IPB4IGO

I see the "Let Us Know" icon now. Thanks.

We just returned from a cruise on the Nieuw Amsertdam, cabin 6164, the port side aft wrap. The cabin seemed smaller than the only other Neptune Suite we have ever had, but still quite roomy. The part of the deck on the side, parallel with the ship, was too cold and windy while underway on this Alaska cruise, but the rear portion was calm, and when the sun was out it was warm. Personally, I would stay away from the Deck 8 aft wraps because of noise from deck furniture on the Lido deck being moved in the early morning hours.

Where? I looked for it while we aboard and again after the cruise.

Good to know. We received multiple upsell offers on our last two cruises, and I had booked those myself--no TA between me and HAL. For our next cruise, which I transferred to our TA to get the OBC they give us, I'll call the upsell people myself when we get close to sailing.

We will be on the ship in October. This thread has been very helpful to me. Thanks.

On our last cruise, which ended last Sunday, I couldn't find ANY comment cards. I asked the Neptune Lounge conciege and she said "We don't use those any more. You will receive an email asking for comments after the cruise." Our waiter in the MDR told us the same thing. Apparently it varies by ship.

We received upsell offers on our May cruises up to a week before sailing. In both cases the ships sailed at only 40% capacity, so that might bear on the issue.

We were on the same cruise. I noticed that the fire doors on Deck 6 forward of the forward elevators were closed, with signs "No entry" or something similar. I looked down one passageway and saw the stools in the hallway, as we have seen in isolation areas of previous cruises this year.

It depends on the particular ship/cruise. We sailed to Alaska on the Noordam on May 15 and masks were required. We sailed back on the Nieuw Amsterdam on May 29 and they were only recommended.

We had prepurchased the Premium plan for each cruise. It was $109.99. After boarding each 7-day cruise, we paid $30 to increase our plan from one device to four devices for the week. The system offered that upgrade when more than one device tried to use the same account simultaneously. I just checked my statements, and the charge shows up as "Internet Cafe $30". We are not 4-star Mariners, so I am unaware of any discount that was applied. Sorry if I was unclear originally.

On one cruise, I upgraded twice, trying each of the three levels of service. I don't recall any difference in speed, only differences in what sites were blocked. Last month we cruised up to Alaska, then back down a week later. In general, the Premium Internet service was good. For some reason it was much better northbound than southbound in the same locations. In both cases, the ships were operating at around 40% capacity. On previous cruises, I used my phone or laptop as hotspots so we could connect multiple devices at the same time, but this time I paid $30 on each 7-day cruise to upgrade our service from one device to four. That way my wife and I could be connected with our laptops and tablets wherever we were in the ship. On these cruises, both my VPN and AT&T Wi-Fi calling worked with the ship's Internet. On a previous cruise in January, neither worked.

All of mine arrived within 10-15 minutes.

We stopped at the town grocery store in Talkeetna last month. This was one of our purchases.

Was there an espresso bar in the Explorers Lounge? We sailed the Noordam from Vancouver to Whittier then, a week later, the Nieuw Amsterdam for the return trip. The Noordam had a nice quiet espresso bar in the Explorers Lounge but the only espresso on the Nieuw Amsterdam was in the Exploration Cafe up in the Crow's Nests.

When booking your cruise, be sure to be looking at the deck plan of your ship when selecting a cabin. Some parts of some decks have balconies that are not as deep as the norm. We had one of those cabins on the Eurodam a few years ago. Also, there are a few cabins with "Juliet" balconies, just deep enough to stand up on. All of those that i have seen were on decks 10 and 11. On the cruise we were on just last week we had an "aft wrap" cabin. The deck could easily hold 20 people, although the part that paralleled the length of the ship was too cold and windy to enjoy when underway on an Alaska cruise (the aft-facing part of the balcony was colam and pleasant). Nevertheless, it would be my first choice if they weren't so expensive. We benefited from an outstanding upsell offer on that cruise, so it only cost us about half the regular fair.

My experience has varied. In January, aboard the Zuiderdam, neither my VPN nor my AT&T Wi-Fi Calling feature worked. In the past month, aboard the Noordam and then the Nieuw Amsterdam, both worked.

We are on the last day of a 7-day Alaska cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam, the third HAL ship we have been on this year. Compared to the other two, it is in noticably better shape. Nothing looks old or worn. It is more open, with lighter decor, than the other two. The staff is as charming and competent as ever. We enjoyed the Tamarind restaurant, which the previous two ships did not have, as well as the Pinnacle Grill and the Cannaletto. Lunch at the Pinnacle Grill is a bargain at $15 (plus the 8% gratuity). We are fortunate in that the ship has only 938 passengers on this cruise, putting it at about 40% capacity. This morning the captain said that it will sail with about 1,500 passengers when it sails from Vancouver tomorrow.

A slight correction to my post above. We were in an Oceanview cabin on the Noordam last week. That is the first cabin we have had in years in which the TV was not wall-mounted. The ports were all accessible on the back of the TV, but there was still no way to change the input source.

We have been on several HAL ships in the last few years, and the HDMI ports were available on none of them. In addition, the remote they provide has buttons only for navigating through the menus that HAL presents on the TV screen--there is no way to change the input source.

In prior years they allowed one bottle per person, but no more. They have also disallowed bringing nonalcoholic beverages (e.g., soda) aboard. Wine purchased aboard is quite expensive, like any restaurant. For example, a bottle of Cakebread chardonnay is $123. It is somewhat cheaper if you buy a 3- or 6-bottle package.

The cruise we were on last week did not do incremental charges, other than individual charges for two Future Cruise Deposits that we bought aboard. We received a single charge to our credit charge, dated the last day of the cruise.

We were quarantined in a local hotel after the the first half of back-to-back Panama Canal cruises. We were not quarantined on the ship. We were refunded the fare for the cruise we were not allowed to take.

An indication of how far the ship is below passenger capacity: The dining room on Deck 3 has been closed for the entire cruise. Early seating, late seating, anytime dining are all on Deck 2. We have showed up at the dining room any time between 5:30 and 7:00 and never had to wait for a table for two.

Arg! We will be on the NA nine days from now. Here on the Noordam I have heard of no covid cases, and, walking all the decks, I have found no quarantine spaces. We were booted off the Zuiderdam in January when I came down with covid the day we arrived in Florida in the middle of a back-to-back, and I don't wish quarantine on anybody.

That's not the policy on the Noordam, where I am right now. Masks are required in all indoor spaces except when eating or drinking. This is s 7-day Vancouver to Whittier Inside Passage cruise. We'll see what the policy is on the Nieuw Amsterdam when we return south on 5/29.