Navybikermom

They definitely changed the form. I didn’t have to show any proof of being retired military for the past Sept cruise or the upcoming Jan cruise (submitted at the same time). Pretty sure I will for the next one though, apparently!

The orange party is a nod to the Royal Dutch House of Orange. I saw a few people not wearing orange at the one I attended in September, but most people had at least something orange on. They had special orange cocktails, bitterballen, and some sort of eclair pastries. It wasn’t a fancy event, but fun. Some of the staff gave short speeches, and there was music. On the Zaandam it was held in the Crow’s Nest.

I used Rapid Test and Trace for my last one. $10 for them to watch me use the govt test kit. They use Microsoft Teams for the video. Other than constantly having to ask her to repeat herself due to a very thick accent, it was painless and easy.

I much prefer the Zaandam due to the placement of the Explorer’s Cafe. I don’t want to go all the way up to the Crow’s Nest for a cappuccino. I would really like to try the Dutch Cafe on the newer ships, but the rest of the ship isn’t radically different. Music venues are laid out a bit differently, but they still have music! I found the Explorer’s Lounge classical duo and the Ocean Bar jazz band to be my favorite places to spend time. The pipe organ in the atrium is pretty special too. Biggest drawback for me is the casino on Zaandam. They allow smoking and it’s awful. I was on a 7-day cruise earlier this month and didn’t notice any non-smoking days. I would spend way more money in it if there was no smoking.

I flew from the US to Montreal one day before the Canada/New England cruise and only filled out ArriveCan for my initial arrival. I used the hotel as the address. There was no need to fill it out again for the cruise, because I hadn’t left Canada. If I were flying back to Canada at the end (from Boston), then another ArriveCan entry would be needed. The cruise terminal did not ask for any ArriveCan info.

My son bought a carton on the NA in March, so I would say yes.

The ice in my room bucket always melted enough by the next morning that I was able to fill my water bottle most of the way up with nice chilled water that had a few cubes left in it. Otherwise, the water from the tap is fine.

I was just on the Zaandam Canada/NE cruise and only did ArriveCan once to cover my flight into Montreal. I was not asked to do it again the next day to board the ship.

@jeph and I were in the Ocean Bar with our yellow name tags on. He walked around a few times but must have missed you - darn it! I was also at the Sail with Seth cocktails. Sitting at the far end near Glenn. See you at the next one!

I am also on this leg and have enjoyed your posts. Our roll call is meeting at the Ocean Bar at 4 pm on Monday. Please join us so we can see the face behind these hilarious posts!

I’ll be eating in the Pinnacle next week on the Zaandam so I will check the fine print. It irks me that their sides are for two people. What about those of us who travel solo and don’t want a pound of asparagus or a giant potato with their meal? I’m only eating there because I ended up with the HIA deal and have two free dinners. I really want to try the clothesline bacon! I guess they gave me the HIA because the cruise was rescheduled a few times due to Covid. Their way of apologizing? 🤷‍♀️

You are probably doing nothing wrong. They might not have posted the complete schedule yet. I had checked the When & Where last week and there was nothing there yet for my upcoming cruise.

I noticed one listed in the Navigator for my cruise this coming weekend on the Zaandam. It was listed for 9pm in the Crow’s Nest. I have cruised 9 times and don’t recall ever seeing that on the list of events, so I’m looking forward to my first Orange Party!

That’s the same menu posted in the Navigator, so they must be the same on all the ships. Thank you for posting it! I’m on the Zaandam next, and that crispy cauliflower dish and tomato bisque soup sound delightful for lunch!

I’ve cruised once since my post here, and am heading out on two more in the next few months 😁

I usually travel solo and always have an early dinner at a large table. I’ve met so many wonderful people and sometimes have been able to have a companion or two when wandering around a port city (instead of a set excursion). I’m pretty tolerant of people’s different beliefs and behaviors, I don’t push mine, and if someone feels the need to dominate the conversation, then I just keep to myself and drink more wine 😉. Only once have I had a “situation” and it was due to a very disagreeable man at lunch in the MDR. He and his wife (who both appeared to spend more money on cruises than what little teeth they had) were very rude and loud. I was so disgusted at the way he treated the server over a trifle matter with his food that I just got up and left. I asked the staff to never seat me with those two again.

Mine was also the Pusser’s Painkiller, until I had two on the NA in March that tasted awful. Not sure what was missing, but they were definitely bad. Maybe they had to substitute something.

I received an email from Holland America today that said due to restructuring of roles, Seth will be leaving Holland America, and therefore my “Sail With Seth” that I signed up for was cancelled. He would have been on the Zaandam, Canada/New England itinerary, Sept 3-10. So very sad to have missed out on this! They said I would be getting two special cocktail parties and the chance to win some extra dinners, etc., and then a $25 refund. 😕

Hopefully they have the almond cookies!

I agree! Prinsendam was my favorite, so now since she’s gone, the Zaandam is now my favorite. I have two cruises coming up on Zaandam and am really looking forward to it. I haven’t been on the Pinnacle ships, and the only reason I would want to is to experience the Dutch Cafe. I’ll stick with the little guys for now…

I think I’m bringing a box of cereal AND a box of triscuits on my next cruise. The tasteless cereal in the “hotel” dispensers just doesn’t appeal to me, and I do love a good cracker with cheese. I really missed that on my last cruise.

I got mine approved for my Sept 3 Canada/NE and Jan 5 Panama Canal. HAL sent me an email and so did my TA. She said if she ever gets a chance to chat with a HAL business development rep, she’s gonna suggest they link this to the Mariner accounts so it will just be automatically added each time.

I booked the same cruise for January so my TA asked another client who has done that same trip several times and starboard was their favorite side. However, the others have mentioned being out and about on the ship, which makes sense - you won’t necessarily watch the whole transit from your room unless you have a coveted aft cabin. ☺️

Thanks for posting this! I got it for my last cruise but didn’t realize it was still ongoing. I submitted it for my two upcoming Zaandam ones ☺️

I watched that show too! Not enough about the inside of the ship, but I do enjoy watching those shows. The show following was a Viking longship on a river cruise, and that was really interesting.