Destiny0315

Well reading further the CDC details about the 12 breakouts aboard ships this year you'll find that RCCL had 4 unknown on 3 ships, Princess 2 unknown 1 Noro on 3 ships, Celebrity 3 all Noro on 3 ships, P&O 1 unknown on 1 ship, and HAL 1 unknown on 1 ship. The Rotterdam is not that one ship.

Ok so I stand corrected. Thanks for sharing official info and not just rumors about outbreaks on ships from pax and unnamed sources.

Why is this thread still here when there is no evidence of an outbreak of any size on the Rotterdam or any HAL ship at the moment! If you want to talk about Noro go to the Celebrity forum where they are dealing with a good size one that they just had on the Summit.🤔

Well I posted this article here because I have heard in person on a recent Canada/New England cruise and also read on Cruise Critic about typical flight problems and bus transportation issues that people have had getting to and from cruises in this region. So this offers another way of getting to the cruise that they may have not thought of, but yes train service has its own issues with reliability and service delays.

So you, me, and the article all agree, essentially the same instrument that is visually indistinguishable whose name changes only based on where it is played and what music is being played on it.

No stretch at all. The instruments are one in the same and only the setting in which they are used changes the name. In fact I use neither term in my description of the instruments. https://www.dictionary.com/e/fiddle-vs-violin/

I agree it is not something you do on a tight schedule and it only works with the day before and overnight figured in. If extra pre and post cruise time is available it seems like an economical way for families and friends to experience train travel who may not have before.

Amtrak offers an alternative to flying or driving to get to the Montreal or Quebec City ports from the Northeast United States and here is a new review of the service which has re-started after a three year hiatus. It also provides another way for Canadians to get to the NYC area ports. https://www.insider.com/amtrak-adirondack-train-from-new-york-city-to-montreal-2023-5

This unique table near the computers on the Zaandam had one of the only classical instruments I saw(none were heard)during two recent weeks onboard. Ironically seeing again on this cruise Sydney, Nova Scotia's most iconic symbol was just another reminder.

I would be very curious what your D to B ratio* is per day?🙂 *drinks to bathroom visits

Here is Conde Nast's Best Cruise Lines of The World Readers Choice Awards from last October 2022 for a more accurate comparison of the mixed bag that the cruise world offers: https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/best-cruise-lines-in-the-world-2022

Two weeks ago on a late morning tender going from the Zaandam to Bar Harbor, around six armed immigration agents joined us for the ride. I commented to the person next to me that no pirates were going to hijack this boat!

Like any best of list it's subjective but still an interesting read. The lines are ranked by their overall rating. https://www.thetravel.com/best-cruise-lines-in-the-us-ranked-by-rating/#azamara

I am not sure if he was on that first cruise down to Boston from April 29-May 6, but for some reason he seemed to have jumped ship after the Zaandam re-entered Canada on May 8.

I saw no major infractions of the former dress codes during the last two weeks, but not surprised because with this cruise and especially this time of the year people are not coming from day long visits to any beach and then less likely to dress up for the evening. Sometimes right now the MDR people are having trouble just seating people without long waits so they certainly don't have time to check out what anyone is wearing.

The programs for the two cruises on May 6-13 and May 13-20 listed a Catholic Mass at 5pm on only the two days of that first weekend and after that it was just listed as evening prayers at 5pm.

Any of the D cabins are positioned nicely for easy access to elevators, stairs, and exits out to the promenade deck. The ones closest to the Atrium are quiet and offer quick access to the bars, casino, and stores, just two floors up. These also have nice large glass enclosed showers with rain shower heads, foot bars etc... Avoid those cabins right next to those promenade deck doorways as sometimes when those heavy doors slam because of the wind it can rattle the room walls.

Oh no we're are being marked? I thought they said that there would be no pop quizzes.😃

It must have been an interesting screen showing on the ships scanner with those souvenirs when you were getting back onboard. 😀

The Zaandam had a large square box sitting at the end of the Guest Relations counter with a large photo of the Hotel Director on it. There were old school paper forms to fill out and deposit in the box for whatever you wanted to crow or squawk about that was happening on the ship. At least a couple of people I knew on the ship filled them out daily, and sometimes more than once a day. One of them later received a personal response to a question by the CD Daniel Edward. So not only is the little Z the oldest ship left in the fleet it's staff is still hanging on to some of those old school ideas that made HAL what it was a couple of decades past.

🤔Each other!

Yes the Ocean Bar is the most efficient one on the ship as the coolers are directly behind the bar. They have more servers that are active and crowd friendly also. The weekly bar hop is started there for a reason as they create the best party atmosphere on the ship.

Being a long time cruiser of multiple lines means that someone has had the time and the means to do so. So at one time many of those people were happy with what HAL was doing and now many of those same people are not, like yourself. So at least you are straight forward and say that you won't cruise with them again unless things change, but some come on here to actively disparage the line yet still continue to book cruises with them. Just like I have been told that I can pass by and ignore threads like that, why cant those people just pass by HAL and stop cruising and posting about them especially if they have the time and means. It's like standing in a Walmart and telling people why they shouldn't shop there anymore because they aren't like they use to be and Target etc...is better. As for the Zaandam and Volendam they are two of quite a few ships that CCL will have to retire from their multiple lines within the next few years. I said in my posts that all was well for the most part on the Zaandam in the accommodation side of things and that the ship was visibly being maintained. But that doesn't mean that there are not issues with some physical items within the ship. I saw a first hand example late last week of that when a door to the promenade deck fell off it hinges to the floor right in the atrium area! Finally as I stated in an earlier post Azamara came up in conversation at a couple of different dinner tables last week as the current line of choice of some very experienced travelers who were on the cruise.

There isn't a question asked in the OP entire post. It was as she said her personal thoughts which were based widely on many recent posts on CC. Nothing wrong with that but she clearly cast a pall over HAL and its fleet in general which may or may not be true based on ones personal thoughts and experiences. Btw, the most positive buzz I heard about other lines on my cruise was about Azamara.

No they are not. That's why people should not generalize either way about the entire book if they have only read one or two of the eleven chapters.