Ten Titillating Tidbits!!

[Lazy_Triathlete]

4 hours ago, bobpell said:

Back-to-Back on the Nieuw Statendam commencing Nov. 11 til Nov. 26, 2022. Second week was around American Thanksgiving.

 

400 kids flooded the usually quiet serenity invading the aft Lido pool during the second week. HAL officers observed but did not intervene causing many complaints to guest services. If you want a laid back, quiet HAL cruise avoid American Thanksgiving week. It was night and day from the first week.

 

 

 

 

 

We avoid traveling during school holidays.  Especially when we ski.  Too expensive, too crowded, and frankly, too loud and hectic with little tikes under foot everywhere. 
 

Glad to hear you had an enjoyable first week.  

And I agree- outrageous price for a massage. 

[WriterOnDeck]

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

The people who are in isolation have a stool outside their cabin on which to place their trays, however; they don't put them on the floor. 
This raises the level of the tray above the wide part of a scooter, so the scooter can more easily get by. 

Not on the Westerdam. I was in isolation in my room for 8 days and there was never a stool outside the door. I was told to put the tray on the floor.

[WriterOnDeck]

1 hour ago, REOVA said:

If you are quarantined in your own cabin they ask you to call guest services and someone will take trays, trash bag, towel bags exchanged at the doorway.  Leaving trays, dishes, glasses etc in halls, elevators, planters, pool side, Lido buffet...is just a lazy cruiser.

Not true on some ships. I was specifically told to put the tray on the floor outside my cabin. Believe me, it wasn't laziness on my part.

[RuthC]

36 minutes ago, WriterOnDeck said:

Not true on some ships. I was specifically told to put the tray on the floor outside my cabin. Believe me, it wasn't laziness on my part.

If you were quarantined on a passageway that was closed off to other passengers, then placing your tray on the floor outside would not have created a problem for others, since no one on a scooter or in a wheelchair would have had access. Except if there had been an emergency and cabins had to be evacuated, I suppose. 

However, on the Nieuw Statendam, there was an entire passageway that was open to passengers, but was a row of quarantined cabins. Those cabins all had stools outside, which did not prevent someone on a scooter from passing by. 
Had the trays been on the floor, though, it would have been impossible. 

[REOVA]

1 hour ago, WriterOnDeck said:

Not true on some ships. I was specifically told to put the tray on the floor outside my cabin. Believe me, it wasn't laziness on my part.

As usual, each ship has its own protocol. We were told not to leave outside door in July. 🤷‍♂️The quarantine cabins are marked on each deck for crew. But the problem predates Covid so it won't change. 

[regnig]

bobpell the problem you encountered with the "400 kids" was due to the Holiday Week and the shorter length cruise.  This is not typical on HAL for 10-11 day cruises even over a holiday. I would not have been a happy camper either had I been on that cruise. Amazing how so many "orphans" there are in this world. 😬 The parents are the real problem!!! I did see deck staff ask children on the same ship last spring see to it that kids were removed from the hot tubs.  Mind you we were not at full capacity but even chair hogs, except bordering the pool, were not a problem.

[Florida_gal_50]

3 hours ago, idiebabe said:

I was on NS the week before and Debarked on the 12th.  We had  2500 Onboard.  When you walk into an Elevator and drinking glasses or an ice cream bowl is on the floor and they are also left on an Artwork base it has nothing to do with Covid.  We had someone down the hall from us and they were putting their Trays out and they were coming and going from their Room.  They weren't Quarantined.  On some of the other Lines they are told to put them out in the Hallways and Carnival is one of them.

 

We didn't have 400 kids Onboard our Cruise but the 7 Night Sailings on HAL, IMO,  have now mirrored Carnival's. We saw more boobs and butts hanging out of their Bathing Suits to last me for quite sometime.  I'm still trying to get the vision of some of them out of my head! Yikes Chair Hogging was out of control, too!  

 

We have one more booked on a Pinnacle Class Ship and then we're back to the other Class Ships and longer Itineraries.  No more quick 7 Night Get-a-way Cruises on HAL!

I saw the same dishes outside a cabin every day for two weeks.  They weren’t quarantined either.  Saw them all standing in the hallway.  Dishes were everywhere, in the elevator, hallways, railings anywhere you could put anything.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, WriterOnDeck said:

Not on the Westerdam. I was in isolation in my room for 8 days and there was never a stool outside the door. I was told to put the tray on the floor.

Thanks for real world experience.

[RedneckBob]

Thanks for the info. Looking forward to my b2b cruise on the NS this Saturday. I will try to avoid things you brought up. Let’s see, usually few kids on non holiday weeks, I try to reserve my pool chair by 5:30 am in morning to get a moon tan and not a sun tan, I will bring my own pen to sign for bar drinks; maybe two pens in case I run out of ink. After I order a 10 oz filet at the PG, one appetizer, huge baked potato, mushrooms, dessert,; just the check please. No need for second appetizer.

[kdakda]

Thanks for the tips!   We're on a 10 night Rotterdam cruise, and I've only seen a few kids around........ but I only do pools in the morning.   

We had a very good Thanksgiving dinner.   The plate was full (LOTS of tasty turkey), but it's true that there was the tiniest scoop of mashed potatoes and dressing.   But also sweet potato, Brussels sprouts, carrots/green beans, and I think something else.   Many many staff wished us Happy Thanksgiving, all day long.  There was cold soup 🙂

I agree, the price of spa treatments is ridiculous, and I only did a massage because there was a $70 off coupon which brought the 50 minute Swedish massage with special oil down to only $163, with gratuity.   A real bargain.    And it wasn't a great massage, but I did enjoy most of it.  

 

[Florida_gal_50]

22 minutes ago, kdakda said:

Thanks for the tips!   We're on a 10 night Rotterdam cruise, and I've only seen a few kids around........ but I only do pools in the morning.   

We had a very good Thanksgiving dinner.   The plate was full (LOTS of tasty turkey), but it's true that there was the tiniest scoop of mashed potatoes and dressing.   But also sweet potato, Brussels sprouts, carrots/green beans, and I think something else.   Many many staff wished us Happy Thanksgiving, all day long.  There was cold soup 🙂

I agree, the price of spa treatments is ridiculous, and I only did a massage because there was a $70 off coupon which brought the 50 minute Swedish massage with special oil down to only $163, with gratuity.   A real bargain.    And it wasn't a great massage, but I did enjoy most of it.  

 

I got a steal of a deal.  They had a “special” of a massage and a facial for $179 plus tip.  I even left her an additional tip which she was surprised about but she did a great job.  I did have a fair bit of non refundable obc to burn through.  You can only shop so much.  I did get that “coupon” last time but not this time.  
 

That’s really the advantage of those 10 day cruises.  Better ports and kids are more rare.

Edited November 27, 2022 by Florida_gal_50

[dmcfad2]

I’ll be on NS over for 10 days over Christmas. It will be interesting to see if there is a difference in 7 versus 10 day holiday cruises.

Edited November 27, 2022 by dmcfad2

[shipgeeks]

4 hours ago, bobpell said:

Yes, REOVA those plugs were available in the sitting area between the bed and the washroom

My wife was musing over the lack of plugs in the washroom itself.

PS. After 458 days on HAL over the last 12 years we are making a huge leap to Princess mostly to see if their entertainment is better and to compare their culinary delights

I don't think I've seen a plug, other than for a shaver, in a bathroom on any ship of any line. That makes sense to me, to not mix water and electricity.  It has never even occurred to me to use electric hair care products in my bathroom at home.

[oakridger]

8 hours ago, bobpell said:

5. Sign a paper receipt at the bar when you order a drink. Lots of extra work for bar tenders.

 

9. In room food dishes or trays should be left in room. Dial 92 for in room tray pick up. Wheelchairs and scooters can't get by if left in halls.

 

 

Thanks @bobpell.  These two items have to be some of my biggest peeves!  I was on Rotterdam boarding FLL on October 30th when this receipt signing first started on that ship. What's the point of signing if you have the beverage package?   I immediately sent off a "Tell Us" note to express my thoughts!  I did not ask for a response from management and did not get one.  It's so much extra work for everyone involved and to me anyway, it seems a lowering of the nicer ambiance on a HAL ship!!  

 

The food trays and other random stuff left around the ship on the floor is just plain a safety hazard!! I'm always surprised to hear that staff has been actually instructed to tell pax to put trays on the floor.  I would think it would be a ship wide safety practice to keep egress corridors clear!   During an emergency how many passengers and first responders will trip over the junk on the floor or halls become inaccessible to gurneys, etc.???

 

Thanks for letting me rant!!  I still had a good cruise but am seriously rethinking my future cruising priorities and choices..................

 

~Nancy