Real NHDOC

Out of curiosity, what ship was that??

I have made some waves onboard and got some conflicting information. Yesterday was day 1 of the cruise and therefore no happy hour anyway. I spoke to the activities host, Jose, and mentioned that the happy hour should be closer to trivia time (5pm). On Rotterdam it coincided with the 4pm lightning trivia which was always very full. 4-5PM is better than 3-4PM and traditionally Happy Hour is just before early dining. He said he would bring it up because he likes anything that brings more people into the activities. I also brought up the stinginess and he spoke to the bar staff who said they thought the special was 25% off drinks not 25% off the second drink. If true that would be better but the navigator still says 25% off the second drink. I just noticed that the daily planner has it as 25% off with no mention of the second drink. I also sent a note in through the navigator about it and will try and speak directly to Greg, the beverage manager about it too.

Yes, I will amend my previous statement that some breakfast items are actually prepared in the CO kitchen. I cracked the code this morning. The entrees served on orange plates are made in CO while those served on white plates come from the MDR kitchen. It seems like they make omelets in CO. The other day I had a crab benedict that was made in the MDR.

I was told the 50% policy is fleet wide but apparently the beverage manager on Nieuw Statendam hasn’t received the memo.

It’s just this ship that is so stingy. We just got off Rotterdam and it was 50% off any (first) drink. Same on Zuiderdam last fall. This one has always been terrible. Last year it was the same on here. We just stick to our wine package and skip the bars completely.

It’s official, the happy hour special is only 25% off the second drink! The worst special by far of any.

The luggage porters aren’t the same thing as longshoremen or stevedores but even if they earned 6 figures in San Francisco it’s barely a living wage out there. I have never had to rely upon them to move our stuff through customs or to the garage but I guess if I did I’d figure a tip out based upon the amount of time they spent helping me. $1 a minute or so is probably not unreasonable.

When the K-Dam and NS were built the CO dining rooms were actually designed as demonstration kitchens for events, not as club orange. They converted them to CO and for at least the past several years that we’ve been on pinnacle class ships the kitchens have been used only for the special entree. Maybe in the beginning they did more cooking in them but since at least 2019 they only serve food prepared in the main dining room kitchen with the exception of the nightly special. And all of the breakfasts come from the main dining room kitchen too.

Today’s Timmers quote: ”It’s the last day of the cruise but we will rock it until we dock it!”

Good point. I may have misunderstood the wording of the question. If the OP was asking about help with getting off the ship - from baggage claim out to the curb that’s more work. I would probably double the tip for that than for curbside service at check in since they do spend some time helping but it is still all discretionary and there is no set fee.

In answer to your question there is no fee. Tips are discretionary. I usually give them $5 for our 2-3 suitcases. They basically only load them onto the cart so don’t think it justifies anything more but like someone said some don’t tip anything and every tip is always appreciated by the guys.

It’s absolutely not the case on rotterdam. There is one cook and she only prepares the special. We asked and that was the answer.

Your best friend on the ship is the cellar master. If you ask them for recommendations they can substitute wine or find bottles that are supposedly unavailable. For example on this cruise there isn’t any St. Michelle Riesling onboard. But we we able to get the Eroica and Long Shadows Riesling on our package 1 and both are considered premium wines. The long shadows is $64 on the wine list so quite a nice upgrade.

You certainly can do that if you want but the preorder page asks where and when you want the package delivered. That doesn’t mean you physically receive anything other than the card.

I have seen those tea bags in the neptune lounge on rotterdam but can’t remember seeing them on the lido. Of course if you ask the neptune concierge for a few they will probably give them to you even if you are not in a suite.

Never been charged tax on any wine from the package. Only on cocktails when in port. I think because they charge the package either before or after the port calls specifically to avoid it.

Delivery is a misnomer. There is nothing to deliver except a note saying you bought the package. You order wine by the bottle as you want it. They will give it to you at any restaurant or room service will send a bottle (or more) directly to your cabin but the package is just the right to receive the certain number of bottles during the cruise. I always buy package 1 because we like the wine from it but more often than not they will substitute wine from the other packages or the wine list if you ask nicely. For example we often get the St. Michelle brut sparkling wine on our package even though it’s only on the wine list. Just ask for something else if you want it. Most times they are happy to accommodate you.

All of the food served in CO except for the club orange special is prepared in the MDR kitchen so there should be difference from eating in the MDR. The service and food in CO on Rotterdam has been excellent so far for us.

They will do twice a day service. During the restart it was hit and miss and they would ask what you preferred. Sometimes you have to ask for it on the first day but recently it’s been the default again without having to request it. Just talk with the steward and they’ll note that you want it. No problem at all once you request it.

It’s great that you aren’t bothered by the smell. To me it’s either smoke or the deodorants they use to cover it up but regardless I am probably more sensitive to it. Some nights it’s worse than others. Last year when they had banned all smoking indoors it was much more enjoyable. But fortunately for us we prefer the music that BB King’s plays and the larger dance floor so don’t have to deal with the nuisance in Rolling Stone.

He’s been back since 2/25

Yes, those preorder prices include the 18% gratuities, just like the specialty restaurant prices. Incidentally they do the same quirky thing with their restaurant discount as they do with the wine packages (they refund 50% of the full amount paid including tips). So you pay less for those too if you prebook them.

The physical venues are identical on all three Pinnacle class ships (K-Dam, R-Dam and N-S). They each have BB King’s, Rolling Stone Rock Room and Billboard Onboard. I concur that the BB King’s band presently on Rotterdam is the best we have ever experienced. Both singers are excellent and the musicians are all top notch. The addition of a trombone is an unexpected bonus that adds significantly to the mix. We don’t care for the Rolling Stone venue because it’s under the smoking casino and has too small a dance floor but we have walked through while they have been playing and they also seem to be great musicians. It’s just a shame they have to play in that area of the ship which smells like an ashtray.

I bought an 8 bottle cellar 1 package last week on Rotterdam and it was still discounted the old way (1.18 x $219=$258.42 - $109.50 = $148.92). When I pre ordered them I received the full discount of 50% off what I prepaid (1.18X$219 = $258.42 - $129.21=$129.21) so it seems like no change was made to the way the discount is applied to packages purchased on this ship (unless you preorder it).

My understanding is that Rotterdam is testing it and the others still have the old menu. No date for a full rollout yet.