VMax1700

The sun came out just as we returned to the ship.

The davitts holding the lifeboats/tenders on Rotterdam. These are why she can use Panama Canal. The davitts can slide outwards hydraulically and then lower the boats

Rotterdam moored in Akureyri

Friday morning we had a nice sail in to Akureyri though it was still a bit foggy. The bow was opened for viewing and there was a commentary by the Cruise and Travel Director Tjalling. We gained an hour on Wednesday night and another hour on Thursday night so we are now only 4 hours ahead of E.T. Arriving in to Akureyri

And Thursday's Daily Program. Thursday was our 2nd sea day. We sailed from Norway to Iceland. It was a bit bumpy most of the way and a little foggy too.

Thursdays MDR for the 2nd dressy night. Really underwhelming menu.

Did anyone miss me?? 😁 It has been busy, busy, busy, so let's try to catch up.

But it would get around the 2.5% transaction charge as the 'hold' would not be classed as a transaction.

@DaveOKC I have just checked. Both cruises were in 2019 11day Southern Caribbean March 27 - April 7, followed by a trans atlantic from April 7 - April 20. I received both stateroom numbers on February 12th and emailed that day with details and my preferred available stateroom and within an hour I received a new booking confirmation with the requested stateroom.

Is it not possible to use a credit card for the 'deposit' of $60/day and then pay cash on last evening?

There are no charges within countries using the euro.

I am not 100% on that. It was a 10 day followed by a 13 day, but I am pretty sure they came within a day or two, if not together. We are just about to head out on an excursion in Akureyri, Iceland, so I will check this evening when we return to the ship.

I would have thought that if they had a complimentary transfer it would travel to and from the airport, as they would need to transport the customers who booked flights and transfers and also it is closer to Trieste and does not require the bus driving over the lagoon to Tronchetto.

When we were allocated two different rooms for b2b's I checked which was the better room (if any) and if that room was also free on the other cruise. Then I emailed inventory and they allocated the two rooms so that we would not have to move.

Also check out pre paying the Crew Appreciation charge aka tips, grats, service charge, hotel charge etc. The exchange rate can be very beneficial and it is charged in the currency of the booking. Example: for our present 14 day cruise on Rotterdam the Tips are US$15.50 x 14 day (per person). That would be us$217 each. The exchange rate USD-Euro was $1.02 = €1.00, but would be lucky to get $1 to a Euro. The cost to pre pay the tips was Euro 193 each. That is a saving of approx €24 each and most important is that is does not effect the amount of tips for the crew.

and the one after, doing the wash up 🤣

and therein lies the problem. No one listens now.

You receive an email telling you that the time has been allocated or changed. Then you log into your account and reprint your boarding pass.

Huge crowds on deck last night 'Aurora Borealis hunting'. Just before midnight all the outside lights were switched off and there was almost darkness over the decks. Lots of ooohing and aaaahing, but very little of a light show. There was still too much background light and not enough of a display to capture a good photo, but I post these ones as an indication. You will need to look very closely and have a great imagination!

Free drinks on Rotterdam last night for 3, 4 and 5 star Mariners. Lots of drink and nibbles served non stop between 7pm and 8pm.

I have no experience of it, but need to clarify that Club Orange is not a speciality dining venue. On Koningsdam (and other Pinnacle class ships i.e. Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam) it is a dining location that is available to Neptune/Pinnacle suite guests plus guests in other staterooms who purchase the Club Orange upgrade. So, not everyone in the Club Orange dinning location will be in a Suite. Breakfast is served there and dinner. The dinner is basically the same as MDR plus an extra entree that is not available to others. The other benefits of Club Orange relate to priority boarding - which you would have in a Neptune Suite and priority tender in event of a port that requires a tender.

Tonight was the Culinary Council. Totally overrated and rubbish food, in our opinion. There was a special 'Norwegian Dinner' in Lido. You could not find an empty table all evening. To me, that speaks a lot. There was fresh cod (fish & chips), salmon, meatballs (Swedish?) and lots of other things including suckling pig. Really great dinner.

If the turn out this evening in the Lido, while the Culinary Council dinner was on the MDR, this will be a flop! I have never seen Lido so busy. Maybe the Norwegian Dinner helped, but the Cukinary Council is an instant 'avoid at all costs' for us.

No payment. They are included in the cost of the Neptune suite

It's not a ski jump! There really is another side to it.