AV8rix

Well, speaking of former Kdam Nav officers, I really miss Staff Captain Sabine! She quit HAL a couple of years ago to become a harbor pilot in her native Germany. We got friendly because we both ride motorcycles (well, I rode before I got old) and also because I was a pilot (airplane, not harbor) and she is planning to take flying lessons. Perhaps some day HAL will have another lady Nav officer.

OMG! No lamb chops, no carpaccio? What's next? No liver on Wednesdays? Just off Volendam last month, menu was "normal". I always eat (used to, anyway) at Canaletto at least once a week, usually more often. Now I guess I'll relegate it to the rest of my happy HAL memories along with the crew show, the Yum Yum Man, etc.

Yeah, happened to me in Canaletto a few years ago (forget which ship). Chef came out and I saw him chatting with each table. When he got to me, he asked to have a good review. NO WAY! However, I ALWAYS do compliment my excellent (fixed seating) MDR stewards and my awesome housekeeping stewards on the Navigator app.

Koningsdam - 25-Nov-23 - 10-day Mexican Riviera and Sea of Cortez Koningsdam - 5-Dec-23 - 11-day Mexican Riviera and Sea of Cortez Koningsdam - 16-Dec-23 - 5-day Mexico Koningsdam - 21-Dec-23 - 16-day Circle Hawaii Holiday Weird, B2B2B2B huh? Yeah, a friend (I think I introduced him to you at the medallion reception when we were all on Kdam last winter) talked me into this bunch -- mainly because the holiday one wasn't included in the "Kids Sail Free" promo this year. And also because he's getting platinum on one of these four voyages. As always, thanks for all you do.

No, you're under the World Stage -- can be VERY noisy in the evening. Here's a link to all of HALs deck plans, courtesy of @POA1:

It's been nearly a year now since his retirement. I sent an email to the Mariner Society and the only response that I received was: Thank you for your recent correspondence with Holland America Line regarding Mr. Bernhoft Retired Mariner Society Director. The position has not been filled. However, we have an amazing team with stellar performances reviews who are happy to assist you, in any way possible.

Just off Volendam. ALL OVs on that ship have been converted to the big new showers. Presumably they have done so on her sister Zaandam?

I know her full name and where she lives. There is NO obituary -- although I did find her DH, Robert's obit.

Well, I had a really bizarre exchange of messages with Antorcha’s liaison. Following is the message that I sent to the Office of the President: ____________________________________________________________________________ Earlier this month on the Cruise Critic forum they had a feature “Ask Carnival Corp's CEO: Call for Questions for Josh Weinstein”. I posted the following and, as a courtesy, am forwarding the text of the message to you: ------------------------------------------ Disclaimer: I am a mother. I DON’T hate kids! Was the “Kids Sail Free” promo during the holidays a corporate-wide thing or just a HAL thing? If it was a promo offered only on HAL then Antorcha owns it and you may disregard the rest of this comment. I was on the Christmas cruise on Koningsdam B2B with the New Year cruise. They were a DISASTER!! Captain told us the kids head-count on both cruises but I forgot the exact figures. I do remember it was in the neighborhood of about 500+ on both voyages. Well, here’s the problem: The other CCL brands have always been more family-oriented. There are bumper cars, water slides, climbing walls, miniature golf, etc. There are lots of things for kids to do. But HALs core demographic has always been older folks and there is NO staffing or provisions for kids except Club HAL and the Loft. Both venues have limited occupancy. I heard that on the Thanksgiving cruise Club HAL announced that they were limited to about 20 or 30 kids at any one time. So on the holiday cruises the 500 or so kids co-opted BOTH pools and just generally ran around the ship annoying the other passengers. They invaded all venues (except the casino) – even LCS sometimes, which surprised me. But this was not the fault of the kids. What with limited occupancy of Club HAL and the Loft, the ship provided nothing else for them to do. I understand the impact that the pandemic had on corporate finances. So you had to resort to desperate measures to fill ships. But, if the promo was a corporate decision, please exempt HAL in the future. And following is the text of the message that I received in reply (highlighting is mine): _______________________________________________ Dear Mrs. xxxxxx: Thank you for contacting Mr. Gus Antorcha regarding your Koningsdam sailing. Mr. Antorcha has reviewed your concerns and asked me to respond on his behalf and express his regret for the disappointment you encountered. While cruisers of all ages are welcome aboard our ships, your comments regarding the behavior of some of the children on your sailing are troubling. We offer a variety of activities for kids and teens and provide facilities intended to enhance everyone’s cruise enjoyment. However, our programs are not intended as a day care service and parents are expected to assume responsibility for their children and ensure they are respectful of their fellow travelers. In addition, the parents who come on board will realize that our demographics are not children oriented like that of Disney cruises and Princess cruise as such. In addition, children are to be expected on holiday sailings, the best way to avoid them is not to go on a holiday sailing as we will not deny children on board our sailings. Again, we sincerely apologize for any concerns arising from unruly behavior and for taking the time to provide Mr. Antorcha with your feedback. We look forward to welcoming you aboard Volendam next month. Sincerely, Christine Ferris Special Advisor Office of the President Nowhere in the reply did she address the facts that I stated in my original post – that, except for Club HAL and The Loft, there is nothing for kids, and on those holiday cruises their numbers greatly exceeded the capacity of both venues. And nowhere in my original post did I suggest that HAL “deny children on board our sailings”. In my 13 years on HAL, there have been a few kids on EVERY voyage, but they have not been a problem because there was always room for those few in the kids’ venues. I suspect (may be wrong) that what I received was a boilerplate response sent to what were undoubtedly many complaints that were sent to Antorcha’s office after the holiday cruises.

Almost ALL comments good! I haven't been on Volendam since 2019 (before pandemic pause) so these comments are making me confident that she's still in good shape. I board the day after tomorrow -- well, providing that the Fort Lauderdale airport is functional by that time. Nice to see that Roger @Crew News will be joining us in San Diego.

I see y'all are about ready to go now! Have a great crossing, Ann and Pat @Vict0riann, and John @jthek, and all! Hope yours is as good as mine was on the October 150th in the opposite direction.

Then we are probably neighbors on this sailing, Sharon. I just got my guarantee assignment. Also midship port side Dolphin Deck. But was somehow upgraded to OV from interior. Likely the doings of my AWESOME PCC.

Have a great one, Pat and Ann @Vict0riann! Can't remember if I introduced you to my pilot buddy John on our Christmas/New Year cruise, but he's on this one too. He's jthek on your roll call. He's a good one to trade stories with Pat 🙂.

Ooops! Posted to wrong Bon Voyage post. Anyway, bon voyage to all.

This should clarify ALL of your questions (from HAL site "Know Before You Go"): For the comfort of all of our guests, all staterooms (cabins), showrooms and most other indoor areas are designated non-smoking. No smoking of any kind will be permitted on any stateroom verandah. Designated Smoking Areas Eurodam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Noordam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, Zuiderdam Sea View Bar area Oak Room (Noordam only, including cigar and pipe smoking) Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam, Rotterdam Sea View Bar area Casino-smoking is allowed in designated areas for active players only and only when outside of 12NM from the Netherlands Volendam, Zaandam Sea View Bar area Casino-smoking is allowed in designated areas for active players only and only when outside of 12NM from the Netherlands Sports Deck, outside Crow's Nest Cigar and pipe smoking is not allowed anywhere inside the ship; it is only permitted on the outside decks where smoking is otherwise allowed. Electronic cigarettes are not permitted in staterooms or in other public areas of the ship other than designated smoking areas. Any guest who smokes inside staterooms or on verandahs in violation of our policy will be charged a US$250 cleaning fee per day of violation and will risk being removed from the ship for repeated violations. Holland America Line reserves the right at any time to modify the smoking policy onboard or alter the locations where smoking is permissible.

Oh, forgot to ask you to remove me from Zaandam - 29-Jul-23 - 25 day Canada, New England & Iceland. Can't make that one. But please add me to N Amsterdam -30-Jul-23 - Glacier Discovery Northbound (or you can just add me to existing Roy's entry for that one and put "cruise only"). That'll be B2B with N Amsterdam -6-Aug-23 - Glacier Discovery Southbound. As always, thanks again for all you do!

Eager to see how it compares to last October's reverse direction re-enactment that I was on. Hope you and Pat have a WONDERFUL cruise!

Unfortunately we are not allowed to name our PCCs on this forum. And that's too bad, 'cause I've had the same one for 13 years!!! He's AWESOME!

Wow! Ship must have been at 100% or so occupancy. Although -- even at 100+% for Christmas on Koningsdam -- I didn't have a bad interior guarantee assignment. Anyway, honestly sorry that happened to you. Guess I've just been lucky all these years.

I'm solo and always book guarantee insides (although sometimes take upsells). I have 13 years on HAL and the following is my experience. I have NEVER (literally NEVER) been assigned to an N or even an M. Here's why: Those undesirable staterooms are ALWAYS assigned to contract personnel (entertainers, etc). The contractors are not considered crew and so are not forced to stay below decks in crew quarters. However, the hotel management doesn't "waste" the desirable staterooms on them, since they are not paying. So don't worry about getting assigned to those Ns or Ms if you booked a guarantee inside. You'll undoubtedly be assigned to something more desirable. JMO.

Disclaimer: I am a mother. I DON’T hate kids! Was the “Kids Sail Free” promo during the holidays a corporate-wide thing or just a HAL thing? If it was a promo offered only on HAL then Antorcha owns it and you may disregard the rest of this comment. I was on the Christmas cruise on Koningsdam B2B with the New Year cruise. They were a DISASTER!! Captain told us the kids head- count on both cruises but I forgot the exact figures. I do remember it was in the neighborhood of about 500+ on both voyages. Well, here’s the problem: The other CCL brands have always been more family-oriented. There are bumper cars, water slides, climbing walls, miniature golf, etc. There are lots of things for kids to do. But HALs core demographic has always been older folks and there are NO staffing or provisions for kids except Club HAL and the Loft. Both venues have limited occupancy. I heard that on the Thanksgiving cruise Club HAL announced that they were limited to about 20 or 30 kids at any one time. So on the holiday cruises the 500 or so kids co-opted BOTH pools and just generally ran around the ship annoying the other passengers. They invaded all venues (except the casino) – even LCS sometimes, which surprised me. But this was not the fault of the kids. What with limited occupancy of Club HAL and the Loft, the ship provided nothing else for them to do. I understand the impact that the pandemic had on corporate finances. So you had to resort to desperate means to fill ships. But, if the promo was a corporate decision, please exempt HAL in the future.

Aw rats! Wish I could be sharing Kdam in May with my neighbors Tony @HAL4NOW and Carolyn @Cruising-alongbut I'll still be on Volendam heading for Vancouver, just getting there too late to join you. Have a great cruise, y'all.

See what I stated in my post #146 on this thread. "...the company that runs the casinos onboard HAL ships" (Ocean Players Club) is not an independent contractor but is a subsidiary of CCL itself.

Well, there's a BIG difference between spa and casino pax expenditures. The casino is operated by the Ocean Players Club, which is actually a CCL entity. You can check this out by accessing the OPC web site. At the top of the splash screen you'll see "Carnival Corporation and PLC". The spa, however, has nothing to do with CCL. It is operated by the independent contractor Steiner Leisure Limited, which provides spa services to most of the cruise lines.

You can tell which ones have the new showers by looking at the deck plan. Those with showers are marked with an asterisk. This pertains to the OVs only. The interiors still have the old showers.