sevenseasnomad

Bon voyage!  Hope you have a wonderful cruise.  K is a lovely ship.

We board NS the following Sunday and requested a wave from the PZTV, but now have discovered our early fixed dining is 5:00 p.m., right when the ship is supposed to leave.  Blast it!  Since we switch dining the next week, we'll be on deck for the wave.

Darn, my 7-day cruise to Mexico in 2021 doesn't include the port of Topolobampo.  Wish it did, as this excursion sounds wonderful.  Maybe, at some point, I'll have to do a longer cruise to this part of the world.

57redbird, sounds as though you're in for quite a treat.

Disappointment to all those passengers born in and after 1956 who can't prove they're immune or received the vaccine.  Yes, I can remember those "parties" where parents hoped their kids would catch whatever childhood disease was making the rounds.  I can also recall missing every Christmas play for several years in a row because I had chicken pox, measles, or mumps.  Not fun.

I suppose if a person is planning to take such a voyage, he/she must carry proof of vaccination and/or bloodwork results proving immunity.  So sad that in our modern age of medicine with preventable measures that people still become infected, and, worse, some victims die.

How in the world did you miss those cookies?  Too many distractions I would imagine, such as keeping all of us posted, which we appreciate.  We will definitely swing by Dutch Café on the way to our cabin at Dec. 22 embarkation for one of these impossibly delectable treats.  You had me at chocolate-loaded.

2 minutes ago, blcruising said:

Hi. So, I'm coming over from NCL where everything is fee here, fee there, service charge here, service charge there. If I am booking a fare that is cruise plus beverage package for one price, am I charged an additional service charge? I did a mock booking and am being charged the base fare for the cruise + bevaerage package and then taxes and fees, as expected.  Thank you! I did try to search under beverage package and then beverage AND package, but I find the search function pretty clunky!!

Welcome to HAL's website!  Fortunately, the dam ships are vastly superior to the dam website.

22 minutes ago, TAD2005 said:

You are correct.  If two people are in a cabin, and one decides to go online and buy the SBP or EBP, but the other does not, then when you board the ship, you will see a cabin account charge for the purchase onboard price of the package for the person who did not pre-purchase online.   

Learned this the hard way.  Was cruising two years ago with my brother, who enjoys his alcohol.  I don't indulge at all.  After we boarded, he signed us up for one of the packages.  When he told me he'd bought the package for both of us @ what he understood to be $50 total, I thought, okay, no big deal.  Imagine my shock when I checked my onboard account the second day and saw a charge of over $400.  My brother, who could not afford that charge, explained his misunderstanding to the Front Desk.  They removed the charge from both of our accounts and charged him for each of the eight alcoholic beverages he'd consumed up to that point.  When he saw that amount, he cut back drastically on his consumption.  In hindsight, it's funny.  At the time, not so much so.

The cookie house village looks as if it's going to be a-w-e-some.  I remember the one on Zuiderdam in 2010.  It took up almost the entire atrium with a train skirting the borders.  We took dozens of pictures, and every photo revealed some new aspect of a house, church, school, shop etc.  It rivaled some of the gingerbread villages in Williamsburg VA's Inn.  That's saying a lot.  Those villages were spectacular, great artistry.  Not sure if Colonial Williamsburg still puts on such displays or not.  Despite living in their backyard, so to speak, we rarely visit anymore at Christmas.

34 minutes ago, Samanthac25 said:

This is my first HAL Cruise too... I’ll be on NA on 12/21, sailing 7 nights over Christmas. I am planning to dine at Pinnacle and Tamarind at least once each. Since it’s Christmas week, I’m not completely sure how to decide which nights to dine at the specialty restaurants. I am hoping we can get a sneak peak at the MDR menus for the week as soon as we board but not sure of HAL allows that. If anyone has Christmas

dininf experience, I’d love to know your preferences for the MDR vs specialty dining for the holiday meal 😊

Try going to the Front Desk and asking to see the menus for the week.  They usually have a copy you can look over while standing there.

8 minutes ago, Crew News said:

 

They open at 6:00 AM so not sure when the cookies appear.  I was advised to pick them up right after breakfast just to make certain that they are available.  I will ask how often new batches are baked.

 

i have never had a cookie that had so much chocolate, so chewy, could fall apart if not held carefully, and eaten most efficiently by breaking off small pieces.

Thanks for the info.  Oh my goodness, did you have to describe those cookies so well?  Wouldn't you know it---no cookies in the house tonight. 

I'm thinking of bringing galleon baggies to transport those cookies back to the cabin.  Can anyone say "late night snack?"  Eleven days until we board.  Can't wait.

2 hours ago, Crew News said:

 

For cookies, it is imperative that you get to the Dutch Cafe in the morning.  In the evening, only the almond cookies are left.

Thanks for this tip.  I know where I'll stop first after breakfast.  What time do they put these cookies out?

17 minutes ago, Motor City said:

Do all of the specialty dining venues generally offer a discount on first night?

I'm on NA next month, first time cruising HAL.

Depends on how booked they are.  On some cruises, I've seen 25% off, on others no discount at all.  It's hit or miss in my experience.

Food pics are yummy-looking.  Maybe I should rethink dining at Canaletto's during our next cruise.  I haven't made reservations in five or six years.  I read such mixed reviews, but then other restaurants on the ships, except maybe Tamarind, receive mixed reviews too.  Those reviews haven't stopped me from reserving PG.  

We've done fixed and anything dining on various HAL cruises.  Fixed dining doesn't have an option of selecting table etc. that first night; it's already been done for them.  As for anytime dining, I can't recall waiting in a line.  We would normally dine at 5:30-6:00 with reservations.  Please know that you can make reservations for that first evening and for two consecutive nights thereafter in anytime dining.  There is a number you can call, or you can request with the maître d' who has a stand/desk set up in one of the lounges, usually near the dining room.  Making reservations should help if you anticipate a problem with waiting in line.  Hope this suggestion helps.  If you're considering eating at a specialty restaurant that first night, hold off until you get onboard and enjoy the discount, which may be offered. 

NA is  lovely ship.  Have a marvelous cruise.

If you're trying to purchase something, such as drink package etc., and having problems with the website, call Ship's Services to make your purchase.  It may be slower, but it works every time for me whereas the website is hit or miss depending on the day.

19 minutes ago, Crew News said:

 

Meal portions seem to be the same size as the MDR but with the chef only a few feet away, it is easy to tweak the meal prep.

 

Keeping contact with the MDR was important to obtain their dinner menus to compare with Club Orange menus.  I now know the comparison so will probably not return to the MDR on this cruise.

 

Second seating is 8:00 PM.

 

The Dutch Cafe NY Pizza & Deli are open late for snacks.  There is also Room Service.

Just to clarify, please.  Fixed early dining in the MDR is 5:00 p.m.?

Canadian Bear, the "thing" in the photo that you mention lends a surreal aspect.  You can always claim that it was an alien spaceship!  Better yet, how about the Christmas star?

49 minutes ago, richwmn said:

@sevenseasnomad

After searching further, I found this on the Holland America site

I didn't mean to contradict you, Rich, in my earlier post.  You've been sailing this line longer than I have, I believe, so I would definitely bow to your knowledge.  We did receive more days than we were entitled to, though, on those two cruises.  Not sure how.  Not sure why.  Not certain how the accountants in Seattle let it pass, but I sure as heck am not going to tell them 3-4 years later.  Even if they took back those days, it wouldn't affect my status as a 4* but would impact my climb toward 5*.

Thanks for the link.  

Yikes!  I see what you mean by the NCL making the dam ship seem tiny.  Great photo of the difference.  Still, I'd rather be on any dam ship any day of the week than on one of those behemoths.  Anyone else feel the same?

10 minutes ago, DFWGUYZ said:

The dining room table numbering is different than the Koningsdam. I found out the hard way. So, a map of table numbers for the upper dining room on the NS would be great!

Upper level MDR on NS is available on halfacts.  Check it out.

1 minute ago, crystalspin said:

Were you in suites? Because those are also bonus days (doubling your days onboard). Then another day per $300 combined spending. So if in a suite you can get up to triple the actual days.

In a suite twice but not on the European cruises.

Just now, qoap24 said:

No we never reported it just simply because we did not think they would really be able to do anything about it. But for our next cruise we have booked on the port side to avoid the smoking area. 

I don't blame you, but someone in authority should know about the butts ending up on balconies below this area.  That's definitely a fire hazard.  Yes, something could have been done.  Extra security may have been posted in the smoking area, or the bartenders/waiters in the area could have been alerted to watch out for passengers throwing butts over the side of the ship.  Either or both of these measures may have led to discovering the identity of the culprit(s) who were endangering others.

21 hours ago, richwmn said:

 

 

Also remember that "Bonus" days max out at the number of days in the cruise, so you would have to be on a 20 day or more cruise for all of that $6000 to count.

 

Since when?  Is this a new policy?  If not, we've accumulated days we weren't entitled to.  Please don't tell anyone.  HAL has been more than generous in rounding up over the years.  In many instances, especially on our European cruises, we have more bonus days than cruise days, and they were all credited.

14 minutes ago, qoap24 said:

I do not know all of the smoking areas on NS but I do know that on Lido deck aft starboard. We were in Neptune suite 4211 and we could smell the smoke while in port and would find cigarette buds on our balcony

That's terrible and a fire hazard.  Did you report it to your concierge?  One of them should have reported it to the proper personnel. 

Yes, smoking is allowed in a designated area on aft Lido Deck, usually on the side that has the bar.  Smoking is also permitted on certain evenings in the casino.  Other than those two areas, I am unaware that there is any other designated smoking spots.  Smoking is prohibited on your balcony and in your cabin/bathroom.  

3 hours ago, MickeyG said:

My wife and I will be on the Nieuw Statendam for Christmas cruise this year. This will be our first HAL experience. We wanted to choose a ship that would be extra-special for the holidays. After reading several reviews from experienced HAL cruisers, we decided to go big with the Nieuw Statendam. Looking forward to meeting our fellow cruisers in a couple of weeks.

Best...Mick

Don't mean to highjack this thread, but have you checked in at our Roll Call, Mick?  Please do, so we can all say hello to you and possibly meet you onboard.

6 hours ago, VennDiagram said:

 

Thank you for that information!  You've confirmed that my concern about the Promenade Deck is valid.   You've been on many (all?) the HAL ships.  How would you say the visibility from the  K-dam or NS Promenade Deck compares to the Vista ships' Promenade Deck? 

I can answer this one for you, as I've been on all HAL ships except Zaandam and Volendam.  I'll sail both in 2020.  On to your question: Very little visibility on K and NS, except for a couple of small areas where the lifeboats/walls don't obstruct.  Visibility on Vista is unobstructed until you walk to the bow area which is obstructed.  Very pleasant walking Promenade on all dam ships except for Pinnacle Class.  Not only is your view obstructed by lifeboats etc., but the deck itself is very narrow.  In some spots, only one person can walk single file.  I had to stop several times to allow someone else to pass.  Don't get me wrong.  I still walk this deck if only to burn the calories from all the goodies.  (I am not a person who likes exercise equipment.)

Don't allow the narrow Promenade to affect your decision to sail/not sail these two ships.  Both are beautiful and have much to offer.  Just understand going in that this deck is lacking if you want to walk and view the sea at the same time.