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

[drbeamer]

Hello. All the information here has been very helpful. Special thanks to Ruth!

My partner and I just booked a Neptune suite aft 4185 on Zuiderdam Quebec City to Boston. Our only other HAL Cruise was Nordam in 1996. We’ve done mostly NCL since then , but we are  branching out now having recently done an Oceania.

 

Planning to purchase Elite beverage package on board, since price appears the same pre cruise. My question is for wine drinkers. On NCL and Oceania at lunch or dinner, your wine glass is never allowed to be empty if you order a glass covered by the package. They wine stewards on O definitely do not keep track.  Is this the same on HAL? Do they really count each glass of wine and keep track of that toward the 15 drink per day maximum? 

 

 

Are paper receipts used for each drink? NCL and O don’t do this any longer.

 

Can Neptune suite guests add the beverage package in the Neptune lounge with the concierge? 

 

Thanks all,  

 

Brian

[terrydtx]

14 minutes ago, drbeamer said:

Hello. All the information here has been very helpful. Special thanks to Ruth!

My partner and I just booked a Neptune suite aft 4185 on Zuiderdam Quebec City to Boston. Our only other HAL Cruise was Nordam in 1996. We’ve done mostly NCL since then , but we are  branching out now having recently done an Oceania.

 

Planning to purchase Elite beverage package on board, since price appears the same pre cruise. My question is for wine drinkers. On NCL and Oceania at lunch or dinner, your wine glass is never allowed to be empty if you order a glass covered by the package. They wine stewards on O definitely do not keep track.  Is this the same on HAL? Do they really count each glass of wine and keep track of that toward the 15 drink per day maximum? 

 

 

Are paper receipts used for each drink? NCL and O don’t do this any longer.

 

Can Neptune suite guests add the beverage package in the Neptune lounge with the concierge? 

 

Thanks all,  

 

Brian

Each glass of wine will be added to your sail account at NC and yes they do keep track. The 15 limit is only for alcohol drinks, no limits on non alcohol  drinks like water, specialty coffee and sodas. Can you really drink 15 glasses of wine per day?

 

Edited December 21, 2019 by terrydtx

[drbeamer]

LOL No....not planning on 15 glasses of wine per day. I was just curious how the system worked on HAL. 

[SunnyinDubai]

On 12/16/2019 at 8:14 AM, ljgordon54 said:

Specialty coffee is pretty good, if you get a beverage card that helps. I don’t know if HAL has coffee card still.

 

 

Can someone please enlighten me re the coffee cards? I note that we can pre-purchase a coffee package wth a reusable mug and a beverage card. We don't really need another re-usable cup (and are planning to bring our own) so we are wondering whether we wait to get onboard to get the beverage card. Thanks. 

[kazu]

4 hours ago, SunnyinDubai said:

 

Can someone please enlighten me re the coffee cards? I note that we can pre-purchase a coffee package wth a reusable mug and a beverage card. We don't really need another re-usable cup (and are planning to bring our own) so we are wondering whether we wait to get onboard to get the beverage card. Thanks. 

 

There is no coffee card per se on HAL.  You can use the beverage card to purchase coffees but there is no discount with it.  Just the simplicity of not having multiple charges to your on board account.

[marion10]

We will be on the Konigsdam. What specialty restaurants are open for lunch?

Also , if we bring a glass of wine into dinner- will we be charged a corkage fee? This is what we did every night on our last carnival cruise and never an issue.

[kazu]

4 minutes ago, marion10 said:

Also , if we bring a glass of wine into dinner- will we be charged a corkage fee?

 

No, you won’t be charged a corkage fee on a glass of wine.

Corkage only applies to bottles of wine 😉 

[SunnyinDubai]

7 hours ago, kazu said:

 

There is no coffee card per se on HAL.  You can use the beverage card to purchase coffees but there is no discount with it.  Just the simplicity of not having multiple charges to your on board account.

Thanks Kazu. I am surprised that there is not more done for coffee drinkers given how popular the coffee culture has become over the years. Ah well...we will just pay as we go. 😄

[*Miss G*]

4 hours ago, SunnyinDubai said:

Thanks Kazu. I am surprised that there is not more done for coffee drinkers given how popular the coffee culture has become over the years. Ah well...we will just pay as we go. 😄

 

You only have to pay for specialty coffees.  All other coffee, including room service coffee, is included.

[SunnyinDubai]

On 12/28/2019 at 10:59 AM, *Miss G* said:

 

You only have to pay for specialty coffees.  All other coffee, including room service coffee, is included.

 

Understand that...was just wondering  why they did not do coffee cards for the specialty coffees as I am sure there would be interest from passengers to buy them. Ah well - we will just pay as we go 🙂 

[mimbecky]

From what I understand, Celebrity has an app that you can use to keep in touch with others on the ship without wifi.  Does Holland (Oosterdam) have same?

 

Thanks

[WheresMyUmbrellaDrink]

8 hours ago, SunnyinDubai said:

 

Understand that...was just wondering  why they did not do coffee cards for the specialty coffees as I am sure there would be interest from passengers to buy them. Ah well - we will just pay as we go 🙂 

They have the non-alcohol drink package for about $20 p/day. Unlimited water, juice, soda, specialty coffee, and virgin drinks; like virgin pina coladas.

Edited January 1, 2020 by WheresMyUmbrellaDrink

[WheresMyUmbrellaDrink]

22 minutes ago, mimbecky said:

From what I understand, Celebrity has an app that you can use to keep in touch with others on the ship without wifi.  Does Holland (Oosterdam) have same?

 

Thanks

Yes they do. I believe it's called the navigator. You can download it to your devices now from the play store. But it won't start working until you're checked in to the ship.

[WheresMyUmbrellaDrink]

On 12/21/2019 at 3:46 PM, terrydtx said:

Each glass of wine will be added to your sail account at NC and yes they do keep track. The 15 limit is only for alcohol drinks, no limits on non alcohol  drinks like water, specialty coffee and sodas. Can you really drink 15 glasses of wine per day?

 

You can buy the package on board, but it us more expensive.  All packages (beverage, internet etc) are cheaper if you purchase online at least 4 days before your sail date.

[qak]

A quick question from my son ... very important for him🤣

 

Will the Dive-In be open for lunch on embarkation day?

 

[terrydtx]

4 hours ago, qak said:

A quick question from my son ... very important for him🤣

 

Will the Dive-In be open for lunch on embarkation day?

 

Yes, it was on the Noordam in July. The burgers and fries are excellent and made to order so you will have to wait a few minutes while they prepare them as it will be crrowded. They give you a pager so you know when your food is ready. I would describe the food as better than Red Robin or Johnny Rockets in quality and best of all no extra charge like on some cruise lines.

Edited January 2, 2020 by terrydtx

[Happily@Sea]

6 hours ago, qak said:

A quick question from my son ... very important for him🤣

 

Will the Dive-In be open for lunch on embarkation day?

 

 

They will close for the muster drill and NOT reopen afterward. So be sure to take that into account. Muster drill is usually around 3 pm local ship time.

 

[KroozNut]

6 hours ago, Happily@Sea said:

 

They will close for the muster drill and NOT reopen afterward. So be sure to take that into account. Muster drill is usually around 3 pm local ship time.

 

 

Muster Drill time depends on the individual ship's departure time, and is typically about 45 minutes prior to scheduled departure.

[qak]

8 hours ago, Happily@Sea said:

 

They will close for the muster drill and NOT reopen afterward. So be sure to take that into account. Muster drill is usually around 3 pm local ship time.

 

 

1 hour ago, KroozNut said:

 

Muster Drill time depends on the individual ship's departure time, and is typically about 45 minutes prior to scheduled departure.

 

Thanks - I had asked for an earlier boarding time and got 1pm. Ship departs 6pm, I do remember last doing it as we were just leaving the pier - took longer due to some people *eventually* turning up.

[Jacaluke]

Do HAL supply separate shampoo and conditioner?  We are sailing on the Maasdam in a few days - thank-you.

[RuthC]

8 minutes ago, Jacaluke said:

Do HAL supply separate shampoo and conditioner? 

Yes. There will be separate pump containers, along with a body wash container, in your tub or shower. 
There will also be a small bottle of lotion, and a bar of hand soap. All are replenished as needed. 

[WheresMyUmbrellaDrink]

5 minutes ago, Jacaluke said:

Do HAL supply separate shampoo and conditioner?  We are sailing on the Maasdam in a few days - thank-you.

Yes. Each shower has 3 dispensers; shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel filled to the rim. All Elemis brand. None of this "conditioning shampoo" some hotels use instead of providing real conditioner.

[Jacaluke]

Thank-you so much!!  I was worried it was the 'Conditioning Shampoo' which I've had on other cruise lines.

[Jacaluke]

Another question re the bottle of wine we are allowed to bring on board - are there fridges in the cabin to chill the wine as I'm thinking of bringing a bottle of champagne?  We are sailing on the Maasdam - many thanks.

[danb35]

I think it may depend on your cabin category--we had a fridge (a minibar, actually, but we had our steward empty it) in our SS on Oosterdam.