Jensue9

Thank you! 

I see in manage my cruise on HAL website that they offer a coffee type package that includes a $25 coffee card as well as some sort of gift type thing. I was wondering if they offer a coffee card to purchase just on its own? We have decided against getting the drinks package for our 14 day cruise although we enjoy the odd cocktail, wine or g and t we aren’t big drinkers and some days we may not drink at all. But we do enjoy a good coffee. 

10 minutes ago, Gsel said:

Once you log in you should see "Itinerary" at the top on left side. Click on that and your shore excursions should be listed under each port. HAL's website is absolutely the worst in the business, sorry you are having so much trouble!

Thank you so much! With your help I’ve figured it out! I knew it would be something easy! 

Hi again! I am use to princess cruise line web site and im finding HALs a little confusing. Could someone please tell me where I can see the shore excursions for my cruise, choosing dinning options etc and other optional extras for purchase for the cruise? I’ve gone into manage my cruise, completed the details they ask for to board and it says it is complete but I can’t find all the details for my cruise. I know it’s probably so obvious and I’ll feel embarrassed when told but for the life of me I can’t find it????

jenny 

6 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

No need to be stressed about using your scooter on a Holland America cruise.  Many people do.  HAL knows very well how to meet their needs.

Oh that is very reassuring. Thank you! I do make sure I’m very considerate to others while getting around. I’m very conscious of other people. 

Thank you everyone for your replies. This has helped greatly relieve some stress! 

Firstly please forgive me if this has been answered. I am reading through this thread from page 1 and there’s now hundreds of pages 😱. I have cruise quite a few times but never with HAL. My question is about the muster still using a mobility scooter. We will be sailing on westerdam out of Auckland. I have read on this thread that muster is done standing outside. Due to a back injury I am unable to stand for long periods of time. Am I able to use my mobility scooter at muster? 

28 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Going across Madonna's bra would have been exciting. 

😱

56 minutes ago, mr walker said:

I know the problem has been solved based on the ship docking at OPT, & I am very happy for the OP, but I have to admit I really was looking forward to following along on that scooter trip from White Bay to CQ 😮

Haha! 😉

Thank you everyone! 

Thank you so much! This is so helpful! Especially thinking about the flat walking 

Budget doesn’t really matter as it’s only two nights and location is most important because of my mobility 

Just on a side note does anyone have a hotel walkable from OPT to stay for two nights before our princess cruise? 

36 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Yes, it seems your Westerdam cruise on 16 March from Auckland arrives in Sydney docking at the OPT, several others do not and actually go to White Bay. 

As the Royal Princess is too large to get under the bridge, it too is docked at the OPT on 1 April,  no joking intended.

Such good news! 

Thank you everyone who replied! Problem solved and one very happy cruiser! 

4 minutes ago, Ozwoody said:

To find out which cruise terminal your ship docks at look up the date of your cruise on this link.

https://www.portauthoritynsw.com.au/cruise/sydney-cruise-schedule/

It is the Sydney Cruise ship Schedule by the port authority, they dictate where ships berth.

 

Regards

John

 

Omg I could hug you! I clicked on your link and looked at the schedule and it says the westerdam arriving march 30 is docking at the overseas cruise terminal! That is the terminal at circular quay isn’t it? Oh I do hope so. 

I have booked a cruise from Auckland to Sydney on holland America and then another cruise 2 days later on princess cruise line. I was thinking I would just stay two nights at a hotel walkable to the circular quay cruise terminal as I will have/be using a mobility scooter. However I am now panicking as I think holland America dock at white bay cruise terminal. Princess cruise line sail out of circular quay cruise terminal. Getting a taxi from white bay cruise terminal to circular quay wouldn’t be an option for me because of the mobility scooter. Does anyone have any ideas of how I can get to circular quay from white bay. Cruise terminal with my scooter? 

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

It really depends on what other drinks you have ie coffee, bottled water, cocktails, beers, spirits or liqueurs.

 

Also remember the Plus package also includes internet which has just gone up in price. Sorry but I'm not sure what the new price is but that reduces the drinks daily value of the package. 

 

Since the package gives you 25% off the price of wines by the bottle we've just budgeted to buy a bottle of wine per day for our upcoming world cruise. There are some very interesting wines on the bottle list that are reasonably priced after the discount - compared to restaurant wine prices not bottle store prices. 

 

So do the sums and work out what would give you the best deal.

Thank you, you raise some good points. We definitely want to have one of us online for the cruise. If it was just a 10 night cruise we wouldn’t hesitate to do the plus package but when it’s 113 night cruise, that’s quite a bit. We do drink coffees every day and enjoy the odd cocktail or g and t but not big drinkers. Thanks again. 

25 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

No NZ wines at all, as far as I know.  Those de Bortoli Willowglen wines are the bottom of the heap. They sell in Australia for about $A7 per bottle, compared to the $59 that the ship is charging.

Oh wow I didn’t realise that! We e just booked the world cruise next year out of Auckland and are trying to decide if the plus package fare is worth it or not. At the moment we’ve booked just the regular fare. I think id rather have a gin or something than a poor wine. Don’t get me wrong we happily drink $10 to $20 bottle wines here in nz. Hmmm I’ll have to give it more thought 

On 2/28/2024 at 11:43 AM, OzKiwiJJ said:

The Plus rose is one of the few decent wines on that list but it gets a bit boring when I end up having it every night because I can't stand either of the white wines they offer.

Do they have any New Zealand whites? 

36 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Wines by the glass are $14-$29. There are about nine wines in the $14-$17 range but most of these wines are very basic  - essentially De Bortoli cask wines.

Gins are $12-$15 including tonic.

 

Will you want internet during your cruise? If so then definitely go for the Plus fare. Internet has now gone up to about $38pp per day. The Plus fare upgrade is still only $65pp per day. One G&T and a glass of wine and essentially you've covered the cost. Also the drinks package under Plus includes espresso-based coffees, bottled water, cocktails and mocktails, beers,y juices and soft drinks.

 

If you are unlikely to want internet then it's a harder decision to make.

Thank you so much for this info and for info

you made on another topic on whether gratuities are included in princess plus fare as I have been very confused as some say yes and some say no. You’ve explained it well. It seems it’s just us kiwis and aussies that it’s not included. I have to say I have t found the princess ta all that helpful sadly considering how much you are spending when doing a full world cruise. 
anyway thanks so much once again it really helps with the planning. 

I hope you don’t mind me asking this question here, it just didn’t seem with making a new topic. We are cruising next year on crown princess world cruise and trying to decide between the cheapest pricing or princess plus. Can someone please give me a rough idea on how much a glass of wine might be? A gin and tonic? 

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

Welcome from me too.

We are doing the second half of the cruise from England back to Sydney. We also paid all of the required tips in the fare, and every service we get on the ship has a service charge built-in (coffee, cocktails, specialty restaurants). If we find a bar we really like, we might add a tip here or there, but that will be added to our account. We won't be tipping any additional cash. 

 

Onboard currency is in $AU, so that works for cash tips. The crew are paid their wages in $US, so that works too. Any NZ cash can still be banked for them by crew services on the ship, so that works for them as well.

 

Catch up with dozens of others doing the cruise, together with links for independent tours and various activities. The roll call is here: 

 

Thank you! I have done this and will enjoy reading through the thread over the next day or do. 

51 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Enjoy planning for your cruise.

Thank you. It’s very exciting but a little overwhelming. We haven’t cruise since before covid so I’m not sure what changed there might be. 

14 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Welcome to CC. Your gratuities would be included in your fare. What you pay extra, like cash to waiters, cabin stewards etc ,if anything, is up to you.

Actually sorry one more question what currency cash would we use to tip onboard?