sailawayward

We're scheduled for Aruba in February, so hopefully someone will chime in with more specific info. On the south end of Eagle Beach as it becomes Manchebo Beach, umbrella rentals should be available between the Waters Edge Restaurant and the Coco Loco Beach Bar. And then also on the North end of Eagle Beach across from Amsterdam Manor. Since there aren't public restrooms, plan on buying food/drinks at the closest restaurant/bar. I've attached a photo to show how some of the palapas are NOT designated for resort guests and are actually free to use if you get one.

Not exactly. The June 3rd sailing included Visby instead of Riga. Also @VMax1700 gets an overnight in Stockholm which we didn't have.

Alleviating congestion at the port with another ship arriving at the same time sounds like a good enough reason.

It's odd that Carnival offered an automatic credit for those who already purchased the 'excursion' - but HAL won't. Same corporation, same private island. They're acknowledging you are getting less than described but keeping the the rental exactly the same. And the retail rate for Carnival cabana rentals was already at a lower price. I expected the photo place card for the cabana rentals to have changed for new bookings, but we still see a happy couple in front of Cabana #8 making room to feature the window a/c unit behind them.

Boolean searches aren't the best on this site. It might help to know what you're searching for? Be sure you have navigated to the board where you want to conduct your search before entering your search terms. You may have to do the same search on different boards to find your desired results.

so you were planning on watching the Koningsdam come in and have to go to another pier?

what are you sighing about?

Coleman makes very good products. Looks like they have a backpack version, might be useful in the Caribbean.

You won't know the schedule of activities for your cruise until it gets closer to your embarkation day. That's why I recommended checking the Navigator app regularly leading up to the final days of your Sail Away date so you'll know the schedule of activities prior to embarkation. It would be nice if HAL published those activities a year in advance to help you make a better buying decision before your cruise, but it doesn't.

I think it depends mostly on which Class you'll be sailing on. The Zaandam and Volemdam are both in HAL's Rotterdam Class of ships, so they are the oldest in the line. They were each christened in 1999 and just don't have the facilities like the newer ships with Music Walk (BB King's/RS Rock Room/Billboard Onboard) and World Stage. The Rotterdam Class ships are smaller though, so they are able to navigate waters the larger ships can't; and the smaller passenger count can be a definite plus for some. We sailed the Baltic on the Rotterdam in June and absolutely loved our cruise; but we found the entertainment to be lacking especially on sea days. It's really the only disappointment we had with our experience. I would recommend downloading the Navigator app several weeks before your cruise if you don't already have it on your device. Once you are logged into the app, there is an icon of the HAL logo centered at the bottom - named 'Experiences'. Click that icon and you'll have access to the Daily Program (along with Shore Excursions, Dining, Spa, Photo Gallery, and Room Service). Start checking this Daily Program schedule in the Navigator App about 2 weeks before your cruise and then monitor updates & changes until your Sail Away date. You'll at least know the names and times for (most of) the 'shows' that may interest you before embarkation. Pay attention to what is only shown once during the cruise so you can prioritize your schedule.

This was posted on your Roll Call on August 15th. You can join your Roll Call here:

@VMax1700 you may want to find out when you'll be sailing under the Great Belt Bridge. You may be passing under it both coming and going during your cruise. I'm sharing some pix when we were there in June - this was late at night on our way toward Aarhus. Enjoy your cruise!

@just_cruising_along -- we sailed out of Amsterdam in June on the Rotterdam. We were staying at the DoubleTree/Hilton Central Station and used a taxi from our hotel. Honestly we could have walked, but we had one too many pieces of luggage since it was a 14-day cruise. At the terminal, we dropped off our bags easily and the security process was a breeze. I will note that there was a norovirus outbreak on the previous sailing, so we weren't able to board until much later than our original check-in time. We were given plenty of notice and arrived as instructed, but it was disappointing to still be unpacking when the ship started sailing. I will say that the disembarkation process was a clusterf*ck because there wasn't an organized queue in the baggage area once we were off the ship. Finding your luggage was one thing, but getting in line to exit with our luggage was just awkward. We don't speak Dutch, but there wasn't any signage to give us an idea how we were supposed to leave. We did walk back to the same hotel because waiting for a ride would have been a nightmare.

With the canal's water levels, I thought the ships HAL used in the Canal were within the threshold since they aren't so massive like RCCL's Monstrosity of the Seas.

For the 12-Day Panama Canal sailing in January 2024, the original stops in Curacao and Key West were canceled; but HAL added Grand Caymon and Falmouth, Jamaica. For the 12-Day Panama Canal sailing in February 2024, the original stops in Bonaire and Key West were canceled; but HAL added Grand Cayman and Oranjestad, Aruba.

There are multiple 12-day sailings called the Panama Canal Seafarer scheduled in Jan & Feb of 2024 and also Feb & Mar of 2025. Find your Roll Call group here to see what feedback they may provide. Did your itinerary originally include Bonaire? New restrictions in the Kralendijk port limit the number of cruise ships in port each day. It affected many cruise itineraries, not just HAL. Our 9-day cruise on the Rotterdam scheduled in February was affected - we received an extended stay in Aruba (now an overnight). We didn't expect anything, but no compensation was provided.

We never thought to bring our own cooler to hold ice. Any suggestions on getting ice restocked to alleviate more work for the crew?

We sailed a very similar cruise on the Rotterdam in June. Have a fabulous time!!!

If you don't have a drink package, you'll have to pay for club soda by the can. I cannot remember the brand they used on the ship, but I was happy with their tonic water. They didn't carry diet tonic water, though. I cannot remember the cost per can but I want to say $7 (?) -- just my estimate since we were under the HIA with the Signature drink package so sodas & coffees were also included. Gratuities are always separate. Without HIA, there are other drink packages that may suit you. Just be sure to purchase your drink package prior to sailing because the cost on embarkation day will most likely be higher. The drink packages are shown online in your booking along with excursions and dining reservations. Each person in your cabin has to have the same drink package.

We're caffeine addicts, so our favorite place on the ship became the Grand Dutch Cafe. We felt like we were friends with that entire crew by the time our cruise was over; and we really appreciated how gracious they all were at such a busy location. Definitely the best coffee on the ship (MDR coffee was very meh). A fantastic spot on the ship for a drink is an extension of the Half Moon Bar on Deck 2. There is a row of window tables midship on the starboard side directly in front of the entrance to Club Orange that offer a breathtaking view and you're right over the water. There are only a few 2-tops against the windows; so when we were able to get a table at just the right time, our bartender Julius really made each experience feel special.

You will love the Rotterdam! We originally booked a verandah cabin (VD category) and about 3 weeks before our sailing, we were offered an upgrade by HAL. I cannot remember the first offer, but we declined because it was in a location we disliked. The second offer from HAL came later - perhaps a week before our sailing. This was for a Vista Class suite (V category) at a significant discount so we accepted. If you are offered an upgrade, find out the Cabin # and use a cruise deck reference so you know exactly what you're getting. And remember: you don't have to accept an offer. Many upgrade offers will be for a good cabin category but for a bad location (which is why many are still available). If you accept an upgrade offer, your original reservation will be permanently lost. I don't know anyone's experience with trying to upgrade on embarkation day at the Guest Services desk. As far as excursions, I would recommend comparing HAL's offerings at each port with what is available though hubs like viator, venturesashore, shoreexcursioneer, traveladvisor, allatours, and guruwalk. Excursions that involve transportation are a good bet with the cruise line since you're guaranteed not to be left behind or found on youtube as a pier runner. We were on a 14-day cruise in the Baltic and had very good experiences with all of the excursions booked through HAL. They are very efficient at getting passengers disembarked, but I would strongly recommend showing up at least 30 minutes early prior to the posted meeting time for group excursions.

On our upcoming Southern Caribbean sailing on the Rotterdam, we are currently unable to schedule any dinner reservations at Tamarind for one of the dates during the cruise. For now, there is no special event dinner currently being offered in its place. We still have 146 days til departure, so who knows.

Thanks! We recently watched a video of an older Royal Caribbean cabin that had a knob/dial for announcements, and we began to think maybe we missed something from our Rotterdam cabin.

We previously sailed on the Rotterdam in June. Whenever the Cruise Director or the Captain made an announcement over the loudspeaker, we'd have to open our stateroom door in order to hear them from the audio speakers in the public passageway. Is this standard protocol, or should passengers be able to listen to and adjust the volume for announcements inside their cabins? If so, how? We just don't remember seeing anything like this in our cabin, and we never thought to ask about it while we were onboard.

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