FlaMariner

maybe that is coming back? interesting.

Wow! Awesome itinerary. South Pole to North Pole....that's unique for sure. Incredible. Ending June 7 in Port Everglades?.....And begs the question: Where does a Holland America Line ship go next if it disembarks in JUNE in Port Everglades?!?!? Has a HAL ship ever experienced June in South Florida? Oh my.

We spent two weeks in an inside cabin on the Nieuw Statendam in November (same class of ship as Rotterdam)......We had not sailed in an inside cabin in many years.....we thought we had to have a balcony. We did just fine. Plenty of room for us....In fact, we plan to go inside again on a port intensive Europe cruise in 2024......The $$$$ savings is substantial and the inside cabins go to the same ports as the balcony cabins....and us "inside" folks are welcome in the MDR as well....so why not! But for a TA with many sea days, we still think we need the balcony. Book it.

Thanks @GeorgeCharlie!

We do not print the boarding passes but we do have them on our phone and in November we had to show them (on our phone) when boarding the ship at embarkation. At the gangway during embarkation, they scan the bar code on the boarding pass so that you can board for the first time. And the room key was waiting at the room.

Port stop in March..... Not much intel about La Serena, Chile.....Appears to be a relaxing beach and stroll thru the town day. Anyone been there and can enlighten me on what we should do/see at La Serena, Chile......

Agree with this ^ (good review and agree with the one exception) I just did the math and after cruising Carnival and NCL, we discovered HAL when I was 39 (Zaandam) and we have never looked back (well, we did make one mistake and tried Princess once but never again). We are pushing towards 60 (yikes) and Holland America Line continues to be home for us at sea. Next cruise means 4 *'s! As far as what will be different from Carnival......IMO Everything. A completely different atmosphere. Relaxed, classy, calm and elegant. Welcome aboard and hope you enjoy......

That's it!!!! Wine and wings and a movie on deck!

Hey Jocan Our MP tour was DIY pre-cruise. Not thru cruise line. Instead of flying to Cusco pre-cruise, we are now heading directly to Santiago to catch our Holland America Line cruise on 3/24. Our cruise stops in Peru and includes overnights in Lima. I'm curious if that will happen also. Enjoy the cruise....with or without Peru!

....and this is a major plus....We are on the Princess Sky TA in March and the lido pool deck does not have a retractable ceiling....And when it rained, and when it was windy/chilly the entire deck is useless and it is is "run thru" area when inclement weather. That retractable ceiling is a major HAL + especially when you cruise to places other than the Caribbean. As far as the lido deck movies.....to add to Miss G.....The loungers are moved in the evening to accommodate viewing for the movie....and the NY Deli has some great "movie snacks" in addition to popcorn. Wings come to mind.

Yes, we took an Uber in November 2022 and they pull up in the taxi pick up area. Same place as the taxis. The times we have used them at Port Everglades (4x in past two years), they are not onsite so you will wait for them just as you do for any other uber/lyft ride. Taxi's are waiting. Uber/Lyft we find is cheaper but it is all nominal if you are just heading to the FLL airport. Our experience has been excellent with Uber/Lyft and not so much with Fort Lauderdale taxis. In November 2021, we grabbed a taxi at Port Everglades 'cause we were in a hurry.....we were heading to Amtrak and the driver took "the long way" by missing the exit. We've experienced similar over the years and heard similar tails from our fellow Floridians when in Fort Lauderdale. So just our preference and based on our experiences.

After dinner we head to the Main Stage, the Rock Room, Billboard Onboard (our favorite), BBKings, the thermal suite, trivia, walk around the promenade deck, the casino (for blackjack), or movies on lido deck (w/popcorn and a glass of red wine!)......sometimes a combination of those based on what's on the full schedule.....never bored, lots of entertainment....for us, we never understand the whining about lack of entertainment. Take your pick and enjoy...and no karaoke (another reason we choose HAL)

Canceled our pre-cruise mid March Machu Picchu trip. We will visit another time.

I've had the HAL Barclay's Card for many years but have quit using it because the redemption rate is low....I get more cash back from using my BofA card booking a HAL cruise than I do from booking a HAL cruise on the HAL credit card. (I use the BofA credit card for travel insurance but consider all credit card travel insurance to be very basic and full of hassles...but I am fine w/that.....we also have the annual BCBS trekker medical travel insurance)

Welcome back! Three things come to mind as far as major changes from 10 years ago. 1). Music Walk (several live music venues every evening) 2). Anytime Dining along with early and late fixed sittings still available 3). New Pinnacle Class Ships (3 of them and they are our favorites) The awesome crew, great food, sparkling clean ships and great cruise itineraries are all still there waiting for you!

there will be pizza.....it will just be in lido, right? (HAL ships cannot sail without pizza and Heinekin)

Yahoo! Library available when we cruise on the Westerdam in October!

Agree w/RuthC...and as always, her advice is spot on....Also adding that Uber/Lyft are also available at Port Everglades and that is our preference over Ft Lauderdale taxis.

Yea, I've thought about that but does the ship have "reserved" times to go thru the canal? Thinking any itinerary changes would be before the canal?

Will HAL Changes Discourage Regular HAL Cruisers? Our answer to your question: NO. We are 3* and our next cruise we cross over into 4* free laundry territory. We have been on 3 HAL cruises since the unpleasantness and have 4 HAL cruises booked. I know of no changes or recent experiences on HAL that will discourage us from cruising w/HAL. In fact, we have been enjoying our HAL cruises more and more.... (after cheating on HAL and cruising Princess last year, we learned our lesson and have sworn over HAL bread pudding to not make that mistake again) MDR...we are early fixed and always enjoy our dinner...food and service are always top notch for us. The wine and variety of food and 5 courses flow well for us. Entertainment is a blast. We choose from the variety offered (BillboardOnboard is a favorite) and go out and enjoy. And the staff and the well cared for ships with great "bucket list" itineraries keeps us sailing HAL to infinity and beyond!

Go with the cruise line that you already enjoy......We are Holland America Line loyalists and w/their 150+ years of sailing experience, they have it down rather nicely, IMO. And a TA or repositioning is, as they say in Texas, "not their first rodeo".

On our Princess Sky crossing last March ('22) internet access was non-existent. Get your head around the fact that there may be no internet and you will be fine. Many passengers were falling out in the hallways (not literally) over no internet. YMMV. Yes, and Fox News is available (a requirement for us). Relax and enjoy each day....they do go by quickly. Rest up because busy Europe touring is coming. Also, heading to Europe you will be loosing an hour each day for several days (but a non issue compared to jet lag). Sign up for the spa retreat area and get a balcony. We enjoy both on TA's. Take real paper books. Maybe buy from used book store before and just toss. Or have e-reader loaded. On Princess Sky, there was no library and with no internet, fellow passengers would see us with real books and kept asking "where onboard did we get them". Enjoy the TA....as far as we are concerned, it's the only way to fly!

Closed loop to the Caribbean does not even require a passport.....See this info from border protection....so would think a passport that has not expired would be more than fine. (Also, no ID at all is needed to enter the southern USA border according to news reports). U.S. citizens on closed-loop cruises will be able to enter or depart the country with proof of citizenship, such as an Enhanced Driver's License (EDL), a government-issued birth certificate (issued by the Vital Records Department in the state where he or she was born) or passport, and if 16 or older, a government issued driver's license, picture ID, denoting photo, name, and date of birth. The Enhanced Driver's License (EDL) allows you to re-enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The EDL is only accepted at land and sea border crossings, not for air travel. An U.S. citizen under the age of 16 will be able to present either an original, notarized or certified copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issues by Department of State, (DOS) and/or Certificate of Naturalizationissued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Here is the link to the entire website: https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-74?language=en_US

With the unpleasantness currently going on in Peru, if HAL decides it is not safe to dock in Peru, any thoughts on what might be in store for us on our March 17-day Santiago to Ft Lauderdale cruise on the Oosterdam? Right now we are scheduled for three days in Peru (Pisco & 2 days in Lima).

Her Majesty says THANK YOU for the recipe. It is always so good. I've eaten certainly a full "Zaandam boat load" of it over the years and always enjoy.