Wehwalt

22 hours ago, dmaikui said:

We ate breakfast in the Pinnacle every morning. There is a bottle of something in the cabin but I wouldn't call it champagne. I got my coffee every morning in the lounge, opened at 7am.

Also our experience on the Zuiderdam, we were in a Neptune for the first GWV segment to about 10 days ago. We exchanged the bubbly for one of the white wines in the first level wine package, that DW favors, and she drank it at lunch/dinner. Henje, one of the concierges, consulted with the cellarmaster and there was no problem. They also let us exchange a bottle of rum that we were given for two bottles of wine, same procedure. 

13 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Makes complaining about "dated pink tile" in the bathrooms feel a little trivial when asking all HAL ships be up to current electrical wiring demands after being in mothballs earring no money for two years. 

 

Anyone sailing HAL ships for a while can remember when people first started adding Kindle readers to their electronic cameras when plugging chargers into their cabin's two outlets, and one was 220.  Now people need at least five lithium battery plug-ins, all going at the same time?

 

This does scare a number of us. Who are equally concerned about the numbers of lithium battery plug we might forget to unplug before we leave home on the cruise - did we unplug the leaf blower charger, dear?

I guess. But on the GWV, that we got off of ten days ago, the ship gave every passenger a power bank. We were, I'm sure, not alone in bringing two with us, so this meant we had four. The Zuiderdam is something of an old ship (2002), but I guess they were not worried about lithium batteries, as they handed out a thousand or so.

5 minutes ago, BobbiSox said:

I am sorry for offending anyone on this board. Perhaps I need to take my medication and put on my glasses. I am not new to this board; I don't post much but I read almost everyday. I'm not new to HAL; I am 5-star. I will only read now and keep my crazy opinions to myself. 😔

No, please contribute your views. We are very grateful for them. I just felt minded to explain your misapprehension, which possibly was our fault.

2 hours ago, BobbiSox said:

I am amazed at the number of cruisers on this board who are willing to risk the lives of thousands of people so they can have their perfectly brewed cup of tea.

That number is zero. No one has said any such thing. Don't confuse discussing an issue with a willingness to break the rules. I cannot speak for others, but DW and I just got back from 36 days on the GWV and four days on another line, in which part of the morning routine was for me to take our mugs and go get coffee. And during which the kettle I spoke of remained safely in our gadgets cabinet next to the electric corkscrew in our own kitchen, far from any ship.

Discussing shipboard policies is within the remit of this board. So is mentioning the policies of other lines, and that they seem to vary based on whether people in the country the ship is sailing out of expect kettles. And if the conversation drifts to travel kettles and their safety shut-off features, that's not nearly as far as I have seen other threads drift.

I appreciate your concern, but perhaps your limited experience in CC is leading you to see nuances and connotations that just aren't there. The Inside Cabin, who posted the image of the kettle, is a greatly-honored poster and veteran of many grand voyages, including several GWVs, and whose live threads receive thousands of views. He surely appreciates the need to obey shipboard rules, as do all of us.

Thank you for your participation in CC.

2 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

With the cord easily removed, it looks like an insulated tumbler.....Still not authorized for the ship, but great for land travel

We recently bought one of those. We are anxious to put it to the test next time we have a land trip. Agreed that it would be almost undetectable with the cord removed.

When we tried Princess last fall by the way for two cruises out of Southampton, they provided a kettle on request and even instant coffee packets. We still have some of it, awaiting same land trip.

If Holland wants to replace the nuts in the bars with pretzels or Goldfish (which they used to have), I'd be all for it! But not because of allergies.

3 minutes ago, tupper10 said:

@SumoCitrus  As I am sure you are aware any place that your grandson eats whether on a cruise, at school, at someone else's house has the potential to give him a reaction. I also have a severe nut allergy and I found that I was fine on HAL.  As I said in the Lido the manager knows what is in the food. The chef actually made me  a dozen cookies since even though the cookies said no nuts I was afraid of cross contamination.     You are given a menu for the meals in the MDR again - they know how the food is made and what is in it. If there is a question, the staff checked directly with the chef.  To be frank I felt safer eating on the cruise than in many other settings.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2

I do not believe SumoCitrus was the OP, who discussed their grandson. I believe it was Cruising on a Sunday afte. Discussions of allergy accommodations are common these days and sometimes become fraught. I am glad that they were able to clarify the situation and hopefully they have received useful advice.

10 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

Or the obvious solution,  you should cruise on cruiselines that don't collect autogratuities.

+1!

50 minutes ago, Cruising on a Sunday afte said:

We have booked an Alaskan cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam for August.  Our 9 year old grandson has an allergy to all nuts. We have fixed dining, and I am comfortable with working with our waiter.  Question is how to be sure in Lido and other venues.  Practical advise from others would be appreciated!

It depends, I suppose, on the intent behind your inquiry. The staff is endlessly accommodating catering to individual passengers' dietary needs. I'm not quite sure what is meant by "other venues", and "to be sure". Holland America often serves nuts to passengers who order drinks. Is what is meant whether the line will restrict the serving of nuts to other passengers in venues in which your grandson is or may be present?

This was left in mailboxes of those abroad the GWV this morning while the ship is in Puerto Vallarta.

HAL has rescheduled the GWV to avoid the Red Sea. This was left in mailboxes of people affected while everyone is ashore in Puerto Vallarta.

If you walk outside the port area at Amber Cove to the entrance, about a ten minute walk from the ships, there are private taxis waiting. Depending on your bargaining ability, you can get a taxi into Puerto Plata for $10-$15. Keep in mind that such taxis cannot get into the port on your return, they can drop you at the gate and you have to walk from the port entrance to the ship.

3 hours ago, Mary229 said:

Heritage Auctions recently auctioned a regular $2 bill, with no odd markings, for $2400. You might want to hang on to those bills. 

The note sold for the high figure because it had an unusual low serial number, L00000007* If you can find a similar number in crisp new condition, go for it. But otherwise, there is nothing scarce about $2 bills.

I would say the drawback to tipping crew with $2 bills is that you force them to exchange them through the ship. It's at least an inconvenience.

2 hours ago, FOPMan said:

Technically, no, you can't bring drinks ashore without paying the appropriate duty, as you'd be smuggling into The Bahamas.Now, one drink may be below the tax threshold, but, technically, should probably be declared.

This would fall under the agreement between The Bahamas and CCL which we are not called upon to interpret, and in the absence of advice from the cruise line or the government, my legal opinion is, party on, dude.

By the way, my old tablet bag keeps beer cold just fine.

9 hours ago, Bill B said:

 

What sort of odds were they giving?

10-1 against the passenger (not us) who took it on.

In Tobago, by the way, we had a two hour tour (four people) for $60. That was just the offered price. There was only one goat at the goat races when we got there so it probably paid to go later in the day.

11 hours ago, WCB said:

Local beers are Carib and Stag, always served ice cold.  We struck out on enjoying those beers because nothing was opened. 

We bought a couple of cans of Stag at the Penny Savers Supermarket for about ten T&T dollars each. They had Carib too. Most bars were closed but there was a rather loud sports bar on the way to the supermarket. We found a more quiet bar upstairs in the little mall. I'm pretty sure they had Carib, since I took a Carib Shandy coaster, but we had the Royal stout beer. 

Our taxi tour driver said Stag was the beer for men and Carib for women. 

41 minutes ago, davencl said:

I have only seen applications submitted on Dec. 2 without errors that have received their E-Visa's.  Have you noticed anyone else being issued an E-Visa?  I submitted mine on Dec. 3., made correction and received email on Dec. 4 advancing to Under Check status on the 5th.  Now in Under Check status since the 5th.

My DW's application was submitted on the third, we made several corrections the same day and got a quality control email that night, she showed as approved on the 8th and got her actual visa on the 11th. (I still have a valid visa from a previous trip so did not need to apply).

Crash Nash?

1 hour ago, terry&mike said:

Onboard Quest now. We are due to arrive in Manaus at 1:30pm today, will overnight, and depart tomorrow at 10:00am. 

Enjoy. We would be interested in hearing about your docking/tendering experience in Manaus. 

I'd be curious to know if HAL is having to pay above the odds for the full transits it can't possibly cancel, for example the GWV in January.

Does this have to do with the drought which according to several news stories I've seen, is affecting the number and weight of cargo ships they will let transit?

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/03/panama-canal-drought-hits-new-crisis-level-amid-severe-el-nino.html

From the Regal

Drinks from the Honor bar in the Neptune Lounge are included in the HIA as long as they are within the dollar amount per drink. We were charged $1.18 for some 12-dollar drinks when the limit was 11 on the Noordam in July. You fill out the form and leave it and I gather the Neptune Lounge concierge processes it when they have a spare moment.

6 hours ago, VintageGeo said:

"and allow us to come in so our guests can go straight to the airport for flights home."

 

It seems that more interest in helping might be found if Orlando and HAL would change this way of thinking. Would it not be  more prudent that anyone leaving either ship be tested and sent into quarantine? Or for medical assistance, as needed? Definitely not directly to an airport.

I think the "straight to the airport" part is to reassure Floridians and the important part to HAL is to have the passengers allowed to disembark.