DA346

Having the lowest purchasing option costing 70 USD for 7 days seems a bit like gouging for people who might only require 15 or 20 minutes of usage for the entire week. If I was planning to use it more heavily then by all means the 70 bucks would be a good deal but it seems unreasonable to not have a smaller option like pay per minute or even a single day pass. Spending 70 bucks for the sake of maybe 5 or 6 messages throughout the week seems a bit ridiculous. At any rate I'm going to check with my cell carrier about the cellular at sea situation. Their site says text messages are 75 cents for sent and free for received so as long as I make sure none of my apps are downloading data in the background it should work out to be a cheaper option in my case since I only need it for a very specific purpose. I just want to make sure I'm VERY clear on how that works first given the large number of warnings I see about it on the threads. Looks like if data roaming is turned off and I keep it on airplane mode when not actively using it then it should be ok, but I could be missing something.

Thanks. Figured as much but was hoping. Seems if they can gouge they will.

I've scoured the boards and checked Google but can't seem to find the info I'm looking for. If it's posted somewhere already feel free to send me that way. We're on an Alaska cruise on Zuiderdam leaving on 10 August. I don't have much need for internet so the plan was to forgo a package. It did occur to me, however, that I need to be available if my dog sitter needs anything. We have a senior dog and a puppy so while we don't need constant contact I should check once or twice a day to make sure there are no issues. It's an inside passage cruise so 3 of the 7 days are port days so internet would be a non-issue while in town. Also from sailing the inside passage with the Canadian navy for a number of years I know that there are areas along the straits that offer mobile service but I don't know how far north that will last before we hit roaming. All that to say I likely only need to access the internet on board for 5-10 minutes on a couple of days of the trip. My hope was that the internet cafe on board offers a pay per minute sort of situation so we don't have to pay for a package for 15 minutes of internet usage for the whole week. Unfortunately the only information I see is for the packages. Does HAL offer per use/ per minute options for people who need to use the internet extremely sparingly or am I stuck paying for a $70 package or $15 per day usage for 10 minutes? I have no issue using slow internet cafe computers if that's what it takes. TIA

So I called Holland America to confirm and thought I'd post the answer to my own question here in case anyone else is wondering. I was told that day passes are available from the spa for 49 per person. You can also get a 2 day pass for 69 per person but it has to be used on consecutive days. She also told me that the online pre-booking discount for spa services (about 20-25%) doesn't apply to the thermal suite so whether you wait to book on board or book online it should be the same price (currently 149 per person). They've also done away with the couple's pass pricing which is unfortunate. For any other spa services it's cheaper to book online before you get onboard as the 20-25% discount applies. I also asked if the number of day passes available were restricted or limited. She confirmed that they were not but depending on how busy it is at a given time you may be asked to come back later. This would also apply to those with the week pass if the suite is at capacity so there doesn't seem to be a disadvantage there with the day passes. Hope this helps!

Thanks. I'm on the roll call as well but thought this one might be better on the thermal suite thread as it appears most on the roll call haven't been doing a lot of sailing since the pandemic. Are you on the August 10th sail?

Thanks! Appreciate the tip about the thermos. Bringing a reusable water bottle was on my radar but I never thought about the hot cup!

Does anyone know the current day pass price for the suite? I'm on a 7 day Alaska cruise on the Zuiderdam that leaves in a couple of weeks. Was planning to book the 7 day pass for 149USD per person but realized that we likely wouldn't get to it on at least 3 of the 7 days due to port visits. Wondering if it might be better to just pay for the days we decide to use it and hope it isn't booked up. Thanks!

So I realize this is a couple of months old but maybe you happened to notice on board and may be able to help with a pretty specific, and admittedly froofy, question 😅. We're sailing inside passage in August. First time cruising for both of us (unless you count the navy. lol). I checked out the cafe menu on the rogerjett site but it was pretty limited. Wondering if this is the full "fancy drink" cafe menu they have or if there are additional options on board. I don't do coffee but enjoy my fancy tea based drinks. I noticed a chai latte but that was it I believe. I'm hoping the fact they can do a chai means there may be additional options for tea lattes and whatnot. Also, and this is getting pretty specific, any chance you noticed if they have Matcha tea available? I'm going to need the caffeine boost for the early morning ports! Worst case I'll bring mine with me. Finally I have dairy issues so wondering if there were alternatives available (I may have just missed the answer to this one in which case, my bad!). Thanks for indulging me! 😁