TomAndJane

6 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Cruise dress code topics will never cease and sometimes can be pretty eye opening. I was on NCL's flagship Viva in December after a 7 year hiatus from sailing with them and it was pretty eye opening what people will wear for dinner when there's no dress code. NCL has no dress code for any restaurant EXCEPT for their French restaurant, Le Bistro. I was pretty shocked to see guys going to the Specialty steakhouse, which mind you is a beautiful setting, literally as if they came directly from the main pool deck. Flip flops, board shorts, TANK TOP, floppy hat. That's how guys came to dinner. 

I call BS on this.  I am Sapphire on NCL and they never allow flip flops, tank tops etc. in the specialty restaurants unless it is the Sushi bar.  I will agree that NCL is the most lax when it comes to dress code but not what you describe. On Royal I wore shorts every night to the Dining room except formal nights, on Carnival I wore shorts every night except formal nights and even on Holland I could wear jeans to the dining room except on formal nights.  Celebrity is the only cruise line that I would never dare to wear shorts to the dining room.  With that said, the OP asked if t-shirts would be allowed.  My response:  if the Maitre D allows you in, you can wear whatever you want but if they refuse you, graciously change clothes and return.  🙂 

6 minutes ago, floridababa said:

I thank you for your input.   Reading on many sites that talk about poor service and food. Hoping the NS is good

You are welcome.  The staff is great.  I am sure you will have a great cruse.

We just got off The Statendam on March 4th.  Here are some of my observations as a 4 star mariner (not that that matters):

1.  We were on two other DAM ships in early and late January.  The Happy Hour each day consisted on 50% off each drink so if you didn't have the drink package it was a great deal (Eurodam and Zuiderdam).  On the Statendam the Beverage Manager decided to make it 20% off your 2nd drink after paying full price for the first one

2.  The Grand Dutch Cafe had NO BELGIAN beers that they advertised on their website and the board in the cafe.  The Beverage Manager tried to convince us that their distributor could not get the beers in North America.  If this is true then why did I have them on the Rotterdam and Koningsdam?  The Belgian beers are more expensive and I believe that the Beverage Manager is just trying to save money.

3.  Be careful of the fish in the Canaletto  We ate there and my wife had three bones at least 1/2 " long in her first two bites.  They told us the person that de-bones the fish was new and it would not happen again.

4.  Staff was great especially our room stewards and Roy at the Panorama Bar.

5.  Entertainment in the Rock and Roll room was good and the piano players had some good sets and some not so good sets.

6.  During our cruise a member of the entertainment staff was very unfortunately killed so the main shows and BB Kings were cancelled the last four nights of the cruse.

7.  Make sure you check your onboard account daily (charged twice for $43) and also once you get home.  We had a posted (not hold) charge and still have it right now of $169.70 for excursions we did not purchase and for a port our ship did not even go to.  These charges were not on the app the say we left the ship.

8.  Food is subjective but I would say the menus are not as good as they use to be.

9.  When the casino is crowded it can be a little smokie,

10.  Overall I would say you will love your cruise, enjoy the ship and staff but just be aware that things may go awry.

We just got off the Nieuw Statendam on March 4th and while onboard I had to go down to the front desk twice because of being charged for drinks we did not purchase.  Approximately $43 each time because we supposedly ordered 4 Grey Goose Vodkas at once.  We are four stars and have been on many other ships and do not recall this ever happening before.  Regardless, this was fixed and I got off the ship expecting a $.50 charge that was on the app as my final bill.  After I got home and was able to check my credit card bill (Monday), I had a posted charge (Not a hold) of $169.70.  I immediately called HAL Customer Service and asked about the charge.  HAL told me that my wife and I had purchased an excursion the DAY we got off the ship.

After asking what the excursion was, it was for a Kayak, Snorkel and Beach excursion in St. Thomas.  Guess where our cruise went?  Half Moon Cay, Aruba and Curacao.  I still have the posted charge and awaiting for Ship Services to let me know how much I enjoyed my excursion in St Thomas.. 🙂  

The accounting department on that ship has a lot of issues and I hope it gets straightened out soon.

On 7/9/2022 at 12:53 PM, roxybear135 said:

I don't know if HAL did or not but we never exchanged money or took it out of an ATM in any of the ports/countries we went to.  We only used credit cards and had no issues with that.  Pretty much everyone takes credit card there (even the people begging on the street!) so I wouldn't bother with getting cash for any of the countries.

Thanks for all the replies.  Reason I asked is because a couple of our tours state if you want to purchase items, snacks or drinks onboard a couple of our small boat excursions you must bring local currency.

Tom

Sorry if this has been asked already but did HAL happen to sale Icelandic Krona on board or were you required to use an ATM on shore to get local monies?

Thanks

Tom

Any updates on Snorkel Beach??

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise

Here is the latest I can find.  https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise

Based on this, the only thing that someone visiting Canada on a cruise is have a test prior to boarding their cruise ship and be vaccinated (same rules as the cruiselines at this point).  You  do not have to have the ArriveCan app or upload your information.  If you depart on a cruise that originates in Canada you do need the ArriveCan app.

Tom

We have had several B2Bs and always bring on 2 bottles per person.  With that said, you have to have paperwork showing both cruises.

Tom

We were on the Carnival Valor over New Years 2022 that left on Dec 31.  We left at 3:30 and the casino was opened at 7:30 p.m.  After celebrating New Years we went to our balcony and we could see land (within 40-50 yards away - starboard side) until around 12:30 a.m.  I didn't look to see where we were but now looking at google maps I would assume somewhere in East/West Bay.

According to our itinerary, we are not docking at Ward Cove (NCL Sun) because they are not offering the Water Shuttle for $39 per person as they are on other sailings.  That could be one way to determine where you might be docking.  Last years photo's only show the NCL Encore. Regardless of where we dock we will still have a great time.  We love Alaska.

On 11/22/2021 at 1:43 PM, V_V said:

We were just there last week (Nov 2021) and the Amber Museum was open, Del Oro Chocolate Factory, Macroix Rum Factory, and Fortress of San Felipe were open. 

 

I agree about not driving yourself - it was crazy!

 

Did you take a cab to these places?  I am interested in the Brugal Rum Factory and the Cable Car.  Just wondering how much a cab would cost.

Thanks

Tom

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Tom

I know that there were talks about Snorkel Park Beach getting much needed updates back in 2019.  Does anyone know if those updates actually happened and if they did is it worth going to now?  We will be arriving on a Sunday at 3:00 p.m. and figured it would be a place to go to for the evening.  What are the admission prices now?  The one I saw said Sunday was $10 for Sunday Live but there was no other information.

Thanks,

Tom

TomandJane will be on:

Nieuw Amsterdam - Aug 7, 2021 7 Day Alaska

Nieuw Statendam - Dec 12, 2021 7 Day Southern Caribbean

Koningsdam - March 13, 2022 7 Day Mexican Rivera

Koningsdam - March 20, 2022 7 Day Pacific Coastal

Nieuw Statendam - Aug 3, 2022 24 Night Canada/New England with Greenland and Iceland.

Thanks,

Tom

Well I guess no announcement today.  

Thank you for the response.  Happy U.S. Thanksgiving.

A few years ago was the last time we went to Bermuda.  We purchased a booklet of 15 tickets for the bus and ferry.  We did not use all of the tickets and I was wondering how long they are valid? If the world changes we plan on going back to Bermuda in August.

Thanks

Tom

Just saved $500 on our Nov Panorama Cruise -  Cove Balcony

I have honestly never understood how what one person wears affects another.  If the Maitre D allows someone into the dining room, regardless of what they are wearing, then it is approved.  It is not going to lessen my experience or am I missing something?

I think it was called the Freedom City Surf Bar and Shop or something like that.

Thanks again,

Tom

According to this link it is $25 per person.  Not such a great deal as it first appeared.

http://sandcastleonthebeach.com/offers/#beachclub

Has the place that you walked left too and could buy drinks, rent chairs on the beach, etc. reopened yet?  We were there several years ago and I understand that it was destroyed by Maria.

Thanks for your help,

Tom

Hi Kazu,

My wife and I are on the following cruises:

Rotterdam - 07-Apr-19 - 7 day Western Caribbean

Maasdam - 18-May-20 - 14 day Great Alaska Explorer

Thanks,

Tom