ljgordon54

Well, you don’t have many selections of adjoining decks on Deck #6. Look at the deck plan https://www.hollandamerica.com/content/dam/hal/inventory-assets/ships/pdf-files/AM_deck_plan_web_100118.pdf you will see some of the rooms around the edges you have a “+”. Those are the ones with adjoining decks. That was our experience on the Zaandam. I could be wrong.

It will depend on your rooms. Ours did on one side, but not on the other. Look at the deck plan and you can tell.

Have you checked into taking any of the Windows10 classes on board? After the classes I took on our Greece cruise, she let us so some work on our own pictures. Maybe you could do that. Just an idea. The classes are very informative also.

Nobody is going to test or question where you got your wine as you wander around the ship. We carry wine/beer/drinks around all the time. The corkage thing is if you bring your bottle to the MDR, basically. If you have your wine in your wine glass and take it with you, I can't imagine anyone would question you. I know they won't in the Lido, we seldom use the MDR.

Fouremco covered it well. We just go off the Veendam and before we left we were told the $9 figure and told if we wanted a better variety to see about an upgrade when we got on board. If we wait until after the first drink we couldn’t change. So I asked the beverage manager on embarkation day. He told me the price was up to $11 and he said to visit a bar before I decide to upgrade. He said almost everything is included. We did and grilled the bartender with everything we might order—all were included. The high end brandy was the only thing not included that we asked about and DH is happy with the cheap stuff. It was a great plan, especially since it was “included.” We booked another cruise so we could get that add-on before t expires May31. Have a great time.

We just got off the Veendam in Venice. The bag of laundry has gone up to $30/bag. However, we rolled up our clothes real tight and got 1 jeans, 2 pants, 5 t-shirts. Bar, panties, 7 pair men’s underpants. A couple of shorts, PJs and 2 pillow cases in. I think a few more pieces. If that is an option for you, look into it. The price might be less. The Veendam did away with public laundry.

I see you are a Bengal Fan, so probably live in the Eastern Time Zone. Keep that in mind when you plan things. If you are used to eating at 7ish then your dinner time may seem like it should be about 3 or 4! Maybe early seating is good for you. We find open seating fits us the best and we love to share table with new people. The problem with choosing an assigned seat and picking a table with others, then not showing up; sometimes people end up eating alone. I know that is their problem and they may not mind; but we were on a cruise where the dinner table crew felt slighted when some didn’t show up. Also, in AK where it won’t get dark until late, you may want to enjoy the sights longer and eat late. Just some stuff to consider. We are almost always able to get MDR reservations for 7pm

Another thing, if you want to try something different and you aren’t sure; we gave the server our second choice. He brought it along with our first!. It so happened we like the first choice so everyone took a bite of the extra plate; there were 11 of us at the table. They are great; they aim to please.

Good coffee solutions! DH’s idea of a vacation is coffee in bed. The coffee on HAL delivered to the room when we were on in 2017 was AWFUL! We took our own Keurig and had it confiscated last cruise. Does anyone have suggestions for good coffee besides wandering down to the specialty coffee place? Can you get good coffee delivered to your room for extra money?

We cruise seldom but on both Princess and HAL, but as a favor to the other cruisers; why bring a 12 year old to the adult pool? I am sure she is a doll, but some old folks (like us) occasionally would rather not be around children. We have grandkids and love them to death, but when someplace says no kids; we don’t take them. It is just a courtesy. For some reason, we always felt compelled to give a little extra on some ships and not on others. It is not by line; sometimes on Princess and sometimes on HAL. I don’t feel we should ever need to tip extra. They seem to cover it with the room tips. Enjoy your cruise; it is hard not to!

I was going to suggest UBER also. That is who we used. They took us to the grocery store for some supplies, to the liquor store for wine, and to dinner. We didn’t need a ride to the port, the hotel provided that. So much easier than messing with a car, and probably cheaper.

I have boarded in Vancouver and we had no problem at all. We were on board in time for lunch, and our grandkids had time to investigate the ship before the muster. As for dining in the MDR on gala night, not "galad-up." I just wonder why? It is fun to dress up and see all the elegance. If it isn't your thing, the buffet is always good. Why do people want to push the envelope. When we don't bring our finery, we dine upstairs under the stars.

WOW, Just thanks so much for this and your blog post. So much good information.