maraena

On 2/4/2024 at 6:42 PM, Bimmer09 said:

Carol is fully recovered. According to her searching the Mayo Clinic website I have Long Covid so am still not feeling well. Life goes on.

Thanks for your good wishes!

 

Norris

 

Hope you're feeling better, Norris. It took me awhile to get over my first bout of Covid. The other 2 weren't nearly as long. The joys of (previously) working in schools.

If you haven't seen it yet, ParoDeeJay has a whole playlist on their AMA river cruise. It wasn't the Danube but gives you a good idea of what to expect. I watched their summary and agree with much of what they say about river cruises: limited entertainment, excellent food, and intense itineraries.

On 1/31/2024 at 8:46 PM, Bimmer09 said:

Wow-the Sky doesn't get much love!

I've just watched a video from the Dawn by two of my favorite blogging people on a British Isles cruise.

I've just watched embarkation day but will follow the rest as I was born in the UK.

 

It's a good looking ship and they like the food on day one. Off to a good start. The Dawn is pre-waterfront which didn't come along until the mega ships had room for it. Filmed 2023.

 

10 extra days to see Rome Barcelona and Madrid ? Nice! I love Rome and Barcelona. Madrid I've only driven through at night but these are all  wonderful cities to indulge your love of food and wine. When is your trip? We've had 3 visits to Rome-all because of cruising and twice to Barcelona, where we live to eat tapas outdoors. Beautiful city. We stay on Passeig de Gracia between two Gaudi houses. We are back there in October 2025 for our Celebrity cruise.

 

Which river cruise line are you likely to use for your Danube cruise? We love Vienna and driving up the Danube as far as Melk. Stunning part of the world. I am drawn to AMA or Avalon cruises.

 

Indonesian cruisine is very prevalent in Amsterdam-where they bring at least a dozen bowls of delicacies to the table to share. We'd try it in Tamarind. If there is Indian food anywhere on the ship we'll be there-our favorite cuisine. 

 

Thanks for your comments and info. It all helps. I like to get on a ship with a list of things to not miss and things to not get too excited about. You've really helped!

Cheers!

Norris

 

 

 

Thanks for the v-log suggestion. Our trip is in late April into mid-May. Hopefully we'll miss much of the pollen season here though I suspect it'll be early again with all this warm weather.

Our previous river cruise was with Avalon and we enjoyed it. Not too over the top but good quality food and decent wine. Things were just starting back up so entertainment was pretty negligible - you still had to wear masks in a lot of places for reference. We'd definitely take Avalon again but I doubt you could go wrong on a river cruise. The ships are pretty much all the same due to size limitations and the fact that most are on lease. The key differences are alcohol inclusions beyond lunch and dinner and maybe a specialty restaurant on the upper end lines. You spend so much time off the ship on provided tours that we'd likely not pay a premium for those inclusions. Timing is a huge issue on the Danube, from what I understand, as river levels can greatly impact whether you take a river cruise or a bus tour.

I think I mostly saw Indian food up at the lido buffet and I believe there were dishes there daily. At one point, I believe you were able to request an Indian meal/menu in the MDR but I'm not sure if that's still a possibility. You might ask the maitre'd at Club Orange when you board since you'll have a suite. 

I think POA, one of the big picture reviewers, is taking a Rotterdam cruise in March and will probably do a live review. It might even be the same itinerary as you're planning for December. I'd keep an eye on that review as he always does a fantastic job and will check things out for folks if there are questions.

1 hour ago, Bimmer09 said:

I would never sail a huge NCL ship with waterparks and go-karts but they have some nice older (normal) ships like the Pearl and the Dawn. I do watch the big ship vlogs and the food always gets high marks. I like the Waterfront idea. Which ship are you sailing the Med on?

The capacity of the Pinnacle class is like a sweet spot-2600. They look like ships and not floating theme parks.

 

Ha! You had a great, likely inadvertent guess. It's the Dawn. From what I can tell, we're on the first sailing post dry dock so that'll be interesting. I haven't been much of a reviewer but maybe I'll rethink that. I don't believe Dawn has the waterfront and, with absolutely no sea days, we're likely to use it as a floating hotel with maybe a couple of half days for some downtime. Prior to switching into HAL and Celebrity, we had sailed the Spirit (love that ship), the Star out of NOLA, and the Sky (big nope-on-a-rope) but it's been well over a decade since we've been on NCL so it's a testing phase.

We're bracketing the cruise with an additional 10 days split between Rome, Barcelona, and Madrid so the cruise is just part of the trip. Typically, in a new port city, I build on at the front end when we're excited and fresh since we're often ready to get home to our dogs (and in spring/summer, my vegetable garden) at the end. This will be the first time that I'm adding to both ends so we'll see how that works.  We also get to try out business class on a couple of new, to us, airlines on the way there and back. I'm a bit of a reward point hound so we're leveraging those for a more comfortable trip.

Hopefully it works for my husband and my clingy male dog since I'm hoping to build a long stay bookending a Danube river cruise in a couple of years.

1 hour ago, Bimmer09 said:

I have already been sold on Tamarind from watching drool-worthy videos from Vloggers I trust.I can now add you to that list! I'll be there at least once. Pinnacle Grill- we live in Chicago so have many great steak houses but I don't expect cuts of that quality on  a ship for a fraction of the cost, so temper my expectations. I do hear great feedback on their pork chops and lamb chops. As a completist in my GSJs/reviews/rambles I will have to dine in Canaletto. I don't know if Rudy's will be around as he is covering Princess now to rescue their food shortcomings. They had a higher standard before Covid.

 

There's been some posts on the HAL boards recently about an Indonesian dinner that takes place in Tamarind. From what I can gather, it's often on a night that will show no reservations available for booking and the menu looks quite interesting. It seems like it's getting high marks from diners as well so you may want to look out for it. Based on the menu and reviews, it seems like you get all of the items so go hungry!

1 hour ago, Bimmer09 said:

Firstly -thanks for taking the time to be so helpful regarding the HAL experience!

I would certainly have booked a retreat cabana when I was thinking aft verandah or vista suite but once Carol said "let's go aft wrap Neptune" I dropped cabana. We have a great big balcony for private relaxing and can order in if we need snacks etc without having neighbors on both sides. Carol loves her peace and quiet =nap to the sound of the wake. A breakfast or dinner from Room Service is definitely on the cards, preferably in port or at anchor in HMC.

We are giving Princess a break due to the food going downhill. Giving Celebrity E Class a break as they are pricing themselves into luxury brand prices. We have two HAL booked and if they are a disappointment that might go down to one booking and out.

 

We dropped The Sanctuary on Princess @$30each a day as we weren't getting the value from it- I seldom stayed more than an hour there due to the wind. Service was stellar but I never really needed anything. Even Carol got tired of the wind as the ship sailed into it at 20 knots.

 

Now you say BBKings has gone or is going? That will leave a big empty room and a bad taste in my mouth. It's not just one guy playing the spoons is it? A musical saw? An organ grinder with a monkey?

We're used to big entertainment on Princess and X otherwise it might be dinner then bed. 

 

I'm counting on the Crow's Nest and Grand Dutch cafe to blow us away. The Neptune, the food and service, the ship art and possibly a more relaxing vibe than we are used to (except on Azamara)

 

I've noted your recommendation for the Greek Islands-we both love Greek food.

 

I'll just end my response here but may return with more comments.

Norris

I think the food on HAL is a step above Princess. We haven't cruised Celebrity since 2017 or so but I would've put HAL ahead on some things and Celebrity ahead on others. Again, I think HAL's strengths are beef and lamb but some of that may be our midwest-bred preference to order beef. Definitely much thicker cuts of beef than we had on Princess. If I were doing Club Orange, I'd probably always order the Club Orange special item as our shared plate with my choice of entree since that's just how we roll. I hear the Club Orange extra meals are quite good. The breakfast menu is far more varied on HAL and even the buffet does all eggs to order including eggs benedict.

I believe the contract with BBKings was ended but I don't know what that means for the blues portion of the shows. On Nieuw Amsterdam, they changed the signage from BBKings to Rolling Stone so I'd guess that the rock band is playing there now and Billboard is totally for the piano. I also understand they've starting bringing back classical groups in the main theater but the Lincoln Center contract is over. I suspect things are in flux still but the daily programs for next fall should give a good idea of how things will settle out. I will say that the Rolling Stones groups are typically very good and play a range of music from the 60s-early 90s though most of the songs seemed like late 70s to 80s to me.

The Crow's Nest area is very nice from our times on HAL. We would wander in there to grab coffee at the Explorations Cafe that's up at the bar area there on our way to our cabanas. (That was often at the start of the cruise before the cabana boys had figured out when we would arrive and had coffees in our cabana ready for us.) There's always a lot of folks there. Some reading, some sleeping, some playing cards, some gazing out the bow. Dutch Cafe isn't too bad but it isn't Al Bacio. Coffee seemed better than Princess at Dutch Cafe/Explorations, but I couldn't get a freshly brewed iced tea like I could at Al Bacio. That's ok, though, because with some hot water and ice, I can make my own! 😁

I don't want to turn you away from HAL. We really do like them and enjoy our time on ship. We just have to remember their quirks and adjust appropriately. I do think their service is excellent and, most of the time, quite polished. I also like the size of their ships and the general relaxing feel I get when I'm aboard. And, unlike Celebrity, they haven't priced themselves out of my budget. If I'm going to pay Celebrity prices, then I'm going on Oceania for what's touted as the best food. But, for us, the itinerary is first and then we start working the pricing angles particularly since we now have lots of time and many Caribbean cruises under our belt necessitating more creativity in our vacation planning to stave off boredom.

So, oddly enough, our next cruise is a port-intensive southern Mediterranean on NCL. Haven't been on them since 2013 or so and I'd wager it'll be eye-opening. They are the only line we've sailed that actually does Anytime Dining well. If the food is too bad, we've got a new port everyday to sustain ourselves. We're not terribly picky eaters so I'm sure we'll find something to eat. From our experience, most of the ocean lines are more alike than different any more. And river cruising is a whole other beast that we also enjoy with high expectations for food and tempered expectations for entertainment. 

Happy to answer any other questions and thank you to you both for doing these great reviews/GSJs.

Good afternoon, Sir Norris! I've followed just about all your reviews and enjoyed your outlook on your travels. We've been trying to determine if a partial or full transit of the PC is in our future. Probably a partial since we're not too sure about the smaller ships (i.e., Zaandam, Coral Princess, etc.) that typically do the canal during the winter. Thanks for this write-up to help with our decision making. We enjoyed our recent 10 day aboard the Caribbean Princess so may have to look to the Emerald for a partial.

We have cruised HAL multiple times and enjoy the line a lot. I do think their food is slightly more to our taste than Princess though I will say that Princess excels with seafood and pasta. HAL is great with beef and lamb. Based on our Feb 2023 cruise, their foray into Mexican-type foods has also been successful to our palates. We enjoyed their tacos at lunch (ordered 2 apps to make up a main), the chile rellenos at dinner, and their chimichurri steak. I hope they continue to delve into the use of spice. Due to the nature of cooking for large swaths of people, I suspect most cruise lines veer to the side of bland so as to not offend sensitive taste buds or bellies. 

A few HAL tips for you based on our experiences:

• The retreat cabanas may be worth investigating. They significantly raised their prices quite recently so it may not be the value it once was. We love the cabanas and often book the lowest level stateroom in anticipation of having one. We pretty much spent all day up there, only going to the MDR for tacos once we discovered those. You both book differently so it may not be a priority.

• Since you have a big balcony, consider ordering in room service for dinner one night. You can order off the MDR menus. There's no charge for this, to my knowledge, and your room steward will provide you with menus upon request though I think you can also find them on the app.

• The evening buffet mirrors the MDR menu. Want to have all you can eat lamb chops? Go hit the buffet. Need more chile rellenos? They've got it. Husband got into the habit of 'pre-gaming' the main dining room by hitting the buffet early once we got him trained to HAL's dining hours.

• Be really mindful of the buffet hours. HAL runs some really short (to us) buffet hours. It's probably our primary quibble cruising with them as we tend to eat late. If it's 8:02PM, you better get in line for pizza because the buffet is closed. You won't even find a cookie. The same issue can apply when you return mid afternoon from an excursion. HAL is really the only line we've found this on. The first thing my husband asked when I started looking at Princess was: What's their buffet hours? It really annoyed him. We started hoarding cookies, cheese, and other snacks in our room because he was afraid he wouldn't find anything when he wanted it. Dutch Cafe alleviates this some but doesn't have the variety that International Cafe has.

• We've never been big on the big theater productions. It works out for us since HAL doesn't do many of them. I've seen a lot of folks complaining about the entertainment on HAL being limited to BB Kings, Rolling Stone, and Billboard. Pre-covid, we loved wandering between BB Kings and Rolling Stone and didn't find the crowds overwhelming. (Ah, sweet summer child!) Now that BB Kings is gone, it's going to be down to Rolling Stone and Billboard. Our last cruise, BB Kings and Rolling stone areas were absolutely packed (SRO and spilling into the nearby hallways making them nearly impassable) and we weren't comfortable with crowds so didn't stick around. We definitely liked the smaller, more intimate sets on Princess at the Wheelhouse and Crooners. Hopefully HAL works this issue out soon.

• Eat at Tamarind. Then maybe eat there again. We really enjoy it every time we go. The dessert fruit bowl is excellent. Most go for the Mango Cloud or other items, but I'm telling you that the mix of fruits (e.g., pomegranate arils, passionfruit, kiwi) they have in that dessert is just so good. They will spice up their curry, too, upon request. We haven't eaten at Pinnacle Grill as I have yet to see a steak house beat my husband in preparation technique. No need to face another round of disappointment. We ate at Canaletto once when it first opened and weren't impressed but the menu has changed and the reviews are quite good. It may be a try on our next trip but Tamarind will always be number one in our hearts.

• From my understanding (given I've never had it), Club Orange uses the same menu as the MDR with one additional changing main dish each night. You can probably skip testing out the MDR one night unless you'd like a lesson in aggravation with HAL's implementation of Anytime dining. We avoid it and stick to set dining. HAL, much like Princess, uses the "we'll seat you anytime we feel like it" implementation philosophy. It's a gong show. I wish Princess would have one set dining room. We'd be more likely to choose them over HAL on similar itineraries if they did, all other things equal.

Good grief, I'm long-winded! I hope you have a great trip on Rotterdam. We haven't been on her but did sail on Nieuw Statendam pre-Covid. I'm sure you've been all over Roger Jett's site with menus/activities and HalFacts for various pictures so I won't belabor those.

Oh, and next time you're in FLL, you might check out Greek Islands Taverna down near Fort Lauderdale by the Sea. They don't take reservations and have some serious lines if you wait until typical dining hours, but they have incredible lamb chops and grilled octopus. I see folks eating other things and they look good, too, but I know what I'm ordering anytime I go and it's going to be horiatiki and lamb chops. Funny thing is, I don't typically like lamb (I find it overwhelmingly gamey) but I love theirs. It's a very casual, family-owned place with limited ambiance but excellent food. 

Guest Relations says it is too soon to tell for the next cruise. I can keep checking.

Thank you for checking, Cruisestitch. It's much appreciated. If you happen to hear and get a chance to post back here, please do. Regardless, please enjoy your cruise!

I will ask but you should also watch the Celebrity website. This change didn't make it onto the site because it was so last minute

Nothing on there as of this morning but nothing showing for you all either.

Thanks for the information, Cruisestitch. By chance, can you check and see if this change will also be in effect for the Dec 10th Eclipse sailing?

Can anyone speak to the lines at MIA to check luggage? I'm not as worried getting off the ship as I am encountering crazy, long lines at MIA to check in my luggage. TSA precheck will get me through security but nothing can speed up the bag check lines.

We sail both pretty evenly. As several have mentioned it often comes down to price and itinerary. Price, for us, includes the various perks that Celebrity tends to bundle into more reasonable fares whereas HAL tends to really mark up prices for Explore4. For us, we haven't noticed major differences in service or food. We enjoy the drink package on X when included in a special offer (and I price that offer accordingly) but find that the lack of drink package on HAL isn't a big deterrent. We love the cabanas on HAL so if I can build a cruise rate that includes that and leaves room for my DH to buy his drinks, we're good to go too. We're not big show people so that isn't a factor at all but we do love live music - particularly guitarists. We haven't seen as much of that on HAL of late but do still find it on X. I would say that X patrons are, in general, younger than HAL and that's solely based on 7-day cruises. We're in our mid-40s and don't typically mind that. When there's no one else around, it's tough to get bad service!

Anyhow, the moral of the story is: six of one, half dozen of another. We find both lines to be a lovely break from reality and that's what counts to us. I think if you go in to a cruise expecting to have a great time, you'll rarely be disappointed.

Finally reporting back! I had some other issues arise that required my attention.

Here are the responses (in blue) to the original questions:

1. We're looking primarily at 10 or 11-day cruises. The notification email mentions only cruises aboard the Koningsdam, which would be ideal, but can we also look at other ships that fit the day parameters described above? Some of the Zuiderdam itineraries look interesting as well and might work better with our calendar though I had my heart set on the new ship.

Yes, you can book other cruises other than ones mentioned in the notification email. I had choices of anytime in the 2018 Caribbean season. It turned out that we couldn't locate one that would work in the necessary timeframe (other than aboard the Eurodam which we've sailed 2 times now). The HAL reps were understanding of our professional limitations and said that we could cancel this cruise and they'd note our various credits. We could then rebook for December 2018 once the itineraries come out. (Shifting to the December 2018 timeline without released schedules was where I encountered the most difficulty but it was quickly, easily, and satisfactorily resolved.) I'm quite pleased.

2. Will we be able to shift our FCC OBC over to the new booking? It was a doubled OBC (I think the cruise consultant applied the ZPM promo for us). We're outside the 2 month window but that really isn't our fault. Will we be able to stack this with the compensatory OBC and the Ready Set Sail Event?

Yes. All the credits (including the double FCD credits) were transferable. We could have kept our pricing and the previous promo or used the current promo. This will also apply to our December 2018 booking.

Hopefully this helps someone else who is in this position. I didn't really have to engage what my husband calls my 'holy terror' negotiation skills. (I refer to them as my results-oriented operational mode. He doesn't care what it's called as long as it isn't directed at him and instead directed towards various other entities like Comcast, State Farm Insurance, etc.) I was polite and positive while, at times, being direct and assertive but no more than I'd be in any other negotiation. As suggested by one of the reservation accounting individuals, I did follow up with an email outlining precisely what I was told I would receive along with the timeframe involved, and this was confirmed in writing. I would suggest this for anyone to create an audit trail. (Being married to an accountant, I appreciate these audit trails both with businesses and with said accountant. ;))

So, in summary, all's well that ends well. I felt like the folks at HAL were both willing to listen and to adjust to my particular needs.

The cheese store is located bout 50 yards from the end of the pier just a few steps up and behind the Tourist Information booth on the right. The store is not much larger than a couple of HAL staterooms and the cheese is located in a cooler near the back of the store. We paid $29 for a 6.6 pound waxed wheel.

Thank you! I'll definitely check it out.

Will see if I can get in contact with HAL tomorrow about these questions. If, as Krazy Kruisers indicated, the double credit for the FCC can't be shifted over to another sailing that works with our schedule, we'll probably just cancel. None of the Koningsdam sailings that were offered will work out for our mutual vacation and professional schedules. That Feb 14th date was just perfect.

Once I have more information, I'll report back here just to provide clarity on the questions I asked for the future.

When we have been bounced from a cruise because changes and charters, we were given a few cruises to choose from. One time it didn't work for us. We chose a different cruise and all we got were the original shipboard credits that we were due on the original cruise -- no extra perks because of the cancelled cruise.

You better find out if you can choose any cruise.

Good to know. I'll definitely check on that.

We had a nice cruise on the Zuiderdam last month to the Panama Canal. Ours was the 10-day version, with stops at HMC, Aruba, Curacao, Panama Canal, and Costa Rica. All of the ports have things that should interest you. Of the Koningsdam cruises you listed, both look great. I'd lean to the longer one--just because it's one day longer. Although I love the ABCs and wouldn't feel bad about having to take the 10-day cruise.

The Panama Canal is definitely tempting. I'll have to check to see if this is even a possibility with the cancellation. I don't want to lose all the perks if I can help it but it's also going to depend on our availability. Getting vacations moved post-bidding can really a pain in the arse. The Panama Canal cruises actually provide far more flexibility than the Koningsdam which is why I started looking.

1. Look at one of the 14-day Veendam cruises to the Caribbean. It covers some of your favs above and leaves on a weekday which means lower airfares and hotel rates. It would also be cheaper the K'dam. By moving to a 14-day cruise, your Carnival stock goes from $100 to $250 additional OBC funds.

 

2. We were bounced from a charter a few years ago, too. Our OBC compensation offer was added to the latest promotion, CCL stock, and ZPM to leave us with $1800 in OBC. A visit to the Casino on the last day produce a number $100 bills.

 

3. I liked the Wayfarer best with a visit to the drive-in volcano and the numerous photo ops of the itinerary. We always take advantage of a stop in St Maarten to bring home some amazing Gouda cheese wheels from St Maartens.

While I'd love to a 14-day, it'd pretty much eat up all our vacation time for the year. Plus, does the Veendam have cabanas? Good to know on the stock OBC. I really need to talk DH into that stock purchase. I tried to get him to buy way back when (during the 2008 recession) but he resisted as he couldn't see the value and didn't care for the volatility of the stock with all the cruise ships coming on the market. I think he sees it now since we do cruise once a year but he still prefers his other dividend stocks. Coulda shoulda woulda!

I don't know that we'll get as high OBC as you managed but, by my calculations, it should be somewhere in the $750 range plus pre-paid gratuities. The casino would definitely be in our future (as would my first visit to Pinnacle grill and my usual trip to Tamarind).

We've been to St Maarten but for some reason the cheese wasn't even on our radar. Silly us! That will be rectified on our next visit! I actually favor the Wayfarer but DH really wants to see the ABC islands. I've wanted to see Barbados and St Lucia but it's never quite worked out. The date of the Wayfarer is also a bit problematic as DH is in accounting/finance and that coincides with the year-end, SEC filings, etc.. The Jan 24th itinerary is different (doesn't include St. Lucia) and the March 8th is a bit late for us. Decisions, decisions!

We booked a cruise onboard that has since been chartered and cancelled (Koningsdam Caribbean Wayfarer Feb 14). We received the email with compensatory OBC offer and are now trying to decide between cruises that work with our respective vacation schedules and our personal interests. However, most of the ports are new to us and I just don't have a clue as to which might be of more interest.

About us: We're not that into snorkeling and tend to like nice beaches, touring forts or ruins, or interesting flora/fauna. Our goal on a cruise is relaxation and not to feel like we need a vacation after our vacation. We pretty much cruise HAL specifically for the cabanas so this a must for us. I'm pretty sure that my husband's favorite port was St. Kitts and I'd guess that mine is either HMC or Grand Cayman but I also really like San Juan.

So, that brings us to the questions:

1. We're looking primarily at 10 or 11-day cruises. The notification email mentions only cruises aboard the Koningsdam, which would be ideal, but can we also look at other ships that fit the day parameters described above? Some of the Zuiderdam itineraries look interesting as well and might work better with our calendar though I had my heart set on the new ship.

2. Will we be able to shift our FCC OBC over to the new booking? It was a doubled OBC (I think the cruise consultant applied the ZPM promo for us). We're outside the 2 month window but that really isn't our fault. Will we be able to stack this with the compensatory OBC and the Ready Set Sail Event?

3. Considering our wants/interests, which itinerary would you recommend? Seafarer (10 day) goes to HMC, Grand Turk, Amber Cove, Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. Wayfarer (11 day - Jan 3) goes to St Maarten, St Lucia, Barbados, Martinique, Antigua, St Thomas, and HMC. Zuiderdam Panama Canal varies by the number of days so I won't include it here. We've been to Grand Turk, HMC, St Maarten, and St Thomas. Or is there another itinerary that you'd recommend in the 10-11 day range on a ship with cabanas?

I emailed my PCC to ask these questions but it appears that she's out on maternity leave. I'll call her substitutes on Monday but thought I would check here so I could limit the number of questions.

Sorry for the long post but I figured the detail might be helpful. Any insight you can offer on one or all of the questions is much appreciated! :)

Here is the Day 6, Set A menu pack. Please note the the files I was given had two different Lido dinner menus. One of the Lido dinner menus has lobster. The other does not. The file date of the lobster version is newer, which tends to make me think it's more current. However, we didn't eat in the Lido for dinner, so I don't really know which version is correct.

 

http://www.evernote.com/l/AFj2HBKKCvBLF4Esmk20GpfLJ5c94vJzAjc/

Hi POA! Great review, per usual!

We did eat in the Lido on day 6. The lobster is correct!

Hope that helps and that you're feeling better.

Thanks for the suggestion. Did you notice how long the Global Entry line was?

I too have enjoyed your Guide to the Galaxy via the Eurodam. Three weeks from now I'll be waking up thinking about having breakfast at the Pinnacle followed by a double Bloody (singles are too thick!) at the Sea View Bar. You have "wetted" my appetites!

Merry Christmas!

Dave aka blizzardboy

I can answer this one! Global Entry was to the far right - further right of the mobile passport line. (I say this because I thought it was the GE line but they scooted me over one.) Once you flashed your card, they sent you to it but it wasn't as well labeled as the mobile passport line. There was no one in the line when we went through around 8:30AM.

I also looked at the mobile passport line and it was very small when we hit the global entry line. I think there were maybe 5 people in it (possibly 1 family but I think it might have been 2 families). Considering the app is free, it would be a strong substitute for GE. Of course, once the mobile passport becomes more well-known it will fill.

Sounds like a very good cruise. I'm looking forward to boarding her next weekend. Thanks for the review!

DH always gets the side nearest the window as he likes to put a box fan in the window on cooler spring/fall nights. This does cause us some issues as I can end up on the 'wrong' side of the bed and have to adjust. My preferred side is the left side of the bed but I do have a slightly higher preference to be closest to the bathroom.

On cruises, I am always the one nearest the bathroom. We don't have any peccadilloes on closets or bathrooms that I've noticed. When we've had double sinks, I tended towards the right or where there wasn't a wall impeding my movement.

Thanks for withdrawing your request. If you complete my website Contact Form, I will email the 7-Day menus that I find.

 

I started to compare the 2014/15 and 2016/17 10-day menus and got a headache. Comparing the 7-day and 10-day menus kept the headache going. My comparisons were abandoned.

 

Somewhere, HAL has a Master Menu for each season. A remote chance but maybe my HAL PCC has the right connection to locate it for me. I got lucky once getting the 7-Day (Series A and B) menus, 10-Day, and 11-Day menus. This year was not a lucky one in getting all the menus I wanted.

 

It is my understanding that ALL HAL ship now use the same last-day menu

Oh goodness! No headaches, please! It was just a quick observation I made between some other menus I'd located.

I'm actually on my cruise starting next weekend so I'll find out soon enough. I'll see if I can get a hold of those 7-day menus then assuming I remember to drop a flash drive into my bag.

Thanks for noting my page error. In updating links at midnight, some changes were overlooked. I have already deleted the menus for the Caribbean for 2015 since they change every season. If you really want to see them, I will search my PC for them and repost them for a week or two on my website.

Nah, don't worry about relocating them if they've been deleted. I seem to recall that I cross-referenced some from last year and the year before and the changes were pretty minimal so I doubt there's enough difference to worry about. Did you feel like there were drastic changes from the last time you'd sailed on a 10 day?

I'll just flip a coin on my Tamarind reservation. Night 3 and 4 always seem to be a bit 'hit or miss' for us.

The last evening's dinners do look a lot nicer compared to the previous International Nights. Hopefully they use the new menus for the 7-night cruise.

I did ask the Culinary Operations Manager and he reported that they did not have them on board.

 

It does appear that GALA Night menus and the last night MDR menus are probably the same for all Caribbean cruises.

Ah, darn. Well, I'll work with what I can!

Is there any chance that you can reopen the old 2015 7-day Caribbean menus? I see the links on the dining page but they don't work.

Hi Crew News! Thank you again for the live report. I certainly appreciate all your hard work.

I think I remember you saying that you were also going to ask for the 7-day menus for the Caribbean. Were you able to get them? I'm trying to decide which night to do Tamarind on our upcoming Eurodam cruise and would love to see which night be most suitable.

Thanks, all! I'll just keep out an empty beach/reusable bag to cover any contingencies.

I was on Konigsdam Nov 13th and carried on several bottles of pop in my rolling bag. HAL clearly says you can bring your own on but you need to be the one transporting it and not relying on porters to do it.

Yep, planning to carry it aboard but was hoping to be able to keep it in the box. Or, if they were going to take it out of the box, I'd have a bag of some sort. Trying to wrestle a bunch of loose cans in a defunct box wasn't terribly appealing.