Hhagatha

What a bunch of b.s. from the Mariner society!  I cruised LAST December and getting the information posted had been a problem since September or October - that's 2017.  I'm sure you can find those complaints on CC somewhere. My info took over two months to post and almost a year later is still not correct. When I pointed out to them that their own figures shown on the site didn't add up, I got some nonsensical response.  STILL have not gotten all credit for my on-board spending.  I don't care about most of that - once I made 4-star the rest of that isn't important to me - but the fact that they continue to use the same excuses a year later really ticks me off.  I'm beginning to think I need to look elsewhere for cruises.  If I can't trust them to be honest, why am I paying them so much money to cheat me out of benefits I have EARNED??  I love the ships, itinerary and the staff, but corporate is horrible and out of touch and isn't worth the stress of dealing with their lies and excuses.

CC needs to hire you.  Why couldn't they put together a tutorial like this and save us all the frustration?

Definitely a form letter.  We departed the Veendam Jan 2018 and it took almost 2 months for anything to post.  Got the same form letter, including the part about it not being necessary to contact them again.  At that time there were many posts from people who cruised in summer and fall of 2017  with missing credits or nothing posting. Same excuses y'all are reporting, and a year later it still isn't correct.  The numbers they posted  on my account don't add up to the total they show but couldn't get them to fix it.  Went on an Alaska cruise in June 2018 - also messed up.  I've kept my records, and when I feel like arguing with them again I'll call and try to work it out.  Very frustrating that they are still using the same excuses a year later.

So sorry to hear this! I, too, have severe asthma attacks and can understand what you are going through. Were the fireworks and dry ice prior to Sel de Mer? We have been to Sel de Mer on Koningsdam and Nieuw Amsterdam and I never saw them in the restaurant. Thanks for the warning.

Yes, but it is subject to corkage of $18/bottle. Or it can be stored for you until night before disembarking.

My Husband and I usually take the HAL winery excursions, when offered. We have each brought back a bottle from these ports and there has never been a corkage fee. So, maybe it doesn't apply if you've been on a ship excursion.

Maybe I can finally get my husband to go to one of the shows after dinner! He loves this music.

Late fixed-dining on the upper level of both the smaller R and S class HAL ships remains our favorite time and place for the true delight in traditional onboard dining. No waiting, no crowds, no frantic busyness that we feel when dining in the lower as-you-wish setting. Service is friendly and prompt, and the over-all feeling is serene and predictable. Dining stewards get to know you and your preferences right away, and you fall quickly into their welcoming embrace for the duration of the cruise.

We agree. Love meeting new people and sharing cruise experiences.

Link gives a 494 error

I wanted a visual of your itinerary so I looked it up. I thought maybe others would like to see, also, so I have posted it here.

Hope they offer this itinerary in the future! This one is on my bucket list - no international flights!

Thanks Leejnd4 for the instructions. Tried repeatedly to upload a photo I had taken of my passport and one of me with my Android phone. Every time I uploaded it, the website rotated them so that they were sideways! Finally I printed them from my phone, scanned them, then uploaded them and it worked perfectly! Just hope they are good enough for the authorities.

The land portion of our Alaska cruise is 10 days. My cruise documents say the luggage can weigh up to 50 pounds, but doesn't mention sizes. There is no way I could pack 10 days of clothing and essentials in a carry on.

If you're asking about Alaska land portion, this June will be our 4th time there and they are not too formal. Some women were wearing dresses and skirt/tops, more casual type, but many (me included) just wore nicer tops than the t-shirts I usually wear during the day. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the pictures, sailing on NA to Alaska in June. Don't see any of the bed area - do they have plugs on each side? And our electronics addicted grandchildren will be sleeping on the sofa bed - are there any plugs nearby? Thanks for any info you can provide. I see a coffee area near the sofa that looks like there would be a plug.

Go to each city and look up "westmark" - seems to be where they stay, except for Denali

We were on that same cruise. Ours finally updated 3 days ago, after my 3rd email. I know they were having problems, but it seems like they should clear the oldest cruises first. 2 months is ridiculous. We are close to 5 star, and I wanted to know how much I needed before our grand cruise next year.

We ended our cruise on January 4th and haven't received credit for anything. Two months and only excuses. They have known they had a problem for many months, as evidenced by other posts here. Cruises that ended after ours have finally updated, but we are still waiting. Seems like they should start with the oldest and go forward. We have a cruise scheduled in June and a Grand Voyage in January 2019. Should be 5 star by then, but who knows?

Thanks Alphen. Couldn't get link to post from my phone.

Yes, in fact we are taking our two grandsons on an Alaska Cruise in June, only had to pay the port fees. I found a list of the cruises on the HAL website, on the section where they talk about Mariner Benefits. Our HAL PCC didn't even know the list existed. Go to "My Account", then along the left side you'll see "Benefits". That takes you to a list of all the benefits for each level. Go down to 4 Star, the last line and click on the link that says "select sailings". That brings up the list for all the free and 50% offers for 3rd and 4th guests.

We also were on the Veendam cruise that ended 1/3/18 and still not posted more than two months later. Our next cruise payment is due 3/12/18. Maybe they'll accept a response that says it's being processed, don't worry, no need to call again.

:mad:

The people working the watch and fine jewelry stores on HAL must be bored. I rarely see anyone shopping in there. If HAL wants something that looks classy, how about trading on their Dutch heritage and selling Delft and Dutch chocolate?

I so agree!

We have also stayed at the Movenpick on 3 cruises, and always found it excellent. Rooms are quiet and comfortable, restaurants are good, staff is friendly, and they do serve drinks if you are so inclined. And, as RKACRUISER stated, the terminal is connected to the hotel and only a few hundred steps away. Sleep in late, have a leisurely breakfast, and a short walk to check in. If you are lucky enough to get a room on the river side of the hotel, you may even see your ship coming in to dock.

As far as the price being reasonable, I guess that depends on how badly you want to go on that particular cruise. It was the first HAL return to Cuba, and it was a holiday cruise, which are always more anyway. My husband didn't want to go if we couldn't get a Neptune suite. I think it ended up being about $1,000 more per person for a 12 day cruise, compared to ones leaving later.

We were waitlisted for the Veendam Holiday cruise to Cuba this past December. What do you want to know? We never knew where we were on the list. Actually received a telephone call from HAL TA telling us a cabin opened up, we had 48 hours to decide if we wanted it. Since final payment was passed, we had to pay immediately.

I called HAL for our June 2018 Alaska cruise. The EXC person was able to send the PDF to me, so it is still available to them at least.

PRINSENDAM

04-Jan-2019

80 day Grand South America

Hhagatha