cxc362

Another hint: We brought a wine gift bag with us. It was handy to carry the bottle to the dining room.

We also used a wine carrier bag to transport our wine to the MDR. This was much better than having to carry just the bottle (especially with a 2 year old in tow who would occasionally need to be carried).

We had a wonderful experience on the Westerdam. The crew and officers were fantastic (and I heard that, at least at that time, the crew wanted to be on her versus another "Dam ship" given the choice).

Your second and third sentences are correct. As far as additional bottles are concerned, yes, you can bring aboard more than the one allowable per person (in your carry on luggage) and pay the corkage fee of $18 per bottle.

After you go through security you will see the alcohol check table. They will mark the extra bottles and give you a receipt reflecting payment of the fee. It will show up on your final bill.

If you know which bottles you want to consume in your cabin versus elsewhere, be sure to have the bottles you want to drink outside your cabin as those marked as having the corkage fee paid on them.

In case you did not find it, here is a thread I started on the subject when I had questions: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2265815 .

We didn't expect there to be any due to HAL's demographic so we took our own.

I expect that our daughter would have preferred to have familiar toys anyway as we were in a new setting (plus for me there is also the previously mentioned hygiene concern).

Hi cruisers,

 

I want to ask parents this question and I don't know if I can get answers from you. We are planning to take the meraviligia cruise next September with our toddler 22 months. And she is showing all the signs to be potty trained, she really wants to, but I am afraid that it would be easier for us while traveling to keep her in diapers and postpone the potty training after our vacation. What do you think parents?

 

 

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We were in a similar situation to you. Our daughter turned 2 in early August a couple of years ago and we booked a cruise for early that November.

She was showing signs of maybe being potty trained in September so we tried to get her there so she could use the pool. It didn't happen and we were fine with it but it would certainly have been easier if it had happened (both for pool and for practical reasons).

Even if you daughter is potty trained, I would recommend having some diapers and/or pull-ups available as some regression can occur at first.

so different lines have different rules about brining on beverages? what about Holland America? I was going to bring a few bottles of water on with me

Absolutely they do!

HAL allows you to bring aboard as much bottled water (and other non-alcoholic beverages) as you'd like in your carry on luggage at embarkation, plus you can bring them aboard from ports of call.

In that reservation purchases section, HAL also offers to sell " a gallon of distilled water" for approx US$3, alongside the brand name 12 pack listed above. Sorry I do not remember the brand name.

That's great to know. Thanks!

At home many of us now have to pay for bottled water as the water in our system is horrible. Lots of black junk in it. Those Brita Filter systems don't work on what is in out water.

Once on a ship -- we drink the water from the taps.

Not all of us. That water must still be delivered by pipes.

Since NCL I believe is owned by the same holding company as Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, you are really talking about going with one of two different companies.

NCL is owned by 4 different holding companies, none of which are Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

I believe there is at least one who has done it solo on Cunard. Also check the HAL board. EM

I second that you should ask on the HAL board.

Oops. Sure did although I suspect the same will be true of the R class a few years from now.

 

Roy

Too true!

There's one thing that might come into this mix. My understanding when SS Rotterdam left the fleet and became the Rembrandt she complied with (or could easily become compliant) with SOLAS requirements but could not have continued to meet requirements for Dutch registration without extensive modifications. I wonder if that comes into play with the R ships and Prinsendam.

 

Roy

Roy, I think that you meant S class (and not R class).

Can you buy bottled water on ship Carnival sells a 12 pack for $2.99 Does Holland do anything like that

Carnival has upped its price to $4.50 for a 12 pack of 1/2 liter bottles. Still a fairly reasonable price.

The price list PDF that Krazy Kruizers referenced states that a 12 pack of 1 liter bottles is $32 on HAL. This cost is exorbitant.

The volume of water provided by HAL is equivalent to two of Carnivals packages however it costs nearly 4x as much ($32 versus $9.

Unlike Carnival's beverage policy, however, as mentioned by RuthC, people can still bring their own water aboard. In my opinion, the relative reasonableness of Carnival's pricing has everything to do with their policy of not allowing people to bring water aboard.

If you've sailed on any of the Carnival Corp lines, then you are a 1-star Mariner and will get a tile at the Mariner brunch/lunch (you'll get an invite on board).

That was our situation exactly. I had to call the Mariner Society to inform them of our previous cruise on Carnival and the very helpful and very friendly representative, even though she couldn't find a record of our Carnival sailing, put in the request for 1-star status which was granted within 24 hours. We received our invite aboard the ship and our tiles when leaving the brunch.

Release in sticky about Neptune Suite refresh says that Nieuw Amsterdam, Westerdam, Zuiderdam and Noordam will all be done in 2016.

 

Wondering if this will mean a dry dock for them or if they will close off sections and remodel during normal operation. Hoping it's true- would be nice to see on our Westerdam cruise next October.

According to last week's Q&A session with Captain Rens van Eerten, no projects are scheduled for the Westerdam until she goes into dry dock at Palermo in spring 2017.

We received our tiles on the Westerdam last week when leaving the Mariner Society brunch.

Here's the new Vista class tile we received last week. Sorry for the low picture quality.

We just returned from 14 nights on the Westerdam & have not received any tiles. ... Anyone have an answer for me?

We received our tiles on the Westerdam last week when leaving the Mariner Society brunch. The trays that contained the tiles were covered with linens and the tiles were handed out by staff. The tiles seemed only to be distributed if they were asked for (we had to ask for ours); they weren't being distributed either freely or openly. We probably would have missed receiving them if I didn't know to look for and ask for them.

Hi all,

Also learned that the Westerdam will be eliminating the Northern Lights ... I didn't ask when this was to happen (it's Karin's fault - she was in the cabin reading instead of traipsing about with me; she'd have followed up!) but if I find out more, I'll fill you in.

According to last week's Q&A with Captain Rens van Eerten the soonest anything will happen is during the Westerdam's next dry dock which he said will occur in Palermo during spring 2017.

I'm delighted we can bring wines of our choice, and only pay $18 a bottle. Spanish cava is my "fun" drink, and none is available on HAL.

 

Thanks to the OP for asking, so I also know what to expect - my first cruise since the change.

My pleasure! I think we may have to take some Freixenet on board with us.

corkage is actually paid by HAL OBCs.

That assumes that one has OBC.

Thanks so much!

How does the corkage fee work on excess bottles of wine? Is it charged when the excess bottles are brought onto the ship or is it charged when the bottles are actually consumed (of course the latter would be much harder to track than the former)?

But if I order my Large Latte with an extra shot - is that one drink or two?

As the extra shot is a $0.50 addition to the drink, it shouldn't be charged as a separate drink; it should just be one drink against your daily 15. But i cannot say this from experience, just from reading the cafe price list posted earlier today in response #7 of the thread linked below.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2264763

The Dive In was open 11:30-5:00 most every day. The exception was embarkation day, when it closed for the safety drill. It's on the Lido Deck, but not inside the Lido. I wouldn't consider it to be part of the Lido. It is listed separately in the daily program, and it keeps its own hours.

Thank you!

Two questions:

1) Does the Dive In also close during this period of time (as it's technically part of the Lido dining)?

2) How does the Dive In operate for dinner on port days?