Bubbleswvwa

The Neptune Lounge and the Lido both had it in the mornings 

We had a Neptune on the Nieuw Amsterdam in March and it was only espresso 

Check with your stewards to make sure you will have the same one for the entire trip, sometimes they get swapped during a longer crew.

And make sure that you call out by name the amazing staff in the navigator app as  HAL uses the feedback in their reviews and for promotions and pay raises. 

You can do a big group. In 2020 we did a group of 10, we were able to have everyone at one big table. We did 22 this March. Because of how big the group was we had to be broken up into 2 large tables. But we used the captains table room for both events.

You definitely want to call beforehand to set it up and then follow up once you are on board. If individuals are going to pay for their own meals they will have you fill out a form with everyone's names and cabins. It's a fairly easy but time consuming process and the ship services coordinator will probably need to reach out to someone on the ship to coordinate. 

I normally have a supply of chocolate. I miss nightly chocolates.

Well, I brought microwave popcorn...it was a huge hit with our friends. My partner also sleeps later than me and he's used the microwave to heat up his breakfast once he's up.

You you can get take out containers from the specialty restaurants, I'm not sure about the MDR. I frequently bring (or have delivered) my dessert to have later in the evening.

There is a full dinner service for 8 in the room. You can have course by course dining in the room (speak with the Neptune Concierge to arrange).

Enjoy the Pinnacle suite! We had a Pinnacle suite in 2020 and have it again in March and I can't wait.

Fridge:

All nonalcoholic drinks in the fridge are included with the suite. Anything alcoholic you have to pay for (just ask your room steward to remove them.

Included:

Canned water, Sparkling water, Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite 

In the main room they will leave a bottle of prosecco as an embarkation gift and a large bottle of water (which they will replace for you)

A word of warning about the fridge/freezer. It is an industrial style unit and ours stuck every time we opened it and you had to make sure you really pushed to fully closed it.

Tea kettle

I'm 90% sure we had a kettle, it was in one of the many cabinets. They is a box of Harney & sons individually wrapped teas in a tea box on the counter. If you have a favorite, don't be afraid to ask the stewards to stock more or less of specific varieties. (This also works for the Nespresso pods, as I like decaf in the evening).

If you do get tea delivered to the room they send an assortment of tea bags from the Lido not the nicer ones. But they do send a carafes of hot water .

On 8/1/2022 at 7:41 PM, crystalspin said:

May I say two words: Gnocchi and Shortribs.

 

And if anyone wants to tell me either are no longer available: Please don't! I would rather live in my little dream world.

My favorite is the Gnocchi and shortribs. Second is the crab risotto 

Everyone (crew) will know who you are. We learned on a behind the scenes tour that our pictures were hung up in the crew areas so that everyone knew who was in the Pinnacle suites (nothing like coming across your face taped to a wall are you are walking from the galley to the dining room on the tour). The first time we stayed in a Pinnacle suite I had key issues the first day, nothing like approaching guest services and being called by name to skip the line...(I was quite confused).

Also, learned for future reference that the Neptune lounge concierge can replace a faulty key so that you don't have to go to guest services.

With the Pinnacle suites you can request afternoon tea service or evening hors d'oeuvres for up to 8 people. The tea that comes with afternoon tea is the same as the teas you will find in the Lido, but you will have a tea box of Harney & Sons. If you tell your stewards you like a specific flavor they will make sure to keep extras of them in the box.

The butlers pantry has a microwave, commercial fridge/freezer, Nespresso machine and an electric kettle. The non alcoholic beverages in the fridge are free and will be replaced daily. The fridge tends to stick when opening and you may have to give it a good tug. Also, you have to push on the door to make sure it's completely closed.

The hot tub on the deck is great for relaxing but is not very hot. The whirlpool tub in the bathroom was on of my favorite parts (just be careful when turning it on. It fills from the statue mouth on the wall and sometimes gets bumped out of alignment (sprayed water everywhere the first time I used it).

If doing a behind the scenes tour is something your interested in as the Neptune lounge concierge as early as possible. The cruise we were on they weren't offering it to guess, but they made an exception for us.

We did a B2B on the Nieuw Amsterdam in March this year and are booked to do so again next March. Ft. Lauderdale requires everyone to clear customs even if you are staying on the ship. Depending on how many people are doing B2B will determine if you have to go to customs or if they will come on board to clear you. If you have to get off the boat HAL will walk you to customs and back. 

If you want to get off the ship and wander around you can get back onboard anytime by showing the special card you will receive the night before.

If you are staying in the same stateroom you prob won't see the stewards unil later in the day (we had no morning clean up, but that was fine with us). If you are changing state rooms make sure you pack everything up, the stewards will then move everything to your new room (we  id that last September).

We were able to get Nami sushi while at the bar with no problem

Also, keep in mind that Neodymium Magnets (rare earth magnets) work much better. Regular magnets don't tend to hold well to the walls and doors

In general we give $50--$100 additional to our room stewards at the beginning of the cruise and will give additional at the end based on how needy we've been.

Bartenders get $2 per drink (we generally get a lot of $2 bills pre cruise) and at the end of the cruise an additional $20-$50 to our favorites (we are whiskey drinkers and always spend the first couple of days figuring out which be has the best selection. You would think it would be the same, but we have found different whiskeys in different bars).

The Neptune concierge an additional $50 at the end of the cruise.

It just depends on the level of services received.

Mrogerswha, there are 2. Sunday and Thursday

1 hour ago, cruisegirl said:

Part of my confusion is when I tried to book for our 12/4/21 

 cruise only one time slot shows and it is 12:30 pm which for us would be a lousy time slot. I can’t believe it is so close to being sold out that only one time slot shows. Are you held to a time slot or can you go whenever you want to as long as you have purchased a pass? 

CruisegirIt,

It has not on past cruises. It looks like a place holder to me. You will need to check in with the staff before the first time you use the thermal suite.

On 7/14/2021 at 1:47 PM, T8NCruise said:

I've only ever seen one person use the zip log bag idea to scoop up goodies in the PG.  Its not a good look and people were commenting on it when they left.  

In the past I've just asked them to send it to my room because I was to full to enjoy right then. They have always been happy to do so

On 7/4/2021 at 6:23 PM, bandp407 said:

Thanks very much for your reply & info. Will wait and see when we get to our online check-in & go from there. It has never been more onboard than we paid online. If so they would refund & recharge. 

 

I advance purchased (last week) the couples pass for the N Amsterdam for our upcoming 9/25 sailing and it was $219. On my last N Amsterdam sailing (3/7/2020) I booked on embarkation day and paid $299 for the couples pass.