oaktreerb

We did Seabourn in the Caribbean a few years ago. The dining room service was really slow but the wine glass was kept filled. The excursions staff was not very helpful since they had locals come onboard to educate us on the day in port. Most of us felt like we needed the local input ahead of docking so we could make plans. The staterooms are big with a walk in closet! We did Azamara in New Zealand and the feel of the ships was more like HAL. The rooms are considerably smaller than Seabourn. The staff was wonderful and the food and service were very good. Azamara was somewhat more casual. They have new owners now but I suspect they haven’t changed much. In Alaska I would be concerned about the smaller ships like Seabourn having to tender while the bigger ships will dock. We were on the Maasdam (small ship) in Juneau a few years ago and had to tender. Not a happy experience and it was cold and rainy which made it worse. You may also have to tender in Sitka but not so bad there (very scenic). Holland generally has the best dock locations because they have been in Alaska for a long time.

With the crowds outside the MDR for early open dining recently unless you have fixed dining it would be worth $70 to have a dedicated line for dining room seating! I have not seen any special CO event since Covid. You can have your jewelry cleaned in the shops but you could probably have that done anyway. I’m not sure if you can get mimosas and fresh orange juice in the MDR. It is available for room service breakfast. Haven’t seen the sparkling wine. The CO priority line at the service desk is nice to have if you have issues.

Not according to Club Orange stated amenities. Your room key shows that you are in Club Orange if you bought CO or are in a NS/PS. If 4* and above have priority at the CO line it would negate priority access since a lot of HAL cruisers are 4* and above. What ship were you on when the GSM told you the CO line was for 4 and 5 star?

@kazuI’m sorry to hear of your issue with the Club Orange line at the front desk. There should be a roped off area at the far end of the CS desk indicating Club Orange and if no one is waiting there the desk clerk will assist others. If you stand in the Club Orange roped off area you become priority and someone will come to assist you. Even if they are short of personnel at the desk, you are priority. It sounds like there are too many “guests” onboard, compounded by too many issues and inexperience of staff. The K will soon be sailing to Hawaii, hopefully fewer kids will be onboard and the crew will have time to adhere to a “tight ship” service mentality. I’ll be on the second of the Hawaii sailings. I sure hope they get their act together before I get there!

If you had J2619 booked and they gave it to someone else, you had it first. I’d take this issue up the “chain” starting with the TA. The TA needs to call HAL and get your stateroom back.

You pay the deposit. HAL will contact you through your TA or PCC. You ask which stateroom is available and either accept or reject. If you don’t want the stateroom you can stay on the waitlist to see if something better shows up.

If you fax: It’s best to have everything on one page so there is no danger of separation of multiple pages. My shareholder proxy has the number of shares at the bottom so I fold it so the names and number of shares take up half and my name, dates and booking number along with my contact information are on the other half of my request. Be sure the number of shares is evident on your paperwork, it’s now at the bottom of the proxy.

@erin78 I have recently begun to try to remove cheese from my diet. Melted cheese holds the pizza together. What would you expect to have included on a pizza without cheese?

You need to call them. I faxed mine on 12/5 and asked for confirmation. I finally called 12/27 and HAL rep said that they hadn’t received it so I e-mailed the request and received confirmation the same day. She said that more people are e-mailing the requests these days.

Ships are sailing full so the dining room is more crowded. If you prefer a table for two and always dine early you can ask the maitre’d to assign you a table in open dining. If you don’t show up on time they will hold it for about 15 minutes.

@kazuRE: the food desert on the Nieuw Amsterdam in Alaska. We got back on the ship, probably around 3 pm. The steward removing the food from the Neptune Lounge went back to the cart and gave us each a plate of rolls. I asked the concierge why the NS didn’t have fruit in the room like in the past and she said HAL decided too much fruit was wasted but we could order fruit delivered to our room. I told her how much I had enjoyed the grapes that had been refreshed in our room everyday on the previous cruise. (The next afternoon she had grapes delivered to our room.). Because I was curious about the situation we walked the whole ship looking for food. Maybe I missed something but I’ve been on a lot of ships and went all the way to the Crows Nest looking for food. I did “Let Us Know” but didn’t get a response. We only had a couple of days left. I almost always have cookies in the room but not that day! I think one station in the Lido should be open in the afternoon for a quick snack. There weren’t even any cookies out. RE: Sel de Mer. I also ordered the Calamari and was disappointed and our waiter noticed I wasn’t eating it and offered to bring me something else. The salad was very good!

@hues of blueHave you looked on halfacts.com to see if your cabin or another in the same area is reviewed?

We came back from an excursion in Alaska in August and every place to get food was closed. We headed to the Neptune Lounge for a snack and the steward was removing all the food items and not replacing them until later in the day. We discovered that HAL is a food desert at times. We walked to every food venue on the Nieuw Amsterdam and none of them had food available. The bars, however, were serving drinks. We could have asked for peanuts, maybe. At least one venue needs to be open for hungry people returning from excursions!

The dining room opens about 5:15. Early seating or late seating can be assigned in fixed seating dining room prior to the cruise. It’s easier to get late fixed seating. Talk to the dining room manager on your first day if you want to make reservations. At 5:15 there will probably a “sea” of people trying to get into the “any time dining”. The dining room may be open for lunch on the day you board and they won’t be busy because most people go to the Lido.

Did you book with a TA? If so, since you have booked the Pinnacle Suite, your TA may be able to contact HAL with your request. Crew News has diagrams of the dining room set up on his website. If that doesn’t work, ask the Neptune Lounge concierge to reserve a table for you. If all else fails the dining room manager can provide you a designated table in open dining if you choose the early dining option. You paid a lot of money for the most expensive stateroom on the ship, you deserve to have a preferred seat in the dining room. Club Orange is not able to make that concession and they don’t have ocean view dining anyway.

I decided to try the drink but would not order it again. I’ve been saving them for a non HIA cruise someday. I hadn’t thought of using it for something nonalcoholic. Good idea.

I hope they have stopped setting rooms aside for quarantine.

The line will form along the wall outside the terminal. You will drive in, give your tagged luggage to the baggage staff and get in the line. I can imagine if people try to cut in to the front of the line there will be a lot of angry cruisers. There will be one line when you 4*+ go inside the terminal and you will be expedited when you reach the appropriate area. Just be sure to tell the staff that you are 4*. If they tell you to sit and wait for your group to be called, ask if they have begun boarding. If they have begun boarding…..you can board….just go! Anyway, that’s how it has been every time I have boarded in San Diego. The last time I boarded was very crowded and they honored expedited boarding for 4* and above.

On our November cruise, beginning with 4154 the fire doors were closed along the corridor of obstructed verandas on Deck 4. Don’t know the capacity of those rooms but 4154-capacity was 4. Those rooms were set aside for quarantined crew, many of whom had just joined the ship and had to quarantine before they could be out and about. I was in 4156.

With a Neptune Suite you will have preferred dining, with a veranda you would have to also purchase Club Orange to have preferred dining (a separate dining room on newer ships and a separate entry to the main dining room on the older ships). You usually have to booked fixed dining as soon as you book your cruise. If you have anytime dining you can always talk to the maitre ‘d and work out a plan reserving a table for eating at the early seating. The only time we eat in the Lido is when we want a customized salad at the salad bar for lunch. The 7 day cruises to Mexico or North to San Francisco are probably cheaper because they are “cookie cutter” repeating itineraries. Not terribly exciting but a welcome change of pace for many. The “All Irish Cruise 2023” will probably be a great cruise. Holland America has planned some much requested unique itineraries like this for the future. I don’t think you will be disappointed. As far as Hawaii goes, can you handle 5-6 sea days in a row? There will be more activities on the front end, then lots of port days around the islands, then fewer activities as you sail back to the mainland.

@kazuWith 2960 passengers you are about 310 passengers over the listed 2650 capacity. We were onboard in November and it seemed crowded even though the Covid Quarantine corridor was closed off starting at 4154 along the obstructed balcony staterooms. I’m assuming those rooms have been opened for passengers if there are that many people onboard. We prefer Deck 4 aft since it is near Club Orange and the Grand Dutch Cafe. It has never seemed crowded except for the early diners that gather outside the MDR in the evening. Deck 4 aft has always been a mess when the luggage is being delivered. It sounds like you’ve got great room stewards! Have a great cruise. The Club Orange hostess and manager have always been wonderful!

You have a great attitude. Thanks for reporting how much you enjoyed the itinerary!

@LMaxwellThanks for the detailed report. You say you were “inclined” to send it to HAL. Please do us a favor. Print it and put it in an envelope addressed to Gus Antorcha. You may receive a response from his office …..which will forward it to the appropriate departments. I speak from experience.

Yes, especially if you are next to Charlie. I would ask to be moved in both situations. If you speak up you are calling the Hotel Managers attention to the issue and he will be more aware when someone else complains.

I have a pocket type folder for each cruise and I keep all the paperwork in there, label it like “Alaska, June 2024”. Each cruise has a different color folder. Any time there is an update, like shareholder credit added, I ask my PCC for an updated cruise confirmation. That way I know HAL and I are on the same page as far as OBC. On our household planning calendar which hangs on the wall I indicate when final payment is due and when I should purchase insurance as well as the dates set aside for the cruise. I put confirmations for excursions and dining reservations in the folder plus anything about the trip that I want to remember. I also list the important dates on my ipad calendar.