FRANKIEDNYC

:)During the Grand World 2017 cruise on the Amsterdam Tamarind dinners were served on several occasions in the PG. Excellent dinner!

:)We have sailed several times on Prinsendam and always take one of those forward cabins with the larger balcony. In over 300 days on her we never experienced any problems in heavy seas. However those cabins are right above the theater and you will hear all the shows and practices in them. This always ends by about 11PM and is a non issue with us as we are out and about later than that. Also every other cabin has either a full bath or just a shower, so you have to make sure you get what you prefer. We are booked on the 2019 80 day Grand South America/Antarctica and are in one the most forward cabins

:)Our favorite is the Grand South America/Antarctica on Prinsendam. We like it so much that we are booked for Jan 2019. This will be our 3rd time

:) Spaghetti with butter, or buttered noodles. Loved them when I was a kid now over 70 and still love em!

:)The Indonesian and Oriental dishes on the noon buffet are great. Love the fruit crisps of the day, raisin buns, English breakfast, scones at afternoon tea,. Pea soup, bone in ribeye in the Pinnacle and many others. They say some folks gain a pound a day on a cruise. I see how it can easily happen. We are booked on 2018 world cruise and I hope I don't gain 113 lbs!

A beautiful ship that was ruined when the aft pool was removed in favor of the retreat.

:) Ruth, No spa day on Pdam but you get 2 extra Pinnacle dinners to work off

Last spring I booked a b to b cruise N.Y to Montreal then Montreal to Boston. About 2 weeks before the cruise HAL called and said that I couldn't go because I was in violation of the Jones act. This was about 2 months after we booked. There were approx 10 Canadian ports. I'm still scratching my head over this.

:) try this site they offer many options. I've been using them for years with no problem.

http://www.stay123.com

:) strawberry\rhubarb

Try this site: http://www.stay123.com

They charge by the minute. Why speed it it up. The slower it is the more they make

Recently returned from a 68 day cruise on Pinsendam. I used the pools daily. The aft pool was always filled with salt water, when it was full. Since the new cabins on deck 8 were added there has been a problem with the pool overflowing in rougher waters and flooding the verandas on deck 8. For this reason the pool was closed as much as open also there is a problem with lots of soot from the stack blowing into the pool. This pool is currently about 4 1/2 ft deep end to end. I believe the aft end of the pool was deeper before they added the deck 8 cabins.

On our cruise the pool was heated., sometimes as warm as the hot tub. The mid ship pool shaped like a keyhole is about 18" deep where you enter and then a ladder take you into the deeper larger pool which is about 4 1/2 feet deep also This pool is very small about the size of an aboveground pool at home, maybe 25' diameter. This pool is fresh water and also heated when necessary There is no cover over this pool like on all the rest of HALs ships

When we disembarked the Prinsendam on Mar 11 after a 67 day cruise the porters were in short supply. A line formed to get one and we waited at least 15 minutes. Than to add insult to injury , There was not a cab in sight again waited about 15 minutes to get one. In the past there was always 2 lines of cabs waiting for fares. The only thing I could think of is that several ships (mostly mega ships) in port that morning and they wer all spread thin

Check out http://www.stay123.com they list hotels in all port cities that provide free or very low cost parking lf you book the night before your cruise. They usually provide free transportation back and forth to the port. We have used them numerous times over the yea8rs and never had a problem

:) Just wondering, do 4 & 5 star mariners get a discount like we get at the PG and Cannaleto?

:)The wines are selected from the same wine list. You are just paying a little less per bottle. The larger the pkg, the cheaper per bottle.

:) I've encountered this situation many times. What I do is go to the casino put in $50 or $100 at a time on my casino card play a couple spins on the slots and then cash out. perfectly legal.

:) Best: A bone in rib eye steak in the PG, Juicy tender cooked to perfection

:( Worst A bone in rib eye steak in the PG about 10 days later on the same cruise. All fat, and gristle and very tough

The late night spread has a different theme each night ie Oriental, Dutch, German, etc. Patronized primarily by the entertainers but open to all

:)Sick bay, Thank God

:):) The distinction is that it is St John, NB and St Johns, Nfld

:):) Due to the fact that the Prinsendam has no thermal suite, all 5 star mariners receive 3 free PG dinners

:) Hi John, Do you know if Mark B, will be CD on Volendam 9/28/16, Thanx, Frank

:) Yes there are irons and ironing boards in each launderette. BTW the machines are all free detergent too, as they want you to use theirs