carolyn22

That makes me a little sad that the captain felt the need to be at the guest services desk to potentially ward off unpleasant interactions. I’m glad he was protecting his crew, but it’s unfortunate that some people like to show themselves like this. And LouChamp, I’m still laughing at the thought of a “cheese” danish with a slice of American cheese on it.

Sounds like you had another lovely day. I really enjoy reading your daily reports, and I appreciate the time you take to let us hear about your adventures. Quick question - based on your earlier report, we have purchased heavy duty magnetic hooks for our outside cabin on the Volendam. Since there are only a few places where the hooks will work, do you know if it’s OK for us to also use the Command-type hooks?

Thank you for finding this out. I am in cabin 1920 for the Grand voyage starting in January, so I’m guessing if 1921 has the shower then 1920 probably does, too.

Quick question about luggage storage on the Volendam. I seem to remember on the Amsterdam that they could store your luggage somewhere for you on the ship during the World cruise. Do you know if there is similar storage area for luggage on the Volendam? A friend and I are sharing an outside cabin for the 94 day Grand Australia voyage, and we are wondering where we can store all of our luggage. (With two women, you can imagine we are bringing a lot although we are going to try not to go too crazy.). If there is no storage place on the ship, do you think we could get two big suitcases (4 in total) under the beds?

Thank you for including the updates they are doing on the Volendam. I’m very excited to hear about the Starlink upgrade as I’ll be on the Volendam for the 94 day Grand Australia and New Zealand voyage.

We went to Mackinac last year in mid-September. We were able to do a self guided tour of the Grand Hotel for $10 each. It was on a Monday. So I don’t think it was anything Covid related. The only thing I can think is that maybe they don’t allow it over the summer or maybe not on weekends? It was such a beautiful place! And I would have loved to do that glorious tea. How wonderful that you were able to spend your college summers there!

I went to Mackinac for several days last year at this time. What a lovely place! I had met someone from a Michigan before I went to Mackinac, and he told me that the locals refer to the tourists as “fudgies.” It really made me laugh! Jim, I hope you have a wonderful trip. I love the cabin!

Have a wonderful time. That looks like a great itinerary.

Terry, I noticed that you have a cruise coming up in a few days. Are you planning on doing a live report? Or maybe just a summary post after the cruise?

Thank you for another great report! And thanks for answering my question about the outlets in the room. I noticed in this report that you mentioned you have a plug strip. Is that something you brought with you or did the ship provide it for you? I know I seem obsessed with outlets and such, but I use a CPAP machine. We aren’t going to be able to power up our various devices overnight because that one outlet is going to have to be used for my machine. Thanks in advance, and I’ll try not to bug you with too many questions. 😁

I cruise to see different locations, so a land based trip to one resort isn’t something that interests me. I think what we are seeing on this thread is more than just people unhappy about not having lobster and prime rib every night - which has never happened on an X cruise that I’ve been on before anyway. Then again, I’m one of the cheapskates who only books regular balconies. Maybe those in suites and above get that every night. 🤣

Someone from Celebrity really needs to read this thread and take it seriously. Although as someone said earlier, they probably know and just don’t care. It seems like their planning is very short term and they are missing the long term picture as part of their strategic plan.

I’m on the same cruise and am also wondering. I checked the Kahului port for the day we are supposed to be in Lahaina (January 10), and it appears that no other cruise ships are docking there that day. And it looks like we were the only one scheduled for Lahaina that day. So my guess is that would probably dock in Kahului that day, but that’s only a guess.

Yippee! Another great Bill and Mary Ann voyage! I am sailing the Volendam on the Australia and Grand Voyage in January. Could you do me a favor and check to see how many outlets (and which type, including USB) there are in the cabin? I’m in an outside cabin on Deck 1 but I wasn’t sure which category you are sailing in.

I also thought the dessert menu was sparse. Two, sometimes only one, new items each night then a repeat of 3-4 items every single night. That would get old fast for me.

Sad for the family but one doesn’t just simply fall off a ship. He lived only a few miles from me. I’m surprised our local news hasn’t said more about it.

Thank you so much for sharing your adventures with us! I look forward to seeing what you think of other cruise lines. Since many folks are talking about itineraries, I would love to see Celebrity do a world cruise or even Grand Voyages like Holland America does. Overall I like Celebrity’s product better than HAL’s, but HAL has itineraries that I’m more interested in.

I figured that’s what he meant but just wanted to be sure. Darn. Thanks again!

Pete, thank you so much for recording all the questions and answers! You are a real trooper. When the question was asked about the single supplement, what did he mean when he said no change? And I’m scratching my head a bit when he said that HAL spends 50% more on entertainment than their competitors. I’ve been on many other cruise lines (RCL, Celebrity, Princess, etc), and I have to say that HAL’s entertainment is dead last in my book. Maybe they paid too much for those movies (is it Planet Earth?) that they pass off as evening entertainment in the big theater. 😂 Again, thank you for this update a huge thank you for all of the work you put into your blog!

Sorry to quote myself - should have been Eurodam. 😄

I’m sorry to hear that the entertainment continues to be subpar. I was on the European about 6 years ago, and I found the entertainment lacking even back then. Maybe some trivia during the day, but many “activities” had an extra charge associated with them. And most evenings the only entertainment/music I could find was in BB King’s which got old for me after 3 nights or so. I’ve been on about 20 cruises, and it’s the first time I was actually bored on a cruise. I’m currently booked on the Grand Australia cruise next year, and between what I’ve been reading on here and on some of the World Cruise blogs, I’m seriously considering cancelling the cruise. I’m traveling solo and having to pay 200%, and I’m just not sure if it is worth it to me given the cutback and lack of entertainment.

100 bottles of rum on the wall, 100 bottles of rum - take one down, pass it around, 99 bottles of rum on the wall. (I would have used Kraken or limoncello, but it just didn’t flow with the music.) Seriously, hope y’all have a great cruise!

I was on the EQ from 1/21-2/9 and the kid’s filet was not offered. They had a kid’s sirloin which I ordered one night. It was about 75% of the size of the normal sirloin.

I had it several times last month on the Reflection. I just got on the Equinox today and asked if it was available. The waiter did not know but said she would check. I’ll follow up with her tomorrow. It’s not on the the children’s menu on the app.

Will do! 😂😂