PSR

7 hours ago, crystalspin said:

I allow that landing and walking on Mendenhall would be a prime experience, but if you are talking about a tour to the visitor center and a walk to the view point or trek to the waterfall, it is pretty disappointing even in OK weather. This is what you could see in 2016:

People for scale:

 

If you are not hiring the helicopter, the day in Juneau is better spent on a whale watch! In my not humble opinion.

In this picture it looks like the glacier had an earlier flooding incident. This happens occasially when melting water builds up behind the glacier front and suddenly breaks through the ice and floods the lake below. It happened right before one of our visits and the trail to the waterfall (behind the person on the right) was closed. Normally you can walk all the way to the waterfall; it is about 1 mile to the falls. Worth it if the trail is open.

I think they might be changing MDR menus for the new areas they are now sailing to, such as Mexico/Caribbean to Alaska. They do change to more local influenced menus, so maybe the whole menu thing will be fixed when the menus are confirmed. Hope so!!

12 minutes ago, cruisn71 said:

They are doing a special 'corner' in the lido at lunch on sea days.  They had American on the 1st sea day.   They call this one Heritage.  I am expecting French, Italian, German, Japanese, Chinese and more based on previous cruises.  It is being held in the port side Sweetspot across from Rise 

Thank you. Is this only on the Koningsdam and other ships of its type? Haven't been on one of those yet; also not familiar with "Rise" either...sounds like the baked item area.

What is this "Heritage Corner"? Is it something new? I am not familiar with this in the Lido, although we rarely go to the Lido for lunch. The items sound interesting and different. Is it where the "Sweet Spot" is in the lido? I am not familiar with that either, but it sounds like a dessert location; guess I sound like a newbie, but I have been on HAL many times, so I am kind of embarrassed to not have seen it before. Thanks for any info! 

We were on a Triple Denali a few years ago and ate all our meals at Karsten's. The food was good and plentiful and we never approached the amounts the dining plan costs. The last question on the flyer above states that the plan is probably not cost effective if you prefer lighter meals.

The PG breakfast starts and lasts 30 min later on sea days, I believe.

9 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

 

Totally agree.  The photos give me a vital clue into the incident.  The first picture shows an "expanded" flex joint (which is a corrugated, flexible section of piping that allows for movement between the two sections of machinery) in what looks like a steam heat exchanger.  This flex joint most likely was full of water, and this blew out when steam was introduced.  There was no fire, but the space filled with hot steam.

 

As you say, Walker makes veiled accusations about the watertight door not operating.  This makes perfect sense to me.  The hydraulic watertight doors operate with no rubber sealing to make the watertight seal, it relies on hydraulic force to jam the door into a wedge shaped frame.  And, the hydraulics are strong enough to "un-jam" the door when it needs to be opened.  However, if the door is heated by the steam filling the space, it expands in the wedge frame, increasing the pressure required to open the door, likely above what could be provided by the hydraulic pump.

 

Mr. Walker also states that the workers were not equipped with EEBD, but that is not a common industry practice for nearly all work done in engine rooms, and EEBD's are most common on tankers, but also they are only a few scattered at locations around the engine room, not typically carried by workers to their worksite.

 

He also makes it sound as if HAL is guilty of something for not releasing results of internal investigations, but he doesn't say whether US companies of whatever type have to release this information, or whether that information comes from law enforcement sources, as the Flag State and class investigations equate to.

 

Just more fuel for my disdain for Walker. 

I'm just catching up and cannot find the comment you are referring to; was it removed by the monitors? And who is "Walker"?

5 hours ago, jenp123 said:

Just a heads up on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  It has a dedicated morimoto restaurant that takes up half of Tamarind and because they are sharing the same kitchen, they significantly reduced the Tamarind menu to make it easier for the kitchen to keep up.  I ended up not eating at Tamarind because all of my favorites were not available on this ship.  Not saying they aren't good options on the menu, just a lot less than the other ships.

Thank you for this information. I was afraid of this shrinking of the menu when I saw the shorter one printed awhile ago, but everyone on the NA before now said the menu was the older one. Now we may have to cancel at least one of our rezes since some of my favorites are also missing....😒

12 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

We are eating there again tonight and I booked two more for 5 star benefits before we disembark on 2/24. 

 

Beef, crispy duck, Nami Sushi extra, shrimp tempura, fried soft shell crab from Nami extra charge, dessert, two more crispy duck and shrimp tempura.  All very yummy! 

I see my favorite dessert!! Thank you for showing me that the menu is intact!! Also, the duck looks delicious...have never tried it; might have to in May. 

On 2/6/2024 at 6:27 PM, oakridger said:

 

On the January 2024 menu listed on Roger Jett's website in post #5 the Barramundi and Yuzu Cheesecake are still listed. Is there a more recent version than that?

 

 

 

 

~Nancy

Good to hear; when I look at the Navigator Tamarind menu I only see the shortened list. I haven't looked at the HAL website menu recently. Thought they would be the same.

Has anyone noticed that the menu is not as large as before? Last year I had the fish (burrimundi-spelling?) entree and it appears to be gone now. Also my favorite dessert: a sweet "cheesecake" item...forgot the name.🤔

1 hour ago, WVU_Neal said:

I just checked and the complete link is below.

 

Mariner 3 stars get 25% of packages and bottles.

Mariner 4-5 get 50%

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/plan-a-cruise/get-ready-for-your-cruise/mariner-society

I think you missed the “excluding” parenthesis.

On 12/7/2023 at 5:03 AM, K2IE said:

The website has been seriously broken for at least 2 days now.  500 errors galore.

 

Frustrating, since I have an email that a waitlisted excursion is now available.  I'll have to get someone from the excursion desk on the phone today.

That happened to me last weekend. When I finally got to talk to someone by phone on Monday, it turned out that the whole shorex was cancelled and the message was sent in error.

3 hours ago, crystalspin said:

I can't find the other "CCL/stockholder OBC" thread where I jumped to (correct as it turns out) conclusion that StockPerks was going to be the sole way to request SHB. Some people had gone through the process accepting the BRAID default status which demanded you signin to your brokerage account. That was when I wrote my letter to World Cruise Reservations/HAL!

 

Someone else later discovered that you do not want that default status but choose ALIVEA option that you won't need to log in, just upload what you would be sending by the old fax method.

 

Wouldn't it have been nice for "Matt" to have told me that? Instead we depend on CC!

 ETA: found the other thread, added the email to it.

 

I  am a little confused by your “default” discussion, but how do you get to the “Stock Perks” site?  Thanks!

On 10/14/2023 at 5:32 PM, Mr. Boston said:

Was that formerly the Oak Room?

I think you might be right….

We have been on two Regatta cruises and I believe that there is dance music late night in the Horizon lounge by the show band most nights. We did not actually check that out though.

8 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

I wonder if "Group A" is assigned by sheer age.  Give the verified old folks extra time to get onboard?

 

Since I will be having my four score milestone now met before a few days before boarding,  and DH has already exceeded his.  We know the upgrade fairy works in mysterious ways. Who runs the boarding time Master Assigner?

You may be right about the age of the passengers. We are embarking this Saturday, the 9th and also got a first-ever group A 10AM assignment. We are also older, but not quite to the fourscore point. There are "only" 3 ships next Saturday, but I'm thinking it might be good for us to get through the checkin procedures quickly and at least have a seat in the waiting area instead of standing in long lines. For one of us, standing for awhile is a problem. If we can get on the ship earlier, that would be even better...

We are going on a HAL cruise that stops in this port. We have been there before, but every time we have gone on a shorex, so I have a question about access to the city from the port. If you do not go on a tour, is there access to taxis or a shuttle bus or rental cars to take to the downtown? I know the port is industrial, so not much around for tourist access to anything like most normal ports. Thanks for any help!

On 8/21/2023 at 6:31 PM, oaktreerb said:

You should be able to do the Phillips 26 Glacier Cruise in Whittier.  I’m surprised it’s not offered for in transit guests.  We went from the ship to the 26 Glacier Cruise last year, then boarded the bus to Anchorage.  The 26 Glacier Cruise could be sold out.  

Thanks for your response. Somehow I never got notified, or somehow missed it. Just searched and found it today...🙂

On 8/19/2023 at 1:39 PM, zteamtwo said:

Regarding the choosing of the minimum of 4 excursions for the "Simply More" allowance, pick all of your 4 excursions at once.  We made 2 choices one day and then 2 more the next day. We were charged the wrong amount for 2 of the cruises.  Had to call Oceania. 

You are correct. I just tried to add 3 shorex to my previous 2 already booked and they were charged as if I only had the 3, not the previous 2, so no discount (we have to have 5 booked). I was just experimenting, so I quickly deleted the 3. Our trip isn't for another year, but I wanted to test your experience. I hope they correct this soon. Don't know why they can't just add the new selections to your old ones...Guess the programming for the new SM is not quite ready for prime time!

11 hours ago, RD64 said:

I just returned from a Vancouver round-trip turning around in Whittier. Trains and coaches arrive throughout the day.

I have a question that is off topic. We are doing a similar trip in a few weeks and are wondering if HAL has an "in transit" shorex in Whittier for travelers doing a roundtrip voyage? I think I have seen one flash by when looking at shorex in the past, but our trip does not list one. Did your trip have one? If not, did you find anything to do in Whittier during the change-over day? I have searched online, but not much is offered. Thanks for any information and sorry to go off topic.😉

Delete.

4 hours ago, Cruise Suzy said:

Here is the link to HAL's   Special Requirements Information (SRI) Form

https://book.hollandamerica.com/specialServices/login.action

No real need to submit the form for embarkation, but it's needed for them to notify you where to meet for disembarkation assistance.

If you don't need to use this for embarkation, who do you contact to get a wheelchair at the port when boarding? Thank you for any information.

9 hours ago, kopykat said:

I’ve made reservations at Tanarind and then order off the Nami Sushi menu several times 

Ditto; I ordered a few pieces of sushi as an appetizer, then the rest of my meal off the Tamarind menu. They do charge you ($3/piece in my case) separately for anything from the Nami.

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

I usually use ship to airport transfers, as except for two ports, it is less expensive to take the transfer than a cab. 
Since every one is disembarking the ship during the same time frame, those heading to the busses are all leaving more or less as a group. There is usually a jam-up of people at the bus door attempting to get on; there is barely a wait before the bus leaves. 

Not everyone can be the first one on the bus, remember! Someone is going to be last, and that person has no wait at all. 

Hi Ruth; we haven’t used a HAL airport transfer in a long time…would like to know if your luggage is automatically put on the bus or do you have to take it to the bus yourself?