asebastian Posted April 26, 2023 #1 Share Posted April 26, 2023 Finished our cruise from FLL to San Diego full transit thru the Panama Canal and off the ship this morning. Just wanted to share a couple of things: HAL is negotiating a new contract with the Lincoln Center group which may see them return "soon" on the Dam ships. While America's Test Kitchen may not reappear, we had three live cooking demonstrations, one by the Executive Chef, one by the Tamarind Chef and the other by the Captain himself. Tasting portions and recipe cards also given at the end. Emphasis was on that these would be more frequent especially on longer cruises. The Library is back!!! We had the official opening of the spanking new library on Deck 3 on April 10th. Photos below. Pretty good selection of books, mostly N Y Times best sellers, across a broad range of genres. A book exchange shelf was also provided for guests wanting to drop off their books and not take them back home. Works on honor system, no check-in or check-out. We didn't have the Internet package, but friends bought the package and complained of very slow speeds and drop-outs. On one day in Costa Rica the Internet dropped out completely for 24hrs (and some guests had money refunded for just 1 day). 15 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 3rdGenCunarder Posted April 26, 2023 #2 Share Posted April 26, 2023 Thank you for posting this. So much good news!! I hope HAL can negotiate a good deal with LC. They're a highlight of my cruise. I don't care if ATK comes back, as long as there's some kind of cooking class or demo. I'd actually prefer to see demos by the ship's chefs. Cunard does that, and some of their chefs are very funny as well as informative. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giggleypuff Posted April 26, 2023 #3 Share Posted April 26, 2023 The library looks beautiful! I might spend the week there 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea42 Posted April 26, 2023 #4 Share Posted April 26, 2023 I like the chairs facing the window in the library! An ottoman would make it perfect😉 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare albingirl Posted April 26, 2023 #5 Share Posted April 26, 2023 1 hour ago, 3rdGenCunarder said: Thank you for posting this. So much good news!! I hope HAL can negotiate a good deal with LC. They're a highlight of my cruise. I don't care if ATK comes back, as long as there's some kind of cooking class or demo. I'd actually prefer to see demos by the ship's chefs. Cunard does that, and some of their chefs are very funny as well as informative. Agree. Loved it when HALs chefs were onstage with a culinary hostess. Very funny presentations! And great info for guests. They did this all the time in the past...easy to resurrect. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennysUncle Posted April 27, 2023 #6 Share Posted April 27, 2023 15 hours ago, Giggleypuff said: The library looks beautiful! I might spend the week there Where is the library relative to other rooms? I can't figure that out from the obsolete deck plan online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asebastian Posted April 27, 2023 Author #7 Share Posted April 27, 2023 1 hour ago, JennysUncle said: Where is the library relative to other rooms? I can't figure that out from the obsolete deck plan online. Just across the Hudson room Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MISTER 67 Posted April 27, 2023 #8 Share Posted April 27, 2023 (edited) 18 hours ago, asebastian said: Finished our cruise from FLL to San Diego full transit thru the Panama Canal and off the ship this morning. Just wanted to share a couple of things: HAL is negotiating a new contract with the Lincoln Center group which may see them return "soon" on the Dam ships. While America's Test Kitchen may not reappear, we had three live cooking demonstrations, one by the Executive Chef, one by the Tamarind Chef and the other by the Captain himself. Tasting portions and recipe cards also given at the end. Emphasis was on that these would be more frequent especially on longer cruises. The Library is back!!! We had the official opening of the spanking new library on Deck 3 on April 10th. Photos below. Pretty good selection of books, mostly N Y Times best sellers, across a broad range of genres. A book exchange shelf was also provided for guests wanting to drop off their books and not take them back home. Works on honor system, no check-in or check-out. We didn't have the Internet package, but friends bought the package and complained of very slow speeds and drop-outs. On one day in Costa Rica the Internet dropped out completely for 24hrs (and some guests had money refunded for just 1 day). Edited April 27, 2023 by MISTER 67 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MISTER 67 Posted April 27, 2023 #9 Share Posted April 27, 2023 40 minutes ago, asebastian said: Just across the Hudson room Has to be where the movie theater once was. Good move by HAL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineke Posted April 27, 2023 #10 Share Posted April 27, 2023 Great news! The library looks wonderful! And the cooking demos are happy news as well. Can’t wait -10 more days.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare HappyInVan Posted April 27, 2023 #11 Share Posted April 27, 2023 3 hours ago, MISTER 67 said: Has to be where the movie theater once was. Good move by HAL. Right next to the shops. We can nip out and get some stuff. 👌 I've been strongly in favour of a separate library, because of the over-crowding in the Crows Nest. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asebastian Posted April 27, 2023 Author #12 Share Posted April 27, 2023 Here (marked Tasman Room): 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaSharp Posted April 27, 2023 #13 Share Posted April 27, 2023 22 hours ago, albingirl said: Agree. Loved it when HALs chefs were onstage with a culinary hostess. Very funny presentations! And great info for guests. They did this all the time in the past...easy to resurrect. Anytime the crew is involved with demonstrations, etc., it's always good. Never miss one!! And we learn so much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Copper10-8 Posted April 27, 2023 #14 Share Posted April 27, 2023 (edited) 8 hours ago, JennysUncle said: Where is the library relative to other rooms? I can't figure that out from the obsolete deck plan online. It's the old 36-seat (six rows of six theater-style reclining leather seats with small tables in between) home theater that used to be known as the "Screening Room" After that closed, the space was known as the Tasman Room, a kinda/sorta multi-purpose room. They haven't had time to change those Tasman Room signs yet. The new library looks real nice. I'll post some more pics of it soon Edited April 27, 2023 by Copper10-8 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMS Olympic Posted May 1, 2023 #15 Share Posted May 1, 2023 How is the overall condition of the ship? I just booked her for a Nov 25th sailing and I hope she is looking fine. To think my first cruise on a Holland America ship was the same week in November on the previous Nieuw Amsterdam (111) in 1983. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asebastian Posted May 4, 2023 Author #16 Share Posted May 4, 2023 On 5/1/2023 at 11:06 AM, RMS Olympic said: How is the overall condition of the ship? Ship is good, clean, well maintained with crew painting constantly - lifeboats, railings, ship externals etc as well as balcony washing. Carpets were clean with several areas had changeover noticeable. And both azipods were working 😄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMS Olympic Posted May 5, 2023 #17 Share Posted May 5, 2023 Thank you for this update. Now all I have to do is get my T-shirt printed with the image of both Nieuw Amsterdam’s and my sailing dates of 24 Nov 1984 and 25 November 2023....what fun🤓 Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtdesilets Posted May 5, 2023 #18 Share Posted May 5, 2023 Yes Yes Yes to the Library! I hope that rolls out system wide. Oceania Cruises has a great library as well. It is ESSENTIAL! Bravo HAL for this decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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