SDARCH

10 hours ago, POA1 said:

e on the Nieuw Statendam in a few weeks and you can be certain that this is just the kind of investigative journalism we will undertake. (For science!)

We were on the N.S on October and our cards came pre punched.

46 minutes ago, lais said:

The bar code gets you ON THE SHIP

Thank you for bringing this up. Post COVID, keycards are not provided in the terminal. The bar code is needed to board at security ON the ship. 

21 hours ago, terrydtx said:

The terminal is not set up properly to handle 2 big ships disembarking. 

We boarded a couple of years ago when three ships were in port.  It was total chaos.

Don't forget that you only have to pay the difference between the $ limit and the full price of a more expensive drink.  You can get significantly better wine by just paying a dollar or two more.

You can buy distilled water on board.  You can even preorder and have it delivered to your room before you board.

55 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

That's now an upcharge item! Lucky you to have tried it last new years

Yep. Very unfortunate. Had it again last month on the NS and paid the surcharge. 

1 minute ago, crystalspin said:

We did not make it! being old fogeys...

Fogey here...but I was determined.  I think a late-ish dinner helped.  I needed to digest the 20# Dover Sole they served me.

2 hours ago, crystalspin said:

We boarded Koningsdam last 29 December. Decorations (Xmas tree, etc) were still up from Christmas. Maybe some modifications for NYE. I think it was a Gala ("dressy") night in the MDR. We ate New Years Eve at Rudi's -- it is our anniversary. We were given silly hats.

We had the exact same NYE dinner (and silly hats) as you on this cruise.  The ship seemed full.  Many multi-generational families.  The New Year's Countdown party at the Lido Pool was a blast with plenty of sparkling wine being passed around.  I think it is the first time I had made it to midnight in 20 years.  We had a blast!

24 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

Last two Medallion ceremonies we attended post-"covid"  no bronze recognitions and very trimmed down invite list.

We attended our bronze reception in May 2023 on a TA (Zuiderdam).  Nearly 100 bronze recipients.  Only bronze were awarded at this particular ceremony.  Assuming a separate reception for the higher levels.

15 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Some more info would be helpful...ship? Sailing date? Port?

My guess would be the 1 Oct departure of the N.S. out of Piraeus.  The departure time was pushed from 7pm to 11pm a couple of weeks ago.  I am still showing Check in Group A at 11am on my Navigator BP, but many on the Roll Call are getting notice of very late boarding times...ie 7pm. & 8:20pm

Just now, Fouremco said:

The passenger was well into his cups, and maybe this was simply a ruse on the part of the bartender to cut him off without any confrontation.

Good move on the bartender!  

13 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

I've never reached the 15 drink limit, but if you max out, I believe that your card won't allow the bartender to make the charge. A bit like when you max out your credit card ashore. 😵‍💫

Once you hit 15, the drinks just get charged to your account.

1 hour ago, AV8rix said:

Now it's the same dish but on the new menu it is called "Spaghetti with Shrimp and Clams". 

I always as for double clams, hold the shrimp

1 hour ago, Nickelpenny said:

I did do the NYE dinner at Pinnacle on Koningsdam last year. 

We had our NYE dinner Rudi's on the K-dam last last year.  It was the best meal I have ever had on a cruise.

11 hours ago, sambamama said:

 

I also lost all my 4star Mariner history. 

 

Same. This happens all the time. 

42 minutes ago, Gigi1977 said:

My BEST lobster onboard was the MDR lobster.   There was an up charge of $15 but SO worth it.   I had it on a night when nothing else appealed.  Will order again.  It was delicious! 

I agree completely. 

44 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

If you request Fixed Dining, wouldn't that obviate the need for a dedicated section?

I'm unfamiliar with Fixed Dining?  Is that the same table and same time every night?  Or just the same time - early or late?

I haven't really figured the nuances of the MDR yet.  It would be great to reserve a table on the Navigator app.

1 minute ago, alwaysfrantic said:

If I want to eat in MDR and not CO, there is no special line, correct?

I do not recall seeing a dedicated CO podium at the MDR on the K-dam.  There should be one for Reservations, along with the one for walk-up.  I'll check it out in a few weeks when we board the NS.

The issue we had on the Zuiderdam was that the person at the CO podium was taking folks from the other two lines, even through there was a long line for CO guests.  I had heard that there was a huge staff change for our cruise....we boarded the day the World Cruise ended. The entire MDR was chaos like I have never seen.

I believe the NS CO dining room was purpose built as America's Test Kitchen - like the K-dam....hence the diner look.

50 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

So does HAL  need to offer this additional cabin upgrade gimmicks any longer, or does CO have stand alone value as just a quieter dining venue on the larger ships? After our own Konnigsdam experience, I would never sail on her again without just the CO dining option.

I feel the same way.  The thought of being on a Pinnacle class ship w/o CO is a nightmare scenario for me.  I do think HA could GREATLY improve the CO dining situation on the smaller ships by carving out a dedicated section in the Upper Dining Room.  We were on the Zuiderdam w/CO in May and the chaos at the Concierge podium was wild.  The MDR experience on that cruise was so bad we ended up eating in the Lido - which we had never done before.

Thank you for sharing your voyage.  Always enjoy your reviews.

You can also pre-order a pre lit Christmas Tree from the HA website.  Comes in a couple of sizes...and will be in your cabin when you arrive.

Is that information missing from the PDF you are printing?

For an upcoming cruise departing 1 Oct - Emailed CCLShareholderHAL@hollandamerica.com on August 24th. Received the "high volume" automatic reply shortly thereafter.  Day later, August 25th, received an email that the OBC has been applied to our shipboard credit.

14 minutes ago, wdw1972 said:

s this something new?

Must be. 

But it may be due to a suite?

10 minutes ago, mafig said:

I'm Club Orange.  Just printed my luggage tags and I do not see PRIORITY anywhere on them

Looks like I jumped the gun. Must have showed up on the tags I printed today due to 4*. It will show up on the Navigator app however. At least it did on our last cruise. We had CO and were 3*. 
I suppose Priority Boarding and Priority Luggage are different. With CO, you can board anytime. 
My apologies.