rescueranger

On 2/16/2022 at 6:30 PM, CarelessAndConfused said:

Yes.  Princess will take care of that for you.  It is in the "Post Cruise" section at the bottom of this link:

 

CruiseHealth™ FAQ: Sailings from the United States - Princess Cruises

 

 

That link is only for cruise “ sailings from the United States”, not Canada or Europe. Hopefully Princess will extend this service to those sailings.

I also did not get my preordered Amsterdam model in September. Just got off Nieuw Statendam and the bad news is that the new shop on-board no longer sells the same ship model style. The new model is made of delft, smaller, lighter in weight, and not as detailed. The cost is $80. I am worried that all HAL ships will go this way regarding the ship model. I refuse to pay $80 for this model. All my previous models are of course the older design which were a great model and affordable. 

I have not received the Summer issue so I called the Mariner Society. The representative explained that American Mariners receive each printed issue but International Mariners, including Canadians, will only get every other printed issue. Non-American Mariners can read the digital issue.

If you live in or near Fort Lauderdale, you could try calling Holland America Guest Services and ask if you could purchase the model from HAL and pick up when Noordam comes into port. Shore- side services could get it from ship to give to you. I did this 3 years ago with Volendam model in Vancouver. No problems except shore side did not receive model when I arrived so had to wait for it to be sent ashore from ship.

When we first started cruising we chose fixed early seating. We changed to open seating for exactly the same reason- feeling rushed to get ready after a day ashore. The longest delay for seating was 20 minutes when we asked for a table for 2. We now normally go for dinner about 7 PM hoping the early eaters are finished and delay time is minimal. For a group of six it could be hit or miss depending what time you all show up. You could try to reserve a dinner time a day or two early.

VOLENDAM is supposedly scheduled for a refit in November this year so hopefully the ship will undergo the changes.

5-star Mariners are each entitled to 2 complementary Pinnacle dinners (free surcharge only). As well you are entitled a 50% discount on specialty restaurant surcharge so if you visit the Pinnacle Grill for a 3rd visit you would get the 50% discount. So you and your guest should each have received a full surcharge refund for the two Pinnacle dinner of $70 each.

Four of us will be on the northbound Noordam departing Vancouver on 9/4. All four of us are US citizens with Global Entry Program. Will this help us at all getting through immigration at Canada Place before boarding our ship?

Ten BorderXpress Automated Passport Control (APC) kiosks are available for use by eligible US and Canadian passengers at the Canada Place cruise terminal.

It's about time that Holland America changed its drinking age from 21. Most countries other than USA have drinking ages lower than 21. Citizens of those countries should not be penalized with such an archaic drinking age policy. Ships sailing in and back to Canada or cruising the Caribbean and South America should also be lower than 21.

The kiosks are for US, Canadian and eligible Visa Waiver program international travellers.

CBP quote "Automated Passport Control (APC) is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program that expedites the entry process for U.S., Canadian and eligible Visa Waiver Program international travelers by providing an automated process through CBP’s Primary Inspection area. Travelers use self-service kiosks to submit their Customs declaration form and biographic information. APC is a free service, does not require pre-registration or membership."

To my recollection there were merchant tents on the dock selling SIM cards and souvenirs. No cruise terminal just an industrial dock.

We were in Phu My this past March on the Volendam. Holland America had a round trip bus transfer into Ho Chi Minh City for US$59.95. Drop off and pick up was at the Skydeck building in District 1, which allows you to walk to lots of the tourist sites. Don't know about taxis at the dock.

We were on Volendam and it secured at Kai Tak on March 31,2016. The port provided a free shuttle to Kwun Tung MTR station. It operated about every 20 minutes depending on traffic. The shuttle also took you back to the ship but if more than 1 ship is in port the bus got crowded with long wait lines especially closer to all-aboard time so keep that in mind when you want to return to the ship.

The response from HAL Mariner Society is that Mariners would receive "appropriate Star level discounts." Therefore 3 Star should get 25% and 4/5 Star get 50%. Either Koningsdam or Holland America Mariner Society is unaware of the exact policy regarding Grand Dutch Cafe non-alcoholic beverage purchases.

Contacted Mariner Society and got this response,

"Thank you for your recent correspondence with Holland America Line regarding our Mariner Society Rewards Program and the benefits as it pertains to our 5 Star Mariners and the newest ship, the Koningsdam.

The Koningsdam has additional restaurants and dining venues that will receive the appropriate Star level discounts. These include the Sel de Mar, Dutch Cafe & Farm to Table. The discount is also applicable to The Dutch Cafe.

We will continue to work towards making this information readily available for our guests on the Holland America Line website. Thank you for bringing this to our attention and we hope the above information is useful."

I would have thought that the Mariner discount as it applies to the Exploration Cafe would apply at the Grand Dutch Cafe for non-alcoholic drinks.

For all you lucky cruisers who have sailed on the Koningsdam:

Is the Mariner discount applicable to the new dining venues Sel de Mer, Dinner at Culinary Arts Center, Grand Dutch Cafe? Holland America web site does not mention these new dining venues under the Mariner Society benefits.

1of4 - if you are buying CCL stock, you might want to make sure that the purchase is done within an RSP (assuming you have room). If the stock is held outside RSP's then there are some tax implications for Canadians. Not significant but a penny saved is a penny earned;)

As a Canadian you may also consider buying shares within your TFSA.

If you don't need daily washing use the bag of laundry for $20. You can stuff as much as you can get into the bag for $20 and it will also be ironed and brought back on hangers for pants and shirts blouses. It is a good deal.

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