richwmn

When Seattle send the amount of shipboard credit that you get from various sources, they do it in a lump sum. The Pursers office on the ship does not know who has given you what amount.

It shows up on your shipboard account as one amount. Thus it can and will be used towards your Hotel Service Charge.

Looking at my final bill for my recently completed Westerdam cruise it shows lines for Gift Orders - Preliminary Manifest which total the amount of purchased OBC, and Promo Credits totalling the sum of HAL provided OBC. This has been the case on all my cruises, at least for the past few years. So they DO know how much was provided by HAL and how much was given by Travel Agents and purchased. On my Feb cruise a supervisor had to verify that I had spent more than my HAL OBC before my refund was authorized. The HSC was paid against HAL OBC.

Prinsendam in Lisbon, Portugal today!

I was very surprised to learn that, even though I purchased excursions for my family as the entire cruise was paid for by my DH and I, we were denied mariner points for the excursions I purchased for them. I called to complain, but was told that I could only get points for things that were personally used by my DH and me. I'm curious to know if the rest of my family (all six of them) received mariner points for the excursions I paid for them.

 

Has anyone else had this problem?

In addition to what others have said, think of the number of people who fly free on their vacations because of points earned while flying on business using tickets that their employers paid for. In your example, the employer should get the points since they paid for the tickets.

Last spring I booked a b to b cruise N.Y to Montreal then Montreal to Boston. About 2 weeks before the cruise HAL called and said that I couldn't go because I was in violation of the Jones act. This was about 2 months after we booked. There were approx 10 Canadian ports. I'm still scratching my head over this.

In May of last year I booked my upcoming Montreal to FLL cruise. Within maybe 24hrs I received the following from HAL:

ITINERARY CHANGE NOTIFICATION:

Thank you for booking an upcoming cruise with Holland America Line. Please be

advised that due to the Passenger Vessel Services Act, this sailing cannot be

combined with ms Veendam - 09/30/2017:

09/30/2017 to 10/07/2017 from Boston, MA, US to Montreal, Quebec, Canada

If you have any questions regarding this message, please contact our

Reservations team.

I booked directly with HAL, so maybe a TA did not forward this to you?

The roundtrips are fine. By the way, all of these are considered individual cruises, so if you are doing these as a B2B2B, there is not a complicating factor.

 

The trip from FLL to San Diego needs to stop at a "distant foreign port". Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and Cartegena qualify on the Caribbean side. I believe Costa Rica does on the Pacific side.

For the purposes of the PVSA they are NOT considered individual cruises. The ship is transporting the person from FLL to SD. The stops you mention for the Panama Canal portion, also make the entire trip compliant.

and yet i don't see anyone saying they have actually been there LOL

 

so much speculation

I'm on the Westerdam right now and Exploration Central is okay but does not have Happy Hour anymore, just in Oceans Bar and Billboard. It's just not the same...it a waste of a really nice spot. It's pretty empty up there for the most part. All the renovations are very nice tho!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I got off Westerdam on the 20th, and I would agree with mexylopez. The area looks nice but not welcoming. I rarely saw anyone in there. It also seems that they have given over the area to the Explorations Team (Shore Excursion Staff) and no one else can use it.

On the other hand, the bartending staff I talked to don't like it either!

There are 6 cabins that are unidentified on the deck plans, three on the port side between 4088 and 4090, and three on the starboard side between 4087 and 4089. I believe you are in one of those. (I don't see any place on that deck that there could be inside entertainer/chaplain cabins that ger_77 mentioned, so I believe he is mis-remembering.)

I am currently on the Westerdam. The cabins you mention are numbered UP001, UP003, & UP 003 on the Starboard side and UP002, UP004 & UP006 on the port side. UP=Upper Promanade, N=Navigation ???

Those cabins are used by entertainers, I have seen several go in and out.

Currently on Westerdam, cruise ending tomorrow in Barcelona.

Cruise Log arrived this evening, between 5pm and 6:15. It is just like all the other logs I have received.

Fleet wide? Corporate? Who knows, but it does seem that each ship does things a bit differently, maybe this is just one of those things.

Just to be clear the refund you would receive from a "OBC" is one you have purchased, not one offered by the cruise line? Correct me if I am wrong.

I spend more than the OBC provided by HAL, the refund is from OBC I have purchased or has been provided by a TA.

I have generally prepaid enough that I usually get a small refund at the end of the cruise. Sure is nice to get off the ship owing nothing!

The OBC shows up on your ship account automatically, no vouchers to submit to the front desk. I always bring documentation of OBC, no matter from where it comes... HAL, TA, myself and I make sure the OBC is there by the second or third day; getting your account statement might require you to visit the front desk, depending on which ship and if you will have remote access to your statements.

 

Pre-purchasing OBC equal to $60/p/n (or $30/p/n for cruises 30 nights and longer) eliminates the need for a credit card hold, and for having to register a credit card at port check-in. But you may still have to register a credit card for online check-in to get your e-docs. But then HAL should not be placing a hold at port check-in which is when the hold begins. m--

When doing the online check in, there is an option for cash. Pick that and there is no need to register a card in order to get your e-docs.

To those who have recently boarded a HAL ship at the port, will a taxi take you directly to boarding area where the luggage can be handed off?

Currently on the Westerdam. Rome Cabs dropped us right next to the area for turning in bags. Walked a very short distance and checked in. No problems at all.

When I read your post I got excited because we will be on the Westerdam on Oct 26 for the Transatlantic to Ft Lauderdale.

I just got off the phone with HAL and they swear they have no unlimited internet packages and they never heard of what I told them I had read.

I wonder if the agent I spoke with didn't know or if this is maybe a special just for your sailing.

Should the opportunity arise and you get a chance, maybe you could make an inquiry on the ship.

 

thanks....

In a lot of ways Seattle has no idea about what actually happens on the ships. That being said, I can only report that we have unlimited on this cruise as detailed above. From reading on CC I know that Westerdam has had this is place for a while.

Since there is no longer an "Internet Manager" position, I am not really sure who would have the best information. My best guess is that unlimited will be available on Westerdam for the forseeable future, but no guarantees. If I find someone who can give definate information I will ask.

Rich

Curious as to when this was taken as Westerdam is currently in Corsica!

I bought Casino Cash in advance. When I boarded the ship there was a gift card in my cabin. The card listed the amount of Cash purchased and a note from the provider. After the Casino opened I went to the cashier and received the face amount of the gift in cash. You then go to the games you wish to play and use the cash. NO 3% taken out - full face value received!

I was on the Oosterdam in December, and I think all HAL casinos have the same gaming rules. For roulette, it's $5 on the odds/evens and the colours, anything on the inside is $1, but you still must wager $5 spread over the layout. You can't put four, $1 chips inside, it must be 5 chips. .

My normal bet on the wheel has been $4.00 on inside bets and have never, on any cruise, been asked to bet more. About an hour ago I bet the last $2 I had for tonight and it was taken without any problem at all.

One more thing from the sign up sheet. The Socal Package is listed at $14.99/day, enhanced at $24.99/day and premium at $29.99/day.

The sheet that details the plans covers it very well.

Social - access the most popular social websites and applications. Includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Linkedin, Facebook Messenger and What's App. Does not include access to other websites or applications.

Enhanced - Surf all your favorite sites including e-mail, news, sports, weather, banking and finance. Does not support Skype Video calling or music streaming.

Premium - From e-mail to Skype our premium plan promises the fastest possible connection and largest allocation of satellite bandwidth. Supports Skype Video calling where coverage allows.

I have the premium package and it has been spotty trying to use What's App voice calling. I have not tried video calling at all. Otherwise the premium package has been pretty good.

Sure hope the Zuiderdam has the unlimited in December. She's going for rehab so maybe maybe.

 

Sent from my SM-N920P using Forums mobile app

Zuiderdam had unlimited packages when I was aboard several years ago, so I am not sure that dry dock will change that. It really doesn't seem to make any sense which ship has which packages available.

Rich

Just boarded Westerdam - 3 full cruise unlimited packages

Standard - limited sites - $99 for the 12 day cruise

Enhanced - most any site - $149 for the 12 day cruise

Premium - should be able to use Skype, etc - $199 for the 12 day cruise.

I was able to log on to Westerdam WiFi in the terminal and check my account, purchase the package and reply to a CC thread prior to boarding the ship.

I was just chatting with someone currently on the Westerdam and asked. His response was around 4pm.

When are you boarding?

Good luck with that - my request was refused due to tbe price I paid!

 

Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk

This just doesn't seem right to me. Did the travel agency submit the stock info to HAL for you? Or were you able to do it yourself? I would call HAL and talk to someone about this. Something is wrong. The OBC is a perk of owning Carnival stock. The price of the cruise has nothing to do with it. Follow up with HAL. Maybe call the World Cruise Reservation department and see what they have to say.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

The price you pay does have something to do with getting the benefit.

From the description on the Carnival Corp site:

Employees, travel agents cruising at travel agent rates, tour conductors or anyone cruising on a reduced-rate or complimentary basis are excluded from this offer.

My friend brings a heating pad and asks the steward to run a ship's extension cord to the bed which he does. The extension cord is a heavy duty one which he tapes down to the floor so she won't trip on the cord.

Please, correct me if I am wrong Koningsdam veterans, but I remember only USB plugs next to the bed. Am I right?

You are correct!

This is what I posted on HalFacts within a day or so of leaving the Koningsdam:

The nightstand has 1 US power outlet along with 1 USB charger port.

Unfortunately it doesn't show in the pictures

Rich

Is anybody able to tell us what the power sockets are on the Koningsdam? Are they American or European outlets? We are from New Zealand and want to make sure we bring the correct adapter :-)

They have both European and North/South American sockets side by side.

Koningsdam also has several USB charging sockets in each cabin.

Similarly, every time I sit at black jack table, the dealer asks for room card so it may be swiped. Has never been optional.

I generally only play cash at the roulette wheel and have never been asked for my cabin card. I started offering it about a year ago after reading here about casino offers - not that I expect to get one.