fusion927

Is the bow access Wheelchair/scooter friendly? Thanks for all the pictures and information... About 41 days until we will be onboard!

My exact experience on the NS last October... Except one time when the fountain gun wasn't working (at the Grand Dutch Cafe), they gave me a can... When they try to give you a can, that's usually a clue they are going to try to charge you because they missed the Soda package sticker on your card. Had that happen a few times!

It's very possible (maybe even probably) that deleting the app does not clear the 'data' memory. So when you reinstall it, you still have the same (bad) data. I would delete the data and cache, then uninstall, and then reinstall and hopefully log back in. That worked with my Samsung S22. Mark

Thanks!

Love the reporting so far! Thank You! Quick (hopefully) question... Do you know who is hosting the Trivia and similar activities, and will they still be on board in July? The last two times we cruised on that ship, Inez was doing those activities and we are hoping she will be in July! Thanks! Mark

My understanding is that it is more expensive if purchased on the ship. But I've only purchased ahead of time, so can't be sure it is a fact. And it seems to be available on the ship, unless the supply doesn't reach the ship! That happened on our New England cruise last year, and it was 3-4 days before we got to a port where the ship was resupplied with the distilled water.

HAL buys it from a vendor. On our New England cruise last year, the supply of distilled water did not arrive, so of course we didn't get it! Used the tap water until we got to a port (either Prince Edward Island or Halifax), where we saw them carrying bottle of water onto the ship (and one to our cabin!).

Before the navigator app, my wife and I would plan our day (activities, pools, meals, etc.), and arrange check in spots if we were going separate directions. Also, there are telephones in all cabins and scattered in public areas would be a lower tech possibility.

I got an email from them this morning, similar but different 😀 The 'yet' is still a little worrisome! And for those without context, this is regarding the Nieuw Statendam on July 23rd. Thank you for your email. I do not see any information yet that your ship is going to Sandnes instead of Stavanger in July. From Sandnes it takes approx 20 minutes driving to Stavanger, there are ordinary bus and train departure between these two towns. And if your ship is docking in Sandnes perhaps you can organize a taxi if there are many of you from your ship that are joining our Fjord cruise to Preikestolen. So there are several transport possibilities from Sandnes to Stavanger if you need.

Didn't see that before.. Thanks. Also, I asked Rodne Fjord Tours, whose Pulpit Rock tour we signed up. They said that hadn't heard anything about the ship changing ports, so yes, we might be lucky!

Gets even more interesting. If you go to the Stavanger port website (https://www.stavangerhavn.no/en/maritim/cruise/), the only HAL ship listed for the month of July, 2023 is the Rotterdam on 7/13. We are on the Nieuw Statendam, whose itinerary shows we will are supposed to be there on 7/23. And we just booked a private excursion two days ago! Time will tell...

There are a set of multimedia presentations usually done by the Cruise Director (or whatever that position is called today!). I am pretty sure they are on all the Pinnacle ships (haven't been on the other classes since they started), but they might not do each one on each cruise. Just luck of the draw (though I feel like they do the HAL history one on every cruise!). Mark

But it is your disgusting filthy cup with your germs, not someone else's Noro (or worse) germs 😀 And, since the cup needs to be on the sensor plate, it's pretty hard to get anything on the FreeStyle dispensers. IF everyone was like you, it wouldn't be an issue. But unfortunately they are not. We've all seen pretty gross things people do at the buffet, and the same is true with the water. Up to the point where I watched someone get off of the elevator, walk up to the water dispenser, and use it to wash their hands! And yes, the Bartenders will wash it (the cup, not your hands!) whenever you ask!

You might try contacting Ship Services. They do have the big TV's on a stand that they roll around to various venues. Perhaps they can arrange something for you. Or, can you wire it up to something like an Oculus? But I wouldn't hold my breath. On a charter they are already going to be very busy doing all the non-standard setups and configurations they don't do on a routine cruise (including using extra venues). And, as a software engineer for more years than I care to remember, it is good to experience something other than a screen sometimes 😀 Mark

As a sailboat racer, those look like wind lines, where the wind either changes direction or speed or (most often) both. The little wavelets from the wind are different, causing different reflections.

We were on the Nieuw Statendam in October, and found they converted the old Art display area (right next to the main casino) into a small non-smoking casino. Maybe 20 machines in there, most with the volumes set pretty low (maybe because the 2nd floor of the Lincoln Center/BB Kings room in next to the new casino area!)

My understanding is the daily pass sales are limited by capacity and depends how many weekly (actually full cruise) passes are sold. Since they don't know those numbers ahead of time, it's first-come, first-served for the daily pass. That's my understanding, but we usually purchase the full cruise passes (why did they eliminate the couple's pass😡?). However, a future cruise will be 31 days in a hot weather climate so we probably will skip the full cruise pass and try the daily pass.

The Rotterdam, like the other Pinnacle ships, have outlets beside the bed! At least in the Verandah cabins. Haven't seen a non-verandah cabin to know for sure they have the same outlets. As a side note, on our last cruise the ship did not receive their shipment of distilled water until about day 4 of the cruise. I usually fill a metal water bottle (with a screw on lid taped down!) with some distilled water to last a couple of nights just in case!

In my experience (3 times over the last several years), they don't. That included buying the package directly from the bar staff with my wife at my side! Your mileage may vary though

Pretty sure it's $8 per day (plus the 18% service charge). Which would come out to $66.08 including the service charge.

If you are talking about the FreeStyle machine, there is a minimum time between filling up your cup. I think it was about 5-10 minutes. Of course that is technically breaking the rules, but I don't think there is a FreeStyle machine cop on board 😎

I am not 100% sure, but I think I saw that if you upgrade to the Signature Beverage Package, the Coca-Cola package (which includes FreeStyle machines) is included. The one time I was in a position to try this was on the 1st Rotterdam cruise (the TA) and the FreeStyle machine was not available. As usual, your mileage may vary!

Depending on the ship, there might be power beside the bed. The Pinnacle ships have that, don't remember if the Signature or Vista ships do.

The are on the lido deck, next to the bar. Think where the Dive In is, and go to that location on the other side of the ship. Or if you walk out of the Lido restaurant on the Port side going forward towards the midship pool & the spa/gym, it will be on your left (the self-serve beer dispensers will be on your right). The Konginsdam has 2, while the other Pinnacle ships have just one. And the NS machine was working great 2 weeks ago (it even ran out of Root Beer, but was restocked later that afternoon). Mark

Just off the NS, and there were no couples passes being sold... We paid $299 each for the 14 day cruise. And yes, my wife made multiple calls before trying to buy it.