Ready2go11

I am a big fan of the laundry service and used by the bag or unlimited before having it included. They iron pants of mine I never iron and things always come back in excellent shape. 
 

As noted, you can add special instructions- we always write on our paper “cold water only” and “low heat dry” and have never had shrinkage. 

special tip- I have found that Dawn Power Wash dish soap is a foolproof stain remover on clothes. I use it at home and it takes stains out like magic (especially oil based food stains). I take a small bottle of it in a recycled hand sanitizer container on the ship and always spot treat any stains before sending to the laundry. I would not use on silk and delicate fabrics of course but for cotton, blends, etc works like a charm!

They are opening a permanent, stand alone Morimoto on the Nieuw Amsterdam in December. The announcement says it will be adjacent to the Tamarind on the Observation deck. 
 

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

Although it is widely advertised as one extra entree choice, on the Rotterdam last month there were three extra every day choices available in addition to the CO special. See below for same day comparison of MDR menu and CO menu. 

2 hours ago, ski ww said:

On our last cruise in July I asked at the front desk if I could buy one of their new blankets and was told they are not for sale. I'll try again on our next cruise.

Last month on the Rotterdam, I used the blanket in my room for a few days and loved it!  I was able to purchase the blanket from guest services for the $35 listed on the price list posted above. It was charged to my own board account so I got to use OBC and my cabin steward brought a new one to me the next day in a thick plastic carrier to take home. I will say my customer service desk rep had to go get someone else to find it in the computer so maybe they are not all trained on what may be available. 
 

If someone tells you no (unless its because they do not have any to sell), I would use the Navigator app to send a message about purchasing one to guest services and ask for a reply. 

I like that for now due to the time differences we get same day reports!

risi bisi is an Italian dish of rice and peas. It is a cross between a risotto and a soup-  not as brothy as a soup but looser than a risotto. Departure from the traditional pea version can be made with other vegetables like zucchini. 

On 10/27/2023 at 8:54 PM, fairydustca said:

 If you are 3 or 4 star Mariner you do get at 25% or 50% discount which does help make it more affordable. The biggest problem is trying to get a reservation. It always fills up early.

We always eat at least one night at Rudi’s when available. We enjoy the premium menu items you cannot get in other venues on ship and it feels special to us. I celebrated my birthday on board earlier this month by dining at Rudi’s and they brought me a fish shaped chocolate mousse cake (that is a square shaped in other restaurants on board to celebrate special occasions). I appreciated the special touch. 
 

It is a 25% discount for 4* and 5* off the base price (no discount on 18% added service charge). My discount was refunded to my on board account since I booked online ahead of the cruise. 
 

Also, the recent pricing changes (effective in Sept 2023 I think) include an up charge above the dining cost for lobster and dover sole. 

I played all the games to see every available offer on my platinum card and although 3-4 other cruise lines had offers I never received the HAL one this time around 🤔🤨

Extra tips applied by receipt for drinks, coffees and speciality dining were also charged to our non refundable credit helping to use some of it. 

On a recently completed Rotterdam cruise with CO, we sometimes found it was not beneficial to be in the CO line. 

When no one was in the CO line, that service rep would take someone from the regular line. All good.
 

However, on more than one occasion, we were behind one person who was being assisted at the CO line, and that took longer than if we had waited in the regular line because six or seven people from the regular line were helped before us since there were three representatives helping them.  In essence, it took longer for us to be served and we would’ve been better being in the regular line.  In that case, it would have been nice if CO truly received priority and an open rep helped us as the next one became available. 
 

If there was no one in line at all, we would go straight to the regular line. No need to stand in the CO Line, if no one was waiting anyway.

In the end, we were on a fabulous cruise so a waiting an extra 5 minutes was not a big deal at all. 

The Club Orange breakfast and dinner provided a great experience on this cruise. We had breakfast there except when we had a tour, and maybe half the dinners. The maitre d’  Edgar managed the room in an efficient, gracious manner and checked on us each meal one or more times. There was only one morning when we had to wait less than 5 minutes for a table. Every other time we were seated right away. 
 

The food was always served hot, and I ‘discovered’ the aloo masala this cruise for breakfast that has been on the menu forever. I loved it and it will be ordered frequently on future cruises. 
 

Service may have been a tad slower when they were busy, but the servers were always working very hard. MuMin served us the first night and called us by our first names the rest of the two weeks and stopped by to say Hi even when we were sitting on the other side of the dining room. Other favorites were servers Yudo and Bonny. Each of them remembered our preferences and seemed disappointed when we didn’t order dessert or have a large breakfast. 😃
 

Portions were hearty. I only tried the CO special one night of lemon shrimp Mafalda which was very good. 
 

In talking to the staff in CO, a few extended their contract in September when HAL did not have someone to immediately take their place. Each was happy since the extension meant their 2 months off when starting in November would allow them to spend the holidays with their families. 

Pinnacle Grill was very inconsistent. We had dinner and it was good, but not great. They were very busy and I think that led to some issues. 
 

Lunch on one day was absolutely perfect- we had the tomato-basil and carpaccio as appetizers, Pinnacle burger and petit filet as mains and shared the brownie (more like a flourless chocolate cake) for dessert. Service was also impeccable (thank you Yulia). I also had a whiskey smash to drink. 
 

It was so good we went again two days later and requested Yulia again, who provided the same outstanding service. However, the same orders of food (except substituting the cod sandwich for the filet as one main) left us disappointed. The burger bun was as hard as Kazu noted and I had no bacon jam. Everything else was just okay and my whiskey smash was mostly sour mix. I did not have more than 2 sips. 
 

It was strange how food quality differed so much just two days apart. 

The first day we boarded, we stopped by the arts and crafts open house (on a 14 day TA- not sure if they always have that) and the flower designer (Louis) for the ship had a display set up. I chose a vase and flipped through album to choose a size, then asked for my preferred colors. The arrangement was delivered the next day and had a full set of flowers on display on both sides of the vase (not just a front presentation like most arrangements). 
 

The tulips lasted a week, and the rest of the arrangement for the full two weeks (we flipped it around every day or so so both sides would get light and we added water occasionally). 
 

i was thrilled with how robust it was and how long it lasted. Used OBC to pay and it was a bargain at $47.50. Would have cost substantially more on shore. Best thing- since I chose the vase I now have a beautiful unique vase to use in the future and remember a great voyage. 
 

For the remainder of the cruise, they were selling the vases on their own at pop up stands on various days. On its own, my vase was $30 or $35 I think. 

We purchased our bathrobes (that we were able to monogram since we ordered them earlier enough in the cruise) when we were in a Neptune suite. We just asked the Neptune lounge concierge to order. It was pre-Covid and we received the Mariner discount on the cost. 

On the Rotterdam trip I just returned from (in a balcony cabin), I wanted to purchase one of the new orange and blue blankets included in the cabin. I went to guest services and requested to purchase it and it was in my cabin the next day, and charged to my room using OBC. For anyone interested, the blanket was $35 charged as “sale of general supplies” with no HAL merchandise Mariner discount.   Easy peasy and I love the blanket! 

We arrived yesterday after an overnight flight. We loved our canal ride this morning and went to the Albert Cuyp market and sampled our way through for lunch.  Recommend the metro for quick, efficient travel. So much to see and a great place for cheese and fresh made stroopwafels with warm caramel centers. Glad we are walking so much!
 

Yesterday evening we were walking around near our hotel (Kimpton Dewitt- excellent location and amenities) and happened to see the King of Netherlands as he left a meeting. Although there was security around, we were surprised at how close we were to him!

My first cruise on the Maasdam way back included a ship’s Officer meet and greet the second night in the Neptune lounge. Have never seen that happen again. 

I received the NCL but not the HAL one. I added a few offers to my list to replenish back up to 100 total and hopefully HAL will eventually show up. 

Safe travels today to Jacqui and to all those on their way to our wonderful adventure!  

I don’t think anyone has mentioned the chilled fruit soup starters in the dining room. 
 

And I prized my navy blue coffee mug and other swag you used to win for shuffleboard, trivia, etc. 

1 hour ago, 0106 said:

 

@VMax1700Thank you for the sports update.  I am very interested in the baseball playoffs since the Baltimore Orioles are the AL East champions and will be in the playoffs for the first time in 7 years.  Go Os!

we’ve waited a long time for our birds to be playing this late!  Hopefully their Cinderella streak continues and we are back home before they are done for the year ⚾️

When we have a cabin in the middle of a long hallway, we have used a small blow up balloon and taped it to the very top of the door frame. That way it doesn’t interfere with anything but it’s easy to spot when you’re trying to figure out where you need to go.

My sense of direction is wonky and I have to look at the signs in the hallway to see if I am port or starboard (or odd or even😂)

You mentioned your friends got on board in San Francisco. I have never seen an embarkation availability for SF when booking online but on past cruises I have seen folks get on board. How do you arrange a non standard embarkation port like that?

I am on the Rotterdam next week, and when I go to the Navigator app, click on dining and drinks and then under fine dining, scroll all the way to the right to the club orange menu I can see the daily club orange special. Tonight is lemon shrimp mafaldini
 

As a previous poster said it may depend on the ship, whether it is posted in the Navigator app or not.

Since you booked with HAL direct, you can see a current summary of payments. 
 

Once you are logged in, and click on my account, navigate to the My Bookings tab and your upcoming cruise(s) should show. On the right side of the screen of the cruise you are reviewing you should see a column header called Payment Schedule with Manage Payments below that. Click on manage payments and it shows total price and it will show a summary of total price, what you've paid and your remaining balance. 
 

From here you can apply gift cards or otherwise pay online, as well, if you want. Note: this is summary info only, and does not show detailed payment history. 
 

incidentally, this general My Bookings section also allows you to manage your cruise by booking speciality dining, spa appts and excursions, etc, if you did not already use it. To access, once you login and get to My Bookings, scroll down to the center orange button and click “Manage my Cruise.”  This opens up a screen with several options to view details and book extras. 
 

On a December 2023 Koningsdam holiday cruise, I was able to use MS 365 and Teams (audio for sure; I can’t recall if I used Teams video at all) on the standard HIA wifi access. I also used facetime audio and video. Video did freeze a few times. 
 

Prior to this cruise, I was never able to get work email the normal way because how prior provider was behind company VPN (on standard or enhanced wifi plan). My company had to do a special workaround. 
 

Very pleased that 365 and Teams were allowed. For the record, have never tried Skype and did not need Sharepoint so no experience with that on a ship’s wifi. 
 

i will need full network access to files on sharepoint on a TA crossing in a few weeks and will test limits then and can report back if that is soon enough. Will try included HIA wifi first and then upgrade to premium if needed. 

Another Marylander who would love NY, Bayonne NJ, BALTIMORE or Norfolk VA departures.

My first HAL cruise years ago on the Maasdam was actually an 11 night Caribbean from Norfolk.  Shortly after that they stopped departures from that port.

Baltimore did just get some NCL departures (in addition to Carnival and RC) so there is some hope I guess since HAL has some smaller ships that may be able to make it under the bridge.  Maybe more success will cause expansion of the port facilities which would make it more attractive to new lines.