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oaktreerb

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Everything posted by oaktreerb

  1. On the ship I will continue to ask for 2 x day service, morning and evening. It is important to have clean towels each day. Dirty dishes and glasses need to be picked up or replaced and the ice bucket filled. I also like the chocolates and the towel animals. My demands are few. End of cruise tips are distributed. If I have to choose between morning and evening service I will have to put out the “service please” hanger every day. We did that when we resumed cruising because there was a rumor of once a day only service so we just told the stewards we would put out the door hanger when we were ready for service. It worked like a charm. In a hotel I don’t ask for the same level of service. If I don’t need clean towels I would rather the “cleaning crew” stay out of my room.
  2. Thanks everybody for all the information. I’ll pack my swimsuit and I’ll plan to go to the spa on boarding day for the open house. I usually skip it since it’s so crowded. I think it will be easier to use my OBC if I book onboard.
  3. I was asked to keep a log of the exact time of the night noises overhead in our room on the Eurodam. I woke up every time I heard the noise, wrote down the time and presented my list to an officer in the Lido. The noise was caused by the service carts going to and from the Lido galley. This goes on all night. There is a bump at the entrance that the carts go over. We were fortunate to be moved to another stateroom. I think the officer was surprised that I actually followed through with creating the log!
  4. Dealing with your problems IS their job!
  5. The Club Orange line on my cruises has always been a separate line at the front desk and if there are four customer service stations serving the single shared line, one rep will step over to service the Club Orange customer. It has not been an issue for me unless someone in front or beside me has a series of issues they are addressing. Your turn is the next person in the CO line, I can’t imagine stepping over into the regular line, the next person in the regular line would certainly be upset. They would think you were “cutting in”. Remember grade school?
  6. We had a forward facing signature suite on the Oosterdam in Alaska (guarantee, also HC). You can see my pictures on Halfacts #5002. The balcony was extremely small and unusable. The best thing about that room for our scenic cruising in Alaska was the forward facing window. Amazing views. I definitely would not want a forward facing suite if the cruise had a lot of sea days (like Hawaii).
  7. Years ago HAL did have a partial Panama Canal cruise round trip from San Diego. Now might be a good time to consider bringing it back. Round Trip San Diego to Alaska would be an interesting itinerary of 21 days!
  8. Thermal Suite on my 7 day cruise is 15 minutes for $149. Is it worth it? Do you have to pre-book a 15 minute block of time every day? I guess I would need a swimsuit??? I have OBC to spend and this would be a totally new experience for me. Any advice about using the Thermal Suite? Tell me about your experience with this HAL indulgence so I can decide if I want to try it.
  9. The 21 day Alaska cruise out of San Francisco was wonderful. New ports like Wrangell, Valdez. Lots of EXC activities with locals onboard to educate the passengers about life in Alaska. The 14 day cruises went to Kodiak and Homer and into the port of Anchorage. HAL modified the Yukon land tours to make them more efficient by adding flights where the bus trips covered large land areas. I’m not convinced that was a good move. HAL invested a lot of funds to improve the McKinley Chalets at Denali. HAL invested (as part of a group) in the White Pass railroad in Skagway. Things were looking really good for HAL in Alaska before the Covid shut down. I don’t care for the switch from Seward to Whittier but I suspect they had plans to develop that port. It did improve the train access to Denali. Princess has been sailing out of Whittier for years and Seward was taking on more and more ships as more cruise lines moved into the Alaska market.
  10. I really like the Koningsdam. It’s the newest ship we’ve been lucky enough to get on the West Coast. What’s better about the Nieuw Statendam (other than it’s newer).
  11. The brochure I picked up covered 2022 and 2023. As far as itineraries go, nothing new for 2023. Same brochure, same itineraries for both years. HAL may add some EXC type experiences but the cruise itineraries do not set them apart from the competition. I hope for better offerings for 2024 like repeated 14 day round trip itineraries. HAL is very focused on the cruise tours which are the best in Alaska (including the Yukon) but even these have become less inclusive through the years. I’m hoping for some innovation in 2024. The 2023 itineraries are published and for sale.
  12. I’m really surprised that you took so long to speak up. I think HAL should put a “call bell” at the Club Orange location.
  13. I went to a promotional “Cruise Show” in the San Diego area yesterday, Viking, RCI, Celebrity and Princess were there . Holland America was represented by a video promoting Alaska 2023 and a display and table set up by the Princess rep. promoting only Alaska. No other brochures. Other cruise lines had the equivalent of a Cruise Atlas. No one was there from Holland America to ask about the Fall 2023 offerings. Holland America is the only cruise line that sails out of San Diego. The others sail out of LA. I’m not concerned about Fall 2023 since there is a charter out of San Diego in November so I think they will eventually fill in the gaps for the Koningsdam. I am more worried about the future. What is the vision going forward for HAL!
  14. If you are on a guarantee CO will allow you to choose your stateroom. If you have tender ports you won’t need to pick up a tender ticket (you go when you are ready). The CO dining room is smaller but if you get a good table in the dining room the CO advantage goes away as far as I’m concerned.
  15. Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam, or Rotterdam would give you the most dining options.
  16. What a beautiful and colorful Fall day! 44 degrees, 6:25 sunset
  17. Maybe maintenance. Last week a ship at the AS dock had the forward lines tied up way forward on the dock. I noticed a small boat hanging around as the ship came in and it took the lines that were cast to the forward dock securing area (the camera did not show where they actually tied up.)
  18. 4173 Nice cabin, big balcony with a view, you’ll be close to the dining room.
  19. Per @VMax1700 recent October 2022 Charters posting: Fall 2023 shows a Legendary R & B Charter 10/28/23 to 11/4/23 Mexican Riviera 7 day round trip from San Diego. So, the K will be sailing out of San Diego in Fall 2023. HAL just needs to publish the schedule for the rest of us.
  20. This is a new promo. Not the same as the previous Military OBC promo that could be added to existing cruises.
  21. Look online at the deck plans for the Eurodam. The deck 4 staterooms have a star type icon for shower only. Cabins far forward and aft on deck 4. You might want your TA to find a shower only stateroom for you. You could also book a handicap stateroom. The tubs are high and might be an issue for you.
  22. HAL has been offering 10 Wednesday specials recently. Not that these offerings would be considered specials but Wednesday would be a good day to promote new itineraries. 🤔
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