lastlook

On 2/9/2020 at 1:08 PM, zelker said:

We're boarding Eurodam next Sunday (2-16) in FLL so we'll be finding out soon enough.  We hope they are not only as thorough as possible at embarkation but we would not be opposed to them implementing Code Orange throughout the duration of the 31 days we're on board.  After we watched upper respiratory illness AND then Noro spread through Noordam during our 40 day cruise this past fall (the Noro was traced to those who boarded in Sydney), we're much in favor of a little inconvenience if it helps keep things at bay.  (Hi, @Iris5383 - hope you guys are doing well!)

We were on the Eurodam 1/26 to 2/5, and the health questionnaires had been eliminated.  Of course things might be changing again now with this new virus.  I must say that this was one of the healthiest ships I have ever been on - I saw very few signs of anyone coughing/sneezing, etc.

It does seem too complicated now.  When I tried to get a live person via their "customer service" phone number to ask a few questions (before I posted here), I was unsuccessful.  You just get a recording instructing you to look at the options online unless you want to book travel (cruise, flights, hotels).  Life is busy enough without having to decipher major redemption change rules and getting the run around when you want to speak with a live person.

I used to use my points for OBC, and after the card redemption changes, I received statement credit when I requested OBC with a phone agent.  So then I just started redeeming for statement credit to keep things simple but wondered if there was a better way to use points.  It has been a couple of years since I tried to redeem points so wondered what the current best strategies are to make the most of points. Thanks again for all the helpful responses here.  (Ruth C - Many thanks for your quick response and for all of your helpful replies to this and many other queries on this forum.)

Thank you for your responses.  I only use mine for HAL purchases as well since I have a cash back card that I use for everything else.

Since the point usage/redemption was revamped a few years ago, I have not fully understood the best strategy/value of using the HAL Visa Points that I've accumulated.  If Ruth C or others who are savvy, have advice for the best way to use 50,000+ points, I would greatly appreciate your input.  I tried doing a search of the HAL boards but came up empty with the search terms that I tried. Thanks in advance & Happy New Year!

Very few from what I've seen in recent years, but there still are some who do.

16 hours ago, SLois said:

We are thinking about booking the Eurodam for Hawaii under the current promotion.  Do you have any recommendations for choosing a comfortable and budget-friendly cabin?  Is the extra price for a balcony worthwhile for an itinerary with 10 sea days?  On Zuiderdam earlier this year we enjoyed a partially-obstructed outside cabin on Upper Promenade deck with full-length windows, laid out In the same configuration as a balcony cabin.  Does Eurodam have similar cabins?

 

Thanks in advance,

Sandy

Sandy - Another idea is to compare pricing for a less expensive non-verandah cabin combined with a Retreat Cabana for the entire cruise.  However, you'd want to call Ship Services first to make sure there are Retreat Cabanas still left to reserve on your sailing if this idea appeals to you.  They can also confirm the current pricing for the Retreat Cabanas for your cruise.  Then once you book the cruise and have your Booking Number, you can call Ship Services back to book the Retreat Cabana.  We've found that when we have a Retreat Cabana, we never use our verandah.

The only HAL ships with Lido Cabanas are the Eurodam and the Nieuw Amsterdam.

Agree with the majority here - we are HAL regulars but our very first cruise was on the PG, and I think you would be very happy if you choose the PG for Tahiti.  We extended our vacation by adding a second week on one island after the cruise.

😁

Looks like fun to me!

We were on the 20 day Land/Sea a couple of years ago (two weeks on land and then a one week cruise from Seward to Vancouver) and we used the hotel self-service laundromats as needed.  Sometimes the machines were very busy so it can take up some valuable free time.  Once we boarded the Noordam, we signed up for the unlimited laundry package for the one week cruise and sent out several bags of laundry the first night (our cabin steward brought us extra laundry bags when I mentioned that we had a lot of laundry.)  Well worth the flat fee for the week.  We're now 4* Mariners so have free laundry which, for us, is the best benefit of all.

Host Anne - Thank you for sharing this sad news and for telling us a bit about Walt as a person.  Sincere condolences to you and to his family who read the CC community's expressions of sympathy.  It is easy to overlook the work that the CC Monitors do here so please accept my thanks for the work that you do here as well.  Although I did not know Walt, I will miss his presence here.

Just to clarify, 3* does not get you Priority Boarding, but booking a Neptune Suite, does.  Once you reach 4*, you will receive Priority Boarding for any cabin booked.

If you're considering one of HAL's "Land/Sea" Alaska trips, you will receive double Mariner points for the land portion as well as the cruise portion if you book a suite.  We booked a Signature Suite for their longest Land/Sea combination a couple of years ago and received double points for the entire 20 day trip even though the cruise portion was only 7 days.

Wishing you a fabulous cruise, Ruth!

Included in our experience on several HAL ships under the QBP.

6 hours ago, oceanmom said:

Depending on the ship, you could consider a retreat cabana instead of the balcony. We had balcony for a Christmas cruise and hardly used it because we had the cabana which was wonderful with the lounges, could be in the sun or not, stewards, iced water, (on the Nieuw Statendam had a hot tub), etc.

This is what I was going to suggest - spend the $400 on a Retreat Cabana rather than the balcony.

Just now, RocketMan275 said:

Have seen the same thing on other Holland ships.    

We always self disembark and have never seen that.   Every time we've done self disembark, it has been very smooth.  Once the line starts moving, we almost never had to stop walking until we hit customs immigration.   Might have seen a very brief delay there, may two minutes at most.

That was our experience as well - went very smoothly with no waiting.  We had signed up for it and were in our cabin and ready to go the moment that our group was called.  Off the ship very quickly.  Normally, we like to take advantage of the "Luggage Direct" program (Port Everglades/FLL) but our flight was a tad too early to qualify, so we elected to self-disembark and it worked beautifully in our case.  (This was Oosterdam in January of this year.)

We used the self-disembarkation for the first time in January, as we had an earlier flight than usual.  Worked beautifully.

8 minutes ago, boards said:

Thank you for that information, are you speaking of the two flights that crashed or new ones after the problem showed up?  I am suggesting that since then I am sure pilots will not fly a plane they think is unsafe.  Give them a little credit.

Yes - the two "MAX" planes that have crashed.  After reading what the two professional pilots have posted here, that's enough for me to make up my mind.

43 minutes ago, boards said:

Will the pilots fly them?  If they will, don't you think we should be okay too?

 

Two of those pilots are now deceased.

I really appreciate hearing from the two experienced pilots who have posted here.  Thank you.

I think it would be worthwhile to pack his suit especially for that many Gala evenings.  My husband still wears at least a jacket and tie on Gala nights (Caribbean and Alaska) but on longer cruises we would pack his suit and a few ties - especially for cruises abroad.

On 3/10/2019 at 8:59 PM, sevenseasnomad said:

Yes, thank you for the menus.  We'll be on the O in 19 days.  We have a family cabana too.

Just remembered something about the breakfast time frame on the menu that I posted.  Although it shows 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. for the Cabanas, we learned that it is actually only until 10:00 a.m.  Has to do with the Lido closing down to prepare for lunch and so the Cabana Stewards have to adhere to that closing time.  Not sure why HAL hasn't printed new menus with the correct time frame.  We found this out one morning when we slept later and arrived at our Cabana for breakfast at 9:50 a.m.  We were able to order a simple breakfast but just barely in time for the Stewards to be able to hurry down to get it.

On 3/6/2019 at 1:15 PM, OlsSalt said:

You raise a good point again about the devil being in the details. Tables for 6 would create different dining times than tables for two - we always have a table for two, fixed dining and are routinely out by 9pm. So we too are closer to the 60-70 minute -three course dining time in fixed dining too.. 

Just thought I'd mention that we're normally "fixed main dining, table for 2" as well but last year brought the family so were a party of six for fixed main dining.  We had terrific and timely service (Nieuw Amsterdam) and were also assigned the particular table that I'd requested.  Very happy.

On our most recent HAL cruise, there was a large group on the ship (Oosterdam) and so we were not able to secure our preferred fixed dining assignment.  However, we were able to arrange an earlier fixed dining time and table (lower level) once we were aboard the ship.  I was aware when I booked the cruise that there would be a large group on our sailing, but took a chance and booked it anyway, so it wasn't a total surprise when we could not get our normal fixed dining time.  I think I'd avoid doing that again, however.

RT Vancouver on the NA would be my choice for both itinerary and ship.