wine

[Scorpiorose]

so....we are taking our first HollandAm cruise in November. Did I get this correct, we can bring wine on board? Champagne? We used to be able to do this on Royal but no more!!! I'm excited if so! We love to have a glass before dinner!

 

Other questions for this newbie:

 

Is there a captains party with free drinks?

How much are the portraits, basically?

Any thing like the chocolate Buffet on RCCL?

How much for a soda card?

Do you have to buy juice and pop?

 

Any other interesting and important facts, please share!!! I'm excited to try something new!

[papadave]

so....we are taking our first HollandAm cruise in November. Did I get this correct, we can bring wine on board? Champagne? We used to be able to do this on Royal but no more!!! I'm excited if so! We love to have a glass before dinner!

 

Other questions for this newbie:

 

Is there a captains party with free drinks?

I think there is one free glass of champagne -- enough for a toast -- but I'm not sure.

 

How much are the portraits, basically? Figure around $20 for anything of decent size. A fair price if you think about it and a good souvenier.

 

Any thing like the chocolate Buffet on RCCL? Usually there is a midnight chocolate extravaganza. Very similar to the one on RCCL. People line up to photograph and then you can eat some desert at 1 in the morning if you are inclined to do so. I find that pretty late in the evening for eating anything.

 

How much for a soda card? It works out to more than a dollar a soda if I recall. I think the information is available at http://www.hollandamerica.com

 

Do you have to buy juice and pop? Juice is free at breakfast time in the Lido and the dining room. There is always a charge for soda. There are other things you can drink without an extra charge (iced tea, for example)

 

Any other interesting and important facts, please share!!! I'm excited to try something new! Search for the HAL secrets thread on this board -- you'll be reading for hours.

Enjoy your cruise -- David

[papadave]

Yes, you can bring wine, including champagne, on board. If you bring it to the dining room you'll pay a corkage fee (for opening the bottle and supplying wine glasses), but there is no extra charge to enjoy your champagne in your room.

[Scorpiorose]

Thanks you guys....I'm just excited we can have our champagne!

 

Do you just carry it on board as checked? Any limit on bottles?:D

[Sir PMP]

so....we are taking our first HollandAm cruise in November. Did I get this correct, we can bring wine on board? Champagne? We used to be able to do this on Royal but no more!!! I'm excited if so! We love to have a glass before dinner!

 

Other questions for this newbie:

 

Is there a captains party with free drinks?

How much are the portraits, basically?

Any thing like the chocolate Buffet on RCCL?

How much for a soda card?

Do you have to buy juice and pop?

 

Any other interesting and important facts, please share!!! I'm excited to try something new!

 

Beer is ok too now, no hard stuff...

[Krazy Kruizers]

There is no limit to the number of bottles of wine and champagne that you can bring on board.

If you choose to take a bottle to the dining room, there is a $15 corkage fee per bottle.

HAL doesn't have a real Captain's cocktail party anymore. No standing in line waiting to have your picture taken as you enter the show lounge. Instead 15 minutes before showtime there is a Captain's Welcome Toast. On most ships as you enter the show lounge there will be bar staff holding trays of champagne, white wine and red wine. On other ships the bar staff go around the room with the trays.

There are new photographers and now they sell the majority of thephotos in sheets which contain 1 large picture, 2 smaller ones and 1 black and white one -- prices range from $15 and up.

You can also ask for juice in the Lido at lunch time and they will get it for you.

[Desdemona01]

Beer is ok too now, no hard stuff...

 

can you post where you found this? My info still says no beer--just wine, pop and water can be brought on board

[Krazy Kruizers]

No beer is allowed to be brought onto a HAL ship.

[Cruising-along]

Welcome to HAL!

Every HAL cruise we've taken has indeed had the chocolate buffet -- magnificent!

Enjoy your cruise :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

It ios really a Dessert Extravaganza on the ships now. All kkinds of desserts along with chocolate ones.

[Cruising-along]

It ios really a Dessert Extravaganza on the ships now. All kkinds of desserts along with chocolate ones.

 

That's right, KK. I forgot to mention that, as I always make a bee-line for chocolate only :p :D

[Boytjie]

How does one get topics like this into a Sticky? It seems that certain topics come up time and again: can I bring wine, how many fromal nihgts etc.

[Scorpiorose]

Well, that's what cruisecritic is about, helping out fellow cruisers. Skip the post if you like....

 

Thanks to all for the time to answer....I'll look forward to the choc. buffet, champagne in our cabin!

 

What about buying hard alcohol? If you buy in the duty shop I suppose like other crusie lines you get it at the end of your trip?

 

Mucho gracias

[jtl513]

The soda card is $20.70 (including the 15% service charge) for "20 glasses". It is no bargain IMO because a "glass" is about 1/2 can, and it may be the flat 2nd half can left from the last customer. Better to just just buy sodas by the can for $2 plus 15% s.c.

 

Beer is ok too now, no hard stuff...

Just because you were allowed to bring beer onto one cruise of the Zuiderdam does NOT necessarily mean it is now "ok" on all ships on all cruises. There has not been any official change in fleet-wide policy yet.

[Desdemona01]

Well, that's what cruisecritic is about, helping out fellow cruisers. Skip the post if you like....

 

Thanks to all for the time to answer....I'll look forward to the choc. buffet, champagne in our cabin!

 

What about buying hard alcohol? If you buy in the duty shop I suppose like other crusie lines you get it at the end of your trip?

 

Mucho gracias

 

yes, you get it at the end of the cruise. You can, however, order bottles of alcohol from room service and enjoy them during the cruise:)

[Boytjie]

Well, that's what cruisecritic is about, helping out fellow cruisers. Skip the post if you like....

 

Thanks to all for the time to answer....I'll look forward to the choc. buffet, champagne in our cabin!

 

What about buying hard alcohol? If you buy in the duty shop I suppose like other crusie lines you get it at the end of your trip?

 

Mucho gracias

 

I did not mean to come over as being annoyed at your post, I am sorry if it did. I think it would be helpful to have a sticky with a list of FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions) easily available.

 

Any alcohol you buy in the duty-free shop or in port will be kept until the last night of the cruise.

[jtl513]

I did not mean to come over as being annoyed at your post, I am sorry if it did. I think it Would be helpful to have a sticky with a list oif FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions) easily available.

There was once an attempt to have such a thread (called something like Everything a Newbie Needs to Know) but it wasn't made sticky. The problem I see is that there are sooo many inconsistencies in the way HAL does things from ship to ship, and so many contradictory answers given from HAL Seattle and shipboard, and so many changes over time, that I don't think a sticky would be very useful for very long.

 

MAYBE if it was set up so that only a Host could make changes it would not deteriorate into endless arguments like so many threads on recurring questions.

 

:cool:

[Scorpiorose]

No worries Peter, you right I think!

 

This is all different than RCCL, that is why I'm amazed! You can buy at the duty free shop and have it delivered to your room to drink? We were never allowed to do that on our last three cruises. This of course, is why so many sneak it on board I think. :p

[Desdemona01]

No worries Peter, you right I think!

 

This is all different than RCCL, that is why I'm amazed! You can buy at the duty free shop and have it delivered to your room to drink? We were never allowed to do that on our last three cruises. This of course, is why so many sneak it on board I think. :p

 

No, what you buy in the duty free is held and given to you at the end of the cruise. However, if you call room service and order a bottle of alcohol, they will deliver it to your room and you can drink it during the cruise

[Boytjie]

There was once an attempt to have such a thread (called something like Everything a Newbie Needs to Know) but it wasn't made sticky. The problem I see is that there are sooo many inconsistencies in the way HAL does things from ship to ship, and so many contradictory answers given from HAL Seattle and shipboard, and so many changes over time, that I don't think a sticky would be very useful for very long.

 

MAYBE if it was set up so that only a Host could make changes it would not deteriorate into endless arguments like so many threads on recurring questions.

 

:cool:

 

Too bad it didn't work, and yes I would envision something that is more contreolled so that pertinent information is posted and the thread drifting and threah hijacking can be avoided.

[Scorpiorose]

oh :o - what is the cost for alcohol bottles compared to what it costs in the duty free? Is it say "huge" "moderate" "sameish"?

[Boytjie]

No worries Peter, you right I think!

 

This is all different than RCCL, that is why I'm amazed! You can buy at the duty free shop and have it delivered to your room to drink? We were never allowed to do that on our last three cruises. This of course, is why so many sneak it on board I think. :p

 

You read my post about alcohol wrong - it will be delivered to your cabin only on the last night of the cruise.

 

And don't put any liqour with your lugagge outside your cabin that last night, someone may have a big party at your expense. :D

[jimgev]

No worries Peter, you right I think!

 

This is all different than RCCL, that is why I'm amazed! You can buy at the duty free shop and have it delivered to your room to drink? We were never allowed to do that on our last three cruises. This of course, is why so many sneak it on board I think. :p

It is only delivered to your room on the last night of the cruise so you will be able to pack it.

What ship and sailing dates do you have for November?

Jim

[Scorpiorose]

Oh again!!!:o I thought I had hit the lottery there for a minute!

 

We are on the Thanksgiving cruise! I've never sailed on a holiday! Just the DH and myself!

[cf_chuck]

MAYBE if it was set up so that only a Host could make changes it would not deteriorate into endless arguments like so many threads on recurring questions.

 

:cool:

 

LOL - and add to that those that openly reject what HAL "requests" or "states" as its official policy or have gotten away with something less than these, and chaos reigns supreme.