tupper10

So sorry to hear this, hope your husband feels better soon.

We gave up on Celebrity due to the blaring music as well as the fact that the last cruises we went on with Celebrity/RC they did a poor job of accommodating my food allergies. I had no issues with Holland America - they did a much better job. Holland America also has music 24/7 in the Lido, hallways, pool decks etc. but there are still a few spots you can find w/o it. This is one of my major complaints with all cruise lines especially now that we can listen to the music we like with our own devices.

We loved this ship and sailed in December of last year. We started with an aft cabin on deck 5 which we did not like since the vibration and noise of the wake bothered us. The staff was wonderful and offered to move us to either an aft deck 7 or a mid ship room - though the aft on deck 7 was much quieter with hardly any vibration we decided to go with a midship cabin. I think any of the ones on deck 6 or 7 are fine -on deck 5 when you look down from some rooms, you see the life boats so your view of the ocean is not as good. We also paid for the retreat and loved it - we had a quiet place to relax on board during the day, with breakfast and lunch delivered to us on our chaise,, along with water, fruits, and snacks provided. One thing to keep in mind - decide if you like sunrise or sunset - we had a sunset room - the starboard side, and it got very warm in the afternoon. Our trip had more days going south than north. Look at the itinerary and decide what works for you. We loved the ship and staff, and had a fabulous time. It was our first cruise on Holland America and we booked more cruises with them due to our wonderful experience.

We did the holiday cruise last year and though there were some kids I think your son will have a better time on Princess or Royal Caribbean if he likes to go to shows, watch movies under the stars and have a lot more kids his age on board. We love Holland America for us but with our kids we take other cruise lines.

I just got off the phone with shore excursions from Holland America and asked the same question. I was assured that you can book your shore excursions in advance and that once on board you only need to go to the shore excursion desk and ask them to use your onboard credit for the same excursion and then whatever you charged on your credit card will be put back on your credit card. I asked this over and over again and the agent said that is Holland America's policy. Of course I would love to get this in writing but I was told that they can't email me with the confirmation though I do have the agent's name and information. Perhaps others can call shore excursions to confirm this policy as well.

Thank you that is what I thought.

Another question about OBC - we have our crew appreciation included as well as any drinks and wifi we need in the HIA package we have. We also have lots of OBC and other than laundry we wanted to use it for 2 things - one for excursions but many of the ones we want will sell out if we wait to book on board - is there a way to book early and then switch the excursion once on the ship to use the OBC to pay for it and get refunded to our credit card and 2. we like to give the staff that helps us - (I have the same staff all the time in the MDR due to food allergies) extra $$ for their service, can we use the OBC to do this? Thank you.

One suggestion for your Alaska trip if you are only doing this one time go on a ship that does Glacier Bay. It is well worth it and the other glaciers while 'nice to see' don't compare. Just my 2. cents having been to Alaska 4 times on various ships.

On the Northern Europe board there is a CC member who has given great advice about which ports are the ones to see. My suggestion is to check out what he says about the different ports and then select your sailing.

If you want to see something different visit the National Park in Aruba - very interesting and we did it on an ATV.

If you have not seen the canal from the ship my suggestion is to stay on board. It is a wonderful experience and so much fun. We did it on Cunard and I can't wait to do it again. As I recall at the time we went excursions were not even offered since the passage through the canal was the excursion 🙂

Question re laundry - do they use perfumed detergent? I am allergic to perfume and I would love to use the laundry service.

Collared shirt - even a polo shirt with a collar is fine along with a pair of slacks (not jeans). From what we have seen men and women's dress for 'formal nights' is now anything but formal.

Email the upper management of HAL. elliott.org lists all the email addresses. Not sure if this will be taken down though - since it does refer you to another web site, but it is not a travel agency it just helps people with consumer issues.

We loved the Lincoln Center Stage with classical music just about every night with a fabulous quartet. We also loved the quiet ambience of the ship and that everyone has access to all parts of the ship except one lounge, and that the ships still have a walkable promenade deck though I do miss the lounges on the newest ships.

Interesting to me - we gave up on Celebrity after cruising with them for many years. The issue for us is we don't book suites and if you don't have a suite the experience is 'meh'. I also don't like being treated like a 2nd class person when I am paying a substantial amount for a cruise. Like the other poster here, we don't cruise to see big production shows or to have loud music blasting wherever we go. On Celebrity I could not find one public space without non stop loud ;music. We tried Holland America for the first time - we loved the Lincoln Center stage vs the big production shows and the quieter atmosphere on board. This is why there are multiple cruise lines- they serve people who have different priorities.

Agree with you. I was on the Statendam and there was no place w/o music except on the very top deck where it was playing but you couldn't hear it due to the wind. In the retreat, where I spent most of the day, it was 'quiet music' and since it wasn't very full often the staff turned it way down for me. I think the ships should have a quiet part of the ship where those of us who do not wish to hear piped in elevator music on a continuous loop can relax in peace. Also with almost everyone having a smart phone and able to listen to their own music non stop why there is even piped in music everywhere makes no sense. I wish someone at the cruise lines would listen to us but from what I have seen it is going in the totally opposite direction which will essentially lead to my DH and I not cruising at all in the future.

Agree with you. It is very hard to find a cruise that does not have music blaring non stop everywhere on the ship. We cruise for the 'ocean' experience as well as the ports. It seems that today everyone wants continuous entertainment and cannot abide silence. It also appears that many cruise lines are going to a class system where those who pay for suites do not have to mix at all with the rest of us. I have been on this type of ship and won't sail on them again.

Sorry you had such an awful experience. No excuse for how you were treated. Take your $$ elsewhere.

We are doing this trip next summer and wondered if you can tell us which car rental agencies you used in the ports since like you we prefer to do our own excursions.

Contact corporate and in a polite email ask for your money back and attach all of your invoices, ticket receipts etc. Elliott Advocacy has all the corporate email addresses for you. Elliott.org.