Westerdam Review - April 2016 South Pacific

[igraf]

Yes, that is exactly what I mean. Perhaps instead they could have hired a computer support specialist.

 

igraf

 

 

 

Do you mean that ONE wine steward assigned to that task could have gotten 400 people on the ship faster had he been better utilized :confused:

Edited June 19, 2016 by igraf

[igraf]

I have to disagree with you on this one. I firmly believe that the relatively high cost of wine on board is the primary driver. People may have a favorite wine at home, but it is unrealistic to expect the ship or even any restaurant to offer the same.

 

igraf

 

 

 

People bring wine for a lot of reasons, and saving money isn't the most important of them.

[Copper10-8]

In HAL 'turn-around' ports like San Diego, Seattle, Vancouver, Tampa, FLL/PEV, NYC, Boston, Montreal, etc. one of the first persons off the ship upon arrival (and last persons back on, just prior to departure) is the ship's I.T. (Information Technology, formerly Communications) officer, closely followed by the Asst. I.T. Officer. They are both hauling large gray containers on wheels which contain the equipment needed to set up the laptops used by the shore-side folks, the same ones who check you in and take you pic with the little ball cameras at the counters inside the terminal.

 

The ITO is responsible for that connection and, at times, just in our homes and at work, it goes down (the connection, not the ITO) for various reasons and that obviously causes problems, can result in backups inside the terminal, and not so happy guests forced to wait until that connection is reestablished

[kazu]

I have to disagree with you on this one. I firmly believe that the relatively high cost of wine on board is the primary driver. People may have a favorite wine at home, but it is unrealistic to expect the ship or even any restaurant to offer the same.

 

igraf

 

You can disagree all you want. It doesn't mean you are correct in your assumptions.

 

I buy wines that we can't get at home nor on the ship.I still buy the ship's packages (cheaper) for many occasions, but the wines we buy in Europe or unique wines we pick up elsewhere help make our evenings special :)

 

Cruising is about new experiences. Nothing nicer than sipping a glass from wine you bought at the port as you bid adieu.

 

Trust me, as I said earlier - if you are 4 or 5* wine packages are cheaper than bringing it on board. It's all about choice ;) and being willing to pay the extra for it ;)

[lovely_serenity]

Nice review Kathi! I've enjoyed my previous HAL sailings in general. Would definitely do it again.

 

(Haha needed to find one of your threads to respond to you since your comment on my thread disappeared as my thread just got closed)

 

But yeah, this is basically my first time back here in like a year! University +part time job is super time consuming, I'm dying to go on a cruise again. :loudcry: Nice to hear from you!

[DAllenTCY]

This thread is 10 months old, and the actual sailing was 12 months ago.

 

David

 

This season's sailings have gone very well except when 2 ships are in port at the same time. HAL is crazy to schedule that way, but they do.