RedmondCruiser

Have we forgotten the N class ships.  The Noordam III and the Niew Amsterdam III were our favorite ships. 33,930 tons each.  They had no balcony's as did the Westerdam II.  The Westerdam II, like the Prinsendam was in a singular class, as was the Rotterdam V.  We sailed on all these ships and have many great memories. They actually looked like ships.  The new Icon of the Seas looks like a plumbers nightmare

All the new ships are much larger because they are more economical to run so it looks like the smaller ships are a thing of the past.  The only way to sail on a smaller ship seems to be in the upscale lines.

How things have changed.  We have been cruising with HAL since 1986 on the Noordam 3.  The awards ceremony  was held in the Exporers Lounge and certificates were given to people who were only on their second cruise.  This also came with a picture with the captain and hotel manager. Certificates were given to 2nd 3rd and 4th cruises. 

We are now five star mariners and we are hardly noticed.  On a 35 day cruise the took a picture of all those who were in the Presidents Club (1400 days at sea) and there were probably a dozen of them.  Times have definitely changed. 

There are time when the Johns Hopkins inlet is off limits due to seals bearing young.   I don't know why they would restrict seeing the Margerie Glacier.  If preservation is the motive then who are they protecting it from ?  large cruise ships are probably the only way for thousands of people to enjoy this national treasure.  

Endicott arm and Tracy arm are very beautiful fiords.  You will enjoy them.

Back in 1989 the Noordam lowered a life boat that went out and collected a large piece of glacier ice, next to the Margerie Glacier,  and towed in back to the ship.  Then the ships crane hoisted in onto the back deck next to the lido pool. Then you could chip off a piece of glacier ice for  your drink.  You certainly can't do that any more.

On 7/17/2023 at 12:36 PM, lcand1923 said:

I am addicted to the Raisin Buns served in the Lido at breakfast time! 

 

In Dutch its called a Krentenbroodje.  I'll stick to calling it a Raisen Bun though.  Its one of my all time favorites.  The quality can change from ship to ship.  Once on the Amsterdam the cook must have double ordered raisins because the rolls were loaded and soo good.  

Also special mention should be for the Panama Rolls, which are only served on day your in the canal.

Thank you for the review.  We were on the Westerdam in May.  We found the ship in good condition and well maintained.  Service in the MDR was very good and the food was excellent.  We ate in the Pinnacle twice and went there for lunch a few times.  Food in the Pinnacle was very good and the service was spot on.  Only shock was the $7 add on for a second appetizer, so you had to pay extra if you wanted a soup and salad before the entree.  With $35 a day for the add on tip (two people) I think its time for the lines just to add it onto the main booking fee.  Its like a resort fee, which had gotten totally out of control.  Another disappointment was the transformation of the Crows Nest into a multi functional space.  It should have been left alone.

We enjoyed the cruise but next time it will be a longer cruise, which HAL excels at.

3 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

HAL always shoots for boarding to start around 11:30. Every cruise.

My boarding time was 11:20 and people were ahead of me

Our last cruise was on the Amsterdam in 2019.  We went to Alaska on the Westerdam for our first post Covid cruise.  We have been on the Westerdam several times before and there have been many changes.  Most of them bad. The reconfiguration of the Crows Nest seems ill thought out.  The Captains Quarter on the port side aft was an elegant space.  Now its a school room with desks ??  The Crows nest bar now has less than half the bar seats since they moved the espresso machine into it.  Why they didn't leave it on the starboard side is a mystery. I always enjoyed happy hour in the Crows Nest with great comradery and hor derves  being served.  Now no food and no happy hour in the Crows Nest.  The explorers lounge has been reconfigured and chopped up.  I know that cut backs are needed in attempting to get back to profitability, due to Covid, but some changes don't make sense.

Its not all bad.  The crew was fantastic, as always.  They made it great to be back.  The food was good.  The main dining room had fewer selections to choose from but the food was very good and the presentation was spot on.  Seems like there were many small things missing.  One change was a Pinnacle requirement that if you chose more than one starter there was a $7 charge.  Therefor it you wanted a soup and salad preceeding your meal you had to pay extra. I wonder if Seattle really thought through that one.  The food was fantastic though.

It was good to be back and now its time to book some longer cruises again.

We had to cancel on the day of the cruise and we had the platinum coverage.  The credit showed up on my credit card in two days. 

The tux died several years ago.  When the airlines luggage requirements went from 70 to 50 pounds the tux disappeared.  This is a shame since it was nice to be able to really dress up on occasion.  Now anything goes.  You can show up for Gala night looking like you just got off the tractor.  Though we were invited to the Captains table for dinner and most of the men had tuxes on, and I only had a business suit.  No one showed up in a tee shirt and tennis shoes.  Formal night used to have ice sculptures, caviar and the Rosario Strings playing music, along with men in tuxes and women in beautiful dresses.  Luckly I do have the memories. 

I harken back to the 80's and 90's on the Noordam III.  Formal night had caviar, escargot and a huge lobster tail.  As you walked in there was always an ice sculpture, and the finale was the Baked Alaska with Radinski's march.  Also they had flambe next to the table and a sting quartet roaming through the dinning rooms.  Those days are long gone.  --- pity 

Met Yonnie and Joe on several cruises.  Very sorry to hear this news.  Our condolences to Joe.

Last year at this time we were on a 35 day cruise on the Amsterdam, in a Neptune Suite.  It was fantastic.  Now there is no Amsterdam and no cruising.  2020 Sucks.

Seeing the Noordam III turned into rebar and razor blades is very sad.  We took nine cruises on her and it will always be our favorite ship.  Lots of good memories.  She looked at her best with a midnight blue hull and never looked good dressed in white. We frequented cabins from the Sun Deck down to A deck.  All things come to an end but this one is personnel.

Sell older ships ?  Who's going to buy them ?  The cruise business will be slow recovering and will have excess capacity for years.  The secondary market, where older ships now go,  is dead in the water - literally.  Currently  some of my old HAL favorites the Noordam III and the Westerdam II are languishing off Malta.  The Noordam III has been listed as "adrift" for several days.  Probably all destined for the breakers as was the fate of the Nieuw Amsterdam III back in 2019.

I'm glad that the Rotterdam V was turned into a hotel and not scrapped.  The Noordam III was our favorite ship and we knew that some day she would go to Alang.  Carnival Corp has some very tough decisions to make in the near future.

On 5/13/2020 at 4:46 AM, Krazy Kruizers said:

I agree about restoring the Crow's Nest -- complete with Libraries.

 

More activities on sea days.

 

Bring back music in the Ocean Bar -- our last 3 cruises there wasn't any music there.  

 

Do away with the Loud music for entertainment.

 

Bring back the production shows -- one hour!!

I totally agree.  The Crows Nest is integral to HAL.   Including the desert extravaganza.  

The home office has parred down far too many items.  People will pay for product if you have it.  Now they just need to survive the Covid nightmare and get back to business.  I think HAL fans should expect that the S class ships along with some of the R class ships will no longer be sailing for HAL.   

30 minutes ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

 

Do you remember when that was?

Ryndam seems to have plugged in the dates.  Was told by a crew member that the Noordam was blamed  and that a junior officer lost his job.  Sounds like they zigged when they should have zagged.  I saw a much closer picture back then and the damage was substantial, I believe that no one was hurt. 

Sailed on her many times and she is still our favorite HAL vessel.  This is a picture of the Noordam  after a T bone collision with a freighter outside of New Orleans. 

3 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

Nieuw Amsterdam sailing for HAL in her glory days. She was our first HAL ship back in 1993

Went on her in 1993 to Alaska.  Only sailed on her once but sailed on the Noordam III (her sister ship nine times) On most of those cruises the master was either Jacob W. Dijk or Eelcko Ypma.  Always picked a cabin on the Sun Deck.  Mariner Society awards were done in the Explorers Lounge (one sitting) and they were giving out awards for being on a second cruise (also came with a picture with the Captain.  How times have changed.  Premium A & B cabins had no veranda and came with an obstructed view.  Loved the layout and had many memorable times on board.  Sorry to see her go.

Answered my own question.  The Nieuw Amstedam III was sold to Alang and is now rebar and razor blades.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Marella_Spirit

This is the 1983 version so don't panic - this is the Nieuw Amsterdam III.   On Google Earth I looked at Alang India,  where ships go to die and there was either the Nieuw Amsterdam III or the Noordam III.  The satellite view was dated in January of 2019 so the ship would be cut up by now.  HAL had leased both ships but was still listed as the owner.  Did HAL send one of them to Alang to be broken up ?  The ship on the satellite view looks like either the Nieuw Amsterdam III or the Noordam III.

We sailed on both ships and have many good memories.  Sad to see them go.

Can someone please explain why the ships seem to be constantly shuffling around.  They don't seem to stay in the anchorages but seem to be milling around every few days.  If they are doing 2 or 3 knots then I assume they are loitering and not burning too much fuel, but several ships seem to be going much faster and in so doing burning up fuel. Aren't they supposed to be at anchorages and saving money.  Am I missing something here ?

I found where all the ships are.   They appear to be anchored in two groups NW of Nassau.  There are five ships in one group and eight in the other.  It also looks like the Veendam and the Zuiderdam are headed that way.  There are also two boats anchored off of Ft Lauderdale.   If they were docked then they would incur port charges therefore this looks like the smart thing to do.  Lots of painting and maintenance will undoubtedly be going on.

As this virus spreads cruise lines may well start to take draconian steps to keep the virus off their ships.  Unfortunately its like trying to stop the tide.  Zip code denial would only be a stop gap solution.  I live about a half mile from Kirkland, which is ground zero with six deaths.  Seattle is not the epicenter, as several previous posts have alluded to.  

Panic buying was evident this weekend.  The Kirkland Costco store (which is their original store and is where the Kirkland brand comes from) did the most business they have ever done. People are nervous as is HAL.  The Westerdam had one passenger with the virus and she has cancelled all her near term cruises.  That's a lot of revenue that HAL has lost.  Therefore if they start denying boarding due to zip codes it is something that could definitely take place.  As the virus spreads they can't start including all zip codes so eventually they will have to develop another approach.

I feel for all those who are going on cruises in the next few months.  Its a bit like rolling the dice.  I hope that the cruise industry develops a clear path and not leave people guessing as to what approach they are going to take. 

5 minutes ago, daisy-mae said:

 

Or maybe they are just keeping up with industry standards.

 

These are business decisions that have less to do with greed and more to do with managing the bottom line.  I suspect that research has shown that guests who can prepare their own drinks at a savings are less likely to purchase from the bar (that was the case for us), so by tweaking the cost of a bottle it may be possible to alter that behaviour.

True - Industry standards and all bottom line driven.  The exorbitant increase of 71% is to drive you to buy your drinks at the bar.  I still enjoy sitting on my veranda with a drink and watch the ocean pass by.  The profit margins are undeniable - a bottle generates 21 shots.  Using Johnny Walker black as a yard stick - at $93 a bottle that's $4.42 per shot,  at the bar its $9.50 per shot or just short of $200.  Whole sale the bottle cost HAL roughly $35 - so its either $58 profit or $165.  Guess what they want you to take ??  

I've come to realize that the upscale lines (all inclusive)  are looking better - especially when you get your final statement on the last day. 

In October my Gin and Tonic package came with a bottle of Sapphire where it is normally Beefeaters.  The cost was $42.55.

Johnny Walker Black was over $93,  which is a rip.  I've cruised HAL for over 33 years and many moons ago you could go down to the Kiosk and buy a bottle to take back to the cabin for a 20% surcharge.  Those days are long gone and sounds like HAL is just getting greedier.  They need to realize that nickel and diming people leaves a bad taste.