colbe

38 minutes ago, tennisbeforewine said:

  John decided that just laundry soap wasn’t enough, so we bought Erick some Cadbury chocolate bars, too

Be sure to try some yummy, locally produced WHITTAKER'S chocolate while you are in  Aotearoa/NZ. 

3 minutes ago, JeannyJ said:

If you get one of these bags for shopping in port, and on board (?), do you get to keep it or is it an extra charge? I'm a cruising newbie and don't want to take off with anything that I can't keep, but don't want to miss out on any freebies either.

It is yours to keep.

5 minutes ago, cunnorl said:

We were just left the Noordam after being onboard for 85 days. Great ship. At the beginning, there were some “growing pains “ with new staff Etc. but they were very enthusiastic and attentive. I agree with the answered questions. On sea days as you can imagine , internet is slower. Best first thing in  the morning or is evening. IMHO
   The CD is really good, tells great stories. Ask him about the “ Emu wars”. 
     Have a great trip! 

Oh my goodness, 85 days! Now I am suffering cruise envy - we only did the 35 day Aussie Circumnavigation. We will however be back on for the Sydney to Vancouver in April. 

4 hours ago, Windsailer said:

Is there a separate area in the MDR for Club Orange passengers? Just unclear how that works!

No there is not. There is however a separate line for entry to the MDR

52 minutes ago, lissie said:

I see we share a common background in wines ie New Zealand. Do you find the packages decent value compared to just buying as you go? 

Kia Ora Lissie. Yes we do find them good value especially as we get 50% discount on the price. (On our last cruise we didn't use the last bottle so bundled it up and brought it home with us.)

8 minutes ago, pmjnh said:

I am planning to purchase a wine package on board. I just read in another forum that both persons in the cabin must purchase the wine package...not just one. I know that it true with the signature beverage packages  but I did not think this was the case for the wine package. When I go to purchase online it doesnt say anywhere that both parties must purchase. In fact, there is a check box next to each name, which tells me that it is not required for both parties..

 

can someone who has purchased the wine cellar package confirm? Sailing next week and I want to be prepared!

 

thank you!

 

No. It is specific to the person who purchased only. However they can choose to share with you or anyone else. We only ever have one package at a time.

7 minutes ago, oakridger said:

@colbeThat's excellent news!  I felt that the MDR service on Nieuw Amsterdam and Rotterdam last fall was good to excellent (by one wait team), but I was only there once for lunch and a few times for dinner. The big problem for me at that time was the big line ups to get into the dining room unless I went at 8pm or a little later.  I like to eat later usually but the times I went to go earlier it was a zoo in the waiting area! I pivoted and boarded the elevator and went to the Lido more often than I would have liked.

 

~Nancy

Nancy - one example was when, as usual, I asked for extra vegetables with my main. One of the chefs came out to check that I had got what I wanted, and said that she had asked for my order to always go to her. 

1 minute ago, oakridger said:

 

My beef with that is that we shouldn't have to book Club Orange in order to get good service.  The MDR should have good service to begin with included as part of the cruise fare!!

 

~Nancy

We have not seen any change in the standard of MDR service. We have just spent 7 weeks on a cruise eating breakfast and dinner and some lunches in the MDR.

On 12/14/2022 at 12:11 PM, Janet&Carl said:

We did a fantastic and reasonably priced tour with Wonders travel and Tourism in 2019. It included a lovely lunch and was not too strenuous. Although I did feel sorry for the horses clattering up the cobbles at speed with too many tourists in the cart and suggest you walk and enjoy the experience rather than take the horses.

 

I have cut and pasted their details.  They collected us in a small van at the port - they were ready and waiting for us.  Then transferred us to Petra.  After the walk through Petra we went to "mamas" for lunch and then a leisurely ride back to the ship.

Thank you, that is very helpful information.

48 minutes ago, richrhon1 said:

@0106This definitely was not the way the invoice was written.  There was no "up to" on the invoice.  Clearly stated CruiseLine Promotion $350 OBC. 

Was this invoice from your agent or from HAL?.

Thank you for your positive reports. I am enjoying following along with you. 

56 minutes ago, Mike B Landlubber said:

appetizer- clothesline bacon

second appetizer- lobster mac 

 

Entree- Beef tenderloin with blue cheese

 

dessert- their desserts are great, but no dessert stands out for me the way the other dishes do!

 

on a two week cruise in December, I liked the tenderloin and the bacon so much I had them twice!

 

they also had a veal scallopini dish in Canalletto that I really liked, but I can’t remember the exact name, and though I would swear in court I took a shot of the menu, I cannot find it!

*SCALOPPINE ALLA CAPRESE
veal scaloppine, tomato, mozzarella, basil, garlic spinach

1 hour ago, Loreto said:

We stayed in 2004 on the Volendam for our 28 day Amazon Explorer cruise in Nov. 2019.  I jumped at the chance to book it for our 50th wedding anniversary!  2004 and 2002 are under the beauty salon and were very quiet.  It wasn't that far from the Neptune Lounge.

I suspect that you mean 7002 and 7004 Loreta.

6 minutes ago, Sir PMP said:

Jail etc.

Captain's sauna and massage room also.

5 minutes ago, boeckli said:

 

That's the same number as my earlier post (#2).

 

Lis, I gave up after 20 mins on hold, let me know if you can't get through on the 1300 one and I will try again later or tomorrow.

I was letting Lissie know to put the 0061 at the front of the number so that it works from NZ.

43 minutes ago, lissie said:

True - you don't happen to have their actual Sydney number htough ie starts with 02 (from  memory)  - the  free call numbers  don't work 

00611300987322

40 minutes ago, lissie said:

True - you don't happen to have their actual Sydney number htough ie starts with 02 (from  memory)  - the  free call numbers  don't work 

Lissie, use this free call number. I always book direct with the Sydney office from NZ and find them excellent to deal with. (They are two hours behind us.)

00611300987322

2 hours ago, gwenmarie said:

More information please on the 28 day Alaska cruise. I’m not seeing it on HAL website 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/find-a-cruise/A4L28A/W438.html

2 minutes ago, richwmn said:

Excellent choice of an Aotearoa/New Zealand wine. Enjoy your sailaway.

1 hour ago, SSBrickNJ said:

I called Holland America and said "Yes" to the 24 hour courtesy hold I arranged yesterday.

The deposit is due Jan. 2nd.

I'm choosing the REfundable deposit.

I'm willing to pay a higher fare for the peace of mind to be able to cancel for a full deposit refund....I have up to May 4th to cancel.

Great news. Are you on for the British Isles part of the cruise as well as Norway?

SSBrick keep in mind that that is high season for flights to Europe. We are also on this sailing and booked our flights from New Zealand two months ago. The fares have gone up since then. One possibility is for you to fly into another large European airport, eg Amsterdam, and transit to Copenhagen from there.

14 minutes ago, Torquer said:

@Mike B LandlubberThanks for your very interesting cruise report; it was very helpful to us for our cruise on Noordam in February.  One final question....do you happen to know if the MDR was open for lunch on embarkation day?  I know it is hit or miss and depends on the ship/cruise, but if it was open for you, it might also be open for our cruise.

MDR was open on embarkation day in Sydney at the start of this cruise. 

Yes, we are enjoying breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill on the Noordam right now. 

40 minutes ago, Chickadee910 said:

Thank you alittle unstable sometimes.

Hi Chickadee, I am also a 'little unstable' so I can help you with this. There are always crew ready to help you. I have never felt unsafe. I always say "I will need some help", and instantly there are strong hands carefully supporting me on and off the tender. (The funniest was a young man who insisted on taking my arm and escorting me up the stairs and into the ship!)

1 hour ago, RRFan said:

We have always faxed our shareholder requests to HAL and PCL both.  Just booked an Oct cruise with HAL yesterday and after reading this thread, I emailed our shareholder request in about mid-morning.  Had a reply email by 4 pm that it was approved and would be applied to our onboard account upon embarkation.  That is new.  In the past (note that we haven't sailed since 2/20) , we could see the credit beforehand.  Maybe it has become a hassle for them since so many have booked and cancelled over the last year and a half?  I printed the email and will have it with me in case it's not there so the front desk (or whomever) can get it applied for me.

If you go to your 'manage payments' page you will see the amount there. Have a great trip.