bert425

From the title of your post, I assumed it was about new dining options. Instead, it is about new menu formats. Isn't it a bit absurd to have 42 posts on what the menu looks like?

 

DON

yet you felt the need to add a 43rd?

:p

You have a couple of choices here.

There is a soda card which costs $25 for $50 worth of fountain sodas. The amount is loaded on the card, then $1.50 per glass is subtracted when the card is swiped with each order. If the passenger spends at less than $25, the balance of the amount paid will be refunded at the end of the cruise.

 

Another card is the beverage card. It can be purchased in amounts starting at $50, going up in increments of $100, $250, and ???. There is no bonus amount with this card, but it can be used for full cans of soda, as well as other drinks. Anything not used by the end of the cruise is refunded.

The main advantage to this card is that the passenger doesn't have to keep all those sales slips to proof out the final bill.

I was going to recommend the beverage card.

it also can be used for the specialty coffees in the Explorer's Lounge.

we had a $100 each for a 10 day cruise, and it was plenty for both (we each had ~$30 left over, and they just credit that against the room fees, so no money is lost at the end of the cruise)

We were unable to stop at HMC on our 11/3 Noordam due to rough Sea conditions, and although we WERE able to dock at Grand Turk, HAL cancelled all scuba/snorkel/water activities (at least we were told they did).

We found Grand Turk to be our least favorite of our stops (Dominican Republic, Boniaire, Curacao, and Aruba were the other ports).

Although I liked Grand Turk, it is a very small (and poor) Island, and in the grand scheme of things, is not a huge miss (unless you were planning some Scuba).

but still sorry that you missed one of the planned ports.

HAL does have a soda card which you can buy. It's half price but only includes sodas and fountain soda at that.

 

They also have beverage cards you can buy which include any drink. No discount but it is handy as you don't have to check a bunch of charges on your account.

and if you don't use the full amount, it's credited towards the charges on your room.

We bought $100 cards for use on our recent Noordam cruise, and ended up only using about $65 (towards sodas, mixed drinks, and a coffee or two). . the remaining $35 was credited towards my room costs.

so it was win/win for us to buy the beverage card.

one note: when I inquired at the bar about a card, he tried to sell me a $500, then when I said, no, I want a card that costs less than the beverage package (for our cruise, it was over $1100 for the HAL beverage pkg for our room), he then offered me a $250 card.

but I was able to get the $100 card after continuing to press him (they also have a $25 & $50 card). . but the $100 cards were perfect.

My high school friend and I got hooked into trying the black and white sessions on Noordam on Holland a few weeks ago.

 

My friends photos were breathtaking, One of her by herself and the others with her service dog that has saved her life many times.

 

She spent $1500 but like I said, she got large sizes. She did not have buyers remorse the following days and neither did I so I think we did the right thing.

is she the lady that was pushing the dog around in the Baby Carriage (and dressed it up in a Tutu and Tiara for it's birthday while on board)?

We were on Noordam 11/3-11/13, so likely yes, but I could swear she told us it was her husband's service dog (sleeps with him to help alert to high/low blood sugar).

no big deal either way, although if the same lady, then yeah. . she didn't seem to be too concerned about costs for anything (she was telling us in the Neptune lounge how she had a peanut butter and yogurt cake made for the dog for it's Birthday on board!).

Glad they were willing to work with you for a deal.

we didn't do a formal Portrait session, although we did pose for a few formal pics, and were stunned to find out they were not included in the base picture prices.

(Casual pics and any "posed" pics are different packages, and it was over $350 if you wanted a package that included all).

We balked at paying $49 for just one nice posed pic, but did end up getting (after MUCH discussion with the Photo folks) the "basic" 5 picture package that only included the "casual" shots.

part of the discussion was my question/suggestion of why not offer a package of $150 for 5 of ANY picture from either casual or posed? (not including anything from the Portrait sessions obviously, as those are separately done).

they told me NO ONE HAD EVER ASKED FOR THAT, or complained about the high costs of the pictures, and in fact, they had recently dropped prices.

(yeah, not really believing that no one asked or complained about mix/match pics).

anyways. . . it wasn't easy, as we hit multiple issues -- main one being that we wanted a picture in formal, and the photog hadn't even come by on the 1st night -- so the only formal pic we had was the one we posed for not realizing it wouldn't be included in the picture package. On the 2nd formal night, I actually had to flag down the photog in the dining room to come to our table, where he took ONE picture . . and we were horrified when we saw it:

Us in formal attire, with a waiter directly behind us looking like he was picking his nose (he was rubbing it, but from the angle, it didn't look like that).

They did their best to fix it once I complained (but they didn't NOTICE it and try to fix it before printing it out for the wall??).

and overall, they made it 'right' (can't say how, as I promised, but kudos to the photographers for making things right. . especially since they just recycle the unbought pics at the end of the cruise anyways).

So yeah. . I agree with you, insanely overpriced, but WE ended up buying a package as well.

hence why they don't drop the prices. . folks like US, buy them at the current price, so why reduce it?

Yes, the Always Available items are still there -- the starred items.

 

What I didn't see were the sides that used to be listed under Always Available. Like the Idaho Baked Potato, White Rice, & Steamed Vegetables. Since we never ate in the main dining room, I don't know if you can still get them. I assume that you can.

They were available, but we had to ask for them.

(one of our group had a Baked Potato almost every night, and the nights she didn't she got the steamed veggies).

We noticed the menu swap about 1/2 way thru the 11/3-11/13 Noordam as well.

it DID reduce the number of options on the menu, as not all of the "always available" seemed to make it into the main menu (so instead of having a page of always available and a page of "fresh" each day. . . it was suddenly just one big menu).

but as we weren't ordering the "always available" anyways (most of us are foodies who like to try new things), it didn't really affect us.

Thanks for the reviews. As the Noordam was our 1st HAL ship we enjoy hearing she is still in good shape.

The ship is absolutely gorgeous -- in particular the "side rooms" in the Crow's Nest bar, and the reading nook near the Queen's lounge.

If any part of the ship looks dated at all? . . I would say it is the Northern Lights Disco/Bar. . very, VERY 80's.

but the rest of the ship? Just beautiful and classy.

I was on the November 3-13 Caribbean part of this cruise and agree with everything you said about the ship and services.

 

Did not notice the cough you mentioned; passengers seem to travel in different circuits.

 

Also I thought the Captain gave excellent reports at the 12:45 hour while at sea and also was very forthcoming in the reasons why embarkation on the 3rd was delayed (due to Coast Guard inspection after being away from the US); the reasons for delayed sailing (fixing the hydraulic problem on one life boat found by the Coast Guard inspection); and the decision process on determining whether or not to go to Half Moon Cay. We may not have seen him much but we did hear from him when it was important.

he didn't tell the whole truth :)

we were cabin 8080 on Port watching the delayed embarkation, and at the time he announced there was an issue with Coast Guard clearance (which i have NO doubt there was). .there was ALSO over 15 crates of luggage still to be loaded on board.

that was around 6pm. . so getting the Lifeboat clearance was not the only issue there. However (and remember, we were watching from balcony), around 6:40 all luggage was loaded, and we really thought we were about to leave. . and an ambulance and firetruck pulled up alongside the ship, the walkway opened, and they removed someone on a stretcher from the ship.

THAT is what held up embarkation until ~7pm.

we surmised that since the Captain had notified at 5:30ish that he thought we'd be underway by 7, that's why they never announced when the Hydrolics issue was resolved).

we too did not notice the cough that is mentioned, but we most certainly DID notice the lack of Captain. I don't think we saw him even once on a 10 day cruise. Most of the other officers we did bump into, and EVERYONE on staff (from the photographers, to casino hostess, to the cleaning crew at the poos) had a great attitude and was pleasant and willing to converse.

We also loved the lighthouse at Grand Turk (I got to pet a donkey!) :)

I filled out my HAL survey to note the food in MDR was very hit or miss, and they need to work on being consistent.

The good dishes -- Veal Chops, Curried Noodles, Lobster Tail -- were VERY good.

The bad ones?. . oh my. . we almost sent the duck back, but instead just didn't eat it and ordered something else. The Prime Rib was great one night and terrible the next.

and several of the chilled soups were disgusting (the Pina Colada one tasted like a bowl of melted egg-nog ice cream!).

But bravo to them for the good variety on the Vegetarian options, some of which ended up being quite good.

Am I the only one who has a reaction to the liquid body wash HAL now puts in the showers? I find it way too harsh on my skin, especially my (cover your eyes if easily offended) "lady parts". :(

 

I've always received a bar of soap when asked (no issue with that), and had it replaced when needed. After reading some other posts, I'm thinking I may pack my own, just to be safe.

 

I'm just wondering if others have the same issue with the provided products. The shampoo isn't a problem for me, though I'm not fond of it and usually carry my own.

I broke out in a terrible rash after 1 use of the liquid soap on the Noordam (11/3-11/13).

we immediately moved the "cake" soap from the sink into the bathtub, and used that for the rest of the trip with no issues at all.

(except for the room steward not bothering to supply another cake soap for 4 days, and then only after we commented on not having one for the sinks).

so, no. . you are not alone.

Noordam 11/3-11/13, I wore a suit on the 1st formal, and my Tux on the 2nd.

there were probably ~10% of the men on Formal night in a tux, but the rest we saw were all in suits.

as I noted on two of our ports, we did both a HAL excursion, AND we did some exploring / touring on our own.

there was plenty of time for that in most ports we stopped at.

and I will add that in the 3 cases where "shopping" was listed at the end of the tour?. . My Partner and I, and maybe 2 other couples were the only ones that got off the bus in the market areas, while others chose to remain on the bus to return to the ship (for lunches maybe?).

we had quite the additional adventures as we browsed, shopped, and ate our way back to the ship :)

There is some inconsistency but some have reported they were able to have their packs soda/water delivered to the cabin and others have said they had to carry it aboard themselves. You may wish to purchase only as much as convenient for you to carry and to purchase more along the way.

 

we got clarity on that when we sailed on 11/3.

We bought 8 packs of plastic bottled diet-Dr. Pepper, and as long as they were in a bag that sealed (ie: zipped), we were able to put a luggage tag on it and they were delivered to the room.

same with my brother's 16 pack of Water.

However, my SiL only had a "carry bag" and they would not allow her to Luggage Tag it, because it was "open" at the top. Not a big deal, she just carried it onboard, and as the rooms were ready, just dropped it at her room.

made for a pleasant trip to have the sodas we wanted available in the rooms.

We got off Noordam less than a week ago, and with TWO exception, we did only HAL sponsored excursions (and they were lovely).

When we sail X, we also only use their excursion choices. Yes, they are more expensive, but if the Cruise line is offering something we want to do? We'll pay the extra to have guarantees (ie: Guide who speaks clearly, the Ship won't leave without if you run late, safety, Near front of line for tender ports, etc).

how about those two exceptions I mentioned above?

one was in Curacao, where we wanted to go to the Aquarium (and did so after our HAL sponsored Excursion to the Hato Caves. .that we loved). But HAL didn't have any options for the Aquarium.

The other was in Bonaire, and HAL was only offering a longer excursion to No-Name-Beach than we wanted (it was 3 hours, and we didn't want to spend that much time at the beach). It was also $39.

after FINALLY getting someone at the Excursions desk - yes, yes, I know they have kiosks.. .don't like them, I want to speak to a person -- and he acted like I was bothering him, we simply went ashore and ended up with a water taxi that not only took us to the EXACT same spot the HAL boat takes you (but we got there about an hour 1/2 earlier than the HAL boat, so had the place to ourselves basically). . but it was also 1/2 the cost, at only $20 round trip. With option to take trip back whenever we wanted to, as it made the drop hourly.

I highly recommend them if you want to go to No-Name-Beach in Bonaire: Good Return Bonaire (associated with the little Bar/restaurant near where the ship docks)

Was it snorkeling, or SCUBA? I see a catamaran trip for snorkeling. I'm really looking for something that day - preferably in the water.

 

We'll have our own SCUBA gear along except for tanks & weights.

 

 

oh. . that could be it! Sorry for getting confused!

as I noted, we didn't do that excursion (ours was the Island tour with stop at Cigar House, old church, and lunch at Plantation). . but yeah, it definitely was a Catamaran. . so maybe it was a snorkeling rather than SCUBA. I guess it doesn't change the complaints from our friends that took it that said they didn't get in the sea much.

although, that could have been beyond the excursion team's control:

we had rough seas for the first 3 stops (we were unable to dock at Half Moon Cay, and all water activities on Grand Turk were cancelled from what we saw).

Hmmm. I don't remember seeing a SCUBA excursion for that port when I looked last. The dive shop near the dock has had some bad reviews for independent excursions.

 

Thanks for recent feedback!

 

No Problem.

we were there on Noordam's 11/3 -- 11/13 cruise, so JUST got back.

Kieron is a fun Cruise Director, and we really liked the lady who came on as the new Show Host (can't think of her name, but a lovely Dutch woman who grew up in Aruba).

but as we just got off the same itinerary you are going on, the info should be accurate.

we watched (from our stateroom suite -- 8080 on Port side) that Catamaran pull up and drop off folks from that excursion at the Ship. So I know for a fact that they did not tender to/from shore for it.

Am on Zaandam in January and enjoyed checking out the On Location programmes. I was surprised that there don't seem to be any quizzes at all?? (Syndicate, tram, individual etc)

that's odd.

we had two trivia a day: Team trivia around 1pm each day (hosted by Cruise Director), and then Pub trivia (also team) in Crow's nest each day at 7:30 pm (hosted by Show Hosts).

we had the occasional 1-off addition on sea days as well.

We were just there last week, and at least one Excursion (the Scuba one) picked up AT the ship.

We didn't take that excursion -- but we heard (from friends on board that did) that it was not a good one. LOTS of time on the ocean, and very little time actually doing SCUBA.

However, the pick up was a very nice Catamaran, that pulled into the tender station at the ship, and brought the folks back there too -- so it wasn't the standard "tender to dock, and then tour starts from there. They actually picked them up at the Ship and returned them.

we did a bus tour, that took us out of the area we tendered to (dirt poor city that was a bit depressing, and quite a walk to any shopping), and instead took us into the Countryside/hills. It was quite beautiful, and as soon as we left the city area, it was like being in Hawaii (palm trees, grassy hills, gorgeous views). . . .we enjoyed our tour on Samana very much.

(it was the one that stopped at a plantation for a lunch. . which was also very good, and home cooked -- tho we DID have to ask for the tour of the plantation, the owner was happy to give it and the excursion ended up lasting about an hour longer than it was supposed to. but no one on our bus minded (more time for those that didn't want to walk among the fruit trees to eat) :) )

Here's what we (my Partner and I) did on our Noordam 11/3/14 cruise:

We tipped Excursion operators (Tour Guide/Bus Driver):

$5 each (so $10 total) if it was just an OK tour.

$10 each (so $20 total) if it was a good tour.

$20 each (so $40 total) if it was an exceptional tour (which we had twice).

We tipped baggage guys/shuttle service guys, $1 for each bag (so $3-$4 each).

We tipped room service delivery guys $2-$3 for drop off of meal.

We tipped Dining attendant (and water/coffee guy. . we checked and they shared tips), $5/day for great service, so at the end of the cruise, we gave them $50 from each of us (total $100).

Stateroom attendant was not as good as dining, tho they DID try, so we tipped $2.50/ day for a total of $50 from both of us at the end of the cruise.

these were on top of the "hotel" charges.

not everyone did tip -- I know for sure, my Father did not tip some of the folks that we did. . . but at least they get the service charges automatically.

I am really being tempted by some of the low 7 day fares to try HAL out but everything I read, people I know and speak to, reviews, all basically say there's nothing going on after dinner.

 

For a ship like Eurodam or NA for 7 nighters what is the nightlife really like? Does anyone have any cruise dailies from years past on either ship?

we just returned from a 10 day cruise on Noordam, with late seating (8pm).

and there typically WAS a 10 pm evening show (some evenings the late show was 9:30).

but true enough that there is not much to do after that show lets out at ~10:40.

and if you didn't want to go to the show? Options were only:

-- Piano Bar (player was good, but not great)

-- BBKing's Blues Club (band was FANTASTIC, doing 40 minute sets from 8:30, 9:30 & 10:30)

-- Casino

-- Disco (which was billed as "until closed". .but seemed to shut down every night around the same time casino cleared out (between 11:30-12am)

so not completely true there is "nothing" to do, but true enough.

heck, the "late night snack" on Lido? served only from 10:30-11:30.

What did I start:D

 

Also, the three flavour version was available in the PG the twice we dined there in Aug onboard Noordam.

just got off Noordam.

it was there all night (the 3 flavored good one)

and in the Main Dining Room every night. . .started awful, but improved as the trip progressed (hopefully due to feedback)

Even though no one has asked me, I do not think the comment is tacky. I do believe that bringing your own can of soda to the MDR is tacky -- IF they sell that brand onboard the ship. As someone has said, after spending that amount of money on a cruise, why the need to bring your own soda to save a few bucks? (The $50 soda card is just $25 if purchased in advance. Seems like a lot of work to save $25, but that's just me.)

 

Having said that, I understand people bringing their own soda if it is not available on the ship. I drink Diet Dr. Pepper and would love to have it available onboard. (No, I still don't bring it on -- too much trouble for me.)

 

Lastly, if you must bring your own drink to the MDR, how about pouring it into a glass in your room before you go to dinner?

we drink Diet DP and DP "Ten". . neither of which is available on board. . so yes, we're bringing our own.

the soda card is fountain drink only (and the fountains don't carry what we want). So it's not a question of "a lot of work to save $25". . it will take us 5 minutes to walk to the store next to the hotel and purchase soda to bring with us.

Bring as much as you like. Unless, HAL makes a policy change before your departure.

we leave on Monday!

so planning on loading up on plastic 20 oz to bring in a carry bag (if they let us "luggage tag" it, great, otherwise, we'll just carry on.

My Mom wears a small "pouch" necklace that she tucks under her shirt for Vacations.

(it holds emergency money, lipstick, and, I think, her ID)

she bought it at Academy and swears by it.

It's from an internet MEME, and it got a little mixed up in translation.

 

it's:

 

"More Americans have been married to Kim Kardashian, than have died from Ebola"

 

Wow, that line (joke) has been used so many times on the internet, and several cruise line forums. The more times I read it, the more it makes me sick. I must be losing my sense of humour. -S.

 

"The WHO said the number of cases was now 10,141 but that the figure could be much higher, as many families were keeping relatives at home rather than taking them to treatment centres. It said many of the centres were overcrowded." - quoted from

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29769782

 

The key word is "Americans"

 

(and yes, it's horrible that so many in Africa are affected, but typical of Xenophobic America, (unfortunately), most only care how it affects AMERICANS -- so putting it into perspective how much those in the USA have to "fear" the disease, is, I expect, the point of the MEME).

and yeah, the scaremongering is astounding.

we cruise in about a week, and have no intention of changing any plans.