BobbiSox

I imagine that when things go horribly wrong, it's not something that would be made public. Anytime a person is amid a large groups of strangers is a good time to be on guard. Throw drugs and alcohol into the mix, better be aware of your surrondings. Sorry if this post has offended anyone. People are people. It only takes one to spoil the party. I cruise a lot on a lot of difrerent lines. For over 25 years. I've seen a lot.

I have seen children no older that six or seven, unescorted and running wild throughout the ship. My children and grandchildren are always under the watchful eye of an adult, or they stay home. On any ship with hundreds (possibly thousands) of alcohol abusers and pot-smoking strangers, in the middle of an ocean, things can go wrong really fast. It's not a place for unescorted children of any age, including teens. I wouldn't dream of taking that risk.

I agree that it's only a bargain if you have done the math and found it to be a bargain. If it's 'included', you really have no say in the matter, so just enjoy it!

I'm sorry this has happened to you. I would be furious, but that wouldn't help anything. I wonder if there is something in their contract that would allow them to change your cabin without your authorization. There probably is, to cover their butts. I wouldn't want to be in a cabin that I didn't like for a long cruise. A week would be okay, maybe, but not in your situation. I wish you good luck getting satisfaction.

If I can't comply with rules and refulations of a particular attraction, I won't go. It's not my business why the rule is in place. Common sense and courtesy dictates that we follow the rules and I wouldn't fool around at home, so I definately not fool around in a foreign country.

So you want your cake and eat it too, lol. I always travel with good foam earplugs, which BTW have to be inserted exactly accroding to the directions or they don't work as well as they should. Also, I bring a good quality sleep mask. Even a high-end cabin could possibly have noises we never would have anticipated.

Thanks for taking the time to do this reporting! I'm looking forward to reading about your adventures. I've always been curious about the entertainment on the World Cruise. Now I'll know. Happy holidays and happy sailing.

Welcome to Holland America. 😆

I live in northern Florida and asked HAL about Tampa more than once, years before Covid. I was told their ships are too tall. They certainly don't owe me any explanation. Remember HAL's employees are not allowed to utter these three words: "I don't know".

I agree that the live music is too loud. I'm happy that the piped-in music around most of the ship is not as loud as it could be. I bring lots of foam earplugs. It doesn't allow for quite conversation, but at least I am able to hear myself think. BTW, if HAL is trying to attract a younger clientele, they would have to do more than blast the music.

I was a cocktail waitress in Hollywood in the 1970's. I made big tips. Not all of the waiters and waitresses did their job as well as I did, and they didn't make good tips. No one suggested that I share my tips with them. I would never have considered doing that.

I probably would not buy the HIA package, but I enjoyed it on when it was inculded in my fare at no 'extra' charge. I think it's a nice option.

I would say the dress code is a thing of the past. I see flip flops everywhere, especially on a Caribbean cruise. Recently, I had a table at the 'tea' where I was seated next to a table of four people, two of which were men waring tank-tops wihh their underarm and chest hair on display.

If you just want to remove wrinkles, there is a liquid in a small spry bottle that is supposed to do just that. 'Wrinkle Release by Downy'. Don't know how to keep a crease in, but I saw in an old movie where a man put his slacks between the mattress and the box spring overnight to keep the crease.

I don't know exactly what a PCC is, or does. It all sounds so special, with the 'PERSONAL' part of the title. I have been booking my own cruises for over two decades, without help except for the occasional phone call to clarify something. I have tried getting help from 'my' PPC several times over the years, and usually ended up getting a recording, and sometimes a call back days later. I find the regular agents who handle the bookings (and other questions) to be well informed and helpful, without me having to wait for a callback because the PPC is away from his/her desk for a week.

I was recently on Rotterdam, and the dryer plug had to be hand-held into the special socket at the desk, or the chord would fall out of the socket. This was in a balcony cabin on deck 6 midship. For those who want to jump in here and tell me that I'm wrong, all I can say to that would be "That was MY experience with the dryer."

chengkp75, you are correct of course. "The results would be the same", but not in MY cabin.

If I had to use the toilet when the water is turned off, I would go use a public bathroom.When you gotta go, you gotta go.

When I'm a guest on someone else's property, I don't question the rules. I just obey them.

I assume it was security (but could have been housekeeping)went up once; they had gone out and left the tv blasting. I wouldn't dream of confronting passengers with that kind of chutzpah. I wouldn't risk making the situation any worse, and we all know things can always get worse. Maybe they thought they were on a Carnival ship, lol.

I sailed the Zuiderdam on a 7-day just to test it for a 35-day we had previouly booked. I'm so glad I did. I got home and canceled the 35-day. I was in a Neptune Suite and the lounge served exactly the same food all seven days. I spoke to the head honco of the food and beverage department to get an explaination, but instead I got a stern lecture about the food waste on the ship. What? I didn't feel I was responsible for ALL the food waste, but I guess he thought so.

Just got home a few days ago. I had booked a deck 6, mid-ship balcony cabin. I had asked the HAL booking agent "Are there any problems with this cabin?" to which she replied "Oh no! It's a lovely cabin". I even did my research to verify because sometimes the agents don't know anything much about a particular cabin but I had missed ond thing: it was not only an 'adjoining' cabin; it was directly accross the hall from a busy utility room with a door that was slammed every ten minutes. Ship was full and no other cabin available. I could hear not only the television and the music and every conversation, but there were some really awful things that I could hear also. I tried earplugs, but that was unacceptable, to have to wear earpulgs day and night. It was a very long 20 days. And nights.

I remember on Nieuw Statendam seeing dozens of passengers waiting in line at Customer Service on embark day, but I walked right up to the counter and was taken care of right away because CO had a seperate line. I went to dinner early and chose my own table closest to the window, and there wasn't much traffic. What traffic there was didn't seem very interested in what was going on inside. I like special perks and I don't mind paying extra. If HAL included these perks for everyone, it wouldn't be special.

I've stayed in many Neptune Suites on many different ships and never have been offered complimentary drinks. They did have a welcome party with complimenty champagne. It never concerned me, but DH drinks alcohol, so it would be nice if they gave away at least a few drinks to those of us who pay that higher price for a nicer experience.

Ships' laundries use really huge commercial machines, unlike the ones we have in our homes. Of course they can't launder one or two bag at a time. I've had clothes returned with large grease and other unidentifiable spots that came from somone's else's clothes and I know this because I go over every inch of my clothes checking for spots to treat before I sent them. If i have anything I love, I hand wash it myself.