Crew News

Welcome to Cruise Critic. I cannot answer your Fitness Center question but I can provide a link to the Main Dining Room menus for your cruise: Alaska 7-Day MDR Menus

The Eurodam does not have self-service laundry and no irons are available for passenger use. Shirts/pants will be steamed for about 4 seconds and placed on hangers.

As a longtime Olympus user, your plan sounds good to me and you have quite a wide zoom range covered. Add an extra battery just to be safe and maybe a teleconvertor to reach out to more wildlife.

There is no need to purchase the laundry package before you board the ship. In your closet, you will find a blue laundry bag and laundry list clipped to a pants hanger. Fill out the list and check the box for the unlimited package. If you have any special instructions, you can write them by the items. You can turn in laundry in the morning and evening by leaving the filled bag on your bed for your Room Steward. It is my experience that laundry turned in at breakfast time is returned the same day with evening turn-in returned the next morning. Note that laundry cannot be turned in the day before disembarkation. If you do not check the hanger or folded box on the laundry list, everything with the exception of undershorts/panties, socks, and handkerchiefs will be on hangers. A new laundry list and bag will be included with your returned laundry. Every item on hangers will have a laundry tape that should be removed before moving items into your closet. Failure to do so will give you a very itchy feeling when you wear the item of clothing. After the first laundry return, you will know where to look for the tape. Ask your Room Steward for extra laundry bags and lists so that you can have the next bag ready without waiting for returned laundry with new bags/list. By turning in laundry both morning and evening, you will have everything in your suitcase hanging unwrinkled in your closet. I pack for four days with mix & match items and save a lot of luggage space that I can devote to souvenirs.

I was told that the Sunday Brunch was for longer sailings when Sunday was not a port day. I could find nobody that would tell me what was considered a "longer sailing". The brunch menu was served on my Pacific Coastal cruise April 2022. What a pleasant surprise to have prime rib for brunch!!

Here is a link to my When & Where for a Northbound cruise from Vancouver to Seward: When & Where Alaska Northbound 2019

Empty reusable plastic bottles/containers will not be confiscated nor will Ziploc bags used to store your cheese plates in your minibar.

"Limit: One (1) onboard spending money credit (“Offer”) per stateroom."

A few Room Service items are not included in your basic fare. Here is the Room Service menu: Room Service Pinnacle-class Ships

Alaskan cruises should have draft beers from the Alaska Brewing Company. The Nieuw Statendam has Beer On Tap in the Crows Nest.

Changing rooms is easy and will be facilitated by your Room Stewards. Often they just change drawers with the new stateroom as soon as the previous occupants leave. All of your belongings will be locked in your new stateroom and you will pick up your new key at the time given in your instruction letter from Guest Services. You will be escorted from the ship as part of the "zeroing out" process and be allowed to return usually within an hour.

On the HAL website, select your cruise, "Cruise Activities", "Beverages", and then "Wines & Champagnes". Complete the purchase screen.

I can't answer the shower question but the Nieuw Amsterdam now has the interactive TV's.

Here is the bar menu that i verified in April so you can see the prices: Bar Menu

After noting that you will be going to Alaska, I have to temper my earlier response. Internet speed at sea so far north of the equator is terribly slow and spotty. Upgrading to the Premium package will help some with speed but void areas cannot be overcome. There should be a few computers for use while onboard but they will not permit the use of any USB devices. They will not be any faster than the slow internet speeds in Alaska. I suggest that you do payroll using your laptop while in port and use your cell phone as a hotspot. Cell phone connections in Alaska ports are excellent as soon as most of passengers disperse away from the cell towers near the dock. You can use the slow ship internet with less bandwidth competition (most passengers will be ashore) while in port and the signal should not be spotty.

The Surf package in the HIA is fine unless you need the extra speed for streaming that is available in the Premium package. The upgrade price for a seven day cruise is $40 once you are onboard. Anyone who knows the password can share the internet connection. Each internet account can have only one device connected at a time. If any device tries to connect while another device is already connected, it will kick off the connected device. You can add three additional devices for $10/day on each account once onboard the ship. You cannot just add a single device to an account. Price may vary on each ship. This means that an account can have four devices connected at any one time. With two accounts (one with a single device at a time) and one account with four devices at a time, everyone should be happy.

Best Alaska wildlife excursion is Crab Fishing in Ketchikan where the boat stops to feed eagles for about 30 minutes. I counted at least 50 on my last visit taking turns swooping down from the trees to snatch fish in their talons. Even if you close your eyes and just press the button on your camera, you will get some good photos. If you have high speed and tracking set on your camera, you will get amazing photos. Here are more photos of what you will experience: Crab Fishing Link

In my many B2B cruises, Fort Lauderdale was the only port where Immigration processing took place onboard. My last two cruises in Fort Lauderdale, everyone was required to disembark the ship. If you will not be staying in the same stateroom for the second leg, your Room Stewards will help move all of your belongings to your new stateroom before you disembark in Sand Diego. They will bring a trolley for all of your hanging clothing, often just swapping your drawers with those in your new stateroom, and packing all of your suitcases will not need to repacked. Your time ashore depends on the speed of processing through Immigration while ashore. If you are staying on the same ship, your account balance will just be rolled over to your new cruise and the OBC for your second leg will be added your account.

With the exception of pastries, food service does not begin until 11:30 AM.

The Explorations Cafe in the Crows Nest on the NS serves the same items as on other HAL ships.

Fortunately, the Grand Dutch Cafe has at least two baristas working at any one time with three during peak times and the line moves quickly. There is also staff working back in the kitchen preparing food and those great cookies/pastries.

Definitely, on your second day try Fly Denali with a landing way up high in the snow. The scenery, the incredibly fresh air, crunchy snow under your feet, and the tranquility are not to be missed. Link to other Fly Denali photos: Fly Denali Photos

As noted earlier, the HAL Room Stewards know the disembarkation time of all of their supported passengers and start on those rooms as soon as they are vacated. Many passengers who have chosen later disembarkation times will allow the Room Stewards to strip bedding while they are still in the staterooms. It is my experience that "not yet ready" means just a few finishing touches like brochures, notes, ballpoint pens by the phone, or a final inspection may yet to be done. Even if your stateroom is not ready, you can drop off your carry-on luggage in the room and head to lunch.

Yes. If you book within 60 days of returning from a HAL cruise, use a Future Cruise Deposit, add a Shareholder Benefit, and this First Responder/Vet benefit, you can build a good amount of OBC for every cruise.

If a bar is near a location where coffee is brewed, it never hurts to ask. The Explorations Cafe in the Crows Nest specializes in iced coffee beverages. Here is the menu: Explorations Cafe Menu