scotslizzy

So if a cocktail is 10.95 and I have pre-purchased the SBP I can have this option without incurring additional charges ?

Scotslizzy

• Thank you so much for all the time and effort you put into your reviews. We will  be on our first HAL cruise in September and this really does give a flavour of what to expect, although I appreciate that Nieuw Statendam will be a wee bit different.
• Looking forward to the next instalment.
•  
• Cheers
• Scotslizzy 

Couple of questions ;

1 We like a cocktail before dinner and wonder is there is any music in any of the lounges (piano player or solo guitarist) to listen to . Sort of background music for atmosphere  on the Nieuw Statendam .I have read and now familiar with the music walk area but that seems to be after dinner.

2.Late night coffee and brandy, what lounges or is the coffee shop area still open  around midnight.

Thanks

Scotslizzy

Great review and looking forward to our cruise in Sept even more. We have pre-booked two speciality restaurants as we wanted specific dining times.

But my question is, does HAL offer last minute discounts for their speciality restaurant's whilst on board the cruise? Celebrity does this quite a lot and we have taken advantage of this  in the past .

Thanks

Scotslizzy

Marvellous keep the picture's coming please. Sept not that far off now for us!

Scotslizzy 

What a great review and as we are sailing on NS in Sept  it just brings it that much closer !

Scotslizzy

Thanks to all the replies. We do not sail until Sept so still time toe consider.

Scotslizzy

Drink Package Question

We are still not decided on the drinks package for both of us and was surprised about the restriction on both parties have to purchase the drinks package or not at all.

But I notice they have a card you can purchase for 250 dollars .So can this card be used for all types of drink including tea and coffee in the dutch café ? Ideally    my husband would use the beverage package and I would get the card for the smaller amount but I guess that is a no no.

Any help with this one ?

Thanks

Scotslizzy 

I posted about prepaid gratuities recently. We have paid ours and it show up on the invoice. We booked directly with Holland America in the UK if this helps.

Scotslizzy   

Yes  you can as we only booked last month and pre-paid our tips. We booked direct with Holland America in the UK.

Scotslizzy

One more question on dining .Is there any way of finding out what nights are gala nights on the ship plus any other we should avoid booking a speciality restaurant?.   

We have along tour on one day so will avoid that night but I keep reading about some Orange party night and wondered if this is another night to avoid booking ?

Thanks

Scotslizzy

Thank you all for your comments. I guess the speciality package is not for us then . Better get booking then !

Scotslizzy

Dining package question ;

Do you have to go to each restaurant suggested or can you double book for example Tamarind ?

Still undecided about whether to pre purchase the package or just decide when we get on the Ship Nieuw Statendam .

Scotslizzy 

Thank you to all who replied. We will def book the two restaurant's we want and then wait until we get onboard to see if there are any offers before deciding on the others or even revisit Tamarind which really appeals to us.

Cheers

Scotslizzy

Thanks for the replies. Guess I will book the restaurant's we would like to dine in before we board.

A supplementary question now, do HAL offer reductions on some nights  like Celebrity to entice people to book their restaurant's ?

Scotslizzy   

We will be  on our  first Holland America cruise in Sept on Nieuw Statendam and very much looking forward to it.

I have a couple of questions if I may:

Is it easy enough to get decent reservations time wise i.e. 7.30 to 8.00 in the speciality restaurant's?

Is there any real benefit in the dining package if we want to decide ourselves which restaurant's we want to eat in, rather than one in each dining area?

Is there any music played  out side of the main designated areas. I am thinking of  a smaller lounge which I saw in a photo with a piano set up ?

 Scotslizzy

You are all so lucky in the USA I checked with Amex in the UK and no such offer exists . But that is par for the course here . Enjoy your offers.

Scotslizzy

Thanks for the reply .

Liz

Many thanks for the reply .I do not drink as much as my hubby so we do not want to  purchase an elite beverage package for both of us. Beverage card seems a better option for us.

Liz

Does the fact that we are currently platinum with Princess get us any additional points with the Mariner ?

Thanks

Scotslizzy 

We are going on our first HAL cruise this September and wondered if anyone has a copy of recent cocktail prices etc .

Thanks  

We do not want to purchase a full drink's package for our cruise but was looking at the beverage cards. Has anyone done this before and if you complete your card and want to buy another one whilst on board is this ok.

Thanks  

Scotslizzy

Thanks . Makes the decision to book that much easier.

Scotslizzy

Can you please tell me if it is still ok for only one of you in the cabin to purchase the drink package? Husband will make good use of the package and I don't drink enough to  justify buying it. I know you could do this, as we sailed last year on Princess but a year, is a long time in which so much could change .

Cheers

Scotslizzy

Thank you are these current prices ?

Scotslizzy