avian777

3 hours ago, cabinluvn said:

 

11 hours ago, catl331 said:

You might find the mint/ginger/fruit cart unmanned on the lower level with Open Seating, but manned on the upper/Fixed level.  We haven't seen/heard chimes since we were on the Prinsendam 6 years ago. (The P'dam has only one level MDR.)

3 hours ago, cabinluvn said:

We had fixed seating on the upper level on the Veendam in January. I would say that the mint/ginger/dried fruit station was manned 50% of the time.

 

We were on the Zuiderdam in late January, and the  mint/ginger/dried fruit station on the MDR (Upper Level) was manned every night ... and the chimes were tolled before Early Seating each evening as well.

And for those passengers who don't want the hassle of carting their own flowers onboard, HAL has a wonderful selection of beautifully-arranged bouquets (delivered right to your stateroom) ranging in price from $30 to $110 - very reasonable IMO. 

8 minutes ago, killsport said:

Not getting that issue when I try to get to https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/cruise-ships/ms-nieuw-statendam/0.html. What URL are you trying to reach?

Same here, killsport  - might a problem with OP's internet security program settings or just plain OE.

2 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 

Not at all - just a reminder that one nutritionally does not "need" much meat to have a balanced diet if one choose to eat a meat inclusive dietary plan, but no lecture at all about being able to enjoy as much as you want.

 

Eat as much as you want.  Enjoy. Who would ever stop a just 4 ounces at Ruth's Chris Steakhouses?  Yum. (PS- there is one right across from the dock in San Deigo)

👍👍👍  Wholeheartedly agree!

21 minutes ago, MacNChz said:

Just wondering - if you have the Pinnacle Grill as a promo - can you exchange it for Tamarind?

As a general rule, no.  However, it may vary from ship to ship (and maybe even from cruise to cruise, depending on the number of pre-booked reservations for each) and thus it's possible that you might be allowed to exchange a Tamarind dinner for a PG dinner.  It never hurts to ask, so go for it!

5 minutes ago, lcand1923 said:

I sail primarily on HAL, but have done one Princess cruise (Alaska) and on Celebrity cruise (Western Med).

I prefer HAL for:

1.  Priest on board for daily Mass

2.  Great LIDO buffet

3.  Wrap around Promenade Deck

4.  Great crew EVERYWHERE

 

I did have one the best meals anywhere in the Italian up-charge restaurant on Princess.  I do not remember the

name of the restaurant but the meal was excellent.  The Main Dining Room and Buffet were OK.  Bar service was

barely adequate.  (When you go back to the same bar every night, to the same bartender and you don't

get any sort of greeting, that is barely adequate.)

 

I found the shows on the Celebrity cruise to be very, very good.  They were much better than any on Princess or HAL.

The Main Dining Room, Buffet and up-charge restaurants were OK.  The bar service was excellent.

 

Would I sail Princess or Celebrity again?  I would have to think about it.  Will I sail HAL again?  YES 

👍👍👍  Wholeheartedly agree!!!

7 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

Please explain what TIA is in that context.

TIA = Thanks in advance

2 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

It strikes me that there has been no confirmation that HAL has actually implemented a "one entry only" policy, ...

Please explain what a "one entry policy" is in the context of HAL's menus.  TIA

4 minutes ago, racnwdow said:

What is SBP and HMC?

SBP = Signature Beverage Package;  HMC = Half Moon Cay

There are many differences between Princess and HAL but IMHO there is only one significant difference between them - only HAL has a Roman Catholic priest (who celebrates daily Mass) on board every one of its cruises. Since spiritual renewal is an important component of our vacation experience, HAL is our hands-down choice. YMMV

15 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

👍👍👍

Bon voyage, Father!  Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

1 hour ago, OlsSalt said:

...We think HAL offers a very good overall product.  We also like to cruise for the sake of traveling. So most of the onboard difference between cruise lines matter very little to us. HAL delivers what we are looking for - cruising to travel at value prices.

👍👍👍  Agree 100% ... would add that HAL is also the only cruise line that has a Roman Catholic priest (who offers daily Mass) onboard every one of its cruises.  Which is why we are 100% loyal HAL cruisers.

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

Please, please, please, leave Tamarind out of any changes that you might want to suggest for Club Orange. Tamarind is one of the things that HAL got absolutely right, and based on posts here, is probably the most enjoyed specialty restaurant in the fleet. 

👍👍👍 Agree wholeheartedly - leave Tamarind as it is and make changes to Club Orange!

OP, you may want to contact HAL Ship Services to find out when Veendam will be in dry dock & if the video upgrades will be performed then.

On 2/12/2019 at 2:48 PM, boards said:

I would stock up on sprite at Exploration café on the Koningsdam last Oct., because they were slow in refilling the mini-bar.  I hope they will be quicker on the Noordam to refill the mini-bar, would not like to pay almost $3 for a can pop.

If the price of soft drinks is all that important to you, I'd suggest bringing your own onboard.

1 minute ago, eroller said:

 

 

It did!   Now to hopefully get that cabin assignment soon.  

 👍🍾  Congrats & have a great cruise!!!

1 hour ago, catl331 said:

...  Better call HAL

 👍👍👍  Great advice - also good to see that it worked!!

1 hour ago, eroller said:

I called HAL.  The reservation agent called their documentation department who released the edocs.  I have them now!  They might have been held up because it's a fairly last minute booking.  

14 hours ago, BruceMuzz said:

If you do a bit of research, you will discover that nearly every pork producer in America - and virtually every cruise ship on earth - freeze pork meat according to USPH standards (-20 Celsius minimum for 7 days or longer) which kills trichinosis and other dangerous parasites.

Thanks for the helpful information.  However, I do not purchase pork (for cooking at home) from a cruise ship company.  Likewise, I do not know if the pork I purchase from my local butcher  has been frozen according to USPH standards.   As such, I will continue to cook my pork to at least 145 F.

BTW, trichinosis is the disease resulting from Trichinella spiralis infestation and NOT the parasite that causes it. 

49 minutes ago, POA1 said:

There were only 8 cases in the 5 year period from 2002-2007. I appreciate your position. My mother used to cook pork until it was more or less shoe leather. However, once I was older and began to use a meat thermometer, I realized that pork can be cooked to 160°F, be pink, tender, juicy, and not kill me. 

 

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6401a1.htm

I agree with everything you said ... but then nothing in my Post # 6 said anything about cooking "pork until it was more or less shoe leather", only that it be "really cooked" (as in "not raw" or "rare") and not just cooked until warm on the outside.  Pork cooked to 145 will also "be pink, tender, juicy , and not kill me".

4 minutes ago, zqvol said:

... The only thing that has to be really cooked is chicken.

IMO pork also needs "to be really cooked" to avoid trichinosis.

OP, I don't know where you live, but in the US it is not considered rude to return a meat for additional cooking time.  To avoid this problem, be sure to order your meat cooked to "well" or "medium well".

Kaliber or Heineken 00 which, unfortunately, have been the only NA beers I have found on my HAL cruises.  Would much prefer St Paulie NA or Clausthaler but. so far, I have not found either one on a HAL cruise.  🍺🍻🍺

On 1/31/2019 at 9:55 AM, Underthemoonlight said:

Hi RB

The Nieuw Amsterdam has a great 3 laps to a mile promenade walking.   Agree with DW, the promenade walk saves my sanity and therefore my marriage.  We also will not consider a ship without one 

About a year ago HAL “upgraded” their website so that became unfriendly and counter intuitive.   It is no way a reflection of the service you will receive on the ship. 

Unfortunately you cannot look at FlightEase unless you have already booked.  Perhaps if you call HAL and ask to speak to personal cruise consultant(PCC) the PCC should be able to give you the desired info.   Our PCC has also expressed his displeasure and frustration with the new website.  

Enjoy!

👍👍👍  Excellent Post, Underthemoonlight - thanks for you very objective and helpful response to OP's concerns/questions.

Thanks, Jimbo59, for this very nice overview on LCS.  IMO it is one of HAL's best additions ever!!!