Live from Nieuw Statendam 14 day Canary Island Allure April 21 - May 5, 2024

[VMax1700]

3 hours ago, POA1 said:

 

They are very nice.  Hopefully you ordered with enough time to get your robe monogrammed.

Monogramming (is that a verb?) was offered, but modesty insisted that I decline. Actually it was DW who insisted I decline saying that I would look ridiculous answering the door to the mail person in a momgrammed robe. 🙄

[VMax1700]

Today's Daily

 

 

 

 

[VMax1700]

Tonight was our Pinnacle Grill dinner which was part of HIA promo.

 

Here is the menu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

pinnacle_grill_dinner_menu_winter_2024_en_navigator_1_.pdf

 

 

[VMax1700]

I started with two Lychee Martinis from Tamarind.  I have a threatening addiction to them.

 

I had the crab cakes to start

 

Ellen had a Romaine salad without anchovies and without quail egg, so I reckoned no one would want to see a picture of a leaf of lettuce 🫣

 

for mains I had the seared scallops.  They were good.  A good sear and nicely cooked.

 

Ellen had the lamb chops, cooked to her requested temperature (scorchio or beyond well done).  We shared a portion of mash potatoes and side of baby beets and blue cheese.

 

 

for desert we shared sorbet and a creme brulee

 

 

 

followed by tea, coffee and chocolates.

 

It was an enjoyable meal but in no way would I consider it worth the listed upcharge of $49 + 18% each

[VMax1700]

Here is a new one for me on HAL.

just glancing at tomorrows Daily, there is a notice regarding Spanish vat.

 

 

No other information offered.  Such as, how do we know when we are in Spanish waters? Twelve nautical miles is hard to judge with the naked eye. What happens with HIA and other packages?

Not complaining about the tax, but the lack of clarity.

 

[BetsyS.]

I hope you get an explanation. Let us know.

[jljcruise]

6 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

No other information offered.  Such as, how do we know when we are in Spanish waters? Twelve nautical miles is hard to judge with the naked eye. What happens with HIA and other packages?

Not complaining about the tax, but the lack of clarity.

 

We were on a Med cruise last fall. When in Spanish waters, signs were put up on the bars stating the VAT tax was being charged. When we left those waters, the signs disappeared. I can't remember if the signs were on the tables too or not. 

[VMax1700]

2 hours ago, jljcruise said:

We were on a Med cruise last fall. When in Spanish waters, signs were put up on the bars stating the VAT tax was being charged. When we left those waters, the signs disappeared. I can't remember if the signs were on the tables too or not. 

Thanks for the info.

Will stay in a bar and check it out 😁🥃

[VMax1700]

Thursday 2nd May La Corunna, Galicia, Spain.

 

Here is where we docked

 

[VMax1700]

We took  HAL tour to Santiago de Compestela.  Journey to Santiago took just over an hour.  It was torrential rain when we were there.

Some photos

 

 

 

 

refreshments, including wine were available in the Parador in the square.

 

 

[VMax1700]

Today's Menus

 

 MDR Dinner

 

 

Lido Lunch

 

 

Lido Dinner

 

 

Lido Late Snack

 

 

[VMax1700]

Here are the pdf files

north_europe_dr_menu_09_reformat.pdf

 

m12-day12-_lido_lunch_north_europe.pdf

 

m12-day12-_lido_dinner_north_europe.pdf

 

day_5_lido_late_snack (1).pdf

 

[VMax1700]

Important information for those boarding Nieuw Statendam soon.....specially for Baltic/ Norway cruises. (Wet weather!)

Bring your own umbrellas!  There are no umbrellas in closets in verandah rooms and today, even though it was raining when we disembarked to go on our tour, there was no sign of any HAL umbrellas carried by other cruisers.  So with my powerful sense of presumption, I guess no umbrellas supplied.

Again, bring you own!

[BasandSyb]

Thank you for your post it has been interesting to follow.
 

I have waited until day 12 to provide our feedback on this cruise. We have over 1000 sea days and this is our first (and last) HAL. Unfortunately we are onboard for the next leg also. Experiences are personal so I will summarise our thoughts:

 

food - good

entertainment - good (BBK band very good; RS band in need of a singer but good musicians)

specialty restaurants - good - no better than the dining room and not worth the upgrade price

wines - poor to less than ordinary on the package up to $15 list

general ambiance - chaotic, crowded, pushy, noisy, no seating, queuing everywhere, don’t bother waiting for lifts take the stairs, very slow bar service, slow table drink service (meal finished as wine arrives), too much unnecessary paperwork, arrive 45mins early if you want a seat for music or trivia, constant door slamming this includes rooms below, above and neighbours up to 4+ doors on either side, includes main and balcony doors - Immediate neighbours we have sorted with a gentle request in our pyjamas, stewards ok for 24 hours then back to old habits, other crew use staff access points and let the doors slam. We have started counting each morning as it begins just before 7:30 and shakes the bed and walls. The record so far is 27 in 12 minutes. It continues all morning as we have noted on sea days which comprised 1/2 of this cruise.

 

Unfortunately not a relaxing time at all. The only place to read a book is your room/balcony.

 

 

[Lauren and John]

Hi. Just an upbeat message for those looking forward to their upcoming cruise.  There are some highlights:

 

The entertainment director, Jose, who does trivia is very entertaining

 

There’s a wonderful trio of Tenors on board, called Pantheon

 

Agree that the food is mostly very good to excellent and the kitchen staff should  be commended. We did have a comment about the MDR service and used the Navigator app to make the comment. Our situation was addressed immediately

 

The shore excursion team has been good. We really enjoyed a couple of our excursions, in Tenerife and Lanzarote, but there’s a bit of luck involved in predicting which excursion will be most enjoyable. 

The casino hosts are very nice!

 

Agree with the previous poster that the BB King band has been the best on board. 
 

Hope some of this helps!

 

 

[BetsyS.]

BasandSyb - I'm sorry about your experience. I hope you noted all of it on "Let Us Know" on Navigator app. I hope things will improve for you.

[Niagarawine]

5 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

We took  HAL tour to Santiago de Compestela.  Journey to Santiago took just over an hour.  It was torrential rain when we were there.

Some photos

 

 

 

 

refreshments, including wine were available in the Parador in the square.

 

 

Thanks for the pics, reminds me when Inwas there in 2014

[Overhead Fred]

Our A Coruña tour went by the Tower of Hercules -

 

[VMax1700]

Today's Daily

 

 

 

 

[VMax1700]

Tonight's Lido special was "Spanish Port to Table" 

 

 

 

it was really good.  The seafood paella was the best and most authentic that I have tasted in a long time.  

But I am not sure of the Spanish background of steak and kidney pie, except with the ex pat community along the coast of southern Andalusia.

Edited May 2 by VMax1700

[VMax1700]

Navigator is a robust tool to use (not!)

We returned from our HAL excursion to Santiago and there was a message on Navigator to review the excursion.....

 

 

So I clicked the link and got .....

 

 

.

 

Why do they post this garbage?

[Mary229]

6 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Navigator is a robust tool to use (not!)

We returned from our HAL excursion to Santiago and there was a message on Navigator to review the excursion.....

 

 

 

So I clicked the link and got .....

 

 

 

 

Why do they post this garbage?

I have gotten that message for excursions I never took😁

[VMax1700]

1 minute ago, Mary229 said:

I have gotten that message for excursions I never took😁

At least they are consistent then 🙄

[BasandSyb]

3 hours ago, BetsyS. said:

BasandSyb - I'm sorry about your experience. I hope you noted all of it on "Let Us Know" on Navigator app. I hope things will improve for you.

BetsyS yes after allowing the dust to settle and try and get in the groove we have provided feedback directly. 

[SongsInMyHead]

6 hours ago, BasandSyb said:

Unfortunately not a relaxing time at all. The only place to read a book is your room/balcony

My goal for a 2025 cruise is to spend lots of time by the pool with a book and a drink. And I can’t take stairs quickly without issue. I hope that was not the usual experience!