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bluesplayer

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  • Posts

    681
  • Joined

About Me

  • Location
    Seattle, WA
  • Interests
    gardening, wine, walking
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Holland America
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    South America

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bluesplayer's Achievements

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  1. Have taken 2 cruises with X pre Covid. Both were 14 days or longer. Agree the HA food is better. Seems HA has more ethnic entrees available and better fish options. The room service breakfast menu on X was a major disappointment. The HA crew always makes me feel welcomed and wanted. Did not get that feeling on X. Think I would not like the new Juliet balconies. I rarely look at their offerings now.
  2. They have bread pudding for breakfast and not fruit crisp??? INJUSTICE…. I say!! #teamfruitcrisp
  3. Thank you for your information. From both responses sound like the risk does not increase or decrease seasonally. Thank you both!! Last river cruise was May.. no issues. This one October and looking forward to some fall colors (maybe). The rivers are beautiful
  4. We sailed on her last year to South America and loved the ship! The Captain would always refer to the ship as "the lovely elegant Oosterdam"!! We totally agreed with that. Lovely art work all around the ship. We really enjoyed the Gallery Bar, the bartenders were so fun!! Never had a bad meal and the ship was spotless!
  5. Planning an October cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest. Would anyone know of this has a higher risk of transferring to another ship due to the river being too low or too high? I have read about that occurring.. not fun. Thank you!!
  6. No Gallery bar.. like it's sister ships 😞
  7. Since I specifically asked about room service being available on embarkation, they added a sentence to their canned response. NO, room service is not available. Glad so many are voicing their displeasure. Wonder if people on the ships could voice their disapproval of this? Seems the folks on the ship are much more concerned. I will certainly leave a note on my next cruise at the front desk. Maybe a sit in at the MDR doors? Response from HA: Dear Laura, We thank you for your correspondence with Holland America Line regarding the Mariner Society embarkation lunch. We understand that the embarkation luncheon was a popular activity with many of our guests. Unfortunately, the embarkation lunch has been discontinued as of March 1, 2024. Room Service is also not available for Lunch on Embarkation Day. We apologize for any disappointment this has caused. We thank you for sharing your thoughts, our guest’s comments and concerns are important to us. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance. We have forwarded your email to our management team for consideration. Please let us know if you have any questions. We hope to welcome you back onboard with us soon. Kind Regards, Garrett Mariner Society Holland America Line 800-547-9139 206-626-7359 Monday-Friday 8:00am – 5:00pm PST
  8. Another letter to the Mariner Society: I have been reading the Main Dining room will no longer be open for lunch on Embarkation Day fleet wide. Can you verify if that is true? That would be a major disappointment after a hectic morning boarding. That was one of my favorite HA things to enjoy. Heading to the Lido with more lines is not a great experience to begin a relaxing cruise. If the MDR will indeed be closed, will room service be available for lunch? I have never ordered room service on Embarkation lunch as I understand the staff is extremely busy. Would like clarification if that option is available.
  9. I don't think the Noordam has the Gallery bar.. my favorite....
  10. Even better!!! Who knew??? Thank you!!!
  11. Thank you so much @millybess Much more reasonable!!!
  12. First Viking Ocean cruise. Have sailed on a river cruise. We purchased the Silver Spirit beverage package. On the river cruise seemed the bar was only open about an hour before dinner and an hour after. Does anyone have an idea of their hours? Much thanks…
  13. We also went on the Patrick Watts tour. We were not on the first tender.. maybe the 3rd? Was not a problem. He is a great communicator and just does not want folks to take their time getting off. Let him know you will try to get on the first tender possible. We were in the line early. Amazing tour!!!
  14. Thank you for sharing your travels. We were on the Oosterdam the same time last year and also missed Puerto Montt. We sailed around the Cape in 2017 (no Antartica) and also missed Puerto Montt. Amazingly enough both cruises made it to the Falkland Islands. We did see whales last year however seems you had more sightings. We did have a few very good lecturers on board with interesting talks and information. Our boarding was delayed (entire ship) for many hours. The port holding area was a mess. We found out later there was a copper heist at the port that evening with armed robbers. The Ooosterdam was still at sea when that occurred but delayed boarding by a day.. missing Puerto Montt. We really enjoyed the Gallery Bar for an evening cocktail. If Michael is still there (he calls the Gallery Bar "the worst bar" jokingly.. so funny as it was the best in our opinion). We enjoyed our cruise so much. Missing Puerto Montt may have been to my advantage to convince DH to return for a 3rd cruise. I would go in a minute. Enjoy the rest of your trip. Hope you can make it to Igauzu Falls...
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