Gigi1977

My best guess is day 2 and day 11 with one other on maybe an earlier departure time. Rarely are they held the last night but can be…   It will be noted in the navigator app shortly before departure.  You may book and then move reservations once you are onboard.  

Since restart, cards have been in mail box next to room door.  Precovid they gave them to us in the terminal.  
 

Preshut down, our room were ready when we boarded at 11:30ish.   Now I’ve notice ready about 1:30ish- but able to drop off carry on luggage in room.   

I’ve never heard of a 75 cent drink on board in all of my 30 plus cruises.   But I’m sure if there are, you may  pay for them…. 

1 hour ago, 0106 said:

I have always been able to select my seats (American &Delta) as soon as I booked my tickets.  I always book flexible fares.  I can see my seats on the airline’s app as soon as I book.

Same for us.  We fly American and select our seats on flight-ease but I think if you do not select at that time, you have to wait for your flight to be ticketed (HAL pays airline) before you can select on the airline site or app. 
 

We have a situation with Viking.  We have paid in full but Viking has not yet paid the airlines so we can’t pick seats.   Viking doesn’t allow you to pick on their site.  

11 minutes ago, cabinluvn said:

e have 2 1/2 hours in Amsterdam. London Heathrow is a nightmare. We had two hours but had to change terminals. If you have to do this, watch a you tube video on how to do it. Helpful but we still ended up running to the gate and were the last ones on the plane. We are Club Orange and supposedly can get off the ship in the first group. Hope someone who had done this for a close air departure can answer 

We have done the London thing before.  It involves a bus ride and a ‘little’ recheck through security.  Not easy but doable. They have taken out the subway/train option so now we have to bus.  Grrr.  Flying is not what it used to be.  
 

Club Orange should make disembarking easier but anyone can do the early self disembarking.   I would absolutely NOT wait for the HAL transfer.   We had 9 minutes to spare the last time we used their transfer for a close flight.  

Book your HIA dinner in Pinnacle. Then book her on a separate reservation same time in the Pinnacle.  As soon as you board, let the hostess at the Pinnacle know and they can fix it so you dine together. 

18 minutes ago, cabinluvn said:

Returning to Copenhagen after the British isles cruise. Delta changed our flight and it now leaves at 11:30 am. Currently are doing HAL transfer to the airport but am fearful we won’t make the flight if we have to wait for the bus to be filled. It is the only flight out for the day. Would it be better to self disembark and take a taxi?  Are

there taxis waiting outside the cruise terminal?

Same here.   I just can’t deal with the ‘stress’ of unknowns anymore.  Do we are staying overnight in Copenhagen and taking the 11:30 flight the next morning.  We have 2 hours and 5 minutes in London and I’m worried about that connection now! I know we ‘can’ make it….. but so many factors.  

We will only do it on ‘cold’ cruises. ie Norway, Alaska etc.   I do not enjoy it in the Caribbean.  The prices are definitely higher than they were when they had couples passed but people abused that…… 😢

I wouldn’t think so.  Our experience has been to give the luggage directly to the porters where it is loaded into cages to be loaded onto the ship.  
 

The only times we have not done this was when we were staying at a hotel booked through the cruise line and they have had us leave our luggage either in our room tagged or just outside our room tagged where it was picked up and taken to the ship.  
 

To my knowledge, there are not storage facilities at the ports.  
 

For reference, we have sailed from Vancouver, Seattle, Ft Lauderdale, Tampa, Port Canaveral, San Diego, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Auckland, Boston and I’m missing others…. 

3 hours ago, kenphy said:

We are in a quandry and would like advice.  Up to now (through 17 cruises)  we have done the last 15 in a Neptune suite (yes - spoiled).  However, we want to start booking longer cruises, which would be out of our price range in Neptune, and want to explore other options.  We are wondering if a veranda cabin (although smaller) would be a choice we should explore.  We are booking a shorter (7 day) cruise in a veranda to try it out.  We would like any comments and advice anyone has.  Thanks in advance to all of you.

THIS was exactly us.  We only cruised in NS until we started doing long cruises- our last 3 have been 45, 42, and 43 days - all since the pandemic.(Retired February 2020.) We felt like we could not justify the NS with the longer cruises. We did a test in a veranda and the first day, I said NO. . . But as the week progressed, I discovered we were fine. So, for our long cruises, we book verandas, but never say no to an upgrade/upsell at a reasonable price. 
 

I think the ‘test’ is a great idea.  It worked for us. 

I miss the coffee machine in the Neptune Lounge but really nothing else.   We are 5* (and I suspect you are too or close) so we get laundry, priority boarding etc. 

Try it.  We love our long cruises. 

My experience- no it does not.  Only onboard spending and pre purchased excursions, spa, dining etc. count toward mariner bonus. 

We used the same day transport through HAL Vancouver (Canada Place) to Seattle (SeaTac) and barely made our flight. (6 minutes to spare).  AA changed out flight from 5:30 pm to 3:00 pm.  So had our original flights remained, it would not have been so close.  
 

IF you do this, I highly recommend late flights.  Many factors come into play.  
 

1.  Our HAL bus was LATE leaving Canada Place.  
 

2.  Our ‘sealed’ bus that normally is waved through was stopped and all passengers had to present themselves to US Customs (thank goodness we did not have to unload luggage)  and many of the passengers decided to use the vending machines that required Apple Pay and they had no idea how to use it. 😵‍💫

3.  We arrived at SeaTac with only the bus driver to unload luggage…. So my husband and I jumped off (to the chorus of passengers saying ‘y’all aren’t supposed to get off yet!!’) and helped the driver unload the bus and after a bit 2 other men joined us.  We definitely at this point knew we had minutes to spare.  
 

I do not recommend this at all.   Next time we will fly from Vancouver even with all its headaches.  

1 hour ago, bluesplayer said:

The deck plan on the HA website shows Northern lights nightclub on deck 2.  Is this still the case on the Noordam?  The Oosterdam and Westerdam have the Gallery bar.  Thank you.

We sailed Noordam Auckland to Vancouver this past spring and were told by our bartenders in Ocean Bar that it had been turned into a crew bar and crew area.  Never saw inside.  It was roped off from passenger access. 

46 minutes ago, Anubi said:

First time on HAL for us.  Does HAL have something similar to the Balcony Breakfast or Chef's Table.  As you can probably tell, we usually cruise Princess.  

On longer cruises HAL offers a Cellar Master dinner.  Sailing from Auckland this past spring, we had one in the Pinnacle and one in Canaletto.  The one in Pinnacle was wonderful but the one in Canaletto- not so much.  On holidays (Easter for us) they had a Brunch in the Pinnacle.  
 

I think it depends on your sailing and these are offered mostly on longer voyages.  We were onboard for 39 days.  

We have gotten some fantastic deals but I do have one horror story regarding flight ease being stranded in London with the emergency number not working and having to make our own way to Amsterdam …. So I have a love/hate relationship with flightease.  

27 minutes ago, pmjnh said:

We plan to treat our travel companions with a dinner at the Pinnacle for a special occasion.

 

Will we be able to charge all four dinners to our account? 
 

thank you
 

Yes. Just let the host/hostess or the restaurant manager know and they will take care of it. 

48 minutes ago, DesertRat46 said:

We're two couples with the HIA package. Is there a way to combine our dining credit to book a table for 4 at the Pinnacle before the cruise (24 Sept)?

We just did this onboard Noordam.  It’s easily done with a conversation with the Pinnacle host.  She will need both room numbers.  Make your separate HIA for same night, same time prior to boarding to insure availability then when you board, see the host. 

32 minutes ago, sbax said:

Hi everyone!  Not new to cruising but first time on Holland America. We’re cruising on the Westerdam from Seattle on June 11th and we’re trying to decide which night to dine at the Pinnacle Grill. Can anyone tell me which nights are considered dressy nights on this cruise? Thanks. 

Typically the dressy nights are sea days…. It will be noted on the app a few days before your cruise. At first, they will likely all say casual and then they will change 2 to dressy.  The first night will not be a dressy night, so that is ‘safe’. 

My understanding and experience is:  IF your cruise is booked as a refundable fare and you find your cruise has dropped in price (in the meta category that you are booked in with like benefits) you can call your PCC or travel agent and get a price reduction.   We did this several times prior to vivid and shut down.   Post shutdown, I’ve never found a fare lower that met the criteria, so I’ve not been able to have an ‘adjustment’.  . . But  I do watch the fares!  

1 hour ago, envy4u said:

How’s the movement?  Usually get mid ship cabins 

26 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

If the seas move, the ship will move. If they don't,  neither will you.

We disembarked Noordam in early May after 39 days New Zealand, Australia, SP, Hawaii to Vancouver.  Between Hawaii and Vancouver we had rough seas for 3 days and you certainly feel the motion of the ocean in the aft cabins.  We were in 5189 and loved it but had to tape our draws and closets closed.  The aft and forward cabins are not for sea sick prone folks when in 62 knot winds and high seas!   Lots of green people for 36/48 hours…. We were fine. 

2 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

HAL's Lido is mostly served, thank goodness. Here's a tip for areas that are not served. Get a paper napkin and use it like a potholder any time you have to use utensils. I saw a woman do that on Queen Elizabeth (I was surprised at how much of that buffet was self-serve), and thought it was brilliant. 

Unfortunately this was not true on Noordam New Zealand, Australia, South Pacific to Vancouver in March, April, May….. SO much self serve.  More than pre pandemic. So we avoid the self serve!  WHY are people so gross? 

We experienced this same thing on Rotterdam last October.  We had to leave the ship.  We were not given the option of remaining onboard.  Each passenger was given $25. OBC to cover transportation and lunch.  All staterooms were disinfected.  
 

Before the outbreak,  I had told my husband I would not be surprised if it happened.  I personally witnessed many folks exiting the restrooms w/o WASHING their hands!  I was very careful not to touch a door pull or knob.   I don’t know if it is cultural but I DO know it is GROSS.  

Also Rotterdam has those wonderful sinks in the lido - no excuse for not using them - but again many people didn’t.  
 

All I can say is - WASH your hands!  Most of us learned this as very young children. 

I suggest being very careful about eating in lido and touching surfaces others frequently touch and wash your hands and don’t touch your face (eyes, nose, mouth).  
 

we escaped without contracting it - but we were VERY careful.  

2 hours ago, beachfanatic said:

Does Hal match any loyalties

?

It my knowledge, no.  They are quite generous with cruise days.  One per day cruised + spend credit including HIA packages, shore excursions, specialty dining and all other spending onboard including OBC spent.  If you are booked originally in any suite (not and upgrade or upsell) you get double credit for days cruised.  They accumulate fairly quickly with the ‘big’ star(imo) being fourth star.  Currently onboard and will receive my 5th on this cruise. 

2 hours ago, beachfanatic said:

Does Hal match any loyalties

?

Koningsdam has veranda staterooms and Vista ‘Suites’.  Vista ‘suites’ are not really suites.   They are SLIGHTLY larger than most verandas with the bed positioned next to the balcony.  IMO they are not suites but you do get double Mariner days for booking one.  So if you are chasing Mariner days, it might be worth booking.   If not, book a veranda- they are less expensive.  

Our last 2 cruises that were to leave from Amsterdam ended up leaving from Rotterdam because of the water level in the canals.  
 

We had booked our hotel (which comes with a transfer) through HAL.  Our hotel was Movenpick which was 2/3 doors from the cruise terminal in Amsterdam - but since we sailed from Rotterdam, HAL transferred us by bus.