HAL secrets

[GottoCruise]

Thank you EVERYONE for sharing your HAL 'secrets'.

 

We are Elite Princess cruisers - reading this thread - looks like HAL has some wonderful advantages over Princess...........

 

Best things about Princess Elite are the Free Internet, Free Laundry & Dry Cleaning, Free Mini-Bar Set-up and Shipboard Credit from Capt.Circle - and for the truly well travelled - the special Capt. Luncheon.

 

I am very tempted to try HAL - but it's hard to give up those Elite Perks.

 

And whenever I 'price' - HAL seems to be higher per diem.....SIGH!

[coiran]

I heard that all this stuff comes standard to everyone on HAL - is this true??

Complimentary hors d'oeuvres are served in each bar for the hour before each dinner seating

Cut flowers & Fruit Bowl in the room

Complementary lemonade at the pool

Iced tea in the afternoon served out on deck

Dutch Pea Soup served on deck in Glacier Bay

Free Hot Chocolate w/whipped cream & Sprinkles

Free "Flaming Spanish Coffee" in the Explorer's Lounge after dinner

Chocolates in the Explorer's Lounge after dinner

Wood chaise lounges on the Promenade deck

Half price drinks at bingo

Cloth hand towels in the public restrooms

Warm chocolate chip cookies & ice cream served in the Lido every afternoon

Real patio furniture on the verandahs

Complimentary Canvas ‘Tote’

$45 for Laundry the entire week

FREE mens' shoe shine

Food at the Lido is just as good as in the dinning room.

w/Table cloths and candles for dinner.

(Like an alternate restaurant without a surcharge)

Upgraded Bedding in ALL Cabins

Robes in all Cabins

Hand Held Showers

[RuthC]

I heard that all this stuff comes standard to everyone on HAL - is this true??...

Pretty much, yes. I've never had flowers in my cabin, and I don't believe the coffees with liquour are complementary. And the cookies at the ice cream bar aren't always chocolate chip:( .

But other than that---yes.

[dsawyer]

Holland America is a wonderful cruiseline and is my second favorite to Princess.

 

You should try it sometime. The brand new Noordam is my favorite of all the Hal ships I have been on. I have been on the Veendam, Zuiderdam and in March we were on The Noordam. What a lovely ship.

 

You definitely will feel comfortable and at home with Holland America.

[GottoCruise]

I will have a first person 'review' next week

 

We sent our kids on the Zaadam to Alaska for their 25th Anniv.

 

I got an excited call from Seattle at check-in yesterday - they were upgraded to a Veranda Suite! :D

 

How nice is that ??

[pounder207]

Great thread. Thanks to all who posted. My wife and I have reservations on the Noordam for 3/31/07. This will be our first HAL cruise and we're trying to talk our daughter and SIL into joining us. This thread should do the trick.

[gizmo]

I heard that all this stuff comes standard to everyone on HAL - is this true??

 

Free "Flaming Spanish Coffee" in the Explorer's Lounge after dinner

Cut flowers & Fruit Bowl in the room

 

Warm chocolate chip cookies & ice cream served in the Lido every afternoon

 

Food at the Lido is just as good as in the dinning room.

w/Table cloths and candles for dinner.

(Like an alternate restaurant without a surcharge)

 

I never heard of Flaming Spanish Coffee but it sounds like it has liquor in it. Any coffee with liquor has a charge.

 

Warm Chocolate chip cookies - not always chocolate chip and not necessarliy warm.

 

KK, has reported the table clothes are no longer in the Lido for dinner. The menu is almost the same as the dining room.

 

The lemonade at the pool is only served at a certain time. It is not available all afternoon.

 

Flowers are not in all cabins.

[srzpoo]

I'm shocked-----I thought only dogs do it out in public---they need to use the room that they paid for because if I would see them I would have to throw water on them. That's how we do the dogs, huh?

[hugger]

I had forgotten some of the great hint's on this thread.

All newbies should read this over ;)

[jtl513]

-- is there wireless access (or wired access) in the staterooms? We are going to be on the Noordam in October, and we have a VA (I think) cabin, one of the cabins all the way aft on the fantail. We were on the Norwegian Dawn in March, but their wireless access didn't go down the hall to our cabin.

 

On the Noordam in June the room dial-up wasn't working ... or more accurately it wasn't working for anyone who didn't want to pay $13/min like a regular phone call !! :eek:

 

On the Westerdam we were in VA8010, not far from the Lido pool hotspot, but couldn't pick up the wireless there.

[SandRaven]

How to request your Belgian Waffle in the am at the Lido.

 

So many people just use syrup, but there's a better way: whipped cream, chocolate sauce, topped with fresh berries (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry). It's the best!

[AAAAmerican]

I'm shocked-----I thought only dogs do it out in public---they need to use the room that they paid for because if I would see them I would have to throw water on them. That's how we do the dogs, huh?

 

Why would you throw water on dogs? Thats really insulting....

 

What do you think the AKC is all about? A=Breeding.

 

You never saw Westminster K.C. in Madison Square Garden, NYC Show on Tv ?

 

:eek:

[AAAAmerican]

How to request your Belgian Waffle in the am at the Lido.

 

So many people just use syrup, but there's a better way: whipped cream, chocolate sauce, topped with fresh berries (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry). It's the best!

 

Heh they are Dutch Waffles, the Belgians eat more potatoes..LOL..

 

Fresh squeezed OJ too..YUMmmmE..

 

We do like to have breakfast in the formal dining area or when we have the nicer cabins in the Pinnacle ..

 

Above it all in the Lido is also wonderful and many steap ahead of other Cruise lines...

 

The staff does so make a difference...

:cool:

[cruzincurt]

At the ice cream station, there are various "libations" to add to those scoops.

[wandb]

Haven't read all of the posts yet on this thread, so this may be a repeat. (if so, it is well worth repeating!)

 

The cold fruit soups in the dining room each day (lunch AND dinner if I remember correctly) were fantastic! All of us came home trying to duplicate those delicious recipes. Haven't succeeded yet, but getting close on one or two! This was on the Ryndam (Alaska Cruise/tour).

 

This is one of the things we are most looking forward to on our next HAL cruise---hopefully by next fall.

[du2cruise]

We have booked our first HAL cruise on the Volendam next Feb., so I've enjoyed reading all these helpful tips. Towards the beginning of the thread someone mentioned that the Volendam beach towells can be taken off the ship for shore excursions. I was wondering if this is still true? Or is it necessary or better to bring our own? Would love to give that suitcase space to clothes!:)

[DL10]

Thanks for all the tips on this thread! We're going on our first HAL cruise in December, sailing on the Veendam on 12/9.

 

I found information on the amenities provided in every stateroom for many HAL ships. If the ships have completed the Signature of Excellence upgrade, every stateroom (yes, even inside staterooms!) has:

 

SIGNATURE TOUCHES IN EVERY STATEROOM

• Luxurious Euro-Top™ beds and premium linens
  
• Large, extra-fluffy Egyptian cotton towels
  
• Lighted magnifying mirrors; massage showerheads; salon-quality hair dryers
  
• Luxurious terry cloth bathrobes
  
• Televisions with DVD and VCR players
  
• Generous storage
  
• Complimentary fresh fruit
  
• Complimentary 24-hour in-room dining
  
• Nightly turndown service
  
• Complimentary shoeshine service
  
• Complimentary ice service

[DL10]

For most ships, it looks like HAL tells you whether they have completed the Signature of Excellence Initiative if you select the ship from this site:

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/fleet/fleet.do

 

For example:

The ms Volendam completed all Signature of Excellence enhancements to her public rooms and staterooms in Fall 2005.

 

----

 

For any of you who will be sailing Dec. 13-14, there will be a Geminid meteor shower - lots of shooting stars! There won't be much of a moon, so viewing should be good if skies are clear. Might make the Sports Decks/Sky Decks not such private spots for those nights!

[RuthC]

Towards the beginning of the thread someone mentioned that the Volendam beach towells can be taken off the ship for shore excursions. I was wondering if this is still true?

Yes, it's still true. When leaving the ship there will be a supply of towels; take what you need, and please remember to bring them back. Upon return there will be a big laundry basket you can toss them in.

There is also a supply of towels near the pools.

A ship is a large city, and has all the supplies any city would have. If you think you may need it, the ship will have it.

[du2cruise]

Yes, it's still true. When leaving the ship there will be a supply of towels; take what you need, and please remember to bring them back. Upon return there will be a big laundry basket you can toss them in.

 

Thank you Ruth for confirming this.

[Barbara Hornblower]

Does the Veendam still have free specialty coffees at the Java Cafe?

 

I really really enjoyed that perk onboard the Zaandam 2 years ago. Cappucinos every night, if I wished! WOW!

[Juanita462]

The Java Cafe is no more - it is now a wine tasting place and the coffee available in the Exploration Cafe has to be paid for. Also the tea or coffee in the Exploration lounge at night are no longer free - the chocolates are, but are getting scarce and we were never offered one on our last cruise.

 

Also on our last cruise we did not have bathrobes, portable hair dryer, laundry bag, massage showerhead or fluffly bath towels - they must have run out as we have always had them before. We did get the bathrobes by phoning the front desk and we just laughed about the old towels. We have some at home older than those!

[Little Feet]

For most ships, it looks like HAL tells you whether they have completed the Signature of Excellence Initiative if you select the ship from this site:

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/fleet/fleet.do

 

For example:

The ms Volendam completed all Signature of Excellence enhancements to her public rooms and staterooms in Fall 2005.

 

----

 

For any of you who will be sailing Dec. 13-14, there will be a Geminid meteor shower - lots of shooting stars! There won't be much of a moon, so viewing should be good if skies are clear. Might make the Sports Decks/Sky Decks not such private spots for those nights!

 

We are on the Zuiderdam 12/9/06, and we are thrilled to be able to see the stars! We cruised the Westerdam for 2 weeks ( back to back) at the same time in 2004 and the stars were magnificent. Better seen on the first week...but still some shooting into the second week. Best viewing as around 2AM. Can't wait! We are so excited!

[clever_girl]

Is it possible to get extra-large size bathrobes? My father-in-law is how shall we say, a little "zaftig"...he would find a regular size robe unusuable. Just hoping!

[Kathyh1313]

We've been on many cruise lines, but never HAL. This thread has me sold!

 

I have a couple of questions, are the Reidel wineglasses used in the dining room, or just the alternative restaurant? A good wine glass can make even cheap wine taste better~really! QUOTE]

 

 

Hi Cute Little,

 

The Reidel wineglasses are just in the alternative restaurant. However, when DH and I ordered a bottle of Jordan Cab Sav in the regular dining room, the Wine Stewardess obtained the Reidel wineglasses to serve the Jordan. It was a very nice touch. That was the only night we had the Reidel glasses in the dining room. I would not ask for them every night as I am sure there is only a limited supply of these glasses. But if I were ordering a special wine in the dining room, I might ask.

 

Happy cruising, Kathy