SarahCBL

I would also love to know that amount of total passengers on the next sailing if you could please ask someone?  Thank you for the in transit info.  I wondered if those guests would go to a hotel or stay onboard.  Mystery solved.  

Hello Bill and Mary Ann!  I have loved following your blog.  Thank you for all the information you provide.  My husband and I board the Nieuw Statendam for the April 8-17 cruise, just after you will be leaving.  Was wondering if you could ask what the passenger count will be for that cruise?  Wonder what HAL is doing with the in transit group since the Nieuw Statendam will arrive on April 6th, but not depart again until April 8th due to azipod repairs?  Thank you!

Looking forward to your review and menu posting of the Half Moon Cay Lobster Shack.  We are on the Rotterdam in January for our first cruise back since the shut down.  Thought we might try that out for the first time.  Thank you for all the information.  Your "Live From" posts are always the best!!

I have enjoyed reading your review!  We will be on the Zuiderdam for two weeks starting on January 18th.  Hopefully they have all the kinks worked out from dry dock by then.  We really loved this ship the last time we were on it 2 years ago.  

It's not spicy.  My husband doesn't like spicy food and he orders this every time.  We think it is the best thing we have ever had on a Holland America cruise!  We also wish Tamarind was on every boat!

1 hour ago, Crew News said:

 

As requested, the price for couples for 14 days on the Nieuw Statendam is $499 or maybe less on the Zuiderdam.  There will be one bill for your B2B so buying 14-day pas should be possible.

Thank you for the information!  I hope you have a wonderful cruise and I am looking forward to reading all your reports!!

We are doing a 14 day B2B on the Zuiderdam in January.  This will be our first ever B2B.  If you have a chance, could you ask at the spa what the 2 week couples thermal pass costs?  Online you can only buy a 7 day pass for this cruise.  We were wondering if they will even sell us a 2 week pass or will we have to buy two 7 day passes?  Thank you!  

Looking forward to hearing your report!  I think that is a great price especially since the Nieuw Statendam has the dedicated dining space for Club Orange.  

I think Bingo prices on HAL, as posted above, are reasonable.  If there is more than one winner for "win a cruise bingo" they play another short game with those winners to determine the ultimate winner.  At least that is what they did the one time I saw that happen.  I definitely don't like that Bingo has been moved from the main theater to BB Kings or other locations on some cruises.  That would be my biggest Bingo complaint!!  

1 hour ago, Alphen said:

Faxed ours last week on Sunday, still had no answer on Wednesday and emailed, normally after the fax, confirmation was within the hour.

They had not received it, so emailed the fax and the proof that it was sent. Received almost immediately the confirmation and updated cruise confirmation with the added OBC.

We faxed our shareholder information for the first time yesterday and asked for email confirmation, which we have not received yet.  The sheet we have says to mail or fax the info, but no email is listed.  Can you tell me what email you are using to ask if they have received the fax?  Thank you!

2 hours ago, beaming90 said:

Is it open normally during days when the ship is in port?  Or only when sailing?  Thanks guys!

 

Oosterdam - August 4 - Alaska

Yes, it is open on both sea and port days.  Port days are actually the most peaceful at the Thermal Spa because so many people are off the boat!!

We bought our couples spa pass for our recent 7 night cruise on the Nieuw Statendam in advance for $219.  Onboard, on embarkation day, they were selling it for $299, so we did save some money buying in advance.  Who knows if there would be a savings on every 7 day cruise, but we thought $219 seemed like a good price compared to what we had paid previously.  We also thought the "select a time" was weird, but just like others have said you can go anytime during the hours they are open.  We also wondered if it would be a problem proving we had bought the spa pass online once we were onboard, but it wasn't.  One of the girls giving the tours wrote our names and room info down just like normal and gave us the sticker for our room card.  

SarahCBL,

 

Thank you for the info! About how long did you have to wait once you called the taxi to take you back? Also, how much time should we plan for the scenic trail?

 

Thank you!

Sorry I hit submit too soon on that last post. We probably waited about 10-15 minutes for a cab to pick us up. You might be able to arrange a pick up at a certain time with your initial cab driver. We just didn’t like our first driver very much. We hiked for about 3 hours and definitely didn’t see it all, but any amount of time would be fun there. The trails were beautiful!

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W

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COST OF TAXI TO FORT ABERCROMBIE

 

 

 

How much should a taxi ride to Ft. Abercrombie cost, and then to call for a ride back, if it is not pre-booked?

 

THANKS!

My husband paid and he said he thinks it was around $15 each way. It was 2 years ago when we visited Ft. Abercrombie so we can’t remember for sure. :)

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I have done whale watching in September 2016 and June 2017 in both ISP and Juneau. Both places were good, but I prefer ISP. The amount of whales we saw in both places was similar, but the company we used in ISP (Glacier Wind Charters) really made a difference. Their very comfortable boat is for 6 passengers only and you can walk all the way around the deck so you are never blocked or trapped and not able to see. The captain and his wife that run the company are wonderful and give personalized service. We are using them for a 3rd time this year.

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We did the Misty Fjord flight tour in June 2017 with Randy Sullivan of Mountain Air after reading many reviews on trip advisor. His plane holds 6 passengers. I am a bit of a nervous flier, but I felt safe on this flight. Very little turbulence. Much less than what I expected. Randy was very informative and personable and we enjoyed this excursion very much! He was also happy to answer all my questions over the phone when booking.

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We have done the same HA 14 day cruise that goes to Homer and Kodiak in both September 2016 and June 2017. We took a cab right from the ship to Ft. Abercrombie and hiked around for a few hours. We did not prearrange a ride. There was a line of cabs waiting when we got off the ship. You can get a map at the rangers station when you get there if I remember correctly. I looked up a few cab companies for Kodiak before we left home and put their numbers in my phone. We called one of them for a ride back to the ship when we were ready.

In Homer we have eaten at The Little Mermaid both times and loved it! We also shopped some and walked on the beach. I am a fan of the show Deadliest Catch, so I really enjoyed walking down to the dock from the cruise ship to see some of the crab boats.

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We were on the Zuiderdam in January for a 10 night PT of the Canal.

 

No BBQ on the deck in Aruba.

 

Formal nights were the first sea day and I don't remember when the second one was. Maybe it was the first night of the two sea days at the end of the cruise....

You are correct. Formal nights are the first sea day and the first night of two sea days at the end. We were also on the Zuiderdam in January.

I am booked with Glacier Wind Charters for this May, and the current price is $170.40 (with tax).

Yes, I'm sorry. The $170pp you posted is correct and that is what I paid too. I was looking at the wrong thing when I posted that. Thanks.

We went whale watching in ISP (Hoonah) this past September with Glacier Wind Charters. It was amazing! We are going out with them again this June. Their boat is a 6 person max so there is never anyone standing in front of you blocking the view. It is $120pp for a 3.5 hour trip. It is definitely worth the money. You will want to book something in ISP, because there isn't much to see/do just walking around.

You will be fine in that attire. My husband and I did a 2 week Holland America Alaska cruise this past September. You will absolutely see a little bit of everything in the MDR. Even on gala night we didn't get as fancy as we have in the past. Neither one of us really enjoy dressing up. We did not wear jeans to the MDR in the evening, but some people did for sure!