Tips and Advice
For general cruising advice, there is a wealth of resources already online. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel, here. http://www.CruiseCritic.com is highly recommended.
The tips below have been contributed by Sea Monkey(Δ)s. Please take all advice with a “grain of salt”.
Illness
Travel
Follow this group while travelling (there will be a thread that is dedicated to travel updates) and also the #jococruise or #jococruisecrazy hashtags on twitter to be alerted to other seaMonkey
(Δ)s that might be at your airport gate
If you have one, wear a PREVIOUS cruise badge while you travel to the port city. Find other Sea Monkey
(Δ)s on your plane, in the airport, at the hotel, etc. You can also wear pins
Port
During embarkation, there are photographers setup with backdrops. This can be bypassed.
Bring your own Sharpie marker and you can skip the wait to write your name on your badge.
Sunscreen rubs on Sharpie writing on badges. To prevent fading, cover the writing with invisible tape.
Use cruisecritic.com and TripAdvisor to get opinions about shore excursions
An offshoot of the Jeep Tour thread: Don't board with a stack of $20s from the ATM. Take time to hit a bank and have 10s 5s and 1s. Handy to not have to make vendors break them in Mexico and for tipping at all the little stops on tours.
Have something to cover legs and arms (guys and gals) if touring churches and the like, remove hats and sunglasses when entering.
Ship
Emergency Communications:
https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/faq/know-before-you-go.html
We recommend that you use this for the most critical emergencies only: Connecting to a Holland America Line vessel at sea is simple by using Ship Dial Service. A credit card is required for all inbound phone calls to a ship. The rate is US$16.00 per minute and billing begins at the time specified.
Please have the ship’s name, your party’s name and stateroom number before you call.
Instructions:
Dial 1-800-993-5483 (US). From outside the U.S. access 1-321- 837-6106.
Listen to the announcement
Listen to the menu and select the number that corresponds to the ship you are calling.
If you receive a busy signal or message, please hang up quickly and try your call again.
Laundry Options:
Packages and a la carte pricing
PDF (2019)
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Explore the ship early on. Take the time to explore all the nooks and crannies of each deck. Try to do it early on in the sailing, so that you can find your way easier. Use the maps posted throughout the ship. I've heard so many newbies say “I never knew that was there! I wish I had known.” Plus, you never know what you may find.
Cabins
Room Service:
Room service breakfast is included in the price!
For room service breakfast, one can utilize the pre-ordering hangtags. If you don't like the options, write in what you want, and they will often deliver (
YMMV).
If you have a balcony, enjoy a quiet breakfast with room service. That said, some of the room service food is rather meh. I recall the scrambled eggs being horrid, but the pastries and oatmeal were both good. If you order something that you don't like, order something else and don't eat the first thing.
Often, one can order from the Main Dining Room (MDR) menu via room service.
Use room service, even though you might feel bad about making someone bring you grilled cheese at 11:30 at night. Get up and have coffee delivered, have tea on your veranda, ask for a pre-dinner snack to be there everyday. Have ice cream. You're there to be pampered. Revel in it
Room service selections are weak
The footboard under your bed probably pulls out to reveal a drawer that runs about half the length of the bed. Beyond it, toward the headboard, is empty space you can use to stow your empty suitcases.
Decorating Cabin Doors.
From HAL (ms Oosterdam, February 20, 2019): “You are more than welcome to decorate your door as long as you leave no residue from tape.” Dimensions are 26 inches wide and 78.5 inches high.
From HAL (ms Nieuw Amsterdam, 2019):
Wheelchair-accessible cabins (all classes)
Pinnacle, Neptune, or Signature Suite (Non-Accessible)
Vista Suite, Verandah, Outside-view or Interior cabins (Non-Accessible)
Bring binder clips. Sometimes, cabin window curtains don't exactly close all the way, allowing very bright light to shine in. If you want to sleep in, bring binder clips to help close the curtains.
Towards the end of the sailing, your cabin will receive paperwork to fill out to schedule your debarkation. Be sure to complete and return to the ship promptly. This information is used for your departure luggage tags, debarkation times, etc. It is very important. Don't wait until the last minute!
Disembarkation Info:
PDF (2019)
Dining
Official
New for 2018:
We’re having (limited) seating for breakfast and lunch daily in the Main Dining Room. There’ll still be plenty of room for gaming (and crafting).
Expanded vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free menu options in the Main Dining Room and the Lido Market.
Four words: All. Day. Taco. Bar. (Well, extended hours, any way.)
Like everything on a ship, the seating on the main dining room is arranged for efficiency and safety of service. Please keep this in mind when selecting seats for you and your party, particularly during dinner service. Grabbing a chair and adding “just one more” seat to a table may result in significant operational challenges. If you have a large party or want a particular table, arrive as early as possible to your dinner seating, or ask to reserve a big table well in advance. There are also options for fixed seating if you want to sit with the same people every night.
Social
Stay at the hotel a day early and meet some sea Monkey
(Δ)s on land. Veteran SeaMonkey
(Δ)s are VERY welcoming
Pace yourself. You can NEVER do it all. Take a deep breath, pick 2 things a day you MUST do, and wing it. You can watch events from your cabin, too.
SeaMonkey
(Δ)s are pretty cool and can form ongoing friendships via social media
Miscellaneous
Double check the weather the night before you debark and make sure you have appropriate clothing options. Otherwise you end up, say, standing around the baggage claim in Florida on a freakishly chilly 45 degree day digging around for leggings and a sweat shirt because sandals and a sundress ain't getting it done.