dakrewser

In fact there was one time when a guide tried to add an additional shopping stop that was not part of the plan and the group clearly voted him down.

This happened to us, too! We were in Minorca and were on an excursion to the "Dragon's Cave" (a good place to visit). It was a drizzly, cool day and the excited guide said we'd go to a "special" usually not visited shopping "mall" (like 4 shops all owned by relatives of the guide) - everyone on the bus yelled "No! Take us back to the ship!!" And he did.

Do Neptune suite guests get monogramed bath robes to be taken home at the end of the cruise, like what is included in the "suite amenities package"?

"Suite Amenities Package (for all Suites, excluding Neptune Suites) — prices starting at $289.00 - includes complimentary laundry and pressing; Holland America bathrobe with monogram of choice; in-stateroom High Tea or daily canapés; fresh flowers; special VIP debarkation procedures; special VIP debarkation lounge; Pillows a la Carte Menu; initial stateroom beverage setup; $50 Beverage Card; Pinnacle Grill dinner"

My travel agent was just on one of the refurbished ships, may have been Eurodam. He said there have been significant changes in music, some dance floors removed. The BB King group was apparently very popular but not danceable. He himself doesn't dance but has organized several dance groups and knows what we like, said it wouldn't be suitable for me and won't be taking any more dance groups on board. So any ship which has BB King on board likely has no dancing.

So not true. The B.B.King group plays in the Queen's Lounge (on those ships which have one). There is a small dance floor and, if you like blues and R&B, you're welcome to dance. But the Ocean Bar is still the main "ballroom" dance venue with "The Band" playing nightly. The Crow's Nest will also host a DJ for those whose dance choices are more "modern" than mine!

There will be a combo playing. There is a dance floor. Whether or not the music will be dance-able is a bit of a crap shoot.

We found that if you ask your steward he will bring you glasses to your room and you can take a glass of your own wine with you to the dining room or anywhere else on the ship. You cannot have a whole bottle of your free wine with dinner but for me one glass is enough.

You can only take your own wine to the MDR (either by the bottle or by the glass) if you've paid the corkage fee on it. The non-corkage bottle is specifically to be enjoyed In Your Room - not in any public areas.

Or just buy a beverage card for the low priced, non-alcoholic selections. You can get one for $50.

An excellent suggestion!

Are there any groups on your cruise which could have booked-up this tour?

There are many articles to read on the internet on the topic of fresh orange juice. Unless you squeeze it yourself,there's no way the juice on any cruise ship will be freshly squeezed.

 

As another poster mentioned,you can get fresh oranges daily. It's far more nutritious that way.

So, in the time before the Lido Marketplace, that machine we saw squeezing oranges was... a mirage?

We are a family of 7 (three couples and a single) and have requested open dining. Will it be difficult to get a table for 7 each night for dinner?

There are 8- and 10-tops available, but you'd probably do best to make reservations. This can be done up to 3 nights ahead. Check with the DR Mgr when you first board.

Typical on HAL is assignment 2 weeks out - but it has been known to occur only once you get to the pier.

In case you do return to this thread, perhaps you might let us know what you drink at home: it is as possible for someone to not be able to tell the difference between certain packaged OJ's and fresh squeezed as for so many others to be misinformed.

For the 10 years I lived in California I bought 5 lb bags of Valencias at the farmers' market each week and squeezed my own. Can't get Valencias here in the mid-Atlantic, so I buy "not from concentrate" juice. Not as good, but better than concentrated.

On the NA last fall the juice I got in the Lido (not from the dispenser, but from the counter) was fresh squeezed - again, not as good as my own fresh-squeezed was, but better than the stuff in the dispenser, by far.

dakrewser.. the cruise date we originally wanted was cancelled..

 

looking into going later... do not really want to go in mid July...

we do this cruise every year.. this will be our 8th on HAL to Alaska

Don't fixate on a particular ship - Celebrity has a cruise starting on the 23rd and there are a number of others in the 21st-24th time frame.

yellow packages are usually steveu

No, Stevia is in green packets -

I was not aware of ANY terms used in HAL's documents to advise people considering booking a particular itinerary that there would be a "group" or a "charter" or any affinity cluster, however it was designated. That is the problem: you can wind up sailing with a less compatible group - taking up more or less of the public spaces - without being given ANY warning.

 

I have been on cruises with fairly large groups making the experience for non-members less attractive than they would have reason to anticipate.

 

Of course the term "partial charter" is not used ---NO warning term is used - and that, sir, is the problem with PARTIAL CHARTERS (which happens to be a fully appropriate term for what is happening.

You, perhaps, misunderstand me. HAL's marketing materials and other documents mention charters quite a bit as well as group cruising. But nowhere do they use the term "partial charter" which could well be considered an oxymoron.

Just spoke to my travel agent.. he says he has NOT been notified yet.. When I spoke to HAL over an hour ago.. they told me he WAS notified and approved the change on Sept. 1, 2016! Still in a tizzy.. as our friends have put in for their vacation times so we could hook up.. Now this extends to them all having to redo their plans

Have your TA cancel this cruise and book another for the dates you originally wanted...

You can get both.

 

HAL has

sugar (white packets)

sugar in the raw (brown packets)

Sweet & Low (pink packets)

Equal (blue packets)

whatever that stuff in the yellow packets is (yellow packets ;))

Splenda (my choice of sweetener) :)

??????????????????

No where in HAL's documents or marketing materials is the term "partial charter" used. There are charters, and there are groups.

I'm the OP on this post & my cruise was moved from 7/23/17 start to 7/17/17 start. Not a huge amount of time, but I've already booked 2 expensive excursions that I now need to try to reschedule.

No reason why you couldn't cancel this and book another cruise for the dates you'd rather have...

Right: ordinarily "charter" suggests the entire vessel is taken - but for lack of another term to cover a large block of cabins being offered to a particular interest group by an agency other than the cruise line, "charter" seems to be the default term.

Not on HAL it isn't...

I doubt there will be "hundreds" of children on a HAL ship, but still - we never sail during school holidays. Do try to switch to the beginning of December (or the beginning of January) which also has the benefit of much lower fares.

is anyone traveling on the Prinsendam sailing from Athens on 10/20/16?

You'll have better luck finding people if you check the "roll call" for your cruise:

http://cruisecritic.com/rollcalls?cruise_line_id=21&ship_id=249

Is there a cocktail menu provided in the dining room, or do we need to know what we want before we go in?

I've never seen one, but I'm sure if you ask one will be provided.

All the dining venues have wines by the glass that are priced to be compatible with the SBP. Getting a properly made HAL Signature Martini in the MDR was problematic last January until I had a conversation with the ship Beverage Manager. He said he'd get it handled with additional training and I didn't have another problem.

There is no bar in the MDR, though - drinks come from either the Explorer's Lounge or the Ocean Bar - depending on which level of the MDR you are on. I'd expect those bartenders to already be trained.

Ask your doctor for a referral to a Travel Medical provider who will be up to date on what you need and what you should have.

Careful -- that is a a slippery slope. Personally, I have made a vow to myself to keep current with technology as I get older, because I see what has happened with my parents.

 

They decided at some point about 25 years ago that they did not need any of this modern technology. They never had an answering machine, DVD player, cell phone of any kind (let alone a smartphone) or a computer/tablet. Never even had a digital camera.

 

As a consequence though, they are finding it harder and harder to function in the modern world. So many things are easiest done on a computer now, from looking up travel information to registering for upcoming cruises, not to mention keeping in touch with their grandchild who considers anything less than texting to be "old school" communication.

 

Not only that but they have real difficulty adapting to the technology that is now part of everything -- they moved to a new condominium last year, and have trouble using the (smart) thermostat, the complex remote control for their television, even their programmable microwave....

 

One could say that -- at the ages of 89 and 84 -- they shouldn't have to learn these new things. But I see how it makes life more difficult for them. They hate having to call one of us kids to help them with the same questions over and over or to come over and figure out what button they pushed that made their A/C or their TV stop working.

 

So for me at least, I plan to stay as current as possible for as long as I can. Adapt and thrive, that's my motto. ;)

Very well said. Going on vacation doesn't mean you need to be a Luddite, after all. And the cruise lines reflect society, they do not lead. If there's less space for books that means fewer people are using them. I suspect there'll be a shelf or two for "book swapping" for quite some time, but don't expect the ships to spend money to stock books that no one reads.