L454S

5 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

Always read the fine print:

 

Yes, that's why I said FYI. Not bashing........Others hopefully don't need to study the fine print now, if they happen to see the post.

And yes, you're right, I rarely read the fine print.

Just got back from a trip on the Nieuw Statendam. We had an offer to up to a Vista Suite and accepted the offer. We do like an aft balcony.

When I get back I discovered that the extra "Suite Points" were not awarded. I called Mariner phone number and spoke with a knowledgeable lady who explained(after mulling through pricing) that I would have had to pay more to get the points.

Just an FYI for those who get an "UP" offer and might factor in the extra points as a part of the transaction.

The Buffet is about the only place I can think of. The Dutch Cafe does not open till 6:30 AM.

One thing you can do is get a few cups, lids, and sleeves from the Dutch Cafe or Crowsnest Bar to keep in your room, and go to the buffet get your coffee and return to your room without drama.

20 hours ago, Famgel1956 said:

So when u r onboard do u go by what the App states or the Daily program? Ty

They usually agree, but then there are times........well, they are not updated with running changes ????

This is a picture of our aft BALCONY Cabin on RCI Serenade of the Seas 7176. It is just about the same as our current Vista Suite cabin.

Again, not knocking it. It is a nice cabin. Just doing what the title of the thread says....observations.

We had sailed for about 7 years with RCI (D+ over 400 pts). Had enough of the cutbacks in everything. Decided to make a move over to HAL and are glad we did. This is only our 3rd sailing with HAL. It's a lot different, we have a lot to learn.

17 hours ago, mkl55 said:

You probably had the same beverage package as your cruise ten months ago.  However, in the meantime a price increase went into effect.  Therefore, beverages that were covered before are now just above the "allowed" amount resulting in the silly overages.  Previously, when beverage prices were raised, HIA minimums were also raised so it went unnoticed.  Under the old pricing, if you chose a beverage that went over the "allowed" amount, you had to pay the full charge.  Now you just pay the overage so perhaps that is why the HIA allowance was not raised.  I still found it quite annoying.  The reason I purchase the package is so I don't have to think about it.  Instead I had all these silly slips to sign and small charges (and the occasional full price charged in error) to look at.  I hope this policy gets reconsidered as it does impact "the feel" of the cruise.

Yes, agree with your assessment, after a 14 day sailing where just about everything went off in such a smooth fashion to now have these petty jabs is a minus.

Heck, when they charge an extra 50 cents for a drink, it is  59 cents with the 18% gratuity.

On the good side, the sea day yesterday was hopping. Ship is full and the pool decks were packed. Did a lot of walking the Promenade loop. Band was good again last night and so far, all different music every night.

Let's see what today brings at Grand Turk.

Something else we noticed was the removal of the staircase to the casino just outside the Rolling Stone. IMO, that's a plus! Good move.

Just a thought about the aft "Vista Suite" 7193 we got for this sailing. It is a nice cabin, but a suite?

Yes you do get double Mariner points, and there are a FEW more square feet of space. However, this in no way compares to a Royal Caribbean Junior Suite, or a Princess Mini Suite on the older ships.

This is a nice BALCONY cabin with the same bathroom as the one in the balcony cabin 4191 we had on this ship last time.

Not knocking it, it is a nice cabin.......not a suite.

The worst cabins so far have been the balcony cabins on the Princess Royal class ships(TA on the Enchanted Princess). Tiny cabin, very tiny bath. Didn't think that was possible. 

14 hours ago, Boatdrill said:

Just a quick comment about the printed Daily paper.... recently I went through the set I had saved from  an Alaska cruise two years ago. To my surprise, not one had the name of the ship ! Not even the 1st day's Welcome Aboard edition. 

So just curious.....is the name of the ship on your paper copies ?  

 

No, the name of the ship is not mentioned on the Daily.

Turns out the APP was correct in this case as the band in Rolling Stone was there tonight and did another good show.

Can't get too exited about the dueling pianos though. Just my opinion.

We were planning on going to the Rolling Stone again tonight, we really enjoyed last nights band.

The Nav. App says they will be playing a few sets again tonight. HOWEVER, the printed program(The Daily) says NO live music tonight because of GAME NIGHT in BB Kings. Well $#@*

Boarding was normal. We got there about 10:45(shuttle from hotel). Went right in and through the process in just a few minutes and then were given a #5 card and go sit down. They started calling numbers about 11:40 if memory serves. We went just before 12 noon. Pretty smooth in my opinion.

2 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

Were you still able to make WiFi calls back to the US (if you did this).

Have not tried yet. Wife's phone now has the "better" pkg. My laptop is hooked up to the included crap, and yes Mary229 is right. What comes with your "HIA" is VERY limiting.

In trying to make this post, the page loaded incorrectly twice before being useable.

At Half Moon Key today, pretty day and fairly cool and breezy. Have the Rotterdam with us along side. Tendering went on for a long time.

Our first sailing on the NS was an eastbound T/A April 2023 with HIA pkg. We found it fit us very well as far as bang for the buck.

Fast forward to today, on the current sailing. We are in an aft Vista Suite 7193. First thing we were told with the first drink we ordered was we owed an additional 50 cents because a Pina Colada was $11.50. Seems several of the most popular offerings have this issue, I know......what a shocker.

Tried to go online with the W-FI, won't go to most websites we tried. Spent about a half hour with the IT personal and were told we needed the "faster package" to go to any site that has pics or streams. It was recommended to spend another $80 EACH to upgrade. DW paid $40 to upgrade to the "middle pkg". Has been sufficient so far.

Not a deal breaker, just observations. The ship is great, dinner last evening was very good in the DR. Music was good in the Rolling Stone and BB Kings on the first night.

Yeah, I know.....we probably had the upgraded HIA  last April. Will have to check the paperwork when home to verify.

Will post again with more on the current Caribbean sailing.

Agree with above, we are long time RCI sailors....D+.................

Love the Nieuw Statendam and are on her now. Have a few more booked with HA. The crazy pricing on RCI is not something we can stomach easily. For us, the HIA pricing with HA works out to be a better deal and no floating amusement parks at sea.

On the NS now, the sail away at the rear pool was great, it was packed.

Got a good start on the HIA package.

Had an Alpha, Alpha at the sail away at the aft pool . Watched them cart the guy off in a wheelchair after he was lying on the ground for a while shaking.. Was a young man too!!

Sitting in a hotel room in Ft. Lauderdale now watching The NS come in on PTZ Port cam right now. Boarding SOON!!!

59 minutes ago, DE Solo said:

Yes, but did all of the perks from the original booking also transfer to the new one? 

Not sure what "perks" you refer to.

My perks are provided by my travel agent, such as OBC(with RCI and Celebrity) or fare discount (Princess or HAL). Sometimes a free dinner for 2 at specialty dining.

Rarely we get OBC from the cruise line. But that would not transfer over to the booking, only the offer for the "new" booking, if any.

The OP IS correct in stating that other lines WILL "MOVE" a booking to another sailing.....booking number and all.

RCI has done this a couple times over the years at NO Charge.

Just this past week, we moved a booking on Celebrity from one ship to another, there was a charge of $100 PP. Booking number remained the same.

12 minutes ago, little britain said:

When the b2bs disembarked there were only 2 agents…

It was a staffing issue. 

When we finally went through, there were 4 working agents and lots of people still behind us. We thought having a 1 PM flight out of EWR was LATE!..............We did make it with a little to spare.

Early booking also gets an OBC in addition to the premium items.

We have $500 on a 21 day T/A. Booking onboard combined with early booking gets more, $1200 on a 22 day South America/Antarctica.

We were just on Jewel in June, no cabin refurb we could see. Yes, it looks a bit tired here and there.

I believe the term HA is using is "Have It All Plus". At least that is what my future bookings all show. They also refer to "Elite Beverage Pkg." and "Premium" wifi.

All 3 bookings were made since April.

I did notice when I booked our last NS T/A (sailed this past April), that the grats were there one time I checked and not there another time. I had booked already with the grats.

We were on the Nieuw Statendam this past April on the eastbound T/A. Our first Holland America sailing in 18 years. The Internet was fine for streaming all the way across to Europe. I did not make note of the speeds though.

Was the first T/A  we had been on where that was the case, and we have been on many in both directions.

4 hours ago, villauk said:

 

That is incorrect. If they booked Plus/Premier prior to Dec 22 on the ‘old’ Plus 50, then they will have to pay for Ocean Now and R/S; they also won’t get any free visit to Alfredo’s.

We paid $50 long before Dec. '22. I just checked my cruise Personalizer and here is a screenshot. Looks like these things you mention ARE included. Or, have I missed something?

2 hours ago, brillohead said:

 

This is the sticking point.  The coupon is only available in their computer system on the first two nights, so if you don't process the payment / use the coupon on the first two nights, they can't access it later in the week.  

I've done this several times, though -- go and make the reservation on the first day and process the payment while the coupon is still in the computer for them to apply it, but dine on Night Four or such.  

This is our experience exactly. Am onboard the Jewel now and did this yesterday. The computer can only process the BOGO discount on day 1 or 2. Have never had a problem, several ships and sailings.

We learned this a few years ago when we tried to get our second BOGO later in the cruise and were told after we had dinner that we had to pay full.

The manager got involved finally, and he knew exactly what to do. Just give a 50% discount instead of tryin to get the system to accept the BOGO offer. DONE......