REOVA

25 minutes ago, oakridger said:

Yes, but not in glass containers.     From HAL website "Know Before You Go FAQ"

 

Frequently Asked Cruise Questions - Know Before You Go (hollandamerica.com)

 

"Plastic water bottles are not allowed. However, an allowance of six liters, twelve (12) cans or cartons (500 ml in volume or less) or six (6) cans or cartons (1 liter in volume or less) of water are allowed per stateroom.  Any amount in excess of this allowance will be not be allowed onboard. Water in plastic bottles will not be allowed onboard in any quantity, including in ports of call."

 

~Nancy

We've always brought a couple of store bought plastic water bottles onboard and refill with water (and ice) for excursions. Never had a problem with 2.  Many Passengers bring hard plastic/thermos type containers but we don't want to lose a nice thermos off ship. After a few uses, we toss the old in recycle and buy another in port and bring onboard. HAL doesn't want to have to deal with plastic in trash. 

9 hours ago, AKJonesy said:

I didn't find it on Halfacts, google photos or youtube.  But, when you look at HAL NS pdf it looks to be in a good place with staterooms below and above which is always best.  You could look at a similar room on halfacts to get the pros and cons of another SS room as they would be pretty much the same.  

Except this isn't a SS cabin, it's I (interior) and if you try to look at KDam or RDam deck plan, the rooms don't coincide. And for some reason the internet is full of contradicting deckplans for this ship. @horseymikethe best thing to do is ask someone currently on board to see if they can photo any doors around the cabin or tell what may be in the gray areas (they could ask cabin steward) . Your bed will probably be back right (below 12) from the cabin door so the long space is probably more curious. 

19 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I rarely found the books I wanted to read in libraries on ships in previous times. Kindle has been a life-saver for me, enabling me to travel light yet carry dozens of books with me. 

 

The biggest use I've made of ship's libraries is to research last minute port changes. It seems to me that general reference books dealing with specific itineraries are one of the best categories to have in ship libraries...

 

My DW says she likes the feel of "holding a book and turning pages" and loves the old ship libraries. I thought they were nice when the travel books were plenty but they seemed to disappear (as did most of the books). 

48 minutes ago, ClippyJoe said:

I always bring books to leave on the ship. Years ago I read of a group called "Setting Books Free ". The idea was that you register with them. They gave you a number and a stamp that gave the name of the group, the idea of setting books free and asked that the person who " found" the book ,let them know where the book was found. They also asked that the finder set the book free when they were done with it.

So now I set my books free at airports ,on ships, any where I travel and finish a book. Its fun. My children think its the height of nerdiness..... 

Building a "Little Free Library" in your neighborhood is another way to recycle books. Or you can find one near you at littlefreelibrary dot org 

32 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

I've never brought fruit onboard, but have never had any problem bringing flowers onboard all over the world. Not saying there aren't places you can't, but I've never come across them.

From a post in the fall. Might be a one off but according to OP was told HAL policy. 

 
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2888535-fresh-flowers-no-longer-permitted-to-be-brought-aboard-by-passengers/?do=findComment&comment=64167641

2 hours ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

On our TA a couple of weeks ago, we stocked up on fresh papayas for our morning breakfast. I can't tell you how many people would stop and ask us where we got them, even the crew would ask. We also found some in Jamaica when we ran out. YUM! I buy flowers for the cabin too.

You're lucky. Surprised HAL hasn't stopped you from bringing fruit and flowers onboard. 

7 hours ago, pirate cruiser said:

Cool thanks-hate to see Christmas cookies go to waste !

Don't worry, you can mail them out to your fav CC people before you leave. 😉 

29 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

I am sure many HAL fans would vote for a modern song like "In the Mood."

 

Hank

But be careful, you may get Glenn Miller, Rush or Robert Plant's "In the Mood" depending on the musicians 🤣

Agree. Sea day for "Gala" and not sure they would have it the same day as buffet beach day at HMC. Book Pinnacle asap to get your time. You also could book 2 dinners and cancel once onboard and menu is known (if cancellation is soon enough). Yes you may get charged initially and credit back on statement but you'll have your choice day and time. And to be honest, when you mentioned "less than exciting menu" could be any night, including "dressy" night these days.  (subjective, but HAL chose to downgrade "gala" to "dressy"). 😉

4 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Then HAL should get rid of Billboard Onboard and go back to a real Piano Bar. 
Back in the day HAL had several musicians in the Piano Bar who could play any song at the mere mention of it---music and lyrics. This is before the days of tablets holding the lyrics for them, too. Some had a Fake Book, though. 
Several I had the pleasure of spending evenings with knew a few times more than 500 songs. 
Those days of playing 'Stump the Piano Player', and losing much of the time, were fun. 

It was fun when Glenn Michael sat in for a sick Piano Player and did sing along on VoV last July. And on the GWC the piano players are versed in different genres (although some of their arrangements were like fingernails on chalkboard). There are various types of musicians, some play by ear, some read music and some do both. Even the Rolling Stones forget lyrics and notes (as does Bob Dylan) on their own songs. The old HAL house band on the World Stage were great (miss them) but they also had sheet music and arrangements for specific performances or performers. (Over time they memorized the songs but still "turned the pages".) The RSRR band members said they liked specific types of music and specific artists so they would not know every song on HAL's list. I'm sure each of their cover bands back home only play specific styles. I don't expect these bands that are spliced together on ships to learn every song but having more variety than playing their favorite song would be nice. Of course there are people who get out on the dance floor no matter if it's the same song or not and the music bars are standing room only, so either they enjoy it or have nothing else to do. 🤪 Sometimes they have to cater to the crowd and we find something else to do. 

51 minutes ago, richwmn said:

 

 

One of the added activities was an EXC talk: Islands of the Mind, which talked about the influence three people have had on the perception of the Caribbean. It was a very entertaining 40 minute multimedia presentation on Jimmy Buffett, Earnest Hemingway, and Ian Fleming.

 

Once we got a little way from Grand Cayman the weather became nice. 

 

 

Is it too late to turn back? 🤣

We had the same EXC presentation last month and enjoyed it. Hopefully they won't repeat it on the GWC. 😉

Does she like to painting, coloring, trivia, play bridge, mahjong, ping pong, basketball, pickle ball, swimming, games, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, classical/ chamber music, exercising, etc. She will find something (maybe new). Our DD spends most of her time on her cell phone (when not at work) so on the ship she finds more to do that she never would try at home. I'm sure she'll be fine. 

9 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

This, and the size of this class is why I plan to never board one of them.

If they put a Dutch Cafe on the smaller ships, we wouldn't either 🤣. HAL would have a perfect ship for us. 

Nice jeans are acceptable for woman. 

1 hour ago, SilvertoGold said:

Assistant to the Hotel General Manager picks up the contents of the box. I have seen this happen on 3 ships this year. No idea what actually happens then.  

 

I would like to know how the Navigator APP contact form is handled.

I've heard it's digitally documented (and Seattle can see it but not sure if that is true). But I've tried to get responses by speaking with different people onboard and get crickets (or slow responses) but when I've put things in the app, the cabin phone rings by end of day saying it's in the works. 

7 minutes ago, 0106 said:

From Today’s Activities “What’s Happening” I find  the feature Hotel General Manager Mailbox odd.  In your experience,  is writing a note more effective than using the Navigator App

 

 

NO. Mailbox goes to specific person and may not be seen by more than one person (if any 😁 ) I believe the app ("Let Us know") gets more attention, faster. 

2 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

There are no deck chairs on the exterior promenade deck!?!?

 

 

Sadly not of the 3 Pinnacle ships. They are too narrow and even walking with others is tough as you can't see who may be coming around the corner.  Plus the view is of tenders so not much to see on that deck except a few spots forward or aft.

5 hours ago, ShipWalker said:

 

 

I’ve seen it full on embarkation day and completely empty two days later. I’ve seen passengers leave no books and walk away with a handful of four. 
 

I typically bring at least half a dozen books to donate (gets rid of already read books and lightens the luggage on the way home, )

 

Yes my DW brings a few books to leave (and fill the empty suitcase with port "treasures") and its the first place she goes, before going to cabin, to look for books she hasn't read. 

The Rotterdam library was a nice attempt but is more like a bookstore as opposed to the old Explorer's Cafe area. 

36 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

Yes, Cabin Fever was a real eye opener! Interesting tale of how it really was  and decisions made that now with 20/20 hindsight were so misguided!

Zaandam had a soft spot for us as we sailed our last cruise with my late mother on her, and she was our last cruise before Covid in 2019. 

Yes. We were on sister ship for GWC and it brought back many memories of what went on during that time. We fared far better than anyone with no known infections (even after eating with people in Sydney who may have been on Ruby Princess). We knew many people on Zaandam then and also met crew last month on Rotterdam who were on then (and returned to work with HAL 😮). Enlightening period and book. 

14 minutes ago, spleenstomper said:

@REOVA  Does Zaandam have the lounge for suites? 

 

Yes for Neptune suites it's on deck 7 so for the best experience book a Neptune around SA7029,7031,7033. These are under Canelletto which is carpeted and quieter. Otherwise you have a chance of being under Lido pool or Lido Market which are busy either cleaning or sliding chairs morning or evening. Currently 7033 is available. 

Anchorage sailings appear in May so not sure you would have that option in April. I would book a smaller ship (we like them better)  in Alaska.

We've done both cruises years ago, either would be great on smaller ship. If you've been to Alaska and want to do the Canada, I would look for a different date than flying from SoCa and rush turn around. We always get sick (sinus,cold,etc) on cross country flights so if anything happens on return (even jet lag) would put a damper on that cruise. 

Not to be superstitious but we call Zaandam the Covid Ship now (especially reading "Cabin Fever" book) as my DW and about 200 other passengers got Covid in July and more during the Bos/Can cruises before or after. Also some on the Grand Africa that just returned this month. Many did not get infected  (i.e. testing positive) so it's really a small chance on any ship (depending on itinerary and current virus strain) but we now look at 10+:day cruises since quarantine for 5 days on shorter trips would be dreadful. But we still love Zaandam. 

When we did Montreal to Boston, we rented a car and drove up to Montreal and visited various sites along the way. Did the same coming back from Boston afterwards. You probably don't have time to drive but that could be an option later years. 

Being on East Coast we feel any port is easier up and the down the coast to get to so if we had the option to do Alaska again (which we rarely get to NW area) we would choose that. Book a balcony cabin (at least) for either. 

Maybe someone just off the Grand Africa may know but they sometimes release these to current passengers before opening to website. Probably in April/May it will hit website. 

Did you use a TA? I would try to find out what's in the blank space (most likely crew storage/work space/stairs) and where the doors to any of those open. We were on that deck (further down) and the crew going in and out of the doors caused some noise in the halls. 

So when you click on dining credits it doesn't list the restaurants and then day and time?

We booked them about 60-90 days out so maybe it waits until your final payment. 

57 minutes ago, Wakepatrol said:

Sit tight, I’m working out a few minor details for a new act to bring on the ship 

Wait until the swells kick up, then they'll be "rocking"...