TwinMommyByGrace

@ACorganThank you for taking us along this week and for such thorough and informative posts! We board the Westie tomorrow! Looking even more forward to it with your lovely preview! Safe travels home and thanks again for all the information!

@ACorgan I tried searching the boards but couldn't find anything. Just wanted to verify that Verifly and the ArrivCan apps are no longer required for check in. I haven't received any emails from HAL (like last year before our cruise) so I assumed not, but now I'm second guessing myself, lol.

11 hours ago, jackinelgin said:

I'm sitting here at home drinking my morning coffee and getting hungry looking at all the food pics. 4 days til we board.🙂

Us too!!! Can’t wait 😁!

1 hour ago, ACorgan said:

Just confirming that most the tables I saw as I walked by were $6 min (no one seems to be playing at the moment and the dealers looked bored) 

 

I had planned to go to the team trivia at the Billboard, but it was packed by the time I got there (5 min before start) and no seats to be found, so wandered over to the casino instead 

Thanks for checking! Helps me to decide i hi ow much to money to take for the casino. 
Great live reports so far! Thanks for taking us along with you. Are you doing any speciality restaurants this week or planning all mdr dinners? (Wish Westerdam had Rudi’s or at least a pop up). 

1 hour ago, ACorgan said:

After dinner, I spent some time in the casino. I hadn’t realized that the Westerdam casino was smoke-free, so that was a pleasant change from my last HAL trip, on the Zaandam.
 

The night life around me seemed to be going strong when I tapped out (around 10 pm) with dueling pianos in Billboard and a live band playing away in the Rolling Stone Lounge. From the looks of things, there’s a fun crowd on board that will probably keep the party going for awhile, but my early morning is catching up to me, so I’m off to wind down with some light reading before bed 🥱

Did you happen to play any table games? Particularly interested with the blackjack table minimums? Trying to figure out how much to budget for the casino. TIA for any info. Happy to hear the food was good. Hope you rest well. 

Looking forward to your reports! We board next Sunday! Anxious to hear how things are on the Westerdam. It will be our first time sailing on her (5th to Alaska). Bon Voyage and safe travels! 

41 minutes ago, PNWcruzin said:

Just got off the Westy this morning. They had a brunch in the Lido calling it "seafood boil". It cost $35 pp, I said pass.

Thanks for the info. Are you able to confirm if the last lunch was actually the brunch menu posted toward the start of this thread? Never been on Westie. How did you like her? Excited to a different HAL ship!

43 minutes ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

I found it for the Westerdam. I have been looking every evening on the Navigator App for what they are eating. For the fun of it I hit Lunch for Saturday being the last day on board and there it was…… Totally different than what the other lunches have been in the Main Dining Room.

 

Oh my!!! I’m so (cautiously) excited!! That is exactly the brunch menu they mentioned. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻. Oh, and I do the same thing(checking the menus). I like to live vicariously thru those on the ship until it’s my turn 😆😁. Thanks for the info!

1 hour ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

I too question what Westerdam is offering, athough we do not sail on her till September. But every report/review I have read about the Brunch has been sailings that left on a Saturday where the first Sea Day was a Sunday amd they did the Brunch. I have not read of any ships offering that Brunch on Monday or the last day on the ship. I would definitely enjoy the Brunch just need some people to report in from the Westerdam.

I would also enjoy the brunch! I don’t know that our sea day being a Monday should matter for a brunch offering. On land, yes, normally brunches are on Sunday but when sailing it’s vacation so I would hope those rules wouldn’t apply. I guess it remains to be seen (or hopefully reported on by someone on board soon). 😊

Is there anyone currently on board (preferably on Westerdam) that can confirm if any, or all, of this things have been added yet? We sail on Westie 6/25 and would be excited by these additions. TIA for any current info!

48 minutes ago, Debbiefergie said:

Sailing in mid-July and our Cabana was also canceled… not quite sure how long it takes to fix a cabana.  Disappointed

We are too 😔. Kind of baffling given some of the people who responded here🤷.

On 5/19/2023 at 4:22 PM, Eaglecw said:

Why would you want a Cabana up in Alaska? It's pretty cold while the ship is moving. It can be very uncomfortable even sitting out on your balcony when the ship is moving.

We used to live in Finland and slept with a window open for fresh air even in the dead of winter so the cold isn't a bother to us. Last summer on our Alaskan cruise we had a NS and spent quite a bit of time on our balcony especially in glacier bay. Also, on our Alaskan cruise in 2018 it was so hot we wore shorts and capris most of the time on our balcony. With Alaska the weather varies a lot. This cruise we opted for a casino offer and got a free inside cabin so were hoping for a little dedicated outdoor space. 

We are sailing on Westerdam June 26th. We had reserved a family cabana. I just received an email stating the “cabanas had sustained some damage and are currently unavailable” and they have cancelled our reservation l. Seems odd that ALL the cabanas would receive damage. I mean it is possible but the odds 🤷🏼‍♀️. Maybe a staffing shortage? Is there anyone currently onboard that can confirm stated damage? 
TIA

10 minutes ago, betmust said:

When I booked my cruise I was MTD and then I switched to traditional first seating. They told me I was waitlisted for it.  Yesterday I was talking to Royal and I was told I was confirmed for first seating.

If I sign into my account/cruise online where would I see that?  If I look at MTD it does say I am not a flextime guest but nowhere do I see first seating.  Is that something that should be there or am I missing it?  Will it only show on the app?

Thanks

If you're looking on the app pull up my calendar and scroll down. Mine shows my fixed dining time (5:15 first seating) there for everyday. That was the easiest place I found it other than the invoice from my TA.

49 minutes ago, FPP777 said:

Sorry, I wasnt clear in my post and for some reason I cant edit it. I was speaking to a lunch booking on embarkation day. Those times are not available.

That's what I was referring to as well. On my app lunch times, where listed after the last seating for dinner, not in time order. This seemed to only be for embarkation day. Sea days showed lunch  reservation times in chronological order.

If you're looking on the app try going past all the dinner times on embarkation day. That's where I found lunch times to reserve. I sail in September and they already show on my app so I would think yours should be too.

Last summer we were able to have a table in the Pinnacle for our group of 10. We were on the Eurodam and, if I remember correctly, they had only one large table in the Pinnacle.

19 minutes ago, PNWcruzin said:

June 4th we sail on the Westerdam.

We're on June 25th!

DH and I will be sailing to Alaska on the Westerdam in June.  Does anyone know if they usually have a Rudi's Sel de Mer pop up one night in the Pinnacle? I don't see that it lists it as an option to pre-book so I'm assuming no.  Thanks for any information!

13 minutes ago, singleflyer said:

Has anyone had luck recently with this?  I keep getting an error saying my booking isn't eligible.  

My TA was able to add it to our cruise that we’re sailing under a casino offer. He said HAL told him when he called to add it on (I was also using gift cards for the purchase) there’s a ‘Have It All’ package and a HIA (which to me stands for ‘have it all’ 🤦‍♀️). The casino bookings can add the HIA package but not the Have It All package. Sounds odd to me but whatever they want to call it is fine with me as long as they added it. 

4 hours ago, glutenhab said:

Can we order from the main dining room menus for room delivery & if so, is this limited to certain times? Any charge for these deliveries?

Yes you can order from the dining room menu for breakfast and dinner but only during dining room hours. Check you when and where the night before for the hours and you can still use the breakfast door hanger and just write in what you want. 

Just booked this excursion for a little self exploring in Juneau after our Tracy Arm excursion was canceled. Can anyone who has taken this excursion tell me where you meet to pick up the jeep? Thanks!

12 hours ago, seaoma said:

Can you provide the link?

12 hours ago, seaoma said:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Lanyard-Silicone-Compatible-Smartphones/dp/B082TQ42Y8/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=1WROTGRQFF637&keywords=cell+phone+lanyard&qid=1659851954&sprefix=cell+phone+lan%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&smid=A3IOU7TBTL62TF&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyQ01OSVdDM0c5TFhFJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDk4MDM0WERTNkVaVVBDQ1MzJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA0MTg0Njk4OFhBNjJKTENXS08md2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

8 hours ago, dobiemom said:

I use my phone as a camera and I’m so afraid of dropping it (esp. overboard!). I now have my phone on a lanyard. 

I use something similar.  This one is convenient as its snug enough for me to be able to slip my card in the back. I always have my phone/camera/navigator app with me with my card tucked safely away and within easy access. 😊

6 hours ago, Brentt_M said:

 

 

My daughter tried to sit at billboard again last night but gave up pretty quickly. Her words were "it was like listening to bad karaoke."

That is exactly the feeling we’ve had all week long with the 2 singers! Some songs it sounds like they’ve never even heard the song in their life and they’re just making up the key as they go. With a couple of drinks in you though, it’s kind of entertaining in a very bad way. 😆