OlsSalt

Fresh baked bread, from scratch. Not frozen pre-made bread dough that is use now. Still good, but not the variety, texture or taste of days gone by. The cold soups. The dinner salads.

Ship classes from older to newer: 1.Zaandam/Voldendam 2. Oosterdam/Westerdam/Noordam/Zuiderdam 3. Eurodam/Nieuw Amsterdam 4. Konigsdam, Nieuw Statendam, Rotterdam Cabin temperature controls can vary from older to newer ships - and itineraries sailed

Filling the larger ships HAL indeed is the challenge - more late night party atmosphere along with loud music throughout the ships, more "kids sail free" offerings ....etc. Of late this has made the HAL prior branding very schizophrenic if one moves from one class of smaller ships to the new class of larger ships. I think this HAL trying to be all things to all people has created brand confusion to those who have not researched the various ships within this newer version of the former HAL brand. Hope they do create more brand identity within the CCL family itself, because some of the mixed messages within each line are not working out so well - at both ends of the equation. And hoping that HAL does move back more to its more in-depth travel exploration experience as its signature brand. Should each CCL family member carry their own weight individually - offering something for everyone. Or should their be allowances for different economies of scale within the brand - which can overall remain comprehensive, but just not with similar brand ROI efficiencies.

Some of the older ships have linked ventilations systems, so when one cabin keeps a balcony door open, it can affect negatively other cabins on ths same linked system. That has been an ongoing discussion issue on this site for years. Less so with the newer ships. Also depends on where one is traveling as some older systems are not up to the stress - both too cold or too hot - when outside temperatures become more extreme. Recent newer built Konigsdam has a very good cabin temperature set up, but we have noticed high degrees of variation on the older ships ourselves. Yes, cabins in the tropics - a normal cabin range for HAL can be as high 75 degrees, whereas 75 degrees in colder location can feel too cold. The resident chief engineer who comments on thees issues claims they never "turn the A/C off at night -too inefficient - though that late night hot spell can be the result of many other factors: open balcony doors, the type of comforter bedding used, and one's own circadian rhythm that may take more time to adjust to new travel schedules. And faulty equipment, so a call to the front desk is definitely in order. Rule of thumb - the older the ship - the more issues one might have in finding a personal cabin temperature comfort zone - depending on where one is traveling. Less so on the newer builds which are more individually responsive. Eurodam is right in the middle of new and old. Have been on both and I don't remember any issues.

Best thing is to research other cruise lines, since this appears to be an important feature for some - what are the various closing times on other cruise lines? The old joke, inside and out of the industry, is everyone is in bed on HAL ships by 9pm. A little informal researchupfront would have revealed this, allowing one to make a better choices for their own preferences - a late night, wee small hours in the morning bar availability.

3rdGen, may I please pass on your tips about Sitka to our Eurodam Roll Call? Thanks.

Thanks 3rd Gen for the correction: Yes in Quebec, the real deal Poutine is at Chez Ashton Worth seeking out this location (near the Palais) because we never found it quite as good anywhere else: https://www.tasteatlas.com/chezashton/poutine If the curds do not squeak and all is not freshly made, it is not "real" poutine. Then it becomes only a slimy glop -filling for sure, but nothing as magical.

Time of the year can matter too when choosing an Alaska cruise - each part of the Alaska season has pros and cons. Early, mid or late summer. Animal sightings, bugs, rain, daylight hours, number of ships and tourists.

Speaking of Icy Straights, indeed a very low key port, we thought our port times on our upcoming Eurodam cruise were odd since, it will be late afternoon into the evening. Then I thought, since this is a mid-September cruise - what better place and time to perhaps see the Northern Lights - we are reaching the sun-spot maximum in the 11 year cycle, plus not much of moon on those dates, plus there is zero ambient light in this remote port to interfere, so perhaps we will will get lucky if all forces align to give us a light show. We enjoyed learning about the former fishing industry at their museum, and always pick up some very good canned salmon at this stop. I do believe the transport link from port to settlement is now open. Most memorable sight were the trees full of white-headed bald eagles. We did the kayak tour and did see whales breaching, after paddling all the way down to Hoonah and back. (In the intermittent cold and the rain, but we were paddling hard enough, we did not really notice it ----much.)

To add to this discussion, do people take their door decorations home with them, or dump them in the trash for the ship to dispose? Considering how many past amenities we used to get - individual sized portions - yogurt, cereal, bathroom supplies, jams, condiments etc - but were eliminated in the name of the new green "zero waste" demands placed on cruise ships. So hopefully, passengers who are into door decorations, do pack them out when they leave the ship.

The classic three 7-Day cruise ports are the most impacted, and over time have become more heavily tourist shopping oriented- hello Diamonds International vs. true "Made in Alaska" - Ketchikan-Skagway- Juneau. Yet these three ports still all have plenty to see and do outside a more generic and crowd impacted tourist experience, as well as excursions (ship or DIY) out into the more remote countryside and water tours. After several cruises to Alaska, our preference is now to find the itineraries that offer more northern and less visited ports where it feels more "real" Alaska, without the tourism concentration. Sitka, Kodiak, Homer, Nome, Dutch Harbor, Icy Straights, Anchorage - much rarer to find, but do show up from time to time. We thought Hubbard Glacier was equally, if not even more spectacular, so it is not a loss if one does not get to Glacier Bay. Bottom line, you almost can't go wrong with any Alaska experience - depends on how much you want to do or see and explore beyond the obvious port attractions -some are busier and more tourist, others are sedate and offer more insights into daily life in Alaska. Try looking for a longer cruise - 14 days - if you can find one, and have it all. Otherwise, the more standard 7 day classic Alaska will still give you enough of a taste of this highly scenic state, and perhaps whet your appetite to keep coming back for more.

Seek out poutine in Quebec at Chez Acton: a delicious combination of french fries, squeaky fresh curds topped with a savory thin gravy - this was the best place we found as we tried it all over when we could. Our biggest total surprise was visiting the house of Anne of Green Gables on Prince Edwards Island. I had not even read the book, but it was just such a magical setting that we became intrigued with the author, the locale and the plucky little heroine. The bus ride to the house went through the prettiest country side.

Maybe stodgy old HAL will be the San Ysidro Ranch, and not Grosinger's. 🥰

I think the recent flurry of name brand offerings on board were one way HAL tried to bring more consistency to its daily activities, since each ship was going off is so many different directions when these activities were left to whomever was hired to be that particular ship. We got consistency all right, but way too canned and too much generic repetition. The real fun times where when a particularly onboard staff just clicked, and they had fun putting on these activities together - one of the funniest was the "Mystery Box" cooking demonstrations that brought in key staff people as participants and judges and could leave the audience in tears of laughter. But it took some out-going staffers to pull this off. It was spontaneous and fun, or it could fall flat and be pretty awful. We even once had a "culinary demonstration" person who admitted they did not know how to cook. Was this untalented person hired as an officer's special friend, and just along for the ride and handed something to do? So in comes ATK to save the day, and ultimately bore us, or present really over-kill recipes probably few of us would ever try at home - high cost and high calorie. And I like ATK - Cooks Magazine myself - or used to. HAL can afford to make more enrichment its own special niche in the mainstream cruising world. It is revenue-producing, because it has long attracted a steady loyal customer base out of the larger cruise market. Full ships of low demand passengers, that did not even need extra marketing costs has to be net revenue producing too in its own way. Plus this alternative attracts new groups of "aging people", who over time are looking for quieter entertainment rather than trying to compete with the glitz and glamor of other similar cruise lines. My very unsupported guess is "younger passengers", when they do age, do not necessarily stick with Carnival (etc) even if that is where they first started cruising; but they too over time will start looking around for quieter pace options. The HAL ships. Never bought into the notion HAL needs to get glitzy now, so it can attract replacement passengers for its currently older and more sedate passenger base. Obviously at one time "corporate" thought differently. I appreciate their reassessment, and are now drifting back to former HAL basics - stodgy and loyal. The comfortable old shoe cruise experience. The HAL ships. Long may she sail.

Does not NCL make most of its money off gambling, really high stakes and even private casino action? That was its reputation at one time. Which means it can afford to offer more in the front of the house. Just like Las Vegas resorts bring them in with great restaurants, but the real action is the gaming.

Please report what you find on the Eurodam after you get back. We will be on her in Sept and did like her sister the Nieuw Amsterdam better - decor wise. Just a little more understated, if you can call that huge silver apple sculpture understated, but it worked to carry our the namesake NYC Big Apple theme. Eurodam just did not seem as pulled together, so it will be interesting if they did anything major of it they just freshened things up from any prior and normal wear and tear. Sorry to hear they took away the Gallery Bar on the Eurodam, thought that was a very successful re-use of the very under-used Northern Lights disco - it was always full of happy families and young people playing board games and have fun group times together. Which kept things quieter in other parts of the ship so it was a win-win improvement..

Packing with laundry demands in mind is one way around long cruises and the laundry. Pick thinner rather than bulky items. We honestly don't have that much that requires daily laundry needs - we pack about 7 days of underwear/socks, one set of night clothes and one set of silk underwear to use as laundry-day bed clothes. Those are our most routine laundry demands. (NB: we are five star so we get the laundry for free - but even so we both can easily work within the one bag limit). Some items can be rinsed and hung out in the bathtub clothes line over night - I like linen as the surprisingly easiest travel fabric for overnight wash and wear. But most clothes we find simply don't get that much wear or demands put on them to require that much extra laundry beyond once a week. So using one bag a week for the routine wash items - can probably be enough - and one does learn to stuff that bag very efficiently to get it all into every gaping air space left. At least this has been our own experience after 600+ days onboard. Others experience can and will vary greatly. And no, I don't think you can smell us coming! Like they claimed they could smell Attila the Hun's armors coming long before they saw them. Some early long cruise packing tips I got from other CC members: pack for two weeks only and repeat for the length of the longer voyages. For variety only change your tops, not an entire outfit. Pick a basic "bottom color" (pants, skirt) along with one color of shoes and (try to) stick with it. Truth told, I still way over pack which is another way around the laundry thing - I still have things left over at the end of the cruise that I never wore. Plus get the lightest suitcase you can find (IT brand is one of them) so you are not paying luggage fees, to just ship your suitcase, and not the things you want to wear instead.

Ask for mayonnaise with your Dive in Fries, and you have "Dutch food". Amsterdam, in the 1960's, is where I first saw French fries with mayo from little stands all over town, That was when I was forced to realize pomme frites were far more continental, than ubiquitous American.

The ladies room on the older ships reminds me of the days extra primping we might want to do on formal nights, when they were really formal and were enforced to be formal. Before a grand entrance into the main dining room, which was also dressed up for the occasion too. With fainting couches, if one was cinched in too tightly. Yes, like the upscale hotels and department stores of yore. This is a throw-back room to days now long gone. Utterly charming reminder. Love your photos and the sense of affection so many of us feel for the "feel" of the older, more traditional HAL ocean cruising ships.

Prix fixe often sets out the number of expected courses and prices this accordingly. 3-4-5 courses, up front. Then one can juggle two appetizers, one entree but no dessert, or any other numerical combination of courses one choses for each numerical pricing scheme including multiple appetizers and one dessert, with no entree for "small eaters". But not four entrees!

Perhaps enough requests to the moderator can make it a "sticky" thread, like the smoking discussion thread? Eg: Tips for HAL Solo cruisers I just used the the upper right hand three gray dots "request" feature to report the post as something of interest to the moderator, and included the request to consider it as a 'sticky". Good things can be reported, as well as difficult things. Worth a try.

Best to pick a cruise line known for unique dining experiences. That was never part of the HAL value cruising package. Or you might want to explore the Indian cuisine menu available in the MDR daily, by request. Finding unique local cuisine for lunch in port has always been our way to add variety to the HAL cruise experience, since the ships take us to so many new places. The biggest changes in HAL dining from its pretty much meat and potatoes days a decade ago, has been the addition of daily changing vegetarian/vegan menu items, as well as accommodations to an entire range of special diet needs. HAL kitchens, culinary expertise storage and food delivery areas are only so big.

Solo cruising is so very different from "singles" cruising. It is an entirely different art form. And a very worthy one. This discussion does deserve its own archives. Thanks again for starting it.

My DH said it best, when it comes to the value of HAL ships: they are still nice to you, even after you have handed out tips at the end of the cruise.

My own general rule after becoming "solo": two steps forward and one step backwards. That was my new normal.