ToBe

Thought magnetic hooks sounded like a good idea, but I could never find surfaces where they would stick on different HAL ships. So if you want something you can be sure will work, take along the 3M removable ones. They have been great.

We used magnets to hold up our maps and a magnetic hook on the Zaandam in January this year. We needed the strong ones.

Whether or not the embarkation and disembarkation ports are the same, or different, has nothing to do with being deemed Collectors' Cruises.

Ruth, we have a collectors cruise ( 2 cruises) then have two additional cruises which can not be combined. I guess that is actually 4 cruises B2B2B2B. The ship usually does not charge our account until the entire end of the trip and we have been able to pay for minutes and use them for our entire trip. I hope this will be true next January. We have different Promos: 38 days with tips and $25 beverage cards and then $200 obc on the last 13 days. What fasinates me is how each "deal" or "promotion" HAL sends or posts does not change the price. They charge more for perks and then take away perks and the price is less. Deals are not deals. I've done the math on three cruises now twice and there is no deal when they post offers.

We are happy to be going to AU/NZ again and try not to waste time reading their deals.

Long story short my parents in 70s who have been cruising for very long time now, booked a 30 day cruise. They were suppose to sail from Buenos Aires on Feb 18. They got their boarding pass and everything but when they arrived to board they were denied. They were told they did not have proper Brazilian temporary visas. They got email 4 days before they left for cruise that they needed Visas and they filed paperwork online right away and apparently Brazilian embassy did not clear them in time for cruise. They could not contact embassy on day they were suppose to leave because it was holiday and Holland America did not allow them to board (even thought they were not going to get off ship in Brazil or even hit Brazilian waters for 3 days after they started cruise). The frustrating part is they got confirmation from embassy next day but ship already left. They flew home and that was end of it. They are out close to 20k and even though they had 2 insurances neither one of them is covering it. Issue I have is that they had no idea they needed visas till 4 days before cruise and Holland even gave them boarding passes! If they were not clear to board why would they get boarding pass? This is very frustrating for my elderly parents who spent a lot of money on this cruise an now looks like they will not get any back. I contacted several lawyers in Seattle (where Holland is based) but most only take injury cases. Any help would be appreciate it.

We are the same age as your parents and certainly do not consider our age an impediment to reading directions. We just finished the Zaandam cruise with the 12 days that went to Brazil and back to BA. Brazilian visas are not hard to get but you must fill out the forms correctly and they take around 10 days to get. The HAL site makes the need for the visa very clear as they do with India and China. The ship kept the passports for the entire time we were Brazilian waters and they were inspected by the Brazilian authorities. The passports had stamps. Brazil matches the same rules that their citizens have to follow when they come to the USA. We heard that there were people who were denied passage because they did not have the Brazilian visas. This cost the staff money since they did not receive the tips that make up a good part of their salaries. Their TA should have reminded them that they needed to allow time to obtain a visa. This information is also given when you do the on line check in.

I don't know why they didn't resume the cruise in 10 days when we stopped at Montevideo since they had another 20 days to cruise.

B2B Yokahama was simple with a transit card. No problem.

We were given a transit card the evening before we reached port.

Tea confession — I started packing my tea for the cruise, so my husband decided to bring some too. He went to the store and brought back Tazo Zen. It is in my luggage! I had no idea he liked Tazo when I met him — luckily he did not disclose that!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Not only do I pack my own Darjeeling but I have learned to take a good sized mug. I love to enjoy a big mug in the afternoon.

Zaandam,

I'd like to know if anyone knows if the walls in the Zaandam cabins have metal walls for magnets. We usually put up a map to trace our voyage but the Volendam did not have metal walls. That is the first ship from HAL that was a problem. What about the Zaandam?

Also is there still a laundry on the Zaandam?

Thank you for any help

Zaandam,

I'd like to know if anyone knows if the walls in the Zaandam cabins have metal walls for magnets. We usually put up a map to trace our voyage but the Volendam did not have metal walls. That is the first ship from HAL that was a problem. What about the Zaandam?

Also is there still a laundry on the Zaandam?

Thank you for any help.

Has anyone had experience with Holland America Noordam or Celebrity Solstice in Australia/New Zealand or anywhere else and like to share their experiences and preferences?

 

Thanks

We were on the Solstice around both New Zealand and Australia in 2013. The ship was newer than any ship we have sailed on HAL, but we have chosen to do 36 days on the Noordam in 2019 for another Australian cruise. The Solstice didn't seem to have room for some activities. We had to negotiate space to play bridge on sea days. We could only be given long tables in one of the secret rooms 2 hours some days. The "Solstice" Celebrity ships are large and beautiful but have no viable card rooms or other areas for games. The Silhouette had a open area over the atrium that had seven tables and music echoed up to the area and you could not hear a voice next to you. People were using two of the tables to do their taxes the time we were trying to play bridge. I felt that Celebrity did not want us to do anything that was not revenue producing. I contacted the line and received a "so sorry" but no corrections would be made. We prefer HAL because they provide space for bridge and set up a card room, usually the Hudson room, and on the older Volendam, provided coffee, tea, water, and cookies both in the morning and afternoon. They reacted to the 40+ people who chose to play bridge on sea days but also gave space to other games. They wanted us to be happy.

Celebrity does not have the jigsaw puzzles so beloved by HAL cruisers. HAL provides so many opportunities to meet others who like to do the same things. There is always a core of puzzle people, an after midnight group. I love being able to read the NYTimes daily, for free in the Explorer Lounge.

Most of the HAL ships are old and have character. The cabins come with real night tables with drawers, a clothesline in the bathroom shower for bathing suits, a request fruit bowl, and a lighted makeup mirror at the desk. These things are in all cabins. They are not in Solstice ships.

I hope this helps. There is a big difference between the ships. We are Elite Plus on Celebrity and recently became 4 star on HAL. The perks from Celebrity did not influence our choice.

Hi Carol,

We are traveling on the Zaandam on January 28-February 19. Amanda Hyatt's painting group will be on the ship. I believe this will be an Australian group. Someone joined our CC group and said she was a part of this group.

Temma

I always carry my swiss army knife. The sharpened part of the blade is 1.25 inches the overall length of the closed knife is 2.25 inches. It has the scissors and tweezers and such. I put it in my checked luggage and when the luggage arrives, it goes in my front pocket. I carry it when I go on shore and when going through security to reboard I place it in the bins that go through the x-ray machine. Did not have any problem last year on the Veendam out of Tampa. I plan on taking it on my Maasdam cruise out of Auckland NZ next January.

very interesting. My husband has had his small knife taken from him when he had it in his pocket returning from an excursion. He does have it in his check luggage but does not take it out of our cabin. They did return the knife at the end of the voyage as we departed the ship.

Packing two needlepoint projects for the 44 days of our next cruise. We have many sea days. I love to play bridge but that is gone. I will look for a well lighted public space and hope to connect for other crafters. We will have cool to cold weather so I will have to find indoor space.

It is nice to read that others enjoy crafting time.

I am overOprahed, if there is such a word and there should be. I returned to Weight Watchers three weeks ago and there she was and the touchy feely changes. I went to Talbots, a favorite store and now they have a Oprah's clothing selection. Next comes HAL. Too much!!!!!

Oprah is nice enough, but I never watched her program when I was working. I admire her politics, but I don't understand all the Oprah marketing.

On the other hand, I was very interesting to knowing about HAL's connection with American Test Kitchen. That interests me far more than "finding myself."

I wonder who is paying whom with this branding. The art auction, gambling, spa, stores, and excursion units pay for space and are a money makers for the cruise line. Please no Oprah too.

Here are some photos I took during October 2016 cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Thank you for the pictures. Most people love to see the Atrium and pools; I admire the washing machines. It means we don't have to pack as much.

Two more months!!!!!!

Temma

Does the Volendam still have a self service laundry? We will be on March to April 2017.

Thanks for your knowledge.

Temma

For my Mexican Riviera cruise the Pinnacle Grill has gone up to $35 and Le Cirque is $49. I have read on this board that Le Cirque is a very special experience. We had planned a special dinner in the Pinnacle on the last night of our cruise but now that the Pinnacle experience has increased in price I'm not sure it will be worth the $$. Neither of us are big eaters and usually by the end of the cruise I am no longer interested in the food in the dining room.

 

Le Cirque is offered on the evening we are sailing from Puerto Vallarta so we would have to move the special dinner up a couple of days.

 

What is so special about Le Cirque? Are there better food offerings, are the steaks higher quality, is there a special serving style, is wine included? Does it take longer to eat?

 

Do I still get a 4* discount?

We were totally disappointed with the Le Cirque dinner. There were few choices and I had to beg for another tiny beet which was the only vegetable served with a huge piece of tender but enormous meat. No potato, just huge meat. The appetizer was not memorable. The desserts were the same choices we were offered in our MDR over the course of the trip. I had the chocolate souffle which tasted like the one I had had on the MDR, same look too. Perhaps I expected too much for the $49 pp cover, but we have splurged on Celebrity and had spectacular food on their high end restaurant and their sole veronique is outstanding. Celebrity will make changes. The MDR on HAL accommodates and makes changes so easily. They even will make dishes not on the menu if you request in advance. I think what ruined the Le Cirque meal was the inability to change and have something from two different items, and the menu was so limited and the staff was so unaccommodating. We were on a long cruise and thought we would try Le Cirque. Never again.

We booked on board a cruise for the end of March 2017 and we were offered some perks. One was a discount on excursions for the cruise. Our paperwork confirmed the discount as did the Future Cruise salesperson. There was no mention that the discount was for short period. We arrived home on March 1, 2016 and did not get around to looking at excursions until last week. We waited 10 months before the cruise, alas. Usually excursions are not totally available that early in Asia. We were supposed to book the excursions while we were on our cruise or immediately after we came home. HAL's answer to both me and my TA is "too bad."

I would suggest that get any promotion offers in print and then ask for fine print. Perhaps then you will know what the promotion really is. Our print offer just says discount for excursions.

In trying to avoid the first night, main dining room crowds/rush, I'm thinking of pre-booking dinner at the Italian restaurant. We've never eaten there. First of all, will the 3 star, Mariner discount apply to dining reservations made before the cruise? Second, what's your favorite item in the Italian restaurant? Thanks in advance

They discount for the Pinacle appeared when I looked at the bill on board. I had paid full price earlier.

Has anyone ever noticed if the price of the cruise comes down during a promotion?

I love this. Our cruise went up $600 pp on the day the anniversary special was posted. We have $237 pp. SBC from booking and would lose this also. No need to bother to get the promotion since we lose more than we would gain even with the tips.

There is a self service laundry on Lower Promenade deck. It has three or four washers with dryers above and one ironing board and one ironing table.

They offer laundry for $20 for a filled laundry bag.......it is amazing how much stuff you can get into those bags....good value.

Hope this is of use to you. I am not sure if there are any other self service laundries on board.

Thank you. I have seen only that laundry on the deck plans. There are some things I'd rather not send to a laundry and do myself. We have used the $20 bag too.

Thanks again.

I keep looking at the deck plans and it does seems as if there is one laundromat on the Lower Promenade.

Has anyone been on the ship recently and can confirm there is still one? They indicate there is one on the Main Deck but there is none one the deck plan.

Thank you for the information. We do not get free laundry and like to plan ahead.

Jamm the Piano Man. The best. First time I ever went to the piano bar and I was hooked[emoji5]

It was impossible to find a seat when Jamm played.

Have had the privilege of several long cruises (60 days) including WC's at >100 days. Yes, some individual menu items are repeated but there is also much variety as they incorporate more ethnic dishes plus 'local' fresh fish / seafood. Sometimes I wish they would repeat a favorite...

 

Do agree about the carrots as refuse to eat cooked carrots but have had excellent waiters who have them substituted or just bring a plate of crudités for the table.

I am so excited to read that others reject cooked carrots. We were on a Celebrity cruise AU and NZ and were served cooked carrots every night. YUCK! I can't look at them .

We have not had that problem with HAL yet. I just make sure to ask for no carrots.

Im a bit disappointed that HAL decided to build their new ship so large. I do not cruise with 2500 people.

Can anyone vouch that the Rotterdam is still in good shape? I was going to cruise on the Prinsendam, but heard so many negative things about its condition (not its service) that I went with the Rotterdam. Now this thread....

I dont need a sparkling new ship with all the glitz and neon... I like an older ship, but I don't want it to be worn out and banged up with torn carpet and rusty deck chairs...

We were on the Rotterdam last winter. We were in a lanai room and loved it. We enjoyed opening the door and setting out for a daily walk. We really enjoyed the library and its importance and the fact that there was a full time librarian who ran book clubs and a full time tech person. Granted internet is expensive but we downloaded messages at night and answered off line. There was always something to do there. The entertainment was excellent. Painting and upkeep was constant. It was a warm friendly ship with excellent CD and staff. Yes, it isn't as glitzy as newer ship but had a lovely elegance.

We are travelling with friends and we like to play cards. Are there any card rooms on the Silhouette?:):o

The "card" room consists of 7 tables in an open atrium on the 9th floor. The music and noise made bridge a true challenge. The sound traveled up and seemed to bounce off the walls.

It is a beautiful ship but not for playing cards.

Is there a charge for DVD's in Lanai cabins? any cabins?