First Time Sailing Holland American

[meh56]

We are sailing on the Zaandam Sep 25 from Vancouver to San Diego. We are Platinum with Princess so they have told us we can board at 11:30AM. When are the cabins ready to be occupied? They also said we could have lunch in the dining room...Is there a menu online somewhere? If anyone has a suggestion for hotel in Vancouver I would appreciate that as well. Any information on the Vista Suites would be welcome. Thank you

[CruiserBruce]

Being Platinum has nothing to do with boarding on HAL. HAL starts boarding on all ships at, or very close to 11:30, and the cabins are ready when you board. Both fleetwide, worldwide policies.

[Hlitner]

Embarkation dining in the MDR has been hit/miss on our last few HAL cruises...but I do think the norm is that lunch will be served from 12 - 1 or 1:30 in the MDR. This used to be limited to Mariner Club members in higher categories but lately it does seem to be open to all. They also will have lunch in the Lido buffet and the burger grill (Dive In) will also be open.

 

Hank

[dmg1956]

Yes, the MDR should be open for lunch. It's a nicer way to have that meal rather than dealing with the crowds in the Lido. For the menu Google Zaandam menus and you will probably find an entry from rogerjettphotography. You can usually find the menus on that site. Vista Suite information is on the HAL web-site. If you are booked on that cruise you should have access to the web-site for "booked passengers" It requires your email address and a password of your choosing. Perhaps you should call a HAL representative for help. That web-site is your best friend as you will see. There will be info about the Vista Suite amenities but to fully grasp everything that is included you need to look at the cabin amenities for the cabin categories below the Vista level. I don't understand why HAL does not do a complete amenities listing for each category but for some reason they don't. Stupid. Have a wonderful cruise.

[Homosassa]

Being platinum on Princess will not get you any privileges on HAL.

 

We are also platinum on Princess and slowly working our way up the Mariner ladder.

[moorerf]

Your plantinum on Princess will not get you any special check in, boarding etc. Each cruise line has its own program which is in ways good and in ways bad. Experience is though that HAL ships begin to board general boarding (usually the first to board are Pinnacle suites, then Neptune suites, 4/5 star mariners and then vista suites I believe) between 1130 and 12 and rooms are almost always ready for you. Also lunch in the MDR is nice and usually is available for a short time, so don't delay if you wish to do this. Drop things in your cabin and head to the dining room.

[Daisyloo]

We stayed at the Pan Pacific in Vancouver and really liked it. It is right above the cruise port so it's only an elevator ride down and you are at the port.

[jhannah]

We are sailing on the Zaandam Sep 25 from Vancouver to San Diego.

....

Welcome to the world of Holland America. We, too, are Princess Platinum, but have grown to love HAL over the years. (And, yes, their loyalty programs are totally separate.) The Zaandam is a great ship. We enjoyed it very much. She's a wonderful size, and our service experience was super.

 

We really appreciate the Indonesian and Filipino crew aboard HAL ships. They are super friendly and accommodating in every way they can.

 

The Pan Pacific Hotel would be a great choice to stay pre-cruise. Be sure to go down to the Gastown area in Vancouver and see the steam clock!

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

[meh56]

Thank you for your reply...Is there a charge for the Dive In? Glad to know the cabins will be ready early. We are looking forward to sailing with Holland America. We are doing a short

sailing to see what they have to offer. Do they have any lectures during the day?

[CruiserBruce]

The Dive In is free.

[OlsSalt]

Thank you for your reply...Is there a charge for the Dive In? Glad to know the cabins will be ready early. We are looking forward to sailing with Holland America. We are doing a short

sailing to see what they have to offer. Do they have any lectures during the day?

 

On short cruises, they no longer offer series of enrichment lectures. However, they may have port lectures as well as shore excursion presentations that also tell you more about what you will be seeing. This will depend upon how many at-sea days you have as well. Hope you enjoy your trial run and are able get as full of a feeling about what many find they really like about HAL Low-key, smaller ships, great crew, good food and lazy days at sea.

[Hlitner]

As has been posted, the "Dive-In" which is HAL's burger grill is completely free. And it operates in a pretty neat way. On many ships you have to stand in a long line (queue) to get a burger and it will often be meat that was cooked some time ago and is sitting in hot water waiting to go on a bun. But when HAL started their Dive-in they decided that everything would be made to order. So when you go to the window you simply put in your order, they give you a beeper, and you can go wait anywhere (within the range of the beeper) which, for us, is usually our loungers on the deck. Are they the best burgers or hot dogs at sea? Nope...but they are sure among the best.

 

Hank

[dmg1956]

Thank you for your reply...Is there a charge for the Dive In? Glad to know the cabins will be ready early. We are looking forward to sailing with Holland America. We are doing a short

sailing to see what they have to offer. Do they have any lectures during the day?

CC members will almost always gladly respond to your questions as they have done here. However, I should point out, again, that most answers to your questions are found on the HAL web-site for booked passengers and I encourage you to make that web-site your friend.

Again, have a great cruise.

[meh56]

Sounds great...I have looked at web site but it is nice to hear from people who have traveled. This cruise is part of a South America sailing so I hope they will have some lectures. When I booked the agent said they will acknowledge our Princess and Carnival sailings. She said we will receive some benefits like early check in, lunch and special promotions during cruise. Looking forward to trying out different restaurants and buffet. We have not been happy with Princess dining so want to see what other cruise lines are offering.

[OlsSalt]

Sounds great...I have looked at web site but it is nice to hear from people who have traveled. This cruise is part of a South America sailing so I hope they will have some lectures. When I booked the agent said they will acknowledge our Princess and Carnival sailings. She said we will receive some benefits like early check in, lunch and special promotions during cruise. Looking forward to trying out different restaurants and buffet. We have not been happy with Princess dining so want to see what other cruise lines are offering.

 

If you are part of the South American sailing (did not know what you meant by a "short cruise" - I was thinking of the 3-4 day ones), most likely there will be enrichment speakers onboard. Doing the "long cruise" (San Diego to Buenos Aires) around South America was one of our most favorite, and probably one of our more surprising ones - we did not think it would be as interesting as it was - low key ports, gorgeous scenery and rich history. I'd do it again and again.

 

I think in the past I have heard any prior CCL family cruise status gives you an automatic one star Mariner ranking. I would not put too much stock into any "special offerings" as I don't recall anything unique for even our 5 star Mariner status for Mariners, and lunch in the main dining room on embarkation day may or may not be available anyway for anyone - depends on the ship. Early embarkation is a nice treat because your cabin will be ready and you can let the fun begin right away exploring the ship from your cozy new home.

 

Most reports posted here generally find dining on the various CCL family ships are fairly similar in quality and variety, though hours of dining differ (more on Princess-less on HAL) and what is available for room service. (more on HAL - less on the others). It will be interesting to see your comparisons when you get back. Hope you will make a report from your Princess cruise line perspective - those area always interesting since many wonder what else it out there.

[jhannah]

When I booked the agent said they will acknowledge our Princess and Carnival sailings. She said we will receive some benefits like early check in, lunch and special promotions during cruise.

So sorry, but your agent is poorly informed.

[TXCruiser10]

Ditto to what everyone else said. Let me add two things about Vista suites. First, they come with umbrellas (or should), so don't worry about packing one. Second, they also come with binoculars! My husband loves using them on the balcony while we're in port...what is it with men and binoculars?? There is plenty of packing space in the suite, so make sure you explore every little corner. The suites come with a very small vase of fresh flowers, a wet bar (for a $$) and fridge. We have had vista suites on our last two cruises because we took advantage of a price drop and absolutely loved it! Enjoy!

[dmg1956]

Ditto to what everyone else said. Let me add two things about Vista suites. First, they come with umbrellas (or should), so don't worry about packing one. Second, they also come with binoculars! My husband loves using them on the balcony while we're in port...what is it with men and binoculars?? There is plenty of packing space in the suite, so make sure you explore every little corner. The suites come with a very small vase of fresh flowers, a wet bar (for a $$) and fridge. We have had vista suites on our last two cruises because we took advantage of a price drop and absolutely loved it! Enjoy!

 

Ditto to what Ditto said. Also, look for storage drawers under the foot of the bed. And, put your empty suitcases under the bed...they don't fit well in the closets.

[nana51]

Also the Zaandam is a smaller ship so they don’t have that great spa. They have the heated tile loungers but not that big wonderful jacuzzi. They small ones by the pools though.

 

 

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[ithaca gal]

. When I booked the agent said they will acknowledge our Princess and Carnival sailings. She said we will receive some benefits like early check in, lunch and special promotions during cruise. .

 

Your agent is very mistaken. I would suggest that you have a talk with them and have it put in writing ........... because the above things are NOT going to happen.

[lazey1]

The only acknowledgment of your Princess and Carnival sailings will be have 1 star on your key card. The check in time is the same across the fleet, and anyone may eat lunch in the master dining room, the Lido or the Dive In. Since you will have 1 star you may get the gift of a tile at the end of your cruise.