Broadway99354

On 4/12/2024 at 12:23 PM, RuthC said:

I was always especially fond of 'Encore', as the music and the costumes were both gorgeous! 
I only got to see it twice, but could have seen it more times, had it been offered. 

I used to love 'Copacabana', but that was around a while, and I know others got kind of sick of it. I didn't, but then I only saw it 2-3 times. 

I saw "Encore" 8 times.  It is by far my favorite production show.  Only 2 singers, no dancers, but with with a live orchestra.  With Courtney and Dustin Cunningham, I was in paradise.

I was in Room D7003/4 for a 36-day Med cruise this June.  As noted above, the views entering and exiting the ports are fantastic.  Did not notice any noise.  In the Med, so did not experience any large waves.  Only one day did I see a crew member on the platform outside the window.  Note that the cabins on the sides of 7001/4 are for crew members.  There is a stairway apposite the rooms (toward the stern).

Great rooms.

I had a front-facing oceanview cabin on the Konigsdam for 36 days this summer on a Mediterrean cruise.  It was fantastic.  Getting up early, opening the curtains and seeing the coast getting closer was great.  On some departures (e.g. Trieste), we backed out and the view was fabulous, especially as it was dark and the city lights were on.  The curtains on the 7th deck cabins do have to be closed at night to limit shine on the bridge.  The Mediterrean Sea was very calm, so rocking was not a problem.

Was in Room 7004 for 11 days and then 7002 for the next 25 during a Med cruise.  The room is very similar to a typical overview cruise.  What sets it apart are the great views out of the window entering and leaving a port.  Leaving Trieste, Italy was fantastic as it was about 9pm (full lights of the large plaza and palace were on) and as we back out, the sight was beautiful.  Seeing new coasts and then towns out of the window was great.

June 1, 2019 Konigsdam cruise will now go to Kusadasi, dropping Sarande. Received email from HAL.

Thank you for the replies.:D

I would like to book three cruises (June 1/12/24 of 2019) on the Koningsdam. My TA (confirmed by HAL) states that I can book 3 seperate cruises, cruise 1+2 as well as 3, or cruise 1 as well as 2+3. However, I cannot book all three under 1 number. Does anyone have any insight into this ?

From Customer Services:

"

Thank you for your e-mail regarding your ms Oosterdam Dec 2, 2017voyage. Yes, the cruise logs have been discontinued.

Holland America Line understands this is disappointing to many of our guestswho enjoyed this as part of a commemorative piece to remember yourcruise. However, as we try to reduce our carbon foot-print, and printingless items that needed to be disposed of in the future, we hope you willunderstand our decision to discontinue the cruise logs.

Please stay tuned as we continue to monitor the changes and implementreplacement programs for future voyages. We sincerely apologize for theinconvenience this has caused. And your request has been forwarded tomanagement for review and future considerations.

Please let us know if there is anything further. We are lookingforward to welcoming you on board very soon.

Kind Regards,

Karen"

Did you do the Blue Ice tour from Qaqortoq?

 

Her tours leave from several ports, each offering different options. The one offered from Qaqortoq are the Halsvey Church site, or a boat trip and hike to what looks like a land-locked glacier.

 

Thanks - Blue Ice has a very nice website.

Yes, we did from Qaqortoq. Had about a hour in town before we left on excursion.

"Google Blue Ice Explorer, owner Jackie Simoud. We were to have taken their boat trip to the glaciers on another cruise line."

Was on 2015 VoV. This was one of the best excursions ever. Went through small passages to front of glacier. Returned through iceberg channel and saw small towns.

On the 2015 Voyage of the Vikings 16 of us had a private tour in 2 boats with Blue Ice to a tidewater glacier out of Qaqortoq. It was fantastic.

Three and half years ago I stayed at the Hotel New York. It is a long walk back to the central part of town. However, opening the curtains and seeing the Rotterdam out of your window is a view I will never forget.

On the first set of cruises that had "ENCORES", programs with the title and brief descriptions of songs along with the names of the providers with given out. I still have that program.

ENCORES is by far the best production show I have seen. I have now seen ENCORES 8 times. I was particularly fortunate to see it again on last year's Voyage of the Viking cruise with Courtney and Dustin Cunningham, who made ENCORES truly memorable. Having seen over 300 Broadway productions, I am very willing to pay Broadway prices to see the Cunninghams perform the piece.

On that VoV cruise, I asked the Cruise Director (Christina Purcel) about programs. She stated that HAL's policy was not to provide programs. However, 2 days latter, I found a nice letter with the names of the singers and dancers of the showroom and the names of the major entertainers in the lounges.

Side note - we loved the Lord of the Rings tour -very pricey but a lasting favorite memory. A delicious photo op. Plus they control the numbers of people who can visit this site at any one time so as to not overwhelm the effect. Beautiful drive through the countryside to get there.

Fully agree. One of the best excursions of my life.

Each year, Vov has different ports, but those on the 2015 cruise were fantastic. Seeing Greenland under various consitions, including an icefield is unforgettable as the Captain noted. Speaking of the Captain, he and his crew were simply great. The entertainers (especially Courtney and Dustin Cunningham, Andreea and Alex of the Adagio. and Ashley Wey and Louis of the Neptunes not only have tremendous talent but are so kind and generous). I thought that nothing could beat the Baltics, New Zealand, and Antartica, but the scenery and the Veendam's crew and entertainers proved me wrong.

From mid-October to mid-March, Alexandru (Violin) and Andreea Coseru (Piano) will form the Adagio on the Prinsedam. They just left the Veendam. During the Voyage of the Vikings cruise, I missed dessert in the main dining room every night (but 1) so that I could hear their complete first set. The Explorers' Lounge was full for most of their sets, even given the excellent set of entertainers aboard for the VoV.

I agree that HAL had the A Team on this year's Voyage of the Vikings. From the Captain to the Bridge Crew to the sewards (dining and room) to the fantastic entertainers, it was a cruise that exceed my very high expectations. You could tell from the Captain's tone when he announced that the Veendam had passed the Coast Guard inspection that he truly believe that the responsibility and honor for passing the insection was due to the excellence of the entire crew. The itinernary and weather were great (for the most part), but the crew made the voyage much more than special.