Banditswife

Thank you for your interesting review & safe travels home.

At home:

no one gave me clean towels in the bathroom-I gotta do that myself?

no cute towel animal on my bed?

no one greets me when I walk down the hall from my cabin (oops bedroom?)

Have a great time.  Enjoy your cruise & vacay.

I usually throw in a sports coat/jacket for hubby.  He prefers not to wear it & sometimes it stays in the closet on the ship.  But he does wear a pair of dress slacks with collared shirt for dressy nights & nice jeans/slacks with a polo or tropical print type shirt on casual evenings.  But they don't seem to enforce the rules, too often we see shorts & t-shirts.  This makes it difficult for the wives who want their spouse to dress up a bit.  

For me, I enjoy wearing a dress or nice slacks.  So that is what I wear every night.

We had a B2B last year, with both legs originally porting at KWest.  One got changed to Freeport the other to Bimini.  Neither stop would have been our preference.

FlaMariner must have been on the same ship-LOL  Yes, both ports were a disappointment.  Hopefully they will quit putting KW on the itinerary, a lot of people booked the cruise for the KW stop.

6 hours ago, booinla said:

I, too, have booked my first HAL cruise. On the Koningsdam. In 2025 (January). And I'm very much looking forward to trying a new-to-me thing as well! I'll be on a San Diego round-trip to Mexico/Sea of Cortez.

 

I guess that means we are in a club now 😉

Ours is in 4 weeks- 10 days-Sea of Cortez on the K, add me to your club, LOL

5 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

 

Any hotel above a 3 star would be considered “Full Service” and won’t have microwaves in the rooms. You won’t walk down the hall of a Fairmont or even an Marriott and smell food being microwaved. Only the Hampton Inn type places, Courtyards, suite hotels, down to lower budget hotels will have them. 
I would think HAL considers themselves Full Service.

Interesting, so the higher star hotels don't have them?  I don't ever use the microwave, so I wouldn't care.  I do, however use the fridge.

Just now, Riversedge said:

But so do I….on top of my expensive cabin. 

I am sorry you are not getting these offers, I have no idea of why I get them & you do not.  The question is, would you be willing to take whatever cabin THEY choose for you & not know until about 10 days ahead of your cruise what cabin you ended up with?  I have had some decent cabins & some not so great cabins, but I am willing to accept whatever I get.

9 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Guess I just don't stay in "lower budget" places. Can they really be considered hotels? Is that what we are comparing HAL cabins with now?

No, I am not comparing HAL with budget hotels, just stating a fact that most hotels/motels provide a microwave.  I am guessing you just haven't noticed them in the hotel rooms you have stayed in. Next time you stay in a hotel, look for a mini fridge & microwave, you might be surprised. Sometimes they are hidden inside a cabinet. For us, staying in a budget hotel (as long as it is clean, has hot water for a shower) allows us to travel more frequently.

I agree that even if I pay a big amount for air, I am still saving $.  We usually spend $ in the casino & elsewhere on the ship.  Selling these "free" is a way for the cruise lines to make $ on cabins that are less likely to be sold.  And remember they are not totally free- we pay port fees, taxes, crew appreciation, buy drinks, specialty restaurants, & spend a bit in the shops.

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

I don't use a microwave when I travel. I like to get away from all that technology. 🤣🤣

 

Seriously, though. I don't think I've ever stayed in a hotel that had a microwave -- is that a common thing?

Even the lower budget brands have microwaves & mini fridges.  Lower budget referring to Super 8 Comfort Inn, etc

We have booked a few of these & yes the airfare is usually more than the cruise fare- we live in Kansas, difficult to drive to any port for us.  And yes, they are always for a guarantee cabin, usually inside, occasionally OV.  We figure we are not in the cabin very much & don't mind the less attractive location we end up in.  If we like the itinerary, can mange the airfare & time away- why not?

2 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Take a good look at the HAL passenger base. If someone were to turn on an easily accessible to passengers microwave, just as someone with a pacemaker walked by, all sorts of bad things could happen to that unawares passenger when the pacemaker stopped working properly. 
I learned that lesson the hard way when I nuked some food just as my father-in-law walked nearby. Oops. 

Or have microwave ovens been improved enough over the years that is no longer a concern? 

OOPS, didn't think of pace maker folks.  But yes, I believe microwaves are safer these days.

I usually have problems with their site, just wish it was more user friendly & with a better functionality with all browsers.  

We sail Koningsdam next month.  Looking forward to our 1st time on the K, specifically, but we have sailed her sister- Nieuw Statendam.  We love the Grand Dutch Cafe on this class of ship- a must try IMO.  Free pastries, light lunch offerings, & several types of sweets included at no additional cost.  Love the coffee they serve there for a small fee.

Music walk will have a variety of music to enjoy.

There are usually a few kids onboard, but are usually well behaved.

Cruise critic is a good place to get ideas of what is available on HAL vs other lines.  Enjoy your cruise

It would be nice to see a microwave somewhere in the buffet area for public use.  I would like to reheat my coffee sometimes.  I can understand the reasons for not having them in all the cabins, way too much for cabin steward to clean, danger of fires, power surges. etc.

I have never been on Eurodam, nor used a Cpap, so can't answer about electrical outlets.  But, yes there will be a hair dryer.  On Nieuw Amsterdam & Nieuw Statendam, the hair dryer was in the desk drawer along with a 3X magnifying mirror- not in the bathroom.  Any ship I have sailed the hair dryers are located there & are a bit weak-IMO.

HMC is usually such a short port day, I never saw the benefit of a cabana.  But everyone has their own opinion of what to splurge on.  Enjoy your suite on the ship with the wrap around- now there is a splurge I wish we could afford.

On NS there was a paid coffee bar in the lido buffet area, but not sure if that is true for Eurodam.

Yes, Explorations, deck 12.  I sometimes found the desk unstaffed, but they did post a schedule of operational times.

Hear hear, I quadruple that sentiment.  I have learned so much & been more prepared for my cruises because of reading all your helpful advice CC posters.  Thank you for the time & effort you put into this site.

On 10/22/2023 at 9:48 AM, MaiTaiMary said:

First time sailing with HA coming up soon. I'm a big (EARLY MORNING) coffee drinker and I was wondering what the options will be. Koningsdam. I heard of the Dutch Cafe, but just read they don't open until 11:30am, so that's out.  I've been on other cruise lines and there is some sort of coffee available 24/7. True with HA?  Will be there any kind of speciality coffee shops open at, say 7:00am?  Not interested in room service as I like to be out and about early for sunrise. Thank you! 

Grand Dutch Cafe & Explorations are open earlier 6:30 -7 AM IIRC.  Plus Grand Dutch has some free pastries & yogurt parfaits.  I would go there every morning, but remember their coffee has a fee attached. For free coffee, Lido has coffee early, but not nearly as good as the paid coffee.

On 10/22/2023 at 8:57 AM, Cajuntraveler said:

Peanut butter pie. it is only served on first day in the buffet.

My all time favorite in land based restaurants.  Have never seen it on a ship.  Which ship?

I will look for it on day 1 in Lido buffet from now on.

Edited to add: thanks for showing pics of HAL's version of peanutbutter pie, now I know what to look for.  In the land based restaurants where I have ordered PButter pie it is more of a cream pie w/ whipped topping or meringue.  Creamy & lightly flavored w/ peanutbutter.

3 hours ago, Mary229 said:

I enjoy engaging with those who have traveled extensively.  Sure they might be bragging but many are also very helpful in planning my time in port.  rt ignoring people who are quirky I will be a nation of one😉.  

My comment was about a couple who kept criticizing the cruise we were on & comparing it to their extensive exotic travel.  This had been our 1st longish cruise through the Panama canal which we had saved for several months to do, to us it was the most interesting cruise we had been on thus far & the longest.  They just spoiled our enjoyment by their comments.  The bad thing was, they were on our roll call & we ended up seeing them a lot on our roll call events. 

I also enjoy listening to people's advice about ports & their travel experience.  Just don't down play the cruise I am on because you had a more exotic vacation & are disappointed in the current one.