New to Holland America? This is for you...AKA "HAL For Dummies"

[crystalspin]

5 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

I couldn't understand how we ended up with so many points. It seemed like we got way more points than we should have.

Hi Blackduck!

My observation is that SBP (or HIA) is figured as if you had drunk the full 15 drinks per day (x2) at the full $11/drink. Since that is $330/day for two in a stateroom, no other spending needs to be done as $-days cannot exceed actual days.

[crystalspin]

9 hours ago, islandwoman said:

I see that we can earn one extra Mariner point per day by spending $300 onboard.  ...so that each person would have a chance to earn an extra Mariner point by spending $300 onboard in a day? 

 

 

By the way, can I expect to have the option to purchase a laundry package?  (22 days in the same clothing 😝)

Hi IslandWoman!

You do not have to spend $300 in one day, but rather the sum at the end of your cruise is totalled and applied to the first two persons in a cabin (third does not get spending credits). See my preceding message to BlackDuck, if you have HIA or a beverage package.

 

The first time you send in laundry, you can check off "Unlimited" and it will be charged for all of the days. So no need to hold out, send away! You will still need to itemize each bag you send to help them keep everything accounted for.

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, crystalspin said:

...The first time you send in laundry, you can check off "Unlimited" and it will be charged for all of the days. So no need to hold out, send away! You will still need to itemize each bag you send to help them keep everything accounted for.

My happy place - a discussion of HAL laundry service!!

Looky at the lovely note I received from them yesterday. 😊

[Nang]

22 hours ago, islandwoman said:

Does Holland America 's main dining room have a standard menu, and if so where can I find it?  We have a dining credit in the Canaletto on a 22-day Circle Hawaii cruise in April.  I think that reservations will be competitive, so I'd like to book ours now, but I don't want to miss a meal that I'd really like in the Main Dining Room.  

In my experience reservations are far from "competitive" in Canaletto. You will be able to check the MDR menu in the morning and reschedule Canaletto if you want, there is almost no danger of not being able to rebook.

[crystalspin]

On 11/4/2023 at 9:12 AM, islandwoman said:

Does Holland America 's main dining room have a standard menu, and if so where can I find it?  We have a dining credit in the Canaletto on a 22-day Circle Hawaii cruise in April.  I think that reservations will be competitive, so I'd like to book ours now, but I don't want to miss a meal that I'd really like in the Main Dining Room.  

I believe the Navigator smartphone app lists the cruise's MDR menus a little while before sailaway. (Roger @Crew News can you help me here?), at which time you can adjust your specialty reservations.

 

Also be aware of the new Canaletto nightly specials, esp. on longer cruises. The cycle starts on the first full day (Canaletto is closed on embarkation day, currently) and runs: three days Fish, two days Beef, two days Scallops, three days "chops" -- which may or may not be Veal-Lamb-Veal, chef's choice -- and then start again.
 

Good luck getting it all worked out! 

[Crew News]

9 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

I believe the Navigator smartphone app lists the cruise's MDR menus a little while before sailaway. (Roger @Crew News can you help me here?), at which time you can adjust your specialty reservations.

 

Note that the Navigator app shows the current daily menus for your next cruise ship.

 

The menus for every cruise of the same ship, region, season and duration (days), are served on every ship matching the latter criteria.  Daily menus are posted by each ship and can be seen on the Navigator app by all cruisers on the same ship months before sailing. 

 

To see what will be served for your next cruise, find the schedule on the HAL website for your next cruise.  Match the same ship, season, region, and duration (days) on the HAL website.  If all match, on the first day of a matching cruise, open your Navigator app MDR dinner menu, download the menu, and save it as "Day 01".  In similar fashion, download the MDR menus for the rest of the cruise days.

 

My next cruise will be 11 days on the Eurodam in the Caribbean in February.  I have copied the menus for the past nine days and will download the next two days to complete my 11-Day MDR downloads.  I will be posting them for all to see.  On Wednesday, the Eurodam will begin a 10-Day cruise that I will also download to share with others.  Since I already have the Caribbean 7-Day MDR menus from last month on another ship, my website will share the 7, 10, and 11-Day MDR menus with others.

 

After my Eurodam cruise, i will be aboard the Koningsdam in Alaska.  My Navigator app will show the current daily MDR menus in February after I disembark the Eurodam BUT the Koningsdam will not yet be Alaska.  The "region" does not match and I will not see my Alaska MDR menus, rather those of the Koningsdam in California. 

 

As a reminder, to see the MDR menus for a future cruise on your Navigator app, ALL of the following must match when you search the HAL website for your cruise:  ship, region, season, and duration (same number of days).

[NorbertsNiece]

Hi. What on board activities can I expect on a 22 day cruise?

[kazu]

13 hours ago, NorbertsNiece said:

Hi. What on board activities can I expect on a 22 day cruise?

 

It depends on your itinerary.  If you check out some of the LIVE threads you will see the dailies listed there.

 

Generally speaking, chats with officers, possibly lectures,trivia, bingo, wine tastings, colouring (at cost), bridge possibly, etc.

 

Is your itinerary, Hawaii, Caribbean, Europe?  It might make a difference.

[NorbertsNiece]

16 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

It depends on your itinerary.  If you check out some of the LIVE threads you will see the dailies listed there.

 

Generally speaking, chats with officers, possibly lectures,trivia, bingo, wine tastings, colouring (at cost), bridge possibly, etc.

 

Is your itinerary, Hawaii, Caribbean, Europe?  It might make a difference.

Thanks for your reply. It's Buenos Aires to Santiago.

[islander47]

15 hours ago, NorbertsNiece said:

Hi. What on board activities can I expect on a 22 day cruise?

 

Last year on that leg we had line dancing on all sea days, trivia every day (quite popular and competitive) plus all Kazu has mentioned above. There were excellent lectures from our cruise director, the captain, and a pair of astro physicists. I thoroughly enjoyed these.

 

[kazu]

4 hours ago, NorbertsNiece said:

Thanks for your reply. It's Buenos Aires to Santiago.

 

I will add to what @Iamthesea posted to say that it is entirely possible that local performers will be brought on board to perform before you sail.  (Ie tango performers) There will be announcements in the Daily.

[islandwoman]

I also have a 22 day cruise coming up.  It's the eclipse cruise round-trip San Diego with two ports in Mexico and then circle Hawaii.  Lots of sea days to get to Hawaii and back.  I suppose that since this is a very unusual cruise, no one has experience with what to expect on its sea days, but your best guesses would be welcome.

[kazu]

25 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

I also have a 22 day cruise coming up.  It's the eclipse cruise round-trip San Diego with two ports in Mexico and then circle Hawaii.  Lots of sea days to get to Hawaii and back.  I suppose that since this is a very unusual cruise, no one has experience with what to expect on its sea days, but your best guesses would be welcome.

 

Any cruise going to Hawaii usually has a Hawaiian group teaching Hulu dancing, drums, ukulele and a native speaker who in our experience was very interesting.

[Adrenalin67]

Hi,

As a HAL first-timer, I was wondering if anybody more experienced could help me with the cabins on Oosterdam? We have a reservation for 7101, but I somehow learned that not every bathroom is equipped with a seperate shower. Some have tubs only, is that right? Somehow oldschool, and quite tricky for my slightly handicapped hubby. Due to safety reasons he hates entering a tub for taking a shower. How can I find out if this applies to our cabin? And in case we have an issue here, to which category do I have to change to have a walk-in shower?

Thanks for your help.

[UTBOB]

20 minutes ago, Adrenalin67 said:

Hi,

As a HAL first-timer, I was wondering if anybody more experienced could help me with the cabins on Oosterdam? We have a reservation for 7101, but I somehow learned that not every bathroom is equipped with a seperate shower. Some have tubs only, is that right? Somehow oldschool, and quite tricky for my slightly handicapped hubby. Due to safety reasons he hates entering a tub for taking a shower. How can I find out if this applies to our cabin? And in case we have an issue here, to which category do I have to change to have a walk-in shower?

Thanks for your help.

Cabin 7101 is a Veranda cabin. To have a separate walk in shower you would need to be in a Suite cabin. 

[Cruise Suzy]

 

@Adrenalin67 The Verandah staterooms on Oosterdam have the combo tub/shower unless they are marked "Shower Only". The Signature Suites have a tub/shower plus a shower. VD7101 has the combo.

 

There are some shower only staterooms on Decks 4, 5 and 6 - near the very aft. Deck 4 also has some that are very forward.  You can see a diagram of the ship or download the PDF file at

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/cruise-ships/oosterdam/9

 

The staterooms with shower only are marked with an * or "snowflake"

Edited November 10, 2023 by Cruise Suzy

[islandwoman]

Can I use Holland America gift cards to pay for shore excursions online?

If so, how do I do that?

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by islandwoman

[Mary229]

56 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

Can I use Holland America gift cards to pay for shore excursions online?

If so, how do I do that?

 

Yes.  Fill your cart and checkout.  During checkout, just above the credit card info there is a small clickable link for gift cards.  Click that and fill it out.  One thing you can’t do is mix credit cards and gift cards, it must be one or the other for each checkout 

[Lost in Italy]

To those of you who have sailed from San Diego …. 
are Ubers allowed through the gate at cruise terminal to drop off luggage? 
Also, other than passengers with mariner status, are all others directed to one line?

 

Just trying to be prepared.

 

Fortunately, we will be the only ship in port. 😊

[cruiser3775]

On 10/3/2023 at 7:14 AM, Duane S. said:

I have not seen any mention of an alarm clock in the cabins, or even just a clock in the cabin.  we are in an inside cabin so we definitely won't see sunrise lol, I just need to know if I should bring an alarm clock.

This is from a month ago, but I am just reading it. On a previous cruise, someone with more experience that me explained how she got daylight times in an inside cabin.  You turn on your TV, set the sound to mute, and then open the Bridge Cam.  If it is dark, the screen will mostly be black with faint illumination of the ship prow. But when dawn arrives, your TV will show that.   If you are heading in the right direction, you can watch the sunrise, and you have no excuse for not getting up early.

Of course, this won't work if you are using your inside cabin as an excuse to sleep in. 

[terrydtx]

6 hours ago, Lost in Italy said:

To those of you who have sailed from San Diego …. 
are Ubers allowed through the gate at cruise terminal to drop off luggage? 
Also, other than passengers with mariner status, are all others directed to one line?

 

Just trying to be prepared.

 

Fortunately, we will be the only ship in port. 😊

We used Uber to get us from our hotel to the cruise terminal on Nov 4th, he was allowed in the gate and dropped us and our luggage off at the point where the luggage was collected. When we returned the Uber was allowed inside the gate just like taxis. We had Club Orange and we were directed to the same line with Neptune suites and 4 and 5 star Mariners. All others had to go into the general boarding lines.

[Lost in Italy]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We used Uber to get us from our hotel to the cruise terminal on Nov 4th, he was allowed in the gate and dropped us and our luggage off at the point where the luggage was collected. When we returned the Uber was allowed inside the gate just like taxis. We had Club Orange and we were directed to the same line with Neptune suites and 4 and 5 star Mariners. All others had to go into the general boarding lines.

Thank you!

[Lost in Italy]

10 hours ago, Lost in Italy said:

Thank you!

Once you’re dropped off, does everyone go into the same security line?

[terrydtx]

49 minutes ago, Lost in Italy said:

Once you’re dropped off, does everyone go into the same security line?

After we were dropped off by the Uber everyone had to go through the same security screening check point for carry on luggage. After security we were directed to the priority check in line.

[spocruiser]

Our first Holland America cruise coming up. We are trying Holland in large part because I love live music and I'm excited about the various live music venues.  As I'm currently making dinner reservations in the specialty restaurants and have Anytime Dining otherwise, I was wondering...

 

Is is difficult to get seats in the live music venues, i.e. is it necessary to eat on the early side (5:00 or 5:30 p.m.) to get seats or is there enough turnover into the evening that seats can be obtained later?

 

Thank you.