Epicureangirl

Yes it has. You cannot go Naked either.

 

 

 

Please don’t post any photos to illustrate... [emoji23]

 

 

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It is Page 12, isn't it?

 

 

 

This debate is still going on? [emoji23] I must admit, the photos of dress-shorts are getting pretty interesting...

 

 

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Am I mistaken in that the price for the Cellar #1 8 bottle package is actually cheaper than the previous 7 bottle Navigator Package?

 

No, you're right. I just checked the HAL site and they are selling the 7 bottle Navigator package for about $10 more.

Yes, I have in the past, and the longest absence from school is coming up quickly -- we'll be traveling Asia for 3 weeks. My youngest daughter is in grade 7 (middle school in my area of Canada), and we have arranged for assignments (even the wood-working class) to be done before she leaves (or after if required). If she was doing poorly in school, or if it actually stressed her out to take the time off, we wouldn't do it. I feel that all the vacations (or at least the ones that were different culturally) have been very important learning experiences. My eldest daughter (now 20) is doing well in University so I don't think we've damaged her, maybe just spoiled her .... ;) From a practical perspective, the ideal (and safe) travel seasons for other areas of the world don't line up with our spring or summer vacation schedules.

Good grief get over it. You are letting this rent to much space in your head.

This made me laugh! When I read the OP, I actually thought the person was posting as a joke to intentionally make fun of us here (on CC) with our first-world problems. It didn't actually occur to me that someone would express themselves like that -- kind of like when you see a a scam-artist composing an email about how they need your help to get their inheritance money from some bank in Nigeria. :') If this is a real person, with a genuine problem, I am even more amused. Wait... can I be banned for saying that? :confused:

Have patience.

:') Absolutely! I think that's going to be on page 12, right?

They did run out of some selections and the replacements seemed better than anything on the original list.

 

Perhaps the sommelier can guide me straight to the 'replacements' and save us all some time! ;)

We cruise on the mass market cruise lines. It would be a very long stretch to assume that we also frequent the chain restaurant establishments when we dine out for dinner. We buy most things, including dining and travel experiences, based on value. Price is only one component of value and is often not the prime indicator for us.

Well said! I'll second this sentiment.

We could see all 3 lists by clicking on your final link (the photo one). Package 2 seems to have some holdover's from the most recent Admiral Package and I think some of the Navigator bottles were on Package 1. Package 3 (the most expensive) is somewhat disappointing (to me) as we are not impressed with several of the selections.

 

Now that I've seen all the photos (thanks for the link posted BTW), I agree. Package 1 includes Navigator repeats, 2 includes Admiral repeats and 3 is an all new list of wines. However, even with the new selections I'm completely underwhelmed. I was expecting the package 3 to at least have some wines scoring a bit higher, but I can easily make selections from all 3 packages that score a 88 at best. Not that the score is the one and only factor, but these aren't expensive wines (with a few exceptions they are not hard to find either). I can definitely find wines in all 3 packages that are drinkable so why pay the premium for package 3? And since I am a lowly 2* navigator all will be painfully at full price. ;p Hopefully many of these will be available in the wine tastings, so I can try before I buy.

On the one image that did load for me, I recognize about 1/2 the selections from the Navigator's and Admiral's packages and some new wines. I would love to get a look at the by-the-bottle selections as I really find it hard to believe there is any savings in the packages (what wines would I have to select to actually "Save up to 25%" by picking the package?). The Chateau St. Michelle Riesling can be had for $7 US at most grocery stores, so on that bottle alone is a $30 corkage fee. Thanks for the info -- I will go check out the reviews for those other wines and see if there is anything of interest. Thanks for sharing this.

My husband and I are in our 40's and have been cruising HAL mostly in recent years, the last couple of trips we took our kids with us (now ages 12 and 20). We were on the Eurodam with our girls for a Baltic cruise during summer vacation and my eldest one (18 at the time) had a fantastic trip, but not because of the ship -- other than the pool it doesn't actually have too much geared towards teens and young adults. A group of teens 'found' each other early on in the trip and started meeting up in the Crows Nest area and hanging out and played games -- one of them had a couple decks of cards, taught them a few games and they always seemed to be having a great time (the kids were from all over the world, and despite some language barriers and age differences, everyone accepted each other and stuck together throughout the cruise). The kids in their 20's 'might' like Trivia and (if 21) hitting happy hour specials in the Crow's Nest. If there is a younger musician playing there, they might even be lucky and be able to request songs they actually know. We actually met a great musician on the ship that made it great fun (yes, even for our kids). If they have a Karaoke night and they like to goof around and perform, they might find that fun too. But no, the Eurodam doesn't have a lot (outside of the kids/teens clubs) to hold their interest. I'd tell them to bring some games (maybe they will end up being the ones who get everyone socially interacting and playing together) or something to occupy their time for their sea days.

Most people who cruise aren't even on the forums, would not know about a dry-dock schedule or what issues can crop up post dry-dock. Even if they were aware of all of this, it would hardly be THEIR fault that the ship was still in disrepair. To the OP, sorry you had a bad experience on the Volendam, I would certainly formally complain and see where it goes. I don't think HAL will be giving out free cruises, but some future shipboard credit MIGHT just make me consider sailing them again (not sure if that would do it for you though). I'll be on her in a couple of weeks so am certainly worried about the conditions -- I surely hope they have the maintenance completed and that my stateroom is functioning properly.

They are! I bought some and sent myself messages! lol

That's too funny! I bought my daughter some beverage cards and wrote ridiculous messages to her (quotes from The Disaster Artist movie). For my husband maybe I should write something similar to what my grandmother would say when she gave me some money "Don't spend it all in one place" and then I can add "Oh please disregard that, yes, you will need to spend this all in one place. Please get yourself a little something nice.":')

That made me LOL. Do it!!

 

I wonder if the shipboard credits are like other gifts you can purchase and add your own personalized message. I could have some fun with this one! ;p

We found the food in the MDR great and the Taste of Tamarind excellent!

 

It's great to hear some positive feedback! (y) After reading the recent thread by a cruiser sailing immediately after the dry-dock (Dec 6-20), I was worried the ship might be falling apart. :( Do most things seem to be functioning for you and look to be in good condition?

All is well on the site this morning -- actually there are dozens of more items to choose from then there were weeks ago. You can even buy a shipboard credit for $5 (who does that?). Does that even buy a drink? I think I should buy my husband one just to see the look on his face when he gets my 'gift' in the stateroom.

Thanks for reporting this -- I will be on the Singapore-Hong Kong itinerary in 2 weeks. This will give me some other menu options over the traditional PG menu. For the MDR menus, have they tried to add some Asian (inspired) options? How has the food been? Cheers.

I don't want to clear my cache on the computer I was on, but did try logging in from another device and it was the same experience -- there is actually a message in bold red text instructing to "try back later" in the Specialty Dining Section. The Dining Packages section shows no items, yet Beverages does have most of the drink packages available -- but only one of the gift cards ($50 Non-Alcoholic Beverage Card). The site is definitely working, but just has an abbreviated list of items available for purchase. I'm not surprised though -- the HAL site is annoying to navigate even on a good day. Thanks for your help.

Thanks, RuthC. I'll try again tomorrow. I had been on the site two nights ago and Pinnacle was available for all nights, all time slots. I do like the PG, but it being sold out for all 15 nights of our cruise is somewhat unlikely ;) And definitely the beverage cards, the ones that have no discounted value -- I would think those would always be available. Cheers.

Hi all, I'm just wondering if this is a temporary website glitch, or standard with HAL online shopping -- I am 15 days away from sailing, and many items that were available to purchase pre-cruise on their site are not available anymore. Most beverage cards, all Pinnacle Reservations and Pinnacle Grill dining packages are notably absent -- much fewer items to choose from. Would you expect these to pop back up again or will I have to try and buy these onboard? Thanks.

You can use an aeropress that produces a firm puck which can easily be ejected. I use an empty pringles cylinder as a bin. You can also get a reusable stainless steel filter so clean up is easy :-)

 

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That's great. I've never seen that product before -- I will take a look for that locally. Cheers.

If you want truly excellent food without "breaking the bank," no other cruise line will come close to Oceania.

I had an opportunity to ask the CEO of Azamara about the difference between O and A. His answer: "Oceania is food. We are overnights in port."

 

That is a great quote, but one that will ultimately make me book Oceania before Azamara. I'm going to take a closer look at Oceania! Thanks for your post.

WOW! Talking about comparing apples to kumquats :). The food on most of the ultra luxury lines such as Regent, Seabourn, Sea Dream, etc. is in a different class from the mass market lines such as Celebrity. And while we used to think that Celebrity had just about the best overall food of the mass market lines....constant cut-backs in the past 3 years (some of us think its related to the current CEO) has now dropped Celebrity (in our estimation) below other mass market lines such as HAL...and even Princess.

 

But consider that we can cruise on Celebrity, in a balcony cabin....for less then $150 per passenger day (sometimes a lot less). But a line like Regent is going to cost $600 - $1000 per passenger day! We have cruised on 14 different cruise lines (including many of the mass market lines) and are no longer impressed by any of the Main Dining Room/Lido food on any of the mass market lines. If one is cruising on Celebrity and are on an S Class ship....they could certainly purchase a discounted deal for alternative restaurants and eat many of their dinners in Murano (which does have excellent food) or perhaps Qsine.

 

Hank.

 

Thanks for this post, Hank. This is exactly the conclusion I was coming to. Sadly though, I was thinking that trying Celebrity might be the next best cruiseline for me to try, because of their food reputation being better than HAL, but them still not being as expensive as the luxury lines. I mostly cruise HAL for less then $150 pp/day, but do know that the 'level' of food I really want is on the luxury lines. I am choosing HAL for the great itineraries and value, not specifically the food. We think we get the best out of it, by paying the upcharge to Pinnacle Grill (which even at $70 per night for two, puts us at a way lower overall cost than the luxury lines). Sounds like I could even use this strategy with Celebrity perhaps? I know I will cruise those luxury lines in the not too distant future, but need to get some of those longer itineraries under my belt at a better price point. And for the OP mentioning Disney, I agree the food was very good on the Disney cruises I have been on, but I did pay more per person for those cruises in comparison to HAL or Princess.

I don't worry about what I eat on a cruise because I want to enjoy myself, but I only eat what is really tasty and fresh (especially items prepared while you wait). I am not a big drinker, so most of my calories are just coming from food. Why waste calories on a white dinner roll or scoop of tasteless rice pilaf when I can have smoked-salmon Eggs Benedict in the morning? I would say given this 'strategy' I gain about 1/2 a lb. per SEA day. Days in port I am walking all day and am very active so definitely wouldn't gain on those days. Longer itineraries with more sea days revolve around "is it tea time yet?" so those are more dangerous for weight gain!

From time to time we bring our own coffee and french press.

 

Keith

. I have considered doing that (I like my coffee much bolder than what I can get onboard), but thought the clean-up of the grounds would be a little difficult with that tiny bathroom sink. ;)