On 11/19/2019 at 6:52 PM, SetAnOpenCourse said:

I think there is daily Mass on the QM2.

This is contrary to everything I have been told ... unless Cunard instituted a Cruise Ship Priest Program within the past couple of weeks.  It is my understanding that HAL is the only cruise ship line that has a Roman Catholic Priest (who says daily Mass) on every one of its cruises.

2 hours ago, socalcruisers2 said:

On the World cruise this year, the Priest is asked to compensate the Sacristan for his time. $100.   Also, on shorter cruises the Priest must pay for his transportation to and from the ship, unless he accepts a cruise on short notice.  There have been other changes also.  You might want to ask your Priest what the current “free” cruise is costing him.

Excellent Post - anyone who thinks a priest is being paid a salary or other stipend by HAL for his cruise ship chaplaincy should check with AOS-USA, which is the Catholic organization that operates the Cruise Ship Priest Program and provides priests for every HAL cruise.

59 minutes ago, DoggyDaddy said:

I think it depends on the order, but I thought that Priests get a salary. I know of two priests who bought a retirement home when they retired. Other Orders require a pledge of poverty. 
 

DD

... what does the fact of a priest being a member of a particular order and/or getting/not getting a salary have to do with whether or not his other expenses are covered in whole or in part by the cruise ship line?  See Post #40 above.

On 11/19/2019 at 5:22 PM, daisy-mae said:

 

... On the topic of clergy being given free passage, I was once on a Celebrity ship where the priest asked for volunteers to pass the collection plate (actually plastic bags) to help defray his expenses (above and beyond the cost of the cruise, which was free for him).

... does Celebrity have Cruise Ship Program and, if so, when did it start and which group (such as Apostleship of the Seas USA) sponsors it?

On 11/14/2019 at 8:09 PM, DoggyDaddy said:

I’m surprised that no one has suggested that on certain days, Mass is celebrated both at 8:00 AM and at 5:00 PM. I realize that this could be inconvenient for the Priest, but isn’t he getting a free cruise? If not, I apologize. 
 

DD

15 hours ago, DoggyDaddy said:

I’m surprised that nobody has responded to this topic for several days, especially since I’m under the impression that a lot of cruisers choose Holland America because of the Catholic Masses onboard.

 

DD

Thank you for your Posts.  I am one of those people who cruises EXCLUSIVELY with HAL because of the Cruise Ship Priest Program ... but have not replied to your suggestion of 2 Masses each day because, as an "old-fashioned Catholic", I thought that priests are allowed to say only one Mass a day, except on special holidays when they are permitted to say 2 or 3 (on Christmas) or in emergencies.  If Canon Law on this topic has changed (and I'm sure Himself can comment on that issue), I apologize for taking your time to read this Post.

Off the top of my head, I'd say, no, you cannot do that.  However, to be certain, why not call HAL Ship Services and inquire?  IF SS says "yes", you might also ask if you can make the upgrade purchase now (while you're on the 'phone) so that you'll have a definitive answer to your question.

On 11/14/2019 at 6:41 PM, expectGREATthings said:

Today Carnival announced that they are switching from Coke products to Pepsi ... Will HAL switch as well?

As a CCL shareholder (who wants to see HAL make as much profit as is reasonably/ethically possible), I certainly hope not.  Coca-Cola products are the largest selling soft drinks in the world for a reason - more people prefer them to others such as PepsiCola products. 

Just now, RocketMan275 said:

I suspect they will provide most any service you're willing to pay for.

Spot on!!!

1 minute ago, RocketMan275 said:

Actually, I've found out that you can arrive the day before and VIP will store your bags until the next day.

Here's the link:

https://www.maketraveleasier.com/holland/order

 

Bags VIP Luggage Delivery To Your Stateroom

Bypass the baggage claim and begin making the most of your vacation right away. Have your luggage delivered directly to your stateroom! No need to reclaim your bags when you land. You will see them next onboard your cruise in your stateroom.

Arriving a day before your cruise?
If your arriving a day before your cruise we can store your luggage overnight then deliver your bags the next day!You can also have them delivered to your hotel by using the last option below, "Bags VIP Luggage Luggage Delivery to Home or Hotel".

 

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

My apologies for not returning to add this information to this thread.

We will definitely take advantage of this service on our next cruise.   I think we'll have our big bags delivered to the ship and to our home on our return.  (On our last cruise we had to drag our bags from the remotest reaches of airport parking and back again.  Not happy.)  We have a couple of 'sling bags' we use as personal items which should be more than adequate for our needs prior to boarding.

Thanks for the follow-up info.  Now I'm wondering if VIP will only provide "overnight" storage or if VIP changed the service (to do multiple days' storage) after our Seattle experience.

Thanks again, and hope you have a great cruise!

14 hours ago, Himself said:

 

I am now on the Nieuw Statendam.  On our First Sea Day we had Mass at 8AM in the morning   Today andtomorrow it is at % PM in the Hudson Room

So apparently the Mass schedule "change" has either not been adopted on NS or reversed system wide.  We'll be on the Koningsdam in a couple of months, so I'll be interested to see what the schedule is then.

Enjoy your cruise.

P.S. Just curious as to what AOS may know about the schedule change.  Have you spoken with anyone at AOS about that?

On 11/11/2019 at 4:42 PM, RocketMan275 said:

Question:  Can you use the VIP Luggage Direct (To your stateroom) if you're flying in the day before the cruise?

We can live out of a carry-on until boarding.

 

 

 

As best I can recall our experience from 5+ years ago (when we were going into Seattle 3+ days prior to our cruise), you cannot use VIP LD in the manner you indicated because the VIP operator cannot deliver the bags to the ship before it arrives and neither VIP nor the pier is set up to provide "luggage storage" services.  However, I can tell you that the VIP reps with whom I have dealt over the past several years have always been extremely helpful and may be able to suggest an alternative for storing/holding your bags until the ship arrives in port.  As such. I suggest you call VIP direct and see what can be done to accommodate your needs.  Good luck and let us know how this turns out for you.

P.S.  I'm sure you already thought of it but another "solution" would be to have your bags delivered to your hotel upon arrival , and then cart them to the pier when you go for boarding the next day.

9 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

We haven't left the ship in many years when docked in Mexico, we refuse to spend a dime in that corrupt and dangerous country.

Well said, MISTER 67!

On 11/9/2019 at 8:43 PM, awhcruiser said:

Do you have personal experience with this?

Yes, several times we have had luggage that weighed more than 50# and have never been charged the over-weight fee.

There are many similarities between C Princess and Zuiderdam but IMHO only one significant difference between them - Zuiderdam has a Roman Catholic priest (who celebrates daily Mass) on board every one of its cruises. Since spiritual renewal is an important component of our vacation experience, Zuiderdam would be our hands-down choice.

We have done the 10- and 11-day Panama Canal partial transit cruises on Zuiderdam three times and have enjoyed every one of them.  Probably not much difference between them insofar as food quality, cabin size, service and general ambience, but Zuiderdam's smaller size would be a "plus" for us, with C Princess probably having an edge in entertainment.  On balance, it'd be Zuiderdam for us, even if C Princess also had a priest on board.

Whichever you choose, I hope you enjoy the cruise!

1 hour ago, Judyrem said:

Thanks for feedback, I think we will go!😊  I want to go to Tamarind too.  

Tamarind was definitely a must-do when sushi was on the menu.  From what I just saw on the new Tamarind menu, sushi and sashimi are no longer offered either as an appetizer or an entree.  The really good sushi and sashimi are  now only available in the (also new) Nami Sushi restaurant.

7 hours ago, seachef318 said:

I would like to know your definition of “fine dining”?  There are Michelin Star restaurants who have bacon dishes on their menus.  Candied bacon has been on menus of high priced, linen table cloth restaurants for years.  I personally am not a fan of it as I do not like sweet/salty combos however many of my chef friends who have been honored by the James Beard foundation have it on their menus.  As it has been said many a times on this board - food is very subjective.  As I say to people all the time - If you don’t like a menu item don’t order it, there are a whole lot of other options on the menu and if you don’t like the menu go somewhere else.   Let people order and eat what they like - does it really have a negative impact on your life if the table next to you is eating something you would never order? 

Spot on, seachef318!  Thanks for putting this "debate" in perspective.

We have enjoyed Canaletto on several HAL ships but not on NA yet.  Our experience has been uniformly good, with some variation (in service quality) from ship to ship.  The overall food quality (and portions) has been excellent IMO, the "ambience" so-so, and the overall fun factor superb.  I'm sure you'll hear from other CCers who claim to be Italian food experts (foodies) who will debunk Canaletto for not serving "authentic" Italian food, but for my money, I feel Canaletto is one of HAL's better (but lesser known) gems.  Given the very modest price of a Canaletto dinner, I'd say give it a try and decide for yourself.  And do let us know what you thought of the experience.  Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

P.S.  My "favorite dish" is virtually everything on the menu!

On 11/1/2019 at 1:55 PM, bvocruise said:

My wife and I have a D5L Alaska Cruise/Tour booked for Jun of 2020.  

 

Option A:  We currently paid $6,850 for a balcony which includes:  $600 OBC, Pinacle dinner for two  and internet for two.

 

Option B:  The new promotion prices out at $7,125 and includes:  Drinks for two (does not specify which), a Denali meal Package (no details), and a White Pass Summit Scenic Rail Excursion (which we plan to take either way).

 

I am open to opinions and suggestions.  Either option come with about $500 back from the travel agent.  My TA called it a toss up.

First thing I'd do is call HAL (or have TA call HAL) to get particulars on Option B.  Without that info, there's no way to determine which is the better financial offer.

3 hours ago, Woofbite said:

Just tried to go to Mariner account and got this:
 

Access Denied

You don't have permission to access "http://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US.html" on this server.

Reference #18.689655f.1573051063.358ab8f

 

Any idea what that means?
 

If the problem persists and you haven't already called HAL for help, I'd suggest you try that.  Good luck.

5 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

You should be fine, as you are departing from Vancouver on both cruises.  I still would double check with my TA however, just to be 110% sure.

 

Good advice, Dave.  OP might also want to check this out with HAL Ship Services.

RIP, Mr. Lanterman, and Godspeed on your journey home.  Our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to Mr. Lanterman's family and friends.

22 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

I often think that very often recycing efforts in the business world are more about saving money than anything else.

 

And that's a good thing IMO!!!

On 10/24/2019 at 1:36 PM, slidergirl said:

Cheese with escargot???  Really???  I have never had cheese with escargot anywhere I've had them.  Even recipes online do not use cheese ...

 I'd be happy to share some of my escargot recipes that include cheese,  most of which I got from the  internet.  While I enjoy the "traditional" French style escargot, I also like those that use Italian cheese such as Parmesan. Let me know if you'd like some of the recipes that use cheese.

14 minutes ago, TwinMommyByGrace said:

... My question is has anyone successfully stopped the delivery of these adverts? ...

No, but then I've never tried to have them stopped.

From the Mariner Society FAQs on HAL's web site:

"Onboard Spending Bonus Effective with cruises on or after September 18, 2009, one bonus Cruise Day credit will be granted for each $300 in eligible onboard purchases. This is calculated on the combined folio charges for all guests on the booking, regardless of who signs each charge and who pays the bill. Only the first two guests on the booking receive the limit of one bonus day for each day sailed; 3rd and 4th guests on the same booking do not earn the onboard spending bonus." 

We did the Alaska Explorer cruise on Zaandam (9/11/09 - 9/18/09) and did not get the Bonus credits ... close, but no cigar!!!