jazzmin2020 Posted November 28, 2023 #26 Share Posted November 28, 2023 Going to be on board Sunday. Is it true Lincoln Center stage is gone? How’s the rock band this cruise? We loved both on our last cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasick Sailor Posted November 28, 2023 #27 Share Posted November 28, 2023 5 hours ago, jazzmin2020 said: Going to be on board Sunday. Is it true Lincoln Center stage is gone? How’s the rock band this cruise? We loved both on our last cruise! I personally have not seen Lincoln Center stage on the Daily activities. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Gail & Marty sailing away Posted November 28, 2023 #28 Share Posted November 28, 2023 Have a great cruise. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedirn Posted November 28, 2023 #29 Share Posted November 28, 2023 9 hours ago, jazzmin2020 said: Going to be on board Sunday. Is it true Lincoln Center stage is gone? How’s the rock band this cruise? We loved both on our last cruise! Currently on board. No Lincoln Center Stage mentioned. Rock band in our opinion is not as good as the one that was on board in March although everyone seems to be enjoying them. Hubby happy to find IPA on draught in Billboard bar. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzmin2020 Posted November 28, 2023 #30 Share Posted November 28, 2023 I have a question for those who frequent HAL. This will be our second cruise and we were just offered the upgrade to a vista suite for $259/pp., is it worth it? I like the location of our balcony cabin and worry the upgrade may be in a less desirable part of the ship. thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea42 Posted November 28, 2023 #31 Share Posted November 28, 2023 3 minutes ago, jazzmin2020 said: I have a question for those who frequent HAL. This will be our second cruise and we were just offered the upgrade to a vista suite for $259/pp., is it worth it? I like the location of our balcony cabin and worry the upgrade may be in a less desirable part of the ship. thanks! If you call about the upsell, they will tell you which cabins are available and you pick which one you want. If none appeal you just turn down the offer. Which ship, how long is the cruise and what are the vista suites selling for right now on the website versus what you paid for your veranda cabin? All things to consider when trying to decide if it's worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzmin2020 Posted November 28, 2023 #32 Share Posted November 28, 2023 2 minutes ago, Sea42 said: If you call about the upsell, they will tell you which cabins are available and you pick which one you want. If none appeal you just turn down the offer. Which ship, how long is the cruise and what are the vista suites selling for right now on the website versus what you paid for your veranda cabin? All things to consider when trying to decide if it's worth it. Thanks for the information! I think we've decided to stay put on this cruise in our current cabin. I do think I'd like to try Club Orange next time, which I knew little about until recently. It sounds like that may be well worth the opportunity to get a cabin upgrade. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madera1 Posted November 28, 2023 #33 Share Posted November 28, 2023 Enjoy your cruise. We will sail on the Rotterdam in May. Looking forward to checking out this ship! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclediggy Posted November 28, 2023 #34 Share Posted November 28, 2023 Any deals happening for the specialty restaurants? I find they will discount some of them during the cruise. Can you get lunch at Pinnacle at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DE Solo Posted November 29, 2023 #35 Share Posted November 29, 2023 2 hours ago, unclediggy said: Any deals happening for the specialty restaurants? I find they will discount some of them during the cruise. Can you get lunch at Pinnacle at all? They serve lunch in the Pinnacle on sea days only, and for a very short period. If interested, you should make a reservation when you board, since you cannot reserve it in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclediggy Posted November 29, 2023 #36 Share Posted November 29, 2023 1 hour ago, DE Solo said: They serve lunch in the Pinnacle on sea days only, and for a very short period. If interested, you should make a reservation when you board, since you cannot reserve it in advance. I'll do that, thanks. I did lunch at Pinnacle on the Statendamn and it was great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkc Posted November 29, 2023 #37 Share Posted November 29, 2023 Have had dinner in Pinnacle, Tamirand and Rudi’s. All have been to notch as well as Club Orange. Food on this trip has been some of the best. Like the old days. My rack of lamb tonight at Rudi’s was exceptional. Perfectly cooked and presented. Looking forward to another dinner at Pinnacle this trip. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzmin2020 Posted November 29, 2023 #38 Share Posted November 29, 2023 15 minutes ago, kirkc said: Have had dinner in Pinnacle, Tamirand and Rudi’s. All have been to notch as well as Club Orange. Food on this trip has been some of the best. Like the old days. My rack of lamb tonight at Rudi’s was exceptional. Perfectly cooked and presented. Looking forward to another dinner at Pinnacle this trip. That's great to hear! When we were on board the Rotterdam in January the food was not that great unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkc Posted November 29, 2023 #39 Share Posted November 29, 2023 Had to have been a one off. We’ve had a lot of HAL cruises and this trip food had been exceptional. And we are pretty damn fussy. 😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Niagarawine Posted November 29, 2023 Author #40 Share Posted November 29, 2023 Here in beautiful Curaçao this morning. Sadly the port lacks accessibility with no benches. It’s a fair trot to the excursion bus so we skipped the one we had booked. I wish that they had jittneys.it’s okay since we have been here before. iI find the food on board to be very good also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Niagarawine Posted November 29, 2023 Author #41 Share Posted November 29, 2023 The pools on this ship are terrific, easy to get in and out of and not too deep. The thermal suite is a big hit with us and worth every penny. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzmin2020 Posted November 29, 2023 #42 Share Posted November 29, 2023 53 minutes ago, Niagarawine said: Here in beautiful Curaçao this morning. Sadly the port lacks accessibility with no benches. It’s a fair trot to the excursion bus so we skipped the one we had booked. I wish that they had jittneys.it’s okay since we have been here before. iI find the food on board to be very good also. My favorite port! Have a lovely day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkc Posted November 29, 2023 #43 Share Posted November 29, 2023 The only downside so far on the Rotterdam has been the smell of cigarette smoke in Billboard Onboard and Rolling Stone Rock Room. There is a staircase between the two that leads up to the casino. The smoke from the casino flows down and makes the two venues very unpleasant and frankly, stinky. They need to stop allowing smoking in the casino. IMO. We won’t/can’t attend the venues. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedirn Posted November 29, 2023 #44 Share Posted November 29, 2023 We have not noticed any smell of cigarettes in either Billboard or Rock and Roll room but maybe we aren’t as sensitive to it. Had dinner in Pinnacle and it surpassed the dinner we had there in March. Since tip is included/added we never feel the need to add extra. But our server Yuli went above board and definitely earned the extra tip we left. She is definitely an asset to HA. Tonight is Tamarind and we are hoping for an excellent experience there. Tomorrow is Canaleto. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0bnxshs Posted November 29, 2023 #45 Share Posted November 29, 2023 2 hours ago, kirkc said: The only downside so far on the Rotterdam has been the smell of cigarette smoke in Billboard Onboard and Rolling Stone Rock Room. There is a staircase between the two that leads up to the casino. The smoke from the casino flows down and makes the two venues very unpleasant and frankly, stinky. They need to stop allowing smoking in the casino. IMO. We won’t/can’t attend the venues. 1 hour ago, pedirn said: We have not noticed any smell of cigarettes in either Billboard or Rock and Roll room but maybe we aren’t as sensitive to it. Had dinner in Pinnacle and it surpassed the dinner we had there in March. Since tip is included/added we never feel the need to add extra. But our server Yuli went above board and definitely earned the extra tip we left. She is definitely an asset to HA. Tonight is Tamarind and we are hoping for an excellent experience there. Tomorrow is Canaleto. We've had occasions where the smoke has been an issue when we have been in Billboard Onboard/RSRR and other times not so. It's been rather inconsistent for us. When it has been an issue, we leave. Not sure what the difference is between noticing and not noticing though but I suppose it would have something to do with the air flow, number of smokers and their location in the casino and where we are sitting down below. My preference would be that HAL eliminate all inside smoking at least and we do mention it on the survey when it has been an issue. We have found that service and the food in Pinnacle Grill has generally been on the downhill slide since the return to cruising after COVID. My thoughts here are a combination of new servers/chefs and an increase in volume with all of the HIA promotions has contributed to this venue becoming more like "Outback" than less special than it used to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laminator Posted November 29, 2023 #46 Share Posted November 29, 2023 4 hours ago, kirkc said: The only downside so far on the Rotterdam has been the smell of cigarette smoke in Billboard Onboard and Rolling Stone Rock Room. There is a staircase between the two that leads up to the casino. The smoke from the casino flows down and makes the two venues very unpleasant and frankly, stinky. They need to stop allowing smoking in the casino. IMO. We won’t/can’t attend the venues. They just renovated the casino on the Nieuw Statendam and removed that staircase. That should help significantly with the wafting of smoke significantly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin v Posted November 30, 2023 #47 Share Posted November 30, 2023 9 hours ago, Laminator said: They just renovated the casino on the Nieuw Statendam and removed that staircase. That should help significantly with the wafting of smoke significantly. Not sure how it will help on Rotterdam 😃 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitlarson Posted December 3, 2023 #48 Share Posted December 3, 2023 This thread is getting me VERY excited to board on the 15th! One question - Is there a poker tournament during the voyage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now