CvilleJane

Just off the Nieuw Statendam last Saturday and we had the Quench Beverage Package. It included cans of soda, premium coffee, juices, mocktails and 12 oz water in a can (sparkling and still) with a 15 drink daily limit -- no beer. Also, it did not include the fountain machine with the souvenir cup, only cans of soda. Have a great cruise!

We were on that sailing and as a parent with a 15-year-old that was onboard, I'm glad to hear that you thought the kids were well-behaved 🙂 We felt the same with your summary -- I just posted one under the "Nieuw Statendam" thread!

We just got back from the March 4th 7 day Eastern Caribbean on the NS. Overall excellent sailing, clean and beautiful ship with the same excellent service. It was a sold out cruise and was nervous about feeling packed-in or that service would be less than what it has been in the past. Thankfully we didn't find that to be the case. This was our 5th HAL cruise and our first sold out sailing. I will say that I agree with some previous posters about cups and plates lingering a little bit longer around the pools. But that was mostly at the beginning of the sailing when the sea day was the first day. I didn't feel like there wasn't enough crew for the number of people on board -- same excellent service but maybe with less time for a friendly chat. I would say the only exception to this would be the bars. It did take a while to get a drink. They definitely could have used more people behind the bars and servers around the busy pools. We have been sailing on HAL with our son since he was 8 and he loves it. We've done one Disney cruise for reference, and he of course loved that too, but interestingly, he likes Holland better. He's pretty athletic and has really enjoyed the pickle ball, ping pong and basketball tournaments (my husband has enjoyed this too). The teen club offered to curate some activities for the teens, but they mostly were at the sports court. I'm sorry to read that on an earlier cruise in February the kids/teens were not behaving. I didn't notice that on our cruise (hopefully no one else did either!). Our son had some great interactions and conversations with some senior ladies and gentlemen which as a parent I appreciate and value that opportunity and experience. I don't remember the exact number of guests on board but around 3100 is what I think I heard. There were several kids but we did hear this this current sailing was expecting "a ton" and it sounds like that's the case. I also noticed more young adults, too, on this sailing. Embarkation was definitely the most busy I've ever seen it and I'm wondering if that is because people come ahead of their scheduled time? We were Club Orange so we had priority embarkation and were thankful for it. We ate our breakfasts and dinners in the Club Orange space and they were all good to very good with an occasional excellent dish. We only had to wait five minutes for breakfast one morning and 20 minutes for dinner one evening (that was on the night we went earlier to catch a program). We did find the portion sizes to be much smaller but they were happy to let you order more than one appetizer or entree which made my 15 year old happy. Lunch was a Lido pick up and we did one night in Tamarind which was excellent as always. Not sure if helpful, but I think someone was asking about happy hour. The Daily Program listed it daily from 3-4p in Billboard Onboard and 25% off all listed cocktails, wine by the glass, beers and entry level spirits. It seemed like most people had the Have it All package on our sailing which also explained Pinnacle being mostly booked up each evening. If you have an upcoming sailing and want a reservation at Pinnacle before 8:30 or 9p, I would recommending pre-booking. Completely agree with one poster who is on the current sailing that the lead male vocalist in BB King's is outstanding. The ensemble was first-rate. We had two comedians, Leonard Chan and Alvin Williams. We didn't see the first but Alvin Williams was very funny. We also watched Unity, a four-person vocal group comprised of theater and broadway vocalists. They were very good. The other show we watched, which I think the Cruise and Travel Director, Gage Griffin (who is excellent), said was being done only for the 3rd time, was A City on the Sea: A Behind the Scenes Look at Life Onboard. From the Captain, to the Head Chef, Hotel Director and other cameos, it was very informative, well done and I would definitely recommend it. The movies by the pool were Black Adam, Devotion, The Fabelmans, and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. Apologies for my long post -- I wanted to try to summarize our week in case helpful for anyone with an upcoming cruise on NS!

Apologies if my reply confused anyone. I was answering the question if the cruise itself had any vaccination requirements or testing requirements to embark. When I put in our confirmation number, hollandamerica.com says: Vaccination Requirements We highly recommend all guests be up to date on their vaccination status. Vaccinations, however, are not required. Testing Requirements Guests are not required to take a COVID-19 test prior to embarkation. I agree with your thought -- that to board and stay on the ship, you do not need to be vaccinated or take a pre-cruise test. If you get off the ship, that will be country-specific according to their guidelines and you may need to stay aboard if you are not vaccinated (or you may need to take a covid test to if you want to disembark). In March of last year I don't remember showing vaccine card to anyone at any of the ports, including Grand Turk -- but I guess they could have asked any of us to see it.

I hope to have a better understanding if VeriFLy is the way to go after Saturday. Not handing over passports, IDs, boarding passes, etc, since it's all pre-approved in the app is my main incentive for using it this year. From what I remember of last year's experience with it, we got into a separate, shorter line and used a manned kiosk to scan our QR code and went to the next kiosk maybe for a photo and then waited a couple of minutes before our group being called to embark. With regard to the number of reservations showing on one device's app -- we have three in our family and once I typed in our reservation number, all three of us appeared and you go through their checklist to check off what's needed to board. Very user-friendly.

None -- I keep checking, and now daily in case it changes. We stop in Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, and Half Moon Cay.

We used VeriFly last March for our Caribbean cruise which included documentation of vaccine and pre-cruise test. It made for a super quick and easy check-in process at the terminal. We're planning to use it again this year. The app had us search our cruise by reservation/confirmation number, add a headshot, optional to add vaccine record which we did, and then complete the health assessment which I think we do on hollandamerica.com within 72 hours of sail date which should then sync with our cruise details on the app. Very easy to use and I'll be interested to see if it's a timesaver at the cruise terminal in Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday.

Our son started cruising on HAL at 9 and has always enjoyed the kids club. We go in the beginning of March for spring break and over winter break and there have always been kids on board (not a lot). But it’s such a perfect mix of kids club time and family time. We’ve done Disney and that was his favorite with the non stop entertainment, kids club activities and tons of kids hang out with, but we left that holiday feeling like we needed a vacation from our vacation. It was a great cruise, but exhausting. Agree with another poster that if your children are used to kids clubs on other ships, Club HAL could definitely seem quieter and less exciting. My son is now 15 and hasn’t had much interaction with the teen club, but he still very much enjoys Holland America. Nightlife on the ship is limited, but we enjoy the overall relaxing vibe to the week.