timbom

Yesterday while asking my Holland agent for some information they by mistake sent me information on up to $200 credit for being a AARP member.  In reading the fine print it says it has to be applied prior to booking.

I am not a member but if could get credits for two cruises booked would be happy to be.  When I questioned him about this he said give me number and I will try and get you credit. 

Has anyone else experienced this?? 

Am 6 points away from making four star.  As I understand it your don't upgrade until the next cruise after the one you make the higher level  Is that correct?

Next cruise leaves the day after the cruise we make four star arrives  How do we get four status on new cruise / ship?

Anyone else gone thru this|?
 

Reason nobody was at the 150 years of Holland is they have been doing it on every ship in the fleet every week  ever since sailings resumed.

They need to figure out something else the first day of a cruise

what brand is it???

nawalliiwili Kawai, Kona and Hilo.

Been trying to find this information on this site but everything appears dated.  Anyone have current information

Wow that is really crazy.  As I read the schedule we will be on the river 13 days.  What did you do for clean clothing??

Could they not pick up water from shore and use that for Laundry??

Read on another ships board that from when they entered the Amazon river till when they left all shops and casino were closed.  Is this what those who have sailed on Holland have experienced on the River.

better to get rid of the stepless dancers and Blue earth

Sent message to my Holland personal cruise consultant and she said she checked and it is my responsibility to pay the extra money to get from FLL to Miami. 

As this is Hollands change you would think they could compensate us a fifty dollar credit or so for this change on a four or five thousand dollar cruise. 

Yes it would be much easier to leave and arrive at same port.

Yes a lot of us were planning on driving .. I think it is unfair that we have to pay the transportaion between the terminals. Who do we complain about this too.  

Hos stupid can the bean counters get Pizza is perhaps the cheapest main course to make on the ship.  If they start charging for it people will just strt eating the more expensive options. 

I have only once eaten at Jonney rockets and that was for breakfast which is free. 

Only food I like on Carnival is  their chicken shack. Guys burgers and BBQ and mexican food plus seafood bar chineese and sandwitch place.

All this will do is drive families away from RCL or perhaps that is their idea.

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Ir is a piece of garbage compared to RCCL and Princess.  They need to find who wrote these and copy them.  They both work well and have many additional features.

no classical on Nieuw Statendam last week 

Cantare is a Holland created group there are three of these companies and they travel from one ship to another/  All three groups sing the same songs and can do two differant shows.

Problem with holland is they repeat the same shows on every ship.  They need to break it up with some new shows but suspect this costs money which is the reason why their after hour activities are so poorly attended.

ON the NS only shows that were well attended were the traveling acts/  Few people want to see the caned productions of the no step dancers without a live band for the tenth time.

What I really miss is america's test kitchen.  Thought they were going to replace this with a cheaper program  What happened to that idea.

Did they have any special vaccination requirements for this cruise??

Why is there all of this discussion on extra tips.  These people with standard tips (per the cruise line)  are already making almost 10 times what they could earn back home. 

Remember the average wage in the third world countries they come from is usually less than 150$ per week (if they can find a job).  This is why the cruise lines hires from these countries.  If  anything the average we pay on tips is way above what should be necessary for good service.

Real reason the tips are so high is so the cruise line can retain their staff without having to go to expense of hiring and training new workers. 

Uber /Cabs are really difficult to get. Took over an hour to get an uber and was very expensive due to their demand based pricing which increases cost based on demand.

With six thousand getting off this ship all at one time plus whatever other ship is in town finding transportation is close to impossible.  

Was told they were at about 1600 week we sailed and were expecting 3000 the next week.  Suspect their service will not be as good. 

They have some really good pricing still so suspect they are having trouble filling ship.  Yes missed couch and shower doors on Ruby ship.  

Yes Happy to see them back.  Lets hope they plan more destinations

Just got back from from taking a back to back on these two ships.  Both were enjoyable ships but enjoyed the Ruby far more.  I have been on more than fifty cruises so believe these pros and cons valid.

Allure pros-

Entertainment was much more varied but not as much as I expected.  Ruby had very good headliners and decent produced shows.  

Inside balcony I loved as it was insulated from the wind and direct sun.  Plus was much more modern.

Check in was a breeze as was check out.  Best I have ever seen till I got on the Ruby with its check I which was even better.  Both lines get A plus on this

Bells and whistles (slides, water park, diving shows, ice skating. wall climb and flow rider) not offered on Ruby  

Allure cons;

Elevators and crowds everyplace- Perhaps the most overcrowded ship I have ever been on ship is not designed for the number of people on this ship.

Central park was all dead from freeze.  Was told they will not even try to replant till late March.

Cruise director, and staff were just phoning it in felt they were way overworked

Parking was far more expensive than parking for Ruby

Diamond lounge is way overcrowded with over 1100   diamond and above in lounge.

Specialty dining was twice as expensive as Ruby and not as good

Drinks were usually not prepared properly  (due to large numbers getting free drinks).  After several were sent back some of the lazy servers realized we knew how a drink should be made and made them properly

Buffet was not good for lunch.  Ok in AM and did not eat dinner

Ruby Pros

Crowds were never a problem and staff was much better trained in proper service  

Food quality was far better and menu much more varied.  Most of the main dining meals were equal to those served in specialty restaurants on RCL

Average age was older on ship so there were fewer children.

Honduras stop was much nicer as they dropped you off on beach resort at no extra charge while RCL dropped you off in the middle of a third world country

Platinum and above lounge had better appetizers and was less crowded even if you had to pay for drinks

Great ship band and dance bands

Far better price

Ruby cons

Older ship showing its age needs an upgrade badly

Internet did not work as well as the RCL ship

Casino far to smoky

Only sails from Galveston till April

Just got back from from taking a back to back on these two ships.  Both were enjoyable ships but enjoyed the Ruby far more.  I have been on more than fifty cruises so believe these pros and cons valid.

Allure pros-

Entertainment was much more varied but not as much as I expected.  Ruby had very good headliners and decent produced shows.  

Inside balcony I loved as it was insulated from the wind and direct sun.  Plus was much more modern.

Check in was a breeze as was check out.  Best I have ever seen till I got on the Ruby with its check I which was even better.  Both lines get A plus on this

Bells and whistles (slides, water park, diving shows, ice skating. wall climb and flow rider) not offered on Ruby  

Allure cons;

Elevators and crowds everyplace- Perhaps the most overcrowded ship I have ever been on ship is not designed for the number of people on this ship.

Central park was all dead from freeze.  Was told they will not even try to replant till late March.

Cruise director, and staff were just phoning it in felt they were way overworked

Parking was far more expensive than parking for Ruby

Diamond lounge is way overcrowded with over 1100   diamond and above in lounge.

Specialty dining was twice as expensive as Ruby and not as good

Drinks were usually not prepared properly  (due to large numbers getting free drinks).  After several were sent back some of the lazy servers realized we knew how a drink should be made and made them properly

Buffet was not good for lunch.  Ok in AM and did not eat dinner

Ruby Pros

Crowds were never a problem and staff was much better trained in proper service  

Food quality was far better and menu much more varied.  Most of the main dining meals were equal to those served in specialty restaurants on RCL

Average age was older on ship so there were fewer children.

Honduras stop was much nicer as they dropped you off on beach resort at no extra charge while RCL dropped you off in the middle of a third world country

Platinum and above lounge had better appetizers and was less crowded even if you had to pay for drinks

Great ship band and dance bands

Far better price

Ruby cons

Older ship showing its age needs an upgrade badly

Internet did not work as well as the RCL ship

Casino far to smoky

Only sails from Galveston till April

Had same problem spent twenty min today playing with it till it was accepted

If it is not too late rent a budget car at the airport and turn in in to clear lake city the last day and uber to port.  You will need a car for the thee days you are in texas and it will allow you to go to Johnson space center and Houston Museum of natural science as these are to not to miss in the area.

One of my fondest memories was perhaps five years ago we were on the Millie with our 15 year old grandson.  At that time they had a lounge reserved for elite.

He asked us if he could bring a date to the lounge (which was OK with the monitor and us).  So each night he came with another girl he had met on the trip. 

They were all really impressed with the free coke and snacks.

Have a copy of the church records framed which I copied and sent to your homeland people.  Ir would of taken weeks to get a certified one.

Talked to your authority today and they explained that because of covid  and the reopening of the borders the office is swamped and everything is taking longer than normal.

We are in process of by-passing Australia and will pull the plug on Australia if we don't get visa by end of week.  Carnival is very understanding on issue and will issue me credit for cruise if I can't get visa..