kensinsd

Thanks again everyone! I think I've made a decision (for now at least) and we'll go to Tamarind on my BD and may do the Pinnacle one other night, and I'll be taking a suit and my tux.

Thank you, everyone, for your replies! Much appreciated!

This is my first post in years as we just recently booked our second cruise. We are doing a 7-day Mexico cruise from San Diego on the Eurodam, which is the same itinerary we did almost 4 years ago on the Westerdam.

 

I have a few questions which I am sure have already been answered but I'm a little overwhelmed and my searches are not finding what I need.

 

One night of the cruise is my birthday, any suggestions for which Specialty Restaurant we might want to try to reserve?

 

In regards to "Formal" or "Gala" nights, how many will there typically be? Also, I'd like to wear my tux, will I be overdressed?

 

When it comes to dining in general, our booking confirmation shows "open seating", is there a way to change this? I'd really prefer to have a table for two reserved for every night if we could.

 

I'm sure I'll have more questions, but I'll be trying to find the answers by searching, at least for now.

 

Just as it was 4 years ago, this forum is so helpful and I appreciate the knowledge you are all sharing already.

 

Thanks!

aaah!... that gives me goosebumps!

November 2008 - Sea of Cortez - on the "beautiful and elegant*" Ryndam!

 

* words used by the Captain on each of his announcements... will never forget it

 

I wonder if that was the same Captain we had in 2014 on the Westerdam, which was my first and so far only :( cruise.

Hello,

we are on Eurodam 11/30 to 12/14 in the Caribbean.

Can we get cash money (US$) on the Islands at ATM`s (Cayman, St. Thomas, Jamaica, San Juan)?

And have we Beachtowels in the Cabin?

Thanks.

 

We had beach towels in our cabin with a nice little wrapper letting us know that they would cost something like $26.50 if they went missing.

 

The nice thing about the wrapper is it keeps them tightly bundled until you get to the beach and need them.

At the Mariner's brunch on the Veendam Mexican Riviera cruise last week the captain announced that 80% of the "guests" were mariners. They had the brunch in the lower dining room on Thursday and again on Friday. They also served lunch in the upstairs dining room for those who were not at the Mariners brunch.

 

On our cruise on the Westerdam in October, my partner was considered a mariner because he had sailed on Princess many years before. When we asked about the embarkation lunch we were told there were 1,700 mariners on the ship and that the Lido was recommended. We were invited to the Mariners brunch and got two nice coasters... :D

I can't wait for your next installment.

 

My first cruise was on the Westerdam too, in October.

 

I see you have a very cool second cruise planned, how many days is that?

You can order as much of anything on the menu as you wish.

Enjoy :)

 

On our recent cruise, it became known that my travelling companion would order two entrees.

 

On the night Surf and Turf was on offer, he only ordered one. When the steward removed his plate... he replaced it with another, full one. :)

It sounds like you're doing something wrong when you do the reservation.

You should be able to pick the day/time when you reserve, as that is the way to reserve. I don't know any other way to reserve for the Pinnacle without choosing a day/time.

 

If you pre-pay under "indulgences" in indicates that you should make your reservation on board. We decided not to do this, so I don't know how it works, but it appeared that we couldn't reserve on line.

This is the first time I've listened as well as watched... how interesting!

Wait a minute!!!!!!!!!!! We, DH and I have been on close to 40 cruises, and one Hal cruise about 13 years ago. We are currently booked on a 45 day next Oct. to the South Pacific. I have quite a collection of nice sun dresses, not beach cover ups. These dresses have been fine for all other MDR dining, and I have no dresses with sleeves, are you telling me that I'm NOT ALLOWED to wear my nice dresses in Hal's MDR? Many formals have no sleeves at all! But I think we are talking about breakfast and lunch as I don't wear pants much.

 

I think in this case, it may have been the specific shirts the young ladies were wearing, I didn't think it was strange that my friend (who is male) was turned away wearing a sleeveless T-shirt, but with the young ladies I immediately thought of all the dresses and dressy shirts for women that have no sleeves. I'm sure you will be fine.

I love to take a collapsable cooler. We use it in the room and the room steward fills it with ice every day. I drink a lot of water and it is nice to have a cold water in the room.

 

This is a great idea, and going on my list. We had the ice bucket filled twice a day... and it was always melted by the time we needed it. Calling for more was useless

What about dress code for dinner in the MDR? Will blue jeans and a polo or button up short sleeve be sufficient? We are starting a one year round the world trip and the cruise is our first step of the trip to get us to Europe. Formal clothes won't be very practical to stuff in the backpacks.

 

Thanks

 

We definitely saw jeans in the MDR on our recent cruise. On formal nights you might want to try the buffet or room service.

There will be lots of cabs dropping people off at the port, just tell one you want a round trip to Rite-Aid and they should be happy to help you out... If you have the time, tell them you'd like a round trip to either of the BevMo's in Mission Valley, and you'll be set. If you know what you want, you should be able to order it online and pick it up at Bevmo. I've never done this because it's "just down the hill", but you'll see it on their website. If you do that, however, make sure you get delivered to the correct location. They are pretty close together

 

If you need soda or water as well, you can take are of that too.

While you can't "pre-pay" gratuities, they do automatically charge you $11.50 (or $12 in a suite) per person, per day so you really only need to tip individuals as you see fit at the end.

Sounds great but you would need at least 4 days and preferrably 6 days for Hawaii. Why not make it a 30 day cruise stopping in Santa Barbara, Ca., San Francisco, Ca. and Astoria, Oregon before Victoria B.C. Also making a stop in Sitka before heading south to Hawaii.

 

Yes, please! :D

Thanks for the pics! My first cruise was on the Westerdam and ended the morning this cruise started. I wanted to barricade myself in my cabin and continue on.

As everyone has said, the trays are very large and heavy... but also, we had our tray for breakfast about 30 minutes before someone came to collect it.

As a new cruiser, I'm thinking through how I feel about this.

I'm a pretty nice guy and can hold a conversation but I'm also disablingly shy. The anticipation of meeting new people is always far worse than the event itself but I wonder if the thought of going through this each night would have me eating in my cabin. If I was alone, which is a strong possibility, I'd just ask for a table by myself, but with my current partner, who is very gregarious, that would not be fair.

At the same time, one of the best memories of my first (only) cruise, was interacting with our wonderful dining room steward each night. He is the only one who got a little extra at the end of the cruise, and I know for sure I wouldn't be taking cash to tip a different person each night. Would someone I had just met wince and give a subtle shake of their head if I ordered something they couldn't recommend?

We were in 5037 last week. You may hear a "tone" from the elevators when the doors open, we could when everything else was quiet, but it wasn't a problem. These rooms are wonderfully quiet and peaceful.

,,, and 2) is there a dress code for the MDR for breakfast and lunch or only for dinner?

 

I'm not sure exactly what the dress code for breakfast and lunch is, but there is one. A friend made the mistake of wearing a sleeveless t-shirt to breakfast and was turned away as he "needed sleeves". A gentleman behind us had three pre-teen to teen daughters with sleeveless shirts and he asked if they needed sleeves. It was politely indicated that, yes, they did. Flip flops and shorts weren't a problem and we even saw them at the Mariners Brunch.

I'm glad I found this, though I'm still a bit befuddled... Leaving day after tomorrow and I've been told I should take 14 pairs of shorts and one pair of jeans for a 7 night cruise. :confused: