rkacruiser

It's refreshing to read a positive report about the photographer's on a ship. A rare report, indeed!

I sailed on her during her Inaugural season and she was then--and remains--an excellent ship. Captain Edward G. van Zaane was at the helm after several years as Master of our beloved Amsterdam. His Officers and he helped to get Nieuw Amsterdam sailing on a "true course".

HAL will not put the Volendam into service if she was not prepared to provide her guests the best possible experience. The larger questions are if her service will still be needed to house refugees and what CCL's financial condition requires them to do with too much capacity.

My menu for my dinner is a picnic-style dinner. Baked Beans with Wieners, Red Skin Potato Salad, Lime Jello with Sliced Pears, and Peach Ice Cream. My Baked Beans have been prepared using my special recipe of "a little of this and a lot of that". (Light Brown Sugar, Onions, Parsley Flakes, Ketchup, Accent, and Black Pepper. I put the ingredients together and refrigerate the mixture for several hours. I'll put this concoction in the oven and let it cook for 75-90 minutes at 350 degrees. Sometimes, I get a bit of "too much of that" and "not enough of this", but, not often. If that happens, I can too some "tweaking" when it's time for leftovers. What's your menu for Independence Day this year?

It was a very spacious area divided into sections so that it didn't seem to be so overwhelming. It's a lovely space. One does need to search for the food stations, but, it's worth the hunt! I was very impressed with the choice of dishes offered and the attention that was given to keep the stations properly stocked.

In the United States, Port Everglades is #1 for me, followed by New York City, Seattle, Baltimore, Port Canaveral, Boston, Los Angeles, San Juan, and Miami in that order. Miami would rank between Port Canaveral and Boston if it were not for the traffic situation that I encountered. If I had not driven to the port.....a different impression, I suspect. International ports of embarkation: Vancouver and Auckland are favorite ports.

And, Amsterdam as well. Same kind of experience.

My preferred Alaskan cruise itinerary is one that includes both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. Of my two preferred cruise lines, HAL and Princess, only Princess offers both ports and, unless the itineraries have changed, only on Southbound itineraries from Whittier to Vancouver. Being a part of RCI, Celebrity participates in the Alaskan land packages that Royal Caribbean operate. But, Royal Caribbean does not have their own system of lodges, but, they do have their own rail cars and, I think, buses.

Welcome to Cruise Critic new member Pokey2! I am sorry that you have had this disappointing experience. I wonder if you had used a travel agent to make your reservations that your experience might have been better and less stressful. On which Princess ship did your group sail? I hope all enjoyed their cruise.

Having some zip-lock bags can be useful for many things, not just getting some food and taking it one's stateroom. I have used the "plate method" covered by a napkin, but, if I don't consume the cheese/crackers soon after I return to the cabin, the crackers may not taste as fresh as they ought and the cheese is less than desirable at times. Nuts and goldfish may be available at the bars. Sometimes, one has to ask for them. A zip-lock bag would be useful to store some of these if the bartender provides some.

For me, it is a mixture of savings, investments, and living within my means. An annuity that pays well along with a pension and good, reasonably priced health insurance also helps.

Princess Nieuw Statendam? Or, Nieuw Statendam Princess? 😀

Good luck. It was when I sailed on the Amsterdam's VOV one year that the internet was horrible. Trying to send daily blogs, I lost the address book that I had created for that cruise, could not be recovered by me or by the tech guru (which is a position that does not exist anymore, I think), had to re-create it which took quite some time and some $$ to do. That cruise was the end of my attempt to blog during my cruises.

I get it. Some of us "don't know what we don't know".

It is rude to hang up on a customer. You are reading the poster's comments in a different way than I am. Probably correct, but, if the communication is with a United States based company, I expect an agent who has enough education in English to be able to properly communicate with me. The failure of some companies to provide such employees on their toll free phone lines lead to the legitimate (in my opinion) disgust in my dealings with those companies.

One housekeeping visit a day is included; a second visit, a fee. The Steward arrives at your table to offer water. Sparkling or still? Sparkling would be a extra. Like others, I truly disliked these "resort fees" when they first appeared and purposely made reservations at hotels that did not have them. Be up front! Charge what the facility needs to charge and, if it exceeds what one wants to pay, let the guest find a facility that better suits their requirements.

It is a pleasure to read a post such as yours. Thank you for writing it.

Give it a break! I think we know your views. We ought to know the other person's views. I am certain you are a frequent flyer. I suspect the other person is not. Any compassion for those fliers who are less experienced than you?

Another example of our educational system failing to well educate our citizens? International Business Class passengers have long been able to check two free bags in my experience. A 70 lb weight limit is of no interest to me. I try to get the bags close to 50 lbs each. Even then, it takes much of my strength to move the darn things. Trying to move a 70 lb bag would be impossible for me.

Is it too late to seek air deviation for the routing you dislike? There may be a fee for such, may it be worth it.

Considering a flight from JFK to Helsinki to Oslo in Business Class. I would appreciate learning the views and/or experiences by those who may have flown on Finnair in Business Class and on this itinerary.