HOLLAND America Line/Seabourn director of
sales Australia Tony Archbold is back this week
to answer a second flurry of Cruise Weekly
reader questions.
Why has HAL decided to amend its popular BYO
wine policy? Someone from HAL said this is to
bring HAL into line with other lines.
In an effort to standardise our policies with
industry practices, Holland America Line has
adopted the revised policy regarding guests
bringing alcoholic beverages on board their
cruise, effective on sailings departing on or
after January 31, 2014. Our intent is certainly
not to downgrade a guest’s dining experience.
Our wine list needs to appeal to a broad range
of guests and we make every effort to keep the
price point affordable and cater to a variety
of tastes. We have our standard wine list and
a reserve wine list as well as a separate wine
list served in the Pinnacle Grill that features
excellent and rare wines from the Pacific
Northwest. Lastly we add wines from the
region we are sailing in to enhance the guest
experience.
Are you able to tell us about any odd special
requests passengers have made for their
cabins, any amusing food requests, or any
outright dumb questions put to your team?
We probably have more unusual requests
on our longer Grand Voyages such as a few
single guests request that one of the beds be
removed from their room and a clothing rack
brought in to accommodate their wardrobe.
Or we also see a husband and wife purchase
separate staterooms because he snores. Also,
some guests will only book if they know there
is a particular crew member onboard because
of the friendship they formed. Sure we get a
few questions that seem obvious to some, but
not to others, such as “What is the currency in
Alaska?” Of course we have also had people
ask “Is my balcony above the waterline” or
“Can I see fish swimming past my porthole?”
