Harry1954

very nice review .. thanks for the pics as that really added spice to it.

harry

thanks for the informative review.

harry

DW prefers diet tonic due to her having to limit sugar intake ... it has been on all our HAL cruises in recent years .. the only issue, and it was mentioned earlier, is if it is sufficiently stocked for the whole cruise.

harry

I have not noticed slowness and use Firefox .. but the popups have always been a nuisance. Also, you ask the dumb thing to remember the login but it only remembers it once ..

harry

We have always used the ones provided in the suite and they work very well. If you have any problem with them, you take them to the concierge and they replace them - which happened twice over the years for us.

harry

we sure have enjoyed our investment - anyone who cruises regularly with Carnival lines would be crazy not to buy at least 100 shares if they can afford it.

harry

We have completed three WCs on the Amsterdam and, like the rest of the 83%, love the ship. I can not image crossing the South Pacific without an aft pool. Also, the lanai concept would not be welcomed IMHO by most WCers .. the promenade deck is where all the exercising in the fresh air takes place - daily - for all 115 or so days.

We are signed up for our fourth WC and would most likely cancel if that ship were to replace the current one as two of our regular routines would be hampered significantly.

harry

My best penguin viewing was Volenteer Point on the Falkland Islands. We have also seen penguins up close in Puenta Arenas, Puerto Madryn Argentina and South Africa. Volenteer Pount had huge colony of King Penguins who are actually more colorful than their big brothers, the Emperor Penguin. There were also a colony of Magellenic and Gentoo penguins. The Gentoo in particular come extremely close.

 

So I also don't feel deprived in doing just a drive-by in Antarctica. The scenery is so soectular. Plus, we saw not only penguins. We saw seals and whales.

that was DW's and my experience on our last HAL cruise to that neck of the world. At the Falklands, we could literally walk up to the penguins when taking pictures.

harry

it sounds like an interesting, new venue for eating. makes me think of the agriturismo eating in Italy.

harry

we took one of our grandsons (age 11 at the time) on the Zaandam and he had a great time. he ordered off the children's menu the first night but didnt like the pizza. Next night he ordered a regular strip steak - loved it and ordered it every night thereafter ..

HAL Club was great .. he met other kids his age and then clicked.

harry

I wouldn't expect any cruise on the Rotterdam to be a Grand Voyage, even though the Rotterdam often takes what calls "Extended Cruises". What does surprise me is that the Amsterdam's 53 day "Tales of the South Pacific" cruise this fall was not marketed as a Grand Voyage and it is priced as a regular cruise. For example, an inside cabin on this 53 day cruise is in the brochure at $4599. while the 56 day Grand Med on the Prinsendam next March is listed at $7999. So you pay more, but you get more on a Grand Voyage in my opinion, and we have been on three of them.

Prinsendam is priced higher than other ships on a regular basis, so that is probably not a good comparison.

harry

this thread was fun to read .. now I am drooling .. miss the salad bars!

harry

Livorno - the Cinque Terre tour is quite spectacular - we have done it several times when docking in Livorno; trip to Lucca is great but Pisa is a bust imho

Monte Carlo - just walking around is quite nice; we have done tours to Nice (wine tour); Eze and surrounding villages is quite lovely

Barcelona - besides the spectacular Sagrada Familia the other tour worth considering if available is the one to the Monastary of the Black Madonna at Montserrat.

harry

Ever since a hurricane hit Half Moon Cay several years ago, there is zilch for snorkeling .. I wouldn't waste my time even trying ... just enjoy the beach and the food.

We have done this often, but it does depend on a) wind conditions, b) rain c) what is going on in MDR as we dont want to miss the more elegant evenings

Barring the above, it is a very lovely way to spend the evening as long as you're not alone!

harry

often it is an upscale meal .. when there are too many folks for the Pinnacle or there is a conflict, they have had it in the Crow's Nest. Usually though it is in the Pinnacle.

We have always enjoyed it and often one gets to dine with some of the officers on a more relaxed basis.

harry

DW uses the greenies .. and they werent on either of the summer cruises we did ... she knows to bring her own.

harry

I prefer to make my own salad and will be frustrated with the change. However, DW will be elated - she is violently allergic to egg and on our most recent cruise, she made her salad as she does every day, sat down to eat it, took one bite and got very, very ill.

Sorry for the graphic detail next, but obviously she had ingested some egg and was in dispose for a full day. Fortunately, I didnt have to use the epi-pen this time as she threw up almost immediately.

We figured out after I revisited the salad bar once I had her put to bed that someone had slopped dressing that contained egg in it on one of the condiments but it was hard to see without looking closely.

The mistake that was made was putting the dressings half way thru the salad bar line - usually it is at the end of it. I pointed this out to the person in charge and they changed it the next day.

So for her it will be better .. for me, I like everyone else will just cope.

harry

DW was very much against ever taking this trip. However, we finally did it in 2014 and it was wonderful. The Cape was very tumultuous as we had 100mph winds per the screen on TV ... but it was a bit hilarious to us as the drawers in our room kept opening and closing as the ship would tilt to one side as the winds came horizontally on the other side of the ship. Then they would stop for a minute and the ship would right itself .. then they would push it over again .. this went on for several hours but it never seemed to be a situation that the staff couldn't handle.

The stops on both side of SA were spectacular. Ecuador was great, the Falklands were a real hoot .. and navigating across to the penguin colony for 2 hours was interesting .. with the reward of being up close to them when we arrived.

Santiago was a great place to end the cruise as we had a chance to stop in Valparaiso at Neruda's house and then at a wine vineyard on the way to Santiago. Then taking in that wonderful city was a treat unto itself.

harry

I have a mobility issue too and I use a cane for mobility. The crew in the Lido has been more than accommodating to help me with my plate. I do prefer to dine in the MDR as much as possible as I tend to enjoy the ambiance there. If you just smile and ask a steward, I'm sure they will lend a helping hand.

This is very true and on each of the ships we have been on. We noticed that they will visually recognize those in need after the first time or so and head over to help them.

harry

If you request hors d'ouerves for 4 people, the amount the deliver is usually enough for 6 or 8 people. :)

Yes, that is exactly what has happened to us several times. We are almost embarrassed about the amount of leftover food. However it is to HAL's desire to provide quality food/service that we must tip our hats.

harry

... and ... if you want to host some friends, the concierge will have more food than you probably will need delivered. All is required is letting them know the number of folks, the time, and what types of appetizers you want.

harry

We generally are able to take earlier flight than that. The only times I saw problems were at the peak of Spring Break where the airport on several occasions seemed chaotic. The lines were very long as was the wait unless one is first class or other special considerations.

When we have been concerned about that, we would book a later flight and then about 80 % of the time we were successful. That only works if there are sufficient flights to your destination.

harry

While the rate at sea for ATT is expensive, if you need to communicate with our office as I do sometimes, it is imperative that it be available. Thus, it is good that it is available.

Unfortunately, when the ship is in certain areas, one doesnt have service.

while the rate is high, if it is for business purposes, then it is much easier tg accept.

harry

When we boarded Veendam last month, I had two bottles in a tote bag. When we got to the security scan (after checking in, but before boarding), I asked the x-ray guys to be careful with that bag because it had wine in it. The bag was whisked off the belt BEFORE it even got to the x-ray and was taken over the the alcohol table. As soon as I was through the security check, I went to the table, showed the HAL employee the two bottles, and he wrote down our cabin number. Since there were only two bottles, there were no stickers or corkage fees. By the way the security guy (who I would think is a port employee not a HAL employee) grabbed that bag, I could see that HAL is SERIOUS about the alcohol policy.

 

BTW, has anyone else noticed that when you print out your luggage tags, there is a notice about the alcohol policy? You can't say you weren't warned. ;)

What they are doing is speeding up the process by screening before you get on ship. At our last two embarkations this summer, both of them had us go to the table before scan where we declared the wine we were bringing onboard. Much more efficient than clogging up the gangway area IMHO.

harry