Bluwater7

Just off the Maasdam - loved the new Dive In ... pager style - no line ups to stand in ... open 11:30 - 6 pm .... be prepared to wait a bit if you order when they first open... no pre cooking of burgers and the grill will not be warmed up enough. Hot dogs are on a rotating grill. Order taken by Lido staff member. They will add or leave off any of the items ie. tomato, lettuce, onions etc. very accommodating. The fries are to die for. When returning from a tour it was the first place we headed for. Good addition in my opinion.:)

Perhaps we shouldn't assume it was NORO, as it usually has two components, and to my knowledge vomiting was not involved. Perhaps we should just call it Gastro .

In regard to numbers that was 65 passengers too many. Even though the Captain and CD asked people to wash their hands there were some that laughed at their announcements , and I outed about 5 people coming out of bathrooms and not washing their hands.

The ship was healthy until Rio, and then all h...broke loose.

The crew did a fantastic job during their ordeal.

I agree with you .... some of our fellow passengers sure did not want to follow Carlos instructions to wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands..... :( I like you noticed a lot of passengers who would not use the sanitizers on entering the lido or Rotterdam dining room. Guess the rules did not apply to them.... :(

The crew did an amazing job during this time period.

Where will you be? We'll be waving to you!

 

And unfortunately, today I had to leave after the Eurodam set sail, so I missed much of today's session.[/size][/font]

Top deck I hope ... first time on the Noordam ... ship is in ... watched it dock this am. We will be waving ....

Watched the 3 HAL ships sail away today from our hotel room ... awesome sight .. tomorrow we will be on the Noordam ... watch for us ....

Looking forward to following your blog ... hopefully we will be on the WC in the near future.

Wonderful to know that the training paid off.... Way to go Paul...

If there is a gap beteen cruises, or if you are moving to a different ship (even without a gap), the beverage card definitely won't carry forward.

But if you are on consecutive cruises---either back to back, or Collector's, then there is a strong chance the same card can carry forward to the next cruise. Do check before you purchase the card to see what they are doing this time. ;)

 

In any case, if you are paying for a full value card, i.e., there is no bonus or discount involved, then the unused portion is refundable. That would make your reconciliation easy.

Thanks Ruth C ...will check it out ... we are trying an I cabin on the Maasdam ... Navigation deck for the first time. Hope we like it. We took your recommendation last year on the Rotterdam and went for an inside on the promenade deck ... loved it .. trying the Noordam for the 1st time and have changed cabins twice. ended up with a G on deck 4 forward... outside instead of an L inside on 5 ... hope this was a good move ... would be interested in your view. Thanks Ruth B

This has probably been answered somewhere here on CC but couldn't find it ...

Is the card you buy only valid for the cruise that you buy it for... if not used up can we use on our next cruise immediately following the one it was bought for. Our reservations are linked and we are in the same cabin for the entire cruise. 25 days for the initial part of our trip.

Not a big drinker and DH doesn't drink ... might be away to get away from trying to reconcile the bar tabs..... Thanks

Like them all but especially your number 8 .... wish everyone would do that.... Imagine a ship full of good attitude passengers... am I dreaming ....

A very good description of good service IMO ... thanks whogo

No problem cashing TC at the front desk on the Rotterdam last winter.

On the Rotterdam last winter the limit at the casino was $300.. drawn on your key card ... don't know if you can do it more than once a day ... never tried it.

Received our cabin assignment today :D .... went from HH to G near elevator so we are happy cruisers. They managed to get us the same cabin for the 25 days so no cabin changing for us... DH very happy with that. Time to get out of the cold.... :):)

A few years ago there was a real emergency at Port Canaveral when a huge ship stopped there. I BELIEVE it was the Oasis, but not sure, anyway the auto pilot had a problem and the ship listed severely and the crew was next to useless when it happened. All of the crew, including bartenders, stewards and most everyone else who was supposed to help during this situation couldn't speak English well enough to be of help and several pax got injured.

 

I was on a cruise once where I heard a crew member insulting a pax who was disabled and needed special equipment and the jerk told the pax that he shouldn't be on a cruise if he couldn't take care of himself during an emergency. I laid into the crew member and reminded him that ALL pax are supporting his job and he should never talk to a pax that way.

 

I'd never cruise that line again. They were a bunch of uncaring jerks for the most part and it wasn't just in the ship emergency department.

 

I'm leaving in an hour from the Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood for the Port in about an hour to board the Noordam for a wonderful 10 days of relaxation on my favorite line...HAL. :)

Just watched your sail away ... have a wonderful cruise ... we board her on the 23rd .... Love HAL :):)

We are sailing on the 23rd and still waiting ... hope we find out soon.... suspect it will be another week before we hear anything.

We are getting ready to leave on 95 days of cruising. Plan on taking enough clothes for 2 weeks. 4 star so have free laundry. Changing ships at 25 days. Have done a number of long cruises ... 42 days, 88 days, 28 days, ... the only thing ... you sure are tired of the same clothes by the end of the cruise. Really don't think most people pay too much attention to what you wear ... or how many times you wear it ... unless of course it is something that really stands out and makes everyone remember .... go colour coordinated and you can make a lot of outfits with mix and match. Enjoy your cruise and don't worry about a million and one outfits.

We are looking at main deck for a cabin and wondering if there is access from cabins at the bow ie F1003 J1015 .... or the other side to the elevator near the show room .. has anyone had a cabin in that area and would you recommend it. DH has mobility problems and looking for easy access to cabins from elevators. I did check Joannie's info on cabins and could not find any info on that area .... help please.:confused:+

Our cruise planner was in the mail today....

Wonderful post - love the Rotterdam and looking at your pictures sure brought back some wonderful memories. Some of the ports we have been too and more memories. Thanks for the post.

We convinced friends to join us on this one a few years ago. We were embarassed - at Bacardi you wait for your group to go through a simualted rum factory and get a comp drink at the end. Would recommend the trolly or a walking tour of OSJ.

I agree with this post - don't bother with the Bacardi tour....

Where is this hotel located? Please advise and thank you!

Best Western Plus Bayside 55 West Ash Street

San Diego, 3 blocks from the Bay ... hope this helps.

We stayed at the Best Western .. reasonable ... large room and could see the ship come in in the am... not far from pier.... nearby restaurants.

DRM Henricus Harimurti last worked on Volendam until 04 FEB 2013. Haven't seen his name since so, I'm thinking, he's leading the retired man's life in his native Indonesia:)

Thanks John - hope he is enjoying his retirement he did a fantastic job for HAL ...one of the reasons we enjoy HAL so much. :):)

Hi John - is Henricus Harimurti still working and if so what ship ... heard some rumours he was going to retire. We celebrated his 40 Anniversary with HAL on the Rotterdam in early 2012 ... Thanks

Enjoy Rio, Carnaval and the Amazon. Check out the Samba Drome in Rio for the parade. Have a great time!

Thanks John - I have the daughter of a friend who lives in Rio checking Carnaval doings out for us. Think she might have an in with one of the dancers at the Samba Drome.. Crossing my fingers that it all works out for us. Ruth