WannaSea

Pompelmoes Martini (after all I'm not driving), Banana Fosters Pancakes, Wild Berry Crisp and a little coffee to counter all that sweetness. Enjoy your final evening!

@blacklab16 take note that in the Navigator app there is a section called "Let us know" under "Connect". You can acknowledge great service by any crewmember at any time there, and it is valued as a gratuity. It's reported that crew receive tangible benefits from this feedback. Also, on my post cruise survey I was asked to mention any staff by name who provided exceptional service.

Bon voyage!

Wishing you a great cruise and happy adventuring!

Bruschetta, tri tip sandwich, fresh berries sabayon, mmm mmm good! Maybe a little Grand Marnier chaser. Hope you have a fabulous lunch experience!

Try emailing reservations_submit@hollandamerica.com. I gave my booking number, a copy of the AARP qualification, requested the OBC with an updated confirmation and got my successful response within 24hrs.

Useful cruise tipping advice I received and will pass on: I brought a few thank you notes and near the end of the journey wrote a personal note with cash included to give to a few people who gave exceptional service and helped me out along the way. On a couple of occasions a bartender went above and beyond to meet my request, and I would give a dollar to say thanks. None of the "extra" tipping is necessary or expected, though. The HAL assessed gratuity is a daily charge on your account. If you prepay before sailing, which is an option, the prepayment will show as a lump sum credit on your account and you will still see the daily charge against that credit. My advice is check your account daily (in the app or on the TV) so you understand all charges, and take any discrepancies to Guest Services before disembarking. The HAL assessed gratuity is, technically speaking "optional", and you could request to have it removed, but it is customary to pay. The topic of gratuities/tipping is a hot button issue and complex with many cruisers from non-tipping cultures (I totally sympathize) in the mix with those already torn about what to do, but hopefully you will find your service on the ship is so outstanding that you really want to respond with a special thank you.

Hope you have a great adventure, see lots of wildlife and enjoy everything Alaska has to offer! Bon voyage!

Thanks, @Dobby36! I raised my eyebrow at your data point because your timeline for AARP was identical to mine, so I followed your lead with an email request to reservations and the AARP OBC has just been added to my September sailing. Appreciative of your share!

Oops, I board on 8-Oct in Vancouver. (Eurodam starts this repositioning 7-Oct in Seattle; so happy they're swinging by Vancouver to pick me up before heading south.)

Thanks Jacqui - I've added Eurodam 07-Oct-23 4 day Pacific Coastal to San Diego (after 30-Sept K Inside Passage) Sue

We stayed on the ship for our partial transit and didn't regret it. Seeing the locks up close in action is the highlight, of course. Lunch in an uncrowded Eurodam Pinnacle Grill was great, sitting by the windows with entertaining scenery all around in Gatun Lake; bonus was watching the tenders coming back to the ship and being hauled up and put away. We dipped into the Central America experience with a full day shore excursion in Costa Rica so felt we didn't miss too much bypassing Canal day excursions.

Wishing you a great time! Bon voyage!

I'd like to attend a wine tasting with the people in this thread, we'd have such a good time!

I have used TA and PCC. I think if I was having a lot of trouble with PCC I'd transfer the booking to a TA if possible.

I am one of those lucky people who got a good PCC on the first try. She works in the Seattle office with regular office hours in the Queen Anne Hill neighborhood. In March I unexpectedly drove by the HAL offices there while on a non-cruise trip so yes they really exist. (No, I didn't go in to see who was there.) Our communication has worked well so far. I send her an early morning workday email outlining my request, she sends a reply suggesting a time she can call me (within a couple of hours usually) and I confirm. Then we have a productive phone conversation and don't waste a lot of time.

When you order a drink anywhere you'll be asked to show your room card. Any excess charges (ie, any drink over $11 or not included in the package) gets charged to your account then as well as an 18% gratuity on the overage. It's a good practice to review your account daily on the TV or Nav app to track these charges while fresh in your memory. For the OP, just download the document in post #5 to share with your fellow travelers. It has the basics of what everyone needs to know about HIA drinks and consider the rest a personal adventure for you to investigate on board.

Thanks. It never occurred to me before that Premium v Surf plan might be one of the many factors affecting basic non-iPhone cell service. I had tested wi-fi calling successfully pre-cruise so assumed I was good with my AT&T plan, just a little disappointed when it didn't work onboard.

With my Samsung and the Surf Wi-fi plan I was unable to text or call, despite having wi-fi calling activated and supported by my carrier. I was able to use WhatsApp (free app) and it worked flawlessly but the downside is your contacts also need to be using WhatsApp for it to work. I understand from many comments that iPhone texting does work with Surf wi-fi. I'd be curious to know if any Samsung users have been able to text/call when using the premium wi-fi plan.

After booking a "best price" cabin as the lowest possible fare (nonrefundable) for a solo, I later added HIA at a rate of $50 per day which is a typical per person rate. Did this on two cruises recently, 10-day and 7-day. [Note: If you try to purchase HIA on HAL's website and get a message you don't qualify, call HAL or try again later or try a different browser, based on my experience.] Also, as mentioned above Club Orange is available at the single rate for a solo. The Surf Wi-fi plan was priced a la carte at $15/day on HAL's website at the time I purchased HIA.

Thanks for many useful observations and suggestions from your trip. It was interesting to follow the whole land-sea itinerary. Appreciate the time you took to share so much with us. (I'll be on the last cruise of the AK season with a few notes from your experience.) Loved the photos. Agree the land schedule can be tiring and doing the cruise portion after gives you a little time to relax and recover. Happy travels wherever your next venture takes you!

I'm confused about y'all being confused about the Inside Passage. The maps and itineraries HAL provides clearly shows your route with map and description. Usually the cruise starting in Vancouver is called the 7-day Alaska Inside Passage and the cruise starting in Seattle is called the 7-day Alaska Explorer.

Really enjoyed watching your Koningsdam food review. Your comments were very useful with an appropriate description to complete the well composed and edited video clips. Though I may not order the same, your information will be helpful to me for dining choices on my upcoming K cruise. Nicely done.

Thanks for providing my first, and probably only, world cruise. Very much enjoyed it. Appreciate the time you've spent letting us share in your experience. Best wishes on your downtime before the next adventure.

Think of it as being guaranteed at the very least to get one of those N cabins for the rate you paid. You may be assigned something better if space allows, at HAL's discretion. ("Better" is a relative term, usually moving closer to A in the alphabet, typically an indicator of a more desirable location on the ship.)