Tell me all about Holland America

[bcnvcanada]

We are new to this cruise line and are taking a 60 days cruise on the Rotterdam early next year. What can we expect? What is this cruise line like? Do they have an internet packages? apx price of them. Wine package? Any and all information about the Rotterdam and or Holland America would be most welcomed. our t/a said that the people on Holland America would probally be much older than us. We are not big into food just a soup and salad for dinner with fresh fruit. Would this kind of food be easy to come by. Is there a place to get this other than the main formal dinning rooms? Any advise would be most welcomed.

[SwissMyst]

60 days is certainly a major commitment before taking a shorter cruise to see if HAL is a good fit for you. You didn't mention your age so it is hard to tell again what kind of fit you are looking for.

 

Can you share more about your trip and where you are going because that would help share more about what you will expect to find as well. The Rotterdam often does grand voyages so you will be choosing a very unique experience that can be beyond the normal repeated cruise itinerary experiences. We sailed the Rotterdam in N. Europe and liked her a lot as our preference is for the smaller HAL ships. The layout of the Rotterdam suits us very well. Love the two tier dining room, cabin size, promenade from the dining room to the show lounge and the expansive feeling of the Explorations Cafe and Library location. We find these smaller HAL ships very, very comfortable.

 

Yes, you can always get light meals at all dining venues: Main dining room, Lido buffet, room service and the snack bar. We have found on longer cruises we settle into some fairly routine meal choices too after sampling the variety for the few few days, which is one reason we personally find lavish buffets or menu choices are not worth paying extra over time for since one can only eat so much food for so long.

 

I think each passenger brings as much to any cruise as any cruise line gives back. If you travel for the itinerary, HAL often offers the most interesting for the price. If you travel for comfort of cabins and very nice professional and courteous service with reasonable demands, nothing tops HAL. If you want a lot of personal extras and someone anticipating your every need, want and desire then HAL might fail.

 

If you want constant high energy entertainment and extroverted passenger mixes, HAL may not be your best choice. If you like lazy, leisurely, quiet times to explore you own pursuits on your own, HAL offers many special places on board for both private space and communal people watching. If you want eye-popping decor that is trendy and contemporary, HAL will disappoint you visually. If you like travel value that takes you around the world in old fashioned comfort, HAL will work for you.

 

If one were to say it most succinctly, HAL is more for travellers. Other cruise lines are more for tourists. If 85% okay is good enough, HAL will work. If nothing less than 100% if good enough, I would try another cruise line.

[RuthC]

First off, welcome to HAL. My advice is to read through the threads that seem to answer some of your questions. You will learn a lot of things you hadn't thought to ask.

Now, to some specifics---

The Internet costs $3.95 to sign up, plus a charge for the minutes used. It's $0.75 per minute, or you can purchase one of two packages. The first package is $55.00 for 100 minutes; the second $100.00 for 250 minutes. If you sign up the first day, there are bonus minutes.

Yes, you can easily get a small dinner as you described, and no, you don't have to eat in the dining room. If you don't plan to eat in the dining room most nights, might I suggest that you choose open seating. That way, diners who are looking for a stable dining situation won't be disappointed. You can go to the Lido, or eat in your cabin if you want to skip the dining room.

There are wine packages, but I don't use them, so can't give any more information.

Hope this is a start for you.

[6rugrats]

You booked a 60 day cruise without knowing the answers to these very basic questions? Have you tried reading through these boards, asking your TA, or just going to HAL's webpage?

[Lesinindy]

For me HAL is tops, but to book a trip like that without having a better idea about the line sounds to me that like you could set yourself up for something that will not live up to your expectations. Even a short cruise would give you a better idea before putting down big bucks on the 60 day.

[ldog]

We love the Rotterdam and her long cruises with a great itinerary.

 

Yes, you can buy wine packages. Check out the onboard gifts and they will give you an idea. The selection is heavy on West Coast wines. You can also bring your own wine and pay a corkage if you are going to drink it in the dining room. (No charge if you drink it in your cabin:D)

 

Yes, a 60 day cruise will have older passengers as we are the ones with the time and money to take long cruises. Most 30 year olds are too busy working and raising families. That said, how old is old to you? There are plenty of passengers in the 55 - 60 year old range and a number of younger than that.

 

What you can expect is a laid back, elegant cruise with some good lectures, good food (I think the soups are excellent) and good companionship while visiting interesting places.

 

I suggest you join the roll call for your cruise and get to meet some of your fellow passengers.

 

Where are you going?

[boards]

We were thinking of booking cabins more aft than the middle of ship we usually do Cat. K. If you imagine Cat. EE, what do you think the motion would be like, alot or moderate?

[kazu]

Since you ask about wine packages, one of the things you should be aware of is that HAL will let you bring all the wine, water and soda you want on board for consumption in your cabin only. One of the most generous allowances. We take advantage of that and then order wine packages for the dining room.

 

Hal also has wine cards which are quite a good deal. rumour is they will be replaced so I would order soon. you have your choice of their house wine and it works out to just under $4 a drink, which is pretty fair ball. Their house wines are drinkable.

 

As well, their prices for most liquor bottles to be ordered for your room is quite fair and reasonable.

 

hope this helps a bit. We started sailing HAL in our 40 s and have tried other lines in between. We prefer HAL. Now, 55+, but HAL has a lot of great people who I enjoy meeting and have remained friends with some.

 

definitely go on to your roll call. You will get to meet some of your fellow cruisers. enjoy your cruise :):):)

[ariawoman]

First off, welcome to HAL. My advice is to read through the threads that seem to answer some of your questions. You will learn a lot of things you hadn't thought to ask.

 

Now, to some specifics---

The Internet costs $3.95 to sign up, plus a charge for the minutes used. It's $0.75 per minute, or you can purchase one of two packages. The first package is $55.00 for 100 minutes; the second $100.00 for 250 minutes. If you sign up the first day, there are bonus minutes.

Yes, you can easily get a small dinner as you described, and no, you don't have to eat in the dining room. If you don't plan to eat in the dining room most nights, might I suggest that you choose open seating. That way, diners who are looking for a stable dining situation won't be disappointed. You can go to the Lido, or eat in your cabin if you want to skip the dining room.

There are wine packages, but I don't use them, so can't give any more information.

 

Hope this is a start for you.

 

Hey Ruth, just a piggyback question to what you posted. If you buy say, the $100.00 package, and you don't use all the minutes, do they refund you any prorated portion, or is it a "use it or lose it" type deal? Just curious as I'm weighing my options for my 12 day cruise in October :-)

 

As for the original poster...60 days is a LONG commitment to a cruise line you've not traveled on before. I concur with those that are asking if you can take a shorter one before booking this, to be certain HAL is a good fit for you. I feel like I'm gambling just taking a 12 day as my first HAL cruise, so 60 in my eyes is insanity. You do NOT want to regret a purchase as large as a 60 day...

 

Just my 2 cents.

[Jemima]

I thought there was also a bigger internet package for the grand voyages.

[SwissMyst]

We took a 42 day trip and I kind of hit a wall about day 30 - the routine and relative confinement got to me. But we also had to add extreme sea sickness and general ship sickness for the last two weeks at this point too. That was a huge factor in hitting the wall then.

 

But now looking back, I have nothing but wonderful memories and wouldn't have missed the places we went and the sights we saw. Just be prepared for all the challenges a long cruise can bring that you may or may not experience, but are part of signing up for this long of a package.

 

The one good thing is as soon as we docked the sea sickness went away instantly and the thrill of new places to see took over. But gulp, getting back on that moving ship and facing the same routines, particularly the few dining options on this particular ship and its very small cabin, did finally get to me.

 

So I hope you can at least have a verandah cabin (I would say that is critical for this length of a voyage, even though it can make the costs prohibitive) and having all the dining options HAL offers as well as the larger ship will make a big difference in avoiding this sense of trapped routine that long cruises can engender.

 

However, all that being said I bet there are just as many tales from those who do just fine in inside cabins and never want to get off even after 90 day cruises or those 110 day cruises. How else do you really get to see the world and the benefits far outweigh the limitations. I only offer my own experience to put it out there for preventive planning in case you also hit the wall at some point along the way.

 

And be cheered that this is not what I remember at all, now that the glorious trip is sadly now over. It is all the state of the mind here, and not letting the state of the body do too many numbers on you to trip things up.

[RuthC]

Hey Ruth, just a piggyback question to what you posted. If you buy say, the $100.00 package, and you don't use all the minutes, do they refund you any prorated portion, or is it a "use it or lose it" type deal?

Give money back? Surely you jest! No, it's "use it or lose it". Near the last days, you can offer to give your extra minutes to someone who hasn't purchased a package and needs to check in with their airline. Maybe they'll buy you a drink at Explorations.

Or something. ;)

 

So others know, if you run out of minutes while you are on-line, the additional minutes are charged at the same rate. This is a nice feature. I know it's going to take most of 15 mimutes to check in with the airline. I also know that if I keep only a couple of minutes on account so that I can get on-line, then I'm good for the entire session.

[RuthC]

I thought there was also a bigger internet package for the grand voyages.

There is on the World Cruise; don't know on the shorter Grand Cruises.

But, we don't know that the OP is on a Grand Voyage. OP is on for 60 days, but that could be a back-to-back.

[ariawoman]

Give money back? Surely you jest! No, it's "use it or lose it".

 

A girl could dream right LOL :-)

 

I lucked out on Seabourn with the internet. I bought some package, but due to the fact that they had many issues with internet not being available the majority of the time (lol) they refunded all my money! Even though I did get a few minutes of usage. I thought it was nice of them. And even though they are a "luxury" line, I wouldn't expect they'd charge me nothing, so that's why I figured I'd ask what the normal policy is with HAL :-)

 

I'm sure most of the cruise lines (including Seabourn) don't usually give refunds for normal service. Ever had any instances on HAL where they did any sort of refund due to unavailability of their internet?

[Taxguy77]

We are new to this cruise line and are taking a 60 days cruise on the Rotterdam early next year. What can we expect? What is this cruise line like? Do they have an internet packages? apx price of them. Wine package? Any and all information about the Rotterdam and or Holland America would be most welcomed. our t/a said that the people on Holland America would probally be much older than us. We are not big into food just a soup and salad for dinner with fresh fruit. Would this kind of food be easy to come by. Is there a place to get this other than the main formal dinning rooms? Any advise would be most welcomed.

 

The Rotterdam is a good ship for long voyages and beautifully decorated. View all the art work, mounted all over the ship.

The line is well over 100 years old, buy a book to get all that history.

[RuthC]

Ever had any instances on HAL where they did any sort of refund due to unavailability of their internet?

Yes, I have. I cruise a lot in very northern climes, where Internet service can be spotty, and even lost for a few days. There was no refund for lost days. But, when there was intermittant service, and it would hang up for lengthy periods after people connected to the Internet, the minutes were given back.

That was fair.

[bcnvcanada]

A little more about us we we are in our late 50's. We are doing two cruises. 30 days Hawaii, Tahiti and Marquesas,out of San Diego, California. The second is a 30 Day Incan Empires. We both have done cruises before, and so far this year have cruised over 80 days, mostly on 30 to 40 day range of cruises. We have never been on Holland America before, and have friends that either love or dislike the cruise line. We liked where these cruises were going and are excited about it and giving Holland America a try. Again, thank you for your advise, assistance and the like.

[LindaM]

A little more about us we we are in our late 50's. We are doing two cruises. 30 days Hawaii, Tahiti and Marquesas,out of San Diego, California. The second is a 30 Day Incan Empires. We both have done cruises before, and so far this year have cruised over 80 days, mostly on 30 to 40 day range of cruises. We have never been on Holland America before, and have friends that either love or dislike the cruise line. We liked where these cruises were going and are excited about it and giving Holland America a try. Again, thank you for your advise, assistance and the like.

 

We are in our late 50's also!! I really don't think you need to "try out HAL" with a shorter cruise. You will love it. I promise!! Let us know when you get back!

[sevenseasnomad]

I hope your cruise is wonderful. Please report back & let all of us know how you feel about HAL.