When should I schedule my flights?

It is mandatory that all cruisers arrive the day before the ship departs.  This is due to the fact that many unforeseen travel and weather occurrences could hinder your ability to arrival in a timely manner, preventing you to be able to sail with us the next day.

When making your return flight arrangements, make sure that your flight leaves AFTER 1:00pm.

 

  
 
Documentation

Guests arriving at embarkation without proper documentation may not join the voyage and will NOT be entitled to a refund.
 

Effective June 1, 2009, the US Government will require that ALL guests, including US citizens and infants, be in possession of a valid passport when traveling on any cruise.

Foreign nationals should contact their respective governments to obtain further details.

 

  
 

Gratuity Policy

Exceptional service is part of the Holland America cruise experience. The goal of Holland America is to make sure you receive the finest service possible. And they have made it easy for you to reward their excellent service onboard.

A gratuity of $10 per guest per day for dining and stateroom services will be automatically added to your shipboard account on a daily basis. If should you wish to make adjustments, you may do so at the end of the cruise by contacting the front desk. A 15% service charge will be automatically added to your bar charges and dining room wine account.

In terminals, airports, ports of call and on shore excursions, we suggest that you extend gratuities consistent with customary local practices.

 

  
 

Clothing and dress code


The right clothing can make a big difference in the enjoyment of your cruise. First and foremost, dress for comfort. Daily life aboard ship and in ports of call is laid-back and casual. We encourage you to wear whatever makes you feel most comfortable-sportswear, shorts, sundresses, slacks, and so on.

If you'd like to jog on deck or work out in the fitness center, bring workout gear. Footwear should include comfortable walking shoes for visits ashore and sandals or rubber-soled shoes for strolling on deck.

Evening dress falls into three distinct categories. Each night a daily program will be delivered to your stateroom announcing the suggested dress for the following evening. Comfortable, relaxed clothing is fine for evenings designated as casual; however, T-shirts, jeans, swimsuits, tank tops and shorts are not allowed in the dining room, Lido restaurant, or public areas during the evening hours. During informal nights, dresses or pantsuits for women and jackets (tie optional) for men are standard.

On festive formal evenings, women usually wear cocktail dresses or gowns and men usually wear business suits or tuxedos. There are approximately two formal nights per week. (Gentlemen: Although business suits or tuxedos are suggested attire for formal evenings, they are certainly not required. You are welcome to wear a jacket and tie on formal nights.)

 

  
 

Booking Shore Excursions

Guests may pre book shore excursions online until 10 days prior to sailing. If your departure date is less than 10 days away, please call Shore Excursions at 1-888-425-9376 to book directly with an agent. All shore excursion requests are processed on a first-come, first-serve basis. Waitlisted requests for sold-out shore excursions will be processed prior to requests made on board.

Please note: Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult over 21.

The shore excursions search tool within our Destinations section shows all shore excursions available for any chosen port. The shore excursion online booking tool will only show the shore excursions actually available on your itinerary. Due to scheduling conflicts, it is possible that not all shore excursions for a given port will be available on all itineraries.

Please CLICK HERE to book your shore excursions.

 

  
 
Children and Youth

Club HalŪ Youth Program
Holland America has a youth program for kids and teens age 5-17. Each ship is staffed with a professional Club HAL Director dedicated to making sure children have a great time. Some of the fun-filled activities include bingo for prizes, arts & crafts, special parties and much more. Each participant also receives a Club HAL t-shirt. An activity schedule for each age group will be delivered to your stateroom each evening.

Activities are offered for kids (ages 5-8), 'tweens (9-12) and teens (13-17). The program has an open door policy, which means participants may come and go as they please. All activities are supervised; however, the Club HAL Director is not responsible for any child if he/she chooses to leave the activity. Children under five years of age are welcome to participate in the program, provided an adult accompanies them.

 

  
 

Smoking


For the comfort of all guests, designated smoking and nonsmoking areas are available in most lounges. Smoking is not permitted at any time in dining areas. Holland America ships do not have "nonsmoking" staterooms; however, all rooms are thoroughly cleaned after each cruise to assure the comfort of  guests. All showrooms are nonsmoking during performances.