Holland America The Retreat Private Cabana "Ship-Within-A-Ship" |
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- čas přidán 10. 03. 2024
- Welcome to my comprehensive review of Holland America's The Retreat private cabana "Ship-Within-A-Ship" experience. I booked it as a surprise for my Mom on our 12-night Greece & Adriatic Antiquities cruise in October 2023 (she’s a 4-star mariner and had never experienced it), and we enjoyed it for the entirety of our cruise.
First, a quick shoutout to Prado and Michael who made our Retreat experience one we’ll never forget 🙏🏼
Honestly, it was my favourite space on the ship as we could simply relax on our private lounge chairs or sit and dine on our table & chairs - either in the shade or the sun - from morning til night. It was truly peaceful … offering a true “ship within a ship” escape with unparalleled (unobstructed) views, a tranquil environment, and amazing service.
Details:
- $50 per day (for 2 people)
- Open 7am to 7pm (note: service ends at 5pm)
- Choice of cabana when booked in advance for the whole journey.
Daily, you get:
- Private cabana
- Breakfast, lunch & happy hour
- 1L bottle of water on ice
- Mimosa or glass of sparkling wine
- Cheese platter
- Frozen grapes
- Chocolate-covered strawberries
- Fluffy beach towel
- Nicer robe than what’s in the cabin
How to book:
- Only a Holland America "Ship Services Coordinator" can book The Retreat for you. You CAN'T do this as an add-on yourself online. I recommend contacting customer support from the Holland America website www.hollandamerica.com/en/abo...
A few notes:
- Breakfast and lunch service & menus are wonderful and with lots to choose from
- Wheelchair accessible
- Drinks package honoured like at any bar or restaurant
- Toilet is cleaned and monitored all day
- No hot tub on OOSTERDAM but yes on some of the newer ships
- Great for sea day if you only want it for a day or two but PLEASE NOTE that you cannot book in advance for day use.
Tips:
- PERSONALISED SERVICE: Set up times with the HAL team who is taking care of you so your experience is flawless. We had brekkie at 9:30 - OR - a very early lunch. We’d enjoy our bubbles and cheese platter at 4pm. We also asked them to check on us once an hour for wine or cocktail orders from time to time.
- CABANA LOCATION: The best cabanas for warm-weather cruises are on the front edge of the horseshoe like we had, which are fully enclosed on only 2 sides. They do not have a front window so they offer the best, unobstructed views. The cabanas on the left and right edge of the horseshoe are fully enclosed on 3 sides.
Mom and I both highly recommend The Retreat. We spent long hours mesmerised by the sights and zen-like tranquillity there 🌺
XOXO,
Angela
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Tell your mom her hair looks beyond fabulous;they had done an excellent job. By the way, you favor your mom so much; I had favored my mother.
You will make her day, I will definitely share this :-) Thank you x
@@AngelaCarson You most would make any Mother proud to have you as their daughter!
What a lovely cruise with your mom.
We had such fun :-)
@@AngelaCarson Lovely. 😀
I loved watching every minute of it!
Just booked our family cabana in the retreat (because of your video) for our upcoming ladies' cruise OCT 5-12! Thanks for your insight. ❤ I'm also a new subscriber!
Hope you enjoy it! It was my happy place ... only left the ship twice haha I swear. Mom loved it too. Was her first time and she couldn't believe she didn't know it existed.
Where is your cruise to? OMG TOTALLYYYYYY sign up for the Facebook Group for your exact cruise. The drama on that thing is so fun!
@AngelaCarson I've shared your video with quite a few of my friends, and they love it! Thanks again. Happy travels!!
I am also a new subscriber! donot forget to share your experience
Hi Angela 🤗. Very happy to see you with your mum. Thank you for sharing. 🥰🌷🌹🩷💕
Thank you, that's so nice :-)
Hello Angela mam💗🤗 this is sooo beautiful💗 and awesome vlog 💗🤗 keep smiling and say hello to your mum 💗🤗
Thank you so much 😊
@@AngelaCarson you are very welcome🤗
We are surprising my parents with a family retreat cabana. Can we use it for embarkment day lunch?? Thinking that’s how we surprise them with it.
hmmmmm I think you should ask about the "lunch" part because what I know from my mom is that embarkation day lunch is the only time on the cruise when food is buffet-only. So whilst you can use the cabana and enjoy almost all of its perks, I don't believe a la carte dining would be available but I am just guessing based on what Mom told me (and she has cruised some 380+ days so I tend to trust her)
Hours for service are 9 to 5 this week in the Mediterranean. No cheese plate seen on board.
noooooooooooo the cheese plate was our fav part!!!!!
You can only book cabanas by the day onboard the ship.
There are very few cabanas in the retreat so book well before your cruise.
Bubbles and cheese platter are included ASK FOR IT....If its not offered.
Ask your cabana steward for everything you are paying for.
hey did I say or write something incorrect? All of that is on the video or in the text i wrote. Do let me know.
I booked the family cabana for 7 days last November (‘23) for our cruise in May ‘25
I am guessing you would only rent these on "Sea" days vs. Port days?
I almost NEVER went ashore (only 2x during the cruise) so I was up there every day, pretty much all day long -- it was amazing. Mom did a lot more on shore but was always there on sea days and every day for happy hour :-)
you left something out ; I was told you can order from any menu on board. has things changed?
I think I wasn't that clear when I said, "everything that you have available to you on the cruise you can have here, like your drinks package" ... but yes, we ordered from the pool bar spot with the hot dogs one day (can't remember the name of that place) ... but service at The Retreat ends at 5pm so no evening menus from the nice restaurants are available for that reason.
@@AngelaCarson Thank you so much for your clarification. I am very glad I came across your channel. I am a new subscriber. My confusion came from watching someone else’s video before yours. They had spoken about the retreat and mentioned it was open all day. In my mind, I was literally thinking all day long maybe up until 7:00 / 9:00 pm. As they close at 5 pm, that would leave out the specialty restaurants. By the way You are very blessed to have your mother ;mine passed away; God bless you both
@@faithmoore7520 aha - well, I watched a couple of videos too before the cruise and was so frustrated because they neither video "showed it all" ... my channel is more about hotels and travel vlogs (not cruising) but I really wanted a proper Retreat video out there so I made this. HEYYYYY one more thing. Service ends at 5pm but you can stay longer. So they don't kick you out. It's just the staff have to go down to change in prep for dinner service at the restaurants ;-) So you're on your own after 5pm is all.... (and thank youuuuuuu, yes very happy to have my Mom still xo)
@@AngelaCarson Unlike some others, I highly appreciate you providing people with the most details. This is why I became a subscriber. I love watching travel channels . Thank you very much for providing the details. Your subscribers highly appreciate and value you!