Euby

I got my free cruise offer after my cruise in December. Never played anything in the Casino, but I played Bingo every time it was offered at the highest costing option.

What times were the evening Trivia and games? Also, how many Bingo games were there over the course of the cruise? I need to make sure I have my Bingo budgeted.

@rubytueand @Cruise Suzy - Thanks so much for your posts! I had completely forgotten about the chocolate extravaganza. My last cruise to Alaska had the one by the Lido pool. Does the new version still have the chocolate fountain? I'm looking forward to my cruise in mid-September. Hoping for sunny days like you had. 🤞

The small boat excursion is my "splurge" excursion when I go in September. I'm so glad that I booked it, especially after reading a few "live" reports from the Westerdam.

It's situations like this that make the case to get travel insurance. I go the extra step and get a policy that is cruise specific. My previous cruise had an itinerary change (nothing missed just switched around). My insurance policy paid out.

I love reading these posts. I hope you are enjoying it. I'll be on the Westerdam in September doing the same cruise.

Even though they come with the hole, I still use a holder that I got online from a company called Specialist ID. It allows the card to easily slide out using your thumb, so you can give to the staff for charges without having to give them the whole lanyard. It also keeps the card in place without it falling out. They offer double -sided ones as well (one-side key card and other side beverage card). They even have RFID-blocking ones nowadays. You can attach it to the retractable badge reels pretty easy. I do use a lanyard, but I found it on eBay years ago. It's nice and long and beaded. It's just looks nicer than the usual ones.

I don't know, but I'm sure you could ask the bartender.

My favorite drink to get is the Frosty Chocolate Mint Buzz. Think alcoholic chocolate mint shake. YUM!

Looking forward to more!

Thanks for posting about the small boat excursion at the glacier. I booked it for my cruise a few weeks ago. It's going to be my "splurge excursion". I won't do any whale watching excursions anymore. Not for the reason many would think, though. The last one I went on can never be topped. We got to see several pods breach feeding. At one point the captain had to kill the engine very abruptly as one of the pods (about a dozen whales) breeched within 50 feet of us. Then they swam so close to the boat (easily within 10 feet) that I was able to look one in the eye and got sprayed from their blow whole. Yep, nothing will ever top that excursion.

It's been several years since my last cruise to Alaska. I seem to recall that there was also a polar bear symbol that signified something (maybe local sellers?). I just remember to be on the lookout for it. Did I remember that correctly?

Thanks so much for sharing. I'm looking forward to more.

I'm looking forward to further updates. I'll be on the Westerdam in September. Curious what your impressions of the Gala nights were like.

I got the same email. However, after I choose my stateroom type and press 'Select', it just shows a blank screen like below. I have tried on both Edge and Chrome and even on Safari via my phone. I've tried multiple cruises, but always a blank screen. Any suggestions? I'd think that if nothing was available, it would state that on the previous screen.

I enjoy the sea days. Holland America does a good job of loading more activities on those days than port days. Sometimes I'd have to pick between 2 things that I wanted to do because they were at the same time and in different parts of the ship. While some things may seem quite silly (paper airplane contests), everyone always seemed to enjoy themselves (I know that I did). Have SS suite, you might be tempted to stay in a few days and just enjoy the scenery and room service.

Interesting article. You'd think it would be commonplace for an ad agency to try to familiarize themselves with a potential client's product/business. Now I'm curious to see what they come up with. Might even try that Cherry Pie Martini on my next cruise.

What does "DCA" mean?

There is a website called Raise that buys and sells gift cards. You may not get your full amount back, but it's better than nothing. Also, this is all this company dies, so they have some policies in place that keep fraud to a minimum. I've used the site to buy gift cards at a discount and have had no problems.

NEWS FLASH!!! AARP now has Holland America gift cards available in $100 and $500 increments available at a 10% discount for AARP members. https://www.aarp.org/rewards/redeem/#sort-by=default&type=filter_travel If you aren't an AARP member, another way to save is by having a Target Red Card. This allows you to buy gift cards online and instore from Target at a 5% discount. Every little bit of savings helps...