Mary229

The stories I could tell you😁. I do carry a digital image and I also carry the phone number of the port agent.

Yes indeed. After sitting in those once or twice I actually walked the dining room and picked out some acceptable tables.

The app never provides any real information until onboard. The website is far better, if you can call it better - HAL is technologically challenged. Login on the website , manage my cruise then click itinerary. The itinerary will include anything you booked. It is easily downloaded as a pdf. Your original invoice and your boarding pass have a host of information if you scroll.

I understand but I do have an elderly, frail parent whom I like to keep in touch.

That is creative, is it a treat or is it extortion?

We paid the cruise lines exorbitant fees to take an important phone call.

YUL is one airport where I had very bad experiences with Uber. The HAL rep last time offered us a transfer taxi at the airport with no prior sign up. We didn’t use it but maybe next time I will consider it

If you have an iPhone you can FaceTime and iMessage any other iPhone user while on WiFi of course when you are in port you will have normal coverage

Enjoyed your upbeat review. Looks like you had a great time. DH smokes and I bear with the smoking section because that is where the conversations really take place. We often have dinners together with DH’s smoking buddies

Flam is from Bergen or Oslo. Geiranger may be one of the fjords affected by the new environmental policy

Maybe if you say what you are trying to accomplish we can better figure out the best path.

The recent update makes it a lot easier to do this - thank goodness

We are packing lighter these days and want to pack only 2 pair of shoes for the upcoming outdoorsy cruise. My plan is to wear hiking sneakers and one pair of semi-dressy flats. On days when I send shoes out to polish are sneakers allowed in the MDR? Thanks.

They have been changing the website but unfortunately leaving stray dead links all over the place. If you now scroll past the advertisement there are a new set of links which seem to work very well

Thanks. Do you think it will be the same method for a Roku?

@Haljo1935 I tried it incognito in Safari and Firefox with no problem. Is anyone else having an issue opening the above link? Holland America Line to Open Stand-Alone Restaurant by World-Renowned Chef Masaharu Morimoto Aboard Nieuw Amsterdam.pdf

I only buy $100s. Up until now they have allowed me to use a single $100 FCD and charge the remainder to my credit card. For example if my deposit is $600 I use a $100 FCD and charge $500 to the credit card.

I haven’t noticed as of late - does HAL still polish shoes?

I don’t know the price per pack but DH buys the carton deal - 4 cartons for $150. Remember the shops do not open unless you are at sea

I agree but on the Noordam you may easily brush elbows with your neighbors. They should rearrange the tables so they are truly tables for two. This would be easily accomplished with the current trend away from fixed dining. In the anytime dining room it may be harder to accomplish. on other ships we enjoy a brief “how are you this evening” and a good night salutation with our table for two neighbors. On the Noordam you could whisper and still be heard by the neighbors

thanks for the list😉 Noordam and its sister ships make the table for two awkward. You are seated so close to the next table you feel obligated to say something. They really aren’t tables for two.

Same. Vegetables are surprisingly inexpensive but I think the amount of waste is likely staggering. As much is said about healthy eating it is not actually practiced. The cruise lines are well aware of what people actually eat as opposed to what they profess to want

Food and energy suffered large inflationary pressures in recent years. I am not surprised that food costs weigh on menus. Also I think trends change, the younger generation consumed much more fast food and convenience food while growing up and continue to consume far more convenience food as adults. I never imagined that macaroni and cheese would be a culinary highlight. From the USDA: In 2021, food-at-home prices increased 3.5 percent and food-away-from-home prices increased 4.5 percent. The CPI for all food increased an average of 3.9 percent in 2021. Of all the CPI food-at-home categories tracked by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Economic Research Service (ERS), the beef and veal category had the largest relative price increase (9.3 percent) and the fresh vegetables category the smallest (1.1 percent). No food categories decreased in price in 2021 compared with their prices in 2020. In 2022, food prices increased by 9.9 percent. Food-at-home prices increased by 11.4 percent, while food-away-from-home prices increased by 7.7 percent. All food price categories tracked by USDA, ERS increased by more than 5 percent, and all food categories grew faster than their historical average rate.

I went into flight ease today and it really has improved. I was able to run through multiple choices, changing class, changing airports and more without a single error message.

FYI. Original Morimoto announcement with menu https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/news/2023/november/news-1122023-holland-america-line-to-open-new-restaurant-morimoto-by-sea