A new HAL Blog! (Yes, I'm a HAL employee!)

[kazu]

If you book a Suite you'll get another 14 days for that! :D

 

You took the words out of my mouth John - Gerd if you book a suite you get double days :)

[rafinmd]

You took the words out of my mouth John - Gerd if you book a suite you get double days :)

 

For most of the Ryndam cruises I see in that time frame a suite price is at least double the price of a regular cabin. For my 14 days, I'd rather have a "free" cruise for the same money.

 

Roy

[roadking436]

Hi,

We're researching for our upcoming Mediterranean cruise and have a question. On the web site, when we log in to purchase packages / dining ect. it lists a Suite Elite Package, Double, 7-10 days-Vista for $740.00. Even though it says 7 to 10 day (our cruise is 12) it will still allow us to buy it. I called the 800# to inquire about it and wasn't comfortable with the answers I got. According to the young lady I talked to, our Suite (7052) qualified and we could purchase it. I asked for more description on what it included such as a pass to access the Hydro Pool & Thermal Suite located in the Greenhouse Spa. She really couldn't tell me what that pass got us, but did say that was the major part of the cost of the package. The rest of the package is somewhat self descriptive. Our question still is, "What is included in the pass?"

Our cruise only has 2 days at sea, so we're trying to decide if this package is a good value for us. As I said, we can pretty much place a value on everything else but the pass. Can you help? Thanks in advance for any questions you can answer and for all your work on this blog! :)

I'm assuming DBA must be at sea again. Can anyone else help with the above question? Thanks in advance for yor help! :)

[goodroe]

:confused:Not sure if this is where I should ask this question. Can you ever upgrade on a segment of a B2B if there are available cabins? When I called HAL the answer was a little ambiguous. They indicated that it would be difficult to figure the price difference. Thanks for any information.

[MrsJLH52]

I'm assuming DBA must be at sea again. Can anyone else help with the above question? Thanks in advance for yor help! :)

 

Can't help you with you question, but I just wanted to let you know DBA is on the Nieuw Amsterdam and won't be back until after April 3. I can't wait to read his review of the ship!

[Jimmy's Girl]

Does HAL offer any special type of "Romance" packages?

 

I know different ships offer different things such as packaging together say a botttle of champagne, truffles with turn down service and maybe a spa treatment for a certain amount of money

 

If so, where can I find this information out at?

 

Looking at Alaska Cruisetour-a Concierge Level Suite if that makes a difference. I'm pretty sure at the least the concierge could assist with an idea or two if, HAL doesn't offer anything.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Does HAL offer any special type of "Romance" packages?

 

I know different ships offer different things such as packaging together say a botttle of champagne' date=' truffles with turn down service and maybe a spa treatment for a certain amount of money

 

If so, where can I find this information out at?

 

Looking at Alaska Cruisetour-a Concierge Level Suite if that makes a difference. I'm pretty sure at the least the concierge could assist with an idea or two if, HAL doesn't offer anything.[/quote']

 

yes

log into hal's site

go to the section where you can book excursions, etc -- click on that and enter your booking number

then go to "indulgences"

under that category you will see several options on the left hand side

there are 10 options for flowers and 20 options for packages -- check them out

[Jimmy's Girl]

yes

 

log into hal's site

 

go to the section where you can book excursions, etc -- click on that and enter your booking number

 

then go to "indulgences"

 

under that category you will see several options on the left hand side

 

there are 10 options for flowers and 20 options for packages -- check them out

 

 

But I don't have my reservation yet...any other way to do this?

[kazu]

I am not DBA - but- you can only get general info if you don't have a booking number. Different packages are different prices and you can find other things on board. Yes, the concierge can help you if you have a Deluxe Verandah or Penthous - and yes, they will.

 

But you really can't do a whole lot until you make up your mind and book your cruise - then you can see all the shore excursions, extras, what you are asking about, etc. and a lot more when you get on board.:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Romantic Voyage

Celebrate your cruise together with this Romantic Voyage package. Includes a Bon Voyage bouquet, one bottle of champagne, chocolate covered strawberries delivered to your stateroom, an elegant dinner for two in the Pinnacle Grill, a Casino gaming lesson including $25 in free casino chips, two indulgent 25-minute massages at the Greenhouse Spa, and a 10x7 photo sheet to preserve the memory of your cruise together. Pinnacle Grill dinner reservations to be made by the guest on board. A 15% service charge is included in the price of the item. You must be 21 years of age or older to order and receive alcoholic beverages.

 

$288.00

219

Select

[Jimmy's Girl]

Romantic Voyage

Celebrate your cruise together with this Romantic Voyage package. Includes a Bon Voyage bouquet, one bottle of champagne, chocolate covered strawberries delivered to your stateroom, an elegant dinner for two in the Pinnacle Grill, a Casino gaming lesson including $25 in free casino chips, two indulgent 25-minute massages at the Greenhouse Spa, and a 10x7 photo sheet to preserve the memory of your cruise together. Pinnacle Grill dinner reservations to be made by the guest on board. A 15% service charge is included in the price of the item. You must be 21 years of age or older to order and receive alcoholic beverages.

 

$288.00

219

Select

 

 

Thanks...that is what I was looking for!!!

[kazu]

I'm assuming DBA must be at sea again. Can anyone else help with the above question? Thanks in advance for yor help! :)

 

 

DBA is indeed at sea - and engaged :D so, if it's ok, I will try to help.

 

First of all, I looked at one of these many moons ago and the price for a longer cruise is not necessarily the cost you are looking at. If they didn't give you a direct answer call back to be sure and get someone who knows.

 

I priced it many moons ago and unless you use absolutely everything, it's not worth it, especially if you happen to be a three or four star mariner.

 

As everyone knows, I book suites, yes you absolutely qualify for this, but i would suggest you won't use it all - I'm not cheap by any stretch of the imagination but to me == much smarter IMO to book what is important to you and bypass the package. JMO though. ;)

[FoghornLeghorn]

What ship is DBA on now??

[wasup254]

We have five people thinking of cruising on the Noordam..Does the Noordam have cabins for more then 4 people in a room??

 

Thanks

[Krazy Kruizers]

What ship is DBA on now??

 

nieuw amsterdam

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have five people thinking of cruising on the Noordam..Does the Noordam have cabins for more then 4 people in a room??

 

Thanks

 

not for 5 adults

if there are just 2 adults and 3 tiny children, then the deluxe verandah suites and the penthouse can sleep 5

[roadking436]

DBA is indeed at sea - and engaged :D so, if it's ok, I will try to help.

 

First of all, I looked at one of these many moons ago and the price for a longer cruise is not necessarily the cost you are looking at. If they didn't give you a direct answer call back to be sure and get someone who knows.

 

I priced it many moons ago and unless you use absolutely everything, it's not worth it, especially if you happen to be a three or four star mariner.

 

As everyone knows, I book suites, yes you absolutely qualify for this, but i would suggest you won't use it all - I'm not cheap by any stretch of the imagination but to me == much smarter IMO to book what is important to you and bypass the package. JMO though. ;)

 

I appreciate your thoughts. I would however like to know what is included in the pass to the Hydro Pool & Thermal Suite. Does anyone know? Thanks

[sevenseasnomad]

The package includes unlimted use of the thermal suite and the hydro pool. Each of these is in a separate room which you must have a special key card to enter. You'll receive the card each time you check in at the spa front desk. On some ships, the thermal suite also has a hot tub. You can get a better price if you wait to purchase after you board the ship, as they discount the price. If this package is important to you, my suggestion is to go to the spa immediately after lunch and purchase it.

 

In December, for 10-day cruise, DH & I paid $190 for a couple to use the thermal suite and hydro pool. He lived in the hydro pool area; I joined him a couple of times where I sat in a lounge chair and read. All of my time was spent in the thermal suite; I went every day for about 2 hours. On one of the sea days, I went twice! Never crowded, except last sea day.

 

I felt it was money well spent. DH disagrees. This summer aboard Veendam, I'll purchase the package as a single, since he isn't interested.

[roadking436]

The package includes unlimted use of the thermal suite and the hydro pool. Each of these is in a separate room which you must have a special key card to enter. You'll receive the card each time you check in at the spa front desk. On some ships, the thermal suite also has a hot tub. You can get a better price if you wait to purchase after you board the ship, as they discount the price. If this package is important to you, my suggestion is to go to the spa immediately after lunch and purchase it.

 

In December, for 10-day cruise, DH & I paid $190 for a couple to use the thermal suite and hydro pool. He lived in the hydro pool area; I joined him a couple of times where I sat in a lounge chair and read. All of my time was spent in the thermal suite; I went every day for about 2 hours. On one of the sea days, I went twice! Never crowded, except last sea day.

 

I felt it was money well spent. DH disagrees. This summer aboard Veendam, I'll purchase the package as a single, since he isn't interested.

 

Since we only have 2 days at sea, I think we're going to pass on the package. Thanks for the info! We'll see what kind of deals they have once we board.

[Gerd]

...

 

 

Hello "Dutch"

 

we are being to do on-board bookings during our MS Ryndam sailing in June 2011.

As you can see from my cruise tickers, we would do in July 2012 almost 2 cruises one after the other.

 

At the end of the first cruise, we will certainly pas the next Mariner Status milestone – the 200 days sailing days level onboard those marvelous HAL vessels...

 

Because this changes quiet a lot about of HAL 4* Mariner benefits => already while boarding the vessel, hereby I would like to know how fast Seattle is in registering it.

 

 

We potentially will board in Seattle the MS Amsterdam on July 13, 2012, what is actually just 2 days after the MS Volendam cruise ended in Vancouver on July 11, 2012 -> is this is enough time for the records ?

 

 

 

Thanks for your answer and explanation

 

G E R D

 

 

 

Our marvelous cruises : :)

 

MS Ryndam – Wayfarer – March 1997

MS Noordam - Transatlantic Island Hook - April 2001

MS Volendam - Southern Caribbean - April 2002

MS Volendam - Westfarer Caribbean - April 2004

MS Prinsendam - Windmills & Waterford – September 2004

MS Westerdam - Western Caribbean - April 2005

MS Statendam - Hawaii Circle - September 2005

MS Rotterdam - Vikings and Czars – July 2006

MS Veendam - Southern Caribbean – March 2007

MS Volendam – Panama Canal – April 2008

MS Noordam – Mediterranean Enchantment – September 2009

MS Nieuw Amsterdam - Mediterranean Inaugural Cruise - July 2010

MS Nieuw Amsterdam - Mediterranean Empires - July 2010

 

169 days - 39'247 Nm :

 

 

 

Future Cruise : :p

 

14 days MS Ryndam – North Cape Splendors, June 12 ,2011

 

 

7 days MS Volendam – Glacier Bay Inside Passage, July 14, 2012

 

 

14 days MS Amsterdam – Alaskan Adventure, July 13, 2012

 

[honey-bunny]

We just booked Zuiderdam for panama canal 10 day for next year in January 2012:) , I had heard form many other posters that Zuiderdam is showing lots of wear and tear in many areas of the ship , my questions is will some of it will be repaired and fixed by the time we sail January 2012 :confused:

Hoping to hear form some of you and DBA regarding cabins and cabin décor , we had booked SA cabin on zuiderdam is there a flat screen TV can anyone please post some photos or links to photos of SA cabins on Zuiderdam

[kazu]

We just booked Zuiderdam for panama canal 10 day for next year in January 2012:) , I had heard form many other posters that Zuiderdam is showing lots of wear and tear in many areas of the ship , my questions is will some of it will be repaired and fixed by the time we sail January 2012 :confused:

Hoping to hear form some of you and DBA regarding cabins and cabin décor , we had booked SA cabin on zuiderdam is there a flat screen TV can anyone please post some photos or links to photos of SA cabins on Zuiderdam

 

Honey bunny - we were on the Zuiderdam last year in April for the Panam too. We didn't see a lot of wear and tear. Joanie's website has lots of pictures of the SA cabins. They are great and yes, they do have a flat screen tv. :)

[sail7seas]

Our friends sailed about 2 months ago in an "SA" cabin on Zuiderdam and they said their cabin was in very good condition. They have sailed other "S" cabins on other HAL ships and were well pleased on Zuiderdam.

 

They did comment there was a bit of wear and tear in some public areas but nothing to be bothered about and may well have already been addressed.

 

[honey-bunny]

Our friends sailed about 2 months ago in an "SA" cabin on Zuiderdam and they said their cabin was in very good condition. They have sailed other "S" cabins on other HAL ships and were well pleased on Zuiderdam.

 

They did comment there was a bit of wear and tear in some public areas but nothing to be bothered about and may well have already been addressed.

 

glad to hear that :) that was the only concerns that we had about the Zuiderdam ship that many had said before that is was old and some areas need TLC , but thank you for reassuring me , we booked this cruise because of the panama canal and we are looking very much forward been on hal ships , we been on Noordam few times and Nieuw Amsterdam before with family and loved both ships, but knowing that Zuiderdam was much older we wanted to find out it the ship was in good shape thank you very much for reassuring us :)

[honey-bunny]

Honey bunny - we were on the Zuiderdam last year in April for the Panam too. We didn't see a lot of wear and tear. Joanie's website has lots of pictures of the SA cabins. They are great and yes, they do have a flat screen tv. :)

thanks , can u please post a link for Joanie's website :) , glad to hear that u enjoyed the ship and that is it still in good shape