passengers are using it at once.

According to the Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling, foreign-flagged cruise ships that operate into/out of American ports must comply with the ADA (see Spector et al v. NCL). Attorneys & the Justice Department have been sparring ever since over every nuance. Bottom line for this poster is simple. Book earlier next time. Holland America has ships & staterooms with accommodations that do fit the wheelchair.

We took a 21-day eastbound HAL once and time changes were implemented in the early afternoons, 2 p.m. if I remember correctly. Not sure if that’s still the procedure but I found it disruptive. I much prefer overnight time changes, as done on the three westbound TAs we have taken.

Thanks for posting the outcome - I’m really glad it worked out and that he helped you. I completely understand the relief to get part of the paperwork taken care of!

I’d recommend you call the Bahamas to ask for their guidance, or send another email to Wellington.

Whatever language it is, I’ve always enjoyed the high energy with which it is delivered.

And let’s not forget you get a keen tote bag!

The app did include a photo box on the screen for a while - as part of checkin procedures you could upload a head shot. The only time I did it was in the autumn of 2021 for an early November cruise. Maybe an effort to lessen face to face time with other humans having your photo taken at the pier? Remember, things were different as cruise lines emerged from Covid. I think there was also a system for uploading your white Covid vaccination card on the app.

Yes, that’s understandable, and I tried to point out that service dog owners will have to pay Wellington’s same fee, which has gone way up, if they use his service. IF the Bahamas will consistently respond and actually return the approved permit by email and in a reasonable time frame without the former hassles, that will be really great!

Wellington Saunders of the Bahamas Pet Permit service (a private, non-governmental business that obtains the permits for a fee) has been posting on Facebook recently about the changes, and some info is available at this link - scroll down to FAQs: https://www.bahamaspetpermit.com/ Wellington is a good guy to deal with, in my experience several times, if you don't want the hassle of chasing the status of your permit. He physically takes applications to the office and picks them up, then emails the permit to you. It was worth it to me to have one less country to worry about. He has been conscientious and is a good communicator. If I had a trip coming up soon, I’d pay to use him. That said - His fees (and apparently now those charged by the Bahamas) have gone up in recent years and note that he does not reduce his rates for service animals. (In the past, if you dealt directly with the Bahamas and had proof of your dog’s service animal status, you did not need to pay the then-$10 Bahamas fee. But the process was often slow and frustrating. No word yet if that policy will still be the same.) He reported on Facebook that the Bahamas Department of Agriculture no longer handles the process. He implied that people will be able to do it online now directly with the government and theoretically will get results in a couple of days. Links I tried to the Bahamas govt don't seem to be working.

HAL’s website shows the 55 day Ft. Lauderdale to Singapore segment of the 2025 World Cruise as costing $10,500+ per person including taxes for an inside room. I would have considered it a “good deal” to get half a World Cruise as a bonus. Getting a full world cruise would be like winning the lottery.

Great solution. The last time we booked massages on HAL (2007), I successfully got past the sales pitch after a few no thank yous. Meanwhile, DH came back to the room with $150 in products that sat decoratively by the tub gathering dust, eventually thrown out when we moved,

“Might appeal to some…” The blanketified beds and wall hangings look somehow strange to me - as if AI was involved in the design.

For about ten years before the pandemic, we sailed each year roughly equally between HAL & Celebrity (though in the last couple of years we’ve been happier with HAL). I’ve enjoyed some wonderful entertainment on both companies’ ships and unfortunately have seen some very poor offerings, too, where people left in droves. It’s like Forest Gump’s box of chocolates.

Outlined in the CCL Shareholders Benefit sheet which is easy to find by googling: https://www.carnivalcorp.com/shareholder-information/shareholder-benefit

I’m definitely in the crew serving column. I’ve been very favorably impressed by the speed and agility of HAL servers as they put together a salad, make an omelet to order, etc. They are so well-trained.

Here’s a HAL chart of benefits by category: https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/onboard-experiences/suites-staterooms

Neptune & Pinnacle Suite passengers get free laundry, including pressing and dry cleaning.

I have also booked a well-located, very nice pre cruise HAL hotel which included transfers and found it to be slightly LESS expensive than booking the same hotel direct. Since airport/hotel and hotel/ship transfers were included, and transfer staff was excellent, it was a very good value.

The USDA Health Certificate (APHIS Form 7001) is the starting point because cruiselines and sometimes airlines expect to see it, accompanied by a current rabies certificate. Additional country-specific or state-specific forms often are required. For an Alaska cruise, Alaska’s CVI form is now needed. https://dec.alaska.gov/eh/vet/import-export/pets/? This month, the U.S. CDC is implementing their own new form: https://www.cdc.gov/importation/dogs/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/importation/bringing-an-animal-into-the-united-states/dogs.html

As mentioned above you can read some previous posts (starting around post 23674 on page 947) to get more information on this CVI form and when you’ll need it, which Alaska added in recent years. Also check the link to Alaska’s government page. It’s always helpful to do a search in this service dog thread to read about recent changes in animal export regulations and documents - they change constantly.

Here is a link to Alaska’s requirements you can provide to your vet in advance of your appointment: https://dec.alaska.gov/eh/vet/import-export/ Note: There is a form added in recent years you probably also need to have your vet provide, the CVI - Certificate of Veterinary Inspection to enter Alaska. (See post #23674 on page 947.)

Yes, it only needs the vet’s signature. You should have it right away. (Sometimes it has to be endorsed additionally by a USDA vet for certain destinations, but Canada’s not one of them.)