cruisun

I asked my server at Tamarind why lunch was no longer being offered. She said rather unconvincingly "we are working on a new menu".

Pinnacle has not been open for lunch at all and so far the MDR has only been open for the Mariner brunch on the last sea day, no lunches.

Thanks KK for the information. I will have the beverage package next week on NA. Very helpful

As for the next one, usually I would say it's pretty routine but if they like what happens with Eurodam with the Billboard Onboard, Lincoln Center Stage, Gallery Bar, etc it's likely to go on the rest of the Vista Class that share the same footprint.

I believe Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam are Signature class. Not sure which ships will receive the changes you are referring to

Fantastic and informative upbeat review. Really enjoyed it!!!

Sorry that your first O cruise was not up to par! Sounds like everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Must be very disappointing

I agree the Platinum Benefits have steadily diminished.

 

Do you remember when Am Ex Platinum used to let us book HAL cruises by paying the price of category "B" cabins as the cabins on "S" and "R" ships Verandah Deck used to be labeled and at the time of booking we got an immediate upgrade to Category "S"? We could select which S" (Neptune Suite) cabin we wanted right then. That was an amazing benefit. When HAL and Am Ex discontinued that benefit is when they instituted the $300 OBC.

 

This year my platinum Amex OBC was reduced to $200 and no longer includes the free dinner at Pinnacle on the first night:(

My second booking includes Explorer 4 in my cruise fare which I feel was a good deal, however Amex OBC was not "combinable " with that offer so NO OBC or Pinnacle dinner.

My third booking is as a solo and although I'm paying 100% single supplement my Amex Platinum OBC is $100

This is my first time back on Hal in a few years. I used to get $300 and the free Pinnacle dinner on every cruise regardless of other promotions or whether I was sailing solo or not.

Still get the $300 OBC or more when sailing on Crystal.

It's unfortunate that benefits keep being reduced. I suppose one has to evaluate if the annual fee is worth it each year when it is time to renew.

Trying to read this s entire thread objectively, from the get go, I never felt that O stood a chance with the OP.

 

It felt like a "glass half empty" attitude to me. I may of course be wrong, but I detected a lot of glee over detecting flaws in O, and little joy over what was done right. Again, this s is just how I heard things. It may nhave t have been the OP's intention at all.

 

I wish the OP all the best in the future on HAL and the other, more perfect lines. I'm am very, very aware of imperfections on O, so I didn't learn anything new here about the line. But I sure did learn about people. How we do reveal ourselves, sometimes without realizing it!

 

Safe travels home from Miami, enjoy your life elsewhere. Best wishes.

 

 

Donna[/quote

My TA found out that the gospel group is over 1000 people!! I sincerely appreciate having been notified of this information from this post and switched to th Nieuw Amsterdam sailing on 1/24/16

Thanks as always for the information!!

I am on the 1/24/16 Eurodam cruise and see there is a gospel group. Is there a way to find out how large this group is? Has anyone sailed with a gospel group before? Thanks for any additional information

As requested: http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Tamarind-Dinner-Menu.pdf

 

Here is another Tamarind menu for stateroom delivery:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Tamarind-Bento-Box.pdf

Hadn't heard about the bento box option 😀

I am in the process of booking 2 cruises on Nieuw Amsterdam 1/3/16 and 1/10/16. They are not calling this a collectors cruise and that's fine... But they will not call it a b2b either!? I have done many collectors and b2b cruises with Holland before, but not in the last 3 years. My travel agent and I are both perplexed as to why they won't even call it a b2b and I am staying in the same stateroom for both cruises😏

My TA called back earlier just to make sure I didn't have to pack up then unpack again lol. This is definitely something new and seeing this thread made me think the reason for not giving these two cruises a "label" is so no benefit can be obtained as in the past when I booked in this manner. Now it's considered just booking two 7 day cruises therefore no 5% discount!

Thanks for the review, I enjoyed it

This is listed for NA January 3-10 and 10-17/16. Is this a group or theme?

With the obvious exception of insides, all HAL cabins have a set of heavy, room darkening draperies. There can be gaps, so some people bring clothes pins, or use the extra slacks hangars w/clips to keep them closed.

 

I love to see the outside, and can sleep with plenty of light, so when I had a balcony cabin on the Prinsendam, and went over the top of Europe, I left the draperies open all night. Had to remind the steward a few times that I didn't want them closed, as he was well-trained to do turn-down a certain way.

I loved rolling over during the night, looking out at the mountains with patches of snow, then going back to sleep.

 

Even when I have an outside cabin, I close the sheers, but leave the draperies open.

Unfortunately Eurodam and NA do not have drapes, only a heavy sheer, not room darkening

It's nice to hear you will be cruising again!!! A huge step forward and hopefully it will be a positive experience to try something new:D

It has crossed our minds.

I noticed that you are often disappointed with the cuisine and other things. Many years Crystal Serenity sails out of Miami in November or December or January to the Caribbean 😀

Do you know if John Scott is on Eurodam through February?

DH tried the lemon brulee on our November cruise -- it was terrible. Extremely bitter. And the blueberry whipped cream wasn't good either. The blueberries were completely dried out.

Also gone is the chocolate soufflé. The vanilla one has fruit on the bottom which doesn't allow for it to rise properly.

KK I see you are following Keith's World Cruise reports. have you considered trying Crystal?

Thanks for another very interesting review, great reading!

Think outside the box.... search for singles. Consider a great business opportunity.. set up a travel coordination company and work with a Travel Agent ... Putting together like persons.... create a subscription network for them....

Hey, become a travel agent and get the ability to travel on fan-pac's

If you have traveled a lot your knowledge must be huge... utilize it. Reinvent yourself..... Put together groups to cruise together... from affinity groups...be the mini-director and maybe get a free cruise too !!!

 

Who knows what is possible....the mold of your life is in your hands to break.

The important thing is you try something different. Go on fewer cruises but better. Budget for the future today.

 

With respect to Crystal and Silverseas while the fares are great, I can not get over the over the top formal atmosphere of both. I am trending more and more toward less and less and dressing formal and informal every night is too much.

Crystal is now much less formal, two options, crystal casual (most nights) jacket and tie not required and Black tie optional, jacket required, tux or suit and tie optional.

It is no optical illusion, staterooms on Riviera are much larger than comparable staterooms on the R ships.

 

I just checked Ocean View cabins, but here is the result:

 

Riviera--242 sq ft

 

Nautica--165 sq feet

 

We're looking forward to our sailing on Riviera in March, eager to compare it to our two previous sailings on Marina.

 

Ricki

Hi Ricki, I recognize you from the Crystal boards and although off topic....how would you compare your experience on Marina to Serenity? Thanks!

Have been on silhouette and am considering reflection this winter, thanks!

Nice touch!,

Have a wonderful trip!!!

Noordam was our favorite when she was new and we loved sailing out of NYC.

Unfortunately a few years later Noordam seemed tired and not a "happy" ship anymore:(

We then tried Zaandam and did not care for her at all, worst cruise food ever! I know these things can vary by sailing.

Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam then became our favorites and we enjoyed many cruises on both ships, they are very similar IMHO and we enjoyed the art deco decor on NA. Love Tamirand!!

Longing to revisit Noordam we gave her another chance only to find we felt she had gotten even more tired and less happy than a few years prior.

We have moved away from HAL to Oceania and Crystal but we often talk of sailing on one of the signature ships again in the future.

I agree with Joanie that much of one persons perception of a particular ship on a particular sailing can just be a "feeling", that said, our last Noordam sailing diminished our desire to sail HAL at this time.