Any unpleasant surprises?

[hmp2z]

Hi! My husband & I are trying to decide between booking the Ryndam or a Carnival cruise, and I'd like some input, if possible, on what's included. We've only cruised once, on the Celebrity Solstice, and loved it. However, one of my friends went on the Royal Caribbean a few weeks ago and said that she felt like she was being nickel-and-dimed everywhere, and even asked to pay extra for food in the main dining room.

 

My question, and what will help us to make our decision, is what amenities are included in the package price for Holland America ships, and which ones might present unpleasant surprises for us. Will we be charged extra for certain dishes in the main dining room? Is room service included, or is it extra (excepting gratuity, of course)? What about things like sushi in the Lido restaurant (one of my friend's other unpleasant surprises)- will that be an extra charge?

 

We fully expect to pay extra for things like premium restaurants, room service gratuity, alcoholic beverages, spa treatments, etc. But are there any things that might be included as standard on other cruise lines that we will have to pay extra for on Holland America?

 

Thank you for your help!

Heather W

[TracieABD]

We never found any unexpected upcharges in the MDR. We were charged only for soda, sparkling water, and adult beverages. Unlike some other cruise lines, cappuccinos and lattes were also FREE in the MDR!

 

The Pinnacle Grille is a $20pp upcharge for dinner ($10 for lunch). The Cannaletto Grille has no additional charge.

 

We were surprised at the lack of "nickle and diming" on HAL over other cruiselines. I probably could have taken this cruise without any additional charges on my on-board account (except for gratuities!).:)

[maxout]

Hi! My husband & I are trying to decide between booking the Ryndam or a Carnival cruise, and I'd like some input, if possible, on what's included. We've only cruised once, on the Celebrity Solstice, and loved it. However, one of my friends went on the Royal Caribbean a few weeks ago and said that she felt like she was being nickel-and-dimed everywhere, and even asked to pay extra for food in the main dining room.

 

My question, and what will help us to make our decision, is what amenities are included in the package price for Holland America ships, and which ones might present unpleasant surprises for us. Will we be charged extra for certain dishes in the main dining room? Is room service included, or is it extra (excepting gratuity, of course)? What about things like sushi in the Lido restaurant (one of my friend's other unpleasant surprises)- will that be an extra charge?

 

We fully expect to pay extra for things like premium restaurants, room service gratuity, alcoholic beverages, spa treatments, etc. But are there any things that might be included as standard on other cruise lines that we will have to pay extra for on Holland America?

 

Thank you for your help!

Heather W

 

Here is a very recent thread on this question...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1262129

[TracieABD]

Here is a very recent thread on this question...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1262129

 

Thanks!

[hmp2z]

Thank you for all of the replies, and thanks for the link! I couldn't figure out what search terms to use to find exactly what I was looking for, but that's perfect!

Cheers!

Heather W

[aliaschief]

IOP the only unpleasant part of a cruise on a Holland America ship is when they tell us we have to disembark! Enjoy your cruise.

[maxout]

thank you for all of the replies, and thanks for the link! I couldn't figure out what search terms to use to find exactly what i was looking for, but that's perfect!

Cheers!

Heather w

 

Glad to help :D

[cwn]

Hi! My husband & I are trying to decide between booking the Ryndam or a Carnival cruise, and I'd like some input, if possible, on what's included. We've only cruised once, on the Celebrity Solstice, and loved it. However, one of my friends went on the Royal Caribbean a few weeks ago and said that she felt like she was being nickel-and-dimed everywhere, and even asked to pay extra for food in the main dining room.

 

My question, and what will help us to make our decision, is what amenities are included in the package price for Holland America ships, and which ones might present unpleasant surprises for us. Will we be charged extra for certain dishes in the main dining room? Is room service included, or is it extra (excepting gratuity, of course)? What about things like sushi in the Lido restaurant (one of my friend's other unpleasant surprises)- will that be an extra charge?

 

We fully expect to pay extra for things like premium restaurants, room service gratuity, alcoholic beverages, spa treatments, etc. But are there any things that might be included as standard on other cruise lines that we will have to pay extra for on Holland America?

 

Thank you for your help!

Heather W

 

Just did a Carnival cruise with 2 of my grand children. There were NO extra charges for any food served in the MDR or on the Lido. There were a couple of places on the ship that had speciality foods for a price. We never felt the need to even try them. The lido had 24/7 soft serve ice cream and frozen yogart which we loved and the Lido food was more varied all day than on any other cruise ship I have ever been on (Princess, HAL, X, Cunard, NCL, Seabourn, Silver Seas and soon to be Regent) plus it was very good and we don't usually like the Lido service/slow/crowded or food/not as fresh as it could be! The MDR had some wonderful dishes and a few that were not so. There is a thread on the Carnival board about the MDR dishes that right on on what was good and what wasn't. Would we do Carnivel again (it was our first cruise on that line...yes. There extra charges are for the same type of things as any other mass market ship ie HAL and X.....speciality food bars/cafes/dinning rooms; drinks other than tea, tap water, regular coffee and lemonade, bingo same as X (Celebrity.

 

We have sailed on HAL before and are leaving on another HAL cruise next month. I am not sure I think the food is any better, the cabins are a bit nicer in the classes of regular cabins...the room service menu has more food and you can order off the MDR menu when the MDR is open all free. I didn't like the Lido set up, it wasn't as open as the Carnival Lido. I feel that I am signing a ticket for something all the time on all but SS and Seabourn, but you can buy various packages to help reduce that some what.

 

We like all the ships we have been on...we pick a cruise for the Itinerary we want first of all.

 

If you liked Celebrity, you will like either ship...they both charge for the same types of things as you found on X

[David_Pride]

I too have limited experience in cruising, however the one cruise I have experienced was on was on the Ryndam from Tampa. I LOVED IT! We did not pay anything addtional for the Main Dining room. We did not pay anything for room service.

 

As you stated drinks, coffee bar and pinicale grill were addtional. We are going on the Ryndam on Nov 7 and are so excited.

 

My BFE is addicted to Royal C. and she does pay way more than I do. I am not sure why as she has never complained about the extras. I am not going to be on carnival until April 2012, but since Ryndam was my first and I became addicted I would suggest you let the Ryndam woo you too! Hope this helps!

;)