Be careful when booking a cruise!

Good point. Maybe it is time to start a new thread, What Makes A Good Travel Agent, in the Cruising 101 forum.

Our TA keeps us informed, even when we aren't keeping up, is very responsive to call back and try to get us the cabin we want and will inform us of upgrade possibilities.

[quote=jbenham]

PS- Get a new TA! Ours is terrific! No need to stick with one that isn't doing a good job.

Agree completely...which begs the question how does a newbie KNOW their T/A is doing a good job? This is a whole nother thread...mebbe its time to revisit it??

They are the only line we know of that allows you to buy a bottle of booze or a 6 pack of beer to have in the cabin. All other lines require you to get your drinks from a bar. It is expensive, but saves money in the long run. That makes it less worth it to purchase a drink package.

PS- Get a new TA! Ours is terrific! No need to stick with one that isn't doing a good job.

Why is Holland America different than other lines when it comes to the drink package? We are fairly new to cruising and trying to figure things out. Our travel agent was not helpful at all.

Another reason to make sure you go through a TA. Holland is different from other lines, though. You can buy booze and beer for your cabin, so we don't get the drink package anyway.

We learned the hard way...had a bunch of OBC left with nothing to spend it on, and nothing due to use it to offset. I'd much rather use "their $$" to pay "their bill", than buy something just to try to use it up.

Nice planning - food for thought for some future cruises.

We have had 1 occasion where we had a large chunk of OBC given but had prepaid pretty well everything. We ended up using it for a few purchases on board and dropped the rest on a very expensive bottle of aged rum that the duty free had. How could I say no to such an offer.

Which is another reason to "strategize" what you "include" in your actual fare. Sometimes we deliberately decide not to prepay gratuities. There have been times when we knew we were getting a decent sized OBC. And didn't have alot planned to charge it against. for OBC's, use it for "on board charges", or lose it. Port taxes are included in your "base fare"... you'll get that back if a port on your itinerary has to be skipped. Same for prepaid excursions. You get those back in the form of a c/c credit.