Live From Nieuw Statendam Nov 28 - Dec 12, 2021

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

20 hours ago, Crew News said:

As previously requested, I can report that the incoming Hotel General Manager, Renee, will be arriving early January for quarantine with takeover on Jan 12th.  The ship does not know the name of the new Captain who will be taking over on Jan 12th as well.

Thanks for the info ...

[Comptech]

So we are sailing on the 26th. HAL has not posted hardly any excursions. Are we allowed to book out own? Was this permitted during this sailing?

[SilvertoGold]

18 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Renee Tuinman?  If so, I have sailed with him on several cruises and he is an excellent, guest-oriented Hotel Director.  The crew likes him; he is "out and about" during the cruise; he is very approachable for a conversation.  He went out of his way when he saw me just before disembarking from Nieuw Amsterdam to wish me "Happy Landing".  

 

 

Thanks for your critique.  Just another example that I have found that some of the specialties of the Celebrity Chefs don't "quite connect with us common folk".  

Agree.  HAL has never been strong on desserts, most of which appear to be frozen anyways.  I am mostly suspicious of anything too fancy as those do not represent the standard type of cooking HAL does. If anything sounds too involved, too high-end, I tend to avoid it.  The Snowman, which could have been excellent,  was not made with any amount of quality ingredients.

[*Miss G*]

On 12/2/2021 at 12:44 PM, Crew News said:

 

Vanessa is the most helpful and accommodating Guest Relations rep I have met in my HAL history.

 

I wanted to come back to your thread to mention this…

We boarded the ship on the day you disembarked.  Due to a series of incidents, we found ourselves at the Club Orange line at Guest Services.  A lovely young lady provided outstanding service.  When she was finished, she mentioned her name was Vanessa and to contact her at any time if we had any further issues.  At that point it clicked and I said “Oh!  You’re Vanessa!  Crew News was singing your praises in his thread on Cruise Critic.”  Vanessa said “Oh!  Mr Jett!  He is such a very nice man.”

 

 

On 12/3/2021 at 10:35 AM, Crew News said:

The PG Manager bused tables and the person at the podium prepared tables for new diners.  IMHO PG Managers set the standards, establish rolls and responsibilities, ensures every diner is happy, and takes corrective action when necessary.  If management is busing and preparing new tables, they lose the big picture of their domain.

 

 

I believe we ended up with this manager in Club Orange.  He fits your description perfectly and I completely agree with your assessment.  He was so busy bussing tables that he let slide his role as manager to a degree.  I think he thought himself helpful but the opposite was true.  I feel, perhaps, more training or possibly some mentoring will help him reach the level we expect of such a position.

[Crew News]

1 hour ago, *Miss G* said:

 

I wanted to come back to your thread to mention this…

We boarded the ship on the day you disembarked.  Due to a series of incidents, we found ourselves at the Club Orange line at Guest Services.  A lovely young lady provided outstanding service.  When she was finished, she mentioned her name was Vanessa and to contact her at any time if we had any further issues.  At that point it clicked and I said “Oh!  You’re Vanessa!  Crew News was singing your praises in his thread on Cruise Critic.”  Vanessa said “Oh!  Mr Jett!  He is such a very nice man.”

 

I believe we ended up with this manager in Club Orange.  He fits your description perfectly and I completely agree with your assessment.  He was so busy bussing tables that he let slide his role as manager to a degree.  I think he thought himself helpful but the opposite was true.  I feel, perhaps, more training or possibly some mentoring will help him reach the level we expect of such a position.

Glad you had the chance to meet Vanessa.  She is the best and a great source of information.

 

CO had a tall manager and a shorter assistant, both wearing suits.  I hardly ever saw the tall manager but it was the assistant, Wayan, that was a super busser.  As you said, he was ready to please and this might have been his first management assignment.

 

Since you brought this thread back, I do still owe promised pictures of cookies and my balcony #5225.

[albingirl]

Jeepers, I forgot to say thank you. What a great review...thanks so much.

[albingirl]

On 12/10/2021 at 2:49 PM, Florida_gal_50 said:

I'm just amazed.  Why would ANYONE think that is a sample?  Even so why would others want to stick their hands in a common bowl?  I'm not a tiny person and I like my food but I can't imagine sticking my hands in someone's food or making a run for chocolate chip cookies.  You'd think people have never seen food before.

totally weird.  ugh

[HALrunner]

Thanks for such an entertaining and informative thread! We were on the Eurodam for three weeks while this thread was live and I completely missed it. I'll be on the NS soon and have been craving information to make my countdown go more quickly. This thread was just the fix!

[*Miss G*]

54 minutes ago, Crew News said:

Glad you had the chance to meet Vanessa.  She is the best and a great source of information.

 

CO had a tall manager and a shorter assistant, both wearing suits.  I hardly ever saw the tall manager but it was the assistant, Wayan, that was a super busser.  As you said, he was ready to please and this might have been his first management assignment.

 

Since you brought this thread back, I do still owe promised pictures of cookies and my balcony #5225.

 

You are correct.  I never saw the tall manager.  If he was there I did not notice.

[hvbaskey]

On 12/29/2021 at 5:39 PM, Crew News said:

Glad you had the chance to meet Vanessa.  She is the best and a great source of information.

 

CO had a tall manager and a shorter assistant, both wearing suits.  I hardly ever saw the tall manager but it was the assistant, Wayan, that was a super busser.  As you said, he was ready to please and this might have been his first management assignment.

 

Since you brought this thread back, I do still owe promised pictures of cookies and my balcony #5225.

 

Hi Roger

Will you be posting photos of #5225 on your web site?   We are booked in 5219 on the K-dam (same location) for Alaska and wondering what you thought of the location (Starboard Deck 5 VS beside the Neptune CS)?

With appreciation,  Heather

[Crew News]

1 hour ago, hvbaskey said:

 

Hi Roger

Will you be posting photos of #5225 on your web site?   We are booked in 5219 on the K-dam (same location) for Alaska and wondering what you thought of the location (Starboard Deck 5 VS beside the Neptune CS)?

With appreciation,  Heather

As I have been posting for years, I am a huge proponent of aft staterooms, especially for Alaska where I spend a lot of time on my balcony taking photographs.  While in Glacier Bay, you will not find me fighting for space on the outer decks and hoping nobody holds a camera in front of mine.  My aft stateroom lets me capture photos on both sides of the ship at my own railing and nobody will be kicking the legs of my video camera tripod. 

 

After searching, I seem to have only three photos of 5225.  Two of them are of the electrical outlets on the desk and the aft balcony w/ chairs.  I will add them to my website this week.

 

FWIW, I will be in Alaska in April aboard Zuiderdam and posting the daily MDR and Lido Market menus which will be the same for all 7-Day cruises for the Alaska 2022 season. 

[hvbaskey]

1 hour ago, Crew News said:

As I have been posting for years, I am a huge proponent of aft staterooms, especially for Alaska where I spend a lot of time on my balcony taking photographs.  While in Glacier Bay, you will not find me fighting for space on the outer decks and hoping nobody holds a camera in front of mine.  My aft stateroom lets me capture photos on both sides of the ship at my own railing and nobody will be kicking the legs of my video camera tripod. 

 

After searching, I seem to have only three photos of 5225.  Two of them are of the electrical outlets on the desk and the aft balcony w/ chairs.  I will add them to my website this week.

 

FWIW, I will be in Alaska in April aboard Zuiderdam and posting the daily MDR and Lido Market menus which will be the same for all 7-Day cruises for the Alaska 2022 season. 

 

Thanks so much!    We will be in Alaska in April / May as well, but on the Koningsdam 🐳

We agree, there is nothing that beats the view of an aft-facing veranda and we are also avid photographers who appreciate the value of personal space with our equipment ☺️

Your web site is amazing with a wealth of information and exceptional photographs.

Cheers,  Heather 🐬

Edited February 28, 2022 by hvbaskey