TomAndJane

 

My plans are to sail in February and even buy a 2017 Southern Itinerary cruise while on this cruise for the $100 credit. As said before, the Conquest will get a redo during the fall of 2016 so that should resolve most issues and the Conquest would be a good candidate.

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When is the Conquest getting a redo? The schedule for this fall looks full.

Just curious..trying to find the tour you did & am not sure which one it is??

 

http://www.frontierexcursions.com/index.html

It is one of the Yukon tours. Lasts 6 hours.

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We were there in January. Didn't get to the beach until late morning. We paid $20 for 2 chairs (can't recall if we had an umbrella). I wasn't feeling good that day and knew we wouldn't be there long so we would t have paid more. Don't recall if we haggled. We went to the hit right at the end of the walkway from the road.

Thanks so much for the update.

Any recent updates on chair rental and umbrella costs at Palm Beach? Going through this thread I have read of prices as high as $45 and as low as $20. Any help would be appreciated.

Tom

Also when you search carnival on youtube there is about 20 videos of "how to sneak alcohol in water bottles", although it would be good to think most people are honest you can find hundreds of comments of people bragging how they do it and get away with it. With a sealed case of water they just simply pry one bottle from the outside and the rest are easily removed and then they simply fill them all with any clear alcohol and they buy new caps online they can reseal the bottles with and slip them back in the case. Most of us would not think of anything like this but it appears to be extremely common which would be very understandable why any cruise line would not permit cases of water.

What you have forgotten to mention is that Carnival no longer allows any type of bottles to be brought on board but does still allow cans. In addition Carnival lowered the price of their water to $3.99 a 12 pack unlike NCL. I am platinum on both Carnival and NCL so I cruise a lot. NCL is just looking for another revenue stream because as Del Rio calls it, he has a captive audience and they will pay the additional charges.

Yes, took a look back and NCL used to charge $15 corkage on each and every bottle brought on board. So two free and then corkage after that is definitely better for wine drinkers:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1702396&page=3

The article does not say you get two free bottles, it says you can take on two bottles and pay the corkage fee. I read that to mean if you use to take a case of wine on board and pay the corkage fee, now you are limited to two bottles with the corkage fee.

Corkage is an industry standard. It is done all the time in the restaurant business. $15 as it goes is cheap for a 750ml. As a collector of fine wine, I gladly pay corkage on cruises as well as restaurants to drink my wine.

 

I am in favor of the ban. I believe it will curb illegal booze, and minimize people getting sick, which happens far too often on NCL. Their cruise fares are low with the hopes of making up money on people's bar tab.

So banning cans of pop is going to stop illegal booze from getting on board? Not in the world I live in. Carnival still allows cans on board and only stopped bottles. I am Platinum on NCL and have never saw anyone getting sick from drinking too much. Loud yes, sick no.

Your post is troubling on many fronts.

 

Ship understaffed. A loud drunk and YOU had to ask bartender to call security, which never came.

 

The extra-tariff restaurants not up to snuff.

 

Great crew. So what. First three things speak of a ship that needs some refinement.

I think that all ships may need some refinement. Regardless of that we had a great time and a great cruise.

So what was the glass of water for.... to pour on the intoxicated woman? I hope security quenched it properly.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. I haven't been to Bermuda, hope I get to someday but it will likely be a different experience without the small ships able to dock in Hamilton. m--

The glass of water was for the lady and replaced her wine. Security never came but the bartender did a good job of keeping her separated from others.

Tom and Jane

Zuiderdam 15-Feb-2017

10 Day Panama Canal Sunfarer

Just returned from a wonderful cruise on the Veendam round trip to Bermuda out of Boston. We became Three stars on this cruise so we have a little experience on HAL. I am sure that others on this very same cruise may have a completely different version but this is how I view it.

The Good:

1. Bermuda - Enough said

2. The crew - The Veendam has to have one of the best crews in the fleet. The room stewards, the bar staff and other members of the crew were absolutely fantastic. Mae, Joanna, Princess, John and James all stand out as not only wonderful staff but people as well.

3. Main dining room - We were on the Veendam for two weeks in 2015 and the main dining room food was horrible. This year the food was FANTASTIC and the service even better! We also had lunch one afternoon and the fish was some of the best we have ever had.

4. Barry from Boston - We saw Barry several evenings and he always drew a crowd. He was very entertaining, a good singer and one hell of a piano player.

The Bad:

1. The Specialty Restaurants - Last year both the Pinnacle and the Canaletto were wonderful. This year they were both big disappointments. In the Canaletto my fish was so over done it was charred and my wife only got 4 shrimp in her shrimp pasta. In the Pinnacle we both ordered the Halibut and it had such a strong perfume smell we couldn't even eat it (Appetizers were delicious).

2. The public areas - There were bathrooms out of order the entire cruise and several of the toilets were not cleaned. The staff of the Veendam do their best to keep areas clean but they are under staffed and it shows in some of the public areas.

3. Technology - The Veendam is older and it shows in their technology infrastructure. You can't view menu's, your account, etc in your room because of the old small TV's.

The OH MY:

1. One night at the Piano bar one intoxicated lady showed up and started yelling at Barry the Piano player. Then started making comments to other passengers even telling one gay couple where were celebrating their 20th Anniversary exactly how she felt about them and it wasn't positive. After a few minutes of this I went to the Bartender and asked them to call Security. The lady bartender grab a glass of water and came out from behind the bar and made sure she was between the lady and the other passengers.

2. Robe and slippers in the buffet.. Really.... hahahaha

3. Shorts and T-shirts at dinner. This doesn't bother me at all but I know that for some it does. I guess this happens on every cruise line.

Bottom Line:

1. Did we have a great time - Yes

2. Does the Veendam need more staff and upgraded - Yes

3. Are the staff on the Veendam fantastic - YES

4. Would we sail on her again - A big YOU BET !!!

If you have any questions I may be able to answer them for you.

Tom

Thanks Everyone. We can't wait. :D:D

:eek:Don't think I'll be orderin from the room service liquor list when I finally get aboard!!

If they offer a bottle for about the same price you can get online a head of time, why not? HAL let's you order once on board without upping the prices (except maybe for local taxes).

Thanks again. Here is the link I was talking about:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2290204

Once on the ship, you can stop by any bar and ask what the cost of a bottle for the cabin would cost.

Explain that you know that you have to call room service to order but that you would like to know the price of it before you order the bottle.

The only list that HAL provides is the one on their site. But I do know that some people have been able to order other brands once on the ship.

All you can do is try.

Thanks. I read somewhere that someone said there was a Room Service Alcohol list in the room you could order from. I guess they were mistaken.

Thanks again

Tom

This may help:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Spirits-and-Beer-for-Stateroom.pdf

This is what you can order from the website a head of time.

Thanks,

Tom

Does anyone have a current copy of the Room Service Liquor list that they can share? I am interested in Capt Morgan and that can not be purchased a head of time online.

Thanks,

Tom

not really. the op hit the nail on the head for why bottles are now banned from being brought on board.

So you drank the Kool-aid too... hahaha :):):)

Really?? There are a heck of lot more reasons than passengers bringing alcohol on board in water bottles...

Veendam - Bermuda June 18, 2016

I AGREE lots of folks with scooters are just too lazy to walk. Most of the folks I saw were just over weight and really needed the exercise. Before you FLAME ME let me tell you I have Heart failure, A FIB and COPD. I don't use a scooter because it's sometimes just LAZY.I do get out of breath when I walk and I do have to stop to catch my breath. Yes I use a cane and I do use the elevator when NOT being run over by a scooter. if YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE FOLKS THAT IS GOING TO flame ME JUST THINK ABOUT THE REALITY. Do you need the scooter ? or are you just LAZY and want it for convenience.

It always amazes me how F-ing brave people can be when they don't have to face the people they are criticizing or judging.

I'm using Google Chrome. When I switched to Microsoft Edge it worked fine. In addition, when I go 'Incognito' with Chrome it works. I have removed history, etc. and still having issues with Chrome. Oh well, at least there is a work around.

Tom

Maybe it is just me but when I go to Carnival.com and try to do a booking now it will not allow me to choose a specific State room. It picks it for me (even though I say I want to pick my own room), does not show the deck plan and will not allow me to change the room. Has anyone else experienced this? I am not a fan and may be calling them from now on to book if this keeps up. Not good!

TOm

We just spent two weeks on the Splendor. We had a room by the Aft Stairs on Deck 2. During the two weeks we were on her, we did smell different types of odors at times but nothing that we were concerned about. We have smelled those same odors on other ships as well. The worse odor the entire trip was the cleaner they were using on Turn-around day. :) Enjoy the Splendor, she is a great ship with a great crew (should be even better after her dry dock).

Tom

I bought mine this morning for $2.99. Must have went up after I purchased it. Three cases (one case per room) for under $18.