vjblk

My cruise is 23 days away and I can see the daily schedule in the app.

Yes, I had them in my stateroom on my Dec cruise on the Koningsdam. And then one morning they do put towel animals all around the pool. It's fun to see them all around the pool area,

I was in 7127 in 12/22 for 10 days to Mexico. Liked the location. Not far from the rear staircase and elevators. Quick trip up to the Lido. The only thing I didn't like was that it was a connecting cabin. My neighbor had covid and you could hear him coughing. Not always real noisy but you need to keep that in mind if you think you would mind hearing your neighbors. I was able to tune it out most of the time and besides I wasnt in the room much. I only had a few photos of the room.

Avoid cabins with connecting doors. I have had a connecting cabin on both the Koningsdam and the Rotterdam and have heard my neighbors.  One guy had covid and sounded like he was coughing up a lung. Poor guy but not nice to listen to.  On the Rotterdam I just heard them laughing and talking sometimes.  I'm sure they didn't like me either as to drown them out I turned up my TV.

 Mtn Dew is a Pepsi product. Doubt it would be in a Coke machine. 

Does anyone know if HAL provides bus transportation from the Vancouver cruise terminal down to Seattle?  I'm contemplating a cruise that ends in Vancouver and looking into transport to Seattle. Don't really want to take the train. Just seeing what the options might be.  Thanks!

I did a visit to the swannery which was fun. I think we also visited some gardens.

Just now, trishbk said:

Have they fixed the horizontal shower in the thermal suite yet? We were on the Dec 5 Mexico sailing and it was out of order. Also have you tried the cold water bucket drop. It was invigorating right after the steam room. We are sailing on the Jan 30 18 day Hawaii cruise. 

I went to try it today and it wasn't working.

3 hours ago, Chris-n-Shawn said:

Thank you for taking us along and sharing your experiences @Haljo1935.

Question: if you find yourself on Deck 11/Sun Deck, would you please check if the aft is still closed to passengers?

Although we fully support having a space for the crew outside, we were hoping to make use of the Sun Bar (and could not when we were on the Kdam in April). HAL deck plan still shows it as a working bar…?

A very happy holiday to you!

I was up there the other day and the port side was closed for the crew's use.

Yep she's docked.

Heading to San Diego this afternoon.. See you on board! Looking forward to this cruise. 🌴🌴 Spent last New Years on the Koningsdam.

Have a great cruise!

1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said:

Cans. Plus you have access to the machine that issues a hundred or more drinks into a special cup.

Thanks!

I know the Quench package includes Coke products. Are they cans or fountain drinks? Haven't purchased this package  before and not sure how the sodas are given.

Thanks!

Me too. Booked the IBERIAN adventure for Sep 24. I had been looking at it but didn't want to pat the $600 deposit yet. Yeah!

10 hours ago, mebruch67 said:

@81Zoomie, do you happen to remember about how many Dressy nights there were on your cruise?  My itinerary for the Rotterdam next week is listing every night as Smart Casual, but that can't be right.

 

Thanks! 

I was on the same cruise as @81Zoomie and we had 3 dressy nights. Ours was a 14 night cruise.

In Amsterdam, I wouldn't worry too much about check in time. I boarded the Rotterdam on the 1st and no one was checking times. They just filled rows of chairs and then let each row go check in. My check in time was 12:05 and I was in a row with people with a 1:10 time.

23 minutes ago, Jeter02 said:

So what I always do whether I have my dad traveling with me, but also when I'm traveling solo... regardless I always get a private table for two, and sit quietly by myself.

 

The way Princess does it in the dining room I absolutely love the setup of the long booths they have setup in a row with just tables of two. That way when I'm dining I don't have to worry about others to join me before I can put my order in, and I also don't have to worry about the fear of sitting with others that do not interest me.

 

When sitting at my private table for two I do talk to those sitting on either or side of me and have good conversation that way and I've always had lovely people 99.9% of the time who are delightful to talk to. So essentially you're sitting by yourself but you're really not because you'll have people surrounding you that you can talk with if you choose to do so or not. Great thing about a cruise is you can decide how introverted or extroverted you would like to be.

 

Just as a note I never ever eat up in the buffet and I hope you don't have to feel like if you want to die alone that that is where you need to eat. I always use the dining room simply because I like being pampered, and I love having the same table and waiter each and every night as I get to know the crew that way. Then sometimes people at the surrounding tables, not always will also request their same table for each night of the cruise so you start to build up friendships that way as well.

That's good to know. Thanks!

Have enjoyed reading about your trip. Since you are traveling solo, have you been dining alone in the MDR or sitting with others. I'll be traveling solo on the Regal in October and wasn't sure how it is to dine solo in the MDR. I'm not sure if I will always want to sit with others but don't want to eat in the Lido all the time either. Thanks.

1 hour ago, Analog187 said:

I appreciate that.  I spent a lot of time giving everyone the real picture of what I encountered with no hidden agenda.  Despite that people got triggered.  

I liked reading about your cruise. It was good to read about what you did and experienced.  I like hearing the good along with the bad.  Some just don't like to hear what you didn't like. I'll go on my cruise and see if I have the same experiences as you. Everything is subjective. You can ask 3 people to evaluate something and you would probably get 3 different answers. 

I didn't take it that you didn't enjoy your cruise. Just that you experienced some things that you didn't like. That doesn't mean those ruined your cruise.  At least I hope not.

I was curious if you needed much NOR Krone on your cruise? Did most place take credit cards?

53 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Just making sure...

 

You booked directly with HAL and your offer came via email? 

Yes I booked directly with HAL and the offer came via email. It was an offer to go from a verandah to a Vista. I didn't look into it. I'm happy with the cabin I have.

I received an upgrade offer on June 5 for my July  1 cruise. 

5 hours ago, Analog187 said:

 

You book the hop on, hop off bus right through HAL. And yes, goes to Stavanger and then does a loop.  HAL will add more excursions at the last minute.  Very annoying.  

What time did you catch the hop on hop bus? Sounded like you were in Stavanger before 10 so it must've been early. 

Really have enjoyed following your cruise. Thanks for all the info.

4 minutes ago, Crew News said:

Clearing data worked for me, as well.

Me too. Cleared data and was able to get in again.