CGYCruisingFamily

If you are trying to do the HAL Fairmont, they likely have only a certain amount of rooms allocated in their group block booking - and as such  can be "sold out/waitlist" for HAL rooms. That does not mean the hotel itself is full, just that the cruise line rooms are all taken. Your agent should be able to book the hotel as not part of the Holland booking, but hotel only booking. However be aware you can not use HAL transfers though.

We are not fans of the "production" shows. We miss the magicians, comedians, hypnotists and other entertainers they used to have on the mainstage on regular nights. Yes, we did have comedians on our last couple of cruises, but usually in BB Kings and not to the same quality of pre 2020. I wish they would return some of this other types of entertainment.

Prices go up and down depending on the promotions they are offering and can change at any time. Also if you search different fare types, you can get different pricing.

On 3/30/2024 at 7:58 AM, graceinga said:

We set sail on the Rotterdam next Sunday and I just realized I don't know how/where/when we obtain our Medallion.  Thanks for your help. 

Looking at your signature, I am guessing you are referring to what you usually receive on Princess for your doors, ordering, etc? If so, as others have said, HAL uses the traditional room card key, not the medallion.

If you see people referring to medallions, that is a loyalty item you get with a certain number of actual cruise days (this does not include bonus spending) - Bronze for 100 actual sailing days on HAL, 300 for silver, 500 for gold and I believe 700+ for platinum.

I know I can possibly put this into the port forum and will pop over there after this but I am wondering if anyone has visited Edinburgh and tendered in South Queensferry? If so, is there HAL provided transportation into the main part of the city and if so, was there a fee? Or do we need to rely on public transportation and taxis?

I know when we were in Dubrovnik a number of years ago there was a shuttle that we could purchase a day pass for about $10 pp for unlimited trips from the ship to the city area.

I have looked on our booking but can not see anything and am trying to make plans for our upcoming cruise. Thanks for any insight or info.

1 hour ago, bookmomoftwins said:

Do some of the rooms have more beds then?  What are the room configurations like?  All the pictures I'm looking at have two beds that convert to one at the verandah level.

Some rooms have a sofa bed and an upper pullman bed (think bunk bed that stores away into the ceiling during the day). On some ships, there are family staterooms which accommodate up to 5 with the sofa bed being a double versus single.

We have a 15 year old (still considered a kid for fares) and 19 year old (now considered an adult) in our room for an upcoming cruise and we just have to pay the taxes and port fees for them.

I do not believe you can buy/use multiple beverage packages per passenger.

You mentioned the Quench package in your post too, but it also has a limit of 15 drinks in the day.

15 hours ago, Ready2go11 said:

I did not take note of the name of the venue but on a January 2024 NS cruise we did go in there one evening to play some games. There were about 4 teens and 8 so adults including us, so not busy all.
 

They had a number of different video games, old style, large scale wooden games, skee ball etc. we didn't stay long but it was nostalgic and fun. 

Were the games complementary?

Hi HAL lovers...

I just came across a video saying the Loft has been converted into a High Score. I know they started making the conversions prior to 2020 but then got put on hold. It sounds like it has happened now with the Nieuw Statendam. Can anyone confirm this?

Also, can anyone confirm it is free and open to families in the evenings?

Thanks!

We are arriving early morning (hours before check in) and have decided to rent a car for the day. We have also spoken with out hotel who have said we can drop our bags and they will store them for us. We figured with the car, we can have some flexibility to go see and do what we want - or even nap if needed 🙂

2 hours ago, travellovers2 said:

 

We don't have that button, that's why I asked. usually we would see it. We do have the one for the luggage tag, which we already printed. Below that button, there is a grayed out box about doing the health assessment on Dec 27. 

 

I was just wondering because I see so much push for everything to be done on an app. Maybe we will see the button in a few days.

 

By the way, we already completed our online check in.

 

Thank you!!

Have you completed your check in? Could there be something missing as it won’t show until complete and all green checks. Otherwise to access that page, it is in the final tab on the upper right that leads you to the page where you can download them/ as others said where you printed your luggage tags, there should also be the print/email boarding pass.

I am wondering if they are holding off because there was a bunch of changes to times multiple times often and this alleviates this.

I think though they should know who the 4 and 5* Mariners are and also the people in the suits and should assign those earlier.

My mom and dad were recently on thE NS and said CO was virtually empty most of the time. At its busiest, the saw maybe 3 tables filled.

Seems like a flop to me...

Hi Hubbard53 - we have done multiple cruises on HAL with our kids and they have always had lots to do. There is Club HAL which had 3 age groups. The youngest will not be applicable as your youngest is 8 (meaning the tween age group). The oldest at 13 will be in a different group called the Loft.  Our kids are 10 and 13.

Club HAL was open until 11 pm each nigh on our Christmas cruise. On previous cruises it was open until 10 but they could stay after that for $5 per hour per child. Talking with the councilors, they said the change to the later was done on other ships too. You will need to sign any child under 12 in and our of Club HAL but the 13 year old will have freedom to sign themselves in and out.

The facilities for the kids on the NS look amazing.

With it being a Spring Break cruise you will likely have a lot more kids than at other times. The activities usually run through the day with breaks on sea days for both lunch and dinner. In Port, Club HAL is usually open from 9-4 and there is no extra cost to utilize - unlike some other lines.

Activities wise, our 13 year old mainly ended up playing game with some of the other teens he met on board. There is planned activities but I think in the Loft, it might be a little more less structured based on what the kids want to do. As for the program for the tweens, the generally will have special nights with activities, games, crafts, sporting activities, ISYSWASFIC, etc.  If you want more info, I brought home all the daily activity forms and can take a look for you.

The biggest thing you will notice is there is definitely fewer kids on board vs what you might expect on a Disney cruise. We have never done a Disney as the price is too high for our budget. We have always been treated well on HAL with the kids and our kids love it.

Questions, please ask. We are all 3* Mariners - and our kids have over 85 days on HAL.

22 hours ago, Nymich said:

HAL isn't really for kids.  Disney would be a good choice.

I actually disagree. HAL is a good multigenerational cruise line and it depends on your families likes and dislikes. Not everyone is into Disney or more importantly can afford Disney and the Club HAL program, from our experience, was better than the NCL program.

To the OP, Club HAL has always been a good program for our kids.

We found on a trans Pacific we did when there were only 4 kids on board including our 2, that the program was scaled back timewise but the leader was excellent. She actually worked with the families schedules and modified times based on us (Neither family ever went in the morning because it was homework time for the kids, so she stayed open later at night instead).

Having said that, we just got off a 17 day circle Hawaii and were surprised on the holiday cruise with 60 under 12’s that they combined the 3-7 and 8-12 groups into one with 2 councillors for that age group.. Not overly fair to our 10 year old to be doing activities for 3 year olds. The program was still chalked full of activities but not all age appropriate. Our son decided most days to do the many activities on board during the sea days and at night when the ages in Club HAL were older, he went. There were also 40 Teens on board and one councillor for the Loft. Our older son often would go play games at night with them but said they often didn’t follow the Loft schedule.

Hours it was open 9-11:30, 1-4 and 7-11 pm on the cruise we got off on Monday. There was no paid late night activities like in the past as they extended the nightly hours compared to the previous 10 pm closing.

On 1/7/2019 at 10:48 PM, OlsSalt said:

 

That is very unfortunate. Looks like all the more reason to have this extended benefit HAL policy printed out before we might have to face this again. Double shame since you went to so much effort to check ahead of time. 

 

I also got a run-around about when I could use this thermal spa benefit - she kept insisting only on a port day, while a prior guest relations person on another ship claimed it could be on any day. Plus she started out saying it was only for an hour -not a full day pass.  She at least corrected herself when she saw my look of surprise. Not sure what is going on here between the spa people at HAL guest relations.

 

However, I can appreciate if they are over-booked for fee-paying guests - there is only so much room to hand out. But they should at least know when there are hours that are used less than others. Or else HAL needs to pull this "benefit" if it causes this much ill-will for all concerned. The spa people and the 5 star mariner who did not expect to have to run so much interferance. Pretty much the opposite of a "relaxing" experience, as intended

 

5 star Benefits should not cause so much consternation -  considering they get yanked so easily when there are too many 4-5 star persons on board. And this time on the Eurodam I saw priority embarkation and tenders were for 3, 4, and 5 star mariners.  Not just 4 and 5 star - this whole Mariner thing has been a constantly moving target.

 

Still love the laundry most of all. So not all is lost.  Waited too long to get my second "free" Pinnacle dinner, and all the sudden they were all booked up. So sorry.  Lesson there too.   And the other discounts did come through for other items.  Plus the port day ATK offer, which is another oddity. I cruise to see ports, not stay on board for a "free" cooking class.  Oh well, we would still cruise HAL even with no benefits.

 

And the Mariners Luncheon on this ship was one of the the best ever - a very tasty and topical meal since we were on the Mexican Riviera. Definitively  an inventive take on the local cuisine. And very good white sparkling this time; not just cheap bubbly.   Well done Mariner Society. 

We did have the website pulled up where it clearly states all guests on the same booking number and in the same room receive the same benefits but the front desk would not honour it. They just played dumb and would not respect what is clearly written on their own site.

One of our 5*’s was told no thermal spa even for them.

I did have a very good talk with the Mariner Society Tuesday and she said the ship was 100% in the wrong.

Our biggest issue was the tendering for one port. The ship was trying to say our party had to be split and only the 5*’s would be able to go when they wanted (thus leaving their kids and grand kids behind).

Ultimately the MS said they will be working to educate the ship better.

It’s  unfortunate there is so much discrepancy between the program and ships and what almost seems animosity towards 5*’s and those who have supported the cruise line with their loyalty.

PS- agree about the Mariners Lunch, one of the best we’ve ever had.

We got off the Amsterdam today and in one room, the Reno’s had not been done and in the other they had. We were not on deck 6 so I’m not 100% sure about those rooms but in the room that had been done, the cupboard was now open shelves.

11 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

I recently had a run-around about this very issue on the Eurodam between the spa front desk, a front desk phone call, the front desk itself,  and printed HAL policy found on the HAL website. Finally resolved, but quite a bit of attitude and ill will from the spa people. (Complimentary 5 star benefit - thermal spa day pass to be extended to my two star cabin mate sister).

 

I recommend, to cut down on any possible confusion. printing out the very clear written HAL policy that extends the highest level Mariner benefits to everyone in the cabin who comes under the same booking number.  Don't have a link to where that policy is located, but for peace of mind it is worth a search to find it, print it and bring it along.

 

You’re lucky they gave in. We got off the Amsterdam today and had been in the same situation but they would not budge - even though we were on the same booking number and room as 5* Mariners. We had even taken the steps of multiple calls to the Mariner Society prior to the cruise to confirm what is on their site which clearly says all people under one booking number and in the same room with receive the benefits of the highest Mariner. The front desk put it on Seattle. There will be a long conversation tomorrow with both guest relations and also the Mariner Society.

13 hours ago, kazu said:

Very good alert for so many.

 

We've had a passport for years but, being Canadians we need one to get into the U.S. And even before it was a necessity we had one.

 

I wouldn't travel anywhere without it.  It's worth it's weight in gold if you need it 😉 

Ditto! We’ve always had passports and now require them to even enter the States. Our kids have had them from 3 months old and onwards.

We had US friends a few years ago who were denied boarding on their HAL cruise because they didn’t have a passport for their son, just a copy of a birth certificate. They found this out while checking in at the port.

They were reasonably seasoned travelers and had cruised before and had never had one for him. Ultimately, their $6000 + holiday cruise was to be a total loss because they thought it wasn’t required. Well the cruise they had booked stopped in a port that required passports for all Americans and passengers. They watched the ship depart without them that afternoon.

HAL did work with them and did get them onto another cruise leaving the next day that didn’t require a passport for any of the stops. But realistically, HAL didn’t need to.

i am always shocked to hear of travelers who don’t get passports including my friends and I told them it was stupid to not have passports because, so much of the world is opened for exploration with that little book...

We did the Nieuw Amsterdam in 2014 and there was about 200 kids on board in August.

I should clarify my comment is about the overnight VIA train as you wont see the views. The Rocky Mountaineer only goes through the day.

While it is not the cheapest, it is a true experience.

On 12/15/2018 at 7:23 PM, puli said:

I have read some not so favorable Rocky Mountaineer  reviews lately and also would prefer  the VIA overnight train but am open to all options.

Then there is no point to take the train as you wont see any of the views. If you take the overnight, you might as well fly the 1 hour between Vancouver and Calgary over the mountains then drive to Banff  (1.25 hrs from YYC airport) or Lake Louise (just over 2 hours).

The bonus of the Rocky Mountaineer is it is all done in the daylight so you get to see the Rockies in their glory.

To my knowledge, HAL does not do the Rockies but there are options. I would look at the Rocky Mountaineer. Or as mentioned, do the quick flight then venture back into the mountains.

I live in Calgary and am from Vancouver originally. The drive (or train) through the Rockies is spectacular, especially for those who have never seen the vastness of the mountains.

1 hour ago, foodsvcmgr said:

And while suggesting these late times they still only serve MDR embarkation lunch Noon-1pm?

I Heard they no longer had lunch in the MDR but I could be wrong. We will find out Friday.

As a travel agent, these notifications have been coming for my clients more regularly especially when there are multiple ships in port. When they first started sending them, there was no mention of 4 or 5* Mariners getting on early.

I can personally say that when we travel and have to check out of our hotel early, I dont want to wait until 2-3 pm to board. What is my family supposed to do for those 3-4 hours?