Navybikermom

I have heard good and bad things about how long the lines can be at the Dutch Cafe. I will be on the Rotterdam in May for my first pinnacle experience and would like to know how it goes for you. When’s the best (quickest) time to get a morning coffee, is there a big wait for lunch food, etc… Many thanks!

We had to move recently due to dogs barking all night and no local ordinances to address the situation. If I had to listen to that on a ship, I would be extremely upset and ask to be moved (or have the inconsiderate boobs moved).

The staff usually circulate around and take orders, but sometimes if they are really busy or understaffed it’s quicker to go to the bar yourself.

Zaandam has the taco bar, which I made use of quite a bit since it was much less crowded than the Lido.

I agree! If they’re going to waste all that paper for receipts (imagine 2000 of those things per day!), then bring back those delicious little boxes of cereal and get rid of those dispensers of boring flavors 😡. I tip those who go above and beyond. There’s already 18% being added onto my drinks, for goodness sake. Tipping is starting to get out of hand in this world.

That might be what my sister-in-law does. Dots of plastic material are hot-glued onto a pattern. She made me a beautiful piece of art with it for my “wine corner”. Kind of like Dippin Dots, but smaller and you can’t eat them. 😁

I’ve done this one twice - August and September. I preferred the September one since there were fewer children onboard. If I had the choice between June or October, I guess I would pick October. It would most likely cost more, due to the fall colors being a more popular time of year to be in that part of North America, but that might not be a big factor for everyone. That is my favorite itinerary so far, especially on the Zaandam!

That big chocolate croissant reminds me of the cornettos I got in Naples, Italy. Big, sugary-glazed, and stuffed with Nutella! One would add 5lbs to each hip, but dang they are good. 😋

Can they make malts? I dearly love malts, but a regular shake will do in a pinch ☺️.

I can’t recall ever seeing such a suit on a HAL ship. I have worn a thong suit in my younger years but would not now, even though I weigh the same! I also now would not prefer to see that much of a woman’s backside. The guys would probably love it, but would get plenty of stink-eye looks from their wives.

I thought there were three but I looked in my wine rack and only see the two. I might be thinking of the coasters with drink recipes on them… 🤔

All my HAL cruises before Covid had the cordial of the day, but I’ve not seen them since. I think I have three sets of those shot glasses ☺️.

I would have the salad, lamb, and blueberry cheesecake! None of the drinks listed appeal to me so I’d probably have a glass of rosé.

I would have mimosas, goat cheese/berries, and eggs Benedict! I dearly love biscuits and gravy, but the ones I’ve had at their brunch are just not right… 😣

I thought I had it before and liked it. It’s not like their menu has changed much in the past few years… I will try it again in May and see what I think. Usually I eat the meat option, but this sounded good.

Croquettes, curried vegetable cutlet, and ice cream du jour ☺️

The HAL airport transfer I had from there was a taxi. There was a lady there with a clipboard and a sign for Holland America and my name, and she hailed a cab and handed the driver an envelope (probably containing a check).

I had the same thing at the end of the Zaandam Panama Canal cruise in January. Took me a few months to stop coughing. It wasn’t Covid, but they didn’t do any further testing to tell me what it was. I tried not to cough on the plane ride home, which probably made it worse. It was an awful 1.5 hr drive home from the airport 😣. I never had Covid that I know of, so I can’t compare, but maybe it was RSV. I’d like to get that vaccine if it ever shows up in my area.

I applied for the military OBC and asked my TA to see if it could be applied to my upcoming cruise that was already booked. HAL told her no - it’s only good for new future cruises. 😡

Maybe I wasn’t clear - I was booking the Rotterdam cruise and looking for a solo cabin on that ship, which turned out to be $1,000 more than an inside. I just happened to be on the Zaandam at the time, having the future cruise consultant do the booking.

When I booked my upcoming Rotterdam cruise while on the Zaandam, it was $1,000 cheaper to get an inside cabin than the solo one.

We had 8 sea days and I was definitely not bored, although what keeps me entertained may not interest you. I played lots of bingo (Wajang theater is an icebox, bring a sweater), there are plenty of quiet places to read a book, there are nice deck chairs on the outside deck that anyone can use, the library is much nicer than the bigger ships, many of the evening shows in the main showroom were quite good, the casino seemed busy but they do allow smoking. My favorite place to have a cocktail and enjoy music was the Ocean Bar. There was also trivia, which was quite popular.

No Rolling Stone Lounge on Zaandam. There was the Mix bar, where they had a piano, and the Explorer’s Lounge, where they had a classical duo. The Orange Party was in the Crow’s Nest, where there was dancing, but that was only one night.

I did that cruise in January and there were some port discussions in the main showroom the day before, along with a nearly constant narration by the cruise director as we navigated the canal. The cruise director also had morning coffee chats in the showroom where he brought out various staff members and had them talk about what they do. Questions were allowed from the audience, so it was rather interesting. Dancing was in the Ocean Bar in the evenings. The band at that time was fantastic - a bit jazzy.

I just read the info in the link posted earlier and they say for under 18, and 70 and above are no cost.