engrstudent

2 hours ago, DoggyDaddy said:

Just curious, what did HA charge for your baby, In respect to fares, gratuity, port fees, etc. our Son and DIl sailed on a cruise, based in Orlando, and had to pay full fare for their one year old. 
 

DD

His fare was $0. We paid only the same port fees/taxes as we did for ourselves, $160. He would have been 1/2 fare in a suite category. We noticed the fares varied based on the ship and itinerary. On the Nieuw Amsterdam the cost was the same but on the Veendam there was no discount for an infant. 

I mentioned on another post that I would discuss cruising with an infant with HAL. Since the holidays are now over I have some time to provide my thoughts, pros, and cons. As a qualifier I will say that we had expectations based on the HAL policy document located at the following link:

http://book.hollandamerica.com/pdfs/media/factsheets/FamilyTraveling_FactSheet.pdf

This was our 9th cruise with HAL and the 7-day Eastern Caribbean itinerary was one we've taken before so I won't say anything about that. Really I want to focus on the cruise line, the staff, the room, and the ship itself (first time on a pinnacle class). My son was ~8.5 months at the time of sailing.

Cruise Booking and Check-In:

This was the first time we decided to book a specific cabin. My wife and I tend to wait until the last minute and try for a good deal and hope for an upgrade from a verandah to a suite. It just so happened our son was free this cruise and we really wanted to try one of the family oceanview cabins for the bathtub. We booked via a PCC as we couldn't get the family oceanview through the website. There was an initial hiccup with the fare and they charged my son full fare but a subsequent phone call got it corrected. The PCC made some notes to ensure we had a pack and play in the room and that we'd have access to a high chair in the MDR. They also sent us the form to pre-order baby supplies to be in the room when we got on board. We did not pre-purchase anything as the prices were 3-5 times what you'd pay here in the states for diapers/food/etc. One thought, which I included in my survey, was to allow guests to reserve diaper pails for their cabins also. Fortunately we travel with little doggie doo bags for sealing dirty diapers. The line currently has no forethought on what to do with all the extra waste. Thankfully, our room steward was excellent as far as keeping our small trash can empty. We were able to pack my son his own 28" large suitcase with everything he needed and then some. Maybe if you were on an extended trip (1.e. more than 10 days) you'd order some stuff but definitely not needed  for a 7 day. You definitely need to be smart about packing. We took only one suitcase a piece, a delta clutch ultra compact folding stroller, and a backpack style diaper bag which doubled as our carry on for our wine bottles We also took a soft baby carrier which was stuffed in my checked luggage. Check in was a breeze even with the baby although we used the stroller to carry some extra consumables. Of course they made us take him out of the stroller, fold it up, and put it all through the x-ray. The check-in time given to us was 3 pm which we adhered to. What we didn't know is that as a result we would not get an invite to the 3*+ mariner champagne/cocktail hour/sail away that we enjoy attending. My parents were already on from the previous week and went but it's obvious there are more mariners of certain levels that they can't all accommodate. This seemed to be a common theme the entire week. Another complicating factor was that during check-in we noticed people with vouchers from the canceled 12/14 Nieuw Amsterdam sailing working with the staff to find available rooms. To say this ship was at capacity would be an understatement (over 400 kids this sailing per the cruise director).

Cabin (FB1032):

The cabin was really nice and in excellent condition during our sailing with tons of storage and cabinet space. It was somewhat underneath Billboard Onboard but no sound penetrated the cabin late at night during the music performances. I did find that there is plenty of room for the pack and play between the bed and the window which was nice. This left a nice little play area on the floor in front the couch for my son. It turns out we desperately needed that little patch of playground. I determined you don't really need the extra washroom. The showers have high enough curbs that would could cover the drain and use that as a shallow bath. So while the room may be nice for families of 4, strictly considering an infant I would just go for the room with the most floor space you can afford. When we approached Club HAL about the following,

"In addition, the line’s Club HAL children’s program schedules Toddler Times for kids under the age of three to play in the children’s facilities.  Parents must stay with youngsters at all times."

we were told there was no such policy. When we approached the front desk they also said there was no such policy. They said they would accommodate us if we could show them where it said that. Unfortunately I couldn't find the PDF on my phone during the trip. After much grief from many parents the front desk said with 24 hours notice they could work with hotel director, find a room (e.g. half moon room) , clean the room, and put it on the daily schedule. No one did this. It's one thing to see something in the schedule and decide whether to attend (like toddler free play) it's another thing to try and do the leg work and plan something else a day or two in advance when you have no idea if your child will even be in the mood after going through the motions. While the ship was generally clean I wasn't going to just let my son crawl all over the main public areas for a) his safety and 2) the safety/nuisance to the other passengers. Ultimately, we found that the Captain's Corner in the Crow's Nest never had anyone there and was the perfect place to crawl and make noise.

Ship:

The ship itself was beautiful and clean. All the standbys we've come to know and love are there and appreciated. We ate at Tamarind and it was excellent. The MDR was also excellent. Music walk clubs were also very nice an enjoyable. Having been to the Netherlands we really appreciated the Grand Dutch Café. That being said we did not like this ship. The cruise did not feel like a Holland Cruise. Something about this ship makes you feel packed in with all the extra people. "Upsell" offer literature (e.g. buy a lobster in the MDR) was abound. The World Stage theater was small and the shows lackluster. The Lido is the biggest nightmare during peak times that I've ever seen. For the first time in many cruises we ate almost every meal in the MDR. Even then you had to go very early for both breakfast(7:30) and dinner(5:15 for anytime). It saddens me to have to make this parallel to Carnival but I think the extra people overtax the staff. Until this cruise I had never seen food plates sitting on hallway floors, on the art installations, balled up towels all around the pools, etc. But this was commonplace and it cheapened the experience and made us feel like we were on a Carnival cruise at times. And while the fellow passengers were generally pleasant the overall crowd didn't have the vibe of a typical HAL cruise. This could be good or bad depending on who you ask but I will say the general etiquette you'd expect wasn't as present as you'd want. To me it seems the pricing scheme of selling cheap cabins to fill the ships then nickel and dime people for what there willing to pay attracts a different kind of crowd. I'm not saying I won't go on another HAL cruise but I'm thinking the move to bigger ships makes this more prevalent and as such I think we'll stick to the smaller ships.

Staff:

The staff on this boat was awesome and one of the reasons why we stick with HAL. As I mentioned above the room stewards made every effort to keep our room spotless so our son could play, fed us a steady stream of towels, and kept all the dirty diapers out all while being nearly invisible to our presence. The MDR jumped through hoops for us. Even though we didn't select fixed seating the dining room gave us a standing reservation for the week at the same table so we'd always be able to eat dinner stress free with the same staff (Lesson learned - pick fixed dining with baby). The servers would bring my son any assortment of mashed foods they could muster to provide variety from baby food packets. The wine steward would play the wine glasses to entertain him. The breakfast crew was just as amazing. The photographers were also outstanding. They treated our baby as if he were royalty and went out of their way to set up certain holiday photoshoots. For example they weren't originally going to have Santa visit the week before Christmas for pictures. We said we'd hoped to get pictures and a couple of days later they acquired a Santa suit and set aside time on two different days in different locations for Santa photos. They did such an amazing job we couldn't help buying the platinum photo package. Bravo!

Food:

I'll be succinct here. The food was the best I've had in a while on Holland. While they've certainly cut back on the premium aspect of the food in the MDR in favor of convincing you to book a specialty restaurant what they do serve comes out quick, as ordered, and delicious. As I stated above Tamarind was excellent and continues to be our favorite specialty restaurant. Due to recent price increases we no longer feel the value is there for Canaletto or Pinnacle Grill and shoes not to eat there. We considered trying Sel de Mar but opted out considering our proximity to Charleston, SC. If we really wanted good seafood we'd just take a trip down there.

Final Thoughts:

This was not our favorite Holland Cruise. In all honesty it ranks at the bottom. The biggest issues being HAL not honoring their own policy (at least what I thought it was) and the size/capacity of the ship. I will say the pricing scheme is a major turn off but I suspect that is creeping into all the ships so I can't solely blame that. Traveling with a baby is doable. It certainly helps to have family there to give you breaks although we took turns going to the clubs at night too. The staff is generally accommodating and helpful to those with infants. The free play time in Club HAL really would have put them over the top. I have no clue if the policy-mentioned in-cabin babysitting for infants was available. We never asked as my wife wasn't interested in having a stranger watch our son however I suspect it is unlikely that it was based on our conversations with many of the other parents. I think HAL was just slammed with the overwhelming number of kids/people and how to handle them. Then again they aren't known for family cruising. I would posit that if you're looking to attract a more diverse crowd then you need to be able to accommodate the kids they will inevitably bring with them. If not move to the old pricing model and charge me more for less people, more room, etc. We would take another HAL cruise but probably on a non-Pinnacle class ship (either with or without our son). We are considering trying another more family friendly line for comparison purposes or merely just waiting until our son is 3 and can participate in Club Hal. I know this is getting wordy so I'll just leave it at that for now and will try to answer any questions should people have them.

After many cruises with HAL my wife and I will be taking our son on his first cruise in December. Much like the OP we too had a miracle baby this year. He will be ~8.5 months when we sail. So far the HAL cruise consultants have been extremely helpful in making sure we had what we needed (crib, high chair, etc.). We opted to try one of the Family Oceanview cabins on the Koningsdam since they have a tub in the larger bathroom.

We have taken a family cruise in the past on Carnival with my sister and her kids and it is doable. We all took turns so she and her husband could have some time. Fortunately, my parents will be coming with us to help out and let us have at least one quiet dinner together. Additionally, we have taken enough Caribbean cruises to not care so much about the excursions. The ports are all walk off/on with the exception of HMC which should make it easier. Really this trip will be about spending time together on a boat vs. at the house.

As far as baby fussiness we will just have to see how that goes. I understand some fellow passengers may get annoyed but I feel as HAL grows and evolves this may become the norm. As a decent human being I will remove my child if he is a distraction but HAL won't survive as a company if folks like my family don't feel welcome. I've been cruising HAL for almost 10 years, 3-star Mariner now and I like the experience they offer and hope to share that with my son as he grows. Who knows, maybe he'll be a 4 or 5-star mariner by the time he's 30! Just wish we were 4-star for the laundry...if I could get that by age 40 I'd be happy.

Will definitely post about the trip afterwards as there is very little on taking trips with infants/toddlers on HAL.

You are indeed lucky!!!! We are on 2/1 Nieuw Amsterdam with friends/neighbors. Today us & another couple wanted to move down the hall 5-8 cabins on deck 6 from VD to VB, both just balconies -- our TA was told by HA that we would lose all our perks (drinks, grill, OBC)!!! She is trying again tomorrow AM....

Good luck to you!

My wife and I are sailing on the Westerdam leaving 12/20. We had booked a verandah and were just happy to be taking our first Christmas cruise. Last year we sailed the N.A. the week before Christmas and were able to get an SZ GTY for $999pp and ultimately ended up in a Neptune with a last minute upgrade offer.

Knowing that no one booking has any bearing on any other we hoped that maybe something similar would happen this year. Week after week I watched the prices and turned down upsells into an SZ GTY (we figured why pay more and not get the double cruise days?) hoping prices would come down like last year. No Dice.

On a spur of the moment decision, I decided to just go ahead and pay the difference to move up into a suite as a Christmas surprise to my wife. I called and the agent was very nice. I talked to her about my luck last year, how we really enjoyed HAL, and how while I was happy to pay for the upgrade I was sad they didn't drop the prices on this itinerary like I would have thought (there were still over 20 Neptune suites). I asked to make sure that the price I paid would ensure the double cruise days and preserve the onboard credit from when I booked earlier this year. She put me on hold twice to make a few phone calls to supervision. When she got back on the line she informed me the price difference was $370pp but after talking to supervision HAL upgraded us for $370 total. We also would get the suite bonus and maintain our OBC. I was floored! So much more then we would have expected! Thanks HAL for making this year a very Merry Christmas! This is why we will continue to cruise HAL and recommend the line to others.

So I guess all those adages ring true, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease," "ask and you shall receive," and any others you can think of!

thanks everyone for the replies! I think we are going to go the car rental route so we can control the amount of time at the shrine.

My wife and I will be in Quebec City in early August on the Maasdam. We don't really want to book an excursion as there is so much to do just by walking around. My wife, however, really wants to take an early morning detour to Sainte Anne de Beaupre. The reviews of the excursion with the cruise line indicate you're only at the church for a short time. Searches of local tours doesn't seem to yield anything much better.

I was looking at renting a car as Sainte Anne is pretty close (30 min) and pretty cheap, ~$45 for the day. Has anyone done this? Is it pretty easy to get to the church? I'm thinking if we went in the morning, spent a couple hours and came back we'd have 4-5 hours to walk around Old Town before getting back on the boat.

Conversely, are there private drivers at or near the port that can be hired for the day? The price through HAL is way too high in my opinion. If there are, is this the better option?

It's hard to recommend a hotel when you don't mention your priorities.

 

Clearly Boston has a great many hotels all the way from The Ritz/Taj and Four Seasons to far lower end.

 

What do you require/want in your hotel?

I think the only thing that matters to us is to have a place that makes accessing the port easily the day of embarkation. We were looking at the Westin Waterfront as I can get a good deal with my credit card reward points. I think worknfortravel just solidified that choice.

I knew there was a walking trail in Boston but couldn't remember what it was called but it's good to know it's called the Freedom trail.

How about any restaurants...I'm a bit of a foodie, any places that stick out as especially interesting or delicious?

My wife and I FINALLY committed to taking an upcoming cruise on the Maasdam from Boston. I was just wondering what the board thought about leaving from Boston and in particular:

-recommendations on hotels and hotel locations (I'm thinking it shouldn't matter too much as Boston is a big city and should be pretty easy to get around)

-ease of getting to the port and embarkation (again, I'm assuming it should be pretty easy if we fly in the day before)

-suggestions on sightseeing. We are planning on flying in as early as possible the day before so as to have a full day to explore Boston. I know Boston is not a one-day town but considering its history and diversity some things may be more interesting than other. I'm thinking about seeing Old Ironsides.

thanks everyone for the replies. My wife and I try to be economy cruisers so as long as we have a bed for a good price the room type isn't too important. We'll probably keep watching this one and if the price is right for us book it regardless. All I can say is the weather in new England/Canada in august is going to be a lot more pleasant than SC!

I'm sure this question has been asked before but anyhow...My wife and I are looking at the 8/2 sailing of the Maasdam from Boston to Montreal to try something different this summer for our anniversary. We typically watch an itinerary until the 90 day window and then start seriously considering whether we want to book or not as prices typically start to drop off based on available cabins. We have been watching this cruise since January and the lanai cabins and above are all sold out. I know, I know, some cruises/dates sell faster/better than others and maybe this is just a popular week. What I find interesting though is that there are plenty of cabins the week before/after this particular date with discounts now appearing for suite cabins. Also, considering all the lanai/vista/Neptune suites are listed as sold out you would think by chance at least one person from CC would have started a roll call (this is the first I've seen without one).

I just have a hunch that maybe there is some large event or group is causing this week to sell out? Any thoughts on what makes that one week so magical? If there is something going on that sailing is there anyway to find out other than CC? I mean I wish I could be flexible and shoot for a cheaper week but alas my wife is a teacher and only gets certain weeks off between semesters. I am just curious about what the CC community has to say.

thanks everybody for your input!

I know I'm adding my two cents late in the conversation but my wife and I aren't even 30 and we love HAL. We work hard and HAL offers a nice, relaxed environment in which to unwind. I feel the fellow passengers are generally respectful to both the crew and other guests. There is definitely no hard partying nor excessive debauchery. I find the cooking demonstrations interesting, the ships tastefully decorated, and the service far superior to what I'm used to. And while the majority of the passengers on the 7-day itineraries are a generation older (my parents enjoy both HAL and Celebrity and are quite the seasoned cruisers), if not occasionally two, they are always willing to engage in conversation with us and share in their adventures. It really is a perfect escape from the normal hectic life that many young couples endure. 'Nuff said.

After discussing with my wife we decided to take the aft balcony to try something different as we've cruised midship before. Besides we're young and don't mind walking around.

Really looking forward to breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill now! Yea!

My DW and I recieved our coveted upsell off from an SZ gty to any available Neptune Suite from SC to SQ. I, like the OCD engineer that I am, have been tracking every available room on the ship through the HAL website for the last week or so. As of this morning I know a Number of SA suites are available (9), a few SBs (4) including 8162 with the wrap around balcony, and both SQ spa suites. I have decided to jump on the offer since we likely will never have the opportunity to get the room for this cheap and will call HAL as soon as I get home. Hopefully they wont sell out 14 rooms in an hour...

Any way if they are available what are the thoughts on the wrap around aft suite? I know many seem to like it. We had a spa verandah (VQ) on the Eurodam last year and the extra spa amenities (yoga mat, water feature, etc.) don't seem to justify the cost. We just like the location as we love the thermal suites. Thoughts?

Thank you all, I guess I just need to be patient and hope for an awesome upgrade! Really great news for all those who get a great one!!!

Welcome to HAL. I see you are cruising on the 12-15 Nieuw Amsterdam cruise. Guess we'll see you on board. If you haven't already come on over and join the roll call. I also highly recommend you make a reservation to eat at either Tamarind and/or the Pinnacle Grill (the reservations go fast on the first day of the cruise if you don't book beforehand). My wife an I love Tamarind and have reserved dinner twice for the cruise!

We too are awaiting our GTY suite assignment. We cruised this same week last year on the Eurodam and received an upsell offer around the end of November. I'd give it two more weeks or so.

when my wife and I were sailing aboard the Oosterdam for our honeymoon in Alaska it was so foggy on the last sea day the horn was blasted every few minutes. You could also hear the horns of the other cruise ships coming back from Alaska (Princess trailed us the entire trip). Let me tell you it got old really quickly! It is interesting sailing around in such dense fog though that you cannot see more than 10 feet from your balcony!