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

[RuthC]

25 minutes ago, happytotravel said:

I have $10.10 leftover from my shore excursion $ amount from HIA.  Can I sign it over to the crew fund?  If so, do I go to Guest Services to do that?

As far as I know, the only thing shore excursion credit can be used for is shore excursions. But, even the leftover amount can be put toward another shore excursion, if you like. 
Yes, to sign over other OBC, you go to the Front Desk. 

[happytotravel]

Thank you RuthC,

At the moment, I've booked all the excursions that interested me.  I guess I'll just have to give that $ amount up.

happytotravel

[Hokapontas]

Hi again, can I ask a question about water? I take it that the tap water is not drinkable on the ship. We have Have It All in two weeks time. It covers 'waters' - and unlimited quantities of 'zero proof' beverages (reading the FAQs). Can I get a gallon of distilled water somewhere on board, to drink overnight and refill my bottle etc? Or more than one Open Water to get me through and refill my reusable one? 

 

Also it is clear they don't want plastic water bottles on board, what about a reusable bottle, plastic exercise type one? Do I need to find a metal exercise bottle to carry around with me? 

[0106]

@HokapontasAll tap water is drinkable, created through reverse osmosis.  The only time I bought bottled water was leaving  the ship for a shore excursion.  
 

Distilled water can be purchased, often used by people with CPap machines.

 

I carry a refillable plastic water bottle every where.  Just make sure to use a glass to refill it at the water stations.

 

[Susanmaz]

The tap water is perfectly good to drink. That is all we drink onboard. I wpouldnt waste my HIA on canned or bottled water. Distilled water is $2.95 per gallon as people use it for their CPAP machines. I don’t know if it is included in the HIA. We use our reusable water bottles which have insulated covers. Our cabin steward (s) will fill them with ice if we are using them off ship, or you can get it in the Lido. Plastic bottles are not allowed onboard 

[Fouremco]

1 minute ago, 0106 said:

@HokapontasAll tap water is drinkable, created through reverse osmosis.  The only time I bought bottled water was leaving  the ship for a shore excursion.  
 

Distilled water can be purchased, often used by people with CPap machines.

 

I carry a refillable plastic water bottle every where.  Just make sure to use a glass to refill it at the water stations.

 

You hit the send button before I posted an almost identical reply. Even with a beverage package, I almost never buy bottled water, preferring to use my refillable water bottle. YMMV, but I find the tap water quite tasty.

[SUESEABE]

@Hokapontas 

The tap water in your cabin is exactly the same water that is served in the MDR and everywhere else on the ship 

So, yes. It’s safe to drink. 

[RuthC]

Also the same water that ice for your cocktail is made from. 

[Floic]

Hello everyone!

 

I have a question related to gratuities on HAL. Do you know if they are charged daily or only at the end of the cruise? I am asking that because we are aboard the Westerdam and no gratuities were charged on our onboard account yet, even though we did not prepay them.Thanks in advance for your help.

[islandwoman]

5 hours ago, teeeej said:

I ended up booking directly because the HAL gift cards at AARP are 10% off, and the TA OBC that I was seeing from TA's on CruseCompete was no better or worse than the savings from just buying gift cards, which also is less of an outflow upfront. Of course the gift card promotion might change by the time the bulk of my cruise payment is due in September, and maybe you can still pay with gift cards even when you use TAs.

 

I can't imagine the cruise line would be too thrilled if i cancel my booking and then re-book a similar cabin or even a different category of cabin with a TA, if that's even allowed.

I have used AARP HAL gift cards for two different cruises.  Two different TA's have accepted them in payment for the cruises and for payment for cruise deposits.

 

With Princess, it is possible to book a cruise onboard and then transfer the booking to your TA.  Perhaps you could transfer your HAL  booking to your TA.  It wouldn't hurt to ask, although it might be a bit confusing.. 

[teeeej]

Just now, islandwoman said:

I have used AARP HAL gift cards for two different cruises.  Two different TA's have accepted them in payment for the cruises and for payment for cruise deposits.

 

With Princess, it is possible to book a cruise onboard and then transfer the booking to your TA.  Perhaps you could transfer your HAL  booking to your TA.  It wouldn't hurt to ask, although it might be a bit confusing.. 

Actually someone I know on Facebook posted about taking a cruise and she has a TA friend, and I'm like well who is it? Should I have this person quote it? Had her quote and she was able to offer me $100 additional OBC plus crew appreciation....so I'll just cancel the direct booking when HAl opens in the morning. There are two booking confirmations for the same cruise attached to my Mariner ID currently. I guess it doesn't matter. 😅 

[Blackduck59]

15 minutes ago, Floic said:

Hello everyone!

 

I have a question related to gratuities on HAL. Do you know if they are charged daily or only at the end of the cruise? I am asking that because we are aboard the Westerdam and no gratuities were charged on our onboard account yet, even though we did not prepay them.Thanks in advance for your help.

Did you have a "Have it all" package that includes "Crew Appreciation"? I'm certainly not an expert, there are many on these boards with way better knowledge than me.

[RuthC]

31 minutes ago, Floic said:

I have a question related to gratuities on HAL. Do you know if they are charged daily or only at the end of the cruise?

Crew appreciation is added to your account daily, but isn't charged to your credit card until the end of the cruise. 
Nothing is charged to your credit card until the end of the cruise, although you are charging things frequently. Every time you order a drink, soda, dine at a specialty restaurant, order an 'up charge' item in the dining room, go to the salon, etc., the charge is added to your account. 
You can check your account at the Front Desk, or on Navigator. I recommend checking your account every day or two, and printing out a copy on the last evening, shortly before you retire and won't be spending any more money aboard. 

[mawvkysc]

6 hours ago, teeeej said:

Thank for the info! I definitely won't be pre-buying stuff.

 

I probably should have with inquired with CC on who the generous and/or good TA's are for HAL.

 

I ended up booking directly because the HAL gift cards at AARP are 10% off, and the TA OBC that I was seeing from TA's on CruseCompete was no better or worse than the savings from just buying gift cards, which also is less of an outflow upfront. Of course the gift card promotion might change by the time the bulk of my cruise payment is due in September, and maybe you can still pay with gift cards even when you use TAs.

 

I can't imagine the cruise line would be too thrilled if i cancel my booking and then re-book a similar cabin or even a different category of cabin with a TA, if that's even allowed.

You can use the gift cards with a TA. Also, for a limited time they are letting you buy more than five gift cards per month on the AARP website. 

[teeeej]

2 hours ago, Susanmaz said:

Plastic bottles are not allowed onboard 

I assume this means the single use pre-packaged bottles that you can buy, and that Camelbak or Nalgene plastic botltes are okay, or are they also not allowed?

 

[Nang]

45 minutes ago, teeeej said:

I assume this means the single use pre-packaged bottles that you can buy, and that Camelbak or Nalgene plastic botltes are okay, or are they also not allowed?

 

The reusable bottles are fine.

[Hokapontas]

50 minutes ago, teeeej said:

 

 

 

Edited post. 

Thanks for the clarification everyone. It's so helpful! ☺️

 

Now for one more question: the HIA covers drinks, but what about when you eat in your room, where they are not covered? Can you pop to the nearest bar, buy a wine and take it back to your room? 

 

Edited February 25 by Hokapontas
Question was answered!

[Nang]

18 minutes ago, Hokapontas said:

 

Edited post. 

Thanks for the clarification everyone. It's so helpful! ☺️

 

Now for one more question: the HIA covers drinks, but what about when you eat in your room, where they are not covered? Can you pop to the nearest bar, buy a wine and take it back to your room? 

 

 

Absolutely.

[Floic]

4 hours ago, RuthC said:

Crew appreciation is added to your account daily, but isn't charged to your credit card until the end of the cruise. 
Nothing is charged to your credit card until the end of the cruise, although you are charging things frequently. Every time you order a drink, soda, dine at a specialty restaurant, order an 'up charge' item in the dining room, go to the salon, etc., the charge is added to your account. 
You can check your account at the Front Desk, or on Navigator. I recommend checking your account every day or two, and printing out a copy on the last evening, shortly before you retire and won't be spending any more money aboard. 

Thank you very much for your replies. We have the HIA package that does not include the crew appreciation. For the moment the crew appreciation was not charged on our stateroom account, hence my initial question. Thanks again for your help !

[Haljo1935]

8 hours ago, mawvkysc said:

You can use the gift cards with a TA. Also, for a limited time they are letting you buy more than five gift cards per month on the AARP website. 

I haven't been in this month to buy any, but that's hood to know - I'm going to look.

[islandwoman]

10 hours ago, mawvkysc said:

Also, for a limited time they are letting you buy more than five gift cards per month on the AARP website. 

How can we do that?  I bought some on Friday (Feb 23) and the drop down menu only went to 5. 

[islandwoman]

9 hours ago, teeeej said:

I assume this means the single use pre-packaged bottles that you can buy, and that Camelbak or Nalgene plastic botltes are okay, or are they also not allowed?

 

My favorite reusable water bottles are Yeti.  They are well insulated.  I take two on cruises, fill them with tap water and keep them in the cabin frig.  Before a shore excursion, I add ice and put the bottles into the outside pockets of my day pack.  Yeti are sold by Ace Hardware stores and online.

[marco2111]

If you buy AARP gift cards, add them to your on board account for dinners and excursions, but end up not spending it all, can you get a refund? How would they do it, refund to gift card, refund to a credit card, or what?

Thanks

[ralfrick]

It took weeks, a bit at a time, and I skimmed posts that seemed irrelevant to us, but I've finally waded through this monstrosity of a thread, and want to confirm and clarify a few things. 3 of us will be sailing Southbound from Whittier to Vancouver Aug 4 on New Amsterdam after 3 weeks in Alaska, visiting the 8 National Parks, which will culminate in Glacier Bay.

 

I've noted that we can order room service off the MDR menu during dinner's 1st hour. Is this true of any other meals, specifically breakfast?

 

I've noted the policy prohibiting bringing beverages & plastic bottles on board, including energy drinks. Any idea if this applies to small energy shots about the size of a motel shampoo bottle & made of a similar material, different than the plastic in beverage bottles?

 

None of the discussions of gala nights or MDR dress codes mention shoes. My options will be hiking shoes or hiking boots; any issue?

 

If we've had dinner elsewhere or in port, but the MDR has an appealing dessert, is it considered bad form to take up space for dessert only (after the peak dining time, of course)?

 

Is unlimited laundry per cabin or per person?

 

I've noted that bags we carry onto the ship ourselves must fit into the scanner; can one assume that anything that can be carried onto an airplane will fit?

 

I'm fully aware that bringing cannabis onboard is strictly forbidden; that is not what I am asking. But we will be indulging prior to sailing and in the ports, and will therefore possibly have a pipe, rolling papers, lighters, or other smoking implements; are any of these likely be an issue?

 

Our bus from Anchorage arrives in Whittier at 3:30, which seems close when considering the advice to arrive early. On the other hand, this looks fairly standard among the shuttle companies in Alaska, and taking passengers to the ports seems to be the core of their business model, so I shouldn't worry, right?

 

Finally, covid restrictions like masks, vaccine records, et al are not an issue at this time, correct?

 

Thanks for looking.

 

[mawvkysc]

5 hours ago, islandwoman said:

How can we do that?  I bought some on Friday (Feb 23) and the drop down menu only went to 5. 

The limited time offer must have ended. I just looked and it’s back to normal. For a very short time it said Premium beside some of the cards.  If you clicked on the premium a box opened up and said for a time you could order up to 20something?? cards if it was marked premium. I didn’t actually do it as I only needed two.