*Miss G*

I was very disappointed in the NA in December, so I did have some concern for my cruise on the K'dam in October. Fortunately, it was much better than the NA meals. Not great; but better.

It's okay Sea Girl. It was obvious that wasn't your intent.

I'm thinking the Lido at lunchtime isn't the only place where manners are missing.

We sailed on the KD in March for the first and last time. Loved the Dutch Cafe. We were stunned by the reduction in size of the Family Retreat Cabana which was too small for the four of us to enjoy every day, as we had planned.

 

Hated having to straddle the toilet to avoid banging knees on shower.

 

Disliked lack of library but having a revenue generating space at every turn.

 

Love love love the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam. We’ll stick to those.

Sailed the K'dam in October. Hope to sail her again. Didn't spend time at the Dutch Cafe. Loved the Family Retreat Cabana. No problem with the toilet. Was sad about the lack of library but I had enough to do and no lack of reading materials. Was probably a main contributor to the lending library. Will be happy to board the Eurodam and NA (again) in the near future. :)

Okay, so here is my take on it from someone who travels extensively in North America (and beyond) in my daily life. The hotel service charge is the same as any other hotel service charge in that it is added to your base fee, and then gratuities are on top of that and voluntary. So, I tip housekeeping for cleaning up my room. I also tip the valet and the bellman and the Concierge (if I use their services) and the servers in the club lounge. I appreciate their services and this is my way to show my appreciation. (I also appreciate that other countries have their own systems, so this is purely from a North American travelers' perspective.) From what I can determine, infrequent travelers expect not to tip. I have no viewpoint one way or the other. I know what I am comfortable with and don't worry about what others do or do not do. I do appreciate, however, that there appears to be ambiguity concerning gratuities on the cruise lines. To my way of thinking, it's all in the wording. If hotel service charges are, in fact, gratuities, then it would be worded as such.

Well then there is a library or something. Many people do enjoy Caribbean live music by the pool at least for some short time.

I do! It adds to the ambiance.

Has anyone not heard recently "Silence On Deck" coming from the Bridge during the Muster Drill?

Haven't heard it on any of mine. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm on the same cruise line.

Nice music is nice... unlike burping contests we watched (I know we didn't have to watch) on Zuiderdam in 2004. Assignment was that person had to drink a beer, swim to the end of the pool. Burp. Swim back. That was Carnival like entertainment.

Makes complaints about music sound silly now, doesn't it?

On last months' cruise the Captain came on at noon. One time he came on at 12:15. I know this because my mother was getting quite concerned. Carson the Cruise Director immediately followed each update. We enjoyed, and heard, all of the updates.

With that being said, when I was on the Nieuw Amsterdam last week, I saw a gentleman rushing from the dining room, throwing up into a wine chiller bucket. Very classy.

And thoughtful.

:confused: 10053 and 10055 are right behind the screen and speakers.

Ahh. I see what you mean. The 2nd level of the Lido Pool. Have there been noise complaints from those rooms?

All the negative posts on CC gave me some concern about the ship. It turns out I didn't need to worry. Hflors, I loved the movies on the lido deck. There is something magical about being outside on a deck chair curled up with a blanket. It's reminiscent of the excitement I felt as a kid when my parents would surprise us with a drive-in movie. As to someone's concern about sound near the cabins, there were no cabins in the area and the sound was contained.

When I reflect on some of the posts, I come to the conclusion that they have never been on the ship. And when I read that others aren't even going to give her a chance, I wonder why they are so angry and afraid. In the end it works out fine because I don't care to be around grumpy people when I am on my happy hols. :)

Aargh!!! I wish they wouldn't send things by snail mail. I am rarely home so I usually don't get to see my mail until it's too late.

I loved it too. But I enjoy change.

I dislike music so loud that it becomes intrusive and interferes with conversation. On the K'dam in October I actually enjoyed the music mix so much that I would have purchased a copy if they'd had it for sale. There was something for everyone and I enjoyed it all. Mainly because it wasn't blasting.

The only time I wanted to jump overboard was on a Cunard Christmas cruise playing non-stop carols... and nothing else. Day after day after day. When I finally asked one of the staff if they had another mix, he said they'd had many complaints but were not allowed to change it.

I have seen this wording on "private sales" from HAL - I do not get casino rates.

Darn. But I still have hope. There are issues with the mariner credits posting from the sailing so I will check again once they finally appear. Thanks Dave.

I think my experiment may have worked to generate casino pricing! I am logged into the HAL site and happened to see "**This special pricing is not available to the general public." For those who are familiar with these rates.... is this what you see when you are logged in, or does it specifically state that it's a casino rate?

Mind you, it could just be part of the special pricing mailings I randomly receive.

And I sincerely wish auto-correct would stop changing my words.

Why? :confused:

Because (s)he's not you.

If I might ask as this is our first TA ever and I've been saying how entertaining this Celebrity Eclipse TA has been, has anyone reading this thread been on a HAL TA in 2017? If so, how was it? Did HAL offer professional lectures every sea day and interactive game shows other than trivia to keep folks entertained as there are a bunch of sea days when cruising across the Atlantic. Just curious.

I did a HAL TA last month. There were professional lectures on different subjects and theme series several times a day. I don't recall any interactive game shows but I may have skimmed by those since they don't hold any interest for me. There were different types of dance classes and I know I saw card games and such. There were also different types of trivia depending on your interests. Oh, and computer classes as well as photography. I know there was a lot more but I was mostly in recuperation mode so I didn't pay a lot of attention.

Thanks for your post ;however ,these are HALs normal prices

 

We are looking for last minute like 2 to 4 weeks from the cruise prices on what they di not sell :cool:

I may be missing something but when you scroll down the page to the destinations, those are last minute pricing for cruises leaving anywhere from one day to a few weeks out. (And so on.)

Not a PDF, but they have a cruise deals page:

https://www.hollandamerica.com/cruise-deals?legacy=true

You have to scroll down to see the deals by destination.

We carry our own hole punch and lanyards. Now I’m concerned that this won’t work on the Konigsdam in a couple of weeks.

It works. Just get it done at Guest Services.

Not on K'dam in October.

BCUMMIN,

Glad my post brought back good memories for you.

 

In addition the to cruise I wrote about, on another one (I believe it was on a segment of a Grand WC) the Rabbi arranged with the Hotel Manager to have a section of the MDR reserved one evening for passengers who made a reservation for a full Seder on a Friday evening. As I recall, over 150 passengers attended. (No additional charge for us as it replaced our traditional dinner.) It was intended for BOTH Jewish passengers and any others interested in attending, participating and learning. Each step of the meal was explained, what each food represented, etc. His wife took on the role of the "mother/wife" of the home and the Seder service, Many "courses", food and beverages. It was quite long but very interesting for most all who attended. An out-of- the- ordinary cruise experience.

I would find that fascinating as well as educational! (I am Anglican.) I have a strong belief, as I am sure a great many travelers do, that the more exposure you have to other cultures, the more understanding of others you become. I would have jumped at that opportunity.

Thanks Ruth and Denise!

I agree about the lifeboats bennybear. "Yikes!" went through my head when I saw those. lol