Rotterdam cruise ship on a transatlantic cruise ..bland, packed and seniors galore

 I am on a 14 day transatlantic cruise on Rotterdam a newer Holland America ship. It’s about four years old. I am not impressed and don’t know exactly why, but below are the good and bad impressions .  an update …  7 days  in. They kindly changed my cabin to the back of the ship. It has clean windows, and is quiet and no smells. Hallelujah!  I have added more below

Good

- newer ship, so no worn out carpeting, chairs etc

- food has been good in the dining room and buffet.. really good

- new cabin at the back of the ship lovely and clean and quiet. I am very comfortable 

- some staff pleasant and others just miserable .. still true particularly some of the staff in the lido buffet

- tai chi class is led by a real person, not a video 

- entertainment has been great in the theatre but they have the performers on twice

- cruise director speaking shows in the theatre also good

- easy to get off ship in port…probably because of so many old people

- Dutch cafe has good free limited food selection but again no seats available ever and I have been there all times of the day

Bad

- cabin 1039 smells like an old ship, as do the pillows on the bed  cabin 1039 is to be avoided at all costs

- they haven’t cleaned the outside windows in my ocean view cabin so it’s hard to see out cabin 1039

- the ship feels crowded especially in the elevator and dining areas still true

- full of really old people meaning 80 plus years

- some of the Americans on board are nice to Canadians but the trump supporters are rude to us.., yuck 

- all activities are packed so they turn passengers away, and no change or additions to the scheduled daily 

- very few activities so I guess it’s why they are packed

- my guaranteed cabin  1039 was below

the rock venue so 3 times a night until 11:30 the music is so loud my cabin seems to shake with the bass. While I saved enough money on a guaranteed cabin to pay for the internet, I suffered nightly until they changed my cabin

Music at night is packed in every venue so no place to sit to enjoy the music. I was told passengers camp out after dinner in seats and don’t leave even for the theater show

Only have one guest speaker in day time, talking about war ships. Your better off taking a nap in your cabin 

Hope this helps

Marcia

Why I am doing to mitigate the trying times with USA

 Elbows up, Canada is not for sale are slogans that resonate with me. I have booked and fully paid for cruises that either depart or return to a Florida port. I have done a few things to mitigate my time in the US. 

I am departing the day of the cruise embarkation and disembarkation. 

I have reluctantly decided against the Hawaii cruise late this year.

I will wear my Canadian flag pin to ensure the Europeans don’t mistake me for an American. 

My vacations are primarily in Europe this year.

I have booked with Canadian or European airlines.

I have always enjoyed my time in USA, so this is quite a sad time. I am hoping my American fellow travellers will be civil and kind.

Marcia

Prices of cruises have increased significantly so what can you do?

 I normally take 3 cruises per year but with the increased prices that will decline to 2 this year. How do you mitigate the price increases?

- book early ie. 6 to 9 months before the cruise as the cruise lines will decrease prices if bookings are not where they need to be

- watch the cruise’s you like and track the price of the cabin you want. I have saved several hundred this year

- do transatlantic or repositioning as they are cheaper 

- downgrade your cabin type from balcony 

- book your shore excursions and internet when they are on sale pre cruise

- watch for obc’s or other savings, like free gratuities

- ask your travel agent for an obc

- book longer vacations and use your cruise to spend time in a new city. you can get good deals on city add ons

- make sure you get your stockholders benefit

- watch for air sales

Hope this helps

Marcia

How to get the UK ETA for you next trip to the UK - its easier than I thought

 I was quite nervous about how difficult it would be to get the new UK ETA for my trip to the UK in April 2025.  Some of what I read on line made it seem quite difficult.  The one thing I did learn was that it was easiest if you download the app. So here is what you need to do

- download the UK eta app onto your phone

- have your passport and  access to your email ready'

- once your enter your email on the app they send your a verification code to your email address 

- you must enter in the code and press next

- then you need to let them scan the picture page on your passport (it will tell you it did it successfully)

- then they want to scan the chip on your passport - I tried unsuccessfully 4 or 5 times and then it gives you an ability to skip - press skip (as I think it has a hard time scanning it on Canadian new passports)

- then it wants to take your photo.  It needs a white background (I stood against a door) and you must look directly not down as your eyes must be fully open . It will tell you when its successfully taken it. 

- Then you add your address and  phone details and answer a few questions re any criminal background etc.  

- then you pay - note that Canadians pay in USD - it was 13 for me

- then they send you a confirmation email to email address and it tells you it will take up to three days

However - I got approved in 32 minutes as I guess its automated.  They tell you to print out the confirmation (note it also tells you it is now linked to your passport with the last four digits .... )

The cruise lines want to see a printed copy of  the confirmation when you check in a the port, so print a few copies of the confirmation.  

It was a bit tricky with the taking the photo to get it right and I had to skip the chip scan part, but all in all much easier than I thought.

Hope this helps

Marcia

The pre-booking experience on Holland versus Princess versus Royal Caribbean Cruise lines compared

 There are key differences in the pre-booking experiences on Holland America vs. Princess vs. Royal Caribbean cruise lines that I think are important for your to know

Booking flights thru the cruise lines

Royal Caribbean doesn't let you see the flight options till you book unless you call into the cruise line. The reps are very helpful but it's annoying you can see your options till you book. 

Princess  and Holland allow you to look at the ez air flights prior to booking so you will get an idea of options and prices without have to go to the airline or flight hub sites. 

Holland also has a nice feature allowing you to fly out of a different city other than your disembarkation city in Europe and at any date/time after your cruise. I am currently taking advantage of it.

All cruise lines have same day arrival protection and they always offer the earliest direct flight to you if it's available. These flights get there in sufficient time to make it to the cruise for embarkation.  

All cruise lines will offer you the flight in CDN dollars but because they are a US travel agency, you will have to pay for your seats/ bag on Air Canada in USD. Annoying.  Fortunately it's only Air Canada as I have flown on European carriers and they will price in CDN. 

Shore Excursions, Internet, transfers  and other pre cruise purchases.

The biggest difference between RCCL and Princess and Holland are the pre-sales they have on shore excursions.  The prices stay the same pre and after on board on Princess and Holland America. 

RCCL and Princess let you use your OBCs to pay for pre-cruise purchases. Holland America does not (and this is very annoying as sometimes shore excursions sell out). 

All have sales on the internet packages pre-boarding. 

I have begun to find that the cruise lines are charging much more than a taxi or uber or shuttle to the cruise port in Florida. I also find they use less and less buses and your wait for a cruise line bus can be up to an hour.  I stand in the taxi line and often am asked if I am willing to share (which I do as one person for savings).   

Cruise line apps  and pre communications

All three cruise lines ask you to download their app.  Princess and RCCL are comparable and pretty easy to use. Holland America (even their tutorial) is awful.  You can't even see you cabin number and basic info. 

All are needed if you are going to get the internet package.

All allow you an online boarding pass in the app. 

Pre cruise emails from the Cruise companies

You will receive almost nothing from Holland, but Princess and RCCL will communicate a bit.

Non of them advise you on the new visas required for UK or Europe. One of the reasons you should book thru a travel agent.  I am currently in the process of getting the ETA for UK ($10 pounds) and the EITA is not ready yet for Europe.

Booking a Guaranteed Cabin

All don't let you know til about a week ahead of the cruise departure.  Once on Holland it was the night before departure. 

I book a guaranteed ocean view or balcony on Princess or Holland and have mostly had good cabins (but I hated the solo ocean view on Koningsdam.  If you don't want the solo ocean view on Holland you have to pick the "f" Oceanview guaranteed cabin option vs the OO. I still don't have the assignment yet on Holland and hope this works to get a normal ocean view cabin. 

I have had horrible cabins on RCCL guaranteed so I recommend picking your cabin. They are known to give out the worst cabins to those booking the guaranteed option and never upgrade you.

Both princess and Holland have given me in-category upgrades on cabins (i.e a better ocean view) or an upgrade to a balcony (much rarer). 

Hope these comparisons help

Marcia

How to use the internet when in port on a cruise with caution and why I buy the Ship Internet package instead

 I personally always buy the internet package on the ship I am sailing on. Yes it is expensive and sometimes is not great, (especially on trans Atlantic and trans Pacific cruises )  but I feel more comfortable using the private network versus the public networks you must use in port. 

You can save money by pre-booking the internet package before getting on the ship. Also depending on your loyalty level you will also get a discount. On Princess as an elite or platinum level you get 50% off booking ahead and Holland there is nothing til 4 star mariner. However  Holland has  a decent package for a 14 day trip at 20% off for their premium internet.  On RCCL, I got 25% off pre-booking the internet package but it has been the most expensive and honestly no better than the other cruise lines. 

If you don't want to spend the money and will rely on using the in-port options of free wifi, do so with great caution.  Never and I mean never use your mobile banking or  make purchases while using free wifi even if these banking/retail sites say its safe, the hackers are so good now that you a high chance of being hacked and they try to do e-transfers and purchases on the credit card info you enter.  Fortunately my bank prevented any issues by contacting me but don't take the risk.  Just check emails, google maps etc.  for safety.  

Use the most legitimate wifi you can find ... i.e. when in port you will see the crew using the Port terminal free wifi put by the Tourism boards.  Some tourists use the free wifi at restaurants or museums (as these are semi private as the places will give you a sign on password.  Watch for any private wifi (i.e. a name and bunch of numbers) and don't use them. 

Again I don't recommend using free wifi sites and even hate using it at the airport as I know they track everything you do, but sometimes to check flight status etc you just have to.  Be vigilant if you are using free wifi.

Hope this helps

Marcia

How to get your On Board Credit For Princess, Holland America or Carnival

 About a year ago the Carnival Corporation began using Stockperks to administer their on board credit approval for stockholders of 100 or more shares of Carnival stock. Below is how to get your onboard credit of $100USD for less than 14 days and $250 for cruises 14 days or more.  This is how I got my onboard credits.

- Download the Stockperks app onto your phone or iPad/tablet.  Create your profile on the Stockperks app (basic name, address and email info)

- Once you have booked your cruise and and a cruise booking number you can apply for your OBC. You do not have to wait until you have paid in full

- the first step is to pick from the various options what cruise line you want the OBC from ... pick Princess, Holland America or Carnival

- The second  step in the Stockperks app is to upload a recent (less than 3 months old ) investment statement showing the investment company (name and address), your name and address and the page that shows the stock ownership of 100 or more Carnival stock.  I print out my statement and black out the investment account number, and any other stock information, holdings , amounts info other than the Carnival stock. Then I take a picture of the marked up statement page(s ) on my IPAD.   Stockperks makes this easy asking you to upload the picture and you select it from your iPad

It will take minimum of 3 full business days for them to process the request.  Mine has usually been 4 days as I am uploading a statement from a private investment advisor.  They will then send you an email stating you have been approved for an OBC.  You will then enter your booking confirmation number and the sailing date of the cruise  (that's all they need).  They will tell you they are submitting it to the cruise line and it will take up to 5 business days.  I have always seen my credit the next day on my shipboard account. 

Note when I have taken two cruises in the same year with the same cruise line, they did not ask me to upload the statement again. 

Hope this helps

Marcia