FlaMariner

You need to send them a copy of your brokerage statement showing ownership so as long as it is on the statement, then you have proof to send them. (I guess you could send a copy of the stock purchase order so that might work....we've always just sent our recent statement and they send us a confirmation of the OBC quickly)

The Mariner free drink card we got on our cruise last month did not have an expiration date. You should bring it onboard next cruise and see what happens. The Mariner cocktail is good. We enjoyed ours. The "benefit" is listed in the Mariner Benefits list for all stars....Here is the info: "Mariner Cocktail" voucher to be used anytime during the cruise

No need to worry about packing extra clothes.....Come enjoy the Main Dining Room...for us, it's a great evening with great food and fantastic service. There is really not a strict dress code for the MDR. Even on "dressy" night. No jacket or tie is required. I wear my kaki pants and a collared shirt and I am good to go on "dressy" night. For us, that's not really extra clothes to take. Here is an excerpt from the HAL FAQs about "dressy"..... Q: What about ladies’ dressy attire? A: Dressy attire is appropriate. Dresses, skirts, and slacks are all acceptable. Q: Are a jacket and tie required for men? A: A jacket and tie is the preferred attire in all fine dining restaurants on Dressy nights, though this is not required.

We were on the Nieuw Statendam from 11/19 thru 12/3 (two B2B) and we ate at the MDR every evening. We had early fixed seating. Table for 6 the first week and then table for 4 the second week. We arrived around 5:15 to 5:30pm and we were done by 6:45pm or so every evening (except for Thanksgiving). The timing was perfect for us. We enjoyed the menu selections, the wine, the waiters and the 5 courses. Coffee with dessert. Not rushed. Efficient and what we would except for an evening out at a "nice" table cloth restaurant. Thanksgiving evening was an exception. Dinner did not end until 7:30pm because they were slammed with everyone onboard choosing to eat Thanksgiving Dinner in the MDR. But we enjoyed it, nevertheless.

and another affirmation as to why "condo of the seas" does not work for Her Majesty and I.

When on the NS last month, for Half Moon Cay, we got our tender tickets at BB Kings and then took a seat in a nearby bar for probably 10 minutes and then we were called and calmly got on the tender. There was no line even when your number is called. In fact, the only line we encountered was maybe 3 back from the omelet maker in lido but that's it for lines. (no app or camping out at guest services for tender tickets, you are cruising Holland America Line and not "condo of the seas"...welcome aboard!)

We were onboard the Nieuw Statendam in November (2 Caribbean 7 day "milk runs") and the laundry rate has gone up. We paid what @AFNavigator referenced. $63 for the 7 days (or thirty bucks a bag). (It's still a deal, IMO....and makes reaching 4* even that much better!)

Ironing is not allowed while on vacation.

Interesting article RE: Machu Picchu and fellow tourists that are stuck. https://www.traveller.com.au/peruvian-unrest-strands-hundreds-of-tourists-in-machu-picchu-h28pan

Ugh. Reading that the airport in Cusco, Peru is also closed due to unrest. We are making plans for our March pre-cruise trip to Machu Picchu before cruising from Santiago. Maybe not.

My experience from 2 weeks on the Nieuw Statendam over Thanksgiving in notes.... Also, we requested 2 extra bath towels. Also got two big beach towels and the tote bag. Mints and towel critters were also included. Great service from the room stewards.

good point....but was paraphrasing a little...and attempting humor.....fail, I see.

Us too! No drink package and we are fine with the lido swill (coffee) but the hydro suite is a requirement and a "must upgrade". Again, glad we have choices with Holland America Line.

....another reason to cruise HAL!!!!.....At the dining podium for open seating, the question is always asked: "And will you be dining with others?" You say "yes, please". We say "no thank you, never again". LOL. And we all enjoy dinner because we had a choice!

RE: Sharing a table..... We have a different take on sharing a table...... In our cruise beginning (our 20s thru 40s) we enjoyed joining others and had a blast getting to know each other and where we were from and what we did and where we had been and where we were going.....And that worked out well because at that time, group tables were the norm. Now cruising in our 50s, we are tired of that and the ice breaker conversation about "where are you from" and "have you cruised much" are just boring, of no interest anymore and the idle chit chat wears me out. Also, I recall a cruise after Katrina (we lived in New Orleans at the time) and one lady from California at our group table told us "that New Orleans should not be rebuilt".....Ironic that she is from earthquake, forest fire and drought ridden California. And seemed to know best. Another time fairly recently at a Mariners Brunch we sat with 5 star "experts" who spent the lunch telling us about how awful HAL is now....yet they are onboard yet another HAL cruise. I agree you can have some great conversations and enjoy the company but for us it is just not worth it anymore...... it's more relaxing to avoid that and I'm glad that cruising has improved so that we now have a choice regarding table sharing. It's another upgrade in cruising, IMO. I'm glad we have choices when heading to dinner!

We walked back and forth from Havensight to Downtown a few weeks back. Easy, scenic and fun walk......take shortcuts thru the marina with all the rich folks yachts.

Awesome! As it should be! Enjoy the journey!

We've experienced nothing different from dis-embarking on a TA cruise (2021 Rotterdam) or a 7 day Caribbean jaunt (2022 Nieuw Statendam) at Port Everglades. If anything, the TA dis-embarkation was faster because w/early dis-embarkation, there were less people taking advantage of that because they probably had more luggage.

I ate bananas onboard the Nieuw Statendam several times during our two weeks 11/19 - 12/3/22. The bananas were fine. When you get one in the MDR for breakfast, it's already cut up.

Just off two weeks on the Nieuw Statendam and the food was fantastic.....We ate everywhere except speciality and enjoyed our meal times. Food and crew are the top two reasons we keep sailing HAL. In particular some standouts I recall: the pizza, the bread pudding at Lido, escargot, MDR dinner rolls, pea soup at Dutch Cafe, fish dishes in MDR, fishnchips in Lido, salad bar in Lido, key lime pie, fries w/dive in sauce, club sandwich MDR lunch....oh my.

We don't like Starbucks (too bitter for us) but we enjoy HAL coffee in the MDR & Lido.

2 hours in Toronto......Does that seem reasonable to clear immigration and get to the Orlando flight? What's bizarre for us is wrapping our heads around the fact that we leave Tokyo at 5:40pm and arrive in Orlando at 9:40pm....THE SAME DAY! Talk about time travel.

Easily done....... We did early disembarkation Saturday (12/3) and were at the curb/pick up area by 7:45am. (Holland America Line Nieuw Statendam) We did early disembarkation in November 2021 (Holland America Line Rotterdam) and were at the Fort Lauderdale Amtrak station by 8:10am (further than the airport)...Plenty of time to catch the northbound 8:50am train. (As native Floridians not from South Florida, we tend to get out of Fort Lauderdale as fast as we can...(very high hotel prices "in season")...you can easily do that as well)

Thanks for all the info..... I just booked Tokyo to Toronto to Orlando for $726 via FlightEase (HAL's air) w/Air Canada. Total Flight time is ~16 hours. Not bad. Price seems good. Schedule seems doable. Don't have to pay up until July. Fly in October. We shall see if this schedule holds...and I will need to play the "seat selection dance" later! Again, thanks for the advice!

Boarding is incredibly streamlined now....at least from Port Everglades...this was our experience on 11/19: Walk up to first desk and are asked "Have you been vaccinated?" Answered ""yes" and was told to continue. Next went thru security scanner (airport like). Next the queue was divided between the "washed" and the "unwashed" (high star/special peeps vs regular steerage folks). We walked thru the "unwashed" line and immediately came up the lady queuing us for the passport/iPad check. Once done with that, we were handed a boarding group. Once boarding time called, we boarded with our boarding pass on phone. There was never any stopping.....We walked thru the entire process (except of course, for the waiting room area where we sat waiting on our boarding group). I do not know what purpose Verifly would serve except to slow things down.