Harry1954

Having sailed many times on both ships, KK's post above is fully on target.  Given a tie, I would opt for Amsterdam as it is indeed a little more cozy.

harry

He and his lovely wife Karen have truly endeared themselves to everyone who have sailed with them.  My DW and I have had the pleasure of four world cruises with them and can attest to this fact directly.

A simple example of his dedication to not only his work, but also to those with whom he is entrusted is the picture enclosed.  It was taken from one of Bruce's famous Mystery Dinners in the WC 2013.  Here is the master of the ship dressed up as a silly sailor guy in order to both support and participate in the antics surrounding this hilarious and, IMHO, greatly missed special event. 

His calm and self effacing personality makes him loved by all ... we will miss him on future cruises.

harry/DW

6 hours ago, sail7seas said:

 

 

When ever we sailed Neptunes on "S " class ships and Rotterdam and /amsterdam, we always had the dressing room sink.  I jus returned from two weks on  Zaandam  and there was no dressing room sink .  Even though I was soloin  t he cabin I mised that sink.   We sailed Zaandam in the past  in Neptune suites    and I did not reacall if there previosuly had been a sink there but I suspect there was?.  Perhaps they may  be removing    many? on some of the   ships?

 

Sorry, but the sink is gone on the Amsterdam.  We were on the WC2019 and they just removed it.  Naturally, they didnt consider the very basic concept of where the plumbing was, put the dang trash can.  It is still out by the closet doors and a nuisance as always.  We kept going in where the small sink was to get water or dump liquid ... felt dumb for sure.

They were originally planning on removing tubs and putting in walk-in showers, but as the Hotel Manager indicated, no clue why they didn't.

Hope all is well with you ....

harry

 

18 hours ago, Scrapnana said:

Unless you absolutely have to have control over your booking, a good travel agent is always a bonus IMHO.  I have always received some perks that the cruise line has not offered through a TA.

I agree completely.  There is nothing to lose and much to gain by employing a TA - and it doesn't have to be the same each cruise.

harry

It worked for us when we were there in 2015

On 12/6/2018 at 10:18 PM, Copper10-8 said:

Spaghetti, Veal and Gnocchi with the three Limoncello samplers for desert; delizioso! 

 

That reminded me ... another I like is to take the spaghetti dish and have them put the meatballs ( polpettine ) on top ...

harry

On 12/6/2018 at 7:01 PM, a.madruga said:

HARRY IS THAT A KEESHOND?

 

No, but you are close .. it is a black and tan Pomeranian ... our second.

harry

we love Canalleto ... so many great dishes ..

some of our favorites are the poplettine, zuppa di pesce, and the veal ...

as well as the salads ... much more fun than the scaled down menu at Pinnacle Grill - we miss the old ways there.

harry

It use to be an issue  with luggage, but the last couple of years they have really improved the process - very easy now.  There is no special processing either other than the normal security scan of any carryon stuff

harry

Maybe they don't appreciate the veterans quite as much as other entities such as Home Depot and Lowe's for instance.  Oh well, strategic decisions are difficult.

harry

How about the Neptune Suites? Anyone have anything on them since drydock?

harry

Are you using the most up to date Firefox version? I'm not have trouble using Firefox 62.0.2

 

On a Windows 10 Home, version 1803 laptop.

ditto with me

harry

We did the deluxe HAL excursion and it was fabulous. This one included the Hiram Bingham train to MP with a white glove lunch and return dinner. They also had a Club car and live music for us.

The actual time in MP was just about the right amount. Further, we spent time in the Sacred Valley as well.

Very well done and worth every dollar IMHO.

harry

I make a habit of getting cracked eggs scrambled to order. I started this a couple years ago when the scrambled eggs started tasting like they did in the Army. Now, I enjoy them better.

harry

The 2019 World Cruise had Bermuda on the itinerary ... we were excited as that is a great place to stop. Then a year later, they removed it.

I suspect either $$ or politics.

Anyway it was disheartening that they removed it.

Obviously, they thought the Amsterdam (R-class) would fit!

harry

There indeed will be occasional chair scraping when cleaning deck or preparing for an event ... but if it is a problem, a complaint to concierge usually causes it to stop, except for pax doing it.

Regarding the overhang, if you plan to sit out on verandah for sunning yourself - you are going to have a problem because the sun only is on part of the deck most of the time - but AK trip is not the choice time to do that.

Otherwise, it is a great choice.

harry

Two years ago we did an AK with one of our daughters (47) and her husband (50+) and they had a great time. We (being oldies) would go to bed at 9:30 or 10 and they would dance, party and sometimes Karaoke among other things. They still talk about how much fun they had - and this was not their first cruise.

I suspect you will have a great time and, speaking from the parents perspective, you will definitely please them by going ..

harry

There are a couple of NW wines they serve that are very nice .. Betz Pere de Famille and Silverado ... those would be great choices!

harry

We took our grandchildren 8 and 11 on AK cruise 2017 for 14 days and they had a great time. a) Hal CLub was perfect for them; b) being AK cruise, there were others their age on the cruise; c) Ak sights were great oo.

If you have time in Anchorage, I suggest taking the free bus to the zoo - the kids loved it.

harry

We took Amsterdam to AK year before last for 14 days with our daughter/husband and grandchildren. It was a wonderful cruise. This is the right size ship for that type of itinerary IMHO. We have also been on four world cruises on the same ship and loved every minute of each one of them.

harry

The hair dryer works quite well according to my DW. We have stayed in a suite many times on various HAL and she always has used it - including four world cruises.

So, leave the travel one behind as she always does when we go on HAL.

harry

They always operate and the crew that is assigned does a marvelous job catering to the few children and adapting to the ages involved.

I wouldn't worry about this at all. We have had great success with our grandchildren .. and they loved Club Hal irrespective of the number of other kids.

harry

Sometimes I feel like the S & R class ships are "ghost ships" - there are so few photos/videos of their interiors that are current. Hopefully by the end of the Alaska season this year someone will post a good visual review of the interiors of Amsterdam!

Yes I agree ... they appear to be the ugly sisters of the new fleet.

harry

Thank you for the post. It reinforces our view that HAL is reducing the value of Neptune suites and that the grass may well be greener elsewhere. We are definitely looking elsewhere for 2020 and beyond as we are disappointed in the general direction HAL is going - think Carnival.

harry

the new web site is really a waste of time. Whoever designed it seems never to have taken a cruise or used the HAL site in the past. It's as bad a design as the new Pinnacle ships. It's much easier to call them or a travel agent.As a 5* I just won't bother trying to find any information on line.

I agree that the new website is horrible ... I have written software for fifty years including web development for the last ten years and not often seen something this atrocious.

harry