crystalspin

None of Neutragena's 15-SPF products are reef-safe. Only their Sheer Zinc lotions and Mineral Ultra Sheer bar are. Off course, they advertize them AFTER proclaiming that oxybenzone is not harmful to living coral.

We get called cheerleaders if we say, HAL does it right for me! People take the Critic part of the site name too seriously. We will miss the Lincoln Center Stage, but I corralled the Entertainment Director in an elevator last January, and he detailed that the contract with Lincoln Center was VERY expensive and that it would not mean the end of classical music on HAL. It's just taking some time to find its replacement! Our favorite things: All HAL ships -- Crows Nest esp. now the cafe in there too. -- The Navigator (for checking menus, for one thing) -- The crew! Pinnacle ships -- Grand Dutch Cafe

How about Bee THoven?

The Explorations Cafe does not have much choice in snacks, usually just a couple things at a time, like biscotti or maybe mini-muffins. I have never had a sandwich in the Lido (!) so can't comment there.

This is for anyone who thinks tips added on slips do NOT go to the server. After a few $1 on receipts, our usual servers in the Crows Nest would bring us extra cans of water near the end of the evening. Not saying they were giving us product, but they could see that we hadn't used our 15pppd on the package and would "ring them up" unasked! We ended up with a fridge full of water, haha! (We didn't have many shore excursions since after four years of no cruising, the ship was the destination in large part.)

Have spent three weeks total (2 around South America and 1 R/T Vancouver to Alaska) on the Zaandam. Also two weeks on sister ship Volendam (R/T Seattle with a long day-stop on your lovely island, the NINE of us went to Butchart). They are fine ships!

Welcome to Cruise Critic! Can't help with the dress code, but I see you did find the Ponant board on CC. Someone should come along and chat you up! As a smaller cruiseline, there are probably fewer Ponant passengers checking in here. I hope your patience holds out!

You paid the current rate, even if a Promo fare; you will get double points for having a Suite. Only people who take a paid upgrade (commonly after final payment) do not. If you have HIA or an alcoholic drink package, you will get triple points, or very close. (I've always got those points until our last cruise, when we got 5 "spending points" on a 7-day cruise. Still made 4-Star so I didn't make a fuss about it! You do not have to ask for it; it will just appear on your Mariner Society statement a while after cruise completion. My memory is a week to 10-days after. We are on the same deck 4 "bump". We are over Future Cruises, and you are over the Front Desk, which should be quite quiet unless a complainer gets loud! Your travelling companions are partially over a white area on the deckplans that may be associated with the MDR, but it has no connection to MDR on deck 3, so I'm guessing food storage with dumb waiters to the main galley below. Nonetheless, they should bring earplugs!

Just the contract with Lincoln Center Stage went away -- meaning no classical music until they figure out a substitute (see @mahi mahi's post just above).

Hi Diesel! Speak of the devil -- someone has started the Roll Call for your cruise. Of course there will only be the two of you to begin, but it has to start somewhere! And here's that Solo board: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/279-solo-cruisers/ I did also want to say, I like your itinerary -- all three ABC Islands in one cruise is on my bucket list.

F cabin 1824 had not been upgraded in 2021. BUT the Volendam had a drydock in Feb 2022, so who knows? You should let us know!

RCI Barcelona to Tampa (that wound up being to Orlando) on the Rhapsody OTS was definitely 70s-80s. As in an Afro-Disco performance in the Attrium and an Elton John tribute (or was it a parody) in the main theatre.

Unless the third person is a minor, they must have the equivalent package as the primary passengers have. Either Signature Beverage Package or Elite Beverage Package, depending on the version of HIA you have.

Is this the "turn-around" port for your B2B?

CruiseDeckPlans has photos from D1856 (two cabins from 1848), uploaded in 2018, that show the glass door shower-only. (Pics of D1870 from 2008 have the old tub-shower.)

^^^This.^^^ We no longer have dry-cleaner bags (but then we no longer have pressed shirts or blouses), and this works well enough even so. Packing roll-aboard carryons it takes another fold or two. I also cross-pack the stacks of hangers. If anything that is going to be hung in the closet is on hangers in the suitcase, the unpacking is amazingly fast!

I really didn't want to change cabins, which led me to book 4100 on our B2B last winter -- we loved it so much I moved our coming K'dam cruises to the same Vista Suite! The Dutch Cafe is so close, one flight of stairs.

I actually love signing the slips. Every few, I add a dollar tip. That way I don't have to bring extra US$ and try to hunt down my favorite bar-servers at the end of the cruise!

Not sure of that, but I do love looking at deckplans! (I have a lifetime membership at CruiseDeckPlans.com -- I don't post pics from there, but with HAL, I can often find the same or similar galleries on halfacts.com, or sometime YouTube links.) Of the large insides I posted: 5108,5125 6112,6127 7104,7097 have other cabins above and below them. 4104 & 4115 are above the walkway between Guest Services and the Dutch Cafe, where the line forms for the Front Office, with ~4123 actually above the Attrium. We were in 4100 above the Future Cruise desk which is more open to the attrium than the deck plan would lead you to believe, and heard nothing. It's not like it is a nightclub or galley! On the other hand, 8092 & 8109 are under a kitchen area for the Lido buffet and a note for 8092 on HalFacts.com specifically says it was noisy all night long and they MOVED! ~8100 is near by over a service counter and walkway of the Lido Market. I would avoid the deck 8 large interiors in favor of any of the others! It is far worse to be under an area of music or cooking than over one. The noise and vibrations come right through the ceiling. And HAL doesn't do the noisy stuff in the Attrium that some other lines do (RCI looking at you).

Right, but they are marketing these as holding a family of FIVE! Yikes!

Welcome to Cruise Critic! Lots to learn here. It doesn't look like you have a Roll Call yet to join. I'll keep watching! https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/456-caribbean/ with sub-boards for many islands. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/64-norwegian-cruise-line/ To ask line (or ship) -specific questions. Congrats on your Paramedic achievement!

Eat off the ship. Or at least have drinks! No ice.

Hey I was just able to get all the way to cabin choice and summary on some 2024 Med cruises! Not logged in. Keep trying everyone!

I have been getting "Bad request", "Too long something", and "Something's gone wrong!" errors for at least a couple days at varying steps during the cabin selection process. Sometimes all the way to picking a cabin! (but never showing the available cabins). This is true on three browsers and whether or not I'm logged in or trying to make a dummy booking. On multiple different cruises, too. (I was bored last night!)

There are others almost as big on higher decks: 4104,4115,~4123 5108,5125 (HC: 5112&5129) 6112,6127 (HC: 6116&6131) 7104,7097 (HC: 7108&7101 8092,8109,~8100 https://halfacts.com/pinnacle-class/5108-koningsdam/ They have a sofa with hardly enough room for your knees, that make a bed for a triple! (It would be like all one bed!) The ones with the tilde~ appear not as large as the ones without, and probably do not have the sofa. These are all very near midships, with the 4th deck being one floor up from the Grand Dutch Cafe! but all being "elevator close".