barbon2

I never judge anyone’s attire, and to be honest, I have never noticed tank tops and shorts in the MDR on any cruise I have taken. I see people in all types of attire at night. Never assume. We tend to dine late some evenings, so I may be dressed casually at 6 pm when someone is dressed for dinner and have not yet changed. Some people may dress casually and order room service or grab the buffet. And some may change after dinner to go to a show or have a drink. To each their own.

We are in the same “Target Market “ as you. We are actually going back to HAL in January because of the music walk. Our last few Caribbean cruises have been on Crystal (no longer here) and Oceania. We found Oceania lovely with great food. However, when doing the Caribbean, we love the entertainment at night. Since the Caribbean isn’t port intensive for us, we love the choice of entertainment on HAL. Our last HAL cruise was in 2016 on the Koningsdam and we are looking forward to the Rotterdam. I’m not saying this with malice, but the OP might enjoy Oceania.

Thank you everyone for your comments. Barbara

I’m not trying to start a “cruise board dress code war”, but what would you say is the average dress code for men on these nights. Our last few Caribbean Cruises before Covid were on Crystal and Oceania which were both country club causal. Our last HAL cruise I believe was in 2016. We are going on the Rotterdam in January and we are not sure how dressed up or down these nights are. I am thanking everyone in advance for their input. Barb

I accidentally posted it twice, so I removed one. Sorry.

Thank you.

Does the main dining room on the Rotterdam have a few standard “staples” on the menu each night? Thanks

Does the main dining room on the Rotterdam have a few standard “staples” on the menu each night? Thanks

Thank you. That’s the same way it worked on Celebrity. Honestly, I drank much more fresh brewed iced tea then alcohol, so for me it’s a win win situation.

How about specialty coffees and teas in the Dutch Cafe? We were on Celebrity in July and they were considered part of the drink package.

We are doing a similar cruise with HAL, end of January into the beginning of February. We do not stop at Bonaire but have mostly the same ports. Hopefully, those who are going before us can report on what they did at the different ports.

We cruised on Celebrity in July. At that point, all had to be vaccinated and monitored tested 48 hours prior. People still got Covid on board.

I am going on these dates and did not know about the slot tournament. I once did Canada on HAL and there was a poker tournament. We did have some venues closed, and people did not adhere to dress codes at all. (This was maybe 15 years ago and the dress code was different). Poker can be held anywhere on the ship, it’s more mobile then slots, so I don’t think it will interfere with the cruise.

I was just curious, that’s all. I know they are never on the first or last nights. It’s a 10 day Caribbean, so I’m also assuming sea days. I will re-post my question when the Rotterdam begins this route.

Does anyone have any idea which nights will be “gala” nights on the Rotterdam Caribbean sailings in January/February 2023? Thanks!

Thanks for all of your replies. I appreciate it!

Thanks everyone for your replies. Things are so crazy with cruising and everything else, so I was glad to hear from some recent cruisers.

We are booking our first post Covid cruise on Oceania. We always have an excellent cruise with them. Lately, I’m reading some very negative reviews. Has anyone had a recent experience with them? Thanks!

We also sailed on Celebrity for many years and switched to O a few years ago. (We also liked Crystal. We love O, and have sailed on both the small and larger ships. We love the atmosphere on O and feel that there is a more intimate vibe on their ships. That being said, if you are more into a late night party atmosphere, you may not like O. Ironically, we just completed our first post Covid cruise and it was on Celebrity from Bayonne to Bermuda. Due to time constraints, we were unable to do the Bermuda run on O from NYC. We were looking for something that was close in proximity to where we live and didn’t want to have too many ports to stop at. We had a nice cruise on Celebrity. The food was good and the entertainment typical for a ship. We are returning to O in January for a winter cruise. I’m not downing Celebrity, but as we get older, it’s just not want we typically want in a cruise vacation. It’s hard to articulate, but we just love the atmosphere, fellow guests and the food on O.

We probably will take a taxi. Do you know if they have plenty of chairs and umbrellas for rent?

Could you please verify which beach this is and how far from the port. It looks quieter then Horseshoe and we’re there plenty of chairs and umbrellas to rent. I am thanking you in advance for your answer and we are boarding the ship on Sunday. Thank you for posting on the boards during your cruise.

Hope to Celebrate your Birthday with you. We too are in Aqua Class. Barb and Jay

So will we. Looking forward to meeting everyone.

I’ve posted my solution to chair hogs on these boards several times over the years. Why doesn’t the cruise line assign chair tags based on the amount of people staying in the cabin for that particular cruise. If you are a party of 2, you receive 2 coded tags. This won’t solve the problem of people coming out at the crack of dawn to select their seats, but it would alleviate a party (for example) of two from taking their two chairs and two extra for their belongings.

Just saw this. Sorry about your loss. I had not been on cruise critic for a long time and when I went on, I saw a post from your husband. I said to him, wow, one of the originals. So sorry, my he Rest In Peace.