Djptcp

Thank you to all responded to my confusion. DH and I are going on an 11-day Rotterdam cruise soon and will bring cans of Coke aboard for our cabin as we have ordered a bottle of rum for the cabin. Will see what happens.

I am so confused about the issue of bringing soda on board. I have read the Holland FAQs that say absolutely no alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (soda, energy drinks, etc) may be brought onboard. The confusion rests with DH and I seeing passengers already on board at embarkation with cases and six-packs of soda with them. Most recently on the Nieuw Amsterdam in Oct., but also on the Rotterdam last Feb. and March. DH asked at embarkation in Oct. if we could bring soda on board with us and and he said yes. So, which is it???

I always get wheelchair assistancce boarding and disembarking then use my rollator while on board. When boarding I go to the handicapped entrance and request wheelchair assistance. It's nice as you then bypass all the other people waiting to board. The wheelchair pusher takes you through the check-in process. I contact Guest Services when onboard to let them know I will need wheelchair assistance at disembarkation. They will tell you where you need to go the last morning. If you have a Neptune Suite, just contact one of the concierges in the Neptune Lounge and they will take care of it for you. Very easy.

Passengers who exhibit violent behavior likes fights that have happened on Carnival should be put off at the next port, a $500 fine just isn't enough. DH and I experienced a drunk passenger one evening in the smoking section outside who started yelling at us because we wouldn't talk to him. He had gone from people to people and everyone ignored him. I guess his anger issues had increased exponentially when he reached us. He was not only horribly foul in his language but he started toward us and threatened to throw DH over the railing! We were on our way to get security when he disappeared and we never saw him again. Terroristic threats are intolerable and, if found, he should have been put off the ship at the next port. There is so much violence and hate these days and we don't need more of it when on vacation.

We never get the drink packages unless free (on Holland America) but we always tip $1 for every drink we order. The crew appreciates it and they tend to look for us just when we need another drink. I usually get free drinks in the casinos and tip there also.

DH and I were on the same 5-day Nieuw Amsterdam cruise as the OP and are 4* Mariners. I agree with all the good things said about the cruise, but disagree with most of the complaints. We never ate in the Main Dining Room (never do - takes too long and have experienced not the best service in the past), only in the Canaletto, the Tamarind, and the Lido Market. In the two specialty restaurants, the portions were huge, all the food delicious including the desserts. We ate in the Lido Market for the rest of our meals. Being served by the crew is a good and safe thing and I hope it continues. Who wants to touch serving utensils other passengers have touched? We found the food to be delicious at all meals, including desserts. DH liked the Dive-In and we both enjoyed the New York Pizza - pizzas are small and we didn't miss by-the-slice. We had just morning cabin cleaning, but we did receive chocolates and the daily next day's events paper at night (had a verandah cabin, not a suite this time). The free Mariner Cocktail is okay and I also wish it would be a cocktail of my choice. I think the lack of of some live music was due to illness.

DH and I are 4 Star Mariners and in the past year we have sailed on the Rotterdam 3 times and the Nieuw Amsterdam 1 time (just returned the other day), for a total of 30 days. On all 4 of these cruises we found the crew to be exceptional; the food in the Lido buffet, the Canelletto, the Pinnacle Grill, and the Tamarind superior. The Rotterdam Library is terrific. On the down side, there really wasn't much of a library on the N. Amsterdam, but we brought enough books with us. The Neptune Suites on the Rotterdam are smaller than on other ships and there isn't a separate vanity area anymore. During the 4 cruises mentioned above, we ate in the main dining room only 2 times (1 dinner and 1 breakfast) because the service was horrible at the dinner. A manager finally realized our waiter had forgotten all about us and took over. Breakfast service was good, but we prefer more choices found in the Lido Buffet. My biggest complaint about HAL ships is the tiny size of the casinos, especially on the Pinnacle Class ships. This has nothing to do with what some people feel is diminished service, just thought I would mention it.

We are Carnival Diamonds and 4* Mariners on Holland America, so lots of experience on both cruise lines. Since the cruise lines started up again in 2021, we have taken 10 cruises about half on HAL and half on Carnival. We were very unhappy with the Carnival cruises as the food was mediocre at best and passengers seemed louder and more unruly than previously. We were actually verbally abused by one drunken man one evening, We were sitting on a smoking deck reading and this guy went from one group to another trying to start a conversation and we were polite and told him we wanted to continue reading. He went ballistic, started swearing at us and threatened to throw my husband overboard. We were about to call Security when he left. The HAL ships are so elegant, the food is superior, and the crew is fantastic. The music venues on HAL ships are wonderful and we spend lots of time in the casinos. We have never witnessed bad passenger behavior on HAL ships. We have 4 HAL cruises booked (3 are free), one leaves on Tuesday, and just one Carnival cruise booked - willing to try it once more and it was free.

I have 3 free cruises (2 ocean view cabins and 1 Vista suite) booked with Holland America (just had to pay taxes, fees) plus casino cash, onboard credit, and free drinks in the casino. I play the slots every day on our cruises and wager about $2,000 per cruise. We are 4* Mariners, but not sure if that matters with the free cruises or not.

ski ww - we're with you. DH and I do not have a smart phone and we get along just fine. I print out our boarding passes, have our CDC cards with us, pre-cruise covid test results on paper, and have our passports. While waiting to do check in at port, we have noticed passengers fiddling around with their phones and causing people to wait. No thanks.

Yahoo News has a report in The Street that talks about CDC lifting Covid restrictions. In the article it says "Cruise lines like Carnival (CCL) - Get Carnival Corporation Report now are able to board passengers without covid tests, which will not only speed up the boarding process, but also give a sigh of relief for travelers." I think the article means Carnival could now do away with the pre-cruise testing with CDC restrictions dropped. Not that Carnival has done away with the pre-cruise testing.

We only use our cell phone for possible emergencies when traveling on land. It sits in my purse and I only have to charge it a few times a year. We obviously do not have Verifly and have been on 10 cruises in the past 10 months and had no issues with our paperwork when doing check-in at the cruise terminals nor did we experience any delays because we had paper documents. Don't bother with the Hub when on Carnival either. We pick up the next day daily activities sheet at the service desks in the evenings and make our YTD reservations with the dining room staff as soon as they are available. Reading the responses, it appears that many of those who use Verifly still bring their paper documents with them.

Specialty dining, especially at Cuchina. Casino - that's how I use our OBC.

DH and I are Diamonds on Carnival and 4 Star Mariners on Holland America, so we have lots of experience on both. Holland wins hands down over Carnival with its elegant ships, far superior food, cabin sizes, outstanding crews, and loyalty perks. As Diamonds on Carnival we get not much - a one time 2 free specialty dinners, a cocktail party on 5+ day cruises. As 4* Mariners on Holland we get 50% off every time we eat at a specialty restaurant. On Holland, we also get 50% off of wine packages, 50% off of cabin mini-bar purchases, a free wine tasting on every cruise, unlimited free laundry and pressing (great perk on longer cruises). By the way, not all Holland casinos are smoke-free - I get to smoke in the casinos on the Rotterdam and Nieuw Statendam. I don't attend shows in the theatres on either as I'm mostly in the casinos when they are open, but Holland has wonderful music venues from classical to rock and I do enjoy those. The suites on Holland are exceptional and we mostly sail in them, Vista and Neptunes. Carnival has nothing to compare with them and the perks that come with them, especially the Neptune Lounge if you have a Neptune Suite. I do receive lots of free cruises on both with casino money and free drinks. Why do we cruise so often on Carnival then? Solely because of being closer to Carnival FL ports - 45 minutes to 1.5 hours where we have to drive almost 4 hours to get to Port Everglades. We have 4 Holland cruises booked right now (7-11 days) and only 1 Carnival booked (5 days).

Tamarind and its Emperor cocktail.

It was only one Holland ship, the new Rotterdam, and it was only for 3 European cruises in July - not fleetwide.