Kayalene

I made D+ in March. No letter, no luggage tags. But still happy!

 

 

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We made D+ in March too. Just got our luggage tags 2 days ago. They say we will get our pins on our next cruise in September. :)

Here is the NA Breakfast Menu that shows V-8 available, so why not just grab a few extras and keep them in your minibar?

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Lido-Breakfast-Menu.pdf

Thank you. That is very helpful. Perhaps we will just do that instead of lugging extra weight in the carry on.

You can bring as much non-alcoholic beverages as you wish in your carry-on bags.

Great news. Thank you.

Yes -- you can get a bottle of alcohol delivered to your cabin.

You can order through HAL's site -- have your credit card handy as you have to pay for it right away. You can also call Ship Services and order a bottle that way -- 1-800-541-1576 -- again have your credit card handy -- and ask them for an e-mail confirmation.

Or you can wait until you are on the ship and order via cabin service. If you order on embarkation day there may be a wait as the crew are busy with passengers, luggage, etc. And there may or may not be a state tax added depending on where you are sailing from.

We always order alcohol for the cabin so that we can sit lout on the verandah and watch the view and people watch in the ports.

Can you prepare a cocktail from the bottles in your cabin and take them out to other venues?

My husband likes his V8 first thing in the morning (we are not coffee drinkers). Will they let us bring a couple of 6 packs of V8 onboard with us? ;p

what ship is that on?

It is on the Nieuw Amsterdam. You won't find it on the Holland America website since it is a private charter. You can find it by searching for the Country Music Cruise online.

Does any one know of a countrywestern cruise in Nov. or Dec of 2018?

No, but there is one the end of January 2019. I just booked it, great lineup! :D

Have a great time. There are no bad days onboard, just some better than others.

Exactly! And in February, I'm ready for some warm weather.

We use these seats to check out shows without disturbing others, but if I had paid for a "Theme Cruise", being assigned there might bother me. I looked at one of the Blues Cruises on a HAL ship, and they assign cabins on a seniority basis. I want my king bed, which means a suite, and was told it might be 5-6 cruises before I had enough juice to get one. Maybe they assign seats the same way.

The entire ship is chartered for the Country Music Cruise. Since seats are based on seniority (when you booked your cabin) and this is our first time, I can understand why we are at the back of the main floor. Also, I couldn't afford a suite. People who booked after us are in the balcony, some at the back of it. So it makes sense. If I keep going, I will get up closer. I'm just happy to be going and will enjoy the music! :D

Since this is a theme cruise, they make the rules. Seats are assigned in order of when you book the cruise. This way you don't have to get there real early to get a seat. It prevents less congestion. This is our first time on this type of cruise and I booked late. I do like the fact that we will have a good place to set our cocktails and will be able to exit faster after the concert. I'm determined to look on the bright side. After all, we will be on a cruise!

The bar stools on the NA are located behind the black bar in the photo below and the stools have backs:

 

 

The below photo was taken from the bar stools location. Note that there could be a pillar blocking your view of the entire stage:

 

 

Here is a link to my photo review of the Nieuw Amsterdam to help get you oriented to the ship:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/photo-reviews/ms-nieuw-amsterdam-on-board-images/

Thank you for the information. Our seats are the farthest ones next to the wall.

Can anyone tell me what it is like to be seated on bar stools in the very back row of the theater on the main floor on the Nieuw Amsterdam? We are going on a theme cruise and have been assigned our seats for the nightly shows.

Does anyone know if Grandeur of the Seas is scheduled for dry dock this Spring? If so, does anyone know what they are refreshing?

We are on the Grandeur right now. They told us it will go into dry dock in the Bahamas around the 25th of April until the middle of May. They will be updating some of the mechanical stuff, putting in faster wifi, replacing carpeting and other cosmetic items.

When we disembarked Allure last Sunday, there was a table set up with confiscated items....

 

We had a good laugh as we saw at least half a dozen irons.... and lots of power strips and extension cords.

 

I want to know about pocket knives??? We saw many for sale in DI, the Swiss Army type. I asked could we take them on the ship???? They told us yes.... so are pocket knives permitted on the ships?

No, you can't bring pocket knives. My husband had a small pocket knife in his suitcase and had to go to the naughty room to get it. (They confiscated the knife and told him he could get it back at the end of the cruise.) What we thought comical was that we were given long sharp steak knives that night at dinner to cut our meat. :eek:

Oh, I believe you. The cruise I'm booked is a shorter 5-night and I'm sure much less expensive than the one you are currently on. Both of those factors may be part the reason for the cost difference.

 

It's great to read that you liked Chops on Brilliance... you made me book a night there too!:)

If you want really good service, ask for Anil to be your waiter. Of course I'm sure they all offer good service if you don't get him.

Just curious OP is this your first time eating at Chops? I haven't had chops since the menu changed, and just wondering how the old menu stands up to the new menu. I really did enjoy the old menu, but some things on the new one.. well not so new I think it's been changed for about a year now? Anyway, thinking about going when i sail Navigator this Nov. Recently had Bariatric surgery and me and steak don't get along too well now. i'm hoping the other dishes stand up to the steak I had last time in Chops.

This was our 4th Chops experience. We did a couple with old menu and this was our second on the new one. We liked all four times. Since my hubby and I always eat the filet, I can't vouch for the other meats. Last November on Legend, one of our friends was disappointed in the lobster dish she had.

Strange, it's $30/per adult in my cruise planner for December.:confused:

Maybe the cost depends on the cruise. It was definitely $35 last night.

Kayalene - which itinerary were you on? I'm looking forward to being on BOTS October 4th. Definitely would like to go to Chops one night!

We are currently on a 9 day New England/Canada itinerary. Today we are in Halifax NS.

Last night we ate in Chops Grille on Brilliance of the Seas. There were four of us and we all ordered filet mignon done medium rare. The steak was done perfectly and all of the sides were delicious. My favorite side dish was the sautéed spinach. We had Anil from India as our waiter. He was very attentive and gave us excellent service. On a scale of 1 to 10 we all agreed it was a 10! It cost $35 per person and was well worth it. I highly recommend eating there.

On a Brilliance OTS 5 day I asked one of the WJ servers (who happened to be Indian) about Indian food

and the server was elated that I actually was looking for it. He proudly showed me the "station" where the

Indian food was and explained what the items were.

We're on the Brilliance in a few days and I'm looking forward to

more of that food!

I am also on the Brilliance the end of this week. The Indian food in the WJ is always my favorite! I didn't know I could request it in the MDR.

I am not crazy about breakfast at all, so I wait until brunch time when the Windjammer starts serving lunch. I love the Windjammer because of the variety of Asian food, especially spicy Indian dishes! I also prefer a buffet to being served. I know everyone's taste is different, but this is my opinion. :)