Spoiled Princess Cruiser asks HAL newbie question...

[bardgal]

I am sure this will be the first of many.....

I've never sailed HAL, and am very excited to be going on the Oosterdam 11/25/06!!! I can't get over that HAL does flambéed desserts in the dining room every evening (like Princess used to do.)

Question #1: Are the pasta dishes in the dining room available as an appetizer as well as an entrée?

thanks

[oystergrower]

Just came back from a 2 week back to back cruise on HAL and never saw anything flaming in the dining room. Even on Baked Alaska night they stuck sparklers in the meringue (not like golden coating onPrincess' Alaskas)

[bardgal]

hmmm... according to http://community.webshots.com/album/547597009mRlVnT They have a flambéed dessert every night. Has this been discontinued, or is it not done tableside? I'm confused.

oh! question #2: Can you get room service to bring you anything off the current dining room menu in addition to the room service menu?

thanks!

[ore-ee-gun]

They do have flambe'd desserts on the Oosterdam - DH had Crepes Suzette, but they don't prepare them tableside because of the limited space.

We never tried, but I understand you can order from the dining room menu during the first hour of dinner. (or is it half-hour?) Enjoy!

[jhannah]

Glad to have you over here, bardgal. I remember you from the Princess board. I've been sailing HAL only for a while now. Really do enjoy the ambiance and crew onboard Holland America ships.

As mentioned, they do still have flaming desserts, but they're at a portable station up front (usually) because of space, and therefore safety, issues.

And yes, you can order off the regular menu for room service during dinner time.

We'll be on the Oosterdam in 3 weeks. Then the Noordam in July.

[bardgal]

Hey Jim!

THANKS! I totally noticed you over here and was wondering....

I am über-excited! It's going to be another GalzCruz™ (plus one hubby, who acts as rental-husband for he rest of us.) We've booked two aft corners, so it should be a hoot!

The more I read, the more HAL sounds like the old Princess (a 'la '80s) when there were only three ships in the fleet.

Any idea on the Pastas? On Princess you can always order the pasta entrée as an appetizer... I can't imagine them saying no, but one never knows....

So [OT]- VEGAS BABY! Just got back from my best GalPal's BIG BDAY on St Pat's. Can I just say, MARCH FRACKIN' MADNESS?!?!?!? I had no idea men behaved like that. I mean men in packs smoking cigars, watching basketball and doing drive by hits (hey baby, can I call you? I have my blackberry....!) I was the only female on the flight from Burbank! YIKES! More smoke than I've experienced in YEARS! She also dragged me to see Tom Jones - ooops, I mean SIR Tom Jones. Lighting designer needs to be fired - VariLites sweeping the audience every 30 seconds and BURNING MY RETINAS! Plus, people actually throwing panties on stage! I thought that was an urban legend! Also had a friend of mine move there a year ago to star in Forever Plaid which is one of the funniest shows EVER. (He's been doing it for years in SD, but I am bad friend and never saw it until he moved to Vegas..... who knew?)

Heading back in May for my annual b-day pilgrimage to support the fine community of Clark Co, NV. Can't wait! PerfectMan™ took me to see KA (MUST SEE) last year and went to Smith & Wollensky's for b-day dinner.

Got any amazing restaurants/shows to recommend? When does the new Cirque open at Miage?

email me
bardgal@sbcglobal.net

[dsawyer]

Another Princess lover here and one who has just returned from the Noordam on Wednesday.

You will love Holland America but probably not enough to win you from Princess. Our cruise was fabulous but Princess is still my cruising "family" if you know what I mean. I feel so at home on Princess.

Holland America does provide a certain ambience which is missing from Princess these days. The crew provides a personal touch which is so endearing.

The flambe'd desserts were not served in the dining room, however. They were served in The Explorer's Lounge after dinner. We did not order off of the menu to be served in our cabin so I can't answer that question. The pastas are not as good as those served on Princess. Everything else in the food dept is wonderful. The soups and dessert were heavenly.

Have a wonderful time.

[yiddishkopf]

You can have the pasta course as an appetizer -- on our Jan-Feb New Zealand to Australia cruise on the Statendam I had it daily as a side dish. I really enjoy pasta as a side dish rather than potato or rice, and all that I had on this trip and previous trips was delicious.

You will love HAL

Enjoy everything.

[arzz]

The flalmbe desserts are served in the dining room on most ships, in the Explorer's lounge on some. I do not understand why they do it differently on different ships -- maybe someone more knowledgeable can help here.

[bardgal]

Thanks to everyone for the knowledgable input! I do love the friendliness and civility of the HAL boads. You guys are a class act! (Yeah to the side of pasta and room service!!!!)

I have another question (quelle surprise): We have two aft corner suites booked. SC5187 and SC5186. From what I can piece together from the comments on this board, the Oosterdam will be undergoing a ten day refit from 9/23 to 10/03. I have read that during that time they will be adding cabins??? And the aft verandahs will be shrinking? waaaaaaaaaah!

Am I correct in comparing the deck plans of Noordam to Oosterdam? It seems as though they are only adding four cabins total to the aft portion of that deck. But that means our cabin numbers will be changing to SC5190 and SC5191.

My concerns are:

- Shouldn't HAL have booked us with the new cabin numbers considering we are paying for a corner aft suite? Or because those cabins really don't exist yet, maybe that will be done after the refit?

- On the Noordam, it says 17' to stern instead of 23' as it is on the Oosterdam now. To me, 17' is still huge.... sure the loss of 6' is substantial, but a 17' verandah is nothing to sneeze at. Or is this not really the size of the verandah?

anyone?

[bruce-r]

I have another question (quelle surprise): We have two aft corner suites booked. SC5187 and SC5186. From what I can piece together from the comments on this board, the Oosterdam will be undergoing a ten day refit from 9/23 to 10/03. I have read that during that time they will be adding cabins??? And the aft verandahs will be shrinking? waaaaaaaaaah!I think that HAL places no special significance on the aft cabins, they are just another cabin of that category, and if they add cabins after your now aft cabin, they won't move you to the new aft cabin. You might want to make some phone calls to both HAL and your TA and see if you can get some clarification.

Rental Husband? Is that a paying position or is it strictly voluntary? Does it involve all of a husband's "duties"?

[bardgal]

Strictly voluntary. Do you wish to apply for a position? ;)

Rent-a-Hub belongs to one of the Galz™. His duties as official RAH include escorting the rest of us here and there, making sure we're all taken care of as far as beverages, cabs, morning java, and being general all-around charming man.
:)

If you take a look and compare the two deck plans, you'll see that the only additions are two inside cabins and two VC cabins - one on each side....so the aft cabins are all still there, they just have higher numbers now.

[bardgal]

Excuse me, but I was just reminded by one of the Galz™ that the RAH position also includes a security detail, bodyguard, and MannersMan™ i.e. pulling out chairs, opening doors, etc... :D

It also comes in handy that he speaks fluent Spanish.

[bardgal]

Looks like the Oosterdam is offline 9/23-10/3 as well as 10/28-11/11. Is that all refit or is some of it chartered? Anyone know?

[kryos]

Just came back from a 2 week back to back cruise on HAL and never saw anything flaming in the dining room. Even on Baked Alaska night they stuck sparklers in the meringue (not like golden coating onPrincess' Alaskas)
We had a flambee prepared just about every night in the dining room on my Amsterdam cruise. It was done at a specific station (perhaps several, I'm not sure) in the dining room. You could watch the chef prepare it.

Of course, this was a 30-day cruise ... so maybe things were done differently there ... and the flambees may not be a staple of all HAL cruises.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[RuthC]

Of course, this was a 30-day cruise ... so maybe things were done differently there ... and the flambees may not be a staple of all HAL cruises.
I'm betting that oystergrower was on a Vista. That's the real difference.
You were on an R-class ship, Rita. On the S- and R-class ships the stations (yes, there is more than one) are in the dining room. On the Vista's the flambee's are served in the Explorer's Lounge.

Length of cruise has nothing to do with it.

[travelgals]

Bardgal be warned--Just off Noordam- I booked the corner aft cabins on deck 7 (Rotterdam) before learning that they were adding cabins--but when I saw that the cabin to stern was to be 27 feet instead of 53 (or whatever) I figured that was still alot. The actual depth of the balcony is 10 feet--not much larger than a standard balcony and the cabin was substantially smaller than the others-maybe 100 sq ft less. The measurement from cabin to stern must mean the actual stern of the ship (whereever it is--maybe under water) not necessarily on your deck. Who knows, but the depth of the balcony was 10 feet.

[jlynnek]

Just checked some of my menus from the Oosterdam 3/25 sailing. There was a flambe' served from the dining room every night. DH had the Flambe' Bananas Foster. It looked yummy. It wasn't flamed at the table, but at one of the stations.

[Aussie Gal]

Bardgal,

Welcome to the HAL Board. I remember printing out your terrific review for the Tahitian Princess a couple of years ago. It was a great read.

We were on the Regal Princess in January for the 21 day cruise to Antarctica and we had the flaming desserts every night. The waiter was making them just near our table.

Whilst we enjoyed our cruise on the Regal I did miss a lot of the little things that we are used to on HAL. I am sure you will have a wonderful trip and come back with lots of good memories regarding our favourite cruise line.

Jennie

[Vic The Parrot]

Have to ask you (and dsawyer) about what makes you feel "spoiled" on a Princess ship ..... I have yet to try them, and the new 9-day sailings from NY are getting my curiousity.


:)



ParrotheadNJ6436@aol.com

[Navy_Chief]

- On the Noordam, it says 17' to stern instead of 23' as it is on the Oosterdam now. To me, 17' is still huge.... sure the loss of 6' is substantial, but a 17' verandah is nothing to sneeze at. Or is this not really the size of the verandah?

17 feet to the stern from SC5191 means 17 feet to the Stern Sheet (the farthest most part of the ship) not the size of the balcony. If you look at the Upper Veranda Deck Plan, it states 21 feet to the stern. Obviously, the Upper Veranda Deck does not overlap the Veranda deck. That's what is ment by those figures. The Noordam was built a bit different than the other Vista Class ships and accomodates more passengers, hence the difference in the distance to the Stern Sheet.

[dsawyer]

I can't really say I feel "spoiled" on Princess just feel "at home." Just like you feel at home on Holland and probably won't ever quite like another cruiseline as much. Personally, I like some of the newer things Princess offers - rewards for repeat cruisers, more choices for dining and entertainment, and less dressing up (only 2 formal nights and the rest casual). I think the OP is yearning for some of the things that use to be available on Princess. I miss them too but I really like the new Princess, as well.

If you are thinking of booking The Crown Princess, go with an open mind. Yes, it is larger than the Vistas and has many more people. It doesn't feel quite as intimate. You will not have the same personal interaction with the crew that is felt on Holland America, although they are very friendly. If you love the traditional dining - same waiter, same table and same tablemates, don't sign up for personal choice dining. One the other hand, if you want to be in control of your vacation and eat when and with whom you want each evening, give PC a chance.

Also, the food is maybe a touch better on Holland America except for the pastas and the soufles. Always, order the pasta dish as a side at dinner, they are yummy. The entertainment is, for the most part, better on Princess.

Also, join the CruiseCritic roll call thread, you will have a ball! You will probably feel slightly homesick for Holland but its good to experience different lines. Give it a try!

[bardgal]

Why I'm a Spoiled Princess Cruiser™:

- Great past passenger program - like free internet for Platinum cruisers (although I'm not sure if they've expanded this to the wi/fi users yet.) Personally I think ALL cruiselines should offer FREE ship-wide wi/fi for laptop users, and charge for those who need to use the internet cafés. Airports like McCarron and cities like New Orleans are offering free wi/fi.... it would be a nice perk, and let's face it - no $$ loss for anyone. I'm tired of the dollaring-to-death by the cruiselines.

- Great dining staff - discovered you can do PC, find a great wait team and turn that into a traditional dining experience of your own (same Bat-Time, same Bat-Table.) These people truly spoil you. Read my Diamond Princess review (10/04) for details.

- Great food - In addition to the room service menu, you can get anything off the current menu delivered to your cabin during dining room hours. I always write in papaya on my breakfast card and have never failed to have it delivered unless they run out (beacause apparently I've eaten it all.) Pastas always available as a starter - and they do the most amazing pastas EVER. Nice staples that are "Always Available" on the menu such as steak, Caesar salad, and the world's greatest fettucini alfredo.

- Great crew - from the cabin stewards to dining staff to cocktail servers... magnificent.

- GORGEOUS SHIPS - the decor is tasteful and elegant. Gorgeous sky blues with coral and sand accents. Lots of brass and blonde wood.

I do work in the entertainment industry, and have had so many friends who've performed onboard these ships, so the entertainment is just not a big deal for me. The dining experience tends to be my entertainment. If the casino is greedier than usual or we wander upon something that is compelling (or a friend onboard is doing the "Idol" show), we'll stay. But that isn't why we cruise, and won't make or break a cruiseline for us.

But dsawyer is right - I do miss some things that used to be Princess Signature things like tableside prepped salads, pastas, and desserts in the dining room....

The last Princess cruise I was on (Diamond '04), one of the Galz™ and I were lounging in the cabin the last day and watching the "get your copy of the Cruise Video" on the TV, and saw all kinds of tacky pool games that were more reminiscent of a Carnival cruise than a Princess one. We had spent the entire cruise on our PH balcony (driving our cabin steward crazy in the process) and had completely missed those activities

I am really looking forward to experiencing HAL!!!! :D

[bardgal]

Our TA spoke with Gwen is Ships Services at HAL to find out the skinny on the refit this fall...

TA reported: "She said that they are not doing the same thing that they did with the Noordam..She said that the Noordam was a test, but no plans for any change to cabins 5186 or 5187 on the Oosterdam re-fit. I don't know how to absolutely be sure that she is right, but she did spend a long time trying to procure the answer for me.. "

so..... it seems the Noordam will be the only one with the extra cabins if this is correct.

thoughts? Have any other Vista ships added cabins yet?

[lauderdalebob]

As usual, it seems like info changes from ship to ship and sailing to sailing for some reason. I just don't understand HAL's thinking re the flambeed desserts. I've been on the Zuiderdam twice in the Caribbean in the past two years - once desserts were flambeed in the Explorers Lounge every night (loved it) and the next time nothing. Had a CC meeting with Mr. Deering (who happened to be on the Zuiderdam for that sailing) and he said the practice was stopped - period - including dining room, lounges, etc. - for safety reason.s SO, now I read posts that it's still going on on various ships and sailings. Can make me nuts! Am on Oosterdam in May to Alaska with a newbie and hope those desserts are fired up!

Happy Sailing!

[bardgal]

As usual, it seems like info changes from ship to ship and sailing to sailing for some reason. I just don't understand HAL's thinking re the flambeed desserts. I've been on the Zuiderdam twice in the Caribbean in the past two years - once desserts were flambeed in the Explorers Lounge every night (loved it) and the next time nothing. Had a CC meeting with Mr. Deering (who happened to be on the Zuiderdam for that sailing) and he said the practice was stopped - period - including dining room, lounges, etc. - for safety reason.s SO, now I read posts that it's still going on on various ships and sailings. Can make me nuts! Am on Oosterdam in May to Alaska with a newbie and hope those desserts are fired up!

Happy Sailing!
I hope they are TOO!

Looks like you'll have to let us know!!:D