AV8rix

Ooops, might have been mistaken with my post #11, @Lovewandering. The OVs that have been updated all have the glass showers, because I've booked a lot of those. And I think that goes for the few verandahs also. But I might be wrong there. If I were you I'd check with my PCC to make certain if I were thinking about booking one of those. That is, if your PCC is one of the "old" pre-covid ones (mine is), not one of the new hires.

Ya beat me to it, Eric! That's exactly what I would have posted and it's TRUE! So I, too, don't book short cruises (unless I can't help it and they're fillers between longer B2B2Bs) and I also follow the excellent thread authored by @VMax1700 that keeps track of most groups/charters/drydocks.

Nope, the verandahs before the update have NEVER had showers, only tubs. The only verandahs on the Vista, R-class and Signature ships that you see with the * symbol are the few forward and aft ones that have been updated, with their tubs removed and the glass showers installed. Have you ever booked one of those? I have, so that's how I KNOW!

I believe that you have been given incorrect information by the previous responders. Some of the verandah staterooms (those stateroom numbers you mentioned are not suites, they are verandah class) have been updated to have showers. Those that have been updated DEFINITELY have the glass showers, as the standard 60" tubs have been removed and the showers installed in that space. I know this because I'm only 5' tall, so showers are very important to me, as the old tubs are hard to climb in and out of. So yes, I have booked some of the updated staterooms and they are undoubtedly the "Pinnacle-ship style" glass showers. And you're in luck!! Check out the deck plans on the HAL site. Both staterooms that you mentioned have the * symbol, meaning that they are the updated ones with the shower! Hope this helps.

1+! Yes! (red accenting mine). And PARTICULARLY agree with the comments about the Pinnacle-class ships.

Sincere condolences, neighbor Bruno. Hope someday we can sail on the same cruise again.

That's called a "bounceback" offer. And I believe that it is automatically linked to your account, just like the email casino offers are. But probably not immediately after your cruise, knowing HALs/Ocean Players Club IT folks. Just like it takes a while to update your Mariner status after a cruise. Give it a week or two, then check back with your PCC. I know that I NEVER have to tell my PCC about my casino offers when I'm booking. When he tells me my fare he always says "that's with your casino free offer/discount".

Hi neighbor. No, that's on her. They ALWAYS make announcements of the absolute deadline when you must cash in your chips or whatever it is the slot players have to do to redeem their cash. No excuse for missing the announced cutoff time.

Yeah, look for him at Trivia. Glasses, full gray-white beard. You can't miss him. 😊😊😊.

Hi @kelliebiz, I'm also a solo cruiser, always on HAL, now approaching 5⭐. Everyone has different preferences but I've always loved the small ships, now only two R-class left, of which Volendam is one. Depends on your age group, I suppose, but after 5 or so cruises on the humungoudams (Pinnacle-class ships), I've sworn off of those. If I were asked to characterize them using only one word it would be: ****LOUD**** The "Music Walk" on the Pinnacle ships is deafening -- constantly, every evening. And there is some acoustic design flaw in their MDRs, so that you can't converse with your tablemates at dinner due to the ambient noise. So the music choices you describe on Volendam have always suited me just fine, particularly now that there is no more classical music available on the big ones. Wish I had noticed your post sooner. I would have told you to watch the Daily for the singles and solos sea-day lunch in the MDR. As @sambamama has noted, the solo meetup early in the cruise is generally poorly attended. So like @oakridger and @sambamama, I don't bother with those. However, I have ALWAYS experienced a good turnout of pleasant folks at the single/solo lunches. Some voyages have only one of those, but you have a lot of sea days on your itinerary, so on your cruise they may have more than one of those scheduled. BTW, Rich @richwmn (originator of the awesome "Daily" thread on our HAL board) is currently on your ship, last leg of his world cruise, so keep an eye out for him.

And the dedicated computer dude in the library, and the crew show, and the classical music, and I could go on and on.

Made me giggle. A few years ago a friend drove me down to Pier 91 here in Seattle so I could board. In addition to Volendam there happened also to be a Princess ship in port. As we approached, he asked me, "Which one is yours?". I replied, "It's easy 'cause there are only two ships in port today. However, it wouldn't matter if there were 10 ships in port. My answer would still be the same: Mine is the SMALL one with the blue hull". Oh, forgot to say -- that was about 10+ years ago. Before the advent of the humungoudams (Pinnacle class).

deleted. Wrong thread.

In addition to EVERYTHING @RuthC said (with which I wholly agree), yet another thing I like about the two remaining R-class ships is that the Explorations Cafe is centrally-located on the Upper Prom deck (deck 4) rather than way up there in the Crow's Nest. If I am hankering for a mid-morning or -afternoon chai latte all I do is go up or down a couple of staircases from wherever else I am rather than make the trek all the way up to the top of the ship. But that's just me. May not be important to you.

<sigh> See my post #37 on this thread. Again, MAKE CERTAIN that you'll qualify by checking your "My Cruise History" page on the website (subtract your spend points from your total points or just add up your "cruise and tour days" points), then contact the Mariner Society rep on your ship.

Thank you so much for the bluebonnet pictures, Lenda! I miss Texas so much, and PARTICULARLY miss bluebonnet (and buttercup and Indian paintbrush) season. Y'know, during my first two contracts here in Washington state ('80s and '90s) I kept a stem of silk bluebonnets taped to the antenna of my car. Really helped me to find it in the acres-wide Boeing parking lots🙂.

It shouldn't have to be this way but, after hearing so many stories on this board, I decided to be proactive. On the cruise on which I KNEW that I would qualify for silver, I contacted the Mariner Society rep (there's one aboard every cruise, you just have to ask at Guest Services) and told her that I expected to receive that medallion. She said that she'd check the records and get back to me. She then confirmed that I had qualified and would receive it. I received mine at the reception on that cruise. So for those of you who are approaching the milestone, make certain that you've figured it correctly and don't fail to contact the Mariner Society rep on your qualifying cruise. Just an aside, it was important for me because so many friends on that cruise to congratulate me at the reception -- including Jacqui @kazu and John and Maria @Copper10-8, to name just a few 😀😀😀.

Some of the old R-class and S-class ships were themed. Ryndam was the "nautical" ship. Being a sailor myself (racing and crewing on boats with actual sails), I loved her! The atrium centerpiece was a bowsprit figurehead from an old sailing vessel. The featured artifacts (the stuff in the glass cases throughout the R-class and S-class ships) were all nautical -- old sextants, compasses, AWESOME ship models, etc! Please tell me if some (or any) of this remains. TIA

@Boatdrill, I didn't complain last July when a few messages went off-topic. Didn't last too long, and comments posted this year returned to the subject of the thread. But IMO your comment should probably have been posted to a new thread, rather resurrecting the thread-drift of about 8 months ago. Again, JMO.

Have a great pain-free, trouble-free cruise, @kazu.

OK, some links: https://www.computerworld.com/article/3152896/facing-layoff-at-carnival-it-employee-makes-bold-counteroffer.html https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/carnival-outsourcing-plans-a-hard-blow-to-take/ https://finance.yahoo.com/video/outsourced-carnival-cruise-line-workers-133941113.html https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news-headlines/carnival-corp-outsourcing-200-it-jobs Actually, there are more. Don't know what search engine you are using. Bottom line is that CCL has DEFINITELY outsourced IT and since then IMO the product has noticeably degraded.

Actually, CCL (corporate) got a new IT department in 2016 -- just google "Carnival Cruise Line outsource Capgemini" and it's been downhill ever since. Web site is actually user-hostile, not user-friendly. JMO.

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/onboard-experiences/suites-staterooms <sigh> Can't believe that you don't know how to do this on your own, as you've been sailing on HAL for a long time.

Yes, there is a MAJOR perk -- but only on the Pinnacle-class ships. You said in your OP that noise was one of the key factors for your becoming disenchanted with Princess. I agree with others here that the noise level on decks 2-3 of the three Pinnacle-class ships is DEAFENING! I actually have to get ear plugs from Guest Services to play blackjack in the casino on deck 3. However -- getting back to the original subject -- there is another VERY noisy area on the Pinnacle-class ships that no one has mentioned so far. And that is the MDR. Don't know why the acoustics are so deficient in there. It's not that way on the older ships. Anyway, it is nearly impossible to converse with your tablemates in the MDR at dinnertime. So Club Orange is DEFINITELY worth it on those ships. The dedicated CO dining room on those ships is intimate and QUIET. JMHO.

I presume that the $6 min is just for the hand. Not really sure because, as I said, I've never played that table. Probably side bet available because a side bet is available on the high-limit table.