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Quo Vadis?

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  1. A decade ago there was a last minute opportunity to book the penthouse for $1,000 pp more than the cabin we had booked. This was offered the day before the sailing. We were about to celebrate our 200th cruise point (the equivalent of double Zenith now) and we decided to pay for the upgrade. The next morning we boarded Constellation and were assigned the Royal Suite. The penthouse went to the former occupant of the Royal Suite. It seems the upgrade was just too much from our previous cabin.
  2. It depends on the port. Port Everglades required us to disembark for facial recognition every time Nov-Jan. We did 7 B2B on N Statendam. The amazing experience was the number of loyal cruisers showing up in the theatre: up to 800 people having to go through this process.
  3. Laura Hodges Bethge succeeds Lutoff-Perlo Celebrity Cruises president (seatrade-cruise.com)
  4. Until our September cruise on N Statendam, we had not sailed on HAL since Westerdam in 2008. We cruised for two and a half weeks from Quebec and loved the ship, so much so that we booked another 8 weeks over Thanksgiving Christmas and New Year. The ship is rated at 2,666 (there is a meaning to numbers) but over the holidays up to 600 children boosted that capacity to nearly 3,000. There are places to hide, there are timings to consider to avoid crowds. It is best to avoid vacation time and holidays but we loved our time on board.
  5. How is the Zaandam? I'm looking at a possible repositioning cruise but love Pinnacle, (love the wine Package, forget the non special)
  6. Does anyone know the breakdown of the SC? How much for which service?
  7. On our first cruise on Rotterdam in 1989, the chief engineer joined our table on formal night. The next day we had an actual tour of the engine room, big pistons, noise and all. I remember people skeet shooting on the aft deck. in the 90’s I remember adding liqueur to my ice cream.
  8. Our Thanksgiving and Christmas cruises will not be repeated for the same reasons. It's amazing but we smell smoke more in Billboard than when passing through the casino.
  9. I am in the minority here but I just want to share our experience. We sailed on N Statendam in September and knew nothing of CO since we had not sailed on HAL in 14 years. It was a great cruise despite port cancellations and picking up the latest COVID souvenir. We ate in the MDR at a table for two and we had great service and hot meals. We booked another 8 weeks November to January and started with CO. We had priority boarding together with another 500 people as we boarded crossing the pier because the jetway was inoperative. Our upgrade was from one obstructed view cabin to another obstructed view further forward. We eat early and enjoyed a two top by the window almost every night. It’s a two way gold fish bowl. We watched the trek to the MDR by other pax while they watched us eat. Breakfast was great and never crowded. As the week progressed I no longer needed breakfast and enjoyed the crow’s nest caffein fix instead. On week three we switched to the MDR (no orange) and our experience was great. Excellent service, no fishbowl and a table for two by a window. we see no need for club orange, one and done.
  10. Note: this is a sarcastic observation: On our recent cruise " the food was consistently bad, but even worse, there was never enough of it." From September to January we sailed on N Statendam for over 10 weeks and never went hungry. The MDR menu (including a week in Club Orange, was good 5 days out of 7. We always had a great alternative at the Dutch Cafe, the NY Bistro or the Dive In. We ate in Tamarind and Pinnacle a few times but the food was not comparable to the best celebrity has to offer in Murano but then the price is a lot less. Overall we found the food better than on Celebrity and have no complaints at all during our extended stay.
  11. We really like this class ship. We were on N Statendam last year and have booked Rotterdam for 6 weeks come November-December.
  12. We sailed for 19days on NS from Quebec to Boston and back in September. We loved it so much that we booked 7 weeks from November to January. Then the day before the cruise ended we added another week. The crew is fantastic. The MDR is very good 5 days out of 7. We loved the Dutch cafe and Lido for the off nights. The live music was better in September than in November. Trivia hosts were exceptional. The Crow's Nest was my destination every day.
  13. We found the space under the bed on NS and almost forgot about what we stored there when we switched cabins.
  14. Mark Twain quoting Disraeli: "There are lies, damned lies and statistics"
  15. Two decades ago we had just embarked Princess for lunch. While eating a corn chowder everyone at our table as well as a waiter, heard a loud crack as I split a tooth from top to bottom as I bit on something hard in the soup. Princess told me tough luck. Luck them! (Sorry wrong letter.) Love their pizza though.
  16. Totally agree. Balcony: HAL +, Celebrity: has a cabin with a window that opens - MDR, HAL a bit better Specialty restaurants: HAL cheaper, Celebrity better but at a cost Drink Pricing: HAL + Live Entertainment HAL + Stage entertainers Celebrity + HAL very weak Forward observation lounge HAL++ Pax demographics, very similar. HAL inside cabins: claustrophobic --, ships more crowded Crew: fantastic on both lines. My retirement budget does not support the suite life.
  17. Royal, Carnival and Norwegian stocks are down over 5% today. Does anyone have any insight?
  18. When we were onboard HAL's N Statendam from mid-November to mid January, the once a day program was instituted. However we could have asked for twice a day. As wine drinkers we don't need the ice filled. We have asked to have our towels replaced on some days. The evening turn down service we have learned to do at home.
  19. We have cruised frequently on both Celebrity and HAL. We do not like the lack of balconies on the Edge class. It’s a cabin with a window that opens. We do not like the lack of a forward observation lounge . Going into the canal, that lounge would be the go to place. we have spent 10 weeks on The sister ship, the Nieuw Statendam. We loved the crow’s nest, a combination of Cafe al Bacio library and comfortable lounge. The choice of food on HAL is greater than on Celebrity and more to my liking. by the way we are booked on Rotterdam for the partial transit as well. You will enjoy either ship but for different reasons. Live entertainment is better on HAL but the stage is better on Celebrity. The crew is great on both. HAL cruisers are not older than on Celebrity, the demographic is much more diverse than expected.
  20. We cruised on Nieuw Statendam for 8 weeks and only had to show up once. Watch the Video in your cabin, go to your muster station to be logged on boarding day and you are all set.
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