We always get some local currency from our bank before we go so that we can tip guides in their own currency and if we want something little from a street vendor we can be ready to pay with cash in case they don't take credit. However, we had no problem at all paying for everything with credit cards.
Did a 7-day Alaska itinerary on the Koningsdam several months ago. My opinion on their MDR is A+. Didn’t have one single meal that I didn’t enjoy thoroughly. Compared to other cruise lines I’ve sailed with, HAL seems to do the best in terms of MDR food.
Thank you for the kind comments and helpful critique. I need to research best microphones to use with iPhone and with iMac. It may be a couple of months before you see an improvement since I have several in process, but I will definitely work to implement better audio in the future.
Do you know if they will accommodate requests, i.e., I prefer my clothes washed on cold and dried on low heat to avoid shrinkage. Can you ask for that? Thank you!
That is a good question. I never made any special requests, so I do not know. And I don’t know if they always wash clothing on cold?? Hopefully someone might see this comment and have a better reply.
Great video, my wife and i are on thw Koningsdam in july and have club orange, my question is about the bag and drink at dinner. Did you have to go to customer services deask to get thw club orange bag or was it in the room when you arrived. Did you need to ask for the drinks or were they expecting you? Any line up to get into the club orange dining room. Btw, i am a new subscriber. Thanks
I think I remember that the bag was in our room upon arrival, but it might have been the first full day. We normally enjoy dinner early, so we were almost always seated as soon as the dining room opened. Sometimes there were already a few guests in line before the dining room opened. Once, we had to take a pager and wait a few minutes before they had room. The wait staff came around with the welcome drinks at dinner. We did not have to ask for them. And thanks very much for subscribing!
Thanks for the information! I am travelling there in August. I am trying to decide to go with blue puffin or the north cape tour. How did you make your decision? Great video.
Hi Shirley, we were on the Noordam earlier this year, and at the last minute upgraded to a Neptune Suite, which includes Club Orange privileges. Since the Noordam does not have a Club Orange Dining Room, have the special Club Orange line in the Main Dining Room was really nice. Also, having the extra special entree available was great. We took advantage of it several times. We had breakfast every day in the Pinnacle Grill which was great but I think that was a Neptune Suite perk, not Club Orange. You did a great job explaining the program. HAL should have a link to this video on their website when describing the program. When we were on the Noordam, we booked 2 future cruises and made sure that we opted for including Club Orange. I believe that it is well worth the cost. Like you, my wife does not drink, and I drink very little, the Have it All package just does not make sense for us.
Just another note. We just booked a relatively last minute cruise to Canada and New England in September. Our HAL Personal Cruise Consultant called and offered us a free cruise (inside cabin) on several cruises, but it also included some great discounts on other cabins. We were going to book a Signature Suite at about the cost of a regular balcony. I was going to add Club Orange, which was surprisingly still available. But, then she found a Neptune Suite at about the same price as Signature + Club Orange. My wife and I looked at each other and said “free laundry “, and we booked it.
Thanks for the info about the special line for the dining room on the Noordam. I was curious how well it worked on the smaller ships without Club Orange dining.
We are going on the Nieuw Statendam next month going to Norway, Iceland, and Scotland, round trip from Amsterdam. This was a great introduction video, providing a lot a good information and tips. I really like your style. Happy to have found your channel. Thanks. -Marty
Welcome to the channel. Thanks for subscribing. We went to Norway last year in June and they were having a heat wave. We packed mostly all long sleeves, and were unprepared for the warm temperatures. We booked the Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas as it had the itinerary and dates we wanted. I have some posts of our ports in Norway (Gerainger, Honingsvaag, Alesund, Flam) and also what we did in Amsterdam pre-cruise if you are interested.
We were on the Noordam in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year and at the last minute we upgraded to a Neptune Suite (it was wonderful), and it included Unlimited Laundry. We used it several times. Since we arrived in Sydney 4 days early, by the time we got on the ship, we had already been away from home for several days, so having laundry service was great. And, they always returned the items early and did a great job. We could have packed less and will in the future as we intend to take advantage of this service on all our future HAL cruises. You did a great job explaining it! Thanks. -Marty
Terrific video and i am so pleased that I have been able to book Club Orange on two cruises next year. The upgrades alone were well worth it. Thank you !
Hello Miss Shirley, I really enjoy and appreciate your well done and interesting postings. It is a fun way to research as we look forward to our upcoming vacation on the Nieuw Statendam. Excellent content and presentation, and your humor is a joy. Thank you.
Great video. I'm glad to have come across your video. We actually on a fjord cruise from Hellesylt and we have a 4 hour in Geiranger. We will look for the hop on hop off bus. Hopefully we can find it. How much did you pay for it?
@@shirleysjourneys9505 thank you. We decided to go back to Hellesylt without staying once the cruise gets there. There seems to be not much to do in Geiranger
Thanks for your compliment, and thanks even more for the correction. Cantilevered was definitely not the correct word choice - not even close! Those pool tables are amazing!
"and bypass ALL THESE PEOPLE..." Yep, this is the way to talk about your potemtial subscribers... And this is not the only time she calls her fellow passengers "these people." Oh, and by the way, lady, it's /ˈtendər/ not /'ti:nder/
Thanks for your comment. I certainly did not mean to offend fellow passengers with my video. It was only meant to be informative and factual as to what is included in Club Orange. At the moment we were riding up the escalator to board early, I remember thinking, "Wow, look at all those people waiting." They are people. I never thought of the word, "people," or "these people," as being offensive since I am a "People," too. But after reviewing my video, I can see where someone might feel like I was looking down on people (figuratively as well as literally) who had not paid for "club orange." I apologize for the offense I caused you. As far as my pronunciation of words, I will probably always pronounce things with a country, southern twang. Old habits die hard. The first syllable in tender will sound exactly the same way I pronounce men, the number ten, the name of Barbie's boyfriend, Ken and the second syllable in Of-fend.
@lopezlopez@7132, you are a bitter person looking to not pick. Shirley's videos are helpful to those seeking information and advice. Miserable people like you never appreciate anything. Btw, an apology from her was not necessary at all.
Well, there are several things to consider. Neptune Suite is definitely larger: Larger and nicer room, larger and nicer balcony, much larger and nicer bathroom. You get the Neptune lounge, and you automatically get the other club orange benefits. If you are happy with a regular sized balcony or vista suite room, you might want to do it. But if the club orange is already sold out, you would still get those club orange benefits when you book the Neptune Suite. The laundry and dry cleaning is a nice perk with the Neptune Suite, too, so if you wanted the laundry, you would have to add the unlimited laundry package as well unless you already get it with your Mariner status.
Plenty of nice things in the Neptune Suite, but the price of the Neptune Suites keep going up, so having the Club Orange option is nice to have available. Getting a certain amount of “priority “ does make you feel special.
I'm doing a short 7 day, next month, but I'm doing a three week, next October, so I have to practice sink washing, on the short vacation. NCL bumped the laundry fee up to $35. I plan to get some magnetic hooks to hang things.
Those hooks are great for that. I usually ask my cabin steward for extra towels. Then when I wash and wring out a shirt, I roll it up in the towel to get out most of the water. Then I use a ship's hanger to hang the shirt on the hook, (unless I bring my own plastic coated hanger) I also use two dry washcloths as "shoulder pads" to protect my clothes from the varnish on the wooden hanger.
Sorry about that. I probably butchered Alesund, and the other Norwegian ports, too, then on their videos. It would have been closer if I had pronounced Flam so that it was a fairly close rhyme with Prom. Hope you can forgive the accent and still get something useful from the video.
I usually pick the cruise line based on the destination unless I am just wanting to try something new. I can't really speak to solo travelers since I have never traveled solo. There is another youTuber. Gary Bembridge with Tips for Travelers. He often travels solo and probably has some videos that could answer your solo question.
Hello Shirley, I have booked a cruise on this ship, for the first time with Holland America. Can you tell me, if it will be possible to obtain a table, only for two people in the main dining room ?
Ask your travel agent to select your dining time and table for two. If for some reason you don’t get it, see the Matre’d on day one to ask to be changed. If you have open seating instead of a fixed time, just ask for a table for two. If there is not one available, they can give you a pager.
I use the line in the shower each evening. Not every item of clothing needs washing after use (like shorts/skirts/trousers as compared to things that make contact with your armpits), but after wear two or three, they get washed. (Smell test rules) In theory, I could pack three outfits for an unlimited time as long as there’s no drastic temperature swings.
