Infi
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Posts posted by Infi
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12 minutes ago, boulders said:
I have a J category adjacent to the elevators booked on Volendam. I don't see any I categories. Here's a non-CC review I found from the same cabin on Rotterdam.
I think this poster is inquiring about the cabins on the new Rotterdam VII (2021), not the "old" Rotterdam VI that was sold in 2020.
In addition, that cabin is a handicap-accessible cabin, which should only be booked by those who require those facilities and not the general public.
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Received the blue plastic vinyl bag on Eurodam earlier this month, same as the ones given out pre-pandemic.
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Does anyone remember when (what year) they stopped serving the complimentary Tamarind lunch? We last had it in 2012 on Nieuw Amsterdam, but hadn't sailed a ship with Tamarind since then so were unsure when it was removed.
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Docked in Aruba on 1/1 off the Eurodam. We did not have to fill out any forms. Interestingly, we did have to fill out a form and submit it to the Front Office before docking in Curacao, asking us to state if we had visited a list of specific African countries within the last 14 days.
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One of us uploaded a photo in the app before our cruise, and the other did not. They claimed the upload wasn't there and took both of our photos again during check-in. I don't mind using the app, but if you're asking me to fill out forms and upload items pre-cruise, they shouldn't make you repeat the work at the terminal. Otherwise, what's the point of filling out things in advance in the first place?
Given these replies and experiences here, I wouldn't hold my breath if you're uploading anything in app beforehand.
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On the way to the port for our 12:20pm Group B boarding time. Normally we try to get to the ship around 11am, so this feels very late for us but we wanted to respect the time assigned. Will be very interesting to see how the groups are enforced - my guess is it will be pretty lenient.
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Monday, December 20th
Monday = the big test day. From planning to execution, I can't even count how many hours I spent worrying about this day. I have the ability to get regular, medically supervised PCR tests through my employer so I do get tested fairly regularly for my own peace of mind. These tests also provide results usually within 12 hours, but I also thought HAL likely wouldn't accept them. As the cruise requirements shifted from testing 3 days prior to 2 days prior, from PCR tests only to rapid antigen tests accepted, I stayed glued to the HAL website to follow the instructions to a T. The switch to rapid antigen tests was a relief because I had been worried about getting results back in the new 2 day window, especially around the holidays.On December 7 (13 days prior), CVS opened their appointment slots for our required date, December 20. Even though I logged on early that morning, there was very limited availability. I snagged two appointments, one at 12 and one at 12:30. If you're making an appointment through CVS at peak times like the holidays or even now with increased fears due to Omicron, I would recommend doing this as early as possible. Making an appointment is pretty cumbersome, as it requires lots of documentation that must be completed in a 20min window, including providing a screenshot or upload of your insurance card, so be sure to have all your IDs and documents on hand.When we arrived, the signage directed testers to both a side door and the pharmacy drive-through - not very helpful. After our trip through the drive through, we learned that PCR tests were done there, while rapid tests were done by an NP at a side entrance. We waited at the side entrance until our designated time, and then called a number to let them know we were ready. Again, more scanning of confirmation codes and IDs took place, this time on the NP's mildly sketchy cell phone.The rapid antigen test was a self-swab: 7 times around each nostril, "high enough so it's uncomfortable but not painful." What a difference from those early days where the swab used to practically touch your brain tissue! We were told we'd have the results within 2 hours, and a text message would prompt us to log on to a secure portal.One of our results came back within 40min, while the other came back a nerve-wracking 30min after the first. Still well within the promised window, but enough to make you wonder why one took so long and the other didn't. We've never been so happy to be negative before! It felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off our shoulders. Though the text message-entry portal provides an immediate result, if you want the full, official result, you must log on to/activate the CVS MyChart portal within 24 hours to print out your results, so be sure to act quickly. I'm not sure if HAL will accept the phone version, but we'll have to wait and see. I am eager to see how quickly the vaccination card/COVID test check goes at the terminal.It's a relief to have completed this process once, and I feel more comfortable doing it again for future trips. I already feel quite out of practice with cruise prep having not sailed in almost two years, and testing added a brand new consideration to navigate, plus uncertainly about turnaround time. If you're nervous about pre-cruise testing, try not to be - it does add an additional step to the pre-cruise routine, but with careful planning ahead, it can be done pretty easily.Definitely a few lessons learned here about making an appointment as early as possible on the day your window opens up. A smartphone is essential for this transaction, from the check-in to the portal availability, and I found myself wondering how difficult this would be for some to navigate if they lack one or prefer not to use a smartphone. Our friends are sailing on the Zuiderdam in February, and neither of them owns a smartphone, so I'm wondering what their process will be like, both in terms of testing and aboard ship with the increased reliance on the Navigator app.Next stop - embarkation!-
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Thank you all for the kind wishes, I appreciate them. Hope to do this live from justice (especially considering all the great ones we have had lately!)
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On this "Cruise-mas Eve", I thought I would begin my first ever live-from the Eurodam, December 22nd-January 5th. There have been many live froms done aboard other ships recently, but I haven't seen as many reports from the Eurodam lately so hope this can provide some insights into life aboard this ship.Tomorrow morning, we will board the Eurodam for two B2B cruises to the Eastern and Southern Caribbean. We have sailed over Christmas and New Years every year since 2008, so needless to say, we are very much looking forward to being back "home for the HALidays". This will be our first pandemic cruise, as our last cruise was a 2019 holiday cruise through the Panama Canal on the Amsterdam. Little did we know at the time that that would be the Amsterdam's final holiday cruise for HAL, and that it would be two years before we would board a ship again! Hindsight is truly 20/20. Since then, we have had 4 cruises canceled, and even this one was not in our original plan for this year. We were booked on a 14 day holiday cruise aboard the Zaandam, but as we all know, she will not return to service until next spring. A few months ago, HAL moved us over to this B2B instead. We prefer the smaller HAL ships and a true 14 day cruise over a B2B, but beggars can't be choosers, so here we are today. It has been a long road to get here and we are very much looking forward to boarding and finally being back aboard a dam ship tomorrow.
The reason for the live from is twofold: one, I've learned a lot from recent updates from the other ships' reviews and live froms and hope to give back to future Eurodam cruisers. As COVID protocols and even ports change on a weekly basis, these current reports have been so helpful as we return to cruising again. And two, we've had a series of major price drops after our final payment and thanks to our super TA, these have resulted in receiving a free internet package (among other benefits) from HAL. We have never purchased the internet packages before, so it will be a new adventure to try this out on this sailing. (On that note, any tips and tricks for efficient internet usage are much appreciated!)I will try to keep this report updated as much as possible and try to answer questions folks have, so please feel free to post any here. Looking forward to sharing a taste of the holidays onboard with you all!-
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Thank you, all! Really looking forward to next week and being "home for the HALidays".
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On 12/5/2021 at 12:54 PM, FlaMariner said:
When they were running free gratuities on xmas cruises in a few weeks with low fares, I knew something not good was going on.....
We need folks back on these ships if we want them to be around.....kind of scary.
Agreed - the kids sail free promotions for the holidays also had me concerned.
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2 minutes ago, Crew News said:
The Embarkation Day MDR lunch is open from 12:00 to 1:00 PM.the times I asked this week. I will check my When & Where to verify the time for the Embarkation Day tomorrow.
Thank you for this info. That's not a lot of time, especially considering the staggered boarding groups. In pre-COVID times, I remember it being open on embarkation day until 1:30pm.
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2 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:
If you have an upcoming cruise fairly soon you can take a look at navigator under the dining room and see the lunch menu. It no longer changes. As much as I love the mdr for lunch the choices have limited appeal to me.
Thank you! Just checked and there they were. Usually the Navigator crashes and is generally pretty useless, so it was a pleasant surprise to see the menus posted there already.
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9 hours ago, sherryf said:
Thank you! We are on NS for Christmas, but it is the last full day of the cruise. Christmas Eve is formal night. Will it be the standard formal night menu on Christmas Eve and this Christmas menu actually on the last night?
Not Crew News, but we have sailed HAL over the holidays since 2013. There are special Christmas Eve and Christmas day menus; the one posted here will be served the night of 12/25. Christmas day is usually a gala night for dress code. It is likely you will only see one of the typical gala night menus earlier in the cruise and 12/24 and 25 will be the special menus for the holidays. I hope this is helpful.
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Thank you for sharing the Christmas dinner menus - it's nice to see them again. They are identical to the ones HAL has had for years, most recently for Christmas 2019.
Regarding the MDR, does the lunch menu change daily when the venue is open for lunch? Have seen some indications that it's a larger set menu that does not vary every day like in the past. Also wondering if the MDR was open for lunch on embarkation day (and its operating hours), as this also seems to vary by ship.
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We were contemplating going to a CVS for our tests, but after reading this thread, I looked into our local health department and they are providing free tests. Was thinking it would be good to get one as a backup for the CVS test, but the results are only available via text. I'm thinking a text result won't be sufficient for HAL, but does anyone have any experience with providing a text as a test result? (Either way, we will have the CVS result, but was curious.)
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Can any recent Eurodam cruisers share if the MDR has been open for lunch during boarding? We look forward to the embarkation lunch on all our cruises and are hoping it will be available on our cruise later this month.
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1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:
Good to learn this. He is a quality person as well as being excellent as part of the MDR staff. I last met him as an AMDR. I am glad that he has received a promotion.
Agree, we remember him from back then too and he was fantastic in that role also. He has also been doing the GWVs as Maitre D' for awhile now. A well-deserved promotion; HAL has a gem with him onboard.
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Looking forward to this thread, and thank you in advance for sharing your observations of the Nieuw Statendam's second sailing with us. You are in for a treat in the MDR, as Presty is the Maitre D' onboard NS right now and he runs a fantastic operation there. Bon voyage!
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20 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:
If I must be assaulted with blaring music, I'll take classical over bad pop. But, yes, it was absurdly loud in the Explorer's Lounge.
Someone said our capacity was about 800. I loved it. There's no such thing as "creepy quiet" for me.
The crew seemed very happy. I don't think I ever passed a single crew/staff member who didn't say hello or good morning. Sat and chatted with a delightful young woman who was on Deck 2, cleaning up and down the deck seemingly every day, all day. Name is Devi.
Also a delight was Predrag (sp?) the Club Orange host in the MDR on Deck 2. Met him on the first afternoon and he quizzed me about my seating preference and made sure I had a 2-top, a bit secluded (I don't like to sit in the main traffic areas) each evening. He was in Lido one day at the specialty dining reservation table and booked me for Tamarind that night. The next night when I went to the MDR, he said he had gone up to check on me but since I had passed on dessert and left, he'd just missed me. How thoughtful!
Thank you for sharing this. Happy to hear about the limited capacity, and fingers crossed it will stay the same for our trip. Christmas cruises are usually packed, but you never know with the pandemic. I've been checking and it looks like many cabins are still available for our sailings.
Also glad to hear about the superb service and that the crew is still in good spirits. With the Eurodam now in service for 4 months, I had been wondering if the novelty of returning to cruising had worn off for them. HAL's crew are the highlight of the trip and I'm very much looking forward to seeing them again.
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Hi Kazu,
If you could please add the following, it would be much appreciated:
Eurodam - 22-Dec-21 - 14 day Eastern/Southern Caribbean (B2B and first cruise in 24 months!)
Volendam - 3-July-22 - 14-Day Voyage Of The Midnight Sun
As always, thank you for maintaining this for us! It's nice to have something to look forward to.
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We have sailed over Christmas/New Years for the last 13 years, with the notable exception of 2020. HAL does a lovely job with the holidays, and your kids are in for a treat. We are eagerly looking forward to Christmas at sea again this year and are curious to see what the traditions will look like during COVID-times. Our favorite program is the Christmas eve event in the theater, with caroling from the Indonesian, Filipino, and International choirs - very beautiful and moving, a must see. The Christmas tree lighting and caroling on the first or second night of the cruise is also nice with its "snowfall", as is the Christmas morning program in the theater with Santa. In the past, Christmas cookies and eggnog or hot chocolate are served at the latter two events.
The ships feel very festive, and the atriums especially are decorated to the nines with trees and gingerbread houses. We also like to bring a small (fake) tree for the cabin and decorate our door with garland and other holiday décor. The holiday meals are very good, too: Christmas eve dinner is an "international" themed meal, with dishes labeled by country, and Christmas day will feature the usual holiday entrees like turkey, ham, and beef.
Lastly, regarding presents - we always wrap our Christmas presents before leaving home and have never had an issue, either at the pier or through TSA. Our gifts are usually smaller (jewelry, small electronics), so YMMV especially with larger gifts and TSA, but the ship should not be an issue. Hope you enjoy your Christmas at sea - we always have, and once you celebrate the holidays this way it's hard to go back!
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Thank you for sharing this review and your thoughts on Eurodam; it's great to hear what the ship is like now that she's on her Caribbean sailings. How were the crew onboard? Was the ship at half capacity or more? We're sailing on a B2B over Christmas and New Years, so any Eurodam-specific tips/insights would be much appreciated!
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The Indonesian and Royal Dutch teas. Was just having a conversation today about how nice and special those events were.
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Where is my end of cruise Tile ?
in Holland America Line
Posted
Approach seems to vary by ship - some are providing the tile in room, others are promising to mail it later. Wonder if this is due to supply chain issues.
We are still waiting for ours from our holiday cruises on Eurodam, but I am not holding my breath it will ever arrive.