Xenni

1 hour ago, PACD_JG said:

insensitive

2 hours ago, PACD_JG said:

I recently wrote something similar on another thread, and it was deleted for being insensitive.  Anyway, you're right.  And what I wrote - HAL has one month to end their testing policy, because that is when final payment is due on their Thanksgiving cruises.  It's smart business not to have a bunch of cancellations just to appease a faction who would never book a holiday cruise in the first place.

What you actually wrote was a lot more offensive than insensitive, just saying.

Regardless, I think the community here is way too divided to have a meaningful and civilized discussion without being offensive. I would rather companies keep their testing and mask policies, but it ultimately will depend on the money, not whoever scream/complain the loudest in the forum

Currently in Koningsdam, no blue bag (not even the recycle ones) 😞

12 hours ago, PACD_JG said:

all to satisfy a bunch of widows who would never book a holiday cruise in the first place

Edit - nevermind, seems like mod has removed the offensive post.

28 minutes ago, gilboman said:

I just tried now and was able to add my cruise (that's on Sept 3), so hope it's fixed for you as well. 

 

 it skips/won't let me from adding my proof of vax ..i'm hoping it's because they still have it on file from my cruise in May so don't need it. i guess now i'll need to wait til Sept 1 to submit my test results and find out if it's all good then!

Oh good! I just checked mine and it seems like my sailing is no longer bugged!

Was able to upload my vaccination status and is now waiting for the covid testing upload (next week).

I wish the app have an option to update your photos though, I just realize the photo I took before weren't as.... Formal.

1 hour ago, gilboman said:

I get a general error error occured message for retrieval of the booking... it just says error occurred and try again later

 

based on my tinkering...if i enter in a non valid booking number (eg i use random numbers/letters around), the message is different and it's "Booking not found" and says booking number is invalid.

 

so i think it's something on backend where verifly isn't able to pull the booking details from the api with HAL.. 

 

 

It is definitely the same error as mine then... Were you able to get your problem fixed before your trip?

I have received the email that they escalated the matter but not sure how long it will be fixed 

23 hours ago, gilboman said:

Yup same issue (not recognize my HAL booking #). I was able to add it fine like couple weeks ago but I had to reinstall app and now I get error when adding my booking 

 

On my May Cruise, I was able to add my booking as soon as I made it (so 90 days out) but can't add my September cruise now 

 

Think it's a bug and hope they fix it because the lineup was so much quicker with verifly when I went in May to Alaska 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you have the booking not found problem when you are entering the HAL booking number? or did you have the general "An Error occured. Please try again later."

I have the latter one and gotten similar automated email like yours. Lets hope they get it fix before my trip (coming up in 2 weeks)

Thanks everyone for the information 🙂 We have decided against upgrading, as many have said, the suite doesn't seem to be much bigger than our current room.

I was recently offered to upgrade from my V category room (6049) to a Vista Suite for $300 per person.

Ther verandah stateroom I currently booked is larger than a normal verandah room due to the angle of the ship. Just wondering for anyone that have been to a v category room and a Vista suite, is the size of the suite noticeably bigger than the larger verandah room?

I'm still trying to decide if I should upgrade or not, especially if the size is similar.

4 minutes ago, Northern Swan said:

Not sure if there has been a recent change, but the FAQ on the HAL site states the following (emphasis is mine):

The Signature and Elite packages have a daily limit of 15 alcoholic beverages, which includes all alcoholic beverages with a menu price of $15 or less (Elite Beverage Package), or $11 or less (Signature Beverage Package).  The Quench Beverage Package includes unlimited non-alcoholic beverages and bottled waters 500ml and under.

Interesting, mine stated differently in the faq:

20 minutes ago, albingirl said:

Rounded up a bunch of guys  off the streets in Indonesia?  What a terrible comment.  Unflushed toilets?  Clueless jerks?  But you had a wonderful time.  I'm scratching my head on this post.

I would say the comment about the staff is borderline racist. Some people just wants to complain just to complain .

Just wondering for anyone living around Vancouver, where would you recommend to get the covid antigen test completed, in-person or video.

3 hours ago, kirtihk said:

unmasked cruisers entered while coughing!" - what would be (was) your reaction 2.5 years ago and more back for the same situation.  Everyone was coughing in everyone's faces all the time without hesitation, and no one (including a person being coughed at!) seemed cared.

A) There were no covid 2.5 years ago

B) Things change over the years, things that were deemed acceptable years ago would not be acceptable nowadays

Personally, I do find it hard to believe the entertainment  and food are as bad as you made it sounds. Furthermore, your bronchitis issue will need a more in depth examination to rule out causes and they can range from allergy to asmtha. As for the booking issue with mdr, if it is full, it would make sense you can't change.

The only thing I can see as a issue is the flea bites, which they have solved promptly. It is quite difficult to see how they would provide "agreeable outcome" to you just from the fleas.

2 hours ago, QuattroRomeo said:

The tv offerings were pretty minimal for live shows, but there were several movies and travel shows.

We didn't much like the music channels, no jazz. The onboard account screen didn't always work. Kind of irritating when you no longer get any printouts, not even on the last night.

 

 

What kind of movies on demand are available? How much are they (if they cost anything?)

19 minutes ago, PACD_JG said:

I'm on the 25 June ship - as far as I know I don't have a boarding time.  Where do you access this?

Oh sorry, I meant "Check-in Time". This should be on your boarding pass. Once you finish the check in process online (filling out contact info etc), it will let you print out your luggage tag and boarding pass.

My boarding pass just became available today so you should have yours by now.

Thank you for the review, it is definitely a good read to prepare for our cruise in late July (same ship)!

I also have couple questions -

How full was the ship?

Also, when was your boarding time? I was just slotted to a 12:40 boarding time (Group C), so I'm not sure if it's the last group to board.

10 minutes ago, kentuckycruiser said:

We were on the Koningsdam last week and our room had a screeching sound from the vent every fifteen minutes or so. As soon as we moved in I started hearing it, I thought it was a carpet cleaner coming down the hall or a loud scooter. Started faint, then got really loud, then faint again. We contacted front desk and I assume they sent someone down while we were at dinner. We had a message at 9 p.m. that they had another room for us. We moved the next morning down the hall which was relatively quick when you keep clothes on hangers. 

Both rooms had noisy neighbors which we are not used to. I was surprised how much I could hear through the walls, I have always felt cruise cabins are much more sound proof then hotel rooms. 

What is the room number for the room with the screeching sound? Hopefully it's not the one I booked for my July trip

Same for 23rd, wonder why they changed the time (slightly)

Hi all, we are going on our second cruise trip (to Alaska) this year (previous one was couple years ago). One thing I am wondering is does ship allow outside food onboard the ship.

For example, can we buy dinner in Juneau and bring it back to the ship to eat? One thing we figured is that there may be too many people in some of the more well-known restaurants and so eating in the ship may be a better option (that and washroom is closer too)

We are travelling to Alaska with Ruby next week :). If you have any photo of the ship to share, that would be great!

Just realize that I have exactly two weeks before leaving on Ruby Princess to Alaska! I got couple question while I was browsing through the Princess website.

For the drink packages, since they are charging per person per day, is it possible to get the package only for certain day of the cruise (ex: Day 2,3,5) or even just get it at the latter half of the cruise trip (ex: Day 3 and onward).

Also, for boarding the ship on the first day, my package told me that the ship will begin loading at 1pm, and leave at 4pm. At around what time should I aim to arrive by to make sure I won't be rushed to get to the ship. Also for people like me that are in Vancouver and travelling to Seattle for the cruise, would you recommend taking the Quickshuttle coach down to Seattle, or would driving be safer in case of the shuttle being late.

The Ultimate Ship Tour (UST) is a 3 hour behind the scenes tour that is offered for $150/person and is limited to about 12 people. If this is of interest to you, sign up ASAP once you board at the Passenger Services desk.

 

There have been some posts recently about a new $50/person tour of just the bridge, but no posts I have seen by anybody that has taken this. May not be on all ships.

That is very limited consider the amount of passenger on the ship. I guess now I know what I will be doing first thing I board the ship :)

@fishywood

Ah, I made a mistake, my room is actually 524, not 624. Are there any differences between the triplets stateroom and the quads? My family actually wanted a deck 14 stateroom mainly because it is higher up on the ship, and may get a better view, I guess we will have to make due with the noise. But I hope the noise level would not be that great during the night, as I don't expect there will be a lot of traffic on the court during night time.

@larsen, @MJSailors,

Thanks for the info :). I actually have already gone through the photos from bimmer09, the ship is very beautiful :D. But if you guys have gone with Holland America Noordam before, how different would I expect Ruby Princess to be compared to Noordam (passengers, amenities etc).

Edit: Just also want to know if Ruby Princess offer the behind the scene tours. I know it is on the website, but I am not sure if some ships offer them while some don't. Also, is it possible to book them ahead of time on the website or do I have to register when I board the ship (Is it something I should do right away?)? I regret not going to the bridge/ship tour back in Noordam last time, so I am definitely going to try to go for it this time!

Hi all,

This is actually my first time here in the website, and I already found a lot of useful information about my cruise already! However, I do still have some that I am having trouble finding answer to, so I am wondering if any of you can help me :).

My family just booked a cruise trip to Alaska in late June with Ruby Princess, this is actually going to be our second cruise trip (Holland America Noordam is our first one). We currently reserved a balcony stateroom R624 in deck 14, and I am just wondering if we should expect any noise concern as we are one deck below the pool and the court.

Looking at some of the cabin pictures, it seem like Ruby Princess do not have a sofa in their cabin. Back when we were in Noordam, the third passenger will be using the sofa bed, so I am wondering where does the third passenger will sleep on in the balcony stateroom in Ruby Princess. If anyone have any pictures of the cabin, that would be great too, I mainly want to see how much room we get if we have the third bed in the cabin.

While browsing through the booking website, I have notice that Ruby Princess seem to have separate balcony stateroom into "Balcony" and "Premium Balcony". The only difference between the two (that I have noticed) is the slightly bigger in size (271 sq ft vs 231 sq ft). I am just wondering if I am missing any other differences between the two type of staterooms, and also if the increase in size is only at the balcony section but not the room itself (The diagram isn't very clear).

Thanks!