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

[LivetoTravel88]

Thanks @*Miss G* and @Haljo1935 for your helpful responses to my questions about Niew Statendam cruise through Norway.

 

I've noticed that the port side balcony cabins are more booked than the starboard side cabins on the Beethoven deck. Is there a reason why? We are currently booked starboard but wondering if we should move to port side. We want to see everything possible from our balcony in the fjords.

 

Is there a "seat guru" for cruise ships so you know which staterooms are best and which to avoid?

Edited May 1, 2023 by LivetoTravel88

[RuthC]

13 minutes ago, LivetoTravel88 said:

We are currently booked starboard but wondering if we should move to port side. We want to see everything possible from our balcony in the fjords.

Then you want to be outside when going through the fjords. There is always something of interest on the other side, so a place where you can see both sides at once, or get from side to side quickly, is what you need. 

[lisax]

This is my first time cruising with holland America. Usually sail with celebrity. We are booked on a 28 day cruise however have noticed that segments of the cruise are sold in 14 day cruises.this will mean that passengers will be exiting and entering the cruise whilst we are still on our cruise. What impact will this have on us. I’m thinking entry and exit on those changeover days. Also how is any duty free alcohol that we purchase on the cruise treated. Do we wait until our final day to collect. Also I assume we only need to attend muster once. 
 

[terrydtx]

1 minute ago, lisax said:

This is my first time cruising with holland America. Usually sail with celebrity. We are booked on a 28 day cruise however have noticed that segments of the cruise are sold in 14 day cruises.this will mean that passengers will be exiting and entering the cruise whilst we are still on our cruise. What impact will this have on us. I’m thinking entry and exit on those changeover days. Also how is any duty free alcohol that we purchase on the cruise treated. Do we wait until our final day to collect. Also I assume we only need to attend muster once. 
 

Last year on the Oosterdam we booked a 14 day cruise RT from Venice that got broken into 2 seven day segments. The first 7 days ended in Athens with people getting off and on, but we did not have to do anything on our part. It was not considered a B2B cruise. HAL does a lot of "Collectors" cruises that contain several shorter segments but are not considered B2B like Celebrity does.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

29 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Last year on the Oosterdam we booked a 14 day cruise RT from Venice that got broken into 2 seven day segments. The first 7 days ended in Athens with people getting off and on, but we did not have to do anything on our part. It was not considered a B2B cruise. HAL does a lot of "Collectors" cruises that contain several shorter segments but are not considered B2B like Celebrity does.

 

That's good to hear. I've done two (traditional) B2B's, and the only hassle is having to ding off the ship, head to the terminal, and wait to get back on.

 

Tom

[terrydtx]

17 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

That's good to hear. I've done two (traditional) B2B's, and the only hassle is having to ding off the ship, head to the terminal, and wait to get back on.

 

Tom

We have a true B2B on the Edge next January in Sydney and I already know we will have to get off the ship and wait to get back on, even though we are in the Retreat and same cabins for both cruises.

[lisax]

59 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We have a true B2B on the Edge next January in Sydney and I already know we will have to get off the ship and wait to get back on, even though we are in the Retreat and same cabins for both cruises.

Being a Sydney sider all I can say is what a beautiful port. Head down to opera bar and enjoy a drink. Or take a stroll through the botanical gardens

[terrydtx]

13 minutes ago, lisax said:

Being a Sydney sider all I can say is what a beautiful port. Head down to opera bar and enjoy a drink. Or take a stroll through the botanical gardens

We plan to fly in 3 days early to enjoy Sydney. After the cruise, we fly to Melbourne to do a 10 day driving trip to Adelaide and back along the great ocean road and some nice winery visits and tastings. We will be gone for 6 weeks and can't wait to visit. My biggest challenge will be driving on the left hand side of the roads from the right side of the car, totally opposite from the US.

Edited May 4, 2023 by terrydtx

[hhoope01]

5 hours ago, terrydtx said:

 My biggest challenge will be driving on the left hand side of the roads from the right side of the car, totally opposite from the US.

Just make sure to get a manual transmission vehicle.  😜  We did that once when staying in London and decided to rent a car to head out to Stonehenge.  

[lisax]

5 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We plan to fly in 3 days early to enjoy Sydney. After the cruise, we fly to Melbourne to do a 10 day driving trip to Adelaide and back along the great ocean road and some nice winery visits and tastings. We will be gone for 6 weeks and can't wait to visit. My biggest challenge will be driving on the left hand side of the roads from the right side of the car, totally opposite from the US.

We have the same issue in Europe.my husbands hint is to remember the driver is always placed in the middle of the road and not near the kerb. Last year in greece he got confused with the roundabout and entered left instead of right

[awhfy]

We have booked our first HAL cruise for 21 nights on Zuiderdam round trip Boston for October 2024. Selected a Signature Suite, HIA with elite beverage. We have over 30 cruises with Celebrity but my cousin asked us to join them, so branching out. This has 7 ports we haven’t visited before including Touch Canal that was cancelled due to pandemic. 
 

Wine at embarkation, is it one or two bottles per person? & corkage fee even if you have a beverage package?  How are the wines in the beverage packages?

is there a veteran gathering?

 

We are celebrating our 55th anniversary on board. Does HAL do anything?  I plan to put our car magnet (8x10) picture on our door (helps to find the cabin)

 

I’ve read this (entire 234 page) post, some interesting items. 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

13 minutes ago, awhfy said:

...

 

I’ve read this (entire 234 page) post, some interesting items. 

 

I feel like a slacker now... thanks 😉   LOL

 

Tom

[Haljo1935]

22 minutes ago, awhfy said:

We have booked our first HAL cruise - Welcome to HAL!
 

Wine at embarkation, is it one or two bottles per person? & corkage fee even if you have a beverage package?  1 bottle per person , but call to confirm as it may be more for the longer (21day) cruise. Although SOP states corkage fee, we have never been charged one irrespective of beverage package, so not able to answer.

How are the wines in the beverage packages? - unable to answer, haven't gotten them

is there a veteran gathering? - Yes it will be listed on the daily When and Where

 

We are celebrating our 55th anniversary on board. - Congrats!!

Does HAL do anything?  - Yes, just be sure you have it noted in your booking; if you used a TA, also be sure they note it. You can also separately purchase an anniversary package that will include cabin decorations. We have received cards, extra desserts, champagne, flowers, spa credits - various experiences on different ships.

Congrats on the milestone and welcome to HAL! Please see my responses above.

Edited May 16, 2023 by Haljo1935
Typo

[terrydtx]

53 minutes ago, awhfy said:

We have booked our first HAL cruise for 21 nights on Zuiderdam round trip Boston for October 2024. Selected a Signature Suite, HIA with elite beverage. We have over 30 cruises with Celebrity but my cousin asked us to join them, so branching out. This has 7 ports we haven’t visited before including Touch Canal that was cancelled due to pandemic. 
 

Wine at embarkation, is it one or two bottles per person? & corkage fee even if you have a beverage package?  How are the wines in the beverage packages?

is there a veteran gathering?

 

We are celebrating our 55th anniversary on board. Does HAL do anything?  I plan to put our car magnet (8x10) picture on our door (helps to find the cabin)

 

I’ve read this (entire 234 page) post, some interesting items. 

We have sailed both Celebrity and HAL extensively so I hope I can give you some insights. Last year we did a Signature Suite on the HAL Oosterdam following a Sky Suite on the Reflection in Italy. We prefer the Signature Suites when we cruise with HAL, they are much larger and closer in size to a Sky Suite on Celebrity, but that is where the comparisons end. A Signature Suite other than size has no real amenities like Suites on Celebrity, no priority boarding, tendering or private dining rooms. It is good you have the Elite Drink package as the classic package has a very poor choice of wines much better choice with Elite, but like X you can go over the limit price and only pay the difference plus tip. The HAL specialty Restaurants are very good and about half the cost of X. You can bring on two bottles of wine  per person and pay the corkage if you take them to the MDR. Any wines you buy while on a ship's excursion can be brought back onboard without any corkage, we did a lot of that last year in Italy and Greece.

 

HAL will take care of your anniversary celebration just make sure your reservation has the notes that it is a 55 year Anniversary, and Congratulations, we celebrated our 50th in 2021 on board.  One other suggestion that we now do with HAL is we buy the Club Orange addon for $25pp per day, this gets you priority embarkation and disembarkation, a special place in the MDR with no waiting in line and one extra entree the rest of the people do not get. You will spend a lot less time in lines with CO. On the newer Pinnacle class ship CO includes a private dining room for breakfast and lunch. CO gives us many of the amenities we are use to in a suite with Celebrity. You also get a free upgrade to the highest category of cabin in your booking category, we booked a B Vista Suite located in the back of the ship on the Volendam and got moved up to an A Vista suite midship..  The cost between our booked B and upgrade A paid for the cost of CO. IMO the $50 per day per cabin is well worth the cost but they limit the number of CO bookings so you need to do it sooner rather than later.

 

Here is a link to the CO program. https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/dining/club-orange.html

Edited May 16, 2023 by terrydtx

[0106]

3 hours ago, awhfy said:

Wine at embarkation, is it one or two bottles per person? & corkage fee even if you have a beverage package?  How are the wines in the beverage packages?

If you have the Elite beverage package you will probably be able to find wine by the glass that you enjoy.  Beverage Menus.  (Thank you @Crew News for posting the most recent ones.) I like to try wines I have never tasted while on the ship.  If you decide to bring wine aboard there is a $20 per bottle corkage fee, you can bring a “reasonable” number of bottle.

 

I admire you for reading 234 pages of the thread🤣

[awhfy]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We have sailed both Celebrity and HAL extensively so I hope I can give you some insights. Last year we did a Signature Suite on the HAL Oosterdam following a Sky Suite on the Reflection in Italy. We prefer the Signature Suites when we cruise with HAL, they are much larger and closer in size to a Sky Suite on Celebrity, but that is where the comparisons end. A Signature Suite other than size has no real amenities like Suites on Celebrity, no priority boarding, tendering or private dining rooms. It is good you have the Elite Drink package as the classic package has a very poor choice of wines much better choice with Elite, but like X you can go over the limit price and only pay the difference plus tip. The HAL specialty Restaurants are very good and about half the cost of X. You can bring on two bottles of wine  per person and pay the corkage if you take them to the MDR. Any wines you buy while on a ship's excursion can be brought back onboard without any corkage, we did a lot of that last year in Italy and Greece.

 

HAL will take care of your anniversary celebration just make sure your reservation has the notes that it is a 55 year Anniversary, and Congratulations, we celebrated our 50th in 2021 on board.  One other suggestion that we now do with HAL is we buy the Club Orange addon for $25pp per day, this gets you priority embarkation and disembarkation, a special place in the MDR with no waiting in line and one extra entree the rest of the people do not get. You will spend a lot less time in lines with CO. On the newer Pinnacle class ship CO includes a private dining room for breakfast and lunch. CO gives us many of the amenities we are use to in a suite with Celebrity. You also get a free upgrade to the highest category of cabin in your booking category, we booked a B Vista Suite located in the back of the ship on the Volendam and got moved up to an A Vista suite midship..  The cost between our booked B and upgrade A paid for the cost of CO. IMO the $50 per day per cabin is well worth the cost but they limit the number of CO bookings so you need to do it sooner rather than later.

 

Here is a link to the CO program. https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/dining/club-orange.html

Thanks Terry, very helpful. Unfortunately the aft cabins were all sold out (our favored location) so we’re midship just off the elevators. I’ll definitely check out club orange 

 

so there isn’t a corkage fee if consumed on our balcony, just public areas?  

Edited May 16, 2023 by awhfy

[Cruise Suzy]

4 minutes ago, awhfy said:

so there isn’t a corkage fee if consumed on our balcony, just public areas?  

Corkage is paid on all bottles of wine brought aboard, doesn't matter where consumed.

[tschwa2]

21 minutes ago, Cruise Suzy said:

Corkage is paid on all bottles of wine brought aboard, doesn't matter where consumed.

Do they not still waive the fee if you have the beverage package?

[0106]

12 minutes ago, tschwa2 said:

Do they not still waive the fee if you have the beverage package

They do not.  Here is a useful linkHAL FAQs

[tschwa2]

5 minutes ago, 0106 said:

They do not.  Here is a useful linkHAL FAQs

Thanks, I think I was mixing HA for my cruise later this month with Celebrity later this year.  This is my first and likely my only HA cruise.  Just another thing that bugs me about them.  

[Haljo1935]

4 hours ago, tschwa2 said:

Thanks, I think I was mixing HA for my cruise later this month with Celebrity later this year.  This is my first and likely my only HA cruise.  Just another thing that bugs me about them.  

While the policy clearly states a corkage fee, we have not ever been charged one. As recently as Nov/Dec '22 Koningsdam did not charge - we had them open a bottle for us in MDR at dinner, they kept it & we drank it over a couple nights.

Feb '23 Nieuw Amsterdam did not charge us - we had them open a bottle for us in MDR at dinner again having them keep it for us to drink over couple nights.

May '23 Eurodam did not charge us- had them open a bottle for us in MDR - we drank it in one sitting.

We did not have a drink package on any of those trips, did not buy the wine from HAL and had the bottle fully visible as we went into MDR.

So the policy is $20 corkage fee to drink your wine outside of your cabin, but it is not consistently enforced. I'd plan on paying and accept the "gift" if not charged.

[dropframe]

The corkage fee would be paid when you bring them onboard. Not MDR.

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, dropframe said:

The corkage fee would be paid when you bring them onboard. Not MDR.

We brought them in carry-on as per policy and acknowledged having them when they scanned our luggage and asked if we had 2 bottles of wine. So we were prepared to see the charge on our statement due to any of those instances,  but never did.

I did, though, think it was having them open in MDR that triggered the fee, so I appreciate you advising otherwise.

[lisax]

I am also confused as to application of corkage fee. If you carry your bottle of wine on embarkation day in your carry on luggage how would they charge your account. I assume scanning of carry on is done by security,with a long line of passengers behind you. Would they have the ability to take your room number and charge you at that point? If anyone has experienced this I would be interested to know how the process worked. 

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, lisax said:

I am also confused as to application of corkage fee. If you carry your bottle of wine on embarkation day in your carry on luggage how would they charge your account. I assume scanning of carry on is done by security,with a long line of passengers behind you. Would they have the ability to take your room number and charge you at that point? If anyone has experienced this I would be interested to know how the process worked. 

They absolutely could take your cabin number and bill the charge to your room; that would be similar to jumping on the airport shuttle when you hadn't pre-booked it - they ask for your cabin number and it ends up on your stateroom account. We've done that several times, including this month, Feb & Dec - all trips where we were not charged the corkage fee. 

Policy says wine must be carried on, so we do a "wine transfer" dance at airport after we claim our luggage moving it from our airport checked luggage to our ship carry-on bag. Sure wouldn't do that if we didn't have to 🙂