Shippy

Soon after your final payment you will will an offer to bid if they participate.

 SHOULD THEY LEAVE THE KEYS OUTSIDE THE DOORS ???

We recently got off the Eurodam.

We ran into a couple where someone else mistakenly went to their cabin.

They dropped their stuff off in the room, left & locked the door.

  The people who belonged in that cabin had a heck of a time finding someone to open the door & get them new keys.

 The cabin stewards hauled away the stuff that was left there mistakenly by the wrong person.

On the Eurodam now. Our boarding passes said noon.

  There was no priority boarding. They just let everyone on at once. We were in the Lido having lunch at 11 am AND by the time we were done…..our cabins were ready !

43 minutes ago, kelliebiz said:

Very interesting! I assume this cash is for those who have already used the casino? I don’t think I have ever gambled on a HAL ship. Enjoy your new found play money!

Yes, we get our offers by email. They include a free or discounted cabin and casino cash.

Seems like there are a great number of people on this cruise that got some sort of casino deal.

     Unlike Princess where everything is automated, Holland I far from that. I knew that I had a lot of casino cash coming but when I put my card in a machine, nothing came up. That would have been automatic on Princess which were used to.

I asked the casino host and she said she has to input it. She was carrying several sheets of paper which looked like there were hundreds of names. Apparently if you do not have her do that, you will not get your money.

     I had booked this cruise under a casino offer I got under my name.  Awhile later, I thought that just for the heck of it, I would have her check under my husbands name.  She said he had $600. coming and she would input that.

   If I had not haved her check, he never would have known about that !

Are there any decks  better than others for these types of cabins ?

thanks

We have actually sailed & gambled more on Princess but I know that the gambling info is shared between some cruise lines.

   The absolute best offer from Princess is left in your cabin on the last day of the cruise. You have about a month to book & the cruise can go out only about 6 months.

All the email offers I get from Princess are not very good. Only about half the one left in the cabin.

  Holland sends me offers (email) all the time. Some better than others. That is why you have to look at each one & not just erase because you assume they are not good. The last was to good to be true so I booked for next year. I had read somewhere on cruise critic that these offers can be used 3 TIMES each from Holland even though the offer does not say that. I just tried a mock booking on the offer we just used and YES, it appears I can use that offer again   :O)

You will get mixed answers on this. There is another thread going on this topic.

We have done 3 Princess cruises in the past year on different ships. Stayed in a Penthouse Suite. We were never charged for room service whether we called or hung the tag on the door.

We were told it was because we were in a suite.

We did have the old plus package but I do not think that mattered.

1 hour ago, disneyochem said:

I completely agree!  I’m a casual gambler (budget $250/cruise) and have gotten some great offers recently —booked Panama Canal and Hawaiian cruises for 2025.  
 

Of course, as my hubby (who has NEVER gambled) likes to point out these cruises are not free!  We upgrade room categories (OV to veranda) and add HIA.  Still, it’s nice to save a few dollars!

That is great. That is what I thought so much better than other offers is the fact you can book way out. Actually a year away. Most other offers we ever get are only good for a booking a few months out.

6 hours ago, resordanis said:

We have the old plus package.

I find this odd that so many seemed to be charged.

We said 3 times this past year on  the Crown , Royal & Regal.

All with the old Plus package & never charged for room service.

On 3/23/2024 at 10:22 AM, reedprincess said:

If you paid $30 or $50usd for your Plus Cruise Package, then room service delivery fee and Ocean Now activation fee is not included.  Room category makes no difference..

Room Service delivery is $5 per order when using the phone, and Ocean Now activation fee is $14.99 one time. If one of you activates Ocean Now, you can use that for delivery anywhere on the ship including to your cabin - however, you can't use it to order from the MDR as that's not coded into the Ocean Now delivery system. You have to call room service, this incurring the $5 charge. 

Or, upgrade to include all the extra items, including room service, ocean Now, medallion shipping, casual dining, juice bar, and so forth. 

We sailed 2 months ago with the $50. Plus package in a suite. Never paid a fee. and we ordered by phone for coffee & pastry every morning because we were up at 5 am & the menu you hang on the door did not start delivery that early.

I think my original point has been lost.

I was trying to stress how wonderful the offers have become....

1 hour ago, crystalspin said:

HAL doesn't actually make the casino offers. Like so much else on their cruises, the casino is outsourced! I forget the name of the franchise holder, but I have read it on CC. 

 

THAT entity thinks you are a safe bet to gamble more than their price for the room and drinks.

The email just says in large letters....

Holland America Players Club.

I know they are all outsourced but the cruise line likes make you think it is them....fine with me !

 Princess & Holland have both given us great casino offers but now Holland has jumped ahead.

Although the time is fairly short to accept an offer before it expires, usually just about 2 weeks.

   The dates for eligible cruises goes way out. We just had an offer for a free cruise & drinks.

To good to pass by when I saw we could book out into 2025. So, we just booked a Mexican cruise for 11 nights 

for March 2025 !

  The only thing we really have to lose if we cancel is the $100.pp deposit. I was assured port & tax would be refunded.

The way things are going, I am sure cruise fares & drink packages will keep going up just like everything else.

??

We always stay in a Neptune suite

maybe 1

Cannot find a youtube on the SB

Some discussions I have read says it has a bigger balcony but the cabin is the same (?)

Others say the SA & SB are exactly the same just the location is different.

Anyone familiar with those categories ?

Thanks

30 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

Yes, you will get port taxes / fees back regardless of when you cancel.  The full details are in section 7 of the passage contract which can be found here:  https://www.princess.com/en-us/legal/passage-contract/pcl

Wahooo...

thanks so much. That is what I was hoping. It is worth the gamble to me to book & only be jeopardizing the small down payment.

We have only until the end of this month to make the booking even though the sailing date is far away.

Thinking of booking a casino offer for later this year.

The cabin is free. I know that I have to to pay the deposit, port & taxes at the time of booking.

If I have to cancel....

I know the $200. non refundable per person deposit will be forfeited..

But what about the port & taxes ?

Anyone have any ideas ???

Years ago, on a different cruiseline, we had the same kind of problem.

When I went down to guest services to complain...they calmly said...ship noises     :O)

I am SOOOOOO happy to hear about this. Our Holland cruise is in just a few weeks.

I have been getting used to this on our last Princess cruises. Exactly the same, Last sea day of the cruise.

One nice thing I would like to add about the casino deals you get onboard.....

Although they say NOT combinable with other offers...that appears to be only for the same person, not the other person on the booking.

   We always book under my deal because I get a better cabin category offer. Lately they include Princess Plus & casino cash. !

Anyway, They have been adding the casino cash offer that my husband gets to our bookings !

This time $500.      :O)

The offers I get onboard...which are way better than the emails they send me... say up to 14 day cruises.

I have read many reviews that have said ....no matter how appealing it sounds to take an Inaugural Cruise....Do Not Do It !

   most always LOTS of problems including ones like you mention.

So sorry for your experience    :O(

I know it is a lot of money but it is truly a special experience.

The food incredible, the wines exceptional.and the EXPERIENCE....

Remember there are only 20 of you. I am sure there are probably a least that number of crew waiting on you.

The visuals are very intriguing  as is the story..

There is no need to do it more than once as the story does not change but even at that high price, I would be surprised if you did not think it worth it.

I am sure they mean 1 piece of what would be considered checkin size.

We always carry are own off...1 big suitcase & 1 carry on size each.