Nearly Live from Oosterdam Med Empires June 13th - 25th.

[VMax1700]

The ship's officers:

 

Captain: Laurens (Rens) van Eerten,

Staff Captain: Leon Van Der Knaap,

Chief Engineer: Marco Sneep,

Hotel General Manager: Darren David Lewis,

Asst Hotel General Manager: Chris Koonstra,

Food & Beverage Director: Yelena Simoen,

Cruise & Travel Director: Kevin Saslavchik,

Executive Chef: Willem A Waltheer,

Environmental Officer: Andrew Hope Johnson

[VMax1700]

4 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

That makes it very difficult to choose what nights to pass on the MDR and book a specialty restaurant.  

This cruise has only 2 sea days and boarding pass stated two gala nights.  Not being a gambling person (!) I reckoned that both sea days would be gala nights, specially as the second sea day is not the last day.

So far I am 1/1 with tonight being Silver Gala menu on first sea day.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

20 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

This evenings menus from MDR and Lido

 

 

I find this menu interesting only because I thought the menus would be exactly the same or at least for Europe sailings. I have been following my Navigator App to see what is being offered daily getting an idea for our cruise in 4 weeks. You definitely have couple of different items that I have not seen offered on the Rotterdam. Granted what is offered daily is similar but even that is a bit different.Such as the Salmon is always Norwegian Salmon on the Rotterdam 😉

[Torquer]

@VMax1700Thanks for your cruise report it is a great help to us for our cruise later this summer on Oosterdam.

 

It looks like you got a paper version of the Where & When (or whatever it is called) and of the MDR menus.  Did you have to ask for them or were they immediately provided?  Earlier in covid there was a big uproar over the lack of paper, with some people forced to use their phones.  We definitely prefer paper and are happy if they automatically come without being asked.

[VMax1700]

@Torquer (I love that name! )

I was just about to post an update about today and that would have been included.

Also I just replied to your thread about going ashore after embarking 👍

[VMax1700]

Thought for the Day!

Paper is back!

We have had paper Where and When so far (ok its only 2 nights) and I had go laugh this evening in Pinnacle Bar as we meandered our way towards dinner.

On the bar counter (and at the tables) are QR codes for the menu.  So I pointed my phone at the QR code and was in the process of opening the link when the bar tender said "would you like a real menu?"  Haha! No problem getting paper menus including main dining room.

 

[VMax1700]

Thought for the day (part deux) 

 

"Tonight I'm goin' to have myself a real goodtime"  (thanks to Freddie Mercury) as tonight there was chocolate squares on the bed.

[kazu]

6 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

The ship's officers:

 

Captain: Laurens (Rens) van Eerten,

Staff Captain: Leon Van Der Knaap,

Chief Engineer: Marco Sneep,

Hotel General Manager: Darren David Lewis,

Asst Hotel General Manager: Chris Koonstra,

Food & Beverage Director: Yelena Simoen,

Cruise & Travel Director: Kevin Saslavchik,

Executive Chef: Willem A Waltheer,

Environmental Officer: Andrew Hope Johnson

 

Oh you are a  lucky duck.  I love Captain Van Eerten.  It should be a good cruise with him at the helm 🤞 I wish we had him in November but I’m afraid the contracts won’t work out that way.

 

2 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Thought for the Day!

Paper is back!

We have had paper Where and When so far (ok its only 2 nights) and I had go laugh this evening in Pinnacle Bar as we meandered our way towards dinner.

On the bar counter (and at the tables) are QR codes for the menu.  So I pointed my phone at the QR code and was in the process of opening the link when the bar tender said "would you like a real menu?"  Haha! No problem getting paper menus including main dining room.

 

 

Woo Hoo!  That makes life easier for some of my sailing friends.  Thanks 🙂 👍 

[VMax1700]

Thought for the day (part tres)  (multi national or what?)

 

Silver Gala dinner tonight in MDR was good.  (food porn to follow)

one and a half hours from entering to leaving.  That, to me, is somewhere between perfect and rushed.  But it was a good meal, well presented and tasty.

[VMax1700]

Thought for the day (part vier)

 

The Room Service Breakfast menu is greatly reduced on pre Covid

Maybe I am remembering wrong, but the menu seems a lot more 'compact'.  I will post a copy later.

[VMax1700]

Shield the eyes of children as food porn follows:

 

First let me apologise as I forgot to take a pic of the starters!

We started early and went to the Lido and made ourselves some hors d'oeuvres from the offerings and had a (plastic) glass of prosecco.

Then down to the Pinnacle Bar where we had anothe prosecco or two (no nuts, no nibbles offered) and proceeded to MDR for our previously booked (Navigator app) 7.30 dinner.  There were two queues.  One for Club Orange and one for others.  This is a little different to previous experience where Pre booked diners where integrated in the Club Orange queue (on ships where there was no separate Club Orange dining room).

Are you keeping up??

 

Anyway it was alright on the night, as we were seated at a four top for two, just at the stern windows.

 

Ellen had the rack of lamb (requested very, very well done!) and she said that they were very good.  I noticed that there was only two chops, whereas last year there were three.

 

 

Sorry, she had started eating before I remembered to take a photo!

I had the Fillet Mignon Oscar and it also was very good and perfectly cooked for me.

(Requested medium and received medium)

 

[VMax1700]

Desserts where shared, one Strawberry Romanoff and one Chocolate Souffle.

Both were very good......

 

 

Again, she was really keen to get stuck in and eating! 

[VMax1700]

Housekeeping etc.

 

Our room steward (he told us to call him Paul, but I believe his name is Sawli (?)) has been excellent.

Our room is being serviced morning and evening.  We were not asked if we wanted it, it just has happened.  He did ask what time we usually had dinner, so that he could work around us.  Last night there was a towel animal and tonight another towel animal and chocolate. 

 

[oakridger]

Those two towel animals/people(?) are new to me!  I thought I had seen them all by now.  Very cute!

 

I'm just loving your report so far Colin!!  Make time to have some fun between postings! 😉

 

~Nancy

[VMax1700]

I think that yesterday I mention how our aircon had stopped working.

Well during dinner last night maintenance looked at it and when we returned to our room after dinner it was working perfectly.  Actually it was working too perfectly!  One of the units is positioned over the bed and this causes a cold air blast over the head of the person on that side of the bed.  So, the duct tape that I bring with us came in handy to block the cold air.

[VMax1700]

Just now, oakridger said:

Those two towel animals/people(?) are new to me!  I thought I had seen them all by now.  Very cute!

 

I'm just loving your report so far Colin!!  Make time to have some fun between postings! 😉

 

~Nancy

Those towel animal are a joint operation.

The one with the hat and dark glasses was last night, but it did not have the hat or glasses.  We moved it from the bed to the desk and added the hat and glasses ourselves today.  During today Paul, our room steward said how good it looked. Tonight it was joined by the 'new guy' and our steward used Ellen's glasses to accessorize it!  Fun or what?

[VMax1700]

The room service breakfast menu.  It certainly seems a lot more compact than I remember.....

[VMax1700]

Well that is it for today Tuesday.

It is 12.30am and all good HAL cruisers should be in bed.

Goodnight from Oosterdam.

[Lindancer]

On 6/8/2022 at 4:46 PM, VMax1700 said:

We are taking the complimentary transfer from Trieste to VCE Marco Polo airport on June 25th.  Currently our boarding pass shows a debarkation time of 8.30 am.  I am hoping that this is the transfer time, bearing in mind that we will be docked in Trieste overnight.  I will confirm what exactly happens, as it happens.

 

 

Mine says the same thing for debarkation on July 28.  I think it will have to end up being earlier, in order to make our 12:50 pm flight (and from what I read about long lines at the airport)

[terrydtx]

4 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

The room service breakfast menu.  It certainly seems a lot more compact than I remember.....

Is that the whole breakfast room service menu?  No option for French toast, pancakes or waffles or extra sides like sausage. No omelets?  I think you are right I do not remember it being this sparse pre covid. If this is all, it is very disappointing, we always enjoy breakfast on our balcony and there is so very little here to order.

[cccole]

VMax1700, THANK YOU for taking us along on your cruise and pre cruise adventures.  When something is not what it was pre-Covid you seem able to not worry about it.  Thank you for letting us join you,  Cherie 

[*Miss G*]

6 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

 So, the duct tape that I bring with us came in handy to block the cold air.

 

Doesn’t that ruin the finish when you remove it?

Edited June 15, 2022 by *Miss G*

[kazu]

13 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

The room service breakfast menu.  It certainly seems a lot more compact than I remember.....

 

Here’s one from 2017 to compare - can’t find the more recent ones B.C. (Before Covid.

 

 

[puppycanducruise]

Love the food porn!😎

[Florida_gal_50]

9 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Is that the whole breakfast room service menu?  No option for French toast, pancakes or waffles or extra sides like sausage. No omelets?  I think you are right I do not remember it being this sparse pre covid. If this is all, it is very disappointing, we always enjoy breakfast on our balcony and there is so very little here to order.

That’s what I recall it looking like on the koningsdam as well in March.  I don’t really care for room service but I did on that cruise because I had early shorex.  As I recall I did write  a thing or two in but  they were minimal.  At least you can order some hot food.  On Princess I think there is no hot food as I recall.