FlaMariner

Good to hear! Keep posting if you can........(we were on the Oosterdam in March/April and had a blast)

But do look for a pop up night for Tamarind in the Canaletto restaurant and you should book it!.....We are on the Westerdam soon and even though the Westerdam does not have Tamarind, there are two nights available to book "Tamarind" in the Canaletto restaurant. Enjoy the journey! (Disclosure: Views expressed are my thoughts, opinions and suggestions based on my experience traveling. My apology if I have written anything offensive. Not my intention.)

My apologies then.....not my intention.....just sharing.....I'll work on my wording and thanks for bringing it to my attention. Enjoy the journey......

Follow these instructions.....

Yes, and we like to order the package from our MDR waiter.....He gets the credit and he's going to be pouring for you at dinner. Never experienced a price difference between onboard and pre-board prices No corkage. They know you bought it when you bring it to the MDR....but as mentioned earlier, just buy it at dinner.....And you can easily ask your MDR waiter to give you an extra bottle "to go" when you want to take it back to the cabin. Enjoy the journey...and the wine!

Call the number with your credit card and the deck plan ready....They will tell you what cabins you can upgrade to and you can decide if it is a good thing or not. Yes, when you buy the upgrade cabin, the original cabin you had goes back in the pot. Good luck and come back and tell us how you did.

Fine with me. We enjoy the afternoon tea (especially when Mother is onboard) and it fits us "plowman" types just fine!

and with all Holland America Line ships, the mid-ship lido pool has a retractable roof that allows the pool (and the lido deck) to be used no matter the weather..... ......We learned this the hard way on a Princess Sky TA....no retractable roof and therefore the area is useless during inclement weather.

It is a great perk! And to add, at 3*s you get 25% off. Enjoy.

+1 We always buy package #1 (the cheapest package). It's fine for us and a great value. (Next cruise we will be 4*s and looking forward to 50% off). Wine being served to us in the MDR will be cheaper than what we buy in the grocery store at that point! Also, on a few occasions, if they are out of a certain bottle in package #1, we've received a "free upgrade" to a wine in package 2 or 3! Enjoy the journey.....and the wine onboard.

I do not know the difference between high tea or low tea.....but we've enjoyed tea (served with tea and sandwiches and sweets) at 3pm on sea days. Most of the time it has been in the MDR but we've also "had tea" in BBKings (Rotterdam). When Mother is onboard, it's a required event.

Much better price per bottle if you buy the Sommelier package vs buying one bottle off the wine list or wines by the glass. For instance, the 8 bottle Sommelier package #1 is $36 a bottle.....The Danzante Pinot Grigio is one of the choices available....and it is $44 if you just bought one bottle...also, by the glass, it is $11.

You've got us beat in trying to get to Key West..... We've attempted two HAL cruises since the unpleasantness (that means Covid) and both cruises had Key West cancelled (reasoning on both was "operational issues" and got the message, I believe, a month before go time......and exchanged for Bimini on one and Freeport on another. Yuck. I'm think "bait and switch" is at work?? I'm a native Floridian and have been to Key West before (via air) but our goal was to get our 80+ Mother there for an easy visit...she's never been and wants to "see it".....We've given up for now and if the fine people of Key West will not welcome us, it's probably best to forget about it....... Good luck with the February attempt to visit Key West!

Check out this link to a review of Holland America Line wine's..... Looks like wines by the bottle are several bucks higher than the Sommelier. (We always buy package #1 and find that the wines are good and the price is right) https://sandinmysuitcase.com/holland-america-wine-packages/#List

That is just so AWESOME! IMO.

Agree! And glad it is not a "one size fits all world"......Just sharing my thoughts on the topic..and glad we can still do that! Enjoy the journey.....with or without your phone!

That's what we keep telling ourselves over and over again...."We deserve the bread pudding because we walked a lot this morning on deck 3 and we always (sometimes) take the stairs and yesterday we walked all over (insert port name) yesterday"..... LOL, it's all good....or we would not return!

We "watch" the MDR menu on the stateroom TV when getting ready for dinner......Always fun to figure out what we are about to go enjoy.....

Perhaps the attendant thought you might still be drinking them? I think the trash can is a place to put trash so that it gets gone? We fill up the trash can with our trash that we want him to get out of the room. We leave dirty drinking glasses completely empty and on the edge of the table in one place so he knows those are ready to go. I'm not sure there is any other way for him to know what is to stay and what is to go? Were the towels hanging up? If so, that is a sign you want to reuse them. And towels on the floor get removed and replaced. Please correct me if I am off base with all this......

I would bet it will be less kids than last years Nieuw Statendam Thanksgiving cruise.....Remember that?.....That was the "high level mark" for us and kids on a HAL ship......Good to see the multi-generations onboard HAL but Her Majesty and I thought we had just boarded a Carnival ship in the summer....brought back memories...some good, some not so good.... Enjoy the Christmas cruise in the Caribbean.

Just to clarify.....the post was titled "How Important is having a Mobile Phone ONBOARD" and my response was that the phone is not needed onboard and will do you good (IMO) to put it away. However...... We would never, ever land anywhere without our phone....agree with the above points.....critical to have on land.....a life saving device IMO. but not needed (IMO) at all onboard....... Enjoy the journey......

Her Majesty and I have a running joke along the lines of "I'm just going to go eat lunch at lido today and just get a salad".....LOL....never happens.....salad, fish n chips, bread pudding, dive in fries, asian station, sandwiches.....and on and on.....epic fail every time We start out with good intentions.....and threaten each other with an embarkation weigh in during the spa raffle at the gym followed by stepping on those scales the last night that are in the elevator area for our luggage......LOL. ....enjoy the journey....and the food.

Enjoy the freedom of no phone onboard......It's liberating. Not required nor needed for a fantastic cruise! We have the "shakes" for a day or two and then it passes and we feel fine and function fine.

Think of it like arriving at a restaurant landside.....You head to the MDR when the MDR is open for open seating dinner (it's one level of the MDR so open seating is going on at the same times that fixed seating is going on upstairs)....You ask for the table size you want.....You can request to dine with others or just your party. If you want a table for two, when you approach the podium, just request it. And tomorrow can be a different table choice and time. Yes, you can make a reservation ahead (I think it is up to 3 days in advance? not sure). Keep in mind, just like landside, if you arrive at peak time, you may have to wait...... I hope that info makes sense and is helpful..... Enjoy the journey......

From HAL website FAQ's.....looks like you have it correct, the phone call if it is "not life-threatening". For guests with food intolerances or allergies that are not life-threatening, please contact our Ship Services Department at (800) 541-1576. For guests with life-threatening food allergies, we ask that guests provide detailed information to our Guest Accessibility Department by completing a Special Requirements Information (SRI) Form. Guests should indicate on this form which foods may potentially cause a severe reaction.