New to Holland America? This is for you...AKA "HAL For Dummies"

Does anyone know what portion of the $18 corkage fee goes to the server? Inquiring minds......

Thanks for the replies about the slippers, we have an aft Verandah but that is probably not high rent enough for slippers. Oceania provides them for all cabins, but they do not go to Glacier Bay, so here we are on HAL for the first time.

Thanks again, Mary Ann

Absolutely!

I have a nice stack of them from our cruises.

Great, thanks!

HELP!! I trying to coordinate a family cruise and we selected a short HAL cruise since we are on the West Coast and we have several newbies who don't want to long a cruise however I am really having difficulties ALREADY with HAL and most of us aren't even booked. Some family members have booked through AMEX and they had no problems.

My problems began when I was assigned a consultant who works the same hours that I do so we are not able to communicate. I requested a consultant who is available later than 430 PM and was supposedly assigned someone who never called me. I called and left a message, no return call. I have tried to call again and I'm transferred to some answering system that says the extension they transferred me to isn't set up so I can't complete the call!

I want to select my cabins to make sure the are in the same area but no matter what price point I choose in any cabin sizes, it tells me that I have a guaranteed cabin and will be assigned a cabin prior to sailing. Does HAL not allow anyone to choose their own cabin? My family member who booked through AMEX were able to.

Is this typical of HAL? Anyone have any pointers or suggestions I've missed?

HELP!! I trying to coordinate a family cruise and we selected a short HAL cruise since we are on the West Coast and we have several newbies who don't want to long a cruise however I am really having difficulties ALREADY with HAL and most of us aren't even booked. Some family members have booked through AMEX and they had no problems.

My problems began when I was assigned a consultant who works the same hours that I do so we are not able to communicate. I requested a consultant who is available later than 430 PM and was supposedly assigned someone who never called me. I called and left a message, no return call. I have tried to call again and I'm transferred to some answering system that says the extension they transferred me to isn't set up so I can't complete the call!

I want to select my cabins to make sure the are in the same area but no matter what price point I choose in any cabin sizes, it tells me that I have a guaranteed cabin and will be assigned a cabin prior to sailing. Does HAL not allow anyone to choose their own cabin? My family member who booked through AMEX were able to.

Is this typical of HAL? Anyone have any pointers or suggestions I've missed?

It may be that only guarantee cabins are left. Maybe contact a travel agent to help?

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It may be that only guarantee cabins are left. Maybe contact a travel agent to help?

 

 

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Wow, it is almost a year away and they might only have guarantee cabins? That would indicate a majority of the rooms are guarantee only. On the all the lines I have sailed on , I have never ever been forced to buy a guarantee, in fact they are usually sold out first which is fine by me; I want to know what I am paying for. But thanks for that thought...if true I'm regretting the selection of HAL for the trip.

Wow, it is almost a year away and they might only have guarantee cabins? That would indicate a majority of the rooms are guarantee only. On the all the lines I have sailed on , I have never ever been forced to buy a guarantee, in fact they are usually sold out first which is fine by me; I want to know what I am paying for. But thanks for that thought...if true I'm regretting the selection of HAL for the trip.

The short cruise is also being sold as part of a longer, most likely repositioning, cruise. The people who book the entire cruse have first choice of cabins. The ones that are left will be assigned to the people booking only the 4 day portion.

Edit --

Looks like you may be trying to book either Eurodam or Oosterdam. The Eurodam is being sold as either a 16 or 20 day circle Hawaii, the 4 day portion is to fill cabins that were booked only for the 16 day portion. The Oosterdam is being sold a 17, 21, or 22 day cruise, again with the 4 day portion filling the cabins of the people who booked the shorter segment.

The short cruise is also being sold as part of a longer, most likely repositioning, cruise. The people who book the entire cruse have first choice of cabins. The ones that are left will be assigned to the people booking only the 4 day portion.

Edit --

Looks like you may be trying to book either Eurodam or Oosterdam. The Eurodam is being sold as either a 16 or 20 day circle Hawaii, the 4 day portion is to fill cabins that were booked only for the 16 day portion. The Oosterdam is being sold a 17, 21, or 22 day cruise, again with the 4 day portion filling the cabins of the people who booked the shorter segment.

Oh thank you for that explanation, yes we are trying to book the Eurodam. Wish I'd realized that going in; we would be doing something else. Basically it sounds like we are getting the leftovers. Thanks again, thinking this will be my only cruise with HAL, since they didn't mention this on the web site and I now know why we are being treated like poor relations.:rolleyes:

I generally don't expect any service provider to advertise prominently the less attractive aspects of their offerings. I don't think any mainstream cruise line would do so.

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I generally don't expect any service provider to advertise prominently the less attractive aspects of their offerings. I don't think any mainstream cruise line would do so.

 

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Perhaps not prominently but a disclaimer or explanation at some point before expecting payment would be ethical and expected and neither was provided. Additionally, every other cruise line I have gone on has had prompt customer service and appeared to actually want my business. As you can see I have had to result to a forum to get even the explanation which doesn't provide any resolution yet. Gosh, I just want to talk to a consultant.

Gosh, I just want to talk to a consultant.

Is there a particular reason you aren't talking with a travel agent? Granted, HAL should act like it wants your business, and it doesn't sound like they are, but this is kind of what a travel agent does, right?

Perhaps not prominently but a disclaimer or explanation at some point before expecting payment would be ethical and expected and neither was provided. Additionally, every other cruise line I have gone on has had prompt customer service and appeared to actually want my business. As you can see I have had to result to a forum to get even the explanation which doesn't provide any resolution yet. Gosh, I just want to talk to a consultant.

Did you ask HAL for a block of staterooms, or did you book piecemeal only

to discover HAL wasn't offering as many staterooms as you --ahem!--

assumed were available?

If you're not an expert and it's important, get an expert involved -- especially

when there's no cost to you for their services. And by "expert" I don't mean

a 800-number cubical-dweller.

Every cabin on every HAL ship gets robes. But only the high rent district cabins get slippers.

Much to our surprise, our ocean view cabin did not have robes on our cruise ending last week. Wondering if too many people take them thinking they're free. We have never had slippers but also haven't sailed in anything other than your standard OV.

Just to comment on what SeaFairy's going through, I agree that for a four day cruise, HAL may only be offering guarantee cabins for people only sailing on that segment. However, with the switch to the new website, I'm having problems doing bookings (to check on prices, not to actually complete a booking) on the new site which I used to do very easily on the old site. The default is guarantee cabin, but when I go to select my own cabin, I can pick ocean view or whatever but it's not allowing me the option to switch decks like it used to. So it looks like everything else is unavailable. I've tried this for several cruises, both the two bookings we currently have and random others and have always run up against the same obstacle.

Now I'm not sure why she can't get a PCC to call her back, that's just uncool, but I'd think you'd be able to call the general reservation line and be able to speak with someone who should be able to tell you whether or not you can book a specific cabin or talk you through your options. Or as others have suggested speak with a travel agent.

Did you ask HAL for a block of staterooms, or did you book piecemeal only

to discover HAL wasn't offering as many staterooms as you --ahem!--

assumed were available?

 

If you're not an expert and it's important, get an expert involved -- especially

when there's no cost to you for their services. And by "expert" I don't mean

a 800-number cubical-dweller.[/quote

 

The major problem is that I can't get HAL to provide me with someone to talk to despite numerous attempts, apparently I'm assigned someone who doesn't return calls. The hours they are available is problematic too, they must really cater to the retired set. Yes, you're correct, I'm an experienced cruiser so I know I need to be working with a consultant to coordinate dinner reservations and hopefully getting cabins relatively close.

The info shared earlier about this being the last leg of a longer cruise clears up some of the confusion but also adds to my feeling that the customer service has been very poor.

Just to comment on what SeaFairy's going through, I agree that for a four day cruise, HAL may only be offering guarantee cabins for people only sailing on that segment. However, with the switch to the new website, I'm having problems doing bookings (to check on prices, not to actually complete a booking) on the new site which I used to do very easily on the old site. The default is guarantee cabin, but when I go to select my own cabin, I can pick ocean view or whatever but it's not allowing me the option to switch decks like it used to. So it looks like everything else is unavailable. I've tried this for several cruises, both the two bookings we currently have and random others and have always run up against the same obstacle.

 

Now I'm not sure why she can't get a PCC to call her back, that's just uncool, but I'd think you'd be able to call the general reservation line and be able to speak with someone who should be able to tell you whether or not you can book a specific cabin or talk you through your options. Or as others have suggested speak with a travel agent.

Thanks, you're correct the site has a lot to glitches and if the only cabins available are guarantee it would be nice if it actually stated that so you're not clicking around to see if you missed something.

Regarding the reservation line, my phone number is now in the system so it recognizes it and auto transfers my call to the PCC where I get an error message. My son called last night and his call goes through to the reservation system just fine. I will have call with my number blocked tomorrow but the general reservation folks told me I need to speak to my PCC so you can see my frustration....

Is there a particular reason you aren't talking with a travel agent? Granted, HAL should act like it wants your business, and it doesn't sound like they are, but this is kind of what a travel agent does, right?

I have contacted one now and I'll see if he gets better results. The reason I haven't used one is that I usually enjoy doing all the arrangements and have never had issues like this before. So far the travel agent has been very nice but not provided me with anything more than I already knew so now I'm waiting for him or HAL to contact me. Meanwhile I've booked cabins through the site and I have no idea where they are on the ship. As an experienced cruiser I know location can make or break a cruise.

Perhaps not prominently but a disclaimer or explanation at some point before expecting payment would be ethical and expected and neither was provided. Additionally, every other cruise line I have gone on has had prompt customer service and appeared to actually want my business. As you can see I have had to result to a forum to get even the explanation which doesn't provide any resolution yet. Gosh, I just want to talk to a consultant.

I am surprised you haven’t got a call back yet. The bad part is with any cruise line and found same with few airlines. The folks that work the phones later afternoon and evening aren’t always the sharpest. And found best to deal with day sales folks. I work part time as a travel agent that my mother owned for 40 years after leaving the cruise ship refit business and we all have same problem when calling in too. Waiting could be 30 min on hold. And many times were the more experienced ones.

If you have a TA. Let them do the work for you at the same cost. And solve your problems. Often we can look up the info on there systems.

As said before, sounds like this is the leg of a longer cruise and most of not all cruise lines will do same thing and have sections that are guaranteed only. But they should tell you the min category you will be in, often they will upgrade if room as a marketing tool. HAL is. Very good line

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Is there a particular reason you aren't talking with a travel agent? Granted, HAL should act like it wants your business, and it doesn't sound like they are, but this is kind of what a travel agent does, right?

I just got a response from a travel agent and he booked me a spa veranda no where near where my 80 year old father and other members of the party will be. Plus he added $220 in charges...:(

I am surprised you haven’t got a call back yet. The bad part is with any cruise line and found same with few airlines. The folks that work the phones later afternoon and evening aren’t always the sharpest. And found best to deal with day sales folks. I work part time as a travel agent that my mother owned for 40 years after leaving the cruise ship refit business and we all have same problem when calling in too. Waiting could be 30 min on hold. And many times were the more experienced ones.

 

If you have a TA. Let them do the work for you at the same cost. And solve your problems. Often we can look up the info on there systems.

 

As said before, sounds like this is the leg of a longer cruise and most of not all cruise lines will do same thing and have sections that are guaranteed only. But they should tell you the min category you will be in, often they will upgrade if room as a marketing tool. HAL is. Very good line

 

 

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I just got a response from a travel agent and he booked me a spa veranda no where near where my 80 year old father and other members of the party will be. Plus he added $220 in charges...

For Sea Fairy - I don't know if this will help you or not, but HAL has a number for handling group bookings involving 8 or more cabins: 1 877 932 4259 fax is 206 298 3059

Dining attire?!!!

We are sailing on the Eurodam to Alaska. First time on HAL, first time cruising with our kids (7-12). I've tried searching the HAL website and have had no luck. Google searches gave me conflicting info.

Can anyone tell me:

How many formal nights will be on a 7-night cruise?

What is required for a formal night? Do young boys have to wear suit coats?

What is the dress code for casual nights? Are jeans allowed? How about t-shirts? Are they more lax for children?

Also, even though we booked 6 months ago and have followed up regularly, we haven't been able to get a set dining time. We would REALLY like one. Does anyone know if it's possible to get one once onboard?

Thanks for any and all help.

Dining attire?!!!

 

We are sailing on the Eurodam to Alaska. First time on HAL, first time cruising with our kids (7-12). I've tried searching the HAL website and have had no luck. Google searches gave me conflicting info.

 

Can anyone tell me:

 

How many formal nights will be on a 7-night cruise?

 

What is required for a formal night? Do young boys have to wear suit coats?

 

What is the dress code for casual nights? Are jeans allowed? How about t-shirts? Are they more lax for children?

 

Also, even though we booked 6 months ago and have followed up regularly, we haven't been able to get a set dining time. We would REALLY like one. Does anyone know if it's possible to get one once onboard?

 

Thanks for any and all help.

"Most evenings smart casual attire is appropriate. Shorts, pool/beachwear, distressed jeans and men’s tank tops are best left to the daytime and are not permitted in fine dining restaurants."

"Gala Nights evoke the grand traditions of cruising as guests dress to impress for special events on board, including a five-course gourmet dinner in the Dining Room. For gentlemen, collared shirt and slacks are required in all fine dining restaurants . For ladies, dressy attire is appropriate, dresses skirts and slacks are all acceptable."

So, as long as they aren't beachwear, t-shirts are allowed most nights, but not on gala nights when a collared shirt is required.

Jeans are allowed on most nights, but not distressed jeans. And jeans aren't allowed on gala nights.

The problem is that the t-shirts that the youngsters in my family wear are suitable for the beach and therefore not the dining room, and the jeans that the youngsters in my family wear are generally distressed. So unless your children are different, t-shirts and jeans probably won't work.

There isn't a more lax policy for children. The same rules apply.

It is possible to get a set dining time once you get aboard but there are no guarantees.

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Alaska does not seem to be as dressy as say Europe or East Coast departure cruises. Many passengers take land tours before ,after, and during a cruise sailing so their wardrobe is slanted to outdoor attire and less to dressy so do not make that your major concern. You will see all types of attire and since "Formal Night" has been change to Gala the dress code is much more appropriate to the journey..IMHO.

The major problem is that I can't get HAL to provide me with someone to talk to despite numerous attempts, apparently I'm assigned someone who doesn't return calls. The hours they are available is problematic too, they must really cater to the retired set. Yes, you're correct, I'm an experienced cruiser so I know I need to be working with a consultant to coordinate dinner reservations and hopefully getting cabins relatively close.

The info shared earlier about this being the last leg of a longer cruise clears up some of the confusion but also adds to my feeling that the customer service has been very poor.

I feel so bad that you are receiving such poor customer service. The PCC I work with works Sunday thru Thursday so it does vary. But even if he was off I get a response from the person who covers his absences, both via phone and email. They are crazy responsive! I wish you had him/them instead. :(