tlund

Was on Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam in January and Doug Flutie was on the sailing. He was sitting behind us during the piano bar trivia one night.

Love the suggestions. I think my closet will accommodate what to pack, as opposed to having to go shopping. Quick question, what type of bag would be appropriate for walking around? My cross body bag is big enough for wallet, paperwork and some other miscellaneous items. However, if I carry an umbrella and maybe shed some layers/scarves, I'd have no bag to put it in. I also have one of those husbands that keeps handing me stuff to put in my bag. Obviously a backpack would work but I understand backpacks are very "American".

Thank you so much for the advice. The layers are going to be a great idea and probably would allow for more room in my suitcase because I can double up days on sweaters. I am so looking forward to this trip and want to be respectful of the countries we are visiting. Don't intend to bring much bling. Want to make things simple.

We will be going on a river cruise on the Danube late October. This will be my first trip to Europe. I'm trying to figure out what type of wardrobe I am going to need for this trip. I want to be comfortable for all of the touring but I don't want to stand out like a sore thumb or an "ugly American". Any do's or don'ts for me. I am a women in my early 50's. Not too fashionable at home. Like comfort.

Anyone have an idea as to when the 2017-2018 Caribbean itineraries will be released? We are anxiously awaiting the Koenigsdam's itineraries.

Was off the Nieuw Amsterdam on January 10th and the same thing happened to us. This was our second time as well. Happened the last time we cruised on Holland on the Eurodam in March of 2015. I was aggravated that it happened again because we booked an early flight. I kept asking why it has happened to us the last two times we cruised on Holland. They kept saying it was not the cruise line but Customs so they didn't know how they chose people. When we were sat in the room waiting for our luggage, the customs officer started explaining what was happening and we told him we knew since it happened to us last time. He asked us to identify our luggage and let us go right away. It's just really aggravating when they put your card in the box and it buzzes rather loud, then the commotion. Have to wonder what other people waiting to disembark think we did.

Haven't decided what we want to do in Turks. We are throwing around the idea of renting scooters and riding around the island. We have scooters at home so are familiar with riding. Is it possible for us to head outside of the cruise center and arrange for a last minute scooter rental? We don't want to make a formal reservation right now but want the option to do so. Has anyone been successful in a last minute scooter rental? Thanks.

Thank you!! I was having trouble finding the price on the website. Do they offer a daily rate if you don't want to do it for the entire week?

Contemplating using the Thalassotherapy Pool on our upcoming Nieuw Amsterdam sailing. We aren't really spa people so we wouldn't be looking for a spa package of other items that also includes the pool use. We just want to use the pool. Any idea what the current cost is for just the pool use? Thanks.

Just a suggestion. Royal Caribbean offers a shore excursion "St. John's on your own". This is an efficient way to get yourself to St. John. It avoids all of the taxis and ferries. We did it last year when we were on the Oasis. The boat picks you up right at Crown Bay and brings you into town in St. John's. You will have around 3 or 3.5 hours to do what you want. We hiked some trails right from town to Honeymoon Bay. It was awesome. We were basically there by ourselves and the trails were not rough to hike at all. When we made our way back into town, we still had time to walk around town for shopping and a drink. The cost of the excursion actually was right around or less than it would cost to pay for taxis and ferries. Also, if the tour boat is running late, the ship will wait for you because it is a ship sponsored tour. Rum punch is served on the way back too. Makes for less stress.

Decided to keep our cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam. I'm sure we'll find other things to do if we don't want to take part in any of the DWTS festivities.

We will hope for the possibility of an upgrade to a suite from our balcony cabin later but will be content with the cabin we have.

Was contemplating moving over to the Regal Princess but have not heard good things about that ship. Would rather stay with this ship and this cruise line.

Let the countdown begin!!

Just curious how the last two cruises with DWTS will be as they are promoting it with stars, etc. We are booked on the January 3rd Nieuw Amsterdam and it is now billed as a "theme" cruise to wind down the DWTS relationship. I personally don't want to be on a cruise where everything is geared toward DWTS. What can we expect on this cruise? I'm contemplating switching cruises because I don't want to be on one of these "themed" cruises being shown as a special event.

The majority of the ships have the dancing with the stars and we have been on those. The issue with this cruise is that it is a special sailing for the end of the relationship with Dancing with the Stars. They are going to have some of the dancers from the show as well as some stars on this cruise. I do not anticipate it being just a general cruise with some dancing with the stars. It is now billed as a "Theme Cruise".

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6473

http://www.hollandamerica.com/pageByName/Simple.action?requestPage=DWTS

I do not want all of the entertainment geared toward DWTS.

Read an article here on Cruise Critic that the cruise we booked for January 3rd on the Nieuw Amsterdam has now changed to a Dancing with the Stars theme cruise (to close out the Dancing with the Stars on the ships). Although I like a little bit of ballroom dancing, I don't want my whole cruise to be geared toward that.

Also, I booked a lower category cabin with the hopes to upgrade at a low rate. With the current pricing for that cruise, the fact that several of the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam cruises in January and February have now been chartered and this new theme established, my chances are going to be slim.

I thought that I read somewhere that theme cruises could be turned into charters if they have a large amount of bookings. Is this true?

Might have to look at other sailings for that day considering I have my airfare already booked. BUMMER!!

Anyone sail on a theme cruise when they weren't really interested in the theme?

Thanks for the info. I figured it was either dry dock or a charter. Didn't want to cruise around a dry dock since we've had bad experiences with cruising right before and right after dry dock.

I appreciate the quick response.

I'm looking to cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam in January of 2016. I don't see a sailing for the week of 1/17/16 even though the prior cruise is only 7 days. Is this ship heading to drydock for that week? I don't like to cruise around dry dock time. Any insight?

It's possible that the agency set up a group with group pricing and group amenities (OBC). Because of this, they can offer fares and amenities that may not necessarily be offered through the cruise line. So, if you call HAL, you won't get the same pricing unless HAL is offering it to everyone.

Only bad thing about watching the movies in the cabin is that the TV's are quite small. However, it's better than watching the same old news channels. Cruise to try and stay away from the news.

Fifty shades of gray picture is hilarious.

Don't forget that every cabin has a DVD player, and hundreds of movies can be obtained (no charge) from the Front Desk.

If there's an old movie your DH particularly wants to see, or see again, look in the booklet placed somewhere on the desk, or near the TV, to see what they have available. There's really no reason to bring your own.

Yes. Thank you. We did that last time we cruised HAL. I like to watch the movies in the theater to get out of the cabin.

Usually they are movies that just came out on dvd, so you can check that out online or on your tv as to what movies are just out. They also will have some that are slightly older, but were popular in theaters, possibly some Academy Award nominated movies that are already on dvd.. Any selections you are told were shown on recent cruises could have changed anyway.

Thank you. Was trying to gauge whether they were a year behind, a month behind or current with new releases on dvd. I appreciate you response.

Mockingjay, St Vincent, the judge, 100 foot journey, Ouija, big hero. Just disembarked.

Thank you. Just trying to get an idea whether they are new releases or quite old movies. Because of the snow and freezing weather right now, my husband wants to rent a bunch of movies to catch up on viewing. I didn't want him to do so because we enjoy watching movies in the theater on the cruise. To both of us who are extremely busy with work, the cruise is a time for us to relax and movies can be relaxing to us. I don't want to get on the ship and he's watched all the movies being shown.

Just curious as to what movies they are currently showing in the movie theater. We are sailing the Eurodam shortly but I figured they would be showing the same movies on all the ships with a theater. Anyone recently off a cruise that can tell me what movies were showing?

We did the excursion with Capt. Bob. The walk to his pier is very short. Also, he does run a little late with organizing everyone with payment, etc. We got off the ship right away (and you won't have to get a ticket or tender, you can just walk off) and walked there in more than enough time. Sometimes the ship gets to port earlier also so you can get off even earlier. You should have no problem getting to his pier in time provided the ship arrives in port on time. It was a great trip!!! You'll have a great time.

I always get one...they protect you from the sun and the rain! I once sat out a rain shower that pretty much cleared the beach...it was awesome!

That happened to us as well. It was the first time we had a clam shell. My husband wanted it because he doesn't like to be in the sun. I, on the other hand, like the sun to an extent and for only a short period of time. On our first trip to Half Moon Cay, it started raining. We sat under the clam shell and watched everyone running to the tender. The beach was totally cleared out and we remained under our clam shell. The rain cleared out and we had the beach to ourselves.

Last time we rented a clam shell, my husband sat underneath and I sat out on the chairs in front of the shell to get some sun. There were more than enough chairs on the beach to be able to do both.

Thanks. Was hoping to have a little different experience with a different cruise director, not that Dan was bad.