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

[Steerpike58]

7 hours ago, Mary229 said:

The next cruise was listed on the standby program a few weeks ago.  My airfare is changeable so I was willing to make a last minute adjustment.  I chose not to do so as a friend decided to come visit us and we now need to go home. 

Ah, forgot about air fare - another wrinkle.  But if you did choose to stay on, I presume they couldn't guarantee the same room, since someone else could have chosen 'your' room for the next leg.  

 

[Mary229]

11 minutes ago, Steerpike58 said:

Ah, forgot about air fare - another wrinkle.  But if you did choose to stay on, I presume they couldn't guarantee the same room, since someone else could have chosen 'your' room for the next leg.  

 

That is correct.  I had to move cabins already and the process is easy.  Housekeeping helps

[jeh10641]

On 8/9/2024 at 11:03 AM, Steerpike58 said:

A mundane question ... does HA have a laundry room for self-service laundry, and more to the point - do they have ironing boards and irons for passenger use? We just got back from a Viking cruise and while I didn't use their self-serve laundry, I did touch up all my shirts with their iron and it was very convenient. We're on the Oosterdam - Vista class. 

The HAL laundry package amounts to about $8.50/day. You can send out stuff every day. We use it. Pack less. Helps at airports with less weight. 

Jim

[jeh10641]

On 8/10/2024 at 5:39 PM, Steerpike58 said:

Well that's interesting, and I think contradicts what I've read previously (but can't be sure at this point). Being able to order a latte in the Lido with breakfast would be perfect! I will have the HIA package so it should be covered.  So - in the Lido, I understand it's self-service for the food, but are there roaming waiters ready to take drinks orders at breakfast? That would be great! 

On past HAL cruises (last 12/21), there were servers in the buffet for drink orders as well as self-service options.

Jim

[jonyboy]

33 minutes ago, jeh10641 said:

The HAL laundry package amounts to about $8.50/day. You can send out stuff every day. We use it. Pack less. Helps at airports with less weight. 

Jim

It was a few years since we did the Alaska cruise but at that time they had an unlimited option.  Do they still have that?

[Blackduck59]

9 minutes ago, jonyboy said:

It was a few years since we did the Alaska cruise but at that time they had an unlimited option.  Do they still have that?

Yes they do, for a longer itinerary it is definitely worth it. I'm not sure about 7 days. We used the unlimited package on our 11 night cruise, with 2 days pre cruise. It was excellent. 

[terrydtx]

47 minutes ago, jeh10641 said:

The HAL laundry package amounts to about $8.50/day. You can send out stuff every day. We use it. Pack less. Helps at airports with less weight. 

Jim

You are correct on that, on cruises longer than 7 days we utilize the laundry on the ship. We did 38 days in January-February on cruises and land in Australia and it was really great for that trip.

[Woodside Lady]

My husband drinks prune juice daily for, er, digestive reasons.  Does HAL have prune juice on board?  If not is there any way to bring it on-board for medicinal reasons? 

[FlaMariner]

15 minutes ago, Woodside Lady said:

My husband drinks prune juice daily for, er, digestive reasons.  Does HAL have prune juice on board?  If not is there any way to bring it on-board for medicinal reasons? 

 

Yes!

 

Prune juice is available in Lido during breakfast at the area where all the juices are located.....self service.  all you can drink.

 

Also, prune juice is on the MDR breakfast menu.

 

Edited August 16 by FlaMariner

[jeh10641]

22 hours ago, jonyboy said:

It was a few years since we did the Alaska cruise but at that time they had an unlimited option.  Do they still have that?

Hi, jonyboy,

The price I mentioned was the cost per day for the unlimited package for our Koningsdam cruise coming in January 2025.

Jim

[sojodave]

I'm sailing on the Rotterdam on a 12 day cruise in December. The unlimited laundry is $102, would I be better off buying precruise or ordering on board?

[Cruise Suzy]

@sojodave  It's the same price whether you purchase pre-cruise or onboard. If you have a lot of OBC, you probably should wait until onboard. If not and you want to spread out costs, then book pre-cuise.

[Steerpike58]

We're sailing in 5 days and I printed out the boarding pass, and happened to read the 'alcohol policy'. We have no plans to bring on board alcohol, but it also says this:

 

"Water in plastic bottles will not be allowed on board in any quantity, including in ports of call and guests will be asked to discard any beverages in plastic containers prior to boarding. All checked and carry-on luggage will be scanned and any prohibited items, including alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, will be removed, confiscated, and discarded."

 

So that sounds like - even a single bottle of water won't be allowed on board.  But then it goes on to say: 

 

Please note, an allowance of six liters, twelve (12) cans or cartons (500 ml in volume or less) or six (6) cans or cartons (1 liter in volume or less) of water are allowed per stateroom. Any amount in excess of this allowance will be not be allowed onboard"

 

 

So - you ARE allowed to have six liters of water 'per stateroom'.  What does this mean in practice? I can't imagine they keep track of how many bottles you've brought on board! 

 

Personally, I make every effort not to waste plastic water bottles for environmental reasons (but prefer them to aluminum containers as they are lighter) so what I do is, bring one plastic bottle from home; empty it out before airport security (they allow empty plastic bottles through security), carry it onto the ship, and then every day, refill it with water from either the room or a water dispenser on board, and take it out with me. Every now and then I end up with a new bottle, and I re-use that bottle till it gets lost. 

 

So how on earth does HA implement the above stated rule? 

[Sea42]

26 minutes ago, Steerpike58 said:

We're sailing in 5 days and I printed out the boarding pass, and happened to read the 'alcohol policy'. We have no plans to bring on board alcohol, but it also says this:

 

"Water in plastic bottles will not be allowed on board in any quantity, including in ports of call and guests will be asked to discard any beverages in plastic containers prior to boarding. All checked and carry-on luggage will be scanned and any prohibited items, including alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, will be removed, confiscated, and discarded."

 

So that sounds like - even a single bottle of water won't be allowed on board.  But then it goes on to say: 

 

Please note, an allowance of six liters, twelve (12) cans or cartons (500 ml in volume or less) or six (6) cans or cartons (1 liter in volume or less) of water are allowed per stateroom. Any amount in excess of this allowance will be not be allowed onboard"

 

 

So - you ARE allowed to have six liters of water 'per stateroom'.  What does this mean in practice? I can't imagine they keep track of how many bottles you've brought on board! 

 

Personally, I make every effort not to waste plastic water bottles for environmental reasons (but prefer them to aluminum containers as they are lighter) so what I do is, bring one plastic bottle from home; empty it out before airport security (they allow empty plastic bottles through security), carry it onto the ship, and then every day, refill it with water from either the room or a water dispenser on board, and take it out with me. Every now and then I end up with a new bottle, and I re-use that bottle till it gets lost. 

 

So how on earth does HA implement the above stated rule? 

I bring my reusable water bottle that I use for hiking and fill it onboard as needed. Some people have brought water in disposable water bottles and they didn't have any issues bringing it onboard. I've never read about anyone not being able to bring on a reusable bottle.

[islandwoman]

51 minutes ago, Steerpike58 said:

So - you ARE allowed to have six liters of water 'per stateroom'.  What does this mean in practice? I can't imagine they keep track of how many bottles you've brought on board! 

 

 

I got off the Zuiderdam two days ago.  I traveled with 2 reusable Yeti water bottles, on and off the ship in multiple ports over an 18 day cruise. On boarding day they were filled with water from my hotel. Usually they had ice provided by my room steward and ship's water in them.  No one gave them a second glance, ever. 

Maybe they just don't want passengers bringing onboard gallons of water in plastic bottles that then will have to be disposed of.  Just a guess.

[jeh10641]

I have not sailed on HAL since 2021. What I think they mean, no plastic bottles but it is okay to bring water in cans or paper containers. Never a problem for us since I drink Iced Tea on board. I do not bring water. When I do drink water on board, it is water from the ship in their provided glasses. No containers of water used by us.

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, jeh10641 said:

water in cans or paper containers

???

[Stpatsirish]

28 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

???

Like juice boxes

[SUESEABE]

@Fouremco

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, Stpatsirish said:

Like juice boxes

 

28 minutes ago, SUESEABE said:

@Fouremco

Ah, waxed cardboard beverage containers. Gotcha! 😇

[Steerpike58]

14 hours ago, Sea42 said:

I bring my reusable water bottle that I use for hiking and fill it onboard as needed. Some people have brought water in disposable water bottles and they didn't have any issues bringing it onboard. I've never read about anyone not being able to bring on a reusable bottle.

 

14 hours ago, islandwoman said:

I got off the Zuiderdam two days ago.  I traveled with 2 reusable Yeti water bottles, on and off the ship in multiple ports over an 18 day cruise. ... No one gave them a second glance, ever. 

Maybe they just don't want passengers bringing onboard gallons of water in plastic bottles that then will have to be disposed of.  Just a guess.

Thanks!  So basically, that warning is utterly useless!  I will just assume my plastic bottles are fine. 

[Mary229]

2 hours ago, Steerpike58 said:

 

Thanks!  So basically, that warning is utterly useless!  I will just assume my plastic bottles are fine. 

They do not allow unopened plastic disposable bottles of water onboard.  This refers to typical bottled water you buy by the case at the supermarket.  If you bring them you do so at your own risk.  They can be much more strict at embarkation than at visited ports 

 

they do allow canned water or boxed water

Edited August 27 by Mary229

[jeh10641]

4 hours ago, Mary229 said:

They do not allow unopened plastic disposable bottles of water onboard.  This refers to typical bottled water you buy by the case at the supermarket.  If you bring them you do so at your own risk.  They can be much more strict at embarkation than at visited ports 

 

they do allow canned water or boxed water

As usual, you cut right to the chase with great information.

Jim

[Steerpike58]

8 hours ago, Mary229 said:

They do not allow unopened plastic disposable bottles of water onboard.  This refers to typical bottled water you buy by the case at the supermarket.  If you bring them you do so at your own risk.  They can be much more strict at embarkation than at visited ports 

 

they do allow canned water or boxed water

OK, so re-reading my own post above ( 🙂 ), with the two extracts from the document, and based on the informative posts here, I can see now that in the first part I quoted, they are saying no PLASTIC bottles allowed onboard at any time, while in the second part I quoted, they are saying a certain amount of water is allowed, but they specifically say cans or cartons.  

 

So does this mean Holland America are actually taking a stand against plastic waste? If so, I will applaud them and follow the rules.  We have done 4 cruises on Viking so far, and at every possible opportunity they shove a plastic water bottle in your face - every time you get off the ship for an excursion, on every excursion bus, etc. This really pisses me off since I carry my one plastic bottle which I refill for 2 weeks!  So - does HA not hand out plastic water bottles, ever? 

 

I choose to use one plastic bottle over and over, rather than use those aluminum re-usables, because the plastic ones are lighter. But - if they are truly making a real effort re: plastic, I will bring a re-usable aluminum bottle. 

[Haljo1935]

7 minutes ago, Steerpike58 said:

... So does this mean Holland America are actually taking a stand against plastic waste? If so, I will applaud them and follow the rules... So - does HA not hand out plastic water bottles, ever? 

 

I choose to use one plastic bottle over and over, rather than use those aluminum re-usables, because the plastic ones are lighter. But - if they are truly making a real effort re: plastic, I will bring a re-usable aluminum bottle. 

Yes, HAL is taking a stand against single use plastics. Your interpretation when re-reading your posts is correct - limit on amount of water brought onboard and needs to NOT be in plastic. 

With that said, you likely will still encounter tour guides who provide water in plastic bottles (they're contracted by HAL, but operate independently & I think there's an opportunity in that arena) and will be allowed to bring on plastic bottles (water, soda, other) at ports with varying attempts at compliance. So, it's definitely not perfect, but they've come a long way and made a big dent IMO.

I take a metal reusable bottle on all my cruises.