Maya_C

Thank you for the information. We also have a deluxe balcony. Now I know what to expect!

Please tell me if footstools are provided for the balcony chairs in a standard veranda cabin on the Silhouette and if those chairs recline fully. The balcony chairs on the Infinity in October did fully recline and had a footstool, but that was for a concierge room. I have an inflatable footstool, but I'd rather not bring it along if the ship's outdoor chairs have them. Thank you for your help. ~Maya

Can you see what is on the children's menu if you don't have children with you?

The agent did come through with the discounts as listed in Jim's message. Thanks to all who replied.

Are coffee and tea still available all day in the Hideway? It's been 11 years since we were last on the Silhouette. I enjoyed being on deck 7 near the Hideaway because I could get hot water for tea without going up the buffet. ~Maya

Thank you. that's what I needed to know.

Hi, We have a 10-day cruise booked and just decided to add a 4-day cruise before it. My TA said that the fare we paid for the 10-day cruise could not be combined with any other discount. We might get the b2b discount on the 4-day cruise, but the TA thought it will only be $25, if anything. Does anyone know what the discount is on such a short cruise and whether I need to stay in the same cabin for both legs to get the discount? Thank you for your help. Maya

I agree that the Lido on that smaller HAL ship left something to be desired. However, I was pleased not to worry about passengers grabbing food and putting it back. With few exceptions, everything was served from behind the counter.

We had the same good experience with food on the Zaandam in May. Over the years we've mostly cruised Celebrity and HAL, deciding between them based on itinerary. Before our May cruise, I'd rarely eaten fish that hadn't been overcooked on either line. The Zaandam MDR offered a different fish every night (grouper, mahi, snapper, halibut), not just the usual salmon. The fish was cooked in a variety of ways and came with different sides every night. None of the fish was overcooked. (HAL has a new program whereby it locally sources fish for its ships across the globe.) The menus included real appetizers, not just salads and soup, and side dishes that varied from day to day. After seeing Celebrity's new menus, I've lowered my expectations for my cruises on Infinity in October and on Silhouette in January, and given similar itineraries, I'll go with HAL for future cruises unless Celebrity's MDR menus change for the better.

I got to the point of choosing a ship and an itinerary and then the app went into an endless loop--black screen with an animated X in the middle and no way to return to a previous screen. I deleted the app, reinstalled it, followed the same steps to choose to a different ship, and the same thing happened. I'm on an iphone 13.

Thanks so much for the App instructions for finding menus. CC members are always helpful. ~Maya

When I follow the menu option for the main dining room on our upcoming cruise, I see only the desserts for each night.

I have downloaded the app, but I don't see the option to choose any ship. My only options pertain to our upcoming cruise in two weeks on the Infinitiy, and menus are not there, just the option to reserve. How do I get to the menus for ships in the same class? Thanks for your help.

Yes, the Pinnacle ships are the only ones offering no-charge freshly squeezed orange juice on the breakfast menu because Club Orange members eat in a separate dining room, along with passengers in the higher room categories. On the other ships, where CO members eat in the MDR, fresh OJ with no surcharge is only on the room service menu. At dinner in the MDR on non-Pinnacle ships, CO passengers are offered a menu with one extra entree choice. We had to ask for this menu on the first night in the MDR on the Zaandam, but after that the server always handed it to us when he gave out the menus to the other passengers at the table.

With Club Orange you get freshly squeezed orange juice only when you order a room service breakfast, not if you eat elsewhere. I knew that before I boarded, so that info is somewhere in the Club Orange write-up it on HAL's website. Freshly squeezed orange juice is on the Club Orange room service breakfast menu. I had to ask for our cabin attendant for that menu on the first day. It wasn't automatically placed in the room every day. This was on the Zaandam.

Thank you for the info about doing Porto on your own. About how long does the shuttle bus take from the port where the ship is to the center of town?

Thanks. I'll pack my orange top!

Is the Orange Party usually late at night?

We were on the Veendam with the same setup as the Volendam--loungers reserved for lanai passengers. We had no trouble finding free loungers in the areas of the deck Ruth mentioned. That was true for both a Bermuda cruise in June and a Greek island cruise in May. ~Maya

One difference between the largest Celebrity ships and HAL's Pinnacle class ships is the Passenger to Space ratio--the enclosed space (measured in cubic feet) per passenger. The higher the space ratio, the more guests will have a sense of spaciousness on board. The ratio for almost all of Celebrity's ships is in the 35 to 37 range. Most of HAL's ships are in 34 to 36 range. Not a big difference there. But K-dam, Rotterdam, and NS have a ratio of 31. I have only anecdotal evidence to suggest this number matters. Friends of ours were on the Konigsdam after several cruises on Celebrity ships. They reported that the K-dam felt crowded and they had trouble finding any public area that wasn't full of people. If you want to know more about this subject, google passenger space ratio. The only HAL ships I've been on, Veendam and Zaandam, have the highest space ratios in the fleet--36. The Celebrity ships I've taken have a ratio of 35. I never felt crowded on either line. The space ratio is based on a ship's capacity, so if a ship is less than full, passengers will feel it is more spacious. Your mileage may vary, as the saying goes.

I've cruised with Celebrity but never Royal. Can I join the Crown & Anchor Society prior to booking my first cruise on Royal? If not, how would Royal know what my loyalty status is on Celebrity and give me the equivalent tier's benefits? Thanks for your help.

I didn't know about the military OBC before booking a HAL cruise. Once the verification goes through, will we receive the OBC on an already booked cruise or does the verification have to occur before booking? Thanks for your help. ~Maya

I've seen rack of Colorado lamb on Celebrity menus. HAL menus don't seem to indicate the source of the lamb though Alaskan halibut and salmon show up. Since I much prefer US lamb to Australian, I'm hoping the servers know where where the lamb comes from.

We were in the farthest aft cabin facing the wake, Deck 7, on Zaandam in 2009. We felt vibrations in our room as did people in the last few aft cabins on port and starboard of deck 7. Maybe that issue has been addressed by now. I did not select an aft cabin for my upcoming Zaandam cruise. ~Maya

A question about menus on Navigator: Does it show menus for more than one day or only for the current day? Thanks for your help. ~Maya