seaoma

9 hours ago, TLHB said:

I want to clarify by adding that I know I’m apparently in the minority on this picnic bana topic. The other cruisers seemed very excited about them and my friend said she loves the idea. They didn’t bother hubby as much as they bothered me. I just think they take away from the beauty of the beach because they are all spread along the water so you can’t get a good photo of the ship without getting part of a bana (and the people in it) in your photo. Again, I know I’m in the minority in my opinion. I just thought I’d share it though. I look forward to sharing it in the HAL survey but I have not received that email yet. And that’s surprising to me. 

Well, that makes 2 of us.

26 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

The debate is not  the "per day",

 

but , is it ..."per person" or ..."per cabin" ... per day.

 

I believe per person as "fares" are typically per person not per cabin.

 

 

Gotcha. I agree with you that it is per person. 

It's per day. It states it in 3 places.

Join our Standby List! For $49 a day, you can enjoy extraordinary value on an unforgettable cruise vacation this year.* 

will be required to make full payment on the Cruise’s reduced cruise fare of $49 per day (for first two guests in a stateroom) at the time you are placed on the Cruise’s standby list.

$49 per day fare amount

14 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

I just found a photo of 8045 and it does appear to be a large inside.  So, maybe I've been paying a few dollars more for a J when I could have an I and still have all that room (and not have to worry about being under BB Kings! 

In your opinion, would that cabin have any noise issues caused from being under the Lido deck? 

On 11/10/2023 at 3:02 AM, Haljo1935 said:

My experience aligns with this.

My experience was different. We did a B2B for a total of 21 days this spring with 2 booking numbers and received $125 on each cruise. 🤷‍♀️

4 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

LOL.  I am not even interested in how many medallions we have.  In fact, I think DW has likely just thrown away all that stuff.  It cracks me up when we see some HAL cruisers actually wearing those tacky things....but everyone to their own taste.  We once tried to sell some medallions and HAL pins at one of the onboard auctions (HAL does this towards the end of some cruises) but HAL had a rule that you could not sell those particular items.

If you didn't want them and find them tacky, why did you take them? My husband and I always get 2 tiles each cruise (when they have them) but we always leave one in the room. I don't need 2.

The itinerary stickers and books they left on our recent cruises, I took one home and left the other one. 

People, just because HAL gives them to you, doesn't mean you have to accept them. 

Your pictures are wonderful. I would suggest people go to your blog to see the others not posted here. I'm enjoying my armchair travel. Thanks for taking the time to post. 

25 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

The lifeboat configuration is likely to be different on the Koningsdam from the other Pinnacle ships.  The Koningsdam was the first of the Pinnacle class ships and the lifeboat configuration does not allow passage through the Panama Canal (except with special permission during the Covid shutdown).  The Nieuw Statendam and the Rotterdam will have a somewhat different placement from the Koningsdam.

Shoot, that probably would make a difference. Sorry, @LAFFNVEGAS, the ball appears to be back in your court. 

It does appear that the few other pictures of the lifeboats, show more obstruction. Unfortunately, there is not a picture that is positioned like H4138. 

@FlorenceItaly, here's a YouTube video from VH4041 that shows, at least, the height of the lifeboat through the glass doors.

@FlorenceItaly 

I should clarify what I meant to say. That picture is actually H4128 but it is in the same position as H4138 relative to the lifeboat. You can check it out for yourself at cruisedeckplans.com to ease your mind.

I shouldn't try to text my daughter and write a post on CC at the same time.

1 hour ago, FlorenceItaly said:

Thank you, but please do not go to any trouble.  It is odd the picture on halfacts shows no life boat visible.  Regardless, I am happy.

I found this on cruisedeckplans. This is cabin H4138 from the Nieuw Statendam, but the deck plan looks the same as the Koningsdam. I hope it's correct and I believe you've made a nice switch in cabins.

12 hours ago, oakridger said:

The negative is that the Advantage Fare isn't listed on the website, you have to ask your TA or HAL consultant what that fare is.

You can find the Advantage Fare if you go through some of the links from the travel agencies that are promoted on Cruise Critic. It may take a while to find one, but they are out there. 

1 hour ago, barb-ottawa said:

Don't know if you can access this, but here goes. And no, they weren't new to HAL. They are on the Rotterdam until February.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzMPOCKOLt4/

 

We saw them(well, 1 guy was different) onboard the Rotterdam, Nov-Dec 2021. For me, they were among some of the best Rock and Roll I've ever seen on a ship. 

9 hours ago, sawasdee said:

 Are there any noise issues from the deck below in the Verandah cabins deck 4 mid/aft area on Rotterdam?  Those extended balconies looks great but deciding between booking there or deck 5 with cabins above and below. Thank you! 

We stayed in 4192 for 3 weeks. We did not have any noise issues, either from below or above.

The only problem we had was leaving Half Moon Cay. Someone above us decided to empty their shoes, beach towels or something, because our verandah was covered in sand. We had to call the steward. It was all over the chairs too.

I'm very glad you had a nice cruise and I'm really glad you took us with you! I've enjoyed every post, 

13 hours ago, ldlewis45 said:

I'd love to get a decent bottle of bourbon to have in my stateroom for when I'm chilling on the balcony (it's an AMAZING balcony, lol).  Problem is, the only bourbon that they offer on the website to buy in advance is Jim Beam, which isn't gonna cut it, lol.  Can you purchase a full bottle at one of the bars and just keep it in your stateroom?  I really don't feel like having to run out to one of the bars when I'm enjoying the balcony.  I know they won't have my preferred brands on board (they're from small-batch distilleries), but I'd be satisfied with Maker's Mark or Woodford Reserve.

 

In the past we have been able to purchase this through room service. 

I love Amsterdam and I appreciate you sending me down memory lane today. Thanks for posting your  pictures.

1 hour ago, Shmoo here said:

Thank you!  It's the first time we've been able to book a cruise with included packages and I'm still figuring things out.

The drink plans are freeing if you know the value for your drinking habits. We don't have to worry about Happy Hours and we can get good coffee and water without thinking about it. 

If you desire a drink that is over the allotted $15 cost of drinks in the Elite package, you will only pay the difference in price but they will add the 18% gratuity to that overage. Example: your drink is $18. You will pay $3 plus 18% for that particular drink.

Gratuities are included-18%

6 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

Try submitting both at the same time.  Others have reported getting it.

 

That is exactly what we did.

We did a 10 day cruise and a 11 day cruise B2B and received the $250 split $125 for each cruise. 

My husband has family that lived in Amstelveen. The first time he visited them, during a walk around the neighborhood, my husband commented on all the windows without curtains. His uncle replied that the Dutch were too polite to look into the houses of other people.

35 minutes ago, kazu said:

So, first of all, a bit more on Banks.  it is basically all included.

We ♥️ the Banks Mansion. Do they no longer have the bar in your room? I can understand why this could have been discontinued. Enjoy your stay!

19 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

I can sympathize, as I've had some watches over the years that were uncomfortable to sleep in. Fortunately, I could put them on the bedside table and, as they had big faces with luminous hands and numbers, I was able to read them without even having to lift my head from the table. My wife could never do that with her dainty little watches.

I can't even read my phone without my glasses. 

I had a travel clock that I bought from LL Bean 100 years ago and it was about the size of a playing card. The numbers were about an inch in size. It was nice because it was dark at night until you tapped it and then it would illuminate. It was perfect but over the years it quit working for some reason and of course, they no longer make them.

12 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

 

LOL. This 75 year old boomer has been wearing a watch since he was a pre-teen. Night or day, wherever I am, checking the time is instantaneous, no need to find a clock or my iPhone. My Gen X kids laughed at me, although my son finally saw the light and bought an Apple Watch. 😇 

I just do not like sleeping in a watch. I have tried for a few years with my Fitbit. I can only manage about 5 days. I'm also someone who takes off their wedding rings and earrings every night too.

29 minutes ago, joannelj said:

Why are the L and N cabins bad?  I think I was looking at an L as a possibility, but I can't get the website to load right now.

They aren't bad. They are just small and they are usually far forward or aft.

https://cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/slideshow-cabin.php?ship=Nieuw-Amsterdam&cabin=7096

12 minutes ago, Duane S. said:

Another newly to HAL question or two

If you have the signature Bev pkg and it is happy hour at the bar, how do you take advantage of it? Is it 2 for 1, meaning you get 2 drinks but are only hit for 1 drink on your daily limit, or are you hit for 2 drinks?  Since the price is included that is not the issue, so how does HAL handle it?

 

Also, I have not seen any mention of an alarm clock in the cabins, or even just a clock in the cabin.  we are in an inside cabin so we definitely won't see sunrise lol, I just need to know if I should bring an alarm clock.

 

thanks for any help

If you have the Bev pkg, my advice is to avoid happy hour. It is super crowded. The 2 for 1 doesn't apply. You have a total of 15 drinks, be they alcoholic or non-alcoholic. The reason we chose the Bev pkg is because it freed us up from having to be somewhere at a particular time to receive the discount.

Also, no clocks in the cabins that I've been in. I just usually use my phone but after 21 days on my most recent cruise in an inside cabin, I've decided to look for a small battery operated clock to pack. I don't always have my phone sitting within arms reach and sometimes I just want to know what time it is.