tuolumne couple

2 hours ago, kochleffel said:

Henry, do I remember you from the Compuserve travel forum? Are you the author of Zephyr?

https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p084508

that is cool! maybe he can add all this information to his next book..

5 hours ago, HenryKisor said:

"Service dog handler" is what people with disabilities who use service dogs call themselves. I'm one of them.

Calling HAL is problematic because I'm deaf . . . and asking a hearing person to spend an hour or more on hold to accommodate me is a no-go.

I'll just look for the HAL rep at the hotel the night before. I'll also try emailing the guest accessibility people, but having had considerable experience with them, may not get a response in time.

@HenryKisor Thank you for rounding out the picture. I strongly encourage you to use this link which gives you all the information you need. I would not wait until the night before. Now you are making me anxious for you and wishing I could help you more. Good luck with your trip and I hope things work out with your service animal. Submit the form in the blue link below so that things go smoothly for you and good luck! It looks like is all electronic and should be seamless! 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/accessibility.html

The Importance of Planning Ahead
Holland America Line does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of disability. We seek, to the extent feasible, to accommodate guests with disabilities. However, some needs require adequate time to prepare for a guest's arrival. It is recommended that guests make every effort to contact our Guest Accessibility Department and to submit a Special Requirements Information (SRI) Form well in advance of the departure of their cruise and/or cruisetour. 

There is a difference between being a service dog handler and a person who needs a service animal,  but if you are the latter, you will be taken care of for sure as all of that is arranged well before boarding from what I have seen. Try the know before you go on HAL, or call HAL. Just like taking an animal on a plane, you need to arrange things. 

We received our masking notification this morning. It was sent @ 11:30pm last night for our Sept. sailing out of Vancouver. We have sailed twice this year with HAL. This upcoming trip being our third voyage. We remained healthy due to the mask policy. I would be more alarmed if a mask policy were not in effect. I will be very happy to comply. HAL provides very good masks to use. 

p.s. And on these two sailings, ironically enough, our tablemates on both cruises got Covid from not masking while ashore, and had to be quarantined. We were fine as we masked as often as we could except while in our stateroom or while at dinner. Covid is neither  new nor over. 

recently (April 2022) i saw someone bring back a half eaten taco from Mexico. As if there isnt enough food on board.  It was pretty hilarious. Maybe it was his alcohol content? He was trying to put it thru the xray machine. They wanted him to just hand carry his little Styrofoam container through. It was painfully funny so yes, I think as long as there is not any contraband in there, you are safe. 

41 minutes ago, Laminator said:

We are departing on the Rotterdam on Sunday out of Europe. We are taking our tests Thursday. 

have fun

35 minutes ago, Xianmercado said:

yes this is exactly what i used. I have an "appointment" for 1130 and my boarding time is 1220 on June 4th... hope it works out

it will. just control the controllable. wear a mask and distance until you can get that negative test to board and you will be fine. 

7 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Scheduled the test with whom? HAL?

https://docgo.com/cruiseguests/

Yes, HAL was promoting this. DocGo is the same provider they use on board as well. This seems like a great option for cruise guests. I have an account created for when we need it. seems super convenient... they release the dates in blocks, so be patient with the site. I have heard good things, and may try them in Vancouver if we don't take our own test and e-med it ...

anything by Carl Hiaasen

56 minutes ago, oceanbill457 said:

Site may have been in one of the planning room for the hotel. We were directed there by one of the shore staff. Wasn't next door.

do you still have a copy of your result? does it have the location on that ?

2 hours ago, oceanbill457 said:

We went to the testing site in Canada Place .... I saw on the sign in document " Carnival Cruises Noordam". 

this is wonderful information. Perhaps I missed it. What was the testing sites name again? It will be on your result, I am certain... thanks in advance 🙂

Cool that they do that, but honestly, if I had to wait for a 4 year extension I would cry. Waiting three years was hard enough, and now that we are back in the saddle, no going back, just forward! We have booked three cruises this year just to make up for lost time LOL

4 hours ago, roxybear135 said:

There isn't an indication on your room key that you have the beverage package.  I believe that bartenders are able to see it when they swipe your card, but the drinks will show up on your invoice on the app as $0 if they are covered under the package.

 

Each drink, regardless of if it's a water bottle, soda, or alcoholic beverage, counts as 1 beverage towards the 15 drink limit each day.

 

Have fun on your trip and definitely go to Tamarind if you can - the food and service are amazing!

true, I didn't have an indication on my key card, but I did get a note stating that I had the Beverage package. I found that the TV menu will outline the Beverage package and what you can and cannot order. It was helpful for me, as I hadn't had the package before. Coffee was great. and If I wanted a really good drink, I would burn two drinks by ordering a double rather that waste my time on two drinks to fill me up. I actually upgraded to the elite beverage package for not too much more a day just to have better wine at dinner. It was worth it for us. 

I love Tamarind. Miss the old Rotterdam, got to sail her twice. Cant wait to try the new Rotterdam. Have fun. Any day on a cruise ship is a wonderful day!

there is this option too, in case you need it. https://docgo.com/cruiseguests/

13 hours ago, dchip said:

We were offered an upsell from our aft cabin to a Signature Suite on the Zuiderdam. It was a 35 day cruise. We kept the aft cabin and were so very glad we did. Not only are the views spectacular but there is very little or no wind on the balcony. We spent a lot of time out there. It was heaven. 
Enjoy Alaska!

Hi Denise! Agreed! We had a signature suite on our 1st Alaska cruise, and though we loved our upgrade (hard to get us to be disappointed) we have fallen in love with Aft cabins. And after our first real long sailing, it was a savior, a retreat, an oasis, and our own private Idaho. That is all we seem to book any more. Plus you meet some amazing folks (wink to Denise and Howie).

We have another Aft coming up on the Noordam to Alaska in September. Cant wait!

2 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

When someone posts a stick it’s gone into absurdity.

Oh lighten up. It was supposed to be a joke. Besides, the sticks that they serve on board have too much branch in them....

1 hour ago, Rcriley34 said:

Let me beat our Florida friend to the punch tuolumne, “ that is actually a branch and it doesn’t like the food on HAL either!”  😂.  

LOL, exactly!

3 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

And yet you are reading this thread.  

1 hour ago, steve4031 said:

The butler did it in the spa with the towel animal . . .

hilarious. thanks for lightening things up. I tried but it seems people want to complain about food instead. I have bigger fish to fry.

1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said:

 You will never be happy with any other French fries. 

can anyone ever be really happy with french fries?

...or is it a deep fried shame we swallow in order to be whole?

catsup is red

blue spuds are blue

i have a french fry order for you

some will be salty

some will be few

some will end up i'm sure in the pool

some will be hot

some will be cool

regardless we eat them

and some even drool

(just trying to turn the thread here to poetry..)

56 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

But is that the same recipe the OP is expecting? I have done my share of cooking...but I am not of the opinion my recipe is the same as everyone else's recipe, or tastes better than what someoneelse is cooking.

 

If you read back through the thread, you will see I am not the one having no tolerance of something different from my expectations. As usual,  amongst other things, people here expect a cruise ship to serve up thousands of lobster tails each meal, that are as good as the fresh tails you might buy in Maine.

oh, we all want that foolproof recipe dont we. i get you. every recipe and dish varies.

okay, now i want lobster. thanks. 

On 5/10/2022 at 4:23 PM, CruiserBruce said:

I am no expert on buckwheat pancakes, but is it possible the OP is used to a different recipe than what HAL uses? Is there only one recipe for buckwheat pancakes?

..on our recent 45 night cruise I asked for recipes for dishes i loved, and was given all of them. Including the MDR and Canaletto! Just ask for the recipe before you judge , perhaps?

On 5/10/2022 at 5:35 PM, rkacruiser said:

Since this started as a "breakfast type of food" thread, may I ask what others think of the Swedish Pancakes with Lingonberry Sauce?  

We loved it. Not sure about Lingonberry, but it was some sort of berry and I ordered it about three or four times on our 45 night cruise.  We make pancakes at home, so didnt order those. We ordered the pan Asian breakfast 4-5 times. Someone once told me, never order anything you can make better at home. Me? always love the food on board. 

45 minutes ago, KroozNut said:

Choice is awesome, isn't it?

Um, do you mean choice in general? I choose to follow ship recommendations, rather than not wear a mask and risk getting sick. I would say that Vaccines are also awesome. I got my second booster today. 

9 hours ago, dchip said:

Beautifully said!!!! It was a pleasure to get to know you on the first leg of your 45 days. I will respond to your email. Getting back to “real” life has been a joy but very busy. 
Cheers, Denise

Hi Denise! It was great getting to know you as well. Keep in touch!