barb-ottawa

19 hours ago, MARLEY225 said:

I was just on this ship late January into February.  The lido pool has an up stair deck where there are lounge chars that face the sea and are totally shaded.  You might enjoy this in lieu of the lack of deck chairs on the Promenade.

Is this outside?

Sailing on the Koningsdam in March - first time on this class of ship. On other HAL ships, we have enjoyed the lounge chairs on the Promenade decks looking out over the ocean. I understand this is not available on the Koningsdam. Where can one enjoy the ocean and relative quiet on a lounge chair in the shade on this ship (we do not have a verandah)?

We paid less than $1400 for both of us for an oceanview room. We don't spend a lot of time in our room, so the room category and size was of no significance to us. 

Boarding the Veendam a week from today and hoping we don't have too many issues, particularly with plumbing and A/C. Got a fantastic price for this cruise so will bear that in mind if we encounter problems. It will be warmer than where I am, so will go with a positive outlook.

My husband will be disappointed with Deck 3 being narrow and without lounge chairs. This is where he spends his days, relaxing and looking at the ocean through the rails. We will have to find an alternative location on our cruise in March. 

Can anyone tell me if the unlimited Social Media Internet Package that NCL offers at $14.99 per day is available on the Jade? Am booked in October, but it doesn't give me the option to pre-purchase this package.

We just booked the Jade for an 8-night Southern Caribbean cruise leaving Miami on October 15th, with stops in Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. Not a charter - on the schedule.

Just curious - when is your booking? I'm on the Eurodam on March 25th and was hoping we'd miss spring break. :(

OVGirl - we arrived at Terminal 26.

Just off the Eurodam and can confirm that there was NO SMOKING allowed in the casino. Still lost money, but more enjoyable.

Downloaded the app for our Nov. 19th cruise on the Eurodam. Completed all the information on the ship, no problem. Saved enough internet minutes to complete all that was necessary on the morning of disembarkation at 8 a.m. All the required options were available to chose, i.e. Port Everglades, terminal number, etc. Took our time at breakfast because we were not concerned about any lineups since we had the magic app. Entered the terminal and asked where the Mobile Passport lineup was. Response was "there isn't one". Did not believe him so I asked another person, same response. So we had to get in the lineup. When we finally got to the customs agent, I said I was disappointed that the Mobile Passport was not available. She told me they didn't have a scanner in that terminal. Boo. When I got home last night, I posted this on the Mobile Passport page on Facebook and got a response from them saying they checked and it was definitely available in that terminal that day. I responded that if that was the case, then that made my experience even more annoying. :mad:

Just off the Eurodam and we all gathered at our stations in the sun and heat and waited for our room number to be called out. We used to go early to these drills as it is in our nature to be on time, but now we plan to arrive late so that we do not have to be smushed in the middle.

Who is the best person to ask which terminal you are in when you arrive?

Does Port Everglades have wifi so that I can use Mobile Passport on my ipad as I don't have a data plan?

Hope to be able to use this app in Port Everglades when I return on the Eurodam on November 26th. I am still unclear about whether Port Everglades has wifi available as I do not have data on my phone or ipad. I know that I can complete all the info on the ship with my internet plan, but I'm assuming i will need wifi for my ipad at customs.:confused:

The unlimited internet plan on the Westerdam is a terrific package at a very reasonable price. I think mine was $75 for a 7 days Caribbean cruise which included everything but streaming. This internet packaging was supposed to be available on all the HAL ships by the end of this year - or so they told me - but it doesn't look like it is going to happen anytime soon. Disappointing, because it is a great package.

We were on the Westerdam last October on a Caribbean route and I was able to purchase the unlimited internet - middle package (no streaming) - for $75 for the week. I was incredibly impressed with my internet experience - both in terms of cost and quality. I was told that this ship had the new WiFi@Sea and eventually all the HAL ships would be so equipped by the end of this year. On the Nieuw Amsterdam in March, it was a different story. I had to purchase a 200 minute package which was $99 for the week and I was continuously frustrated with my minutes ticking away with slow service. Pricing and accessibility should be consistent across the fleet.

Is there somewhere on the HAL website that one can look to see if there is a large group booked on your sailing? It's too late for me to change anything for my March 20th cruise, but I would like to be prepared.

When we went through Port Everglades in October, we didn't have Nexus and were able to disembark with our luggage at 7:30 am and were at the airport by 8:15 - no waiting, no hassles. Has this changed?

I was on the Westerdam in October. It was my 10th cruise, but my first with HAL, so I didn't know what to expect. I was extremely pleased with the DINING room service and menu. I had absolutely no complaints about my stateroom, it was clean and well taken care of. Loved the Pinnacle, Dive-In, the MDR, the buffet and, of course, the bread pudding. I found the entertainment more than acceptable. The woman on the steel drum was great, the band in the blues club was terrific and we enjoyed some, not all, of the shows in the theatre. We enjoyed HAL so much that we have booked the Nieuw Amsterdam in March and can't wait. :)

So if I need to check my email in addition to Facebook, then the Social plan is not sufficient, right?

Confused too. Does that mean an enhanced plan at $60 for a 7 day cruise would mean unlimited internet (no max minutes) for the entire cruise, i.e. no requirement to sign in and out? If so, that's great. On the Westerdam in October.

Am sailing on the Westerdam - I believe that's a Vista ship. So there will be a fridge in an inside cabin?

Forgive me if this question has been answered, but sailing on my HAL cruise and have just read 34 pages of these tips and now can't recall what was said about mini fridges in inside cabins. Have sailed NCL and Celebrity previously and all ships had fridges. My husband has medications that require refrigeration. Thanks!

It is amazing to me how this topic evokes such strong opinions and feelings. On 8 cruises with NCL, their "dress up or not" nights saw many people in gowns and tuxes, others dressed smart casual, but not once did I ever encounter a guest in the MDR in a bathrobe.....please.:rolleyes: