grannyshell

We're a family of 5 sailing on the Oosterdam tomorrow and DD and I were on Navigator browsing the daily activities when she notices that her Day 2 says Villefranche-sur-mer (Nice) while mine still says Marseille. So I started poking around the boards for France ports and find that there are dock worker strikes in France planned for the month of June. Lo and behold, for our port call on June 13 there is an all-day strike scheduled. Just checked Navigator again and now mine matches DD's. Guess we're going to Nice. Now to figure out what to do last minute.

Yes, we have to be out of our AirBNB by 11 as well so we're just going to mosey down the hill and get in line.

We're leaving from BCN tomorrow on Oosterdam and our boarding passes still say "Boarding Begins at 12:00pm". There is no assigned boarding time.

I assume this means all 2,000 passengers will attempt to board precisely at the same time. In your experience in a similar situation, how early would you arrive to be toward the front of the line?

We're traveling with a tween who enjoys an occasional Nohito. Any idea about mocktail prices?

On 6/2/2024 at 8:34 PM, Mike B Landlubber said:

@Iamthesea I think your theory about spotlights being used to give the feel of a ship is probably correct, though I think of them more as being associated with a theater. To cover the traditional review items that I didn’t cover because I was focused on the weird stuff in the room, I should mention that the bathroom was excellent for me with a modern walk-in shower and fixtures.  My bed was not a strong point. A mattress pad had been added to the bed, apparently to try to squeeze another year out of an aging mattress. The combination wasn’t terrible to sleep on, but definitely wasn’t great. I am not a member of Team Carry-on Only, and on my evening arrival I had some trouble at the hotel front entrance moving my checked bag and carry-on up some stairs and through a classic revolving door setup with little maneuvering room in front of it. When I checked out, a bellhop was on duty, and with his assistance the exit was easy. In the hotel restaurant, the added-cost breakfast buffet was very satisfactory and my lunch was excellent.

Thanks for the hotel review. We're also staying there in September pre-cruise. Are those ramp-like structures alongside the stairs actual ramps and wide enough to wheel a suitcase up/down?

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

Did you check your roll call?

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?type=forums_topic&search_and_or=or&search_in=titles&nodes=228&q=Sept September

Yes, first timers do get them. DD got 2 offers for her upcoming cruise.

30 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Of those, I would take 4184 in a heartbeat. The other SBs are also aft wraps, but not as desirable, have been in all. Avoid 11005 like the plague.

"Avoid 11005 like the plague"...reason?

Safe travels Jacqui! Thanks for taking us along! Looking forward to your wrap up 😉 

Those 2 stations are my go-to options...salad and stir fry, which to me is the best food on the ship. Cooked to order, fresh, healthy and hot as hades! Love it.

I got the hard sell at the spa on Nieuw Statendam in the past. Very very pushy. Arguing with your massage therapist isn't a nice way to end a relaxing massage.

8 hours ago, kazu said:

So the night before we went to the Pinnacle Grill for dinner.

It was deb’s birthday on this cruise but on the 22nd.  she chose the 24th since it was 1/2 way between hers and her DD DH’s.

By the way, our old waiter never sang happy birthday to her nor gave her a cake.  She was happy not to be sung to though.  PG made sure she got a cake.

 

 

PG can be a mixed bag on some ships.  On this one, it was very good.

 

we really enjoyed our appetizers:

 

 

 

 

For the main I had the tenderloin with lobster dumplings - OMG.  

And here’s where Debbie fell down on her job.  She and I forgot about pics until it was toll late and not picture worthy.  It was that good.  Well worth it on this ship.

 

We smartened up for dessert.  I had the soufflé 

 

 

and Deb the cheese tray 

 

 

that’s right - no crackers on it but there were two bread sticks.

 

 

So what is one to do with this strange HAL cracker-less situation in every venue on every ship? Should women keep crackers in their purses and discreetly slip them onto their plates? 😜

We booked it for an 11 day cruise to the Canadian maritimes on Nieuw Statendam and also on the Rotterdam for a TA, both with cooler weather. I probably wouldn't do it for a warm weather cruise. It was never crowded. We'd go every day. The showers weren't private and there was no private place to change either. I wouldn't hesitate to book it again and will on our upcoming cruise to Norway. 

1 hour ago, kazu said:

We are in Newport today .  Colts dreary and damp day.  Pictures were pretty useless as you can see here.  
 

 

 

 

All the tenders are back and we will be leaving soon and look at what just came out.

 

 

 

 

 

Our time was shortened here due to the need to travel slowly to Boston.  10 knots due to marine traffic -whales 

 

 

We took a drive down to Newport to see the ship. What a sight to see the Volendam sitting pretty in the harbor. I agree, weather was miserable...windy and spitting rain but just as we were leaving the sun came out. Newport is such a beautiful place when the weather cooperates.

Jacqui, I seem to recall a similar rocky start to your TA last fall...hope this isn't going to be a tradition 🤣 Hope you have a wonderful time. You mentioned a port change - will the Volendam still be stopping in Newport? I was hoping to drive down to see her.

Bon Voyage!

On 4/13/2024 at 10:19 AM, rcs931 said:

Not bad, but noticed some signs of aging.  I'm glad she's getting extra attention this trip. I'm aware ocean vs. metal is a constant struggle. 

Yes, Joao is still teaching but leaves after this crossing for a break.

Where is the corrosion in the pic located on the ship please?

Thanks everyone. I've got all the info I need.

15 hours ago, POA1 said:

If you are using Flight Ease, you cannot change your arrival time. Flight Ease feeds it into your booked flights section. (It should, anyway.)

 

The advice to pre-book the transfer from the airport is solid. You will want to be on the transfer list.

 

I don't know how you booked, but talk to that person - or, if you booked online, call HAL. Tell the person to look up the pick up times and location on the Guest Logistics Transfer Summary for Rotterdam. The Guest Logistics Transfer Summary is the master reference for all the embarkation / disembarkation ports. (Aka turnaround ports.)

 

They should be able to tell you where to meet the bus, times to meet, and transit times. You cannot always meet the bus at the HAL hotels if you aren't booking the hotel through HAL. However, the person should be able to look up all the pick up points for you.

The airport is always a pick up point or drop off point.

 

If you get someone who knows what they're doing, they should be able to answer you pretty quickly. By telling the person to use the Guest Logistics Transfer Summary for Rotterdam, you're telling them exactly where to look.

 

 

Amazing level of detail. Thank you so much for this, for now and future reference. The breadth and depth of knowledge of folks here on this forum is impressive. 

On 4/7/2024 at 9:09 PM, RuthC said:

I've never done what you propose in Amsterdam, but I have done it in several other cities. 
The big difference is that I have stayed near the airport, so getting back there was relatively easy. In Amsterdam, however, you are quite a ride away; I expect you would rather stay in Amsterdam itself, and be a tourist for those two days. 

The mechanics of returning to the airport are fairly easy. You let HAL think you are arriving that morning, giving your flight number and time, just two days after you actually did arrive. 
Your taxi will drop you off at departures, and you will have to make your way to arrivals to meet up with the HAL reps. 

If I were in Amsterdam, sailing from Rotterdam, I would find it easier to hire a car to drive me. Less moving from one transportation to another, and less time needed to accomplish the goal. 

If we let HAL think we are arriving that morning, but have arranged airfare with Flight Ease, will that cause a problem...will they be able to see that we in fact arrived days earlier?

Here's the situation: we are flying into Amsterdam 2 days prior to our cruise departing from Rotterdam. If we stay in Amsterdam, could we make our way back to the airport on the morning of the cruise to take advantage of the HAL airport transfer to the cruise terminal in Rotterdam?

We stayed at a very cool place last fall, called Pension Homeland. It was very reasonable. There is a small, but slow, elevator. The restaurant there is amazing, locally sourced food, its own brewery and home baked sourdough to die for. Taxi to cruise ship cost 8 euros. It is small so might be booked up, but it's worth a try.

There is currently a Live review on the Koningsdam cruise to Hawaii and Tahiti that you may find interesting. Many of the daily menus and activities are posted there. I've been following because we'll also be on the cruise to Hawaii next January.

I will add that we recently did a trans Atlantic on HAL and were never bored. Look for the roll call for your cruise and since there are so many sea days you may find that it is very active, with someone organizing activities above and beyond what HAL offers (book clubs, knitting groups, games, cabin crawls etc.).

1 hour ago, gizmodog said:

I am thinking of booking this cruise next year, have a question, don’t know if you are able to answer.

all aft balconies are booked, I love a bigger balcony. It looks like from deck plans deck 4 has larger balconies, do you know if that is true? Also, are they obstructed from lifeboats?

thank you if you are able to answer.

We've been on the Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam, sister ships to Koningsdam. We like a bigger balcony too and chose to stay on deck 4. Like tupper10 said, the balconies are huge. Half is covered, half not. Room for 2 chaises and you could probably fit 4. The obstructed cabins are midship; the extended balconies are located fore and aft. You've got to be careful choosing one at the front of the ship because some of them have steel railings vs. plexiglass, if that's something that's important to you. We've since found out that there are large balconies on the other decks. They're located midship where the ship jogs inward. Part of the balcony is on an angle but it's large.

Wow, that gov't warning is frightening. Why would anyone get off the ship and why would HAL continue to have such a port on the itinerary?

2 hours ago, Moriah said:

Probably on your recent cruise you played bingo or otherwise got your name on a casino list (by putting your card into a slot machine?). So it's the casino company, not actually HAL, who will pay for your cabin and gift it to you.  There is no "catch" - but these offers "sell" out quickly so do make the call if you want to go on one of the offered cruises.  You pay port fees and taxes.  Like any cruise, you can add HIA or anything else, but your won't pay the "cruise fare."  You can upgrade if there is availability, and that will cost you.

No, did not play bingo or slots, not once.