On 12/14/2022 at 1:49 PM, tripperva said:

 

Agreed, I usually have the money in hand and visible at the start.  I always seem to get courteous and gentle handling of my luggage. Pre Covid it was about $2-$3 dollars per bag but now it is $5.

On 5/12/2023 at 9:05 AM, The-Inside-Cabin said:

64 total inches is the max for the standard size with LF.  Any larger gets really heavy and 50 lbs is the max.   If you are paying your own  then bigger and heavier may be a better value.   But you need to make sure you can manage a large box.  
 

this is the box I used.    But tape over the handles.   That's what causes the damage to two of my boxes.  

 

Thank you!

On 1/2/2023 at 8:26 AM, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Here's the latest from The Inside Cabin

2023 World Cruise – The Adventure Begins (Post #1) By The Inside Cabin on Jan 02, 2023 07:41 am Click "Show More Posts" to show all the links to the other posts for the 2023 World Cruise   Our bags are packed, and we’re ready to go.   Homecoming and Christmas all rolled into one.  We begin our 4th World Cruise for the first time – tomorrow.  Interactive Cruise Map Itinerary, Menus, When & Where and Entertainers Cruise Reference Items Any cruise is an amazing experience, but a cruise around the world is special, not only for its length, but because of the special and lasting relationships you will enjoy with other passengers, the cruise, and the various ports.   FRESH EYES One valuable perspective of any new hire into a company is they will bring their “fresh eyes” and see things that others have overlooked for years.  I have noticed something similar with first-time cruisers.  They will notice many of the amazing features of cruising that many with more cruises will not experience in the same way.  It’s difficult to avoid seeing the cruise through your past experiences, but we will work hard to try and recapture the joy and excitement of our first World Cruise and share that with you. For the last two years, a small group of fellow cruisers has been meeting over ZOOM about every two weeks to discuss the various ports of our World Cruise.  On my website, you will see a link to the ZOOM replays where we have archived these discussions, and others may find them useful in future cruise planning.   Packing light has never been something in our vocabulary, and we weren’t going to change our habits for this cruise.  The picture at the top of this post is what we sent early with Luggage Forward, and below is what we arrived with at Fort Lauderdale yesterday.   On the curb outside arrivals in Fort Lauderdale  Our pre-cruise hotel is the Residence Inn in Plantation.  It’s an easy walk to the large Broward Mall and Target, and they have a shuttle bus to the Cruise Terminals.  This time we rented a car and will be dropping it off at the cruise port location.  This will be a first for us, and we’ll see how it goes.   Here are a few highlights of our cruise.   1500 guests (approx) 128 Days – Jan 3rd to May 12th 2023 30 Countries (61 Ports – 7 Overnights) 60 Sea Days 34,353 NM traveled Take some time to explore my website and you will discover a lot of information about this cruise and copies of all the information we have received from Holland America in preparation for this cruise.   Here is a 30-minute highlight video along with my First YouTube Short.  I am experimenting with YouTube shorts and may make more depending on the availability of the internet.           Interactive Cruise Map Itinerary, Menus, When & Where and Entertainers Cruise Reference Items   The post 2023 World Cruise – The Adventure Begins (Post #1) appeared first on The Inside Cabin - Exploring the world from the inside cabin.

Hi Peter.  Thank you for the great cruise follow along.  I especially enjoyed sharing your dinner menu every night!  What size are those HD boxes please?  Are they the largest that the Luggage Forward program will accept?  Thank you and welcome back!

On 5/10/2023 at 10:13 AM, Tampa Girl said:

 We were on the Eurodam for the first time in March.  Liked the ship but hated what they have done to the Crows Nest.  That used to be the liveliest venue on the R class ships.  This one was, to put it mildly, a non-entity.  I hope that HAL reconsiders its use of this area.

I sure hope so.  I haven't found many people who like the new space better than the old.

3 hours ago, kurtmi03 said:

Here is a short review of the Eurodam sailing, April 9^th – April 29^th, from Ft Lauderdale to Seattle. We booked this cruise since my wife was invited to the slot tournament in the casino. We booked an OV guarantee with a casino rate. I bought Club Orange so we could pick our cabin and got a midship cabin on the main deck. Since we had no balcony, we also rented a Retreat Cabana. Prior to boarding I also purchased Hydro Pool access, but it would only let me book it for 14 days not the entire trip. I figured I could take care of that once we boarded. About 2 weeks prior to boarding, we received an upsell email for SS and NS. It was more than I wanted to spend but I called to see what was available. Maybe an aft wrap that would tempt me. All NS and SS were gone but we could have a veranda for $499 pp. I took it so we would have a balcony and the Retreat. 3 days before we sailed, we received an email that we were now in a SS. Most excellent!

 

 

 

We flew into FLL 2 days early and stayed at the Embassy Suites. Not a new hotel, but in pretty good shape. We had 2 days of good weather there before heading to the ship. We left the hotel at 10:45 via Uber and were through check in and in our stateroom by 11:30. They have in down at the port in FLL.

 

 

 

We hadn’t been on the Eurodam in several years, so we went to lunch and then wandered the ship getting reacquainted with where things were. We bought a wine package for DW which we requested be delivered to our cabin and the barman who sold it to us told us he would deliver it later in the day. We had it by 5:00. We always loved the Crows Nest so we took a walk up there. One and done at that bar. TV screens blocking some of the view and fewer seats at the bar so they can sell more coffee. Definitely a no go for us. We checked out our cabana and then headed down to the Ocean Bar for a drink. We headed back and our bags had arrived, so we unpacked and our cabin steward brought us a wine bucket filled with ice for the wine and we were set.

 

 

 

We had dinner in the Canaletto the first night as the MDR is sometimes a zoo on the first night. Dinner and service were excellent. On this 20 day cruise we ate in the Canaletto 3 times, the Pinnacle Grill 3 times and the Tamarind once. They were all excellent as to food and service. The rest of our dinners were in the MDR or room service. These were also excellent and never took more than an hour. When DW would order a glass of wine in the MDR it always came quickly.

 

 

 

I don’t have much to say as to the ports we stopped at as we only planned on getting off in Victoria and Vancouver. The others we have been to or didn’t see anything we needed to do. On previous trips through the Panama Canal, I rushed around trying to take pictures from many vantage points and really missed the actual wonder of the canal. On this trip I took no pictures and just enjoyed watching as we went through. I started off on our balcony as we started through the locks and watched much of it from the cabana. The highlight had to be when we passed the Zaandam coming the opposite way in the canal. Horns were blaring, and people were waving at each other for a good 5 minutes.

 

 

 

My days on this cruise were very similar. I’m always up early and this was no different. I was usually awake between 5 and 5:30 and would go down and walk on deck 3 then up to the Lido, usually before they were open, to check email and surf the web. Had breakfast when they opened and took some coffee back to DW and waited for her breakfast to be delivered. Normally about 8:00 or 9:00 I would hit the Hydro pool, then head up to the cabana. DW and I would have lunch there and usually read for much of the afternoon. Some days there was no breeze and it got quite hot. Then it was drinks in the Pinnacle Bar and then dinner. After dinner we would usually go to BB King’s and listen to the fantastic band.

 

 

 

That was our routine for the first 13 days of the cruise. About day 4 of the cruise the Captain on his noon address mentioned there was a small number of covid cases on the ship and he kept us updated daily on the number of positive cases. We pretty much kept to ourselves, except when DW was in the casino, so we didn’t worry a great deal about it. Day 13 started with a runny nose and day 14 was a little worse. Day 15 we were supposed to meet friends in San Diego but I felt worse and called and told them we couldn’t make it because I was sick. I self tested and was positive for covid. I called medical and they told me not to leave the room which I wasn’t planning on. Medical called everyday to check on me and there were menus placed in our mailbox in the evening for the next day. If there was something I wanted that was not on the menu but was being served in the MDR I would just write it on the menu, and they would bring it. They always delivered on time or a little early. They really treated me well in quarantine. Two of my quarantine days were sea days were it was cool, overcast, and windy so I probably would have been reading somewhere. Now it just happened to be my cabin. Thanks, HAL, for the upgrade to the SS. I did miss Victoria which was too bad, but that’s the way it goes. I was released from quarantine on the morning of day 19. We were in Vancouver but just stayed on the ship. My wife never tested positive.

 

 

 

The bad. We only had two problems on this cruise besides covid. When we boarded and received our keys, they had the blue stripe. We were unaware that we should have had an orange stripe since we were in Club Orange. When we asked at dinner on the second night why we didn’t get Club Orange menus, we were told they didn’t know we were in Club Orange and should have had the orange stripe. A trip to guest services solved that and we received our orange striped keys. Club Orange menus from there on. Our other problem was charge from the spa. My wife had her nails done on about day 6 and was charged accordingly. On day 15 there was a charge for $113 for the spa for my wife. She went to guest services and there was a miscommunication between my wife and the women who did her nails. The person who did her nails tried to sell her so creams or lotions. My wife said she’d think about it as the items wouldn’t be there until we were in San Diego. That was the charge. My wife said she didn’t want them, and the charge was removed. I was also not happy with the redesigned Crows Nest. The TV screens blocking some views and the bar practically turned into a coffee shop was a real turn off.

 

 

 

The good. The cabin was great and kept sparkling clean by our 2 cabin stewards. The food on the ship was tasty, hot, and menus varied so you weren’t eating the same thing for 20 days. Our waiters were excellent and after the first night eating in the MDR they kept my water full and made sure we always had enough butter. The bartenders and bar staff were outstanding. When we would walk up to the Pinnacle bar Leo would be pouring my wife’s wine and ask what I wanted since I didn’t always have the same thing. We didn’t go to any shows on the Main Stage but did attend BB King’s nightly for two or all three sets. They were outstanding. The singers had great voices and the band played great together. They usually played until 11:15 or 11:45. After that there was sometimes a DJ afterwards. I don’t know how late that went as I was always in bed by midnight. They definitely didn’t roll up the sidewalks at 10:00 on this voyage. The laundry was good. Everything we sent out was back within 24 hours and sometimes the same day. I could go on and on about how great the service was on this voyage. I think that’s what HAL does best besides unique itineraries. Every worker you encounter has a smile and a kind word. Anything you ask for is done as fast as possible. We never wanted for anything on this cruise and never ran into any items they were out of.

 

 

 

All in all, it was a wonderful cruise even though I was down with covid for a bit. We have 2 more cruises booked with HAL. I checked and this was my 16^th cruise with HAL and will keep going unless we have a bad experience. I’ve read on other threads about overcharging, and yes it happens as it did to us. It was taken care of promptly. Someone else wrote that they bet all accounting errors were in HAL’s favor. I can tell you this is false. There were 3 things that never showed up on our statement, so not all accounting errors are in HAL’s favor.

 

 

 

If anyone has any questions, I will try to answer them.

 

How did you like the SS?  Ever been in one before?  Thanks.

On 4/4/2023 at 12:02 PM, janmcn said:

Lost me for pools and spas when someone said they watched someone get out of a spa dripping parts of a Depends. Nope! Never again.

HeHe...you sure it wasn't a toddler?  But seriously, I'm thinking of getting "swim clothes", not a traditional bathing suit but sports clothing specifically made for the water.  I'm tired of feeling self conscious when I get into the hot tub shirtless but a t-shirt just doesn't cut it. Some of the new stuff is pretty high tech and stylish.

On 5/3/2023 at 6:40 PM, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Same opinion, same reasons.

 

The only minus for me is that I get a spa pass and it's a long hike to the spa on the large ships. I was on Eurodam this winter and it seemed sooo much farther to the spa than it is on the Vistas. 

 

The sizes of the balconies vary on the Vistas. I think they're less varied on the Signature and Pinnacle ships. I like deck 7. The only deck I would avoid is 8 because it's under the aft open deck and you might hear chairs being dragged around. I've been on 8 and it hasn't bothered me, but some people say they are bothered by noise.

 

 

Exactly!  One time on Oosterdam. we had a nice aft balcony cabin but the hot water went out.  Walking all the way forward to the gym locker room for a shower got old after a while.

On 2/21/2023 at 7:41 AM, PaperSniper4 said:

Yeah, it's a crap shoot, and I am not a gambler. ANY of the signature suites (or better) would be acceptable except for those on deck 5. We'll just wait until our next HAL cruise and try to book early enough to get a firm cabin assignment.

 

 Doug

Some of the balcony suites next to the center elevators (the glass ones) can be peered down upon by elevator riders.

On 2/19/2023 at 11:43 AM, PaperSniper4 said:

We're thinking of getting a Signature Suite "Guarantee" cabins on the N Amsterdam. I see categories SS, SY and SZ. There are no Signature suites available for booking today.

 

SZ is the "guarantee" category I think.

 

There are only 2 SYs on deck 5, all the way forward and they appear to be handicapped accessible only. There are only 4 SYs on deck 6. Those have "odd" shaped balconies just forward of the "hump". The same for deck 7, again 4 SYs with similar dimensions.

 

Category SS appears to be the most abundant Signature suite on the ship. There are 4 SSs on deck 5. I'd assume they have the same cabin and balcony size as other SS cabins, but the only video I found on SS5098 shows a very small balcony. The cabin looks the same as all the other SS cabins. I assume the other 3 SS cabins on deck 5 are the same since they are all located next to each other. There are many SS cabins on deck 6. The videos I have found for those show a much larger balcony than those for SS cabins on deck 5. Can that be right?

 

We'd like to get a Signature cabin, but NOT if it has a small balcony as indicated in the one video I found for SS5098 on deck 5.

 

If anyone has stayed in the Signature suites on the N Amsterdam, especially those four on deck 5 and compare the balcony to an SS on deck 6, I'd really like to hear from you!

 

Doug

 

We always book a Signature Suite on deck 6.  They are more spendy but the location is better, 

She was my first and still one of my favorites.  I'd do her again in a heartbeat.  

I use the hot tubs all the time.  No problems ever.  There is a shower there also so you can rinse off after you get out.  I do try and avoid getting the water in my mouth though just to be safe.

10 hours ago, greensprout said:

Am currently on Nieuw Amsterdam 14 day B2B in a Neptune.  Fresh flowers in the cabin, changed out when wilting.  Fruit available if we want.  As of day 10, have had chocolates at turn down X 3, and 3 towel critters.  Cabin serviced at least 2x daily.

This is close to what I usually receive. I am going to request 2x daily service.  Our extra daily gratuity should cover it I hope.

16 hours ago, seagarsmoker said:

Yes, we were given cookies instead. 

Let me get this straight, you were in a Pinnacle Suite, asked for fresh fruit and got COOKIES instead?  Was it miscommunication or did he just think you wouldn't notice?

We like the Signature Suites. I haven't been on HAL since just before Covid. Flowers, fresh fruit and nightly turn-down service used to be routine in Signature Suites (even personalized stationery but that is another topic).  We always tip the cabin stewards daily in addition to the HSC.  In this day and age, would it be unreasonable to ask our steward(s) for fresh flowers, fruit and nightly turn down service?  A towel animal might be fun once in awhile too but I understand.  Thanks.

On 2/26/2023 at 7:24 AM, ShipWalker said:

 

Why, yes. Yes they are. As a matter of fact I believe I saw at least five or six sets total on board in January 2023. On both port and starboard sides.

 

Awesome!  Thanks!

On 1/3/2023 at 2:37 PM, cruisn71 said:

They have the following games:

Catan, Risk, Balderdash, clue, monopoly,trivial pursuit, viva Java, Farkle, taboo, yahtzee and maybe Scrabble.

Oosterdam used to have two very nice wooden chess sets up in the Crows Nest area.  I'm not sure if they are still there?

Does anyone have a recent photo of the MDR china currently being used on Zuiderdam?  Thanks.

Thanks for the pictures!  What is the difference between a butler and a room steward?  Thanks.

3 hours ago, CNSJ said:

** a few days before end of cruise we had later from Captain crediting all with $500 OBC and a 10% FCC of our cruise fare paid.  Great customer service action IMHO.

We've had similar.  We thought it was fair.

On 1/26/2023 at 5:45 PM, OlsSalt said:

 

One reason a lot of people like the Lanai cabins on some of the older ships too - great for people watching from your dedicated lounger and chatting with those making their promenades around the 360  outside deck.

Are there any other pros and cons of these cabins?  I've always wondered what they would be like.  Thanks.

On 12/27/2022 at 8:40 PM, new kiwi girl said:

Sorry Oakridge/Nancy, buy not true. We just got off the Westerdam and we were on for 27  days and NOT one lobster night the whole time unless you were prepared to pay for it. And as for a shrimp cocktail there were some appetizers that were shrimp but very small with just a couple on the plate and maybe there were 4 nights with an actual shrimp cocktail consisting of 4 shrimp! Seafood was definitely not a big part of the menu. 

Wow!  27 days and NO lobster? That is not right.

13 hours ago, GeorgeCharlie said:

A few days after our Panama transit, we received the following certificate.

 

Coincidently, it was also our first East to West passage through the canal. 

 

 

Cool.  We got an "Order of the Blue Nose" when we went north of the Arctic Circle.  We have transited the canal, but we didn't get a certificate!

13 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

You pay the deposit.  HAL will contact you through your TA or PCC.  You ask which stateroom is available and either accept or reject.  If you don’t want the stateroom you can stay on the waitlist to see if something better shows up.

This is what we just did for our long cruise in 2024.  We just got the notice yesterday that out stateroom is available, so we bought it.  Total wait time was about 5 weeks or so after putting down half the deposit.  Now we put down the second half of deposit to lock it in.

On 12/11/2022 at 9:57 AM, Tampa Girl said:

 

Why would you be stuck with a Vista if a SS didn't come through?  You can always cancel prior to final payment, or even later if you want to pay for the insurance.  You have been given some good suggestions to promote the possibility of an upgrade.  If HAL needs to upgrade the Vista Suites to SS by upgrading the latter to Neptunes and you are not booked in a Vista, where does that leave you?  Very possibly out.  Doesn't make sense to me, having experienced being offered an upgrade from an SS to a Neptune and reading countless other reports of the same.  

Yes, I'm sure the upsell offers will begin soon enough!

We're in!  We just got the exciting news yesterday.  Our preferred stateroom is now ours if we want it.  We do and we jumped on it.  The wait is finally over!